kscans

Chapter 596 - White and Silver

Once the lunch break for both competitors and spectators was over, the Eastern Faction's Four Pillar War selection match, which had spanned two days, had only three matches left: two semifinals and the final.

The featured matchups, of course... well, since the three remaining besides me and Tetra were all rankers, every one of the three matches included a ranker. With no shortage of exciting fights, it was a given that the number of spectators for each would explode.

But even the instance area's spatial expansion has its limits.

The spectator seating, which had become denser as the tournament progressed and the number of parallel matches decreased, had been switched to a lottery system several matches ago. If I were to go outside now, I'd probably see the lamentations of the unlucky filling the Istia district.

That's scary in more ways than one, so I'll be using my blatant privilege to hole up in the special seating—and so, without arranging to meet my seniors, I headed there... and that's when it happened.

"—Eh?"

"—Huh?"

We faced each other, two strangers, and froze, letting out bewildered sounds.

—On one side, me. I had no plans to show my face in public, and was thinking of diligently working on my daily magic training, so I was still in my transformed body.

My exclusive artisan's soul-infused masterpiece, the [Sakura Hanaori], was currently locked away in my inventory for the crime of being a 'super flashy costume' that couldn't be hidden even under a stealth cloak.

I was wearing the [Series Lounge No.6]—a black jacket-dress sort of thing that I had borrowed and then, before I knew it, was officially given to me—with the [Hidden Rat's Cloak] over it. It was a look one step short of full-on incognito.

One step short. In other words, my face was on full display, with my long side-ponytail, which swayed at the slightest movement, let loose... a face that was becoming a bombshell I was hesitant to reveal unless I was in a place limited to people I knew.

—On the other side, my counterpart. A tall, slender figure in a silver robe, but underneath was practical, battle-ready wear fit for a warrior.

A well-featured face with a sullen expression, and short, silver hair that hid one eye, making it hard to tell if it was unkempt or neat. The voice was on that exquisite line where you couldn't tell if it was male or female.

From their equipment and their aura, I could tell that in this place—...even mixed in with Goldow and Mi-na, who were grinning at us from the side, and Ri-na, who was looking on expressionlessly, they had an aura, an information pressure, that didn't feel out of place.

And so, our next words expressed the exact same meaning.

"Who might you be...?"

"Hey, who is this?"

Our questions were directed at the same people, too.

Seeing our reactions, which were synchronized in a strange way, the interesting old man, who had gone down for the count at a mysterious, blistering speed as usual, was, for the moment, ignored...

In times like these, there's only one person to rely on. I ignored the grinning red-head and sought an answer with my eyes, and the honest, good girl opened her mouth as expected.

"Fourth and Tenth."

Her words were excessively brief. Considering this girl wasn't particularly taciturn, that extreme brevity must have conveyed a sense of trust that we would understand on our own—

—no, Ri-na-san is yawning. She was just being lazy.

...Well, anyway.

"Ah, so that's that 《Trance》 thing... huh? That's your alternate form, right...?"

"I see, I see... so you were even more casual than I'd heard."

Having been provided with a concise yet highly efficient answer, we both nodded in understanding at the same time, before ending up in another staring contest. A synchronized combo.

Goldow is having a good laugh.

Well then... it was a surprisingly sudden encounter, but I suppose it's time for introductions. Of course, it's only proper for the junior to introduce themselves first.

"Haru the Acrobat. It's a pleasure to meet you, senpai."

I introduced myself and offered my hand—but he, or she, after observing me with half-lidded, sleepy eyes... unfortunately, did not shake it.

However, they also raised a hand and, instead of a palm, bumped the back of their hand against mine.

"Yurayura, the [Screen]. ...I'm this kind of person. Just ignore me."

And with that introduction came a crystal-clear 'I have no intention of getting friendly' message. And as for me, upon receiving it...

"Got it. Well, let's have fun and get along, shall we?"

"Are you even listening to me?"

Your actual name is so laid-back, there's not an ounce of intimidation in it—I thought, suppressing a disrespectful laugh at my senior.

I beamed my most dazzling smile and declared my heartfelt wish.

And in return, I successfully received a threat from my brand-new senior, bringing our memorable first contact to a neat conclusion.

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A nice, clean, short one. And they lived happily ever after.