Chapter 983 - Meanwhile, meanwhile: At the Eastern Round Table
"He's back home visiting his family right now, isn't he?"
After her questions were thoroughly dodged, a new topic blossomed.
While her hands—which weren't much different in size from her own, she had to admit—accepted the burden of hair longer than usual, the Sword Saint let out a mental sigh. Acting as the older 'sister' in fact, she quietly began to listen to the next subject raised by the free-spirited Mi-na, who had abandoned her previous line of questioning.
It wasn't that she was particularly interested in the topic of her disciple and decided to prioritize it.
…No. At least, she didn't think so.
"Like, he just casually shared the details of his private vacation, huh? But okay, that's fine since it seems like he's totally comfortable with us, like we're family, so—?"
"He really did just send a quick message, didn't he? 'Going back to my parents' place for a bit, so I'll be away from Arcadia.' …I was actually a little happy about it."
"He casually flaunts that 'I'm attached to you' vibe. A charmer through and through."
"You all say whatever you want, don't you…"
While maintaining her composed expression, she couldn't stop her ears from perking up.
It couldn't be helped. She was his master, after all────or so she told herself, lining up a series of profoundly mysterious excuses for no one in particular.
"But it's fine, right? ────So, this means he's not trying to hide it anymore, right? Is that what we're going with?"
As always, Mi-na got straight to the point while still fiddling with Ui's hair. In response to her question sharing the direction of the topic, the three who were actively participating in the conversation…
"Ah…"
"Hmm…"
"………………"
Goldow crossed his arms with an indescribable expression. Hinayo offered a hesitant, vague smile, as if questioning whether it was appropriate to even ponder the subject. And Ri-na, as usual, looked on with a blank, relaxed face, her thoughts unreadable.
Each reacted differently. For now, they refrained from either agreeing or disagreeing with words, their voices trailing off noncommittally… but Ui, listening from the sidelines, also understood.
They were rankers in a virtual world. Though their personalities varied, they shared a superior intellect. It was unlikely anyone present failed to grasp the meaning of Mi-na's words.
That is to say,
"Hmm… ────Is this progress, or is it getting more complicated? What do you guys think?"
Behind her persona as an embodiment of freedom and energy, the words of the faction's most considerate member were laced with genuine concern. Her gaze was directed at the triangular pyramid.
Haru the Acrobat had been absent from the virtual world for a full day since reporting his trip home last night.
And… as if in concert with him, the names of three of his friends and acquaintances were also grayed out on their respective friends lists, indicating they were logged out.
────Yeah, they're probably all together. That's what this was about.
And so, the conversation delicately drifted toward the real-life circumstances of their absent friend.
It probably wasn't out of curiosity. It was almost certainly a case of concern outweighing discretion, though Mi-na herself seemed a bit hesitant to broach the topic… at which point,
"Big brother probably wouldn't mind, you know."
Was that meant as a follow-up, or not? The quiet voice of her other half joined the flow.
"You all know, don't you? My big brother────is sometimes a genuine idiot, pretty much a natural-born fool, and at times becomes the most ridiculously strange person, but…"
"Hey, was it necessary to add 'my' at the beginning?"
"Um, Ri-na-chan?"
"Hey, what's with the sudden barrage of insults?"
The quiet voice carried with it a relaxed atmosphere.
"…when it comes to his relationships with people, he is more sincere than anyone."
She tacked on a bit of gushing, stating a fact known to them all.
"…Well, yeah."
"…Was that an unnecessary worry on our part, I wonder?"
"On a side note, Ri-na-chan. Could you repeat that list of insults from the beginning? I'm going to record it and bombard big brother with it on his birthday."
And so, once again, they were rankers in a virtual world.
Though their personalities varied, they shared a superior intellect. It was unlikely anyone failed to grasp the meaning behind Ri-na's words now.
In short,
"…If this were something he didn't want us to talk about, Haru-kun would never have told us in the first place."
Ui's gentle murmur was the answer.
The trust that he would never 'accidentally' involve the three of them. It was a shared understanding among those close to him, though perhaps with slight variations.
In a way, there was probably no one else you could befriend with such peace of mind.
"Well, yeah. I knew that, even without you telling me, Ri-na-chan. Big brother is who he is… In fact, you could even argue that he intentionally told us."
"Hmm… Is that because he wanted us to know?"
"That itself begs the question, why would he do that?"
"Mm."
Having said her piece, Ri-na must have been satisfied. Leaving the rest of the lively conversation to the others, she focused on her endless teasing of her elder────
"…Haru-kun is…"
While her hair was still being played with, Ui had continued speaking after her previous murmur.
It was half unconscious. The other half… she didn't know. It might have all been unconscious. Her voice, almost a whisper to herself, drew their gazes, but the Sword Saint remained unfazed.
