Chapter 288: The Scar That Emits a Curse

"........."

"Aphid, isn't that completely antithetical to your principles and assertions?"

"...Shut up."

A certain company, a certain floor, in front of a certain device.
The woman in the jersey spoke to the woman in the lab coat standing in front of a certain server within the heart, brain, and soul of the game known as Shangri-La Frontier... in other words, the Core of the World (Server Room).

"I'd really appreciate it if you didn't touch my world with hands so tainted by personal greed, you know?"

"Shut up! Why did it have to be again!?"

"Even so, I can at least understand that trying to delete a player's data out of a personal grudge is completely lacking in common sense."

The name of the woman in the lab coat is Amachi Ritsu. The name of the woman in the jersey is Tsukuri Tsukuyo. Both of them are absolutely indispensable figures for the establishment of the game known as Shangri-La Frontier, and depending on how one looks at it, they could very well be called the "Gods" of Shangri-La Frontier.
However, confronting each other from positions entirely opposite of their usual dynamic, a tension different from their usual hostility hung taut between the two.

"I welcome tales of your failures since they make for the absolute best snacks to go with my drinks, but could you please not let your trauma worsen to the point where it becomes a nuisance to me?"

"Gu.........!"

Gan! Amachi violently kicked the equipment. That being said, since the physical strength of both Amachi and Tsukuri was complete garbage, her violence did not cause any meaningful damage.
It wasn't anger... The emotion, possessing an incredibly sticky, toxic nature that made it difficult to easily remove, was what one would call hatred.

"So? Following the 'Gunman of γ' and the 'Savage of φ', what exactly was the true identity of the third one?"

"...It's 'μ'."

It was something related to a certain game that once existed, a shadow of the past clinging to the back of Amachi's neck like a curse.
If he had simply slipped in as a standard player, she would have overlooked it. However, every time that name clearly surfaced within the vast and profound world of ShanFro, Amachi's mind was thrown into chaos. So much so that she—who normally fulfilled her role in management far too seriously—would act purely on impulse, like a child throwing away food they hated.

"That battle with the 'Sword Saint' the other day was certainly something else, wasn't it... So? You got curious, read the Body History (Hardware History), and figured it out, I see."

"...You're acting awfully calm yourself, huh? Even after he went and made contact with Goldunine."

"Anyone would look calm if there was a chimpanzee screaming right next to them. Well, even putting that aside, unlike you, I possess a very generous heart."

Amachi was about to spit out a, 'Which mouth of yours is saying that', but knowing full well just how foolish it would be to do something like that here, her meager remaining rationality beat down her impulses and barely managed to hold it in.

Even so, she had a reason that couldn't be helped.
A player who was already involved with a majority of the Unique Monsters. When she looked into his background, the three games that displayed... the games that were Amachi's Traumas, were lined up perfectly in a row.

"As always, the moment the topic of your father comes up, you become as barbaric as a beast."

"...Don't talk about that shitty old man."

"I actually respect him quite a bit, you know?"

A person who prioritized realism above all else, and as a result, nearly destroyed VR entirely. Even having regained some semblance of calm, Amachi—who was connected to that bloodline—glared at the console with resentful eyes.

"I refuse to acknowledge that man... It would be one thing if he only destroyed himself, but I will absolutely surpass the man who nearly dragged everything down with him..."

"And the result of that is that, right?"

"Which is exactly why I will never cut corners with ShanFro. Even if it's you, if you get in the way of the game, I'll force you down."

Tsukuri, who had been staring at Amachi coldly, floated a cruel smile at Amachi's words.

"You really mouthed off there, aphid. But well... since you say you're going to make my world even better, I'll spare you from extermination in exchange for that benefit."

"Tch... Keep talking."

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

.........

......

Amachi left, leaving Tsukuri alone in the server room. The "God", who possessed a thoroughly sloppy appearance as a human being, floated a smile that practically declared she was having fun from the bottom of her heart and walked through the server room.

"Fufu, fufufufufu. Ctarrnid being defeated is rather unpleasant... but being able to see the Third Stage early thanks to that might be a silver lining in the misfortune."

Shangri-La Frontier... World Quest Third Stage: "The Great War to Fell the Gold." The battle between the "Dragons" and "Siegwurm" involving every single lifeform residing on the New Continent.
Siegwurm the Heavenly Sovereign. A Unique Monster that appears as a random encounter just like Lycaon, yet possesses a completely different origin.

"Failures of dragons, even so, I will love you all. You are, after all, an element that shapes Shangri-La."

Giggling with genuine enjoyment from the bottom of her heart, Tsukuri stopped in front of it.

"Do your absolute best, 'Siegwurm'... Slaughter plenty of players to comfort me in my boredom, okay?"

There was no reply. "Siegwurm" simply returned a cold, inorganic sound.

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

.........

......

As a side note, when Tsukuyogi later learned of Amachi's rampage, his stomach suffered critical, severe damage, but it is added here that he was completely cured by his beloved wife's packed lunch.

Author's Afterword
Since these guys aren't exactly saints, they casually commit pretty gray actions.
And as a result, Tsukuyogi's stomach takes the damage.

Titles Amachi Ritsu has been involved with:

• Spell Creation Online (20XX)

• Faeria Chronicle Online (20XY)

• Shangri-La Frontier (20XZ)