kscans

Chapter 327 - The Raid Boss Event

The Seiryu that Hayato's group had summoned, or rather, the one Lunaria had mainly summoned, was defeated through a joint effort with the people of the Eastern Country.

Seiryu was visible to almost everyone in the Eastern Country, so anyone who could fight gathered at the shrine in the Artisan District.

Esha and Maris-san were no exception. They rushed over immediately, thinking, "Someone must have messed something up."

Against the Seiryu in the sky, the most effective were those who could fly and those who specialized in long-range attacks.

Maris and Surya were the most active. Upon spotting Seiryu, they immediately returned to the mansion to retrieve the Elder Griffon Lancelot and the dragon Garland, who had been enhanced to near his limit. Afterward, they hurried back to the shrine.

They were practically masters of aerial combat. Their high speed pincer attacks left Seiryu reeling. They did perform the obligatory act of trying to tame Seiryu and angering it first, but their subsequent performance more than made up for it.

Other members of the Black Rose summoned a giant crow called a Bloody Crow, a monster that could carry multiple people, and used it to launch long-range attacks with magic and crossbows from the sky.

With every hit it took, Seiryu's altitude dropped. Once it was low enough for ground attacks to reach, the people of the Eastern Country who had rushed to the scene also began a simultaneous long-range assault.

Most of Seiryu's attacks were magical lightning strikes, the type to attack one-sidedly from a safe distance. Once its altitude dropped to within attack range, it proved to be a relatively weak monster.

In the end, Lunaria jumped from the Bloody Crow to deliver an attack, and Esha's Destroy skill successfully defeated Seiryu.

However, they knew that defeating it would create another problem. It was something Hayato's group had read about in a book.

The seal on Seiryu, and all the Four Divine Beasts, would be broken upon their defeat. Hayato had been worried because he didn't know what form this would take, but he soon found out.

"The seal on Shuten Doji on Onigashima has been broken. He has begun his invasion of the Eastern Country. Please repel him. The time until resealing is approximately one week. I repeat…"

It was the signal for the start of a Stampede. It was unusual for one event to trigger during another, in this case, the event to seal monsters in the Monster Encyclopedia, but trigger-type events do not change their timing based on the situation.

Pulling the trigger by defeating the Four Divine Beasts had initiated the Shuten Doji event.

For those who knew the reality of their situation, it was just a game event. But for the NPCs who believed this world was real, things were different. The people of the Eastern Country were thrown into confusion.

It was Benitsuru and Simon who calmed the situation.

Many people had gathered at the shrine in the Artisan District to defeat Seiryu. Benitsuru and Simon stood on a slightly elevated area near the offering box, and Simon shouted, "Silence!" gathering everyone's attention and quieting the surroundings.

Then she said, "You are in the presence of the Princess. Show your respect." The people of the Eastern Country started to prostrate themselves, but Benitsuru stopped them with a smile and spoke.

"Don't worry, me and my friend, Demon Lord Lunacchi, will defeat someone like Shuten Doji, so it's all good! Besides, there are other super powerful people in the Eastern Country right now, so it'll be a piece of cake! So don't panic, everyone, let's give it our all!"

Though her words were clumsy, the speech from the immensely popular Benitsuru elicited a great cheer from the people nearby. Calling out to one another, they each began preparing their defenses to do what they could.

Hayato's group also decided to leave the shrine and return to the mansion to determine how they should respond.

Back at the mansion, Hayato and the others began preparing for battle.

The objective was to defeat Shuten Doji on Onigashima, but there were reports of oni appearing all over the Eastern Country. They needed to both defend the towns and subjugate Shuten Doji.

He would be automatically resealed after a week, so they could just wait it out, but the majority opinion was that he should be defeated. Defeating him would end the attacks on the towns sooner. So, they all discussed how to divide their forces for offense and defense.

In the midst of this, Lunaria shot her right hand straight up.

"Hayato-san, you may have forgotten, but I am the Demon Lord."

"…I remember, but what about it?"

"What is the meaning of making the Demon Lord do seiza?"

"Put your hand on your heart and think about it."

"Are you an evil god or something, Hayato-san, forcing the Demon Lord to commit sexual harassment?"

"Not my chest, your own."

Despite Hayato telling her to stop, Lunaria had drawn the eyes on the picture of Seiryu. That was what triggered its summoning, and it became the cause for Shuten Doji's seal being broken. For that, she was being punished by having to sit in seiza.

