kscans

Chapter 443 - The Battle in the Ruined Castle

The members of the clan Mont Blanc gathered in a room at the Maid Guild.

Ingrid was in the same room, but she was introduced as Parfait’s bodyguard. The questions from Natsu and the others about what a bodyguard was for in virtual reality were quite reasonable.

"Is it a bad thing that this Ronios person from Shooting Star is trying to contact my friend, Parfait?"

"It’s plain to see it will clearly be a pain. That woman is invincible, both physically and mentally."

Ingrid answered Natsu’s question. Parfait figured that "physically invincible" probably meant she was the head of the Gemini Foundation. She was surprised her parents were acquainted with such a person, but she was even more surprised by the information that Ronios had been obsessed with her father, Hayato.

"But it’s not about protecting you from combat or anything like that. It’s more like I’m a monitor, to keep you from making any unreasonable promises."

"To keep me from making unreasonable promises, you say?"

According to Ingrid, Ronios would most likely contact Parfait and try to arrange a meeting outside the game or secure some other kind of promise. Of course, Parfait could back out later, but there was a chance Ronios would bring it up endlessly, so she was told to absolutely never make a promise with her.

So, Ingrid would always stay near Parfait to prevent any such promises from being made. This was something only Ingrid, a Foundation affiliate herself, could do. For an ordinary person, it would be difficult to interrupt the words of a Foundation head, even in virtual reality.

"It might be a little restrictive, I know. It would help if you could think of it as a quest with special conditions."

"No, it’s not a problem. I think I can learn a lot if you’re by my side, Ingrid-san."

It was not Parfait who said that, but Chris. She had been trying to appeal to Ingrid with shadowboxing for a while now.

Everyone went quiet for a moment, but then Parfait agreed, "You’re right."

"Still, that Ronios-san. She’s a capable person, but to think she’d go this far for something like that is surprising. Then again, I suppose she’s the type who would."

As Rick murmured this, Parfait looked over at him.

"Come to think of it, Rick-kun, do you know Ronios-san? Did you mention something like that before?"

"I just thought it was someone with the same name, but it seems it was her after all. Of course, I know of Ronios-san, the head of the Gemini Foundation. My father is somewhat acquainted with her, and I’ve met her a few times. He said she was a partner he used to get into mischief with back in AFO."

"Mischief?"

"He didn’t tell me the details. He said it was a plan to outwit a certain person with some faraway allies, but my father looked like he was having fun when he talked about it. Though he seemed a little lonely, too."

"Hmm?"

AFO has been running for nearly twenty years. Parfait figured all sorts of things must have happened. The same could be said for her own father, which was somehow turning into a huge deal.

Suddenly, Ginny, who had been quiet for some time, entered Parfait’s line of sight. She seemed to be deep in thought, a troubled look on her face.

"Is something wrong, Ginny-chan? You’ve been thinking hard this whole time. Are you still in mourning?"

"H, he’s not dead yet! I, it’s okay, it’s just the glasses, th, there’s still a chance…!"

"Um, you don’t have to force yourself, you know."

"No, it’s really not that. It’s just that I have a few thoughts about Ronios-san."

Her favorite character was in a terrible situation, so Ginny’s abilities were significantly diminished. Parfait thought that might be why she looked so troubled, but apparently it was something else.

"Come to think of it, Mikan-san’s company and the Gemini Foundation are partners, right?"

"Yes. So I have greeted Ronios-san at party venues and such."

"Oh! Right, Rick-kun, you’ve met her too, haven’t you? What does Ronios-san look like?"

Rick and Ginny glanced at each other.

"She looks incredibly young."

The two of them said something to that effect at the same time. That was not exactly what Parfait wanted to know, but if they both said so, it must be quite something. She pressed further.

"How young?"

Rick thought for a moment, saying, "Let’s see…"

"Her actual age is in her early forties, but she looks like she’s in her early twenties. She looks younger than Rose-san, the Guild Master of the Maid Guild."

"No way!?"

Even Rose looked far younger than her age, so to surpass that was frightening. She had heard there was technology for that sort of thing, but she had never heard of it being put into practical use.

Ginny nodded as if to prove it was true.

"That’s right. Ronios-san has a younger sister named Cremola-san, but she looks even younger than her."

