kscans

Chapter 616 - Far, Far Away, to the Other Side

I wasn't surprised, nor did I panic.

What I realized after it happened was that I hadn't been able to react—because I had anticipated that it would happen, and with no intention of avoiding or escaping it, I had let my guard down.

“ “—…” ”

From above and below, our gazes met. The golden hair, flowing down like a serene waterfall as before, brushed against my cheeks and neck. It was very ticklish.

“………”

The breath of my partner who had pinned me down. It was tinged with a hint of confusion.

It was likely a half-impulsive, half-rational act. She probably hadn't expected to catch me so easily, and now she was at a loss as to what to do next.

So like Sora. A small smile escaped my lips, and she pouted slightly.

“…That's not fair.”

A single phrase. But those words were more than enough.

Keeping it a secret isn't fair.

A surprise gift isn't fair.

And that composed look on your face… it's not fair.

“…Did you know that even in a virtual world avatar, your heartbeat is the same as in reality?”

Because I could read her, I replied with ambiguous words that probably wouldn't get through to anyone else.

As I spoke, I poked the small left hand that rested on my chest, the one to which I had presumed to gift a ring.

I'm not exactly calm either, you know.

Deep within the avatar, a virtual heart—whether it truly existed or not, it was there, beating with a steady rhythm that I couldn't see.

Feeling that undeniable rhythm,

“That's not fair…!”

My partner, who had apparently come to the same conclusion, I could only return her gaze with a smile, unable and unwilling to move. Looking up at her face, flushed red with an indescribable emotion that was a mix of anger and embarrassment,

I held up the other ring, still in my hand, in front of the girl looking down at me.

“It’s just ‘data’ in a world of dreams, I know. But—that’s why I’ll add some words.”

As if touching something fragile, she took the ring. Confirming that she had it,

I held out my left hand, and with all the coolness I could muster…

“ ‘I swear by the Moon, to always be with you.’ ”

“—…!”

Even if our relationship had changed, this was one special thing I would never let go of, a promise I renewed.

It’s embarrassing to say, but this was a fateful encounter I was convinced of—dedicated to my one and only partner, with whom I had sworn to see the ends of the world.

“That’s really… not fair…!”

The ‘dream’ we had raised in this world of dreams, which we believed to be another reality.

—And so, after that.

Sora placed the ring on my left hand, and our matching equipment was successfully restored… That was all well and good.

“—…What are you two doing, being all lovey-dovey so openly in the common area?”

“ “!!!!!!!!!!” ”

“Well, you see, I was just settling the score for the crime of being incredibly cool…”

Until the night-owl clan member, my senior and junior, logged in.

That is, for several hours, skipping dinner time.

I was held captive by my partner, who had entered her highest-ever level of super-clingy mode… and it goes without saying that my rationality and everything else were worn down to an unprecedented degree.

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・[Perdia Eternity, Earth-Sworn Star Dreaming of the Blue Sky]
Accessory: Ring ※Locked, Untradeable
A pair of rings imbued with the breath of a sleeping dragon and the blessing of the earth.
The great power has no intent, no will, no legacy; the soul of the bearer is its only guide.
O border-crossers, O you who gaze into the far distance, never let go of that hand.

・Allows for switching between six types of status boosts: STR/AGI/DEX/VIT/MID/LUC.
Boost value +50. When fighting alongside the designated partner wearing the other ring, the boost value doubles.

・Grants strong resistance to physical and earth attributes, as well as impact effects.

・Special Enhancement Effect ‘Everless Diamond, The Eternity of Bonds Connecting Heaven and Earth’—Can be activated at will when fighting alongside the designated partner. Each other's MID and MP are integrated and shared. Duration: 88 seconds.
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“—Hmm… Not nervous at all. You’re as much of a ‘big shot’ as I’ve heard.”

“Uh, well… Thank you, I suppose.”