They had intended to defeat Seiryu and break Shuten Doji's seal eventually, but that was after they had finished preparing. Because she did it so suddenly, they were unprepared, and the Eastern Country was in a state of temporary chaos.

Because of that, Benitsuru and Simon had left Hayato's group and were now back at the castle, dealing with various matters.

This was partly to quell the chaos in the Eastern Country, but their response also included covering up the fact that Hayato's group had broken the seal.

They were fabricating a story that Benitsuru had requested Hayato's group to do this, in order to prevent anyone from complaining about them.

Hayato had worried that Benitsuru might be treated as the villain, so he asked her not to do it, but she just said cheerfully, "Everyone thinks of me as the princess who messes things up a lot, so it's okay, it's okay!"

If they had been prepared, there would have been no need to invent a story. At the very least, they could have likely prevented the confusion by informing people beforehand.

"Lunaria-san, I won't say you absolutely have to listen to my requests, but I did tell you to stop, didn't I?"

"You did say that. But I am the Demon Lord. I will have you know that it is impossible for me to stop."

"I see. In that case, starting today, you get no snacks, Lunaria-san."

"Th, that's tyrannical. My retainer Rosalie-chan won't remain silent."

Lunaria sent a glance toward Rosalie, who averted her eyes.

Looking slightly surprised, Lunaria sent similar glances to the other members of the Black Rose, but they averted their eyes just like Rosalie had.

Rosalie and the others also believed Hayato was in the right this time. Furthermore, even though it was Lunaria's order, they had obstructed Hayato when he tried to stop her, so they were in no position to strongly oppose him.

Sensing the gravity of the situation, Lunaria began to panic.

"W, wait a minute. I want to confirm something. Did I perhaps do something very bad…?"

"Very. We were planning to do it eventually, but we needed to prepare. I'm sure you didn't mean any harm, and you probably didn't know Seiryu would appear, but I told you to stop so many times…"

"W, well, I went into Benny-chan's room and got really excited, so…"

"The confusion among the people at the shrine has mostly subsided, but it seems those who weren't there are still confused. Right now, Benny-chan and Simon are at the castle giving out orders to various places, so things are in an uproar. And Benny-chan is spreading the story that she was the one who requested the seal be broken, that she's the cause."

"H, hearing it like that, it does feel like I messed up. I will say I am sorry. I can even write a letter of apology. I write them all the time, so I'm pretty good at it."

It seemed she wasn't entirely remorseful, but she did appear to understand that the situation had become serious.

In the first place, telling Lunaria various things might be pointless, since she thinks of herself as the Demon Lord.

If someone were asked what a Demon Lord is, no one could give a clear explanation. They only appear in fiction, so the meaning differs for every Demon Lord that exists.

What a Demon Lord was to Lunaria was unclear, but from her usual words and actions, one could tell she thought of it as strong, cool, and important.

However, Lunaria was far more childish than she looked. Her mental age was the same as, or perhaps even lower than, the late-teens Benitsuru. Her tendency to act on her impulses was less a Demon Lord's behavior and more her true nature.

If she were role-playing as the Demon Lord, that would be one thing, but since this was her true nature, Hayato thought she might listen if he warned her. He also wanted to deal with this now, as similar incidents in the future would only lead to more trouble.

"I'm also at fault for not explaining properly, but from now on, when I say something is not allowed, could you please not do it?"

"I, I understand. In the future, even if I get excited, I will restrain myself. I promise, as the Demon Lord."

"Good, that's a promise. Then, for the sake of the people of the Eastern Country and Benny-chan, let's show Shuten Doji the power of the Demon Lord. I'm counting on you, okay?"

As he said that, Lunaria's face brightened up.

"You can leave it to me. I'll beat that oni to a pulp. To make up for the trouble I caused the people of the Eastern Country, I'll increase my seriousness by fifty percent. When it's over, I might even distribute Demon Lord's Cookies to everyone."

"Then you can stop sitting in seiza. And the thing about snacks is fine too, so don't worry."

Released from her seiza, Lunaria stood up swiftly, her expression serious.

"It seems I've messed up quite a bit, so I will show them the power of the Demon Lord, the Demon Lord's Army. Rosalie-chan and the others, you get serious too."

Rosalie and the others approached Lunaria. Words like "How splendid," "I'm so glad," and "I was smitten by your panicked Demon Lord-sama self," could be heard.