She didn't know her own heart, but she knew what she wanted to say.
She knew the name of the emotion welling up inside her.
"…Is he going to be okay?"
Worry. In the end, that was the only emotion a master felt for her disciple.
She didn't understand 'romance' well, so all she could perceive from the sidelines was his desperation. She could watch over him, but she couldn't truly empathize.
That's what she had secretly thought, all this time.
So, perhaps it was for the best… though she wasn't sure if she should put it that way. In this unexpected opportunity, Ui might have unconsciously sought the words of others.
Opinions other than her own, which were of no help at all. And so────
"Nah, he's not 'okay' in the slightest."
Said Mi-na.
"Well, no… I don't think he's okay no matter how you look at it."
Said Hinayo.
"If anything, he's probably the least okay guy in the world right now. To the point where it's hopeless."
Said Goldow.
The three of them, each in their own way, replied immediately with the exact same sentiment────that is, the simple, shared understanding that he was 'not okay,' causing Ui's eyes to widen.
"Wha…? …Eh, h-he's not okay?"
Faced with such a shocking revelation that she couldn't even properly panic, the Sword Saint began to fluster. Her friends looked at her with a mix of exasperation, amusement, and various other emotions.
"At this point, it's a completely impossible game, you know."
"An impossible game…"
"It's more than just a dead end, isn't it? What does he plan to do… well, regardless of Haru-kun's intentions, can anything even be done from here?"
"A dead end…"
"To be blunt, he's in checkmate. As another man, I sympathize with him from the bottom of my heart."
With a fact that would be obvious to anyone normal, they rained down a storm of shocks upon the one person who was particularly detached from the world in this specific area.
And so, above her, who had become a gray-haired Japanese beauty parroting their words in a daze.
"………………Honestly…────I don't want him to choose… you know?"
Mi-na, who had been pretending to be absorbed in playing with Ui's hair, dropped the act and rested her arms and chin on top of Ui's head with a sigh.
"I can't say it, though… Not to them, obviously…………"
""………………""
The two adults who exhaled, one with closed eyes and the other with downcast eyes, remained silent as if in wordless agreement with the young girl's words────only Ui was left out.
Something other than worry for her disciple welled up in her heart.
But she didn't know its name, couldn't put it into words… and her stubbornly competitive nature, which rarely showed itself, gave rise to a sliver of irritation in Ui's chest.
Of course, it was directed at her own denseness.
Again, unconsciously, a hand on her lap, clenched with a bit of force, was gently stroked, probably by Ri-na. She didn't know what that meant either.
"…But."
What she voiced was a question.
"He has to choose. He… has to, doesn't he?"
Because she prided herself, perhaps vainly, on caring for her disciple more than anyone.
And because she respected and understood the way he was.
She spoke as if to confirm the 'future he would undoubtedly walk,'
…and from above her head, the overly sharp senses of her virtual body caught the gentle, older-sister-like gaze of the younger girl, and she wavered.
"Hmm, well…────Watching from the sidelines, you know?"
The girl spoke.
"Yes."
The young girl spoke.
"They're all in a once-in-a-lifetime love, aren't they? The three of them."
Again.
"…So it seems. Even to me."
"Yeah. And…────Big brother is being loved once in a lifetime, isn't he? By himself."
"………………"
"It's rough. For both sides. Seriously."
Another sigh.
"It's someone else's love life, but honestly, I can't watch. It's too painful to think about the future."
"…I understand that."
But she probably didn't understand. She didn't think she understood the true meaning.
Not as long as she could only agree when told.
"That's why I can't help but think, isn't maintaining the status quo the happy ending here…? I know, I know."
"…………"
"Just like you said, Ui-chan, I know he has to choose. …And I know that big brother will definitely choose someday. It's just so tough, I can't watch!"
Perhaps wanting to dispel the gloomy atmosphere, Mi-na forcefully scattered the seriousness at the very end, ruffling Ui's hair and injecting a casual tone into her voice.
Letting it happen, Ui looked over at Goldow and Hinayo.
"Well, yeah…"
"It's true, isn't it…"
Both of their expressions were more or less the same. They showed concern for their close young friend, but also a sense of resignation, understanding that they could neither interfere nor cheer him on.
She knew. Ui, of course, felt the same way.
However,
"…A once-in-a-lifetime love…"
If that were to come to an end.
If, on either side of the young man choosing a path that would continue, there was a stage where the curtain must fall.
She saw that inevitability, and yet, even so.
She, who couldn't feel even a shred of empathy for the sentiment of 'not wanting him to choose.'
"It seems I need to apply myself more…"
Was still, as a person, probably immature.
Anyway, there's just one thing I want to say.
Irori-kun, you should have been here! Why did you log out? It would have been way more interesting.