Chapter 774 - A Stroll in White
—There was a time when an unshakable truth, a constant principle, existed in the virtual world of Arcadia, a dream made manifest where a person could collide with magic and miracles at every turn.
It was a sentiment once voiced by a certain girl to her reckless companion.
‘People can’t fly.’
No matter what transcendent powers players—people—acquired, the one ability that failed to appear even after three years was the power to “walk the sky.”
This was an extraordinary game that allowed players to realize all sorts of ideals and absurdities through their virtual bodies. The idea that it couldn’t be implemented due to technical issues was, ironically, unrealistic.
So, there must be another reason… Perhaps it was a deliberate design choice, born from the fear that granting players a mobility that crossed a certain line would severely disrupt the game’s balance.
Or maybe, the fantasy of soaring through the heavens by oneself was a miracle that simply exceeded human processing capabilities, and thus was an intentional limitation.
A variety of hypotheses abounded—until a certain time, when a fool who would shatter that unshakable constant into a million pieces made a grand and boisterous entrance.
…As someone who was not unfamiliar with that story,
“…Nacchan-senpai, you can fly?”
There, in the middle of a sky dyed by the setting sun.
Even setting aside the supremely reproachful glare she was giving me, the scene before me could easily be described as ‘mystical.’ And faced with it, I let a simple, honest question slip from my lips.
As I spoke, I activated the active ability of my [Talaria Record] before the fleeting sensation of weightlessness at my apex ended. By sealing most of my agility, I gained the power to tread on air and stood upon the void… Seeing this, she had one thing to say.
“…Hmph.”
Or rather, she let out a single scoff, her face a mask of displeasure.
And she really did look genuinely, from the bottom of her heart, displeased as she glared at me.
“Does this look like I’m gracefully flying to you?”
“…………”
And yet, when she asked me that again.
“…………”
“…………”
“…………A mischievous kitten, caught in a net—”
“I’ll strangle you.”
“I’M SORRY!”
Immediately after muttering my ‘impression’ upon very, very close observation, I desperately dodged a flood of countless threads that came rushing at me—a just and deserved punishment for my words.
“Tch… You’re nimble.”
“Hey, did you just click your tongue? Were you seriously trying to strangle me?”
“It’s really not fair seeing you do this out in the open sky instead of a limited field. You’re really flying around freely, aren’t you? Are you mocking me?”
I was certain that if I had been caught, she would have throttled me without a moment’s hesitation, but it seemed she had shown me some mercy.
The proof was that I managed to dodge it all with my agility temporarily nerfed to around 60, even with all my skill buffs. However, she seemed to find that fact irritating in its own right, because my senior, who had been dodged so easily by a now-safe me—
Natsume, the seventh-ranked member of the Southern Faction and the [Thread-Weaver], also known as Nacchan-senpai, looked thoroughly displeased.
“Even if you say that to me…”
“…Well, you at least seem to be aware that you’re doing something incredible, so I’ll let it slide. If you had said something like a clueless protagonist, I was planning on scratching you.”
Terrifying. And yet, I personally don’t dislike that part of her.
…………And, uh, well…
“If you wouldn’t mind, might I… escort you?”
From her words and general demeanor, I gathered she wasn’t flying freely, but was simply suspended in the air. Her Anima, the threads that darted about at will, could certainly pull off such a feat, but it seemed she couldn't move around as she pleased.
So, I presumed to ask—
“…Well, I guess you’ll do. You have my permission.”
“Ah, yes.”
Without offering a hand, she simply leaned against the threads enveloping her body. My senior, turning her head away with a prim tsun, adopted a pose that accepted her junior’s devotion.
What is this? It was a scene where one would normally think, ‘What’s with this girl?’, and yet, right now, all I felt was a mysterious sense of charm and familiarity.
Was it because we were comrades who had gone through a serious brawl? Or was it because I was the one looking at her with eyes of admiration and envy…? Well, it doesn’t really matter.
The fact that I don’t seem to be disliked is more than enough for now.
“Ah, but stop. I’m not some innocent maiden who’s going to scream if you carry me, and you don’t need to worry about it either, but just one thing.”
“Eh, what is it?”
As I walked toward her through the air, Nacchan-senpai held up a palm to stop me. In response, I tilted my head, thinking, what’s the matter? I don’t mind either…
“That face of yours… is kinda irritating. Change back to the one I’m used to.”
“What’s with this girl?”
Faced with such a bizarre and tyrannical demand, even my own tongue loosened a bit.
◇◆◇◆◇
“…It can’t be helped. For some reason, you were in your alternate form both times we fought. I know you’re a guy, but I just don’t have an image of you as one. My bad, okay?”
