kscans

Chapter 452 - Under a Starless Sky

The banquet ended, and after finishing a meal that for the first time in the virtual world actually satisfied my hunger—I doubt a single player felt like saying, "Alright, good work," and calling it a night in such an unrestrained mood.

About fifteen hours had passed since the event began. The estimated virtual time was just past 9:00 PM. That meant the first day would end in about three hours, but... with the night came something new.

Namely, the starry sky—with the 'ground' now situated in the heavens, I couldn't find any stars by looking straight up at the truncated sky. However, considering the title of this event...

"...I wonder if something's going to happen."

"Who knows. But we'll need to be on guard either way."

Considering the possibility that a different kind of starry sky might make a move, it would be foolish for everyone to get complacent and go to sleep at the same time.

—And so, up on the roof of the log house, I had volunteered to be the first on watch, since I had gotten off relatively easy. With me were my partner, who had tagged along, for a total of two people.

With debuff icons blinking on our status bars—a 'Sleepiness' notification likely exclusive to this event—we sat side by side, our conversation exceedingly calm.

Just like in the real world, I could feel my eyelids gradually growing heavier, but the drowsiness tugging at the edge of my consciousness wasn't overwhelmingly strong. At least, not yet.

According to the information downloaded into my brain, the debuff could be removed by getting about four hours of sleep. This meant we were simply required to dedicate 1/9 of each thirty-six-hour day to sleep.

Nia and I were currently fighting off the debuff that had appeared at exactly 9:00 PM virtual time. By focusing on the icon at the bottom of the status bar, a pop-up counter revealed a number that was steadily increasing.

Presumably, we just needed to sleep for that additional amount of time to remove it.

That, combined with the fact that the required sleep time was only about four hours, meant that staying up a little late wouldn't result in a significant penalty.

At the same time—it also meant we couldn't definitively say, 'Since we're required to sleep to remove the debuff, it's unlikely anything will happen in the middle of the night.'

Also, there was the meta-reasoning that if we followed the rules strictly, we'd have a ridiculous routine of 'go to bed at 9 PM, start activities at 1 AM.' I figured there was a ninety percent chance something would happen, so it was best to be prepared.

That's why we had a watchman posted, while the other group members went to bed first, intending to just take a nap.

If nothing happened, I could just have someone take over after four hours and sleep until morning. I had a plan for how to kill time by myself, but... my yawning partner next to me had naturally stuck around, so my plans had changed.

"You can go to sleep if you're tired."

"Mm... if you're saying I can sleep here, then I'll take you up on that offer."

"You've got some nerve, sleeping on the edge of a roof."

"I'm not afraid of heights, you know. The reason I was screaming my head off in the sky was because of someone's perverted piloting, remember?"

"Is that so..."

"Besides, I don't have to worry about falling off. My 'pillow' will catch me."

"Oh, how convenient to have such a pillow—hey, stop it, don't press against me...!"

Nia, who was already attached to me at a shoulder-to-shoulder distance, lunged at what I assumed was my lap. My body in this softer form might make for a comfortable pillow, but I'd appreciate it if she remembered that I'm a guy on the inside.

Of course, the fact that I'm aware that she's doing it because it's me makes it even more of a problem—to be honest, it's troubling when she gets this close.

She, too, needs to realize that I'm more than aware of her.

Just having our shoulders touching is already quite something. For a kid whose romantic feelings towards the opposite sex have been cryogenically frozen since the first year of middle school, this is a bit too stimulating.

I'm currently in the process of thawing out, so I need a little more time.

Not just Nia, but Arche too... and now, more than anyone, Sora-san.

That's because, since that day, my partner's emotional expressions and physical affection towards me have become incredibly intense—

"...Hey, what are you thinking about?"

"Mostly about you."

When I gave her a response that was not a lie without a moment's hesitation, Nia, looking utterly astonished as I'd intended, let out a strange "Nyuu?!" and froze.

I may still have many pathetic aspects, but I have no intention of letting it end there. From now on, in situations like this, I intend to fight back without flinching.

"I told you, I'll look at you while you're next to me. Besides, isn't it normal for people to think about the person next to them? Stop, stop, no violence."

She grabbed me by the collar and started shaking me, and my view of the forest shrouded in darkness began to shake merrily. Her disheveled side-tail slapped against its tyrannical master.

"What is it with you...?! Have you really gotten over everything a little too much?!"

Well, I'll admit that—but sorry, I have no intention of changing this.

"...Nia, did you prefer the old me?"

I asked nonchalantly, trying to make it sound casual. She, who had been rampaging with a bright red face, paused for a moment, then let go of my collar.

"...Um, well... should I be brutally honest?"

"I'm curious, but either way is fine."

She pressed her forehead against my shoulder, hiding her face.

As I felt the heat coming from her, I gave an honest reply to her question with a question—

"...Then, I'll be honest."

"Yeah."

"The old you, who was flustered and had no composure, but was trying his absolute best for me... was kind of cute, and it made me want to hug you tight."

"Hug me tight, huh."

—She called me cute, I thought, and chuckled to hide my embarrassment.

"—But the you now... makes my heart pound constantly."

She conveyed even more heat, her words direct.

I felt the words whispered into my ear spreading through my own chest.

"...Should we stop here? I think we'll both get burned if we continue."

"Y-Yes, I think so."

"Then let me just conclude with this... —I like both versions of you."

"..., ..."

"...I'm more head-over-heels for you than I thought. This is a problem, isn't it?"

Ah, it really is... a problem.

It really and truly is a 'what am I going to do' kind of problem.

"...I might, just maybe, be willing to lend you my lap."

"...Hehe, wh-what? Don't tell me you've been swayed by little old Nia—"

"Never mind, I must have imagined it."

"No, no, no, no! I take it! You can't take back what you said!!!"

"This is not the energy level of someone who's sleepy..."

My wry smile as I watched the indigo girl dive into my lap with the force of a headbutt was, frustratingly, one hundred percent to hide my embarrassment.

...Because the three people who direct their feelings towards me are all just too charming.

"If you drool, I'm throwing you off."

"A beautiful girl would never do such a thing~"

I really wonder if I'll ever be able to give an answer.

Only unanswerable questions pile up irresponsibly—

...And so, with Nia, who seemed to have no intention of sleeping despite securing a human pillow, I continued our casual chatter for a while longer to distract from our mutual embarrassment.

"—...Hm?"

"—Huh?"

An hour after starting our watch, at exactly 10:00 PM virtual time.

We both noticed the stirring in the forest at the same time.