Though it was our first meeting, his face, voice, and even the aura he exuded were more familiar to me than a distant acquaintance—he was a celebrity. Before the man himself, the current second-in-command of the Eastern Faction, the [General Commander], had my attitude been a bit rude?

So I thought, but the expression on the face of the great man who was observing me with interest was fortunately filled with only positive emotions. Just like the others, his personality seemed to be just as the rumors described.

In that case, the best course of action would be to simply be ‘honest.’

“I am nervous, of course. I’m just not showing it on my face.”

“Well, that makes you a big shot in a different way, then.”

This man would probably appreciate it most if I laid my thoughts bare—with that judgment, I replied, and what came back was a hearty, booming laugh.

A very famous, peculiar way of laughing. It was the first time I had heard it in person, and as my actions had promised, I swallowed a bit of awe without letting it show on my face.

“So, um…”

Just yesterday, I had received a notice from the ‘Four Pillar Operations Committee’ that was less like good news and more like a massive bombshell. To be suddenly summoned by the faction leader in such a whirlwind was… Kanata, the player in question, asked with a confusion and bewilderment that he was also not letting show on his face.

“What business does the [General Commander] have with me personally?”

“Ah, right, that should come before small talk. My bad, my bad.”

From his cheerful demeanor and attitude since we had met, I couldn’t imagine it was anything negative. However, even for someone as accustomed to tension as Kanata, there was a limit.

The [General Commander] of Arcadia’s virtual world was, along with his position in the real world, a true ‘big shot’ of a level that couldn’t be described as merely ordinary.

Before my composed mask peeled off and I exposed my unseemly self, I wanted him to reveal the reason I was called, as quickly and concisely as possible—and then…

Perhaps he hadn’t read Kanata’s inner thoughts, but.

“Alright, I’ll be direct—I had a look into you, and it doesn’t seem like you’re suited for team battles. Your build, for one, but on a personal level, you seem to have trouble with ‘coordination’ with multiple people… sound about right?”

The blade he thrust at me was unexpectedly sharp and swift.

I had misjudged him right from the start.

Faced with the Four Pillars, where ‘coordination’ is key, with few exceptions, and having been unexpectedly chosen as a member, the words that would likely follow were easy to imagine.

And there was a not-insignificant chance that they would be disappointing for Kanata… for example, that I was unsuitable after all and my membership was being revoked—

“So, to each their own—you’ll be a runner.”

“Huh? …Um, yes?”

Or so I thought, but the conversation took a turn.

The order I was given was something I couldn’t quite comprehend.

“A runn—, uh… Um, isn’t that the role of the [Acrobat]?”

“Yeah, so you’ll run with him. Or rather, we’ll have a two-runner system. It’s not like that’s a new strategy, is it?”

A runner, the linchpin of the Four Pillar War, the point-getter. A glamorous role that involves running around the battlefield, a labyrinth, destroying the ‘Pillars’ of other factions and racking up points.

But in recent times, the title of runner in the Four Pillar War had become a synonym for one particular individual—to be told to run alongside that person was a role far too great for me.

This was so far beyond my expectations that my composed mask shattered in an instant.

This is ridiculous. With him there, I’m not needed.

Less a put-down of myself and more a praise of ‘him’ to the heavens, Kanata was about to unconsciously voice his objection—but in the next moment…

“So, have Haru train you, since you two are kindred spirits. I’ll let him know. You’ve got a lot of potential, but we can’t just throw you into the real thing as you are—”

Another outrageous statement from the General Commander’s mouth sent my mind into a complete blank.

“Is such lawlessness even… I understand!!!”

I threw all composure to the wind, grabbed the [General Commander] with my free hand, and…

“O-oh… um, well, do your b—”

“I will do my very best!!!”

“O-oh…”

shaking the great man, who boasted a mass that was more than double my own, both physically and mentally—I took a step, without hesitation, towards my distant aspiration.

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Time passes, bonds are forged, and the fourth chapter, where the protagonist graduates from being a ‘newcomer’ in both name and reality, hereby concludes.