kscans

Chapter 414 - The Same-Day Invasion

The victory party continued late into the night. One day later.

After being forced to stand in for Sora, who was about to be dragged onto the stage, and performing my second-ever virtual reality recital, I was then made to do party tricks and acrobatics, and finally, with a level of energy that knew no bounds, I was dragged out of the 'castle' and forced to give a live demonstration of clearing the [Spiral Crimson Tower]. After a litany of events too numerous to recount—

"—My head hurts..."

This was the result.

Following on from the other day's subjugation battle, I was struck by intense phantom fatigue and was down for the count. Today was a joyous Monday, but I had already given up on getting up in the morning and had contacted the university.

This wasn't the first time, but it's always infinitely humbling and awkward that the director, Kunori-sama himself, personally takes my calls.

He himself had requested that I call him directly, saying 'it's faster that way,' but... whatever the reality of the situation, it could still be seen as me 'skipping class because of a game.' The fact that he always sounds cheerful, or even happy about it, is also mysteriously terrifying.

I won't say what, but I'm genuinely worried that some sudden trouble will fall into my lap one of these days.

Incidentally, my friends, who I had also contacted to say I'd be absent, all sent similar messages. Their contents were as follows—

'Kay, got it. Btw, the archived video is blowing up like crazy.'

'K, roger. Btw, the video I uploaded yesterday is going super viral.'

'Got it, take care. Also, this might be unsolicited advice, but it might be a good idea to stay off the internet for a while.'

'Understood.'

'Um, if it's not too much trouble,'

'Actually, never mind. Please take care of yourself.'

'If you need the lecture notes, just let me know.'

And that was about it.

As for Kaede, who sent me a mysteriously fragmented message... I could sense that she was bugging out as usual, so I'll just be grateful for her last message and leave her be.

For the rest, I'll follow Miki's advice and live with my eyes and ears shielded from the world's information for a while—just as I was thinking that, my stomach growled.

"Even if I don't move, I still get hungry..."

The current time was just before ten in the morning.

I needed to get some light nutrition, no matter what. With that thought, I tried to hop out of bed—

"Oof, gweh...!"

In accordance with the physical specs of my real body, which were incomparable to my virtual avatar, I bounced pathetically on the bed, then groaned as the self-inflicted jolt to my head intensified my headache.

"—Huh?"

After stuffing myself with some emergency food from my stash and getting some more rest, I had just finished making and eating a simple lunch.

Suddenly, the mysterious music of the intercom sounded, and I pushed my body up from where it had sunk into the sofa.

There were only two people who would ever visit this room, so I predicted it was either Ashe or Chitose-san...

"Oh...?"

...a prediction that was swiftly overturned as I checked the monitor showing the view outside the door. Well, to be precise, it was Chitose-san, but—

Forcing my heavy body to move, I headed to the entrance, unlocked the door, and opened it. Standing in the hallway was a single woman.

"Hello, what can I do for you?"

I greeted the familiar face without any tension. The gentle-faced, black-haired woman returned my greeting with a smile and an apology, "I'm sorry to bother you so suddenly."

Chitose Madoka-san—none other than the mother of Yotsuya's Assistant Director, Chitose Kazuha-san. She's the 'housekeeper' who handles cleaning and other chores here in the dorm where Ashe and I live, and the fourth resident.

As a resident who is indebted to her, she's someone I can't help but bow my head to. Thank you for your hard work, always.

"You mentioned that a new person might be arriving soon, didn't you? I just got a call from Kazuha about it myself."

"Ah, yes?"

I was almost certain she was talking about Nia, but I couldn't see how that would lead to Madoka-san visiting my room.

Ashe had said "leave it to me" and had taken care of everything from the arrangements for the move, which had ended up being decided in a flash—

"It's sudden, but they want to get it done today, so he asked if you could help with the moving. It seems she'll be using the furniture that's already here, just like you did, Nozomi-kun, so it's just a matter of carrying in a few cardboard boxes, you see."

"Things are moving way too fast."

Who am I even supposed to be exasperated with here?

Ashe, for communicating the decision at lightning speed and pushing the procedures through? Yotsuya, for finishing all the paperwork at lightning speed and throwing a new resident in? Or Nia, for getting swept up in this lightning-fast chain of events and jumping into this strange dorm on the very next day?

It seems Madoka-san and I are the only ones with normal mentalities—no, wait, mine's been getting a bit questionable lately too. The title of peaceful, sensible person might only belong to Chitose (mother).

"She's a girl, so I could help, but I heard she's a 'particularly close friend' of yours, Nozomi-kun... What should we do? Should I just leave it to you?"

"Ah... um... well, yes, I suppose..."

I can practically see the look on the Assistant Director's face when he fed that little detail to Madoka-san. Not that I'm going to go out of my way to deny it, but still...

"In that case, yes. I happen to have some free time, so I'll help."

When I told her so,

"Then I'll take you up on that. The young ladies are already in the lobby downstairs, so if you could go and meet them right away—ufufu."

"The plot is developing way too fast."

And what's with that meaningful "ufufu" at the end?

Your face is too kind, madam. That mischievous smile doesn't suit you.

――――Wait a minute?

"Young ladies... plural???"

What, did Nia-chan clone herself or something?