kscans

Chapter 293 - Interlude: An Idle Chat

"Rosalie! It sounds like you were worried about me! I'm doing great!"

"...Loud from the very start."

At the headquarters of "Daedalus," the clan led by Hayato, Ney spoke to Rosalie via voice chat.

Ney, who had logged in for the first time in a while, had come to say hello with the members of "Kokuryu," and it was there that Hayato had told her about Rosalie.

Rosalie was one of the executives of the Demon Lord's Army and the leader of the gothic lolita group known as the Ten Black Rose Saints. Through various events, Ney had become close enough to call her a friend.

That Rosalie had come to Hayato to ask about the unseen Ney, worried about her.

Rosalie was a person living in this world with her memories lost, but Ney was a player who was playing while knowing it was a virtual reality.

Ney was a blood relative of a foundation that could be said to rule the world, and she had taken on the position of a sponsor for this virtual reality, "Another Frontier Online."

She hadn't actually invested, but Ney was acting as a backer to prevent other foundations from meddling.

However, it wasn't a matter that ended just by saying she would do it. Various procedures, information disclosures, and groundwork were necessary.

Ney had been doing what needed to be done, but it could be said that it was a considerable amount of work. She wasn't in a position to be on the front lines, and most of it was document organization, but just looking through it all was a significant volume.

She had requested the cooperation of the Kokuryu members, who were also her acquaintances in the real world, and that work had finally finished. And today was the first time she had logged in in a long time.

Naturally, during the time she couldn't log in, Ney was not in this virtual reality. It would be natural for Rosalie, who didn't know the true reality, to worry.

Normally, it wouldn't be a big deal. Being worried about by a friend is a normal thing.

However, due to Ney's position, she wasn't often worried about in that way. At most, it would be Hayato and the others.

Ney had the position of a foundation blood relative. It was natural for everyone to be concerned about her, but it was slightly different from being concerned about Ney herself.

Before Ney the individual, there was the position of a foundation blood relative, and it was correct to say that was why she was being worried about.

If that position didn't exist, would there be anyone who would worry about her?

Thinking about that made Ney a little scared. What was important was her position, not herself. Such thoughts often crossed her mind.

And this time, Rosalie had been worried about Ney. Rosalie, who didn't know about the real world, had been purely concerned for Ney as an individual.

It would be no exaggeration to say that this fact was making Ney's spirits soar.

That excitement was reflected in the volume of her voice, but it was quite unpopular with Rosalie.

"Please don't suddenly shout on voice chat. Well, I could tell you were well just by hearing your voice. I was just a teeeeeny bit curious, so I asked Hayato, but it was a needless worry, wasn't it?"

"Indeed, I'm in perfect health. But I see, Rosalie, you missed me! I missed you too!"

"...No, I wasn't particularly lonely. I just thought the noisy one was gone, that's all."

"Hayato told me. He said Rosalie was lonely and came all the way to the base to ask about me."

"That bastard... I didn't say I was lonely. Tell Hayato I'll get him back for this later."

"You can count on me. But regardless of whether you were lonely, you were worried about me, right? That makes me happy! Thank you!"

"You don't need to thank me for anything... Oh, that's right. If you want to thank me, I need you to lend me a hand with something."

"Got it, you're on!"

"...I haven't said anything yet. Even if you're going to accept, at least listen to what I have to say first. Actually, I need Arachne silk to make a dress for Lunaria-sama."

Arachne were monsters with the lower body of a spider and the upper body of a human female, a scary prospect if they were real. There were many kinds of monsters in this realistic virtual reality, and while fluffy monsters were liked, giant insects and spider-type monsters were disliked.

Arachne, which were pretty much spiders, were in the disliked category of monsters.

However, their silk boasted considerable performance. Just as there were expensive metals like Orichalcum and Adamantite, Arachne silk was a very expensive material for sewing.

"Got it. We'll defeat those Arachne. Let's do it!"

"...It's nice that you get to the point quickly, but could you at least ask your Kokuryu members? Won't they get mad if you decide on your own?"

"It's fine if they say no, and we'll just go with the members who want to, so it's not a problem. Besides, everyone quite likes gathering materials."

"Come to think of it, Hayato mastering his production skills was thanks to the Kokuryu members... Well then, it doesn't have to be all of you, so please bring whoever is available. I'll contact you with the date and time later."

"Understood! Tomorrow is fine too!"

