Chapter 84 - Chapter 75: An Unexpected Encounter
Sunday
“‘Sup.”
“Good, good.”
Sunday, the day after the stream.
Though I overslept a bit, I finished my shopping in the morning and felt relieved.
I ate lunch, and then I came to the [Virtual Club Room], but—
Shou-kun, Seth-chan.
“Hello~”
It was Mion and Yata-sensei. Bell-buchou… seemed to be playing IRO already.
As for the two of them, Mion didn’t seem to be editing videos, and Yata-sensei looked like he was making some documents?
“What’s up?”
Was there something else that needed applying for? Related to the super chats, maybe?
We’re doing homework. The teacher is here too, after all.
“Ah, right. And Yata-sensei?”
“Making homework for the long weekend~ and there’s a midterm test right after it~”
Right. It’s a long weekend starting this weekend, and then midterms after that…
“Hmm, so it’s that time already. Brother, what will you be doing during the long weekend?”
“What do you mean ‘what’? I don’t have any particular plans, just that Dad and Mashiro-nee might come back.”
Dad usually comes back once a month to check on us.
Mom seems busy with work, but Dad’s a househusband, so he seems to have time.
Still, he’s apparently scared to leave Mom alone for a day, so he usually leaves pretty quickly after seeing her.
Mashiro-nee probably won’t even contact us about when she’s coming back…
“Hmm. Well, thanks to IRO, it seems I won’t be bored this year.”
Shou-kun, have you finished your homework already?
“Yeah. I finished it on Saturday.”
When I have that thought of “I need to do homework after this,” it subtly bothers me and I can’t concentrate. I have a delicate mind, you see…
Please wait a little longer. I’ll finish it soon.
“No, no, you don’t have to rush.”
And then, just as I was about to tell Seth she could go to IRO first…
“Well, you see… wouldn’t this way give more insight into the author’s psychology?”
“I see~ That’s good~”
“Hey, stop it. If you supervise it, it won’t be funny anymore.”
If I couldn’t solve that homework or test, even now, I wouldn’t be able to recover.
Please, learn to give your older brother some respect…
“It cannot be helped, I suppose. Then, I shall go to IRO. Ah, Brother, I plan to go hunting with Nat-dono and Polly-dono today. Would you like to watch?”
“Oh, really? I kinda want to watch. Iincho is supposedly good with a bow, and I’m curious about her other [Spirit Magic] too.”
“Understood. Then, I shall set up a private stream here.”
Saying that, Seth headed off to IRO.
“Ah, watching that here will probably disturb Mion’s studying, right? Sorry, I’ll just switch to real-world view…”
No, it’s fine. I just finished, and I want to watch too.
Hearing that, I felt relieved.
I guess I’ll do my weekend homework around this time too. Not always, but if Yata-sensei is here, I can just ask if I don’t understand something.
“Alright, here it comes.”
I opened the message Seth sent and projected the stream largely.
Brother, can you hear me?
“Yeah, I can hear you.”
It’s fine.
Seth gave a thumbs-up in response to our replies. Was she in an inn room?
She left the room and went outside, and before her stretched a plaza that felt like it was in the middle of active development.
“Is this northwest of the Capital Wolkel? The area Viscount Edward Amiera is in charge of?”
Indeed. This is the development base.
Seth explained the situation as she headed toward the temporary central plaza where they were meeting.
Amiera Territory was originally at the northwestern edge of the Wolkelst Kingdom, a town with a population of about 10,000. The plan was to develop the forest further northwest from there.
The current location was about half a day’s journey from that town.
Monsters had apparently been eradicated up to this area, but the crucial base construction seemed to be lagging.
“Is that so? It looks quite cleared already, though.”
That is thanks to the guilds established on Friday and Saturday, which have been working diligently.
Seriously…?
It progresses this much in two days?
*The production team members, whom Brother and others met, are working at full capacity on guild operations.
Materials procured here are processed and sent to the Royal Capital, and I’ve heard that the development teams in other areas purchase them, resulting in a healthy profit.*
Ugh, that’s amazing.
Well, ropes and wooden boxes would never be enough, so they probably just send anything extra to the Royal Capital.
Hmm, there they are. Nat-dono, Polly-dono.
Oh, Seth-chan, hey there.
Hello.
Seth looked at the camera and gave a thumbs-up. She’d probably formed a party, or rather, certainly had.
“Hey there, you two.”
Hello.
Oh, Shou-kun and Mion-san. Sounds like yesterday was a huge success.
…The teacher isn’t here today, right?
Sorry, Iincho. He is, actually…
He’s wearing a mask with a mute symbol and holding up a flip card that says `[I’m not here. Focus on the spirits’ discussion.]`.
Polly-san, you acquired the Light Spirit, right?
Uh, yes. It’s thanks to Seth-chan, but is that okay?
There’s no need to worry. To put it bluntly, you merely “served as a test subject.”
That Japanese language teacher is scary…
Well, setting that aside, Iincho can now command a second spirit.
I believe she was given the Tree Spirit during character creation. Mion says it’s the kind that can restrain monsters.
Oh, Seth-chan. Are you going monster hunting now?
Hmm, Bell-dono as well? If you’d like, why not accompany us?
Hey, Seth. Bell-buchou appearing there is totally staged, isn’t it?
And then, one more completely unexpected player…
Bell, do you know them?
The tall, silver-haired, short-haired beauty, Thunder Empress Leona-sama… Seriously?
Nat was completely frozen, probably because he knew both of them, and Iincho seemed confused, flustered by Nat’s reaction.
Yes, Seth-chan, whom I recently met and who often acts as our main shield. She’s also the Guild Master of the player guild “Silver Manor.”
I am Seth. These two are my friends, Nat-dono and Polly-dono. Oh, no need to explain, I already know of you, Thunder Empress Leona-dono.
Haha, you’re an interesting girl.
The two shook hands, looking amused.
Seriously, Seth has some guts…
So, can I join in too?
Ah, I’m streaming privately to an acquaintance, so if that’s okay…
That’s perfectly fine.
Seriously!?
And Seth, again, gave a thumbs-up to the camera.
I knew it. Alright, alright…
“Hey, I’m Shou.”
I’m Mion.
Thunder Empress Leona-sama looked genuinely surprised by those words, which was rare.
And then…
Ahahahahaha! To think I’d get to meet the rumored Uninhabited Island duo in a place like this!
That’s our line…