Chapter 779 - And Apart, Two Pictures
"Well then, I'm off… and—"
The takeoff was silent.
The only sounds my ears picked up were the rustle of his clothes and the faint scream of the air being torn apart. With a quietness that belied the visual absurdity, his figure vanished into the night sky in a flash. I watched him go.
"…"
"…"
Left behind was just me and a girl I barely knew.
How could he just leave like that? I thought. Entrusting his partner—who I'd heard he cherished so much it was sickening to watch—to someone whose gender he didn't even know, and then leaving without a second glance.
"…Let's go."
"Ah, yes!"
Admiration, half—no, let me correct that.
Ten percent admiration, ninety percent exasperation. That was my verdict as I started walking.
"Um, where to…"
I had expected we might have to endure the possibility of complete silence, but it seemed she wasn't just timid, despite her shy demeanor. She managed to form her words quite clearly as she fell into step beside me… half a pace behind. I glanced at her.
Our eyes met, but her amber gaze didn't flinch away.
"The old man told me the basics about you. Anyway, whether it's training or whatever, we can't do much in the middle of the city like this."
I see. No need to be overly considerate just because she's a delicate-looking girl. That was a welcome discovery. Relaxing, I strung together some casual words in reply.
A nod just before I turned my gaze forward was more than enough of an answer.
With that settled, there was only one thing left to do in this time—this travel time that I had secured by deliberately turning down his offer to give me a ride.
"—I like spicy food."
"Huh…?”
It was a pain, but I did it because I thought it was necessary. Just a little game, that's all.
"The kind that's just right when your tongue hurts so much you can't stand it. I'm not good with it, actually, I'm pretty weak to it. But I like it, so I eat it often, and sometimes I get sick."
"Ah, eh? Um, well…?”
"What about you?"
"Pardon?"
"You must have something you like."
"…I… I like strawberries."
"Plain. Jam. Ice cream, shortcake, stuff like that."
"…Shortcake."
"Skimping on the strawberries is out of the question. There has to be at least two layers of cream in between."
"…"
What am I doing? I'm sure she's thinking. Even I was mocking myself for how clumsy this was—but for now, this was fine.
Yurayura didn't like socializing, but it wasn't that they couldn't do it.
There was the recent incident where I had spectacularly misjudged some fool's true nature, but I wasn't a bad judge of character either. That's why, if I put my mind to it, I could do it.
"—…Hehe…"
I could at least dispel a single girl's tension and draw out a laugh.
"It's difficult to cut the sponge cake into thin, neat layers, you know."
"That's a baker's perspective. You make them?"
"Sometimes."
"That's impressive. A noble hobby, befitting a lady."
And then, after another pause in the conversation, the two of us continued walking side by side—
"I like the color black."
"I… suppose I like white."
"Oh. Not gold?"
"And you, Yura-san? Not silver?"
The exchange between the blunt, not-so-honest person—he or she—and the girl continued.
◇◆◇◆◇
And so, a few minutes after entrusting Sora to [Screen] Yurayura-shi—or rather, Yura.
"Hey. I told you, didn't I? Warn me before you step on the gas. I told you to give me a heads-up, didn't I? Hmm???"
"Well, yes. That's why I said 'let's go'…"
"Let me tell you something. What you did wasn't a warning, it was a 'declaration.' I told you to give me a 'warning' so I could prepare myself."
"…"
"Who in their right mind presses the detonation switch at the same time as the warning?"
And so on and so forth.
There I was, getting a lecture from Nacchan-senpai right after we'd resumed our training.
"Umm, you see…"
"Hmm???"
"It's nothing, I'm sorry, it won't happen again."
I did have an excuse, or rather, my side of the story, but the pressure and glare from her absolute position as my senior made me raise the white flag in an instant.
I mean, come on… during our second little running session, she was all like, 'I'm used to it now, this is a piece of cake.' So of course I thought, 'Oh, really? Then we can go for it,' right?
