Chapter 223: Wolfpack Transfer

Author's Preface
Interlude: The 3rd Stage Tome of Truth "The Abyss" has been added. Please take note.

Somehow managing to soothe Saiga-san, who kept bowing and apologizing repeatedly, I walked into the classroom and took my seat while thinking about the cicada-kun, with whom I had formed a bizarre bond through the shared experience of being slapped by Saiga-san.

Unlike me, who had practically become a shut-in, I saw several classmates sporting splendid tans here and there. Seeing those supposedly "healthy" normies made me tend to compare myself to them, wondering about my own life... but well, it certainly was a memorable summer, and it was at least healthier than doing a trash game pilgrimage.

"...nFro is..."

"...tarrnid..."

(As expected, ShanFro's popularity is insane.)

It seems I wasn't the only one who made their ShanFro debut during summer vacation, as I could hear bits and pieces of related conversations popping up.
I wouldn't mind joining in, but since morning homeroom is about to start, even if I jumped in now, we wouldn't be able to talk for long.

I killed time by casually skimming through my mobile terminal.
Feeling somewhat curious, I checked the ShanFro-related BBS and SNS platforms, and information regarding the Unique Monsters was practically overflowing.
Unsurprisingly, the main topic was the defeat of Ctarrnid of the Abyss, and the other was... Ah, right. The massive problem that was so troublesome I had actively shoved it out of my memory.
I guess since it turned into such a massive ordeal, it's bound to be a hot topic... As expected of one of ShanFro's leading hardcore clans.

For better or worse—no, it was 80% worse—the massive flock of spam falcons sent by the lore clan had made us stand out like a sore thumb.
If dozens of birds all fly toward a single spot, anyone would be curious about what was there. After getting flashily sent back by Ctarrnid, we disembarked from a sailing ship structurally identical to the Crying Innsman, only to be welcomed by Stude-related NPCs and several players.

"My, my, Sunraku-kun. I have a lot of questions for you, but I suppose I should start by saying 'good work,' shouldn't I?"

The very first person to speak to me was our resident fiend, Arthur Pencilgon. According to her, she was in Fifticia for unrelated business, but she had guessed the rough location based on the GM announcement and the massive flock of falcons flying toward one spot.

"I fought an octopus almost all night and my energy drink wore off, so can we talk later?"

"Hmm, I was planning on waiting for Katzo-kun to join us before starting the interrogation anyway, so that's fine. If anything, I'm here more as the leader of 'Wolfgang'."

Pondering that for a moment, it clicked. She was here about the new members.

"Ah, Rust, Mold, Akitsu Akane. This is our clan's leader."

"Hello, hello. You guys might be exhausted right after clearing a Unique Scenario, but I'll at least introduce myself. I'm Arthur Pencilgon. I've heard about you from the idiot over there."

Pencilgon immediately began her attempts to grasp their hearts, but unfortunately for her, Akitsu Akane is a Light Attribute entity, so Pencilgon would probably be eradicated without being able to do a thing... As I thought this, someone switched places with Pencilgon and spoke to me.

"I heard the rumors, but you really are half-naked, huh... How do you deal with taking damage?"

"Excuse me?"

"I assume it's based on evasion? I don't recall Wethermon using attacks lenient enough for that, though... So was it just a brute-force suicide strat relying on revives?"

"No, who the hell are you...?"

I directed a highly suspicious glare at the player wearing samurai-esque equipment—judging by the name color, definitely a player—who was speaking to me with an unnatural level of familiarity.
But then, I suddenly widened my eyes at something that should never exist on a player—whose fundamental race should always be human, regardless of how perverted their stats or equipment became.

"Oh, you finally noticed? Fufu, I underwent a little Conversion, you see."

Conversion? That word catches my attention. I don't feel like this is the first time I've heard it. I feel like I've seen that term somewhere before. Where was it?

"My magic aptitude went down, but the replacement benefits are quite excellent. So I quickly became a Beastman."

"Hmm... So that's the logic behind why you can't change your race during character creation."

"You're not quite on her level, but you seem pretty sharp yourself."

The Japanese-style Kemonomimi swordsman standing before me said that while glancing sideways at Pencilgon, who was currently writhing in agony as if she were a vampire bathed in sunlight.
She was probably an acquaintance of Pencilgon or something. I wanted to tell her to state her name first, but since it was floating right above her head, all I had to do was look at it.

"Kyougoku?"

"It's Kyou-Ultimate. Don't get it wrong."

"Too long. So, is Kyou-timate-san just a bystander?"

"Kyou-timate..."

The Kemonomimi swordsman Kyougoku made a highly complicated expression, but perhaps pulling herself together, she shifted her gaze in another direction... toward a corner radiating an incredibly tense, dramatic aura.

"............"

"............"

The two "Psygers," who were likely blood relatives or something very close to it, were simply staring at each other in complete silence.
There wasn't a single shred of peacefulness between them; rather, a dangerous atmosphere thick enough to be called outright hostility drifted in the air.

