kscans

Chapter 285 - White and Black

"Senpai."

"Yes."

After finishing our 'material gathering' in about two hours, we returned to the Round Table.

In response to his call, I straightened my back to show my sincerity, but Tetra just gave a wry smile and said, "That's enough already."

"How long are you going to dwell on it? We both know it was a joke."

"Well, yeah."

If he wasn't genuinely angry, I wish he hadn't demanded those demonic extra runs… though I appreciate the banter, as it did help distract me.

Irori always seems tired whenever I see him, so he's in a different category, but having a male acquaintance I can interact with on an equal footing is precious.

I'll just overlook the fact that he, like me, has the exceptional title of a ranker.

"I managed to stock up more than enough, so you were a big help—here, a thank-you gift."

"Whoa… what's this, a kunai?"

What he tossed me was a small sword, palm-sized, with the blade and hilt of equal length—hey, who throws an unsheathed blade to someone?!

Though I'm just as much to blame for catching it and almost ignoring that fact!

"A throwing dagger. With a little special effect."

"Oh?"

Well then, let's see this 'effect' for myself.

[Shadow-Sewing Ritual Dagger]—A small sword imbued with the magic of 'shadow.' By piercing the shadow of a living being, it possesses the power to bind their movements.

"…………Isn't this strong?"

"Against grunts, maybe. Against boss-level enemies, it lasts for a moment at best, and against players, it's almost ineffective if they've raised their mental stats to a decent level."

"No, stopping someone's movement for an instant is crazy strong."

If it's 'almost ineffective' against players, that means it does have some effect for a moment, right? A surprise attack, breaking their rhythm, interrupting a chant… just off the top of my head, I can think of a lot of nasty things you could do with this.

"Well, that depends on how you use it. It's a consumable, but you can use it a few times by recharging it with MP, and if it breaks, bring it to me and I'll fix it."

"Seriously… is this really something I should be getting for just a little help?"

"You'll see when you actually use it, it's really not that big of a deal."

Tetra said this, but he didn't seem to be feigning modesty… If the creator himself asserts it to this extent, then maybe it's not as convenient a tool as I think.

"It'd be a pain if you asked me to repair it too often, so just think of it as something that might help you out in an emergency."

"…Got it. I'll gratefully accept it as a good luck charm."

If this counts as equipment… okay, my [Construction] switching works with it. As Tetra said, I'll use it as a trump card in an emergency.

"That thing's as convenient as ever. I'm jealous."

"If it were something I could teach you, I'd tell you everything."

When I jokingly asked if he wanted to become my disciple, the boy waved his hand and said, "I'll pass."

That was a close one. I said it lightly, but if he had enthusiastically replied 'By all means,' I would have been the one bowing my head and saying 'Please spare me.'

In more ways than one, I'm not in a position to be doing that.

"Well, I'm logging off soon."

"Ah, me too."

The time is just before 4 a.m.—I have various plans for today as well, but there's still time for a quick nap.

It would be a real problem if I pushed myself too hard, both mentally and physically, and collapsed, so I should probably force myself to rest.

"I'm usually active from night to late night, so if you can't sleep again, keep me company. …Though I'd rather not experience a poison flood ever again."

"My bad… I was able to take my mind off things, so you helped me out too. Let's go somewhere again."

When I said this from the heart, Tetra flashed a boyish grin and—

"Yeah. But don't overdo the forced cheerfulness, okay?"

"…! …………"

—with eyes that belied his age, he accurately read my heart.

"I can imagine you're going through a lot right now, but—we were originally just game players, weren't we? If you feel like it's too much, it's probably okay to just plug your ears for a bit."

"………………Yeah."

At his words, a weary smile escaped my lips.

The senpai (kouhai) who had unreservedly exposed what even I hadn't clearly realized—that I had been forcing myself to be cheerful from the midway point—left with another mischievous smile.

"Well, see you later, senpai."

"Yeah, later."

And without any lingering feelings, he quickly left the virtual world.

"………………Are you really younger than me?"

Leaving me, now alone—with a most welcome sense of relief as his parting gift.