kscans

Chapter 925 - A Parallel Routine

"—Hey, if it isn't the delinquent."

"Ah, it's the delinquent who skips school to play games."

"That's quite a 'good morning' you've got there…"

Tuesday morning, the next day. As soon as we met in the university lecture hall, I was immediately teased by the duo who were both my easygoing friends and reliable teammates.

The reason was obvious. I had missed my classes yesterday.

"Well, in this day and age, showing up here is more likely to get you marked absent, y'know?"

Toyama Toshiki, a sporty young man, said this with a joking tone, but when measured against the current standard, his words were terrifyingly accurate.

"No rest for the wicked, huh, Nozomin?"

And then there was that familiar, all-knowing grin. Ashiwara Shoko, a black-haired beauty who was once again the center of attention for all the male students in the room, seemed to be living freely as always, paying them no mind.

She tugged on my sleeve, and I was made to sit next to her with a soft thud.

""How far'd you get?""

"…Ninetieth floor. Morning."

""'Morning."

They whispered, just in case.

The two of them, assuming I'd spent the entire previous day on the game, tilted their heads at my more modest-than-expected progress, thinking 'Huh, not as far as I thought,' before casually returning my greeting.

Well, of course. I hadn't told them.

Just like with Sora, and with Ashe… they've probably figured out by now that I'm also acquainted with the remaining Fairy of the Blue Jade in the real world, but it's not confirmed information yet.

That goes not only for the public but for my friends as well. There's no reason to introduce them, and Nia has no reason to meet my friends, so the chance of them meeting is zero.

In that case, there's no need to be completely honest about it.

Therefore, today, I am, without a doubt, the guy who skipped school yesterday to play games.

"Still, to get to the ninetieth floor in a week or so…"

"Didn't even need two weeks, huh… Wow, as expected!"

In any case, sharing everything that isn't personal is what being a team is all about.

Aside from my private affairs, the two of them are aware of almost all of my activities as the Acrobat, and they certainly know that a party of rankers is currently steamrolling the Key Tree Maze.

Every time I hand them the recorded data for the archives, they scream for two different reasons.

"As usual, I'll pass this along to Mizuki later, along with the data from Saturday and Sunday. Make sure you guys look it over."

"Ugh, great…"

"The data backlog just keeps growing…"

And so, it was the same this time… except,

"………………"

"…Huh? Is that an evil look on your face?"

"…What did he do this time?"

While sharing everything non-personal is the norm, our relationship is built on being close friends. So occasionally, I, the one who's always being teased, get to be the one pulling a prank.

In other words, the fact that I unleashed a rampage yesterday with my newly evolved Terror Armament is a surprise. They can be thoroughly shocked when they see it at their workshop, the Shijo residence—

◇◆◇◆◇

"—Good morning."

"Good morning, Nozomi-kun. …Good work yesterday?"

"Now that's a much nicer 'good morning'…"

Before the second period, it was still, just barely, morning.

As soon as we met in the lecture hall, I was greeted with two pleasant greetings and smiles, and I found myself feeling at ease with this pair of best friends, whose bond of trust was in a different category from my other childhood-friend pair.

In any case, they probably had no idea what I was talking about.

In response to my relaxed smile and nonsensical words, the two girls tilted their heads with a shared "?" and I just shook my head, saying, "It's nothing."

"Morning. —Here, Kaede, I need you to take this."

This time, without being tugged on, I sat down peacefully and handed a USB drive from my bag to the stylish and fluffy Shijo Kaede.

And so, the young lady of the Shijo conglomerate and my de facto manager as the Acrobat, Kaede-san, said…

"Ah, yes, of course. I have received it."

She accepted the item reverently, her demeanor half-serious, half-playful.

"Progress?"

And from the seat behind her, her best friend's glasses glinted with curiosity.

Kajisawa Mizuki, more than just the director for the archive video editing, was becoming the Acrobat's producer to Kaede's manager.

"Ninetieth floor."

"…Was it Earth?"

"It was."

"……Four-attribute completion reward?"

"There was one."

"…………Mm, just as I predicted."

Compared to Toshiki and Shoko, Kaede and Mizuki are the calmer pair, but when it comes to their level of nerdiness, they leave the other two in the dust. Her best friend, looking satisfied but expressionless now that her theory had been proven correct, was being watched by the young lady with a fond smile.

As for who's the most far-gone of them all…—

"…Nozomi-kun?"

"Hmm, what should I have for lunch today?"

"I know what you're doing, you know. You were just thinking something rude, weren't you!"

For the sake of peace, I think I'll keep that to myself.

◇◆◇◆◇

"—So, with that, it's pretty much guaranteed I'll have some free time soon."

""""Ooh.""""

And so, after class, during lunch break. As part of a group with zero bento-packers, we were contributing to the usual cafeteria bustle, having secured our respective sources of energy at our table.

"So, like I mentioned a while ago… —I was thinking we should set aside some time somewhere to thank you all for your dedicated support. So, yeah."

""Yeah!""

"Looking forward to it."

As I said, this was a topic we'd been talking about for a while—specifically, since we started the Key Tree conquest and I began placing a huge burden on the four of them. As I brought it up, cheers erupted from the usual direct hype-duo, Toshiki and Shoko.

Mizuki chimed in quietly, and Kaede was smiling elegantly beside her.

"I plan to wrap things up sometime this week. So, if we want to do it as soon as possible, I'm free this weekend, Saturday or Sunday… but what about you four—"

""Yeah!!""

"Yeah."

"Manager, translate."

"Ah, haha… I think they're saying… that Saturday and Sunday are fine………… maybe?"

The last bastion of sanity, Kaede-san.

By the way, if she were to reveal her true self, the one who's the most far-gone of them all is—

"Nozomi-kun?"

"Wait, I thought I did a pretty good job with my poker face just now."

"What exactly are you trying so hard to do, honestly…!"

Is everyone's ability to read me getting a little too good?

Like, seriously? Am I that easy to read these days? Back in high school, people used to say things like, 'I can never tell what Kasuga-kun is thinking,' but that's beside the point…

"Well, that's the gist of it."

"Ah, he just glossed over it…!"

"So, if any of you have any requests, just let me know."

—The virtual world is important, but needless to say, the real world is too.

"Yes! Can we ask for anything?!"

"You're full of energy, Shoko-kun. As long as it's something I can actually do, I'll probably allow it. Think of whatever you like."

"Yes! So it's okay to show no mercy?!"

"You're full of energy, Toshiki-kun. Bring it on. I don't for a second think I'm earning all this by myself."

"Yes. Is So—Hinata-chan coming along…"

"Ah… I'll have to get back to you on that, Mizuki-kun. I'll try asking her."

It's not just about thanking my friends and rewarding my companions. To be honest, a large part of it is just me wanting to enjoy my youth as a student.

So, naturally.

"…Yes. Let's go bowling, Nozomi-kun."

"Could you please spare me from another session of watching my pathetic failure, Kaede-kun?"

"I cast one vote for the pathetic failure viewing party."

"Oh, I'll also cast a vote for the pathetic failure viewing party!"

"Hey, ganging up on me is a dirty trick, ladies…!"

"Time to pay the piper, you god-awful bowler."

"Don't call me a god-awful bowler…!"

The me over there, and the me over here… whoever said it, neither of us has any 'free time'.