kscans

Chapter 72 - The Final Clan War

It was less than a week until the final Clan War.

Hayato was in his room preparing for the Clan War, but he decided to take a short break and started drinking coffee. He thought the taste and aroma were the best, but lately, he had a desire that bordered on dissatisfaction, wondering if there was something more.

To seek so much was greedy, Hayato thought, and decided to change his train of thought.

This time, as the announcement had stated, the opponent wouldn't be known until the day of the match, so there was no announcement. He had told the Maid Chief, who usually looked up information on their opponents, that it wasn't necessary this time, but she came anyway because she wanted to see Relic.

Of course, since there was no information, she left right away, but she had said one thing that concerned him.

Lately, there had been various movements in different places. She couldn't say exactly what was wrong, but it was information to the effect that because she knew how things usually were, she felt a sense of unease.

Actually, Hayato was feeling it too.

First, there was Ash and his group. There was talk of the dragons' suspicious movements, and lately, their mercenary group's work had been busy.

Relic had been visiting the Thieves' Guild more often, but he had said he felt something was off there as well, and Mist and Lunaria had also said that the monsters in the Demon Country had become a little more active.

Maris seemed to be oblivious to such things, but she had said she felt that the Tamer Guild had also become a little more active.

(I don't know what the situation is, but is it because the Clan War event is ending and they're starting preparations for the next event?)

Hayato had heard that there had been signs of events in the game before. Hayato, who basically crafted items at the base, didn't know much about the situation outside, except for when he went shopping. Most of his information came from Ney.

He probably could have found out about those signs if he had asked Diite, but Hayato didn't do it. He was already being favored to an irreparable extent, but he wanted to keep the conditions as close as possible to those of other players. Besides, spoilers weren't fun.

Also, Hayato's goal was to get the prize money. If he achieved that, he would be busier in the real world. The frequency with which he played the game would likely decrease. There was no guarantee that he would be able to participate properly in the next event.

Until now, he had been in the game almost all day, but if he were to run a coffee shop, he thought he would probably be able to log in once every few days.

This game progressed on the same time as the world standard time. It wasn't like a game where one hour in reality was one day in the game.

Since Hayato's place of residence was on that world standard time, the time in reality was directly reflected in the game's time.

(I might only be able to log in at night. Before the Clan War started, it was like that, but Esha and the others, being NPCs, are basically active during the day. There's a chance I won't be able to see them very often.)

Feeling a little lonely, Hayato finished his coffee and resumed his preparations for the next Clan War.

On the day of the Clan War.

All the members were gathered in the dining hall.

Since this was the last battle, everyone's enthusiasm was through the roof. It was an enthusiasm to win at all costs in order to finish in first place in the rankings.

Ash looked at Hayato.

"This is the last battle. I'd like a word from you, Hayato."

"I wish you'd stop putting me on the spot like that."

But all the members were looking at Hayato with expectant eyes. He had to say something, he resigned himself.

"For me, who can only do production, to have come this far is thanks to all of you. I want you to lend me your strength for this final battle as well."

Hayato said this and lowered his head.

It was a safe bet. Much better than saying something clever and failing, that was Hayato's assessment. But for everyone else, it seemed to be quite a good speech. Their spirits seemed to have risen considerably.

"It cannot be helped. I will show you a proper fight for my helpless Master. Please prepare the best sweets for the victory celebration."

As Esha said this, the gazes of the female members gathered on Hayato. And they began to say what sweets they wanted to eat.

"Alright, I'll make a note of it then..."

The moment Hayato said that, his vision changed. He had been teleported to the Clan War fortress.

(That was fast today. The Clan War does start at ten in the morning, but does that mean we're first?)

For now, let's go up to the roof and check the battlefield. With that thought, Hayato led everyone up the stairs.

The field visible from the roof was once again a grassland. A normal grassland with no gimmicks. But there was a slight sense of unease.

It looked as if a part of the field was partitioned by something like glass. When he squinted, he saw that the field was divided into a three by three grid of nine squares.

The entire field, including their own and the enemy's territory, was one kilometer square, so that meant there were nine spaces of roughly three hundred meters square.

"What is this?"

No one could answer Hayato's murmur. Everyone was just staring at the field with curiosity.

But he remembered one person who might know what was going on. Hayato looked at Diite.

Diite noticed Hayato's gaze, but she said nothing, only a faint smile playing on her lips.

