Chapter 266: A Slightly Important Fact That Seems Important But Isn't

The bigger they are, the stronger they are, or rather, the smaller they are, the stronger they are. This proposition has remained unresolved from the dawn of RPGs all the way to the present day, but in this very moment, I saw the answer.
Faced with a mere rabbit—albeit a human-sized one—the Nagas trembled in fear and backed away.

"Ou, ou, Aydward. Ya got yerself beaten up real bad again, ain't ya."

"F-Father..."

"Ou, I'll be takin' this back."

Picking up the long Yakuza sword... Tanryu from beside Aydward, who seemed unable to stand, Vash smoothly drew the blade from its scabbard, resting the unsharpened back of the blade against his shoulder as he looked at Goldunine.

"If ya step up, We step up... Ya know that, don't ya?"

"You're quite obsessed with these ones, don't you?"

"Ya don't go pluckin' the buds of promise before they even bloom now, do ya... Nah?"

"No, there is no promise here. Not now, and not ever... As long as Me is me, Me can only ever be me."

Was there something only Unique Monsters could understand between each other? The two Unique Monsters continued a conversation I couldn't quite grasp.
Because I am me, I can only ever be me...? Like a dish where you mix an egg into an egg and top it with an egg... Like topping a plain omelet—fried in mayonnaise instead of oil—with mayonnaise? While thinking such absurd thoughts, I was wondering what I, who had stood up after making a grand declaration, should do now, when Vash made the first move.

"We and ya too... We made our families fight each other, and this is the result. In that case, ya steppin' in here's barkin' up the wrong tree, ain't it."

"........."

Vash didn't waver even under Goldunine's chilling gaze. Even though he wasn't intentionally intimidating anyone or swinging his sword around, the Nagas cowered, and the absolute control over this area that Goldunine had held just moments ago was transferring over to Vash.
Well then, what exactly am I, who's been left with absolutely nothing to do, supposed to do now?

"...Hmph, my interest has cooled."

Aahn? The hell are you glaring at, punk? You wanna direct your aggro at me just because looking at Vash scares you? You've got some serious nerve. I'm pretty sure you were the one on Goldunine's top right, I memorized your face, pal.

"But don't forget this... I will definitely come to kill that thing you're sheltering. While massacring your kin...."

Hyun! A wind blew. Now then, normally in a cave, wind would blow from the back to the front, so why did a tornado-like wind...

"Goaaaaaaoooaaaaaa!?"

"Uoou."

The Naga that had been glaring at me with an "I can take this guy" look since earlier let out a shriek. Its sturdy scales—which had even managed to endure Rei-shi's Apocalypse—were shredded apart along with the flesh underneath, scattering damage effects everywhere, clear as day even from where I stood.
Eh, what was that just now? Wethermon's Tachikaze was way easier to understand than this... Eh, magic? Don't tell me that wasn't a skill?

"Ya shouldn't go 'round usin' careless words... so recklessly now, should ya...?"

It's not like I actually want to pick a fight with him, but... Yeah, how are you even supposed to beat Goldunine or Vysache? They're gimmick bosses, right? If they turn out to be purely physical brawlers like Lycaon or Wethermon, I'll seriously die.
Setting that aside, haha, your face is shredded, serves you right! Nagas all have basically the exact same face, so this makes for a perfect distinguishing mark.

"Disappear. This ain't yer place no more."

"I have no attachment to a hole Me dug anyway, but... Fine. I shall withdraw for this occasion."

"Pueee............ Uoo, that was close! That was close!?"

Having somewhat too much free time on my hands, I struck a weird pose while sending taunting telepathy to Goldunine, only to get five toxic swords fired at me in rapid succession. Vash didn't bother to help me but... Ah, yes, it's my fault for making fun of her. Understood.
It seemed she truly intended to retreat. Goldunine turned around, but not before throwing one last glance over her shoulder, staring straight at me.

"You, I will absolutely kill you."

"Keep dreaming, whether you're inexhaustible or unpayable, I don't care... We will absolutely press our blades against your throat one day, so you'd better prepare yourself."

She scoffed at me.
Hahaha, this little brat, I'll never forgive her...!

