Chapter 369: Looking Uncool While Trying to Look Cool

Author's Preface
The build was fun! (Hallucination)

"Money, huh."

"Money, it is."

Opening with pure avarice right from the first move. Elke-san was in absolute top form today.

"A Skill Gardener's Secret Law (Law) has an incredibly high rarity value, you knooow. Which means... I'm going to need a whole lot of money, alright?"

"...For the record, what exactly does this 'Secret Law' entail?"

Swoosh. (Elke silently extended her hand.)

Plop. (I silently placed 10,000 Mani into it.)

"Hmm〜, about twenty percent, I suppose."

"...I appreciate you looking down on me."

Handing over an additional 40,000 Mani, Elke smiled and finally opened her mouth with a "Thanks for your patronage."

"A Skill Gardener possesses a secret Art (Skill) that demands a corresponding level of true ability not just from the Gardener themselves, but from the one receiving it, you knooow? And that is..."

"And that is...?"

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

"Alright... So I need money, huh."

And a massive amount of it at that. I might actually need billions... but even then, it's a Steal.

"Sunraku-san, what are you going to do desu wa?"

"Once I finish repairing my weapons, I'm heading straight to the Crystal Nest Cliff."

I could easily tell that Emul was making a face on top of my head that said, "Ah, I knew it." But I also need to test out that skull, so it can't be helped.

"But... the day I graduate from the Crystal Nest Cliff might actually be approaching."

It's no exaggeration to say the profit margin at the Crystal Nest Cliff is top-tier, but I haven't proven that nothing better exists.
And I'm already fully capable of walking the path of the New Continent, meaning I can explore entirely new, unseen farming locations.

"So, I'll be saying goodbye to those guys for a while..."

"You're making it sound like a touching story, but essentially it's just a carnivore migrating to a new hunting ground desu wa."

"In search of new, Delicious flavor!!"

Alright, putting that aside, it's time to launch a raid... I mean, go have some fun!!

And so, while the fiends and perverts were making a ruckus on the New Continent, I would gracefully return to the Old Continent... Or so I'd like to say, but there's something I need to do before I go.

"Umm... Well, something roughly like this... Alright. Emul, teleport please."

"Yes, sir! Eighthold, desu wa?"

"Nope. To the Frontline Base. Also..."

In terms of time, it was an adventure that lasted less than a single day. If you told someone that a King who ought to be sitting on a throne had run frantically through an uncharted sea of trees, they probably wouldn't believe it even if you framed it as a fairy tale.

But as a matter of fact, Torvante and Arfiliya did exactly that. After escaping the Third Knight Order, they dashed through the dark sea of trees. And the ones who made that possible were the brilliant magician Deep Slaughter the Sage, the Hero of the Forest-folks Tottori the Shimane, and an Avenger who vanished into the morning sun and sea spray...

"Excuse my intrusion."

"...Oh! Sunraku, it is you."

"Oh my!"

Amidst the chaos of the players panicking over the unprecedented incident of a sudden Merman visit, Torvante and Arfiliya entered the Demon Lord's Castle... I mean, Skull Azuchi, which had been constructed at the frontline base. Kneeling before them was an Avenger—now physically a man once more—who had undeniably saved their lives: Sunraku.

"Because my current form stands out a bit too much, I apologize for showing myself in such an unsightly state... But I wished to formally bid you farewell."

Maintaining a flawless posture of fealty to the King, yet bearing a thoroughly dignified presence, Sunraku knelt. Torvante offered his genuine feelings to the man in the form of words.

"Umu... Sunraku, you performed your duties admirably. I must ask you to forgive me for currently lacking the means to reward you."

"Peace can only exist when there is a good King. If so,as a citizen of Al... wait, my mistake... ahem, as a citizen of Einwurf, saving the King's life is nothing more than a given."

"I see... I am proud to be blessed with such good citizens."

"I am most grateful for your words."