It was a scene that made Hayato suspect that Lunaria was only selfish because the Black Rose members spoiled her, but he just thought, ‘oh well,’ and looked away.

Esha approached Hayato as he did.

"That was some impressive use of carrot and stick. And to do it to the Demon Lord is quite a surprise."

"Was the stick the snack thing?"

"Taking away a girl's snacks is something you can't complain about being stabbed for, you know? I would have definitely shot you with my Beelzebub."

"…Did I perhaps do something really dangerous?"

"About as dangerous as suddenly breaking Shuten Doji's seal."

"I'll be careful from now on… I won't take away your snacks, Esha, but please exercise some self-control. In the real world."

"I can't make any promises, but I will make an effort. That aside, what shall we do now? We have plenty of time until our afternoon work."

"Let's see…"

During the dragons' Stampede, Diite's backup, Hypnos, had been working behind the scenes, so they couldn't afford to lose to the Genesis Dragons led by Veru. This time, however, it was just a game event.

Thinking back to the Stampedes before the Clan Wars, monsters would periodically appear in town, but that was all. They didn't destroy the town or attack NPCs. It would only impose restrictions, like NPC shops not opening or facilities being unusable until the monsters were defeated.

Besides, there had been a world announcement. It was highly likely that players would start flocking to the Eastern Country. Having gone to the trouble of breaking the seal, Hayato's feeling was that he wanted to subjugate Shuten Doji.

However, not defending the town would be a breach of faith. If he treated it strictly as a game, that would be fine, but the NPCs were people. Even if their lives weren't in danger, restrictions would be placed on their lives, so wanting to help them was a natural thought.

"I guess we should split into subjugation and defense teams. The question is who to—"

Just as he was about to say ‘choose,’ the fusuma in the room slid open. Benitsuru and Simon were standing there.

"Hayato, would you and your group go with the Princess to subjugate Shuten Doji?"

"Are you two finished with things at the castle?"

"Yes. We have given our instructions, so there are no problems."

"In that case, what about what you said earlier, about subjugating him with Benny-chan?"

"I and the samurai corps will handle the town's defense. Besides, the attacks will end sooner if you go to Onigashima and defeat Shuten Doji."

"Will you be alright by yourself, Simon?"

"The samurai corps are with me, so I will be fine. We have trained for times like these. Not only the samurai, but the townspeople are motivated as well. The Princess's speech, though clumsy, must have had an effect."

"Simon is so strict. Anyway, that's why it seems Lunacchi and I have everyone's expectations, so I'm thinking of going all out!"

"You can expect great things. It seems I messed up a little, so I will make up for it."

Benitsuru and Lunaria were fired up.

Seeing this, Simon nodded and then looked at Hayato.

"Onigashima has places that could serve as a campsite, but there are no people. If the battle becomes protracted, Hayato's Production Skills will be essential. The island has many materials, but also many oni. Splitting the team would make it difficult to even gather materials, so I think it's better if you all go together."

"Ah, I needed to think about that too."

There had been long-term raid bosses in the past, in the Royal Capital and the Imperial Capital respectively. The teleportation devices had made preparations easy, but this time was different. They would be forced to fight self-sufficiently. Not only defense and subjugation, but gathering would also be necessary.

"By the way, are we allowed to gather materials freely on Onigashima?"

"On Onigashima, anyone can without issue, but you and your group, Hayato, may gather anywhere in this country."

"No, I was just thinking that since there was an announcement, a lot of people might come here. And that would mean more people gathering on Onigashima."

In the Eastern Country, there was a restriction against gathering materials without permission. This was because it was believed that gods dwelt in all things. It wasn't a problem for players who had contributed to the Eastern Country to some extent, but for newcomers, it was an act punishable by penalty.

The Eastern Country required a two-hour sea voyage in real time from the Royal Capital's port. There were also no major facilities like guilds, so it was an unpopular place. There were likely many players coming for the first time.

"There is that. But it would be a problem to have strangers gathering materials in the Eastern Country… My apologies, there may be a scramble for materials on Onigashima."

"In that case, it really is better if we all go together. I asked before, but will you be okay, Simon?"

At Hayato's words, Simon's lips curved into a smile.

"I am still inexperienced, but I will not fall behind against oni. Please leave this to me."