While glaring at her and pondering what kind of taunts I'd hurl at her on the day of our inevitable final showdown, the pure white Snake (Girl) vanished into the darkness, followed immediately by the four Nagas.
Then, silence. Kin. The sound of Vash sheathing his Naga-dosu echoed unusually loud. Taking another look around, the situation really was awful. I can understand glass cannons like me or Akitsu Akane taking damage on the level of losing limbs, but to think Rei-shi's Dual-Visage Armor was nearly shattered...

"Aniki, thank ya kindly."

"Ou... The ones I sent to the rear'll be here shortly, but... Nn, this is a hassle."

"Huh?"

Whoa there, Aniki, why are you drawing your sword? Or rather, Tanryu is generating an effect type I've never seen before, wait, hold on—!

"Ain't gonna be no pain... 【Ease Pain】"

Snikt. I was cleanly decapitated. Akitsu Akane was pierced through the heart. Rei-shi's carotid artery was severed... It was such a sudden surprise attack that we couldn't react at all. Eh, Aniki, have you lost your mind?

"When ya folks wake up, everythin's gonna be all healed up anyway... Go on ahead an' head back to Rabituza."

There was no pain, and if I had to say, I could even feel the sensation of my head hitting the ground as...

『Unique Scenario "Rabituza Defensive" Cleared.』
『Title "Defender of the Rabbit Land" Acquired.』
『Unique Scenario EX "Vorpal Epic" has progressed.』

"No, wait just a damn minute!"

My fingers moved before my scrambled thoughts could even process.
There was no death penalty. It's hard to believe, but whether it was a skill or magic, does dying to "Ease Pain"—which clearly involves some sort of system processing—bypass the death penalty?

No, more importantly, those words Vash said right as I died... You've gotta be kidding me, all the slight incongruities I've been feeling up until now just completely connected.

"Everything's fully healed when you wake up... Well obviously, it's a respawn."

Ah, that's right. Basically, in a game, unlike in reality, you can do things over. The ultimate forms of that are "Save" and "Respawn."
We can resume the story from exactly where we saved even after a ten-year lag in between. We can be blown away in an explosion that doesn't leave a single scrap of meat behind, and we'll still respawn in perfect condition.

But that's just how a game works.

"The fourth wall? No, the nuance is different. It's the baseline recognition that this is simply how things are. No matter how deeply I slept, Emul recognized it as completely normal... Ah, dammit, so that's what 'Project Number Two' meant!"

Using the softness of the bed to bounce up into a somersault, I felt exactly like I had just won first prize in the lottery, only to realize on the other side of the planet that I forgot to lock my front door.

"Ahhh geez! I wanna storm Library's base right this second and spill everything!!"

This is absolutely not the kind of thing you should keep to yourself!! But I can't say anything, can Iiii!!
Driven purely by impulse at the completely obvious fact I had glossed over until now, I repeated my somersaults.

Even if NPCs and players operate under the same system, they are fundamentally different things. But in this game's case... no, within the lore of this game's world, they are completely different on a much more fundamental level.

In other words.

"Are Pioneers (Players) and Citizens (NPCs) entirely different species to begin with...?"

"Eh?"

While I was trembling from the shock of having stumbled upon the truth of the world, Emul, who had just entered the room, let out a soft noise.

But that wasn't the sound of astonishment at a shocking truth... it carried a slight tone of exasperation, as if saying, "Eh, you're only noticing that now?" ...Nn?

"Eh, what's with that look?"

"Eh, I mean, Sunraku-san... Bouncing right back exactly where you last slept after dying is something only Pioneer-sans with the blessing of the Divine Age can do, desu wa...?"

.............

"Eh, wait, meaning you knew from the very start?"

"Sunraku-san, it's common sense, desu wa?"

.............

Grab.

"Fya!?"

Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze, squeeze, squeezeeeee!!

"Fofuhyaaaaaaaahhhh!!?"

"You're supposed to bring things like that up properly during an event, Emulllll!!"

I roared while rapidly squeezing and pulling Emul's cheeks. This isn't a damn unreliable narrator trick, explain things properly, dammittt!!

Author's Afterword
Well, if you think about it calmly, a human who only operates from 10 PM until dawn, leaves an inn, and then inexplicably reappears from a room they supposedly checked out of is incredibly terrifying.

Honestly, rather than Race: Player, Goldunine's line:

"As long as Me is me, Me can only ever be me."

Is about two hundred times more important. That single sentence tells you 60% of what you need to know about Goldunine.
The remaining 40% is the reason why she retreated so easily.