"However. If I were to fail to grant a fitting reward for your deeds, I could not face my predecessors as one who bears the blood of Einwurf. They say 'A dream's treasure has no price'... but the day I return to my throne, I shall absolutely reward you. Sunraku, what is it that you desire?"

"A swor—... ahem, a good country where our blades of revenge need never be drawn... is what I would like to say, but I assume that is not the answer Your Majesty desires. In that case..."

A sword. The half-naked kneeling man stated it simply.
We, the blades of revenge, can never obtain anything for ourselves. But if the blade we swing shines with the King's majesty, that light will become an honor surpassing all else.

Without a single shred of hesitation, practically as if he were reading from a script, Sunraku made his declaration. The King and Princess looked at him with eyes filled with admiration and respect.

"Umu, I have indeed heard your wish... I shall swear to the Three Gods that I will not break this promise."

A brief silence settled between the King, the Princess, and the Avenger. And just as Arfiliya opened her mouth to break it, Sunraku stood up as if to intercept her words.

"Your Highness, any words beyond that are a wish that can never be fulfilled."

"Sunraku-sama..."

Seeing Arfiliya looking as though she might burst into tears at any moment, Sunraku's body stiffened for a split second. But as if severing whatever lingering regrets were clenched within his fist, he relaxed his stance, whipped his pure white cloak—which harbored a lapis-lazuli night sky on its interior—and turned his back to Torvante and Arfiliya.

"We are those who answer only to feeble wishes. Even knowing it is disrespectful, I must state that we cannot lend our hands to a Power Struggle."

"Then...! No... I understand."

Arfiliya, who had been about to suggest he abandon the path of an Avenger and become a knight, swallowed her words.
That would simply be too tyrannical. Even considering Saint Iristella's request, the reason Sunraku saved Torvante and Arfiliya was precisely because the two of them in that moment embodied a "feeble wish."

Therefore, twisting his very nature to suit her desires would be a complete rejection of the man who had just saved them.
At the end of her internal conflict, Arfiliya closed her eyes and locked her wish away in her heart without giving it voice.

"But please, do not forget... My body is certainly here in Einwurf. For the love and peace of every person in this country... no, including the people of the new lands, my blade will always be drawn."

"...Yes!"

"Then... May Einwurf be blessed with a better future."

Leaving those final words behind, the bird-masked Avenger exited the room. The two left inside made no move to chase after him, instead merely renewing their resolve.

"Arfiliya, I may end up having to strike down my own son. But even so..."

"No. No, Father. I will go with you as well... We cannot let Brother continue to do whatever he pleases."

"I see..."

Perhaps owing to a telepathy shared between father and daughter, no further words were needed. Only gazes harboring absolute, unwavering resolve were exchanged in the quiet room...

"Eeeh, Sunraku, your roleplay is actually incredibly good. Couldn't you do pretty well in our clan?"

"Geh, you were listening, Techi-kou...?"

"I'd really appreciate it if you didn't call me Hachikō."

"Ah, yeah yeah, my bad, Techi-hamu."

"I didn't tell you to read my name vertically either!"

◆

"Ahー, I'm exhausted..."

I originally planned to head straight to the Crystal Nest Cliff after finishing the roleplay, but I'm completely spent. I seriously need to sleep right now.

"Being allowed to sleep in until noon... Holidays really are the best... Hm?"

An email? From who... Those fiends have been contacting me via social media lately, so it's hard to imagine they'd bother going back to emails. Though I did get quite a laugh when Pencilgon nearly accidentally posted her fiend-speak on her official Towa Amane account... So who is it?

"The sender is... Eh, seriously!? Takeda-san!?"

The contents are... Hey, hey, hey, hey, seriously!? It's real! This is real!

"This is insane... It'll probably arrive next week... No, the day after tomorrow at the earliest..."

I don't have time to be playing ShanFro right now!!