"Whoa, I do not want to get involved in that."

"That's a refreshingly blunt impression, but you're the root cause, you know?"

"Hah?"

Why the hell is my name being brought up here?

"Well, think about it. For a self-proclaimed and universally recognized top clan to miss out on a Unique not just once, but twice? And for both subjugation announcements to feature the name of some completely unknown player who just popped out of nowhere... Obviously, the people involved aren't going to be happy about it."

"Eh..."

However, I can understand the logic behind Kyougoku's words. In short, it's the classic "New Character Introduction" failure pattern commonly seen in the middle of a story.

A cocky new character shows up, effortlessly defeats an enemy the previous characters struggled against, and drops a line like, 'You guys were struggling against an enemy of this level?' The immediate emotion felt toward that character is, 'I hope this guy meets a terrible fate.'
Precisely because the character hasn't been fleshed out yet, they are judged entirely on their first impression.

In other words, according to Kyougoku, the reason the clan "Black Wolf" doesn't think highly of me is that I'm just some random character who popped out of nowhere and snatched the Uniques right out from under them.

"...Wait, if that's the case, shouldn't Psyger-100? or whatever her name is, be pressing me for answers instead?"

"Hmm... Well, the story goes that they're sisters, so maybe something happened in real life?"

No, this is strange. If they had a fight in real life, it feels out of place for Psyger-100 to go out of her way to come welcome her here.
Rust, Mold, and Akitsu Akane were also curious about the Double Psyger situation, entirely unswayed by Pencilgon's brainwashing attempts.
Perhaps unable to watch this go on any longer, Pencilgon walked over and wedged herself between the two of them.

"Yeah, yeah, I don't know why you guys are at each other's throats, but take it back to your base instead of doing this out here."

".........Towa, is this also part of your scheme?"

"It's Arthur Pencilgon, 'Momo'-chan. And unfortunately for you, I'm completely out of the loop on this one."

Perhaps due to a relationship where they knew each other's real names, the two called each other in a rather dangerous manner. However, since at least one of them was an absolute fiend, it seemed they had no intention of letting me sit safely in the gallery.

"This time around, it was mostly Sunraku-kun acting on his own completely. Even I only found out through an after-the-fact report."

"Oi, you're throwing a killer pass right here...?"

Psyger-100's gaze turned toward me. It was the specific look of a gamer desperate for new information. Now then, how should I handle this?
That damn Pencilgon, tossing the ball to me here. Playing dumb is impossible, and running away will just make things more annoying later. Even if I talk, exactly how much am I supposed to reveal?

Should I play that information written in the Tome of Truth? No, that's a bad idea... Depending on how it's used, that information holds power even greater than the fact that we defeated a Unique Monster.
Even I, who am not nearly as skilled at plotting as Pencilgon, can tell exactly how valuable that information is.

"Ah... Well, first off, my bad for borrowing Rei-shi for seven whole days due to our own blunder."

First move: The Apology Command. Apologies are the primary weapon of the Japanese people.

"Save the pleasantries. Let me ask you point-blank... Is it true that you triggered the Unique Scenario for 'Lycaon the Night Raider'?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rei-shi bowing her head. So it did leak through her... Well, I gave up on keeping it a monopoly the moment I triggered it with people outside my inner circle anyway.

"It's true. Though it was a shitty boss that took an entire night to beat."

"We couldn't even hold out for a single night, though."

This is bad.
Self-deprecating jokes are only ever made in two extreme states: when someone has complete emotional leeway, or when they have absolutely none.
If I handle this poorly, her bad mood might spread to me. I need to keep things peaceful... peaceful...

"SF-Zoo figured out Lycaon's spawn algorithm."

"Oh? Now that is good news."

First move: Sell out someone else. Sorry, but you guys are gonna have to act as decoys.

"...Well, I don't really mind sharing the strategy for Lycaon here, but... I'll have to get permission from the Boss of Wolfgang first."

And returning the killer pass with a bat! Hell no, why should I be the one to touch the dynamite that's already been rigged to blow?

However, my attempt to pass the buck, Pencilgon's schemes, and Kyou-timate's intentions behind her mysterious smile were all completely blown away by the words of a single player.

"Before that, I have something to say, Sister... no, Clan Leader."

"...I will hear you out one more time."

"I am withdrawing from the clan 'Black Wolf'... and I wish to join the clan 'Wolfgang'."

For some reason, Pencilgon punched me. Why?

Author's Afterword
Pencil: "You obviously did something, didn't youuuu???"

Psyger-0 had already slammed her withdrawal from the Black Wolves onto Psyger-100 in real life, but Pencilgon certainly hadn't heard anything about her wanting to join Wolfgang.
And so, having been handed a massive landmine along with the massive combat strength that is Psyger-0, Pencilgon delivers a punch of pure rage.