Chapter 797 - The Ten Seats of the West
And so, there was a whole range of ways to use the 'one hour' Iris had announced, from final team meetings based on the pre-decided groups to individual build adjustments and equipment checks. The list was endless.
However, what I needed to do was, once again, already set in stone.
It was only natural. I'd already greeted the 'Three Laws of the North,' but there were other noteworthy players here whom I'd never met before…
Well, yeah. There were quite a few of them, after all.
"—Heeey! Finally! It's about time!"
"—We just never had a chance to meet, did we?"
And so, the moment I approached, I was instantly captured.
They must have been waiting, anticipating my arrival. As soon as I entered the gathering of ten—no, nine—esteemed individuals, two men immediately stepped forward and snatched my hands.
What followed was a forced handshake, then a handshake that shook me up, down, left, and right. I was very grateful for the enthusiastic welcome, but I really wish they'd let me say at least one word first.
Kagura-san. Please stop laughing over there with that big-shot aura and help me.
"Ah, yes, um… H-hello. I'm Haru, [Acrobat], fourth seat of the Eastern Faction. I've come to belatedly offer my greetings to all you artisans—"
"Gahaha! What's with the formalities? Let's get along, brother!"
"Welcome, welcome. You're every bit the fine young man we heard about."
What am I going to do? The punishment of having my hands violently shaken won't end.
What is this, what should I do… Just as I was starting to get troubled by this particular type of closeness, where the goodwill was palpable but the response was perplexing,
"Hey, hey, that's enough! Gan-chan, O-jiji, let go of his hands! Can't you see you're bothering him!"
Another person, one of the nine, threw me a lifeline.
At that, the two men, who were each given a light swat, obediently released my hands… only to smoothly retarget Nia, who had peeked out from behind my back.
"Whoa, there's a face I haven't seen in a while! Ya been doin' well, Nia-boy?!"
"Nia-chan, welcome. Good to see you're doin' well."
"Yeah, yeah, thanks, I'm great!"
The blue-haired girl, now caught by the friendly pair, tossed back a careless greeting.
"I see this is the pattern where the conversation never progresses… Hey, you big shots in the back having fun, could you please hurry up and get this under control?"
She complained, turning her eyes toward them.
In her line of sight, the three 'big shots' under their respective shades of red hair wore a rich variety of expressions…
One laughed, one remained silent—and one stepped forward.
"My apologies. I enjoy watching a lively scene."
The man had his long, crimson hair tied at the nape of his neck and wore unadorned, rugged artisan's clothes.
"…"
The moment he spoke, my eyes were drawn to him, and I couldn't help but feel my posture straighten. His expression was calm, but his presence was immense.
The person I knew with a similar atmosphere was… for example, Mr. Yotsuya Togo.
"Our Kagura has been in your care for some time."
"Not at all. If anything, I'm the one who's always in his debt."
Which means, I can be my natural self. For better or worse, I'd gotten used to having casual conversations with celestial beings from different dimensions.
So, after taking a single, small, deep breath, I returned his words with confidence.
"What's this? He seems more like a normal big shot than I heard."
"He used to be more naive and charming in the beginning, you know."
The crimson-haired artisan turned back with an amused look, and my personal Magicrafter playfully picked up on his comment. …I hadn't heard the details of their relationship, but it was clear they were close.
And with that,
"Are you enjoying our beloved masterpiece?"
To the playful remark, delivered without losing a bit of his dignity, I responded with a smile. He seemed to understand my unspoken answer, as he nodded in satisfaction.
He nodded, and spoke again.
"—I am [Crimson Arm] Enra, current First Seat of the Western Faction, Vestol. It's a pleasure, Haru."
"The pleasure is all mine."
When I took his outstretched hand, the handshake was warm and firm.
And his introduction, as the current head, was the signal for the others.
"Second Seat. I'll skip the intro, you should know me by now, right?"
"Of course, very, very well."
I simply returned a fond smile to the playful voice that followed. Next, my gaze met the person standing right next to Kagura-san.
"—…"
A stare… or rather, a glare.
What emotions dwelled in the large golden eyes that were fixed on me? Combined with her spunky, pomegranate-colored short hair, she gave off an incredibly strong-willed vibe.
…A vibe, that is.
"…—Third Seat. Title is [Scorching Arm]. Name's Kokoro."
I will absolutely not say it out loud. No matter what, I won't voice my thoughts.
"Well, nice to meet ya."
"Uh, l-likewise…"
It's just that… her petite figure and her incredibly cute voice, which sounded undeniably like that of a little girl, were a fatal mismatch for her dignified expression and powerful aura.
