Chapter 55: Dedicated to a Moment, Part 3

"Nnn... My body's gotten dull since I've been doing nothing but playing ShanFro lately..."

Jogging in a jersey with the sleeves rolled up—an outfit completely devoid of any fashion sense—I struggled to regulate my ragged breathing. A gamer's body is their capital. Due to the nature of full-dive games, muscles atrophy easily. Therefore, neglecting the player's real-life physical status management will eventually affect their gameplay. That is precisely why, when I go shopping, I deliberately run to the convenience store three blocks away, which is a bit further than necessary. Even if it's under the blazing sun...... Honestly, I'm regretting it a little.

"Haaht..."

The sunlight wasn't just shining; it was beating down heat and light onto the ground with glaring intensity, and the asphalt, not wanting to be outdone, radiated heat from below. You don't need to be stubborn about it; just lose already. There's no point in floor heating during the summer. Feeling moisture leaving my body like slip damage, I finally dashed into the convenience store that came into view.

"Aaaahhh......"

Air conditioning is the best. Humanity should rebel against Mother Nature more often, seriously. Wiping sweat with the sleeve of my jersey, I started walking through the store. For now, my energy drinks are running low, and the next two weeks are going to be a hard schedule, so I want to buy two dozen.

"Hm?"

I felt like I saw someone who shouldn't be here, and when I turned around, it was the magazine corner. Among the magazines of various categories lined up, one caught my eye. There was a photo of a young man with a refreshing smile—completely the opposite of the mocking smirk he usually wears—that screamed "Nice Guy!"

"Weekly VR Full Diver, Special Feature: 'Exclusive Interview with Pro Gamer Uomi Kei,' huh."

I wonder what they interviewed Uomi Kei (ModoruKatzo) about. That guy spews venom unconsciously and naturally, so the editor must have had a hard time. The only thing that piqued my interest was the name of the friend with whom I had been strategizing for the battle two weeks from now while he stuffed his face with tea snacks in Unite Rounds just a few hours ago. As for information on other "God Games"... I'm not that interested—wait.

"Shangri-La Frontier Major Summer Update... Is this what Pencil Warrior was talking about?"

Right, I'm currently playing a God Game. I should probably start reading magazines like this... More importantly, I wonder if "Weekly Trash Gamer" will ever be released? Probably not.

"Hmm... Hmm, I see. New Area: 'The Great Sea of Severance,' 'Pioneer Fleet,' the unseen 'New Continent'... New Job: 'Rider,' huh."

Several photos, seemingly in-game screenshots, were displayed along with provocative taglines. They showed pristine nature untouched by human hands, strange silhouettes faintly visible in forests, and the surface of the sea as something was about to emerge—scenes that strongly stimulated the viewer's curiosity. Doing this in the summer is clever; they know exactly how to draw in new players. Trash games are often disappointing with their advertising too... Oh, so there are several other adjustments coming as well.

"Let's see... Hoh, hmm..."

Whoops, no good. I ended up reading intently. I have a lot to prepare as soon as I get back, so I need to finish shopping quickly. Clattering loudly, I dropped two cases of twelve energy drinks into my shopping basket. Oh right, I should buy some snacks too.

"This please."

"That will be 8,930 yen."

Sacrificing one Yukichi-san from my wallet, I received an unnecessarily heavy plastic bag and my change. Electronic money is dominant these days, but I prefer real money because it feels more like I'm actually exchanging currency. The sensation of a single piece of paper turning into weight thousands of times heavier is quite, you know, nice.

"Now then, time to go home..."

"U-Um! You're Hizutome-kun... right!?"

"Hm?"

I don't think there are that many people with the surname Hizutome, so this must be directed at me. Since I had already left the convenience store, I turned around with my body being eaten away by the boiling heat, and there stood a girl wearing a cool white one-piece dress. What was that hairstyle called again? Sounds like a person's name... Bubbly Deb? No, that's wrong. No, no, before that, her name. It's not my first time seeing her; somewhere... Oh, right, I think we were in the same class in our first year of high school... uh... Crap, remember quickly, me.

"Uhh...... Saiga-san?"

"Y-Yes! It's Saiga! Saiga Rei! What a coincidence meeting you in a place like this!"

"I-Indeed."

Perhaps due to the blazing sun, Saiga-san's face was bright red as she waved her hands vigorously to assert her presence. Ah, for some reason Emul crossed my mind...... Ah, I'm starting to remember. Saiga Rei. We were in the same class in our first year, and now she's in the class next door, I think. At the start of the new term, my classmates were lamenting, "Why couldn't I be in the same class as Saiga-san!?" Back then, I was only half-listening because I was thinking about a new game released with great fanfare by a trash-game maker—one that smelled like a landmine just from the screenshots—but surprisingly, I remember.

"U-U-Um! It's hot today, isn't it!"

"True. If it's like this in July, August is going to be even worse."

I seriously don't want to go outside. Should I order energy drinks online...? No, no, that's too unhealthy, right? But it is hot...

"Umm, umm... It looks quite heavy, but what did you purchase!?"

"Eh? Ah, energy drinks. I'm planning to hole up and game for about two weeks..."

"Mo!"

Mo?

"Moshikashite (Could it be)! Is it Shangri-La Frontier!?"

How did she know? I looked at Saiga-san, who seemed like she might start hopping any moment, with a dubious eye. But thinking about it, for someone not knowledgeable about games, "Game = ShanFro" wouldn't be strange. ShanFro has that level of name recognition right now.

