Chapter 292: The Fugitive, A Gaze That Sees the End

For me, games are a hobby.

Tracing my bloodline, it seems both my father's and mother's sides of the family are full of hobbyists. If I go to my father's family home up north, I have a grandfather who drives around in a meticulously maintained sports car that sparkles blindingly. If I go to my mother's family home out west, there's a detached annex that my grandmother apparently built exclusively for plastic models.
My grandfather has said things at drinking parties like, "When I die, I'll give the car to you," though I have no idea if he's telling the truth or just drunk... I really should get my driver's license someday. Or maybe I should practice on a racing game first?

Setting that aside.

Basically, my sister and I are hybrid hobbyists born from the mystical biological intermingling of hobby-crazed bloodlines... Which is to say, if we take even a single wrong step in our life choices, things are going to end horribly. Rumi is already starting to show the signs, too.

So with all that being said, for me, games are the "objective"... Which is exactly why my current situation of playing a game as a "means" for Escapism was a highly unusual case for me.

As for the origin of this whole mess... well, to put it simply, Rei-shi—aka Saiga-san—spectacularly self-destructed at school.

Saiga-san is, to put it mildly, an absolute perfect superhuman. If you asked ten people what kind of person she is, nine of them would give you the exact same answer.
So for someone like her to declare, "I have something important to talk to you about," to a male student right in the middle of the hallway... Well, since we're students, it's not like I could just leave school early without permission without tanking my grades. Thus, it was only natural that I got captured by the "Rakuro Hizutome Capture Squad"—which even mobilized the aces of the track and field club—and subjected to an interrogation.

Even though I preached the importance of human rights and declared it a violation of treaties, the Judo club's Massive Arm holding me in a full nelson showed no signs of loosening. As a final, desperate struggle, I tried counterattacking by exposing the fact that Germ-Infested Earlobes Piercing-kun writes poetry during class... but well, there was nothing I could do.

"Ah, the Inquisitor, Germ-Earlobe Poem, has died in the line of duty (writhed in agony), so I shall take over as his proxy."

"What about my lawyer?"

".........?"

Give me a break, to think there were barbarians inside my own school. Glaring at the Proxy Inquisitor (Classmate)—who tilted his head as if to say, 'Why would someone who's about to die need something like that?'—I pondered what to do next.

It would be easy to just deny it and say it's not like Saiga-san and I are romantically involved or anything. But if I did that, the conversation would naturally flow into the next question.

"Then what the hell was that 'important talk' about...?"

Let me state this again.
Saiga-san is a perfect superhuman. If you asked ten people what kind of person she is, nine of them would give you the exact same answer. However, the one person who wouldn't give that same answer is me... because I know her secret.

The fact that Saiga Rei is actually a Hardcore Gamer who has practically thrown away her life───!

Privacy is important. After all, if we didn't have it, Katzo and I... and especially Pencilgon, wouldn't be able to run rampant and do whatever the hell we wanted in games.
That is precisely why I am a man who protects the privacy of others as much as humanly possible. I cannot let this slip, even if my mouth is torn open. The divine protection of a law-governed state is far too precious to throw away just yet...!

"Kuh... This guy, to think he still has such clear, beautiful eyes even in a situation like this...!"

"I seriously wish all of you would just conveniently hit your heads and lose your memories."

"Alright, there's no room for extenuating circumstances. Hey, your special skill was folding futons, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, leave it to me."

"Wait! My spine? Are you planning to fold my spine!?"

Spines don't have joints, you know!? You're not supposed to break them, you know!?

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

"Because my sister's wedding is coming up and all, I offer my best friend Selinun-Germ-Piercing as a sacrifice in my stead..."

"The fact that you'd ruthlessly sell out your friend in a situation like this proves you're the very embodiment of tyrannical cruelty, Hizutome-los..."

"Sister... I heard this guy's sister is a reader-model. Is that true?"

"It's true. She's actually really cute."

"Defendant Hizutome, if you give us your sister's email address, we might reconsider your amnesty..."

"Like hell any of you bastards are a match for my sister! Go reroll your lives and try again!"

"Execute the sentence!!"

Kuh... Is this the end...!

"Alright, stop fooling around and get to your seats. I'm going to be dropping a bunch of important terms that will definitely be on the test today."

"Yahoo, I love studying! Hah! I'm going to study like a proper student, so let go of me, ora!"

"Sensei! Could you please hold the class until we finish executing him!!"

"The trajectory of historical great men is far more important than the life or death of you small fries, so request denied."

Can you believe it? These are the words of an educator.

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

.........

......

Psyger-0: I am truly, incredibly sorry for the trouble I caused...!

Sunraku: No, no, please don't worry about it.

Psyger-0: To think my blunder caused you such trouble...!

Sunraku: Really, I don't mind, don't mind at all.

Sunraku: So, getting back to the main topic, what was that important talk about? It's related to ShanFro, right?

