kscans

Chapter 204 - The Princess's Camp

“—Haaaah… well, even if it was just from the night before, at least we had some room to prepare ourselves mentally.”

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

“It’s been since the time before, before, before… the last one.”

For the past three Four Pillar Wars, things had settled down with their 'Princess' as the commander.

It was a measure taken not for peace, but for stability. But now, forced to deviate from a plan that had been working so well, the members present acknowledged the reality and let out a collective sigh.

“……Right about now, the people who think they understand while watching the screen are probably thinking, ‘The South is going to win.’”

“‘The people’ isn’t a nice way to put it. The audience is a necessary part of what makes this world exciting, so looking down on them isn’t good.”

“My apologies. But as always, our strategy meetings won't have their audio picked up anyway.”

As Fuji chided the boy who had let out a bitter smile, the boy waved cheerfully at the unseen 'camera.'

“Stop with that annoying smile, you’ll get more fans.”

“‘Annoying’ is uncalled for, and what kind of demand is there for fans who like that?”

“The kind that likes little brats.”

“Care to discuss this?”

Ignoring the bickering second and fifth rankers, Helena let out a small sigh, lifted her eyelids, and shifted her gaze. Her considerate glance fell upon the figure of the princess, sitting silently like a doll placed on a chair.

“Iris, are you all right?”

“I’m fine. To win, I will do my part properly.”

A sweet, cool voice—but the words were flat, betraying no emotion.

Those who knew Iris from before she became like this all felt the same thing in their hearts, but they weren’t close enough to say anything at this point. If she nodded, all they could do was support her… it was always like this.

“Then… it goes without saying, but simply attacking the Eastern Faction head-on will not lead to victory.”

“Plus, this time they’ve brought a top-class hidden ace with them.”

“And I bet their base is being protected by ‘those two’ again.”

They were members who had fought together countless times; their understanding was mutual.

The common public perception that “if the [Sword Queen] deploys, victory is certain” was not correct at all.

This world was a game… and furthermore, the game called [Arcadia] was filled with a freedom that was incomparable to existing analog games—an almost ridiculous level of freedom.

Freedom equals diversity in character builds. And the strategic breadth born from the combination of countless unique individuals was truly infinite.

A single player who could slaughter ten thousand could also be defeated by a hundred enemies.

That was a law of this world (system) that applied even to a player like Iris, who had long been called the strongest in the virtual world.

What’s more, when the enemy had not a hundred, but just two trump cards sufficient to completely seal her existence… in reality, the Southern Faction, Sotalm, despite possessing the strongest hand, was by no means the 'strongest faction.'

That title truly belonged to the East—the one faction that stood on par with the North and South combined.

And the players knew it.

That is why,

“In that case, our options are limited… aren't they?”

“Yes. An envoy from the Northern Faction, Nortalia, should be on their way here. Once they arrive, we will decide on the assignments.”

“It’s been a while since we’ve done some scheming.”

“That sounds bad. We’re just using our heads to meet expectations.”

To meet expectations, they would—to protect, they would stage the 'strongest.'

“Iris?”

“…No, it’s nothing.”

Even if she’s hurt, she won’t fall to her knees.

Even if her voice fades, she won’t close her mouth.

Even if her smile wanes, she won’t look down.

“Thank you, everyone. I’ll do my best.”

And they (everyone), following her lead, would not look down.

Who they were here to support—that was something they had known for a very, very long time.