kscans

Chapter 301 - A Relationship Without Reservations

The day to go to the floating island had arrived.

They planned to fly from the Spirit Country on the airship Angra Mainyu, so they were currently waiting in a wide-open field where it could land and take off for the members to gather.

The members were, as usual, mainly from Kokuryu and the Demon Lord’s Army, but this time, members of the Genesis Dragons would also be participating.

The Genesis Dragon members were Agres, Pat, Suien, and Randa. With Ash and Ren, that made six. The other members couldn't come due to various work commitments.

It was Ash and Ren's first time going to the floating island, and they seemed to be looking forward to it. Ren, in particular, had been in a constant state of excitement for the past week after hearing there was a place where she could have a vacation.

There was still time before departure, but for now, only the members of Kokuryu and Hayato's group had arrived.

With nothing particular to do while they waited, Hayato turned his gaze toward Maris and Surya.

They were talking normally, but it was less of a chat and more a discussion about their tamed pets. Right now, they were passionately debating the merits of their respective pets, the griffon Lancelot and the dragon Garland.

"So Lancelot is specialized in physical resistance… Isn’t he weak to attribute attacks?"

"I just don’t take him to places like that. I use one of my other pets. Conversely, you’ve raised Garland’s resistances across the board, but doesn’t that make him mediocre?"

"He’s my only pet. I trained him to be able to handle any situation. It’s true he’s a jack-of-all-trades, but his versatility is outstanding."

Over the past week, there had been no particular conflicts between Maris and Surya. They had talked normally and fought together without any issues. In fact, Maris had started visiting the base more often, and they had even eaten meals together, to the point where it seemed their relationship had improved.

However, they rarely talked about personal matters. It felt more like they were exchanging opinions as Tamers. They respected each other, but it didn't seem like they were friends.

He wasn't sure what the appropriate distance was, but for now, at least, they weren't at odds, so Hayato hadn't actively intervened.

He was more worried that he should intervene with the trio of Esha, Noat, and Cecil.

It wasn't that the three of them didn't get along. In fact, they were on the better side of things. However, they had no reservations with each other, so their exchanges were often enough to make anyone listening frown.

"Noat, if you keep eating nothing but donuts, you’re going to get round. Like a donut."

"Shut up. More importantly, Cecil-chan, your snoring at night is loud. Give me back my peaceful sleep."

"Fighting is not good. Understood. In that case, I will responsibly eat the donuts. That should solve the problem."

"Esha-chan, if you eat any more, won’t you turn into an orc? I don’t think there’s a demand for orc maids."

"I’ll take you up on that challenge. Step outside."

"Ooh, a fight? If you’re gonna do it, count me in."

It was noisy like that every day.

Despite the situation, it was thanks to this that they were able to bring Noat along this time.

Unlike last time, Relic, Sonia, the members of the Treasure Hunter Guild, and the Dragon Busters were not here.

Instead, they were able to borrow the strength of the Genesis Dragon members who had free time, but it was possible their combat power would still be insufficient. As he was wondering what to do, Cecil suggested they bring Noat.

Cecil must have been used to it. The sight of her dragging the resisting Noat, who was clinging to her futon, felt strangely natural, even though it should have been the first time he had seen it.

He felt a little sorry for her, so he made a deal with Noat that she could eat as many donuts as she wanted. As a result, Cecil demanded meat and Esha demanded sweets, but if it would get them to do their best, it was a small price to pay.

"Hayato, sorry to keep you waiting."

"Sorry for the wait!"

"Ash, Ren-chan, and all the Genesis Dragons."

It was the six they had planned on. Agres and the others looked the same as they had during the Stampede event. Since he had met them many times in reality, it didn’t feel particularly nostalgic, just that their clothes were different from usual.

It had been a while since he had seen them in the virtual world, so Hayato stared at their forms.

Agres was in a black rider’s jacket and pants. His brown hair was cut short, and he was the same age as Ash and Hayato, in his early twenties.