"I don't know why you're so energetic, but I'll be counting on that energy. Well then, until later."

The voice chat conversation ended.

Ney felt a gentle warmth spreading in her chest.

In the real world, Ney had no friends other than Hayato and the Kokuryu members. At best, she only had acquaintances. Although it was a virtual reality and not the real world, it felt like she had a friendship with Rosalie, who was a human on the inside.

That fact made Ney's heart happy.

She thought her excitement would calm down after talking, but that wasn't the case. At this rate, she wouldn't be able to sleep at night if she didn't see her.

Ney thought this and decided to go to the Demon Lord's Castle. Not just a normal visit. An assault. The only way to deal with this excitement was to go on a rampage.

Thinking this, Ney told Hayato and the others about it.

Hayato was exasperated, but the other members were all on board with this plan. It was great to be on the same wavelength.

"Alright! Let's charge the Demon Lord's Castle! We'll give Rosalie a surprise!"

Ney said this outside the base and headed for the Demon Lord's Castle in the Demon Country with her members.

"Is Ney an idiot?"

"I don't think I am, but Hayato often called me a klutz. It is truly regrettable."

Ney and the Kokuryu clan had charged the Demon Lord's Castle and were repelled.

It was a given that Rosalie, who was treated as a rare spawn monster in the Demon Lord's Castle, was strong, but the entire Ten Black Rose Saints had come out. They usually appeared on a rotation, but Ney had been so noisy, shouting, "Bring out Rosalie!" that they had all come to see what was going on.

And to the exasperated Rosalie who appeared, Ney charged with a smile.

"I got so happy I wanted to fight! Let's have a match!"

And so they ended up fighting for such an incomprehensible reason.

Kokuryu and Black Rose had fought together before, but they had never fought against each other.

Kokuryu was already at a disadvantage being one person short, but they ended up fighting in a mock battle.

The result was Kokuryu's loss. But there were other circumstances to this.

Even with fewer members, they had been doing pretty well, but Lunaria had joined the fight midway.

"As the Demon Lord, I will repel the intruders. It's not like I thought it looked fun or anything."

And so, all the members of Kokuryu were defeated. Lunaria seemed to be having the most fun, raising Arondight in the air and celebrating her victory.

Afterward, one of the Black Rose members used a resurrection spell to revive everyone, and then guided the Kokuryu members to the residential area of the Demon Lord's Castle.

It could be said they were now being entertained by the Black Rose members... but Ney was being looked at with exasperation by Rosalie.

"You really are a klutz... But I'm glad I could see you looking so energetic, not just on voice chat. If you have no problems, you should stay here tonight. Lunaria-sama says so too."

"Really?! Alright, then let's have a pillow fight and play card games like we did on the floating island!"

"You're staying at the Demon Lord's Castle and you're talking about..."

"Rosalie-chan, where are the cards and pillows? I'm going to show Ney and the others my power as a Demon Lord. I want to drill it into their heads that the Demon Lord in the Demon Lord's Castle is invincible."

"...The cards are in the shelf over there. Not that one, the top shelf."

"Rosalie, are you alright? Does your forehead hurt? Rubbing it so hard like that."

"...No, I'm fine. But I'd like to take a little vacation and go on a trip. I'm just tired from various things."

"I'd like to soak in a hot spring!"

"A hot spring... that sounds nice. Well, I'll think about that later. Since it can't be helped, let's play some card games. However, since Lunaria-sama is here, Demon Lord rules will be in effect. No matter what happens, don't get angry."

"Is there something to get angry about?"

"If I had to say, there's irrationality. She intervenes with the rules when she's about to lose. That's very much like Lunaria-sama, though."

"You guys spoil Lunaria too much!"

"Perhaps we do. Maybe we should be a little stricter from now on. Well, let's not think about that for now and just have fun. It's the first time we've had someone stay over at the Demon Lord's Castle, so please let us know if we're lacking in any way."

"Indeed! I want to stay in Rosalie's room!"

"That's just a wish, isn't it? Never mind staying over, there's no way I'd let you in my room."

"We're friends, right? I don't mind if you haven't cleaned!"

"Please don't speak on the assumption that I haven't cleaned. Do you know the saying, 'Even close friends need courtesy'?"

Such idle chatter continued.

Ney thought that it was precisely because they could have such idle chats that they were friends, and she continued to talk with Rosalie in a happy mood.