(What is she thinking?)

The moment Hayato tried to ask Diite in a low voice, a countdown began.

(What? Isn't this too early? Everyone isn't in position yet.)

Everyone else panicked at this, but a more panicked situation was to come. At the same time as the count reached zero, everyone except Hayato and Diite disappeared from the fortress roof.

"Huh?"

Hayato panicked, but he immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Esha and the others were on the field before he knew it. They hadn't disappeared, they had been teleported to the field. He guessed that this was a gimmick of this field.

His relief was short-lived, as he thought about it and realized this was bad.

The field was divided into nine parts. In each of those spaces, there were only two people. And it seemed that there was one member from their side and one member from the other side. In other words, they were being forced to fight one-on-one.

(I don't think Esha and the others will lose, but the opponent is... what? The Maid Chief? And the Hero? What's going on?)

Esha's opponent was the Maid Chief. And the Demon Lord Lunaria's opponent was the Hero Ivan.

Hayato didn't know the opponents the other members were facing, but it seemed they knew each other.

"Father...! Why are you here!?"

"It must be the will of God. Well, that doesn't matter. I'll see how much stronger you've become. Come at me."

(I can even hear the opponent's voice. Is Ash's opponent his father? He's wearing a suit sloppily, but is he a dragon too?)

"Agres!"

"Yo, Ren, long time no see. Still a bro-con?"

(Ren-chan's opponent is... Agres, could it be the Tyrant Dragon Agres Berion?)

"You are my opponent. Why are you participating in this?"

"Oh, just a little curiosity. Besides, it wouldn't be bad to have a match outside of chess, would it? Come at me seriously, will you? You wouldn't want another scar on your face, would you?"

(I've never seen her before, but if she's talking about chess, is she the guild master of the Thieves' Guild? She was a woman?)

"It is a wonder they were able to get you out of that den of yours."

"I'll do anything for a price. Besides, I want to know what Mist's power has become. Now, shall we play for the first time in a while?"

(Is Mist-san's opponent a child? He looks pale, so is he a vampire like Mist-san?)

"That unscrupulous tamer from back then! To meet you here is a once in a lifetime opportunity!"

"It's because I love animals that I'm strict with them to train them. And a pet is a pet. They are not equals. I'll train you too."

(Maris's opponent is dressed like a clown, but is he a tamer? And is Lancelot's opponent a dragon? It looks like a dragon tamed by that clown.)

Each member was fighting a one-on-one battle with an opponent with whom they seemed to have some history. The space divided by glass was nine in total. Each of them was placed in a space other than the middle one. And in the middle space, for some reason, there was only one Clan Stone.

"What do you think, an interesting idea, is it not?"

Diite asked Hayato with a voice full of genuine enjoyment.

"...Did the administration do that?"

"That is correct. Well, anyone would have done for an opponent, but I thought it would be more enjoyable to have them face someone with whom they have a history. Everyone will fight one-on-one, and the one who wins more will win the Clan War. You see the colorless Clan Stone in the middle, do you not? It is a mechanism where it will be dyed blue or red each time you defeat an opponent. In your case, Hayato-kun, it is blue. If that is dyed more than half blue, you win. In other words, if five or more people win, you will have won the Clan War."

"Why would you do something like that?"

Putting aside whether it was an interesting gimmick or not, he couldn't understand the meaning of doing something like this. In the first place, Hayato and Diite were not in that place. The opponent also had the same number of people, and the two of them were left over.

"I said there was an AI I wanted you to meet, did I not? Even if everyone is strong, they will not be able to win so easily against those opponents. To put it simply, it is a way to buy time."

"Buy time?"

"Yes. I want you to meet the person I am about to introduce you to alone, Hayato-kun. I do not want anyone to interfere. Ah, that's right. Voice chat is also disabled now, so you cannot cheer them on. Now, Hayato-kun, follow me."

With that, Diite went down the stairs from the fortress roof.

Hayato looked at the field one last time. The battle seemed to have already begun, but for some reason, he felt like he had met Esha's eyes. She had been looking this way from the field.

But immediately after, there was an attack from the Maid Chief, and she dodged it. It seemed she no longer had the luxury to pay attention to him.

(I don't know what's going on, but there's no point in staying like this. First, I have no choice but to meet this AI she wants me to meet.)

Hayato cheered for everyone once in his heart, and then went down the stairs.