Yeah, nope. I'll repeat: I will absolutely not make a blunder.
"—Heeey, heeey!!! And now, the long-awaited Fourth Seat!!!!"
"Nonomi-san of [Colorful Beauty], right? Thanks for your help the other day. Okay, next."
"Hey, wait a minute?!?"
"…Fifth Seat, [Origami], Tsugumi."
"Tsugu-tsugu, why are you skipping too?! This was Nonomi-chan's big moment!"
Putting my noisy friend, who was acting as boisterous as ever, to the side, I focused on the next person.
He had glossy black short hair that covered one eye. His similarly black, sleepy eyes and general appearance bore a slight resemblance to a certain 'silver' someone, but his expression lacked any hint of harshness, giving him a completely different impression.
To put it nicely, a laid-back handsome man. To be blunt, a listless boy.
True to the information I had, he seemed to be a man of few words, falling silent as if his mission was complete after his incredibly brief introduction.
It was unlikely I could expect any further introduction, nor should I. In fact, from what I knew, the fact that he spoke at all was an extremely rare event.
Thank you very much. It's a pleasure to meet you.
"…Ah, hi. It's Nia-chan."
And, the current Sixth Seat, [Milmarinus, the Aquamarine Fairy], is the one clinging to my back.
"Alright, my turn! I'm Ganju, the Seventh Seat! My title is [Iron Extension]! Nice to meet ya!"
Next up was one of the men who had given me such a passionate welcome earlier. The one with the cheerful, energetic voice, the short old man, was Ganju-dono of [Iron Extension].
His bristly brown hair looked like it would make a scrubbing brush cry and run away. His incredibly shaggy beard would undoubtedly make a child burst into tears if they touched it. And with his short stature, short legs, and thick arms… well, there was no doubt about his avatar's motif.
"Alright, my turn. I'm Oz-ji, Eighth Seat and [Big Spender]. Nice to meet you, Haru-kun."
Following him was the other half of the passionate welcome duo.
Our faction's general is quite the old man, but this one was a bona fide grandpa. Unlike the muscular Ganju-dono, Oz-ji-sama had a short build, as if he'd shrunk with age.
His magnificent white beard had a dignity rivaling a dwarf's, but his head was as clean as the sun (bald).
"Don't stare like that. It's embarrassing."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
And it seems he has a good sense of humor.
Furthermore, his physical vitality was proven by the earlier handshake. There was no need to worry about whether it was safe to bring him onto a battlefield.
"…"
Alright then.
"…"
"…"
"…"
"…"
What should I do next? I wouldn't mind waiting for this little creature to muster up her courage…
"Eek…!?"
"Seriously…"
But this was the result of just trying to make eye contact. Wondering what to do, I glanced behind me, and Nia, reading my silent plea for help, stepped forward with an ambiguous smile.
She stepped forward and…
"Okay, Shizu-chan, gotcha!"
"Hyaaaaa…!? I'm sorry…! I'm so sorry…!"
And just like that, the small animal was secured.
"So anyway—this is the current Ninth Seat, [Raindrop Koropokkuru], Shizuku-chan. As you can probably tell, she's suuuuuper shy, so please forgive her for not introducing herself."
"Ah, yeah. I don't mind at all, but…"
A girl with a wasabi-green, straight-banged short bob. Her eyes were a pale green… actually, she was green all over. She wore what looked like traditional northern folk attire, but her own colors and her clothes were mostly green. She probably had a passive camouflage effect in any place with plants.
Also, she's tiny. Tiny and incredibly delicate. She looked even smaller than our faction's pipsqueak pair, so her avatar was likely that of a middle schooler, or maybe even an elementary schooler.
However,
"Also, I'm sure you know, but she's an 'onee-san,' so be sure to show her proper respect."
"Of course."
"You don't have to respect me…! It's fine…!"
This person is older than Ui-san, you know. If her public profile is to be believed.
Is she like this for real, or is it roleplay… It's a mystery, but she's quite fun to watch, so personally, I don't care either way. I mean, if she were just super shy, I might worry about how tough life must be for her, but as you can see, she's a ranker.
She's already earned her abilities and her position.
So, even if that difficult disposition is her true nature, it just adds to her character.
"—…Mmm, is it about time?"
"Ah, yes, please."
And so, we come to the last of this colorful lineup.
Nia, despite telling me to show respect, was busy poking Shizuku-chan's cheeks. And Shizuku-chan, letting out a sound that was somewhere between a scream and a whimper, was letting her do it, looking weak and frail.
