Chapter 37 - Chapter 34: My Sister Can't Be This Smart
Day 10 (Tuesday)
"Morning."
"Morning, morning? What's Iincho doing here?"
Arriving at school as usual in the morning, Iincho was even there next to Natto.
"Ise-kun, please call Izumo-san."
"Hmm? Sure."
I looked towards Mion, who was staring intently at me.
When I beckoned her slightly, she came trotting over.
"Sorry about this. Is this…"
What Iincho showed me on her tablet was, ah—
"Did Natto spill the beans?"
"No, no, Iincho noticed herself."
"Did you think I wouldn't notice?"
Hmm, I thought it wouldn't be found out.
Anyway, whispering here wouldn't do, so I got her to agree to discuss it at lunchtime.
Iincho seemed a bit annoyed, but it's not a school rule violation, is it? Besides, it was Kumano-sensei's idea…
…
"So that was club activity?!"
"Yeah."
Mion nodded meekly beside me.
At lunchtime, I took sandwiches and juice from the store to the rooftop.
The rooftop, enclosed by high fences, was quite spacious, with groups eating lunch scattered everywhere, and we were one of them.
"By the way, our advisor is Kumano-sensei, so if you have any complaints, take them to her."
Iincho had a 'hmm…' expression, clearly not satisfied.
As expected, or rather, it seemed like she thought I dragged Mion down a bad path.
"Izumo-san is also doing this willingly?"
Mion nodded meekly to that question too.
"Still, how did you figure it out? Honestly, I thought only my family and Natto would notice."
On the tablet she brought, Mion's channel was displayed, playing her newest video.
My character was shown full-body on screen, so my facial features were hard to make out. And while Mion's bust-up was certainly visible, no one would think it was the real Izumo-san.
"Seriously though, how did a serious Iincho find out about this video?"
"Come to think of it, you're right…"
She's exactly the kind of class representative who you'd imagine only studying even at home, truly deserving of the title.
"That is… I received a VR HMD as a high school entrance celebration gift, so I thought I'd try playing a game. I saw the game in a commercial, so I wondered what it was like."
"Oh, Iincho's interested too?!"
"New player restrictions will be gone this Sunday, so why don't you try it?"
"Okay."
Mion also said that, and she seems to be wavering?
"But you have to socialize in the game too, right?"
"Well, it's an MMO after all. Aside from this guy."
Should I just stay quiet about that?
"You can just play with people you know, right? You can't come to my island, but there's Natto, who started in the Empire, for example."
"Ah, in that case, maybe the Kingdom would be better…"
"Eh, why?"
"No, didn't the main story come up? Since around that time, soldiers have been wandering around the city, and the atmosphere is super tense."
According to Natto's inquiries with NPCs, the Emperor's health is apparently quite poor, and if he passes away, there's a high chance of domestic turmoil…
"Ooooh, that really feels like a main story arc."
"Well, if you're going to start, the Kingdom would probably be safer. My friends and I are talking about heading to the Kingdom if things get dangerous in the Empire, and I can even go pick you up, Iincho."
Hoh, so that's what's happening. It's quite a serious story.
"Wait, wait. I haven't decided to play the game yet."
"Even if you say that, though?"
"You gotta drag people into the swamp, right?"
Natto said that in a terrible way. He's not wrong, though.
"Oh, by the way, Miki made a character in the Kingdom and is playing. Natto and Iincho know that, right?"
"Miki-chan, huh? She seems good at games; I'd love to scout her."
"Unlike Ise-kun, she's a very dependable sister."
…The nasty thing is, she can completely keep up appearances, that girl.
Well, if you say she's dependable, then she probably is.
"Hmm?"
Mion tugged lightly at the hem of my uniform…
"Ah, we were in the same class since elementary school, you see. Miki, who always clung to my back, is known by both Natto and Iincho, that's what I meant."
Saying that seemed to satisfy her.
"But we talked over three years ago. Since middle school, our grades have been different."
"It's not like we're estranged, but we just stopped talking, didn't we? Anyway, Miki-chan is a test-taker, right? Is it okay for her to be playing an MMORPG?"
"She's coming here, apparently."
Both were surprised by those words. Well, Miki being a genius, or rather, a prodigy, was famous even in middle school.
Then, she tugged at me again, so when I told her Miki got first place in the National Junior High Mock Exam, she looked extremely surprised.
Even for me, it feels like, 'My sister can't be this smart'…
*
"Shou-kun, I want to meet your sister too."
"Eh, Miki?"
Mion nodded in response. Is that really the first thing to say after coming to club and putting on a VR HMD?
"It's fine, but she's got her quirks, you know…"
Both Natto and Iincho are used to Miki's strange way of speaking, but there's no way it's normal.
The fact that she manages to get away with a 'Well, it can't be helped then' vibe because she's incredibly smart is rather troublesome, I'd say.
"But is there a good time to meet? It'd be great if we just ran into her while shopping together like last time."
"I can't do that."
"Right…"
"Is it alright if I watch your sister's livestream with you?"
Ah, like watching her playing livestream like last time, huh? In that case, we wouldn't have trouble finding things to talk about, so it might be good.
"Okay, I'll ask her when she feels like livestreaming again."
"Soon would be good."
"Ah, yeah, got it."
Well, I'll ask her after I get home. I also want to see what the Kingdom is like with this update coming.
Just then, Bell-buchou arrived.
"Sorry to keep you both waiting."
"Yo."
"Good evening."
Come to think of it, Bell-buchou was also in the Kingdom.
"What's the Kingdom like after the update announcement? Natto told me the Empire's cities are really tense."
"Yes, the Kingdom is also bustling. Things are getting quite interesting."
According to Bell-buchou, the nation is buying up potions, and the price of Heal Potions in general seems to be soaring.
And then,
"The Anti-Paralyze Potions you told us about are being bought for three times the price of Heal Potions, so our acquaintances are completely focused on making those."
That's what she said.
Heal Potions will probably drop in price once reserves are stocked up, but only a portion of Bell-buchou's acquaintances know the Anti-Paralyze Potion recipe.
Of course, they'd make a fortune…