kscans

Chapter 23 - A Battle of Taunts

On the day of the Clan War, as soon as it was thirty minutes to the start time, Hayato and the others were transported to the battlefield's fortress.

Inside the fortress, Esha the maid, Ash and Ren the dragons, Relic the butler, the five mercenaries, and Hayato had gathered.

Hayato checked the battlefield information.

The field was a grassland with no cover, under a clear daytime sky. There were no strange gimmicks, so it could be said to be a state where both sides could fight easily.

(Was this influenced by us being F-rank, I wonder? I'm glad it's a simple field… but that's the same for the opponent, so maybe it's not so great. Anyway, the battle is at two in the afternoon on a weekday. I'm unemployed so it's fine, but is the other side okay? Well, taking time off at the end of the month is starting to be called ‘Frontier leave,’ so I suppose they're fine… Come to think of it, is there a chance Leon won't show up? They're A-rank, so that's not possible, right?)

Another Frontier Online was a famous game, and due to the realism of its virtual reality, it had reached a point where there was no one who didn't know about it. It was also known that there were battles with prize money, and on the internet, when working adults took leave at the end of the month, it was called a Frontier leave.

As Hayato was worrying about such things, a voice chat request came from the opposing clan.

During a Clan War, it was possible to voice chat with the opposing clan. If one side sent a request and the other approved, it became possible. It could also be used for deception through words and fake strategies, so-called psychological attacks, so not many used it, but the higher-ranked the clan, the more they utilized it.

Hayato thought there wasn't much merit to it, but he could just reject it midway if he disliked it, so he approved the chat for leaders only.

"Hello, Hayato-san."

"You're Leon-san, right? Hello."

For now, the first stage was clear, Hayato thought. All that was left was to pray that he had the sword equipped.

"First, I wanted to express my gratitude. Thank you. I don't know how to thank you enough for giving us your base for free."

An immediate taunt. But if he didn't reply with something here, he would lose psychologically. Hayato thought so and returned the taunt.

"Don't worry about it. But if you want to thank me, it's easy. Just lose for us. Ah, but if you did that, it would be treated as match-fixing and we'd both lose, wouldn't we? Can't be helped. I dislike bullying the weak, but this time I'll have to fight you normally."

"...Hahaha, you're an interesting one, Hayato-san. You think you can beat us?"

"I don't see any reason we'd lose. And you don't think you can win either, do you? You really only bet a single knife. If you were confident, you would have bet something better."

"That was your suggestion, Hayato-san. Besides, I thought you might be fond of knives. Well, if you manage to win, please add it to your collection."

"So you'll listen to any suggestion I make? In that case, could you put up a good fight in this battle? If it's decided too easily, people might think it's match-fixing, you see."

(I'm such a bad person. But they didn't just steal the sword through espionage, they also tried to take our base through a scam-like act. It might be a permissible act under the system, but it's not something to be respected, and I can't forgive it.)

Hayato thought this as he waited for Leon's reply.

"Your tone is polite, but you seem quite angry. Is this just for revenge, rather than wanting the ranking?"

"That's right. It was about my old nest, but my sword was stolen, and they tried to take my base too. I'm a little angry."

"I see. However, Hayato-san, you might lose your base to that very stolen sword, you know? Wouldn't that be comical?"

"Are you saying you have the stolen sword equipped?"

"Of course. A sword of this caliber is rare. It's not suited for high-HP monsters, but it's a different story when your opponent is a player whose HP cap can't be raised that much. It's a sword that can let you aim for the top of the rankings."

With that, the conditions were met, and Hayato rejoiced at Leon's words.

It was because he now knew that the sword he planned to take back was equipped. All that was left was to get it back. Although he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he was almost certain, and he clenched his right fist tightly. However, so as not to let his joy be perceived, he replied in an extremely calm voice.

"I made that sword, so I'll take that as a compliment—Um, are we keeping this chat on? Should we cut it before the battle?"

"No, we'll keep it connected on our end. Feel free to cut it if you wish."

Hayato hesitated, but thinking he might get information from the opponent, he decided to leave it connected. There was a possibility that most of it would be false information, but he figured it would be fine as long as he assumed it was all lies from the start.