"You're very reliable. Alright then, let's all go to Onigashima. Wait, is there anyone who wants to stay here?"

Everyone was already raring to go, but Maris timidly raised her hand.

"Maris, you want to stay?"

"Ah, no, I was just wondering if Sieg and Max could stay here and watch the house? I think it might be a bit difficult to take them to Onigashima."

"That's right. We don't know what the campsite on Onigashima is like, so this is probably safer."

"In that case, I will have some of the samurai corps guard the mansion. Please do not worry about things like their meals."

Maris nodded at Simon's words.

"Then may I ask you to do that?"

"Yes, leave it to me."

"Thank you very much. Then you two, we'll be gone for a while, but listen carefully to what everyone says and wait for us, okay?"

"Nya," "Kon," replied the Calico Cat Siegfried and the Nine-tailed Fox Max to Maris's words.

Watching this, Benitsuru crossed her arms and grumbled.

"I wonder if a Tamer Guild is necessary for times like these. Should I just give permission to build one already?"

"Even if you give permission, it won't be built immediately, but I do feel the need for it. After we defeat Shuten Doji, it would be best to go to the Western Country as planned and hear the details."

"Right! We had that! Lunacchi! Let's hurry up and beat Shuten Doji and go to the Western Country! This time, I'm going to your room to rummage through it!"

"Hmph, the Demon Lord's Castle is impregnable. My room, I'll have you know, is the strongest."

"What do you mean the room is strong? Does it have traps?"

Two of them were acting strangely energetic, but everyone ignored them and began to get ready.

To get to Onigashima, one had to go out to sea from one of the two ports in the Eastern Country, the one on the east side, and head north. It was possible to go by one's own ship, but without knowing the route, it would be difficult to arrive. So, they paid a fisherman at the port to take them out.

Since Benitsuru was with them, the arrangements were simple, and they were now heading for Onigashima by boat.

The captain told them he had already taken several people to Onigashima. In other words, other players had already headed there. Hayato presumed they were players who were originally based in the Eastern Country.

It was a bit disappointing not to be the first to arrive, but they were still among the early ones, and since they needed to prepare, it couldn't be helped.

While heading to Onigashima by boat, he asked the fisherman about the island.

Onigashima had once been quite prosperous due to the variety of ores that could be mined there, but when the oni started appearing, efficiency dropped, and everyone withdrew. Since then, the practice, or rather the setting, was that miners and samurai guards would be sent to mine ore a few times a month.

(Ore, huh. It would be great if I could mine Adamantite. Everyone's armor has lost a lot of durability from the battles with the Four Divine Beasts and Yamata no Orochi, so I want to do something about that. And then there's the problem of potions and food. I wonder what can be gathered on Onigashima?)

As a production specialist, Hayato could make anything, but that naturally required materials. At their base, they had plenty of materials in storage, but here in the Eastern Country, after consecutive battles with boss-level monsters, the materials he had brought with him had dwindled considerably.

He had asked Esha and the others to go shopping today, so their stock had recovered to some extent, but it was still a bit precarious if they were going to fight a raid boss.

First, he should probably set up a temporary base and start gathering, Hayato thought.

"Hayato-san."

Just as Hayato finished organizing his thoughts, Ren, Ash, and Esha approached him.

"Ney-san and the others were saying it's been a while since they had a long-term raid boss. Is it different from a normal raid boss battle?"

"You don't know, Ren-chan?"

"There was a time when I was cursed, so I was at home for a long time."

"Ah, that's right. It's happened a few times in the past, but it's not a boss fight where you defeat it in a single battle. It's a boss battle where you fight it multiple times over several days to defeat it. Its HP is on a completely different level. On the first day of the event, I was really skeptical about whether it could even be defeated."

When it was revealed during the second day's raid that the boss's HP bar hadn't recovered, and everyone realized it was a boss you had to defeat over several days, it got pretty exciting.

"So that's what happened. By the way, what kind of event was it?"

"It was a little before the Clan Wars started… around February, I think? A giant chocolate golem attacked the Royal Capital. During that Stampede, there was a sickly sweet smell the entire time. It was unpopular with some people."

"It was a dreamlike event. I thought it would be nice if it continued forever."

Esha said this with a rapturous expression. Small chocolate golems had also appeared in the Royal Capital, and their drop item was probably chocolate.

"Huh, but why would a chocolate golem attack?"

