Chapter 329: Encounter Big Name

Author's Preface
The realization of the biggest plot hole in history came to light through a comment reply, and I can't hide my distress these past few days.

Stranded Diary, Day 1: My inner Sunraku (Faer-kuso Form) is rampaging with exposed murderous intent, and I'm honestly having a really hard time dealing with it.

"...Emul."

"There's no response in the surrounding area... We managed to escape, desu wa!"

Good, good. I can still hear the triple-roar echoing from far away, but since we've managed to escape to the opposite shore, we can leisurely watch the dangerous fire burn from a safe distance.

"Now then... I suppose a situation like this is inevitable for an escort mission, compared to a solo run."

I can't help but think that if a large group—like a 15-man party—had challenged this, it would have been much easier... No, wait, is that what the Saint is for? If the quest giver limits the number of participants, the difficulty is maintained. Dammit, I should have at least checked if I could form a party. Since Emul reported her presence beforehand, there's a chance she was allowed to join simply because she's an NPC, so that doesn't serve as a reliable reference.

"Now then... Your Majesty, and Your Highness. We successfully escaped, but we ended up fleeing in the exact opposite direction of the frontline base. We'll have to walk for a while... Depending on the situation, we may be forced to employ somewhat 'rough' measures to push through... Is that acceptable?"

"Umu... Even We cannot afford to make luxurious demands in this situation. However, even so."

Hm? Also, please don't look at me, First Princess Arfiliya. The darkness in my heart is creaking and it hurts.

"Blade of Revenge... First and foremost, you have Our praise for successfully rescuing Us and Arfiliya."

"Ah... Hah, it is an honor far greater than I deserve."

I don't really do the knight roleplay very often... After all, the Knights of the Post-Apocalyptic Round Table were less like knights and more like Thugs. That being said, I've seen enough knight characters to rot my brain, so I can at least manage superficial roleplaying.
I dropped to one knee, bowed my head, and accepted the King's praise.
If you don't show proper etiquette in situations like this, you'll inevitably lack the required affection rating during crucial scenes and get pizza'd, so it's seriously important.

"You may state your name."

"I am but a humble soul, unworthy of giving a name, however... You may call me Sunraku. And this is the Vorpal Bunny, Emul. She is a monster, but a highly dependable partner."

"Fufuun!"

Emul struck a pose with a funsu, standing dexterously on top of my head and leaning back proudly. Encountering a killer rabbit that unerringly targets your vitals on sight is one thing, but the fact that it was talking caused the King and Faer-kuso... I mean, First Princess Arfiliya, to stare at Emul with eyes mixing curiosity, astonishment, and fear.

"Sunraku... Sunraku-sama, is it?"

"Ngu."

Ugh, my spasms.

"Um... I was truly moved!"

"Ngugugu."

Ugh, my other dark personality is—

"It was just like... yes, exactly like a hero from a fairy tale...!"

"Guh..."

Stay, Stay............ Standby, Standby............ Hah!? What the hell am I doing? I was instinctively aiming for her carotid artery before I even realized it.

She isn't Faer-kuso. She's just a character who clearly had a lot of effort put into her... probably intended to be the secondary heroine in the initial concept, but she wouldn't say "Today is a wonderful day!" right after suffering a rather gruesome death. Even a grim reaper shows a little respect for the dead...

"T-That is far too generous of an evaluation. I am merely a humble wanderer without roots... a Pioneer who clawed his way up using nothing but his own strength."

Guh, but the more I look at her, the more she looks exactly like Faer-kuso. In Faeria Chronicle Online, "Faer-kuso" was actually the princess of the Great Spirits who had been transformed into a human by the final boss, so she mostly possessed elven traits.

But this one is completely human. And judging by our interactions so far, unlike Faer-kuso—who had pitch-black, sludgy evil lubricating oil flowing through her veins instead of blood beneath her beautiful texture—this girl seems like a textbook, pure-hearted princess.

But her face is Faer-kuso. The meme implanted in my brain is just too strong to ignore.
For example, once you learn Pencilgon's true nature, seeing Towa Amane's smile gracing the cover of a magazine only fills you with suspicion. Just like how, once you know OiKatzo's inherently passive nature, seeing Uomi Kei acting cocky in an interview only makes you snort with laughter.
It's an issue of perception, concepts, and sheer imprinting. Would you call it a Pavlovian dog response?

"To possess such incredible strength... Sunraku-sama, if you would be so kind, would you consider becoming my knight..."

"Calm yourself, Arfiliya. Now is not the time to be discussing such matters."

"Ah... Yes, my apologies..."

Unfortunately, I'm not capable of immersing myself in a role enough to maintain constant roleplay like Josette and her group.

"In any case, I am well aware that this is highly unfitting for people of your stature, but I must ask you to prepare yourselves for the possibility of camping outdoors."

"Umu... Muu. Considering we escaped death, I suppose we should view that as a far too luxurious concern..."

Aside from event-specific uses when accepting Unique Scenarios, Emul's "Gate" generally only allows teleportation to locations both the caster and the accompanying targets have previously visited. Oh, and it subtly requires a wall to create the door in the first place.

At the very least, they should have visited Fifticia, so the conditions themselves should be met... but if it turns out the King and Princess are strictly excluded from teleportation targets, we'll enter the absolute worst-case route imaginable.
I ran pretty aimlessly, after all. Attempting to reach specific coordinates in this forest without a map marker is a completely impossible game.

"It would be a tragedy beyond tears to finally find them, only for them to already be corpses..."

There is absolutely no shame in choosing the safe route. Operating with unstable efficiency often results in massive losses if you fail. Spending 15 seconds for a 100% success rate is far more important than spending 10 seconds for an 80% success rate.