"No, we'll keep it connected too. Well then, let's both do our best fair and square."

"I can't quite agree with that."

"Meaning?"

"We weren't able to send a spy, but let's just say I've bribed one of your allies, Hayato-san. A Clan War starts with many things before the battle itself. Be careful."

Did he bribe an NPC? Hayato laughed to himself, but then reconsidered, thinking there might be a possibility of betrayal. And he decided to mix in some information of his own that might be true or false.

"Thanks for the warning. In that case, I'll give you some information too. That sword has a special effect that doesn't appear in the item list, so you'd better be careful how you handle it."

"...That's hard to believe."

"As you like. But I've warned you."

Leon had already brought the sword into the Clan War. In this state, it could only exist as equipped or in his item bag. Since there was nothing he could do now, Hayato figured there was no problem in trying to rattle him about the sword. If it created even a little hesitation, it would be effective enough.

With that, he temporarily cut the chat with Leon.

And he looked at the faces of everyone in the fortress.

"This battle isn't just about winning, there's also the condition of getting the sword back. Honestly, it's going to put a huge burden on you, but I ask for your cooperation."

When Hayato said that, Ash nodded his head.

"It's an important sword to a friend, isn't it? Then it's only natural to try and get it back. Besides, the tougher the conditions, the more fired up I get. My arms are itching for a fight."

"Indeed. I have participated in Clan Wars many times, but this is the first time my thieving skills have been sought. I will certainly meet those expectations and steal the target sword for you to see."

"I, I'll do my best to curse them too!"

And the mercenary members also said they would do their best. But only Esha remained silent.

"Um, Esha, are you still not convinced?"

"No, that is not the case. I do not dislike that way of thinking of yours, Master. Though I do think you are a naive little boy."

"A naive boy… Then, are you thinking about something?"

"I was wondering how many bottles of melon juice I can drink today. And you also prepared a bucket pudding, did you not?"

"I made it because you asked, but are you really going to eat it?"

"Of course—Ren-sama, where do you think you are going? All the food in the clan storage belongs to me."

"No, it's for everyone. Oh, right, their leader said he bribed someone. Does anyone have any idea who it might be?"

Even NPCs could betray you. But Hayato believed in everyone here. He didn't know if NPCs had a state of relaxation, but he said that as a joke to lighten the mood.

It was a joke, but all eyes gathered on Esha.

Esha grinned.

"My, my, have I been found out? Master, if you do not wish to be betrayed, please give me a super eclair every day from now on. Quality of three stars or higher."

"Let me tell you, if we lose this Clan War, we lose our base and money, so I won't be able to hire you next month, you know?"

"...I will fight as if my life depends on it. Waiting on standby at the Maid Guild without any work is painful because of the stares. And it's tough when they leave job-hunting magazines nearby."

(Why is she a maid, anyway?)

While having such thoughts, Hayato went over the plan with everyone.

Over the past week, while preparing food and medicine for the Clan War, he had discussed strategy with Ash and the others many times.

In the end, because they couldn't defeat Leon first, they came to the conclusion that they had no choice but to fight according to the opponent's situation.

Normally, the best counter would be to position allies near the enemy's territory to prevent them from casting Meteor Swarm at the start, or a strategy of aiming for the Clan Stone with an instant-kill rush. But due to various circumstances, they couldn't do that.

Inevitably, they would have to defeat everyone other than Leon one by one. So, the plan was for everyone to hole up in the fortress at first, and for Esha to attack from there.

In other words, whether Esha could defeat the woman in the dress who cast Meteor Swarm would be the key to this battle.

"Esha, you can eat and drink as much as you want, so please, be sure to defeat the woman in the dress. If possible, in a short amount of time."

"Being able to eat bucket pudding and chug melon juice, I could be said to be invincible. I shall show you, Master, my wondrous skill that earned me the name Goddess of Annihilation."

"That's reassuring. I'm counting on you. Well then, let's go to the roof."

Everyone nodded and then moved to the fortress roof.

And at the same moment they arrived on the roof, the Clan War began.