Chapter 771 - Three Welcome Backs
Wednesday. Four days had passed since last Saturday’s ‘Triangle Duo,’ and we were now caught in the pressure of having the crucial ‘Green Connect’ raid just three days away.
That afternoon, just before evening set in…
“—Hngh!”
“Oof…”
Having safely returned to the Yotsuya residence after our four-day, three-night trip, I was assaulted by a fleshy bomb the moment I stepped through the entrance, luggage in hand.
Slender yet well-proportioned, with sparkling, leaf-green eyes. And to top it off, fluffy caramel-blonde hair bouncing with the owner’s momentum…
—The culprit, I see, is none other than Miss Liliania Vluveli.
And beyond her silent welcome…
Weeeelcome baaaack!!!!!
“…Yeah, yeah, I’m back.”
The other person stood there quietly. The calmly smiling Alicia waved a Nia-chanz terminal, from which I read the words and returned the greeting.
“Were you able to refresh yourself?”
Next, she tilted her head and asked a question… though I’m sure she’d already figured out the answer just by looking at me.
In response, I raised both my arms in a muscle pose.
“I’m ready for anything, anytime—so, what’s the next order?”
At that, Alicia let out another satisfied chuckle and said,
“You’ll see when you go to the virtual world. …Welcome back, Haru.”
“Yeah, I’m back.”
Following Nia-chan, who showed no sign of releasing her hold as if she were trying to choke me out, she welcomed me back with an undisguised air of delight.
◇◆◇◆◇
“—Man, this placebo effect is immense.”
Thanks to a third day and this morning spent quietly to avoid travel fatigue, my real body and mind were refreshed and in peak condition.
I’m sure it wasn’t just because of that, but I’m convinced that that was the biggest factor contributing to this.
And so, logging in for the first time in three days, my avatar felt incredibly light.
My physical condition in the real world probably had something to do with it, but more than anything, the factual awareness that ‘my real body is in good shape’ was undoubtedly having a powerful effect.
In this world, thoughts and beliefs become strength. So naturally, when you’re mentally and physically on a roll, you can casually deliver a performance that’s better than your best. That’s Arcadia for you.
“Heeeyah!”
See? My wake-up (login) routine of jumping up, kicking off the wall, and doing a grand spin had more rotations than usual. The landing was perfect, too. I was in flawless, impeccable shape.
Of course, the motivation that I’d let simmer during the trip was also boiling over. Prepare yourself, virtual world, because I’m about to go on another rampage—and so…
I’ll stop escaping into virtual reality there.
“…What is this?”
My attention was drawn to the corner of my vision.
A single icon was blinking gently to signal a notification. It was the familiar ‘New Message’ icon, but the number displayed next to it…
Before I left, I’d sent a simple message to my main acquaintances about taking a break… but this number looked like every single one of them had replied.
And then—I wonder, should I be conceited enough to think I’m popular?
I decided to check my received messages later and, for now, sent out another mass message announcing my return. And then came the flood, one new message after another.
What is this, it’s making me feel all tingly… As I was making a strange face by myself, there was a knock on my room door, not just a system notification.
My login and respawn point is set to my private room in the Azure Sky Clan home. Therefore, the only people who can knock on this door are fellow clan members. And since it was late afternoon, and Sora-san, whom I’d parted with just half an hour ago, had told me she’d be logging in at night…
With only five clan members, and excluding the nocturnal junior (who’s not a junior), it was easy to identify the visitor by process of elimination.
So, as a matter of course, or perhaps subconsciously, I tidied up my appearance and expression. Responding to the very ladylike knock, I opened the door—
“Hey. I have returned, Master.”
“Yes. Welcome back, Haru-kun.”
Standing there was a single woman, small in stature but with a presence larger than anyone’s. Her gray hair swayed gently as Ui-san welcomed me back with a calm smile.
Well, technically I was the one welcoming her, but in the sense of returning to the virtual world… but anyway, that’s beside the point.
“…………”
“…………”
“……………………”
“……………………”
The pressure. The silent pressure was—ah, yes, yes, I get it, honestly…
“Hehe.”
“It’s not ‘hehe.’ I’d really appreciate it if you could start weaning yourself off your disciple, even just a little…”
At her unspoken request, I knelt down, and a small hand happily stroked my forehead.
And so, my disciple’s heart, which was enduring the unbearably ticklish sensation, was thoroughly ignored. I wonder if this is some kind of Sword Saint-style mental training. I see.
No, I’m also to blame for accepting it… but anyway.
“Um… sorry, it looks like I need to head out to a few places. I’d love to chat and share stories from my trip, but…”
Even as we speak, messages are popping up one after another, but even without checking them, I knew there were several places I needed to go. If I checked, the list would surely grow longer.
So, my estimated schedule was pretty packed.
I really wanted to catch up with my master after three days apart… but as I asked for her understanding, Ui-san, whether she was satisfied with doting on her disciple or not, obediently pulled her hand back.
“Understood. Don’t worry about it, go on ahead.”
“Yes. Well then…”
A soothing, calm, and beautiful smile, as always.
A ‘welcome back’ or ‘take care’ from the Sword Saint herself is probably something fans of all genders would shed tears of blood for, I thought idly.
“…………, ……”
We were no longer at a stage where we would lament each and every parting. Including the fact that we’d even become clanmates, which meant we were ‘family,’ our various distances had shrunk considerably.
So, after turning on my heel and taking a few steps, my feet stopped for no particular reason… probably, no, definitely not for some silly reason like loneliness.
“…? Is something wrong?”
I turned around and looked at her face as she saw me off.
“…………No, it’s not that something is… wrong, exactly.”
Somehow.
Subtly.
A truly minor thing, too small to even be called a sense of wrongness.
“…Ui-san, did something happen?”
Her aura, the color of her voice, the light in her eyes.
They all felt just a tiny, tiny bit different from before I left on my trip. So, as her disciple, I just asked her honestly.
At that, my master tilted her head.
“Something…?”
“…………”
I see. …I see? What that reaction indicates is, in other words…
“Ah, no, it’s nothing. —Well then, I’m off!”
“Hehe… Yes. Take care.”
That it was just my imagination. That must be it.
◇◆◇◆◇
“—…………”
The young man, who always wore a boyish smile, ran off.
She watched her disciple’s back until his presence had left the clan ‘home,’ watching quietly… and let out a single sigh.
Then, she lifted her left hand.
Clenching and unclenching. Clenching and unclenching—she stared intently at the palm that had doted on her disciple as she pleased. Then, she gently placed it on her own forehead.
The ‘heat’… she couldn’t feel it at all.
She couldn’t. But right now, there was only one thought in her heart.
“…Honestly, honestly.”
Because no one was watching, she wore an expression she had never shown anyone before.
A troubled, dissatisfied, almost angry look of complaint. The little Sword Saint, alone in the silence, looked up at the ceiling.
“My disciple, and my students… they’re all such troublesome boys.”
Because no one was listening, she used a tone of voice she had never let anyone hear before.
Her muttered complaint dissolved into the tranquility.
So innocent.