kscans

Chapter 858 - I Kept You Waiting

"—Seriously, senpai, you're an idiot."

"—As expected of you…!"

"—…"

After winning the deathly struggle on the thirtieth floor, it took another three hours or so in virtual world time.

The moment I finished my report, brandishing my hard-won 'results' to the three younger-looking members waiting in the clan home, they each let out a sigh with their respective expressions.

Exasperation, admiration, and… well, what can I say. A face that looked pained, or something like that. As it was pretty much what I'd expected, there was no need for me to drop my smug look.

And so, finally.

"I'm rejoining you all starting today! Looking forward to it!"

Everyone here was now on the same page, with their floor progress at thirty-five. Belatedly, but safely, I had caught up, so it was time for me to join my companions.

"What about the NPC knight?"

"I originally requested his help 'for the period until I catch up with my先行してる仲間に,' so we parted ways after clearing the thirty-fourth floor. …But well, we'll probably have chances to see each other from time to time."

"Ah… yeah, probably."

Being that attached to me, it's hard to imagine it'll be 'the last time.' Including the friendship of comrades who fought together on a harsh battlefield, I've grown attached to him in various ways.

He may be a different existence from us humans who came from the outside, but in the end, I can only see him as another person. Whether he's an NPC or not, in my mind, he's already a 'friend.'

And his name is now properly etched into my friend list, after all.

I knew about it as knowledge, including the fact that it's a rather rare case, but… when Lord Kendy actually asked me to 'form a bond of friendship' as we were parting, I was quite surprised.

—Anyway, that's that.

"Well, whether we have things to catch up on or not, let's just leave it at that for now. For the moment, let's go tree climbing. I was looking forward to joining up and tackling it. C'mon, c'mon."

"Wh-whoa… Ahaha, okay, okay."

"Did you get any sleep, senpai? You seem kinda hyper… Ah, jeez, don't push."

Now that I've finally caught up, it's a waste of time to chat about things we can talk about anytime, anywhere. Let's hurry to the playground and enjoy a clan party for the first time in half a month. With that thought, I started pushing Kanata and Tetra, who were nearby.

And so, as I made my way to the clan home's teleport gate, a.k.a. the entrance….

"Hey, Sora-san!"

I turned around and called out to my partner, who was looking at me fidgeting.

◇◆◇◆◇

—The girl, who had never been angry, was now angry.

He probably pushed himself too hard. He probably went through a lot. He probably tried extremely hard.

It was definitely for her sake.

…And he almost certainly didn't get any proper sleep last night.

She was terribly, terribly angry with herself for making him do something so foolish, and with her partner, Haru, for doing something so foolish for her sake. —However,

The total value of all her swelling emotions was so great that, in comparison, her anger didn't take up much space in her heart, which was the problem.

She remembered the message she sent last night, ignoring her embarrassment.

She knew that it had been marked as read, something that would make her writhe if she looked back at it.

So the girl was watching and waiting. Waiting for the moment her hyper-acting partner would push the two boys into the light of the teleport gate—

And so, the instant they were alone, Sora, who had chased after his back,

"Ah—… Heh…"

for just three seconds. A mere three seconds. Only three seconds. In the place she stepped into, Haru, who had turned around as if he had timed it perfectly, pulled her into a tight, frontal embrace,

"I kept you waiting. Let's go."

and as her beloved took her hand with a bashful smile, her mind was ultimately turned completely white.

She was swept away, into the light of the teleport gate.