kscans

Chapter 7 - Bye-Bye, Buddy

◇ [Host of Mush] has been defeated ◇

◇ Title Acquired ◇
・'Vanquisher of the Host of Mush'
・'Conqueror of the First Hardship'
・'One Who Weaves Bonds'

◇ Skill Acquired ◇
・[Weapon Darts]
・Accel Tempo

◇ Skill Leveled Up ◇
・[Multiple Weapon Aptitude] ⇒ [All Weapon Aptitude]

"—Hhhh...!!"

Battle results and other logs are flowing by, but I've got bigger things to worry about—I completely screwed up. I let my excitement get the better of me and showed my crazy side to an innocent, beautiful girl.

It was a first for me. I was vaguely aware that my thoughts had gone off the rails and my tone and personality had veered in a strange direction, but to be honest, I barely remember most of it.

So I turn into that when my tension maxes out...? A shocking new discovery about myself after eighteen years of life...

And what's with me juggling a great axe and a greatsword like that? This isn't that kind of game! Or at least it shouldn't be, I don't know for sure!

The sound of consecutive level-ups is so loud! Right now, I need to figure out how to erase the image of a madman that's been burned into Sora's eyes—

"Um..."

"Hyuh..."

Without even the resolve to check her reaction, an odd sound escaped me at the sound of Sora's voice as she approached. I timidly turned around to see the girl wearing an indescribably awkward expression.

She was probably trying to smile. I could see a glimpse of her usual earnestness, which made it even more painful.

"Uh, um... I-I'm sorry you had to see that..."

I managed to get out an excuse without being able to look the innocent girl in the eye.

"Ah, ahaha..."

And that was her reaction. Yeah, "ahaha" is right. Ahahaha, damn it, I can hear the sound of a flag breaking before it's even been raised! Aaargh!!

It wasn't like I was seriously seeing Sora as a romantic interest, more like just thinking "how cute," but the thought of my category in her mind changing from "a pretty kind guy" to "a madman who throws weapons around while laughing maniacally" dealt a fatal blow to my mental state.

As Sora laughed awkwardly, I, lacking the tough heart to pile on more excuses, was heartbroken. I hung my head and quietly opened my status screen.

Allocating status points in an MMO is a blissful time of joy... it's gentle on a wounded heart...

Perhaps sensing my dejected state, Sora began to panic and tried to offer some words of support—and then,

"Um, Haru-sa, n...!?"

"Huh?"

Suddenly, the ground of the circular clearing where the boss fight had taken place began to glow. It wasn't the kind of light that sparked a sense of danger, but a soft one—and then this feeling...

"Teleportation... right?"

From the cave to the forest, a sensation I had experienced only once before.

The moment Sora and I looked at each other, we were enveloped in light and sent somewhere else.

◇◆◇◆◇

A brief feeling of floating, a sense of the surrounding air and atmosphere changing all at once. After experiencing my second teleportation, I slowly opened my eyes.

And my impression of the scene that unfolded before me was—

"—Wow...!"

—summed up by the excited tone of Sora, who had let out a breath before I did.

"Oh?"

"Wait, a newbie?"

"Seriously? That's rare."

"Two new people in the same faction at this time? Are they family?"

"Could be a couple."

"What? Guilty."

"The jealousy of a single person is..."

"Ugly."

"Shut up, you guys are single too!"

"Anyway, how long has it been since we had a newbie? So grateful."

"A girl! A precious girl! Welcome to Istia, let's be friends!"

From a dim, claustrophobic forest to a vast space brightly lit by dazzling streetlights. What burst into our view was a town with rows of beautiful buildings with colorful roofs, looking just like something out of another world. And in its center, as if by rule, was a magnificent fountain square with a giant sword motif.

It wasn't just the scenery that burst forth; the voices of the many players coming and going also rushed towards us as a great clamor.

...Oh, by the way, that last excited voice was a woman's. No need to report her.

