kscans

Chapter 619 - Meeting

Eating is not only a vital activity essential for human life, but also a time of true repose that, depending on one's approach, can soothe the soul.

Whether you enjoy it quietly alone or boisterously with others, each has its own merits and preferences. The same goes for me, whose life has leaned more towards the latter.

Although both my parents worked, they were good at choosing their workplaces, so it was rare for them to come home late, even when I was young. The habit of gathering around the table as a family for breakfast and dinner has made me the type who feels more at ease when 'conversation' is part of the meal.

So, my current situation, which is even livelier than that, is honestly a welcome environment.

During my all-too-brief period of living alone, the blandness of three solitary meals a day had left a part of my heart feeling rather cold—

Well, I welcome the liveliness, but.

"—So, how are you two doing? Are the preparations for the eleventh event going smoothly for your factions?"

"Secret."

"Are you really going to casually ask for inside info when the red and white teams are sharing a table?"

"There's one person left out over here~"

Occasionally is too frequent a number. When one particular chef joins the conversation without even sharing the table, the fun may increase, but any sense of tranquility diminishes, so it can't be trusted for癒し.

Unless we have other plans, it's become a given for us to share dinner every night. At some point, the three of us residents of the Yotsuya dorms fell into the habit of ordering the same thing. Today, it was salmon and ikura seafood oyakodon, and our responses to this were each unique.

Ashe smoothly deflected the sudden teasing, I brushed it off casually, and Nia sulked from afar. Chitose Kazuharu, our personal chef and the Yotsuya representative's aide, with whom we had all become thoroughly acquainted, looked pleased with the varied, yet not-so-varied, reactions.

On an unrelated note, if we were to rank the chopstick skills of this group, the native Japanese member—me—would surprisingly be last. The young ladies' etiquette is just too refined.

"Seeing your confident attitudes, I'll assume things are going well. Setting my position aside, I'll be looking forward to the end of the month as a spectator."

"Good luck with your work."

"The title you're setting aside is globally massive."

"Hey, Kazuharu-san, tea refill over here~"

Each in their own way. There was no longer a shred of reservation or tension in our relaxed interactions. Despite the various complications, the relationships among the dorm residents were extremely good.

Lately, we've even been dragging along Madoka-san, who tries to stay away saying she's in the way of the young folk, and the five of us eat together. When that happens, Chitose-san—or rather, her son, Kazu-san—gets visibly flustered and bugs out, which, I'm sorry to say, is quite a sight to see.

No, I'm not sorry at all. He's usually the one doing the teasing, so he can let the younger ones tease him back once in a while. Madoka-san seems happy despite her reservations, so go on and be a good son.

Some idiot son out there is causing his parents back home literally world-scale worry, but we don't talk about that.

"By the way, Ashe, I can't give you inside info, but just one thing. I've got something I can't miss at night, basically every day until the main event, so just be aware of that."

"...? Mm, got it."

If you watch her closely, it doesn't seem like she's a particularly fast eater, but somehow, she's always the first to finish. The princess, now almost always in 'white' attire within the dorm, gave a small nod to my dutiful report, and then,

"Training?"

"This report is a courtesy to my housemate. I can't share the details with the enemy."

When I deflected her question, delivered with a coy tilt of her head, she let out a soft chuckle.

"I'm looking forward to it too, so do your best."

"Ah, yes..."

That was, most likely, a playful attack directed at her 'enemy.'

Needless to say, the 'expectation' directed at me by the [Sword Queen] herself was exceptionally effective in making my blood run cold.

◇◆◇◆◇

"Good evening! Once again, it's a pleasure to be working with you!"

"Hey, good evening. And again, try to relax, will ya?"

Time passed. It was now just before nine in the evening, after dinner. Having finished his own work for the day, Kanata and I met up in the 'castle's' training room to begin his next round of 'work.'

He showed no signs of fatigue, instead offering a crisp, full bow. Should I be genuinely impressed, or should I read into it a heavy dose of respect and offer a wry smile?

"Alright, then... um, how much time do you have?"

"I can go until morning!"

"That's not okay at all. Realistically?"

"I can go for about an hour after midnight!"

"Okay. So that's about five or six hours in this virtual world."

That was more than enough time for a day's training. We were kindred spirits—fellow ultra-high-speed warriors. If we were to train seriously, our concentration wouldn't last that long anyway.

So then, for starters...

"Alright, Kanata, take a seat."

"? Yes, sir!"

Not to set an example, but I plopped down first and patted the floor beside me. Kanata tilted his head but complied. Phase one was complete.

"Before we start training, let's have a meeting, a conference of sorts."

"A conference?"

"Yep. We need to decide what we're going to train, how we're going to train it, and what our 'goal' is."

I, of course, wasn't used to seriously teaching anyone in Arcadia, and from what I'd heard, Kanata wasn't used to being taught by anyone either.

In that case, just winging it would be unlikely to produce any results.

"'Runner,' okay. 'High-speed warrior,' okay. So then, let's decide on the ideal. How do you become a 'runner' who can mow down both enemies and pillars?"

"M-Mow down..."

I knew I was talking big, but it was intentional.

Being a runner was an undeniably crucial role. I had to make him aware of the pressure now, to build his self-awareness and resolve, otherwise he'd have a hard time during the main event.

This was from experience. I had a hard time four months ago, too.

"You don't need to aim for perfection. Kanata, you're coming in through the general admission, so you have revival rights. You can choose a style where you're prepared to risk accidents."

"Wouldn't that... look pathetic to the spectators?"

"Not a chance. If you go in with that mindset from the start, both your 'opponents' and the 'spectators' will recognize your intent and your strengths."

To begin with, just earning the right to participate in the Four Pillar War puts a filter of 'envy' on the contestants. As long as you don't make a complete fool of yourself, the public's opinion will be kind—

"In fact, you have to think that way. Otherwise, you can't handle being broadcast worldwide."

"Ah, haha... Understood. Acro—... Senpai, even you get nervous, huh?"

"Of course I do. I'm fundamentally a coward—wait, what, senpai?"

In the middle of our meeting meant to ease the tension, I detected a mysterious word. What? I tilted my head, and Kanata tilted his head back as if nothing was strange at all.

"You're teaching me, but 'Master' and 'Sensei' are off-limits, so I couldn't think of any other respectful way to address you... and calling you by name feels too presumptuous."

"You don't have to be that respectful. What's so presumptuous? Just call me Haru."

"Calling you by name feels too presumptuous."

"Seriously...?"

Oh, give me a break. What is going on in this virtual world? Not content with a self-proclaimed junior who's actually my senior, now I have a presumably older working adult junior who's also my senior???

What, is this a trend? Or are they just messing with me?