Chapter 318 - Progress is Smooth, But...
Monday
It felt like the rainy season had started, with damp and muggy days continuing outside.
Lunch today was in the classroom again. Lunch on the rooftop would have to wait until autumn.
"The World Quest achievement rate exceeded 50% over the weekend!"
"Seriously? And it hasn't decreased, right?"
"Yeah. All thanks to the goddesses."
Apparently, at the Empire's Frontline Base where Nat and the others are, my and Mion's fans used the reclaimed goddess statues to deploy a holy domain, and by maintaining it, they purified the area.
Then, they were able to advance further, and by thoroughly investigating the liberated areas, they acquired [Nameless Goddess Statues]… and repeated the process.
By the way, the [Nameless Goddess Statue] transforms into different goddesses for different people, and even when it becomes the Jade Goddess, it doesn't resemble Mion.
Hearing that, I felt a little relieved…
"What's the ratio like?"
"The Showtime fans mostly had Jade. But the later arrivals mostly got Moon White. And then, rarely, Scarlet? Or Blue Sky? Something like that."
"I see. So it's a matter of image after all..."
It seems to become the goddess that most closely matches the image of the goddess statue, as mentioned in step 2?
Well, apparently there's no difference in effect regardless of which goddess it becomes, so it's like, 'choose your favorite.'
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
"Oh."
Mion and Iincho arrived late, as the morning class had been P.E.
By the way, their lunch was left to me and Nat, which was a bit of a test…
"Take whatever you like."
From the sandwiches I'd randomly prepared, Mion reached for an egg sandwich. Iincho chose a ham and lettuce sandwich, a safe choice.
And Nat took a katsu sandwich, but it was obvious he only chose what he wanted to eat, so what about that?
"Game talk?"
"Yeah. We were talking about how the World Quest is progressing well."
Listening to such talk, I also picked up a BLT sandwich.
The two seemed to be getting along well, despite their constant banter, which was good.
But,
"By the way, the Empire's Frontline Base and the Demon Kingdom's Frontline Base are connected, right? Are NPCs from the Demon Kingdom coming too?"
"Just a few here and there, mostly checking things out. Ultimately, they can't enter the Empire, so there's no real reason for them to come."
Ah, right, of course.
Without proper procedures, they can't come over here from the Demon Kingdom, can they?
"I saw someone from the Centaur folk... it's quite startling at first."
"Players from the Republic or Principalities seem used to it, but players from the Empire or Kingdoms can't help but stare, can they?"
Apparently, they also saw Minotaur folk with bulky bodies and bull horns, dark-skinned Dark Elves, and demons with coiled horns.
"There's an update before summer vacation, and talk of a Demon Kingdom start and new races has come up, too?"
"Seriously? But on the island, there's no way to see them, is there. I'm so jealous..."
When I complained, Nat and Iincho looked me straight in the eye,
"Don't say that, you're monopolizing the fairies, Selkies, and Urisks on the island..."
"And Lupi-chan too, we're the ones who are jealous, you know?"
Ah, yeah…
*
Club time.
Club President Bell probably already knew that the Empire side was progressing smoothly, but I reported it anyway.
You're on the Demon Kingdom side, right, President? How are things there?
"Not as much as the Empire side, but I'd say it's going smoothly. The area around the gate was purified by Saturday, and now we're heading south."
"Ah, are you planning to connect with the Empire side even within the city?"
"Yes, Seth-chan said it's better to be able to rendezvous at any time."
Apparently, the primary goal was to completely secure the southern part of the Necropolis and establish a unified base.
Once that was stable, the plan was to then bypass the center and proceed north, encircling the area with purified zones.
What's the reason for encircling it?
"Probably to prevent the undead from overflowing outside the city."
"Yes, that's right. And the Dragonkin's intervention has started, hasn't it? We want to link up with them too."
Oh, right. I kind of spilled the beans to the Club President, didn't I?
Well, if the conquest progresses, we would have encountered them eventually, so there's no point worrying about it.
I see. I guess there are strong undead in the central area?
"That's highly likely. We haven't had much trouble heading south."
Apparently, there were many Skeleton Knights and Ghosts, and parties with appropriate level ranges were dealing with them.
Only when strong enemies appeared did Club President Bell, Leona-sama, and Seth enter to provide support, and even that wasn't very frequent.
"How strong are these powerful enemies?"
"There was a general leading many knights. And a Top Wight in the rear guard, that gave us a bit of trouble."
That's amazing.
What kind of undead was a Wight again?…
Well, if Club President Bell and Leona-sama had trouble with them, they must be pretty strong, but I'm curious about how they compare to the Maroon Wraith.
"Huh? By the way, how's Marie (Mashiro-nee) doing?"
"Eh? Haven't you heard from Seth-chan?"
"Ah, right. Just that Season-san is there, so there's no problem..."
On Sunday afternoon, after setting up the gaming chairs, eating lunch, and enjoying making dessert, we were busy choosing potential titles for the goddess statue I made.
Are they acting separately?
"Yes, those two are mainly acting with NPCs from the Demon Kingdom. They said they received a quest from a Demon Kingdom noble, but they couldn't disclose the details."
Club President Bell shrugged her shoulders.
Are they keeping it a secret from Seth-chan too?
"Yes. They said they can't talk about it because it's a contract with the client."
If they can't even tell Seth, it must be something really big.
For something like this, it's usually a matter of communicating offline, but Mashiro-nee is so conscientious about such things that she would never tell, and Seth probably wouldn't pry either.
"I hope it's not some strange request..."
"I saw them head out to the northeast. Are they looking for something, perhaps?"
It's common, but maybe it's a lost item quest.
Well, they don't seem to be doing anything reckless, so I should be grateful to Season-san…