Watching them, I tilted my head, wondering if they were actually friends. Then, next to me, a voice called out. It was a young man who had appeared by my side at some point.
"Well then, if you'll excuse me. I'm Balast, the current Tenth Seat, [Hit Maker]. …As you can see, I'm a perfectly normal character to close out this lineup of strong personalities, so I apologize for my plainness—"
"Are you saying that as a joke?"
Well, I couldn't help but shoot a merciless retort at Balast-shi for slipping a little playfulness into his introduction, but I am definitely not at fault. I mean, come on.
In what world is a person who casually strikes up a conversation with a stranger for the first time while wearing a Tyrannosaurus Rex kigurumi a perfectly normal human being? Don't you dare underestimate the word 'normal.'
"Ah, by the way, the 'bird' was a pun on being last… you know, the theory that they had feathers."
"Could you please not explain the breakdown of your joke with such a cheerful tone? What is this, what's the right way to react? I'm trying my best to figure that out right now."
As I watched the fluffy Tyrannosaurus, which I personally didn't want to accept for the sake of not having my dreams crushed, cheerfully wave its short little arms,
"…You know, Nia-chan."
"Yes? What is it?"
I had but one thought.
"You were one of the relatively normal ones, weren't you…"
"What exactly do you mean by 'relatively'???"
It seemed that no matter the faction, the rankers were all, for the most part, a little… strange.
That was all there was to it.
Kagura-san is laughing.
At any rate, the current batch of crazy people in the virtual world has finally been assembled. Finally, just before the 800th chapter.
◇ Eastern Faction: Istia ◇ ──────Ranker's Title──────
◇First [Sword Saint] ──── [Ui] ◇
◇Second [General Commander] ──── [Goldow] ◇
◇Third [Peerless] ──── [Irori] ◇
◇Fourth [Acrobat] ──── [Haru] ◇
◇Fifth [Left Wing] ──── [Mi-na] ◇
◇Sixth [Right Wing] ──── [Ri-na] ◇
◇Seventh [Scorching Gaze] ──── [Hinayo] ◇
◇Eighth [Undying] ──── [Tetra] ◇
◇Ninth [Twin Fists] ──── [Genkotsu] ◇
◇Tenth [Screen] ──── [Yurayura] ◇
────────────────────
◇ Western Faction: Vestol ◇ ──────Ranker's Title──────
◇First [Crimson Arm] ──── [Enra] ◇
◇Second [Fire Artisan] ──── [Kagura] ◇
◇Third [Scorching Arm] ──── [Kokoro] ◇
◇Fourth [Colorful Beauty] ──── [Nonomi] ◇
◇Fifth [Origami] ──── [Tsugumi] ◇
◇Sixth [Milmarinus] ──── [Nier] ◇
◇Seventh [Iron Extension] ──── [Ganju] ◇
◇Eighth [Big Spender] ──── [Oz-ji] ◇
◇Ninth [Koropokkuru] ──── [Shizuku] ◇
◇Tenth [Hit Maker] ──── [Balast] ◇
────────────────────
────────────────────
◇ Southern Faction: Sotalm ◇ ──────Ranker's Title──────
◇First [Sword Queen] ──── [Iris] ◇
◇Second [Heavy Tank] ──── [Uni] ◇
◇Third [Castle Lord] ──── [Mei] ◇
◇Fourth [Automata] ──── [Fuji] ◇
◇Fifth [Adamant] ──── [Aurin] ◇
◇Sixth [Knight] ──── [Aika] ◇
◇Seventh [Thread-Weaver] ──── [Natsume] ◇
◇Eighth [Long Legs] ──── [Record] ◇
◇Ninth [Poet] ──── [Yata] ◇
◇Tenth [Heroine] ──── [Oubaitori] ◇
────────────────────
────────────────────
◇ Northern Faction: Nortalia ◇ ──────Ranker's Title──────
◇First [Traveler] ──── [Lux] ◇
◇Second [Wolf Pack] ──── [Gin] ◇
◇Third [Orb Law] ──── [Sayaka] ◇
◇Fourth [Mirror Law] ──── [Shoh] ◇
◇Fifth [Sword Law] ──── [Ren] ◇
◇Sixth [Dispersion] ──── [Tonic] ◇
◇Seventh [Great Tiger] ──── [Tiger Lucky] ◇
◇Eighth [Berumail] ──── [Rinne] ◇
◇Ninth [Shapeshifter] ──── [Maru II] ◇
◇Tenth [Cloud-Hider] ──── [Rickey] ◇
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