Pat was dressed as a western-style gunman, entirely in brown, with shoulder-length blond hair and a ten-gallon hat. He had only heard that he was in his forties.

It was the first time he had seen Suien’s human form in the virtual world. She was a woman with long black hair that reached the middle of her back, wearing a black robe. Her concept was likely a witch. He had heard she was the same age as Ash’s mother, Kilika, so she would be in her forties like Pat, but she stubbornly insisted she was in her thirties.

In contrast to Suien, Randa was wearing white cleric-style clothes. Like Suien, she had black hair, which was done in two braids on either side. It wasn’t as long as Suien’s, but it was a decent length. She was the same age as Ash and Agres, in her early twenties, but he had heard she was the youngest among them.

Noticing Hayato’s gaze, Pat approached with a smile.

"Thanks for the invitation today. Goin’ on an adventure with a bunch of young’uns, this old man’s gettin’ all excited despite his age."

"Sorry to bother you when you’re busy. Your help is much appreciated."

Pat had always been an elusive, or rather, a nonchalant person, but he had the deep trust of Ash and the others.

His achievements as an actor probably had something to do with it, but Ash had said that his seemingly frivolous attitude might just be an act. He had even said that his dedication to being an actor at all times was worthy of respect.

When he heard that, the man himself had laughed and said, "Flatterin’ an old man won’t get you anywhere."

"You’ve helped me out a lot, Hayato-chan. Besides, I was in a bind with no work right now. Gotta earn some money in the game, you know… It’s hard for old folks to find part-time jobs."

It was a harsh reality, but since his movie hadn’t been released yet, he had no income. It was scheduled to be released around the time this event ended, but until then, he had to earn money somehow to make ends meet.

Since Ash and the others, who were treated as NPCs, could now receive prize money in this event, they had taken the form of earning money through the event.

He had his thoughts on that, but he had also quit his job to aim for game prize money, so he was in no position to talk.

"Don’t say such things that’ll shatter the dreams and hopes of the young ones."

"That’s right. I’d rather you tell Hayato-san about a more dream-filled job."

Pat, feeling reprimanded by Suien and Randa, apologized, "Sorry, sorry."

"Thank you for your help too, Suien-san and Randa-san. Are you also aiming for the prize money, like Pat-san?"

"…Life doesn’t always go as planned, you know. Besides, Veru told me to come here and get over my fear of heights. Can you really cure that by getting used to it?"

Suien had fallen from a very tall tree called the World Tree in her dragon form. To be precise, she was pushed, but ever since then, she had been afraid of heights. Hayato had heard that this had affected her performance in the battle at the high-rise Skyscraper Babel, and she hadn’t been very active.

"I’m not sure. Should I introduce you to a doctor?"

"A doctor, you say. Was that Mist-san and Damian-san we met at the café before? Those two are slender, handsome men, and they’re quite nice…! And Ruth-kun has a promising future…!"

"Suien-san, you should consider your age."

Randa said with a smile, a remark that was borderline, or rather, a direct hit.

Perhaps used to it, Suien didn’t seem particularly angry, but she let out a very long sigh.

"You should pay a little more attention to romance yourself. Your youth will be over in a flash, you know? The time you shine is truly over in an instant…"

"Your words carry too much weight."

This seemed like dangerous territory, so Hayato decided to change the subject.

"Um, Randa-san, your skill composition is specialized in healing magic, right? We’re short on healers, so that’s a big help."

At Hayato’s words, Randa smiled, gave a thumbs up with her right hand, closed her left eye, and stuck her tongue out just a little.

"Leave it to your big sister!"

"You’re younger than me, aren’t you?"

Diite, who could use healing magic, was not participating.

Immediately after the event started, she was swamped with emails to management and was busy responding to them.

The replies were basically the same, but if there was a problem, she had to submit a revision request to Infinity, so she wasn't doing it mechanically but was carefully investigating each and every case.

