kscans

Chapter 325 - On Break

"—So yeah, we're off to a good start."

"I see."

"The 'pilgrimage' is done, so this afternoon we're apparently going to hit the dungeons for real."

"Mm-hm."

"Still, this is some serious overkill for clearing normal dungeons. Tiger… [Great Tiger] was saying we could even clear some raids with this group if they're easy enough."

"Is that so."

"………………"

"…………"

"You're still mad, aren't you?"

"I am not mad."

◇◆◇◆◇

—And so, after a lunchtime interlude with her highness, I returned to the virtual world and awoke in a wilderness dotted with large boulders. My consciousness had been gone, and my avatar, which had been sleeping leaning against the rock face, tried to rise… but I was frozen in place by the action penalty for re-logging in an unsafe zone. It was that 'dazed state' Sora had been in before. Come to think of it, this is my first time experiencing it. So this is what it feels like—

"—You're back."

"Yeah, thanks for keeping watch."

The voice came from in front of me; it was Tiger Lucky. He'd said no enemies spawned around here, but he'd stayed behind as a precaution. —So, though no one had said anything, I had hurried back. Because I had rushed through the lunch I'd been invited to, Iris had been sliiiightly displeased… but I promised to make it up to her, so I hope she'll forgive me.

I looked around. The others, each leaning against a rock, all still seemed to be 'asleep.' Looks like I'm the first one back.

"I'll take over. Go ahead."

"Yeah, thanks."

After a brief, direct exchange, the young man operated his window and closed his eyes. The strength drained from his avatar. It didn't twitch at all, but if you looked closely, you could see it was breathing faintly. It didn't look like an 'empty shell,' but rather like it was simply 'sleeping.'

"—Hff, hnnngh…"

The sleepy-eyed debuff icon that had been lit up in the corner of my vision disappeared, and I pushed my now-weightless body up and stretched with all my might. The sky I looked up at wasn't a pleasant blue—but a rather unsightly reddish-brown.

And as I turned my head, what came into view was a huge tower standing tall in the center of a neatly arranged stone circle. It was a dungeon located not far from the 'Green Connect' crater. Its name was [The Tower of Four Sides]—yeah, the name gives absolutely no clue as to its nature. With its black brick construction and perfectly square design, it had a very blatant 'I was built' look to it, making it a rather eerie structure.

Incidentally, though I call it huge, each side is only five meters long, and it's at most a dozen or so meters tall. But the interior is a separate dimension and is apparently quite spacious. The [Spiral Crimson Tower] was built on the same scale as its exterior, but I guess that varies from dungeon to dungeon—

"—…Nn."

As I was staring blankly at the pitch-black tower, my ear caught a faint sigh. I looked over and saw Sora, who had logged out next to Rinne, slowly opening her eyes. Ten, twenty seconds passed, and the girl blinked a few times—then our eyes met.

"Morning."

"Good morning."

Her slightly dazed, 'just woke up' face was infinitely healing. The guys, of course, but if Rinne had witnessed this, she would have fallen even deeper into the Sora-swamp… hmm? Gently resting her senior's avatar, which had been leaning against her shoulder, back against the large rock, the girl stood up and quietly approached me. My partner came right up next to me and sat down beside me where I was sitting cross-legged, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. We weren't touching, but it was still a little close.

"…What is it?"

"It's nothing."

If you say so—

True to her words, she didn't say anything, nor did she look at me. I joined Sora in gazing up at the reddish-brown sky, as she quietly stared off into the distance. It's amazing how the silence between us isn't painful or awkward in the slightest. The key is that it's mutual. I can be sure that Sora 'doesn't mind' my silence either, which makes me feel incredibly calm. For someone I've only known for less than three months… it's still, no matter how many times I think about it, strange… and no matter how many times I think about it, a strange laugh wells up inside me.

————And so,

"………………Were you watching?"

"…I was not."

Getting caught with that mysterious smile on my face is so damn embarrassing. Peeking is strictly forbidden, missy. Give me a break.

"Ah… right, Sora-san."

"Yes?"

I searched for a topic, anything to distract from my embarrassment, but—

"……………………Are you having fun today?"

—all that came out was a desperate, on-the-spot diversion on par with 'nice weather we're having.'

At that, Sora, after a moment of stunned silence—

"Yes, very much."

—looked at me with amusement and simply smiled softly.