As the voices around us suggested, it seems that newbies like us who chose to join Istia are rare. We ended up gathering quite a bit of curious stares—

"It's definitely a couple, right?"

"Well, they're sticking that close together."

At those words, I glanced beside me.

And I'm only just noticing this now, but there's a strange sensation on my left arm...?

"—Sora-san."

"Yes!"

I called out to Sora, whose face was strangely close. The girl, completely thrilled by the beautiful cityscape and the lively players, looked up at me with sparkling eyes—ah, you noticed? Yes, your face is super close.

Not just her face, her whole body is close. I don't know when it started, but during teleportation, there's a moment where you lose all sense of your body. Because I'm not used to it, my senses must have been thrown off, and I didn't notice until now.

Well, if she's clinging to my arm like that, it's no wonder people would mistake us for a "couple." Ahaha, this soft feeling and warmth...!!

While offering my utmost gratitude to [Arcadia] for faithfully recreating the feel of human skin, I hid my true feelings behind a polite smile. And then, Sora, with a speed that seemed to make a shwip sound, took a distance from me, her cheeks flushing bright red.

"S-sorr...! I'm so sorr...!?"

"No, it's fine. It's really fine."

If I moved my facial muscles now, they would definitely relax into a goofy grin. With that conviction, I kept a polite smile, a mask of iron, on my face. Across from me, Sora seemed to be writhing in embarrassment.

"A rom-com just started."

"What? Are you trying to pick a fight?"

"Hey, don't be rude to the precious newbies."

"Isn't being rude to a happy couple more like a praise, or rather, a declaration of defeat?"

"Cute."

"Cute."

"I can't tell what she's like on the inside, but based on her voice and mannerisms, I'm betting on her being a genuine beauty."

"You gotta have dreams, man."

"Who's that average-looking guy? Someone assassinate him for me."

"Just kill me instead. I'm so jealous I want to die."

"Let's go to the arena. I'll let you use me as a punching bag."

Having shown such a textbook-cute side of herself under the watchful eyes of the public, Sora became the butt of their cheerful conversation.

She seemed to be in a light panic, but she must have heard their voices clearly. Sora's cheeks flushed even more, as if she were about to let off steam... wait, is that really smoke coming from her head? So the game is even equipped with gag-like depictions like that—

"H-ha, hahahaha, Haru-san!! Um, for today! Thank you so much!"

"Wait, huh?"

"Thank you sooooooooo much!!!"

As if to vent her embarrassment, she let out an incredibly loud shout—and with an effect similar to teleportation, Sora vanished from the world of [Arcadia].

"..................Huh...?"

It was a logout of escape, a girl's desperate measure.

"We have an announcement: the presumed beauty has fled."

"Alright, show's over."

"She ran away from you, lol."

"Poor guy."

"Lmao."

"Yeah, lmao."

"That was fun. Good luck, newbie."

Perhaps it's true that everyone's interest in a beautiful girl is the same, even if it's just an avatar. The moment Sora logged out, almost all the senior players seemed to lose interest, either scattering in different directions or returning to their own conversations.

The party was disbanded the moment she logged out, and I hadn't even registered her as a friend, thinking I'd ask her when we parted ways if we got along well.

That means I have no way to contact her... I don't think this is the last time we'll see each other, but I don't know when we'll meet again.

"......................Um, to log out..."

Struck by a not-insignificant amount of shock and a sense of loss, I quietly logged out of the virtual world, feeling some strange emotion that I couldn't quite put into words.

The time I awoke from my dream was around 9 PM. My mother, who had held back her complaints and saved dinner for me because it was my first day, looked at me, and the drop from a beautiful girl (Sora) to my mom dealt me an indescribable amount of damage, and I let out a deep sigh.

My mother, whose face was met with a very disappointed sigh the moment I saw her, got a vein popping on her forehead, and it goes without saying that I received my second lecture of the day.