“I told you, I’m not angry.”
And so, after that amusing rendezvous in the sky was over,
I was carrying the girl who was apparently my “partner” for the Green Connect raid in three days’ time, enjoying a stroll through the air at what was, for me, a leisurely pace.
The one being carried was ‘white,’ and the one doing the carrying was also in a matching ‘white’ outfit.
Come to think of it, I had always been in this alternate form when I faced her. It’s no wonder, then, that her base image of me seems to have been burned in as a pretty girl’s face.
So, although I had let my true voice and a deadpan look slip out earlier, I have no complaints. It seems I made her self-conscious, so that’s my bad.
“Anyway, why did you pick such a stylish meeting spot like the sky?”
Even without using [Rocket], I can now fly through the sky with relative ease. I should be cruising at a speed of nearly a hundred kilometers per hour thanks to my various movement skills, but for a ranker, this much is probably nothing.
Thanks to the blessing of the [Guardian of the Shimmering Moon], even at this altitude, the wind was just a gentle breeze. Brushing away her bangs as they swayed softly, Nacchan-senpai remained silent, her gaze fixed on the distance.
At times like these, I have a strong feeling that pestering her would be counterproductive. Why? Because cats are creatures that will come to you if you just leave them alone—
“…It’s not like I chose this as a meeting spot.”
And so, as she clearly doesn’t possess the same kind of mind-reading skills as certain others, the reply that came back after a moment wasn’t a sharp retort, but a somewhat dazed response.
“I just started practicing there right after the Triangle Duo ended… I was there whenever I had free time. So it was more like, ‘Come when you’re free.’”
“Hmm…?”
So the message wasn’t ‘meet me here,’ but rather ‘I’m here, so come whenever.’ In that case, what I should be asking is…
“Practicing what?”
Was she practicing how to fly? I asked, the simple deduction coming to mind. She again fell silent for a while, gazing into the distance, before—
This time, she revealed a somewhat displeased expression.
“…You… you did a lot of things in the second round, didn’t you?”
“Ah… yes.”
She was talking about none other than my match against Screen & Scatter in the recent Triangle Duo. As Nacchan-senpai said, it was a match where I did a lot of things and showed her up.
“Copying me, well, that’s fine. I’ll just tell you to keep at it like a good junior.”
“Uh, right… I’ll do my be—”
“—But.”
Her yellow eyes, which had been looking far away, glared at me.
“It’s NOT okay for you to show off things I can’t even do. That was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo….”
“…………”
“…incredibly irritating, so I’ll never forgive you. You’d better remember that.”
“That was a long pause…”
It seemed like resentment, or rather, an immense competitive spirit was overflowing from her… but setting that aside, I had a good idea of what she wanted to say.
Considering the sight of her in the sky, entangled in her own threads while ‘practicing,’ anyone could have figured it out. In other words, she…
“You can control your threads freely, but you’re not good at controlling your own body with them.”
“Why did you have to say that out loud? Are you trying to pick a fight?”
It seems she’s unable to use the advanced technique of what I call my ‘Weaving’—in other words, the marionette technique of controlling her own avatar with threads. And seeing me do that, her pride was ignited. That must be it.
The fact that she was attempting to practice means it’s not impossible for her, but from the looks of it, she’s at least not very good at it. It’s very much like her not to even pretend otherwise.
I don’t know. It’s just, well… you know?
“…What is it? Stop staring.”
“My apologies.”
I’ll get the details later, but hmm—I’m quite happy with my “partner.” As I thought, or rather, as expected, I have a feeling I’ll be able to get along with this person in the future.
“Nacchan-senpai.”
“Are you still going with that? Call me Natsume-senpai properly.”
“I’ll teach you my style of marionette control, so if you’d like, could you teach me some of your [Thread-Weaver] tricks? …Actually, I was planning on asking you when the time was right anyway. What do you say?”
As someone determined to walk the path of the junior and become the ‘cute junior’ she speaks of, I made my earnest and hopeful proposal while leisurely soaring through the sky.
In response, the little cat-sama in my arms, who, true to her word, showed no signs of maidenly embarrassment and was instead being held in a rather bossy manner, was…
A blank expression,
followed by a frown of suspicion,
and then, a rather comical transition to a bitter look.
“No. I refuse.”
“Oh, that’s great to hear. It’ll be a pleasure working with you, Nacchan-sensei.”
“I said no! Who are you calling sensei?!”
“Anyway, let’s get down to business. About the Green Connect raid—”
“Listen to me! Really, …ngh, ugh! You’re not cute at all!!”
And well, something like that.
Now that we’ve gotten a little closer, I suppose it’s time to start the serious talk.