kscans

Chapter 859 - Weaving a Ball of Fate

"—Hah, I see. So you were trying to act all cool, what a man. …And? Do you have anything to say to us, our hero, after having the crystal of your partner's love, this ten-plus-hour recording, slammed in our faces?"

"I'm sorry, okay?"

They often say that 'time flies by in a flash when you're an adult, unlike when you were younger,' but the same holds true for young people when they're swamped with tasks.

It's been a few days since I resumed full activity last Sunday.

Thursday afternoon, a new week. While I'd managed to shake off the physical toll from my late night the other day, the aftermath of my reckless actions wasn't just negative. So, when I handed over that, it was only natural that my friend would give me some heat.

My combat recordings are notoriously difficult to edit for various reasons. Being bombarded with a massive amount of it one after another would make anyone want to complain. I get it.

And I should be grateful to my friend for complaining so casually, out of trust.

"Really, there's no need to rush. You can set the schedule as freely as you like, and I'd be totally fine with just a raw, unedited stream or something—"

"Shoko. Do as you please."

"Alrighty then, this is what happens to the poor boy who doesn't take our pride into account!"

"Huh? —Wh-whoa!? Hey, stop…!"

And so, thinking that, I pushed forward my consideration for my 'friend,' only to be met with a counterattack from my 'allies.' Kasuga Haru, not the [Haru (avatar)] of the virtual world, is purely non-superhuman, so I have no way of escaping the prison of centrifugal force created by the spinning chair.

It's terrifying. I wish they'd stop.

"We'll have to watch through it all first to judge how many days it'll take to process. …Should I be happy as a fan, or despair as an editor?"

"Ahaha… Well, I mean, yeah. Let's all just divide it up nicely and do our best, okay?"

Unlike the childhood friend pair, who tend to physically attack me based on instinct whenever something happens, the best friend pair beside them, who are exchanging quiet, wry smiles, attack my conscience mentally.

Which tactic is more effective depends on the situation, but the latter usually has the upper hand.

"You know, I do feel bad about it, okay? And I'm grateful and I trust you all. I have no doubt you'll do a great job, so if you could just not overdo it—"

"Ugh, I feel sick…"

"Why is the one spinning dizzy? Is this guy's real-life sense of balance that good too?"

So, within the group, the ones I generally can't defy are Kaede and Mizuki, the manager and director duo. It's not that I'm slighting my two beloved idiots who support the team with their vitality as the pinnacle of outgoing geeks, but….

"—I'm really grateful, you know? There's no posting quota or anything, so, yeah?"

One should respect the strong. That's a law of the world that exists everywhere. …Of course, even such an obvious ass-kissing move from me,

""………………For you of all people to tell us 'don't overdo it,' you know……""

"Stop it. Don't look at me like that."

within this circle of friends, is just another form of banter.

I was truly blessed with good friends, good companions, and so today too, I was grateful for my good fortune and enjoying a peaceful day—

◇◆◇◆◇

◇You have a new message◇

【Sayaka】: "Dearest Haru-sama—…"

"Oof…"

However, in this world, it's not just purely welcome 'connections' that exist. There are also troublesome… ah, difficult………… um, well…… what is it.

It seems there are also 'connections' that are a bit difficult to face, the kind that make you look up to the heavens and pray for divine revelation, thinking, 'Seriously, what am I supposed to do about this? Someone help me.'

After returning home, I immediately logged in as if it were my right to do so. And as I awoke in the bed of my clan home room, a notification for a new friend message was blinking in the corner of my vision.

The sender, as indicated, was the third-ranked member of the Northern Faction, whom I met during the 'Green Connect' conquest—this would be the tenth, or maybe twentieth, letter I've received from her….

No, today's makes it exactly twenty. Because starting with the message of thanks I received on the day we met, she's been sending me words like this every single day.

"……………………………………………………………………………………"

No, it's fine.

Even if she messages me every single day without fail, the content isn't scary at all. It's just a simple, friendly greeting, a brief message of two or three lines… at most, maybe ten lines, a very light piece of writing.

Today's is something like, 'The chocolate I had for a snack today was very delicious, and it suddenly reminded me that you mentioned you like chocolate, Haru-sama. I particularly like white chocolate, but how about you, Haru-sama—' kind of thing.

I mean, it's super peaceful. It's a letter from which I can't detect any hint of malice or even mischief, only an extremely calm, soft, and warm 'goodwill.'

And that's precisely why it's so damn scary.

"Why… What about me struck such a chord with you…"

Normally, if a woman sends a blatantly friendly letter to a specific man every day, it can only mean one thing. However, the only time I ever interacted with her—Sayaka, the [Orb Law] user, a.k.a. the 'Enchanting Saintess'—was that one time, that day, and that was it.

Romance… well, I think I can assume it's not heading in a romantic direction. At the very least, considering the words she said when we met, it should be a fan-like goodwill.

Even so, if she were the type to explode with excitement only when we meet face-to-face, like Rinne, it would be fine. Well, not fine, but at least I could understand her vibe and how her mind works.

But this is no good. I really can't read her intentions or motives.

She's a user of [Arcadia] whose character is guaranteed, a 'Ranker' who has built up trust by making her name known….

And, on top of that, if I hadn't received the words 'She's not a bad person, so it's fine. Probably' from Ashe when I asked her about it in my confusion after being asked for a correspondence,

【Haru】: 'I like basically everything, but I suppose I prefer milk chocolate that's on the bitter side.'

I almost certainly wouldn't be sending such a carefree reply.

By the way, I've of course shared this matter with the other two as well. Or rather, terrifyingly, she had already gotten 'permission' from them before I could even report it.

When I first saw the message and was frozen, thinking 'what should I do, what should I say,' my fear when I received a bewildered message from Sorania saying 'what's going on…???' before I could even bring it up myself is beyond words.

"…Well, yeah."

Putting that aside… it's not really something I can put aside, but she seems to be enjoying a very leisurely 'correspondence' that spans across days, so the messages don't come in succession.

If I reply, it'll be tomorrow again. If I don't think about the mental aspect of it, it's not a big deal, and that's another reason why I've been letting this mysterious exchange drag on—

But if that too is part of her calculations, then it's all the more terrifying.

"Rankers really are all strange people…"

Incidentally, it seems that neither Sora, Nia, nor Ashe have any complaints about me exchanging letters with a specific woman. I really wished they did, so I could use it as an excuse to decline.

Ashe seems genuinely unconcerned, but as for Sora and Nia, there's definitely an air of them being terrified of the 'Saintess' and thinking 'let's not get involved.'

I understand that this choice is based on their trust that I have no room to look elsewhere… but even so, is that really okay with you guys? I can't really talk, but it seems we've developed a structure where jealousy doesn't arise outside of our triangle.

Their trust is so thick it makes me want to cry. Life doesn't always go as planned, does it?

In that case—

"Ah, whatever. I'm playing the game."

When things don't go as planned, it's best to push them to the corner of your mind.