Subject: Sharing the Bounty
Sender: Takeda Ingen
To: Sunraku
Body: Sunraku-dono! Sunraku-dono! By some absolute miracle, I managed to secure two physical Japanese copies of "Epic of President Legend" during my business trip to Zimbabwe! The contents were the real deal too, so I'm sending one your way as a gift!
Let's enjoy this phantom trash game to the fullest!

The festival is about to begin.

Author's Afterword
For the record, practically all of Sunraku's dialogue in that scene should have a "(Source: Otoginia Union)" citation attached to it.

Otoginia Union:
The nation of Otoginia, where fairy-tale characters reside, faces an impending invasion by the villains of those very tales. Now is the time to unleash the true power of fairy tales───!

As a premise, the base material was actually pretty good, but...
"Cinderella, whose tech level is completely out of sync with everyone else's. She arrives on a flying pumpkin battleship, and her ultimate attack involves strapping on glass leg-thrusters... I mean, glass slippers, and taking to the skies."
"Snow White, possessing a cannon for an arm. She uses seven dwarves—I mean, small Bits—and a reflector shield to control space while knocking out enemies with a 100mph Fastball (Apple) that inflicts poison."
"The Emperor with No Clothes. His face and dialogue are incredibly cool and playboy-esque, but his outfit is so fatally perverted that everything from the neck down is entirely mosaiced. He's an eight-heads-tall naked king."
And so on. The characters were just way too eccentric.

It seems the character designs and settings were created by entirely separate people, and because they tried to cram them all together, the character development for each individual was incredibly thin, leading to a completely disorganized, chaotic scenario.

And above all else, because the scenario progresses semi-automatically, excluding the multiplayer elements mentioned below, during the main story, a Character (Thumbelina) appears who can only be used for a maximum of five minutes even if you drag the fight out as long as possible. The overall overwhelming sense of disappointment caused it to be widely branded a trash game.

It's the classic "The ingredients were good, and the cooking method wasn't completely wrong either, but because they threw everything into the same pot and boiled it together, every single flavor got drowned out" type of game.

By the way, the absolute most trash element of the game was the multiplayer. Because they implemented the characters using their exact "Main Scenario" specs, the balance was completely shattered from day one. Sunraku even declared it to be worse than Gorilionline.
Specifically, if you defeat the secret boss, you unlock:
"Strategic Weapon Princess Kaguya: Fights by switching between five distinct, ultra-high-performance combat styles, and for 30 seconds, even if she dies, she instantly casts Resurrection and revives at full HP."
"Doping Momotaro: Has no upper limit to his stat enhancements. If he keeps eating millet dumplings, he and his animal companions continue to receive an infinite, limitless buff."
"Elder Abuse Urashima Taro: Showers the enemy in smoke from the Tamatebako to forcefully age them, then beats the now-elderly opponent to death with a fishing rod."
Everything else is considered complete garbage in comparison. Watching Japanese folktale characters telling foreign fairy-tale characters to "Be a good boy and go to Sleep (Die permanently)" is truly a masterpiece in the absolute worst sense of the word.

Sunraku's personal favorite is the "Goddess of the Lake, who rides around in a wheeled inflatable pool, standing perfectly motionless at attention while drifting around the battlefield at high speeds, endlessly pulling golden and silver axes out from by her feet and hurling them at people."
By the way, when the existence of the "Golden Millet Dumpling (x10 enhancement multiplier) obtained by throwing a regular dumpling into the Goddess's Lake (Inflatable Pool)" was discovered, an incident occurred where she teamed up with Momotaro, further polluting an already scorched-earth multiplayer environment.
Apparently, after that incident, it actually received a nerf... It became a Silver Millet Dumpling (x5 enhancement multiplier). That's not the point, developers.

However, because the fundamental character designs and basic settings were actually quite well-done, when they trimmed down the lore, reduced the cast size, and made an anime out of it, it became quite a massive hit. Currently, the fandom is thriving with fan creations.
The community password is: "Don't buy the game, just buy the setting materials book and watch the anime."