"Ah, yeah, well, yes."

"T-That's...! ..........................."

Suddenly, Saiga-san froze. Seeing that movement, which resembled a processing drop, I instinctively took a step back. In-game, I could laugh it off, but seeing it in real life is quite something... it's scary.

"I-I alsho... play... ShanFro........."

"Heh."

I feel like I heard she was from an old, distinguished family, or a super Yamato Nadeshiko or something... I assumed she lived a life doing flower arrangement and tea ceremony simultaneously, but she plays games?

"I-If you'd li... ke! L-Let's play toge..."

Ah, an email.

"Sorry, excuse me a moment."

"Ahyai!"

Pencil Warrior again. What is it... "Get here now"? Just how much of a Spartan forced march is she planning? Let me shop with a little more leisure... Whoa, stop the consecutive emails! My inbox is filling up with unread mails at an incredible speed!

"Ah, sorry Saiga-san. My friend is rushing me, so I have to go..."

"Ah, yes! I'm sorry for keeping you!"

She's a humble person; it's not really something to apologize for. Or is this kind of consideration important as a member of society? Waving my hand slightly, I started running to get home.

"Ah, right."

If Saiga-san plays ShanFro, I should have asked for her player name.

Getting slightly annoyed at the emails being sent like harassment, I logged in to find myself on the bed in Rabituza.

"Good morning, desu wa!"

"Ah, yeah, morning."

Returning the greeting to the lop-eared rabbit whose tension was high as always, I recalled Pencil Warrior's words.

"NPCs do not respawn, huh..."

Respawning is a function that is taken for granted in the entertainment medium known as games. If there were a game you could only play once, you couldn't call it a game. Actually, there was a game where "Game Over = Data Deletion," though you can guess how the public received it. Watching Emul, whose emotional expressions were excessively intense despite the realistic design, I thought. What I'm challenging in two weeks is the Unique Monster "Tombguard Wethermon." It belongs to the same category as Lycaon the Nightwalker, and it is clearer than fire that it possesses overwhelming power. If I take Emul there, there is a high probability Emul will die. Or rather, since she's treated as a party member, increasing the number of participants would cause a discrepancy in Pencil Warrior's plan. If that's the case, I should talk to her beforehand.

"Hey Emul, there's actually something I need to tell you."

"What is it, desu wa?"

"Actually, in two weeks, I'm going to pick a fight with something called Tombguard Wethermon, so at that time, we might have to temporarily dissolve the party."

If I were to forcibly put it into words, it would be "Byo!", "Gozun!", "Bosu." After freezing for a few seconds like I saw somewhere just a moment ago, Emul crashed into the ceiling with a jump like something out of a gag manga, fell onto the bed, and began writhing in agony while holding her head.

"Hoaaaaaaa......!?"

"A-Are you okay? Need a potion?"

"W-W-Wethermooooooon!?"

"O-Oh."

"I-I'm going to tell Father, desu waaaaa!"

"Whoa."

Forgetting her usual dislike of exercise, Emul practically rolled out of the room. Her voice echoing like a mountain echo—"Desu wa... desu wa... desu wa..."—was slightly funny, but did I step on some kind of flag?

"Hmm, later I'll have to apologize to Pencil Warrior... over here she's Pencilgon, and the other one."

It's intuition, but I feel like I shouldn't skip this event.

It was about five minutes later when Emul returned saying, "Father is calling you, desu wa!" Led by a somewhat panicked Emul, I went to Vash, and there he was, looking grimmer than usual. Did I mess up...? Did I step on a landmine? If I triggered a flag that lowers affection, it's Pencil Warrior's fault, so I'm not to blame.

"Oh... I heard the story from Emul, but let me hear it from your own mouth... Is it true you're going to pick a fight with that 'Failed-to-Die' (Shini-sokonai)...?"

"Ah, yes. Strictly speaking, it's more like I'm lending a hand to a friend who is challenging it."

'Failed-to-Die', huh. I don't know that much about Tombguard Wethermon. That's why, just like with Lycaon, I made sure to memorize the words of Vash, who seemed suspiciously knowledgeable about Unique Monsters.

"You understand, don't you? That you're still weak."

"That's true."

I'm level 31, after all. If I challenged it without preparation, I'd die instantly 99.99% of the time. It's certain I wouldn't even serve as a meat shield. However, this is important. Questions from NPCs highly likely affect affection ratings and flags. What's required here isn't a gamer-like response like, "I can power-level in two weeks and meta-game with prior research, so no problem." Roleplaying based on the world setting and character nature—that is the best answer in this situation. Now, how do I answer? First, confirm the situation... "Persuading a strong character who is trying to stop me from doing something that looks like suicide"? Good, it's a fairly common situation. The problem is on what grounds and how I persuade him... No, wait, calm down Sunraku. You are the man who overcame that nightmare (Fae-Cro). Do you know how much I struggled to flatter Faeria and manipulate the affection ratings of other party members? Gather words from memory, recall Vash's character nature, my standing, the keyword is Vorpal Soul...!

"...I'm not challenging it because I'm certain I can 'win,' Aniki."

"Hoh?"

The words connected, the sentence formed. I'll show you my roleplaying!

Author's Commentary: The author only knows about non-local dialects through Wikipedia knowledge, so basically, characters with accents are speaking in "fake dialects." Some people might find the wording very awkward, but please understand.