At Ren's question, everyone, including Hayato, tilted their heads. No one knew the reason why a giant chocolate golem had attacked.

"That would be an event called Valentine's."

Diite, who must have been listening, approached with a smile. It was clear she was dying to tell them.

"What's Valentine's?"

When Hayato asked, Diite spoke as if she had been waiting for the cue.

"It was a long, long time ago, but on Earth, there was a custom around February where women would give chocolate to men. It seems it was meant to be a day for women to confess to men along with the chocolate, but it fell out of practice due to resource depletion and changes in diet. If you properly research it in the real-world Colony ‘Library,’ you'll find out, but most people don't know about it, which is a little sad…"

A hundred years ago, resources had become so scarce that chocolate could only be eaten by tricking one's sense of taste. Being given "a food that tastes like chocolate if you trick your taste buds" would probably just be a nuisance. Because of things like that, Valentine's had fallen out of fashion.

"So that's what the event was. But why the chocolate—"

"Esha-san!"

Ren shouted, interrupting Hayato's words. She then gripped Esha's upper arm and started shaking her. She was shaking her so hard that Esha's head was bobbing back and forth.

"Did you hear what she just said!"

"My hearing happens to be quite good. But my neck is about to become quite bad."

"Let's make chocolate in February!"

"I make Chocolate Parfaits every day."

"But you're just eating them yourself!"

"Is there any other reason to make them?"

Hayato had a good idea of what Ren wanted to say to Esha. Figuring that prodding any further would release not just a snake but a dragon, he took a small step back and spoke to Diite.

"I understand what the event was, but why a golem?"

"The setting is that the resentment of the men who didn't receive chocolate, and the regret of the women who couldn't give it, breathed life into the chocolate. Don't you think it's romantic?"

"Romantic…?"

Having no experience with such events himself, Hayato didn't quite understand, but he thought there wasn't a shred of romance in that event.

"Speaking of which, there was a drop item called a Chocolate Bomb, a chocolate that explodes, right? What was that?"

If you traded that item to someone and they didn't accept it within five seconds, an explosion would occur that induced knockback. Of course, you didn't take damage, it was a party-favor-like gag item.

Ney and the others had found it amusing, so they still had a considerable amount stored in the base's warehouse. However, why chocolate would explode was still a mystery.

"According to past information, when people saw chocolate being exchanged, they would apparently say, ‘Just explode.’ Well, it was probably a joke, but after various improvements, we decided to make it so it really explodes if you don't accept it."

"Why did you improve it like that…"

"I thought that any man who wouldn't accept a gift from a woman might as well explode. Hayato-kun, if Ash-kun didn't accept chocolate from a woman, wouldn't you want him to explode?"

"I understand completely."

Hayato said this and stared intently at Ash.

"That's a pretty terrible thing to say. But it happens often at your cafe, Hayato, though not with chocolate. I don't accept them."

"Explode."

"Now wait a minute. My head is full of acting right now, and I can't give them false hope, can I? Rejecting them is a form of kindness. And it's hard to turn them down without hurting their feelings, you know?"

Hayato didn't know the struggles of a handsome man, but he could somewhat understand. In his mind, Ash was found not guilty.

"We didn't do it last time because of the Clan Wars, but maybe it would be good to do it periodically. A revival event, you could say. We get quite a few requests for it."

Diite said this happily.

After it was revealed that the financiers of this virtual reality "Another Frontier Online" were related to the Foundations, the number of players increased considerably. Many people hoped for a chance to reacquire items that could only be obtained through events.

Hayato had been playing this game since the beginning, so he knew about all the events, but as a production specialist, he couldn't always fully participate, so he agreed.

"Speaking of revival events, was the one where a giant pumpkin golem appeared as the boss also an event from long ago?"

"That was a Halloween event. Apparently, it was an event where everyone cosplayed and had fun. The original meaning was different, but from what I researched, cosplay was the main part. Oh, and they would also threaten people, saying ‘Trick or treat.’ Humans are a sinful lot, aren't they?"

"I feel like that's not what it means, but was that why the pumpkin golem's drop items were candy?"

"Did you hear that, Esha-san! If we don't get candy, we can do all sorts of things and call it a trick!"

"Ren-sama, please calm down. If I weren't given candy, I would say I'll eat everything."

"If you do that in the real world, I will get seriously angry, you know?"

As they had this conversation, the boat gradually drew closer to Onigashima.