"Could it be she’s doing something illegal…?"

"That’s impossible. Ronios-san would do things that just barely skirt the law."

"That’s not what I meant…"

If it just barely skirted the law, it certainly was not illegal, but if she was doing things that came that close to breaking the law, she was someone to be wary of.

After that, they confirmed a few more details about Ronios’s appearance.

She often wore her silver hair slicked back and tied behind her head, and she basically dressed in men’s clothes. Neither Rick nor Ginny had ever seen her wear a skirt or a dress, and she always acted in a masculine manner.

"Ronios-san is so strong she doesn’t need bodyguards, and she basically acts alone. Well, she has Secret Service with her, but it’s probably a minimal detail."

"She’s quite a beautiful person, but she does not have a spouse. Her younger sister Cremola-san is married to a man named Harrington-san, who was her aide."

"Huh. It was a Foundation I didn’t have much to do with, so I didn’t know much about it. Is that right?"

Parfait suspected that people around her might have been doing things to make her think it was an unrelated Foundation, but she felt her father and mother would not have been part of that.

Then she wondered. Why had Ginny looked so troubled?

"Hey, I understand about Ronios-san, but Ginny-chan, why did you have such a difficult look on your face earlier?"

"About that. The Cremola-san and Harrington-san I just mentioned have a daughter around our age, and I greeted her at a party when I was in elementary school."

"Is that so? But what about it?"

"I haven’t seen her at all recently, so my memory is fuzzy, but I remembered that her birth month was the same as mine. And she said she wanted to play AFO someday, so I thought if she belonged to Shooting Star, I might be able to see her again."

"Oh, I see. But only when you were in elementary school?"

"Since she’s from a Foundation family, she was probably tutored directly instead of attending school. She stopped attending recent parties, so I haven’t seen her in nearly ten years."

"That’s how it is for most people related to the Foundations. I, on the other hand, went to a normal educational institution."

Ingrid affirmed Ginny’s words.

For Parfait, who grew up in an ordinary family, she could only think, "Huh."

"Cremola-san’s daughter is Wilnel-chan. I’ve hardly ever met her either, though."

"Right, right, that was her name. How nostalgic… I want to teach her about my favorite manga…! No, she might even be a believer in Heart-Pounding Pandemonium…!"

At those words, Rick immediately hid his face with his helmet. Parfait wanted to say the character was not here, but he might have some kind of trauma, so she decided to leave it alone.

"Special Quest ‘Operation Annihilate Shooting Star’ will now commence. You will be teleported to the main base. Please defeat the clan leader, Ronios. I repeat…"

As the world announcement played, Parfait and the others were teleported to a stone room in the next instant.

Having her vision switch in a moment was something she never quite got used to. Parfait took a deep breath and checked her surroundings.

All the members were present. She did not know where this place was, but it was made of dark-colored stone with no windows, and despite being spacious, it felt strangely oppressive. Lamps that served as light sources were placed at equal intervals on the walls, but they were not very bright.

"Everyone, are you okay?"

Everyone nodded at Ingrid’s words.

"This is the castle occupied by the Shooting Star clan. It’s a ruined castle in the Demon Country, so be careful. There are all sorts of traps."

"Traps, you say?"

"There probably aren’t any traps that will defeat you in one hit, but knowing Ronios-san, I’m sure there are some designed to separate you from everyone else, Parfait-chan."

"Huh? Would she go that far?"

"She definitely would. That woman doesn’t care about the means to an end… If she gets serious, even I can’t win, so if I’m defeated, run away immediately."

Ronios had absolutely no redeeming qualities. And Ingrid, whose muscular build made defeat seem unimaginable, said she could not win against her. This made Parfait all the more curious.

(Why would someone like that be obsessed with Dad?)

The best thing to do would probably be to stay put. But if they did nothing, there would be no point in participating, and Ronios would likely do something else unnecessary.

For that reason, Parfait and the others left the room.

In the first place, Shooting Star had bought up massive quantities of food and driven up the prices. Because of that, people could not purely enjoy the event, so annihilating them was an absolute must.

While hoping someone else would defeat Ronios, Parfait and the others began to explore.

"Mmph, the real combat format is tough since I can’t use magic. I cannot create skeletons."