Psyger-0: Y-Yes... Actually, it's regarding the Sword of God and Demon (Antinomy) and the Armor of Twin Visages that I possess...

Sunraku: Ah, those.

Psyger-0: U-Um, the truth is, regarding those... I actually haven't finished the Unique Scenario yet.

Sunraku: What.

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

.........

......

"So basically, that person (Rei-shi) is seriously playing the role of a standard ShanFro protagonist, huh."

"Hohyahah!? Whay ah oo hoo-ing ma sheeks heh-waah!?"

"Someone somewhere is being treated like a Warrior of God because of a certain someone else, but you wouldn't happen to have any idea about that, would you? Hm?"

"Hyofaaaaa!?"

While aggressively squishing Emul's face, I began to make my move to resolve the conversation with the Saint-chan—"Iristella, the Saint of Affection"—the quest presented to me... and the massive problem standing in the way as a prerequisite for all of it.

"On the New Continent... a dragon that corrodes the world and the Heavenly Sovereign Dragon King are currently fighting."

"Hm? I see..."

I felt a sense of incongruity for a moment, but its true identity was made clear by her next words.

"And, in the not-too-distant future, a coup d'état will occur in this country."

"........."

When I shot a quick glance at Josette, she gave a single nod, as if confirming my silent question.

"Why are you so confident about 'things that will happen in the future'?"

"...Because I can see and hear much more than ordinary people."

I might have to correct my assumption that I was taking the clan "Saint Fanclub" lightly just because of their name.
This girl isn't just a simple NPC. If all of her "prophecies" are truly accurate.

"This is basically a schedule sheet of leaked updates, isn't it..."

".........Is something the matter?"

"No, no, it's absolutely nothing, you see?"

I thought they were just hardcore NPC simps, but this is absurd. These guys have the massive advantage of being able to grasp what's going to happen in this world faster than Library or the frontliners, all while using their simp-behavior as a smokescreen───!

".........(Eyes screaming: 'A slightly bewildered Saint-chan is way too cute')"

No, the smokescreen might actually just be their true feelings. While giving Josette—who was staring intensely at the Saint—an indescribable look, I wondered why, taking all of this into account, they had called for a jobless hermit like me.

"The mastermind behind the coup d'état is the First Prince of this country, Alex..."

"The First Prince is staging a coup?"

What the hell is that? He'd inherit the throne even if he just sat there quietly, so why stage a coup? Is there any reason to unnecessarily ruin his image among the citizens? No, wait... don't tell me the reason they called me here is...!

"I see, so I'm the disposable bullet, huh..."

"...? Ah, no, that is not the case."

Huh? I was completely convinced the order was going to be to secretly assassinate the First Prince.
I'm pretty good at assassination plays, you know. That was basically my main thing on the uninhabited island, and I initially planned to assassinate Demon Lord Pencilgon too... Well, that one ended with an explosion punchline, though.

But if that's not it, then what's the objective? If they just wanted a Pioneer with no lingering ties, they could just make them skip town to the New Continent. Why specifically designate me instead of the Pioneers Josette has under her wing?

"Regarding the coup d'état, it will succeed. And on the surface, the reason given will be, 'The throne has been passed to the First Prince, and the former King will depart to inspect the New Continent'..."

"Ah, I pretty much grasp the flow of this now."

NPCs don't respawn. If he "unfortunately" dies on the New Continent, it can't be helped. But conversely, there's also the possibility he could be "fortunately" saved by a Pioneer who happened to be there.

"What are the chances of him being assassinated on the ship?"

"Because that vision was hazy... I believe if it were to happen, it would be after arriving on the New Continent..."

Does her future prediction rely on sight? Does the future appear clearer the more certain it is? This type of future prediction often shares a certain degree of similarity with entirely different games, so this seems like a great topic for lore theorists to dig into...

"That is exactly why I am making this request to you... I want to ask you to protect the former King whose life will be threatened on the New Continent, and to escort him safely to the Tri-Divinity Church that will be built there."

"This time, I really see the point... You wanted a Pioneer with very few ties to the Kingdom."

"Yes, and also... because you are someone who possesses a connection to that country."

.........Alright, don't drop the roleplay.

"Oh? So you're acquainted with my Aniki?"

"I have had the pleasure of meeting him once before."

I shot another stealthy glance at Josette, but it seemed she had no idea what we were talking about.
Now then... with a hardcore player standing right next to me, how exactly am I going to navigate my way through this?

Author's Afterword
This is the reason why the Saint-chan Fanclub hasn't shown any interest in Uniques. They are absolutely convinced that something massive involving Saint-chan is going to happen, no matter how you look at it.
That being said, that's only about 30% of the reason. The remaining 70% can be summarized with the single phrase: "Saint-chan is cute."

Japanese people have a weakness for characters with white-colored hair, like silver or white. It's written in the Kojiki. Is it because of the sense of mystique or something?