kscans

Chapter 441 - To the Never-ending Unknown

"You're so sloooow!!!"

"I'm not late. It's still before our meeting time."

As soon as I passed through the door of the now-familiar atelier, a blue blur flew at me with a complaint, which I smoothly sidestepped.

She must have been waiting restlessly. My partner put on an exaggerated pout, but I have no intention of letting her get all clingy so easily.

Well, it's not that I don't intend to, but if I allow her to go full throttle right from the start, I'm worried about the next three days… In any case.

"Don't think I'm the same weak, frail, and defenseless version from before, you hear? If you want a taste of defeat, feel free to come at me."

"Yeah, yeah, your smug face is cute."

"Shut up."

I've finished adjusting not only my equipment but also my stats and other things, and this transfigured body is finally capable of some decent combat.

It's still not perfect, but handling one powerless girl is a piece of cake.

"You were rushing me so much, but are you even ready?"

"Well, what do you expect? I can't bring any materials or equipment, so my 'preparations' are just this."

As she spoke, Nia spread her arms to show off a new-to-me poncho, mainly in shades of lavender and black. Her feet, usually bare, were clad in thick knee-high socks and boots, a stylish yet practical coordinate that strongly suggested 'traveling clothes.'

Starting with the loungewear I got from Kagura-san back in my rookie days, I've ended up wearing mostly clothes made by Nia. Just a glance at the design sense was enough for me to tell it was her own creation.

…This is stylish too, right? Well then, I guess…

"It looks good on you."

"Huh?"

"It kinda makes you look like a kid excited about wearing a raincoat."

A bit of unnecessary deflection slipped in, but I'll just have her ignore that and pick out the good parts—after all, this is supposed to be a substitute for a date.

I can't just be completely inconsiderate. I'll do my best too.

"W-What's with you all of a sudden? You're throwing me off…"

"Just like I said. I've decided to take things easy too."

For now, I'll ignore Nia-chan, who was clearly flustered by the sudden compliment, and quickly get my own preparations in order.

The only things we can bring to the stage of the [Starry Paradise], the super-massive field 'Alvnikuro,' for which no detailed information has been released, are 'equipped items.'

As long as they don't violate the action restrictions, any spares and other items can be packed into a special inventory, provided they fit within the rather tight weight limit.

At this point, the [Giant's Hand Axe] and [Gravidon Hammer] are sadly staying behind. If I were to equip them normally, I literally wouldn't be able to take a single step, so they'd be flagged as an error under either condition.

For now, I'll hang the rabbit dagger on my back as usual, and the [Samidorizuki] in its sheath on my right side… hmm, that's already pretty heavy.

"That katana's surprisingly big, isn't it?"

"Yeah, well, it's over a meter long."

I tried hanging it at my waist, but it's probably impossible to draw the [Samidorizuki] as is with this transfigured body's build. In a pinch, it'd be best to rely on the rabbit dagger.

As for the Crimson Valor spear and two types of shields… they'll probably stay behind this time. The jack-of-all-trades and the supreme single blade, plus the reliable uniques on my right hand and left arm—that should be more than enough.

My spare inventory is full of that thing I got from Kagura-san, anyway.

Apparently, even if you have different equipment registered for both sides of your transformation, you can only bring the set you were wearing at the time of transfer. There was a note about it, so I'm sure of it.

However, that only applies to weapons; armor and outfits are mercifully overlooked. That saves me from having to gallivant around the mountains in my underwear.

"Anyway, are you going in as your main?"

"Hmm? Ah… no, I'm on cooldown. I just switched back when I got the equipment from Kagura-san, so I can't switch back for another thirty minutes or so."

"Ah… so that's it. Well, it doesn't really matter which one you are."

"Stop it, don't play around."

As I brushed away the hand poking my cheek, I waited for the system announcement that would surely come soon… and a face that seemed to want to say something caught my eye.

We still have time, and at this timing, it's as if she's saying, 'Ask me'—well, it's completely obvious what she's thinking, so I won't ask her.

"She said, 'I'm going to have fun my own way, so don't worry about me.'"

"Huh…?"

"A message from my partner. Addressed to 'Nia-san.'"

"…,…"

By the way, the message, or rather, the words addressed to me were—'I won't forgive you, Haru, so you'd better worry about me a whole lot for these three days.' I can only pray that Sora has a good time with Lux while I worry about her a whole lot.

Naturally, Nia and Ashe have been informed that my relationship with Sora is 'moving.' I told them everything during the process of running around beforehand that day.

And both of them have come to terms with it.

Or rather, in Nia's case, she responded with confusion, saying something like, 'I've always thought of Sora-chan as my biggest rival from the very beginning, you know?'

She wasn't sure if there was a clear arrow pointing in that direction… but that aside, she said they were too close for her not to be the biggest obstacle.

Really, it was all just me wrestling with myself and getting worked up over nothing—but setting aside that whole embarrassing affair,

"I've gotten over a lot of things too, so I won't hesitate anymore. I don't know what I should do, and I can't predict what will happen, but… anyway."

Even so, what I should do—what I can do—is limited.

"When you're by my side, Nia, I'll be looking at you. So… come at me with that in mind."

I honestly don't even know if I'm capable of 'love' or anything like it. That's precisely why, to find the answer, there's no other path than to move forward without fear.

She's not my sidekick, and she's not my partner.

And she's certainly not my fake fiancée in some amusing relationship.

"…I-If you were going to act cool, I wish you'd done it when you were a boy."

"My apologies for that."

But she, who keeps conveying her clumsy and straightforward feelings to me—she's undoubtedly a precious person to me, someone I can no longer treat carelessly.

—And so, after about ten minutes of casual conversation.

"…!"

"Whoa, there it is."

The great chime of a bell tower, which, not metaphorically, must have resounded throughout the virtual world.

Caught off guard, Nia jumped like a cat, and at the same time I, having anticipated the time, raised my face—

--The world event [Starry Paradise] will now begin.

--Participating players, please stand by in any safe zone.

--Transfer to the event field will commence shortly.

--Transfer to the event field will commence shortly.

--Transfer to the event field will commence shortly.

"…Ah, Nia-chan? You're making a funny face."

"I-I can't help it…! This is the first time I've experienced something like this myself…!"

Watching my partner fluster at the resounding system announcement, I couldn't help but let out a faint smile—and at the same time, I felt an undeniable surge of excitement, and the corners of my mouth turned up.

There's a mountain of things to think about,

A multitude of things to do,

So many things to see,

But this is a huge event, so it would be a huge loss not to enjoy it from the bottom of my heart, right?

"Here."

"…!"

I held out my hand, which Nia reflexively grabbed, and pulled her in, catching her panicking body. I then patted her head repeatedly, and as she calmed down, or perhaps reached the peak of her confusion and froze—

I shifted my gaze, and on the window I had pinned, the numbers lined up.

That is to say—'00(days):00(hours):00(minutes):00(seconds)'

"Well then…"

What kind of fantasy awaits us where we're being taken?

Whatever it is,

"Well, let's have some fun!"

"Eh, what—"

--Executing transfer to 'Alvnikuro.'

--The world event [Starry Paradise] will now begin.