It's not like some unnecessary mischievous impulse welled up inside me. Definitely not.
"…Honestly. I feel bad for Sora."
"Don't do that. Don't start expertly poking at my weaknesses the moment you get to know me."
"From now on, every time you do something stupid, I'm reporting it to her."
"Could you please, really, not do that…!!!"
And the power of her counterattack. This kitten shows no mercy.
"Really, what do Sora and the Princess see in this guy… well, whatever."
Then, she tossed aside a series of remarks I'd really rather she not dismiss with a "whatever," and my merciless senior reined in her anger and teasing.
She got angry often, but she was also incredibly quick to move on.
—And so, after finishing our 'one full-speed dash,' we were now on Sapphire's back. During Nacchan-senpai's break, the avatar that had been using me as a backrest got up.
"Alright, time to switch. It's frustrating, but it's a waste to spend all this time just cooling down."
She stood up… on top of a dragon, in the sky, though it was in stable flight.
The back of my dragon, which could fly without flapping its wings, was generally free from shaking. But the unavoidable effects of the wind and other things couldn't be ignored, not even by a player.
But the [Thread-Weaver], using her "threads" to create reins and skillfully managing the beast with Sapphire's obedient cooperation, turned her yellow eyes to me.
"I'll watch you. Be grateful."
"I'm technically supposed to be teaching, too…"
"Be grateful?"
"It is my greatest pleasure, Lady Nacchan-senpai."
Accepting that I couldn't win and giving up the futile resistance, the white cat, her robes fluttering in the high-altitude wind, snorted, "As long as you understand," and—
"Wait a minute???"
Taking advantage of the fact that my avatar, which was facing forward, was lightweight due to its transfigured body, she shot out her "threads" without a word, flipping me around in an instant before I could resist.
And then, without a single moment of hesitation, the kitten settled herself between my defenselessly outstretched legs.
What are you doing???
"Hey, what the—… Idiot, this is the kind of outrage that gets reported!"
"Ugh, you're so loud! Stop yelling in my ear!"
And then came more absurdity. After creating this insane situation, she had the gall to tell me to be quiet—and just as I was about to retort and quickly break contact…
I was pierced by her eyes, which held not a shred of playfulness or joking, and I fell silent.
"I know you're playing the ridiculously sincere role for the Princess, Sora, and one more, grinding your life away. All ten of us from the Southern Faction do."
"What? What did Ashe tell you…!"
No need to verify the source of the information. The reason for this public knowledge could only be one person.
"You're not going to start getting feelings for another woman at this point, are you? And knowing that, I'm not going to get feelings for you either. N-o-t e-v-e-n a l-i-t-t-l-e b-i-t."
"Well that's a relief, but that was some harsh emphasis…"
"So, you don't need to think about anything unnecessary. Just bring out your 'threads.'"
"Yeah, um… but we don't need to be this close for—"
"We do, that's why I'm doing this. You know that, right?"
"…"
Ah, unfortunately, I did know.
And because I did, I understood that she was, just as her words and attitude suggested, seriously, earnestly, and honestly trying to be my 'instructor.'
…Damn it. It felt terribly uncouth to reject this sincerity.
"Haaah… so, I just need to bring out the threads?"
"Yes. 'Weiss Schwarz,' was it? Those five cheeky threads will do."
"Alright, alright… —Well then, I'm in your hands, Teacher Nacchan."
"Don't call me teacher."
In that case, the best course of action was to respond quickly without any more fuss and get out of this situation.
Activating [Nine Tail]. I spun the threads, controlling the output that would run wild if I let it, and then—I extended the 'shadow threads' I'd spun on the five fingers of my outstretched right arm.
And so, on the back of the soaring dragon, lines of black滲men mingled with the night…
"Very well. Let the lesson begin."
"So you are a teacher…"
"Shut up."
After a declaration that was not a warning, just like someone else I knew, shining threads of snow danced in the starry sky.
Incidentally, both of their heart rates were impressively normal.