Alright, let's reconfirm the situation and the provisional threats. And then, clearly define the clear conditions.
First, current situation: Stranded. The position of the stars is completely useless, so I need to establish our orientation based on the direction the sun rises.
Provisional threats: The Third Knight Order and the pseudo-dinosaurs running rampant in this forest. Right now, the latter is the far greater threat.
Clear conditions: Return to the base with the NPCs "Former King Torvante" and "First Princess Arfiliya" surviving. No, wait, the clear condition is probably placing them under the Tri-Divinity's protection.

Thinking about it like this, I deeply regret my carelessness in not bringing a map. The Old Continent's areas were generally linear, so even without a map, you could usually manage as long as you kept moving forward.
But the New Continent isn't like that. Because it's an untrodden frontier, there are no defined roads. Once you get lost, you honestly have to rely on celestial bodies to find your way back. Well, if you really wanted to return, you could always just commit suicide and let a monster finish you off, but since the respawn express only seats one, that option is rejected.

"Ideally, the Third Knight Order was completely wiped out or incapacitated in their battle against the Three-Headed T-Rex, but it is always wise to assume the worst-case scenario. Therefore, I propose we refrain from any large-scale movements, find a suitable location to wait out the night, and wait for morning... Is that acceptable?"

"Umu..."

"Lighting a fire is also dangerous. If I were to make a luxurious request, I'd say we should climb a tree... Ah, wait, no. I believe there are owl-type monsters as well..."

Even without Active Sonar, Emul has high danger-detection capabilities, so we probably won't suffer a complete surprise attack. But if we do have to fight, solid ground is far preferable to being up in a tree.

"...Sunraku-san, there's something up in the tree two trees over, desu wa."

"Excuse me for a moment, you two. I need to go shoot a pheasant..."

Executing my preparations with perfectly natural movements... Honestly, is there anything more comical than attempting stealth when your exact coordinates have already been pinpointed?

"Those who leave will not be pursued. Conversely, if you don't leave, I'll kill you!"

Starting off with a high-speed dash via excessive motion, feeling as casual as taking a normal step. Activating Gravity Zero and Trial Traverse in rapid succession, I dashed up the preceding tree and activated Shana-oh Possession at the exact right moment.
Seriously wondering if there's a way to genuinely activate skills in parallel, I twisted my body twice in mid-air and... launched a surprise attack on whatever was holding its breath among the branches and leaves.

Fuhaha, whether you're an owl or whatever, if I take the initiative and overwhelm you, you're nothing to fea... "Hieeeeeee!!?" Oh my, what a surprisingly soprano-voiced monster we have here...?
Diving in like a bullet, my outstretched hand grabbed the neck of the strangely slender monster (?) and dragged it down from the tree. It seemed to try to escape at the last second, but reality doesn't play out like Achilles and the tortoise. The fast one always wins; that's the absolute Truth of this World (Physics Engine).

"Fukya!?"

"Ngu."

A monster... No, let's stop pretending. Landing on the ground while still gripping the neck of an obviously humanoid Someone, I instantly dropped to critical HP due to the fall damage and the subsequent damage calculation. But without showing even a hint of that, I pondered what to do next.

The absolute worst-case scenario is that this is another player... Getting into a spat with a player is far more annoying than an NPC, so if push comes to shove, I can just resolve it with money or items... No, an immediate apology comes first.
Confirmation: alright, it's an NPC. I have no idea what's "alright" about that, but while slightly intensifying the glare in my eyes, I addressed the restrained individual... Yes, judging by those characteristic ears, an NPC (Elf).

"You have three seconds to answer my question. If you don't, I will use you as bait in my next monster encounter and throw you to the wolves."

"Hyi, hyai... pwease help..."

Ah, if there wasn't an age restriction, she definitely would have wet herself. Tears and snot streaming down her face, the Elf... wait, in this game, they're called Forest-folks (Elves), right?

"Was your peeping on us just now a 'coincidence'? Or───"

"Whoa there, you hilariously dressed player. Mind stepping away from Erina?"

"Hah?"

Meta-speech. Not an NPC.
Turning around, I saw a lightly armored male player holding a bow... a shortbow, standing there. The tip of his arrowhead was aimed squarely at my head. If I put any strength into the hand gripping this Forest-folk's neck, I'd undoubtedly get headshot.

"I have no intention of judging your sexual preferences, but she's technically in a party with me, and she's a key person for a Unique Scenario. If push comes to shove, I won't hesitate to take the Red Name penalty..."

"What a coincidence. I'm currently on high alert while progressing an NPC escort quest... and my VIPs happen to be royalty."

"Seriously?"

Judging that this guy—who practically screamed "I am a Ranger!" from every angle—at least had nothing to do with the Third Knight Order, I released the Elf.
Encountering an Elf at the exact same time the pro-demi-human Former King Torvante and First Princess Arfiliya get stranded? Even though there's another player involved, isn't this totally an event flag?

Author's Afterword
That is, unmistakably, him.

Faer-kuso and Ricchan's game are titles Ricchan worked on right before ShanFro, so there's absolutely no way they would have been released before SpellCre or Saba-Gan... I'm an idiot... (Holding my head in my hands).
It's not just "darkest under the lighthouse," there's practically a bomb strapped to the main pillar of the lighthouse... That being said, it's just the timeline for Faer-kuso that's screwed up, so if I just shift the release date from the Dawn of VR to the VR Renaissance Period post-Saba-Gan Incident, it's recoverable... It is recoverable, right...!? (Endless anxiety).

I apologize for the inconvenience. I will apply fixes as soon as I fully grasp the necessary corrections.