There were members in Kokuryu and Black Rose who could use healing magic, but having more healers made battles more efficient. He could look forward to their performance in the battle on the floating island.

"Yo, Hayato. Lookin’ forward to workin’ with ya today."

"You too, Agres."

Agres spent a lot of time with Ash in reality and came to the café frequently. Since they were the same age, he had once told him, "You don’t need to use honorifics." Since then, they had become close enough to call each other Hayato and Agres.

"Are you participating today for the same reason as Suien-san, to deal with your fear of heights?"

"Veru-san is a spartan, isn’t he? He told me if I’m gonna do an action movie, I need to get used to high places. Well, being bad with heights is only a minus, so I want to overcome it somehow."

"That’s a positive way to look at it. Whatever the reason, I’m counting on you."

"Yeah, leave it to me. Looks like the Demon Lord’s Army is here."

Agres shifted his gaze behind Hayato and said this.

When Hayato turned around, the Demon Lord Lunaria, Rosalie, and the members of Black Rose were walking toward them. Gil, one of the Ten Dark Knights, was with them.

When they reached Hayato, Rosalie, in her Gothic Lolita dress, gave an elegant curtsy.

"We apologize for the delay. Lunaria-sama overslept. It seems she was too excited last night and couldn’t sleep."

"The Demon Lord sleeps when she wants and wakes when she wants. You would do well to remember that. In fact, you should consider the time the Demon Lord arrives to be the appointed time. In the first place, the one-week delay was for the purpose of making my swimsuit. I would like you to take that into proper consideration. I am not at fault."

As always, it made him want to ponder the philosophical question of "What is a Demon Lord?" but Hayato stopped his thoughts and put on a smile.

"The Demon Lord’s Army is as peaceful as ever. So, the reason we couldn’t go for a week was to make a swimsuit…"

"We wanted Lunaria-sama to wear an elegant swimsuit."

"Rosalie-chan’s swimsuit is less elegant and more just a way to show off my assets. As the Demon Lord, I cannot recognize that as a swimsuit."

He wondered what a swimsuit that showed off her assets was, but there was no need to stir the pot, so he decided to stop thinking about it.

Ney and the others had also needed about a week to get everyone together, and the same went for the Genesis Dragon members, so it wasn’t a problem, but hearing the reason left him feeling a bit drained.

Nevertheless, Hayato was in the position of borrowing their strength. He wouldn't complain about it.

Hayato turned his gaze toward Gil.

"Are you joining us, Gil-san? That would be very reassuring."

"No, I apologize, but I only came this far with everyone."

"Oh, is that so? That’s a shame…"

"It is nice to hear you say that. If there is a next opportunity, I would be happy to accept."

"Yes, please do. But it’s unusual for you to see them off, isn’t it?"

Black Rose and the Dark Knights hadn't gotten along very well, but perhaps their relationship had improved after various incidents. They had come on the same ship to the Eastern Country, so he had a vague sense of it, but Hayato was a little surprised that their relationship had progressed to the point where he would come to see them off.

Gil shook his head.

"Hahaha, I didn’t come to see them off. I am heading to the Royal Capital now, so I came with them to greet you, Hayato-dono."

"To the Royal Capital?"

"I have an appointment to meet with the Maid Chief-dono. It seems she will be giving me a tour of the Royal Capital. The Maid Chief-dono is a fine person!"

"Ah, so that’s it."

The Maid Chief was in love with Gil and they were corresponding by letter. Hayato guessed she was formulating various strategies and decided, once again, not to stir the pot.

A murderous glare was being directed at Gil from the members of Black Rose, but he didn’t seem to notice. A resentful gaze was also coming from Suien, but Hayato pretended not to see it.

With that, all the members were gathered. Feeling a little uneasy about whether things would be okay, Hayato and the others departed for the floating island on the airship.