Chapter 34: Thus, Thou Shall Be Surrounded by a Spear Wall of Commotion

To put it bluntly, Secondil wasn't exactly a large city, but the view of Thirdrema visible from beyond the gate was overflowing with vibrancy... It was a city that fully met the conditions of a "Fantasy Metropolis." The appeals of the street vendors, thrown like hail at those visiting the city, made me frown at the noise, but at the same time, I felt their overflowing vitality seeping into me.

If Firstia and Secondil were cities spread out on flat planes, Thirdrema is a hill with a castle built at its center serving as the apex. Therefore, the scenery waiting for me as I step inside is novel—at least for someone like me who doesn't travel far except to buy games—and it was a sight sufficient to intensely ignite my motivation.

"Fuhyaa, it's a beautiful city no matter when I see it, desu wa."

"Yeah."

"Hm? Sunraku-san, your reaction is somewhat bland, desu wa."

Well, it certainly is an amazing sight, but I am still a gamer. Clearing a decent number of games means I have seen just as many different stages. For example, platforms built in the atmosphere directly above a planet. For example, a castle so huge you'd want to ask if giants lived there, resulting from roughly clearing the order of "Just make a magnificent castle." For example, a canyon where the cybernetic underlayer is visible from the cracked earth or sky because the textures collapsed. It is precisely because I have stood, walked, seen, heard, and felt such scenes in games—in Full Dive VR—that I stopped in front of the gate to explain to Emul.

"I'm not a warrior guided by the God of Fate, but I've seen quite a few places in my time."

"Amazing, desu wa! As expected, Pioneer-san has visited all sorts of places, desu wa!"

Even in human form, the inside is still the Vorpal Bunny Emul. Seeing her bounce around like she was dancing, I couldn't help but smile.

"Now then, what to do."

"......? We aren't looking for an inn, desu wa?"

"No, that's just a quota to fill. I'm talking about what to do with the current situation."

Back in Secondil, the time of day and the timing matched up nicely, so I only saw players at a glance overall. But with a city of this scale, there are a decent number of players basing their operations here. I was surprised to see quite a few players busily heading back to Secondil instead of going to the next area, but I recall that Area Bosses respawn once you update your save point at the next town and return. In that case, it wouldn't be strange for players to go back and forth repeatedly to farm materials. I knew that. And to add to it, I knew my appearance stood out in a bad way. But this feels slightly different.

What is it? For a while now, I've been watched by players leaving Thirdrema to return to Secondil. But their reaction isn't "A crazy guy appeared," but rather a gaze pregnant with confirmation, like "Could that be him?" Strange. I've certainly had various thrilling experiences, but I shouldn't have done any flashy actions that would make me known to other players... Don't tell me those three I had that "Suspicious Person" first contact with in the Dancing Forest exposed me like, "Found a damn suspicious player lol"!? No, I want to believe that's not the case, but...

"Well, I am a suspicious person."

What would you do if a masked wrestler look-alike suddenly jumped out of the forest instead of a bear? I'd take a picture and laugh my ass off. In short, it can't be helped.

"Let's go, Emul. Let's hurry up and find an inn."

"Y-Yes, sir!"

Just then, one of the players passing by suddenly grabbed my shoulder, and my first step into Thirdrema was once again put on hold. Seriously, just let me step into the city already. Why am I endlessly standing in front of the gate? The gatekeeper's gaze is starting to hurt.

"Y-You! That outfit, you're Sunraku, right!?"

"Heh?"

"Is she an acquaintance of yours, Sunraku-san?"

I was asked this by a stranger, a female player who had suddenly closed in on me as if to grapple me. Emul asked if she was an acquaintance, but... "Animalia." I have no recollection of this name. I thought it might be a trash-game friend, but if that were the case, I don't think they'd speak so formally. And above all, if it were that guy who I know is definitely playing, they wouldn't talk to me so openly and fairly.

"Um, who might you be?"

Speaking of games, it is an iron rule that equipment gets stronger the further you progress. And the strength of equipment is roughly proportional to how flashy it looks. Therefore, just by looking, I can tell that this Animalia's equipment is not something obtainable in the early game. But that makes it even more confusing. Why is a player with equipment radiating an aura that says "End-game Crafting Only" in such an early-game town? Or rather, why does she know my name in the first place?

"Greetings and... all that, I don't care. I just want to ask one thing..."

Gwash! Grabbing my shoulder with enough force to crush it, the player known as Animalia opened her eyes wide and asked. I barely managed to suppress the urge to deploy my weapons with sheer willpower, while Emul, with a small pofun! sound, flusteredly hid the drooping ears that had popped out back into her hair.

"How! Did you tame! A Vorpal Bunny!?"

".........!"

Do not let them find out, Emul. I stopped Emul, who was about to reflexively answer, and while being grateful for equipping a mask that hid any change in expression, I cycled through my thoughts at high speed. Where did it leak? No, the most likely line is that other players saw me with Emul... with a Vorpal Bunny. I messed up. I forgot that not being spoken to and not being seen are two different issues. Damn it, should I just ignore her and flee into the city? No, deciding that's the optimal solution is premature. What to do? Revealing the Unique Scenario is out of the question. Information has value because it is exclusive. Besides, even if told to explain, I can only say, "I had the Vorpal Soul, so the Boss called me." ............Wait, I don't really need to hide it, do I? After all, I'm the one who wants to ask what flags established the Unique Scenario "Invitation from the Rabbit Country" in the first place.

"Well, even if you ask how, I myself don't really understand..."

"That's right, isn't it? Things like this should be shared with everyone, right, Revolutionary Knight Sunraku-kun?"

That name has absolutely no meaning in this game. That name refers to me in a different game from this one. That name indicates a relationship with me in a specific game.

That is precisely why, from the direction of the voice—a surprise attack she would likely aim from Thirdrema beyond the gate... I brushed away Animalia's arm grabbing my shoulder and succeeded in dodging the strike aimed precisely at my legs—the ones needed to flee—jumping away half on instinct. And while understanding that it was a bad move from a bird's-eye view, I took distance away from the gate.

"You've appeared, Pencil Warrior...!!"

"Now, now, here I'm Arthur Pencilgon, Sunraku-kun. And don't talk about people like they're monsters."

Though her appearance was different, and she wore a mask hiding the upper half of her face, one could still understand, "Ah, this person is a beauty." Surprisingly, that assassin seemed to be using her real face just as it was... The player "Pencil Warrior" whom I and ModoruKatzo once assassinated in the post-apocalyptic looting game United Rounds. The one now known as "Arthur Pencilgon" smiled at me with a genuinely delighted smile.