kscans

Chapter 636 - Gathering to the Bustle

A flash of crimson magic, a roar, and a blast wave ripped through the air.

The reactive rounds from the [Ruby Rabbit Bullet], a masterpiece engraved with the name of the enemy whose materials it was made from, the 'Playful Fire-Man,' were, without exaggeration, each equivalent to a grand magic spell in cost and firepower.

For a player, just being caught in the aftershock would send their feet sliding; getting caught in the blast would mean taking massive damage; and a direct hit would leave not even ashes behind—or so it should have been.

So then, why is it that despite the solid hit, the pillar of light that marks the defeat of a 'ranker' hasn't appeared…? There's no need to play dumb.

I saw it.

In the instant the crimson bullet exploded—

"Tch… Meddling in my business."

"I can't help it. Protecting my allies is my duty as a Knight."

An armored knight had suddenly appeared in front of the Great Tiger, who had taken a defensive stance, and raised their shield.

"What's with that? It's hard to complain when you bring up your pride… For the record, I could've taken that easily. I'm not just bein' tough."

"Uh-huh, right. …Well, I'm sure you're not just bluffing. You seem to be doing just fine even after getting beaten up so badly."

Full-face, full-body armor is rare in Arcadia—no, it's more than rare; you hardly ever see it even walking around town.

From behind the heavy, unrefined gleam of metal, a bell-like maiden's voice, ill-suited to the armor, rang out. Tora-kichi, who despite being hit twice still had over ninety percent of his HP (doing just fine), twitched his cheek.

"Why were you just watchin'? And you're as cheeky as ever—Aika."

It was as if she had been watching my fight with Tora-kichi from the very beginning… or rather, that's probably what happened. Her tone was less of a taunt and more of a simple statement of fact. She parried his complaint with a cool air, though her expression was hidden—

"—It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Prince. I'm glad to see you at last."

"…Should I have come to greet you first?"

She turned to me, who had been silently watching from a distance.

Southern Faction, Sixth Seat, the Knight, Aika. A rare existence who has risen to the rank of 'ranker' with a tank build, unusual for a female player, and a skilled practitioner known as the 'Guardian.'

Word is that no one has seen her face since she came to prominence, and there are endless debates day and night about the beautiful woman or girl one naturally imagines from her lovely voice… but setting aside her popularity.

In terms of combat, I don't think we're a good match, so she was one of the people I really didn't want to encounter this time. Furthermore, I should add—

"—Well, it'd be weird to come all the way just to say hello, wouldn't it?"

"—If we meet, we introduce ourselves then. Isn't that enough?"

…And so, in a situation where she was with her comrades, I especially didn't want to meet her.

I creaked my neck to turn toward the voices coming from my side, from the path I had just taken. Seeing the two additional figures emerge from the shadows of the web, who could blame me for looking up at the heavens?

Clad in white and ultramarine robes, a petite girl and a slender young man—the Southern Faction's Seventh and Eighth Seats, the Thread-Weaver and the Long Legs.

"Ah… well, this is…………"

Even setting aside the fact that I was engrossed in my fight with Tora-kichi, it was my mistake not to notice such a large force approaching, let alone 'observing.' They might have used some kind of 'spell,' but that's another matter.

I should have at least noticed their gazes, if not their presence—or so a certain samurai would probably scold me. Don't go demanding I have a sixth sense as if it's normal.

But that aside.

"…Goldow."

"What is it? I didn't see a 'light,' but did you finish?"

I know he's busy, but I couldn't help but call. The voice of the General Commander, who thankfully connected via Telepathy in seconds, was answered by a voice that, even to me, was filled with deep resignation.

"Not finished. They've multiplied."

"…………………………How many?"

"Three."

"………………………………………………Is it a problem?"

"Yes…!!!"

"I see—————Alright, hang in there. You can handle it. Over and out."

"Wait a minute, that's just cruel—he hung up…………!"

I don't want to think he abandoned me, but if not, then he has way too much faith in me. I cursed at the disconnected call, but I was still on my own.

There's no way, seriously, no way,

I can win a four-on-one, no matter how hard I try—

"…Well, it's a team battle. Can't be helped."

While I was slowly backing away, the Great Tiger, oblivious to my plight, slung his black spear over his shoulder with a sigh and turned to leave.

Naturally, I was stunned, "Huh?" And as I received half-lidded, deadpan, and other gazes from the three, he brushed them all off as if they were nothing—

"I can't really team up right now. I can't coordinate with you guys, and I'd just get in the way, so I'll get outta here before I cause any trouble."

At his declaration, all four of us, myself included, probably understood—that must be the price of his new ability.

I see. So that's why he came charging at me all by himself… While I was deducing that, the situation was such that I couldn't even throw a light-hearted jab.

And as I stood there, surrounded by the seniors, still on high alert and unable to lower my guard, Tora-kichi turned back one last time—

"Well then, Haru, see you later."

With a mischievous grin like a little brat,

He left me with those outrageous words,

And with a roar, he kicked off the ground and disappeared into the distance.

"…………"

"""………………"""

And what was left was a silence of one and three, each of a different quality.

"…Um, you see, seniors. I'm sure that was just, you know—"

"I think that's what he meant."

"That's totally what he meant."

"That's probably what he meant."

"—…I mean, I don't think that's what he meant, maybe…………"

It wasn't anger… but something different.

It was like a great fire that had been fed a large amount of well-burning firewood.

I could see that the three of them, who had been told in no uncertain terms that he was confident I, the Acrobat, would survive, now had a definite heat in their eyes as they stared me down.

This isn't the time to be thinking about how I can't see a single piece of one person's skin, let alone their eyes.

"…Well then, let's introduce ourselves—I am Sotalm's Sixth Seat, the Knight, Aika. There are a mountain of things I want to say, talk about, and convey… but I think I'll save that for later."

The maiden in knight's armor stepped forward.

In her left hand, a slender silver knight's sword; in her right, a kite shield of the same silver, but emitting an informational pressure far exceeding that of the sword, with intricate carvings etched into it.

"Guess I'm next—Sotalm's Seventh Seat, the Thread-Weaver, Natsume. I've seen all your archives and honestly had a blast, but that's that. This time, I'm going all out, so be ready."

Behind the knight, in the middle, stood the white-haired girl.

Her empty hands held no weapons. But if you looked closely, you could see countless lights attending her—extremely fine 'threads.'

"Then I'll be last—Sotalm's Eighth Seat, the Long Legs, Record. As for what I want to say… well, I'll go with the same as the previous two."

And finally, at the rear, the blue-haired young man.

With a calm expression and voice, he raised a staff—a great staff with a complex head that split into four twisted prongs, exuding a somewhat ominous aura.

Three different people, all with one hundred and twenty percent fighting spirit. Fortunately, I couldn't sense any fundamental hostility, dislike, or other negative emotions from their gazes…

Well, that's that, but still,

"…Istia's Fourth Seat, the Acrobat, Haru. Please excuse my appearance for our first meeting."

"Seeing you in person is truly impressive. I can see why they say you're on par with the 'Princess.'"

"You're so ridiculously cute it's starting to annoy me. A complete defeat for us white-haired folk."

"Well, I can see why you'd be popular."

"Ha, haha… Thank you… Um, please go easy on me—"

As a foregone conclusion,

"But for now,"

"I'm going to crush you with all I've got."

"I'm sorry, but let's have a match."

"Tch… —Alright, let's do this! Here I come, you seniors!"

The curtain rising on a hellish three-on-one battle against rankers was an unavoidable future.