"Come to think of it, those are the rules, aren’t they. You can still shoot a gun, so do your best with that."

"Fuhahaha! Leave it to me! My gun thirsts for blood today!"

There was Natsu, who was in high spirits for some reason. Chris was still shadowboxing. Rick was cautiously scanning the area, and Ginny was walking at a leisurely pace. The only ones who seemed tense were Rick and Ingrid, and it was Ingrid who told everyone to stop.

"What is it?"

"I hear footsteps. They’re coming this way, so they’re probably enemies. We’ll intercept them."

When Ingrid said that, Parfait and the others readied their weapons.

Immediately after, about six people rushed out from a corner about twenty meters ahead.

"That’s the girl! We’ll proceed as planned!"

Most of them were wearing armor, but one was wearing a magician-style robe, so their line of sight was clear. They were obviously looking at Parfait when they said, "That’s the girl."

(So they really are after me?)

She had thought it might have been some grand lie, but Parfait revised her thinking. It seemed that was not the case.

The battle began immediately.

The corridor was not so narrow, but it could not be called wide either. In a place like this, combat was limited to three against three.

Parfait, Chris, and Ingrid began to fight three of the opponents.

(Ah, they’re stronger than I thought…)

Parfait dodged her opponent’s attack and tried to launch a counter, but they must have seen it coming, as they immediately evaded to a spot where she could not attack.

Furthermore, they seemed to be adjusting their positioning and evasions to get in the way of her allies, making every move, offense and defense, difficult. If she attacked carelessly, she might hit Chris or Ingrid, or obstruct their movements.

Nevertheless, perhaps because their fundamental strength was different, their side gradually gained the advantage. Chris and Ingrid, with their fast striking speeds, were clearly pushing the opponents back, even though victory was determined by landing ten hits instead of depleting HP.

Ingrid was the first to defeat an opponent, and she then leaped at the enemy further in.

(So fast! And her movements have no waste!)

Parfait was fighting herself, so she was not watching that closely, but she kept glancing at Ingrid’s attacks. She gave her opponent damage with fluid, gapless movements. She was even throwing in feints so subtle they were almost unnoticeable. Even Parfait herself would fall for them.

Parfait knew she was undoubtedly stronger than her. Chris seemed to think so too, her eyes sparkling as she watched Ingrid even while fighting.

Feeling she could not lose now, Parfait shifted from a counter-based style to an offensive one.

After winning the battle, Parfait and the others let out a huge sigh.

They all played PvP in the real world regularly, but this was their first real match, so it could be said they were quite tense. Having won safely, that tension drained away.

"Everyone, don’t let your guard down yet…"

"It’s too late."

Just as Ingrid was about to issue a warning, a woman’s voice was heard, and a person was suddenly standing behind her. Her bangs hung down, so her eyes were not visible, but from her voice, it was a woman.

Ingrid immediately threw a right backhand, but the woman dodged it with ease and grabbed her arm. Then, using that momentum, she threw Ingrid against the wall.

Ingrid, having hit her back against the wall, flinched for a moment, but immediately leaped at her.

The woman readied a thin sword and unleashed a series of high-speed thrusts.

Ingrid threw punches to counter the attacks. But then, her eyes widened.

"You’re getting too heated, Ingrid-kun."

Ingrid tried to create distance, but the woman pressed her attack further. This time, she tried to dodge instead of intercept, but the thin sword bent like a snake, its tip tracking and striking Ingrid’s chest. In virtual reality it did not matter, but in reality, it was where her heart was.

"Ah…"

"I won’t do anything strange to Parfait-kun, so you can rest easy. I just have a small favor to ask."

As the woman said this, Ingrid’s body dissolved into particles of light.

It had all happened in an instant, so they had not quite understood what had transpired. The only thing they knew was that Ingrid had lost to the person before them. And it was an overwhelming defeat at that.

The woman made a gesture as if brushing dust from her chest and sheathed the thin sword. Then, she tied her hanging bangs behind her head.

"It’s a pleasure to meet you, Parfait-kun. I’m Ronios. One of the people obsessed with your father."

Ronios said this with a smile. Parfait was bothered by the phrase "one of the people obsessed," but she was also curious about the expressionless girl standing behind Ronios.