kscans

Chapter 29 - Express to the Cliff Bottom

"—Huh?"

Just after my ignominious death from trying to act cool, a strange ping I’d never heard before echoed in my ears as I was revived.

At the same time, a simple mail icon popped up in the corner of my vision.

It seemed I'd received a message, but you have to be friends with someone to use the mail feature in Arcadia, which meant I only had two possible candidates.

Either Sora or Kagura-san—this time, it was the former.

The message was, in short, an invitation, but the wording was strangely awkward, almost like she was speaking a foreign language... It was just so painfully obvious that she was being hesitant.

"Hmm..."

I see... I'll just go ahead and kidnap her to show her that I'm not the kind of person you need to be so reserved with.

"And so, welcome to the sheer cliff face!!"

"What do you mean, 'and so'!?"

Using the friend-tracking feature, I located and secured my target, who was shopping at an NPC store. Without so much as a greeting, I extended a nonstop invitation to the [Cliff Road of the Sky Bridge].

She must have been waiting for my reply. Sora, who had been restlessly absorbed in her shopping, was subjected to being unceremoniously snatched away. After a sequence of screaming, confusion, and panic, she now seemed to have adopted a state of righteous anger.

"I got a pretty formal-sounding email, so I decided to show you through my actions that there's no need to be so reserved with a guy like me."

"I-I wasn't trying to be reserved... I've just never messaged a guy like that before, so I was a little nervous, that's all..."

I stated the reason for my actions with a slightly smug look, only to get an unexpectedly cute answer back. As I fumbled for a response, Sora turned away with a pout and muttered, "Please put me down."

"Ah, sorry about that."

I had carried her princess-style to reduce the criminality of kidnapping a young girl, but she was blushing, clearly embarrassed. I gently set her down.

"Honestly..."

Oh, my. That glare is rather adorable.

After staring me down for a moment as I scratched my cheek and looked away, thinking, Did I go too far this time? Sora's eyes widened as if she'd just noticed something.

"By the way, Haru-san, that outfit..."

Well, that makes sense. A guy who'd been running around like a barbarian in his starting underwear without even a hint of wearing armor suddenly shows up the next day decked out in stylish fashion—of course she'd be surprised.

"Ah, this... well, you see... I got it because of, uh, this and that."

"You got it...? Huh? I heard that cosmetic items are really expensive."

"Yeah, well, this and that happened."

If I were to honestly confess that I'd caused a huge uproar by carelessly posting on the Q&A board, I knew I'd get a look that screamed, This guy again?

I'd introduce her to Kagura-san when the opportunity arose, but for now, I'd just brush it off.

"Well, it's a purely cosmetic set, so my defense is still zero."

"That's not something to say so proudly, you know? ...Um, Haru-san, have you cleared this area already?"

I nodded in affirmation to her next question, but my mind was occupied with something else—namely, the existence of the thing that dwells below.

A quick search revealed it was one of the few pieces of uncleared content, making it not just well-known, but famous. There was a chance the studious Sora already knew about it.

"Sora, you don't really look up walkthroughs and stuff, right?"

"? Um, that's right. I try not to look up things like map information or what kind of monsters there are."

Basically, her preparatory knowledge consisted of system-related details, the general state of the world of Arcadia, and little tips that were good for beginners to know—the kind of "public knowledge" that was widely available.

My own first encounter with it was rather spectacular, not to mention idiotic, so if this was her first time, I definitely wanted her to experience that same sense of having her common sense shattered.

So, I decided to keep the spoilers to myself and just let her have an audience with it.

"...About this area, there's actually a hidden route. Well, less a route and more a hidden area? Like a secret region."

Sora's appearance is demure and her demeanor is that of a proper young lady, a textbook example of a pure and beautiful girl, but she's actually quite curious.

Which means, if I pique her interest like this—

"A hidden area!"

Just like that. It was obvious she'd bite in a second, her eyes sparkling.

"Yep. But the gimmick at the end is a little tough for us to get past right now... to be honest, we'll definitely die and have to respawn..."

Naturally, there's a death penalty. Since there's something to lose, I have to explain the risks, of course—but she's just looking at me with those sparkling eyes as if to say, "So what?"

"So gullible..."

It makes me a little worried. I sincerely hope she's a bit more cautious in real life.

"Yes?"

"Oh, it's nothing. So, I can show you the way if you'd like. Want to go?"

"I want to go!"

Okay, one customer, coming right up. Huh? How do we get there? To reach an area at the bottom of a sheer cliff, there's only one way, right?

"Then if I may have your hand... no, your entire person..."

"Huh...? H-Hey, wait...!??"

I took Sora's hand as she sparkled with excitement and then scooped her up into my arms.

I was getting pretty used to carrying a girl around by now, so a princess carry was a piece of cake—actually, it's pretty tough without both hands free.

"H-Haru-san...! Please stop suddenly picking me up like this—"

"Sorry, Sora, I need a hand free. Can you hang on tight? Not tight enough to choke me out, though."

"Choke you...? I-I wouldn't do that! No, that's not the point—"

"Alright, let's go! One person, coming right up!"

"—!? W-Wait, please wait...! The cliff, that way is the cliff, Haru-san. Haru-san...? Haru-san...!?"

Look, scary things are even scarier when you explain them beforehand and let people brace themselves, right?

If a terrifying experience comes at an unexpected moment, it's over before you're even scared—you're just surprised. This is an act of kindness.

"Sora."

"Y-Yes...?"

I stopped at the edge of the cliff and called out to her with an expression as carefree as if I were about to go for a stroll. The girl looked up at me, her eyes filled with terror.

"You said it yesterday, didn't you? Humans can't fly—allow me to present a counterexample."

"................"

—What is this person saying? her expression read.

—An expression that said she didn't want to understand what he was saying.

—An expression pleading for me to reconsider.

—A tragic expression, as if begging for mercy from a violent criminal about to commit a heinous act.

"In other words... you better hang on tight, or things could get messy, you know?"

"W-Wait...! Wai— Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!??"

I leaped off the cliff with a smile.

Sora screamed her lungs out.

Gravity performed its duty.

And a roaring wind howled around us.

In exchange for Sora's sanity and my eardrums, which were pierced by her shriek at point-blank range, the two shadows vanished into the pathless mist.