kscans

Chapter 851 - Before Goodnight

“—So yeah, that’s pretty much how it’s going.”

“Nine layers in two days…”

“That should be a ridiculously fast clear speed, but when it’s you, senpai, it somehow feels modest.”

And so, after finishing my progress report, which doubled as a souvenir story, I was met with one part admiration and one part teasing. Here was my second junior, whose eyes sparkled whenever the conversation turned to me, and my first junior, who never dropped her not-so-childish attitude.

And then,

“I thought you’d clear ten layers a day, easily.”

“Heh heh… Haru-kun is always so energetic.”

Whether it was because of a certain someone who used to kill time here constantly or not, the sofa area had firmly established itself as a common gathering spot for everyone.

My master, still looking out of place as she sat primly on the Western-style seat, and the little blue munchkin perched neatly on top of her, added their own calm and quiet comments.

“…And you’re here almost every day, as if it’s perfectly normal.”

“Is that bad?”

“Not at all, come as much as you like. Want a snack?”

Ri-na, one half of the “Eastern Wings,” hadn’t officially joined the clan, but for some reason, ever since that incident, she’d become a permanent fixture in our [Azure Sky] clan home.

Well, I guess the reason is pretty clear.

Even if she was being considerate of the new couple-to-be, I just hadn’t expected her to show up almost every time she logged in.

Anyway, as for the girl whose motives—be it simple kindness or some kind of complicated emotion—I still couldn’t quite figure out, I decided to hand her a rice cracker I’d stocked up for baiting purposes—a super-tasty, thin and crispy senbei made by my friend, Ittetsu-shi.

“Still… you managed to draw a pretty fun one, senpai. They say the first NPC companion you get is supposed to have the best compatibility. Good for you, not being bored.”

“Wipe that smirk off your face.”

To the self-proclaimed junior who was throwing more teasing jabs my way, I offered not a snack, but a half-lidded glare. Guilty.

I’m actually seriously troubled here. After successfully clearing the ninth layer, just as planned, I showed him my “other side” as promised, but Kendy-dono’s only reaction was a cheerful, refreshing smile and the comment, “I see, just like you.”

I had no idea how to interpret that, and I also had no idea which characters comprised his “you” pronoun. The knight’s stance and attitude were unshakably resolute.

He’s too strong. Somebody help me.

“Kendy-san… A pure tank with two shields, a blonde-haired, blue-eyed knight…”

While I was engaged in a futile staring contest with Tetra that had an estimated zero percent chance of victory, Kanata-kun was muttering to himself, tapping away at his system window.

A few seconds later,

“Ah, just as I thought… —Congratulations, senpai! He’s the 1,117th Unidentified Companion! With a character that intense… unique… I thought it was strange that I’d never heard of him, so I looked him up, and there’s absolutely zero information on him!”

“From start to finish, what was that?”

I sent a gesture to my energetic junior (the puppy) telling him to calm down as he spewed some incomprehensible stuff, but the first thing to pick up on was…

“A thousand, one hundred…? Huh, what? Their title is ‘Thousand Memories,’ but there are over a thousand of them? Wait, first of all, just how many NPCs are there? Is Arcadia insane? Get it together.”

Well, that was obviously the main point.

This is seriously just a straight-up other world. It’s the best. I’ll follow you for life.

◇◆◇◆◇

—And so, after enjoying a good thirty minutes of fun and games with my clan members (plus one) at the end of the day…

“Man, no matter how far I go, I’m always surprised. In every single sense, I don’t think I could ever play this game from end to end even if I spent my whole life on it. As expected.”

Mutter, mutter.

“They said if I provided the info, my name would get on the strategy wiki as the first person to encounter him. Well, I’m already that and this in various ways, so maybe it’s not a big deal anymore.”

Mutter, mutter, mutter.

“But that knight himself is such an intense character… I’d just be providing more material for gossip myself. I wonder if I should be happy about this.”

Mutter, mutter, mutter, mutt—

Ugh, this is painful.

“……………………Um…”

“………………………………………………………………”

Well, yeah. I had just been enjoying a heartwarming exchange with my clan members, and if you count them up, including myself and the bonus member (Ri-na), there were a full six of us. Which means…

“Hmph──────… An—”

“I’m not angry.”

“Sorry for cutting you off so perfectly, I’m sorry, please stop squeezing my arm…”

Naturally, my dear partner was right next to me.

She’d put on a prim and proper face for everyone, and from the moment we reunited after several days until now, she’d been stuck to me like glue, silent, in the adjacent seat. The moment our pre-bedtime chat broke up and everyone else’s eyes were gone, I’d been captured by her for several minutes now.

When I ask, she says she’s not angry, so the only thing I can do is obediently offer my arm and continue to accept the weight and warmth pressing into me without trying to escape.

Well, yeah. I have to trust my partner’s words.

It surely couldn’t be that after I, who had to start later due to various circumstances, told her to ‘go on ahead,’ she’d been in a sliiiightly bad mood for about two weeks, and hearing my fun tale of tagging along with an NPC was the final straw. No, that couldn’t be it.

“……………………If I could have helped, I would have.”

“…”

Couldn’t be.

“……………………As for compatibility… I’m the one who…”

“……”

Couldn’t, be.

“…………………………………………I’m your partner, after all.”

“……………”

It couldn’t—hey, what am I supposed to do about this?

What is this ridiculously sulking angel? Is she too cute?

Her muttering, which I suspect was meant for me to hear, was directed my way. Faced with that, a fool like me has no choice but to hang my head and surrender.

I mean, it’s not like my being this way towards Sora is anything new, but this is bad. It’s no good. When she does that, I have no choice but to kick aside facts like ‘there were circumstances’ and ‘we talked it out until we both agreed’ and just raise the white flag.

In short, the time is currently just before 10 PM.

Faced with my partner, who has now completely gone into a sulk, there is only one thing I can do to effectively use the limited time I have before she gets sleepy.

“…S-Sora-san.”

“What is it?”

“Would you like a sna—ah, s-sorr… I’m sorry!!

I had to steel my mind and body, exhausted from the labyrinth crawl, and devote myself to a desperate attempt at cheering her up.