Chapter 566: Kicking Morals to the Curb and Pushing Desire Through
Author's Preface
It's fine to go crazy and put Chaos MAX into an Unchained deck...... that's what freedom is. (Comes back to my senses and keeps it in the side deck)
『Umm, the next showcase was scheduled to be Shangri-La Frontier......... but! Unfortunately, it seems there's been a slight equipment trouble, so we'll be taking our lunch break now and starting it at the top of the afternoon session! Sorry everyone! Let's meet again after we eat!!』
『So, it seems. Therefore, the morning session will end here.』
『By the way, what are Natsume-chan and Eito-chan going to eat for lunch?』
『I'll... let's see, maybe put on a disguise and go around the food stalls?』
『Ohh, you're pretty bold, Eito-chan〜』
『............Not as much as you, Senpai.』
『Hmmmm, looks like my mic is acting up too!! Are you having fries, Natsume-chan? Or a hamburger?』
『I'd prefer it if you didn't stereotype me like that!』
『Then what are you eating?』
『.........A hot dog.』
『That's totally junk food〜』
『W-What's wrong with that! Fries and pickles are vegetables too!!』
『I think it's more about the ratio of vegetables......』
『Okaaay, well then everyone! See you in the afternoon〜!!』
◇
【JGE On-Site Group】
Pencil Knight King: So, wanna do an offline meetup?
Sunraku: Stop proposing suicide tactics out of desperation.
Pencil Knight King: Oh? Are you chickening out?
Sunraku: Even the way you pick fights is sloppy.
Rust: I don't really mind.
Psyger-0: I kind of mind......
Mold: W-Well, there's no need to force ourselves to meet face-to-face......
Sunraku: Then wouldn't having an offline meetup where everyone wears a mask perfectly satisfy everyone's conditions......?
Pencil Knight King: Are you a genius?
Pencil Knight King: OiKatzo =
Sunraku: Kei Uomi
Sunraku: I encourage messing with him individually, but please don't go spreading it around on a massive scale!
Psyger-0: Eh
Mold: He just leaked personal info with an incredible amount of casualness!?
Rust: So that's, that......
Sunraku: One for all! All for one!
Pencil Knight King: Translation: "You're going down with us."
Mold: The person in question's will isn't being considered at all......
Rust: A majority vote among scumbags.
Pencil Knight King: That's a great way to put it, but isn't that a bit too harsh?
Rust: Isn't this what you wanted?
Pencil Knight King: Oho? That sent a little shiver down my spine, but Katzo-kun is the only one who gets put on the defensive by lines like that〜?
Sunraku: Go ahead and spread those shitty baseless rumors.
Mold: It's hard to believe those are the words of the same person who just put a stop to spreading personal info......
Sunraku: Premium tickets are so convenient, being able to skip the lines at food stalls is basically god-tier, no?
Psyger-0: I'm already eating......
Pencil Knight King: What's on the menu, by the way?
Sunraku: Some game-related ramen, shio flavor.
Psyger-0: Shoyu.
Pencil Knight King: Rust-chan, don't be a buzzkill.
Rust: .........I see.
Mold: Eh
Psyger-0: Eh?
Sunraku: Stop fueling curiosity with your cryptic conversations.
Pencil Knight King: Hahaha, when it comes to this topic, Sunraku-kun's human rights are lower than the green onions on that shio ramen.
Sunraku: Hah?
Pencil Knight King: If you rely on your youth and pour too much pepper on it, you'll end up crying in the future〜
◇
"Right?"
"Noaa!?"
"Eh......... eh?"
The sensation of a hand lightly placed on my shoulder, and a raw, unfiltered voice that wasn't recorded or coming through a microphone.
Turning around reflexively, there stood a woman giving an impression 180 degrees different from when she was on stage just a moment ago, flashing an evil smile.........
"Bfuh!!?"
"This one appeared like a ghost."
"Eh, the real thing.........?"
Th-This bastard...... she was giving off an "avoiding IRL encounters" vibe in the chat so I went along with it, but she was actually searching for us the whole time!? Isn't that taking being fiendish too far!?
"Wh-What's with that......... nfufufufu, on your face......... ahahaha!!"
"The free anti-fog processed glasses, 'Ramen Holy Knight Saltias Model'."
It's a cheap plastic pair of glasses I put on without much thought because it's more fun to wear things like this at a festival rather than stowing them away, but even I couldn't have imagined it would serve as the final line of defense for my face. Also, what the heck is a Ramen Knight?
"Umm, eh, why are you here........."
"Rei-sa......... ah, Rei-shi. This is just the kind of person she is......"
"Are you the kind of guy who, nfufufufufu, dies if you don't hide your face with something? Ahh, combining with my empty stomach, my stomach hurts even more."
Having politely even put on a wig to achieve perfect mimicry, Towa Amane wiped away tears of laughter welling up under her glasses as she naturally pulled up a chair from nearby, changing the table Rei-san and I were at into a three-person setup.
"Huh? Sunraku-kun, where's mine?"
"Here."
"The fact that you point straight at the pepper without hesitation really proves you're rotten to the core, doesn't it? Ah, Rei-chan, it's been a while〜"
"Eh, um, ah, eh, yes."
It's been a while? A question mark popped into my head for a second, but thinking about it calmly, she has a connection with Rei-san's older sister, Psyger-100... or Momo-shi, assuming Pencilgon using her real name occasionally is legit? With that connection, it wouldn't be weird for Rei-san and Pencilgon to be acquainted. I resolved it internally and slurped my ramen.
"Hmm, just going to start eating first without hesitation, huh."
"Go buy your own."
"Nah, I'm good. I already ordered."
Ordered?
"Wait a sec, Ama............ Kuon-san, you could have at least told me where you were going to sit......... who are you?"
"Natsume-shiiii..............."
Arriving in a delightful state where French fries invaded about 70% of the tray was Natsume-shi, who was also wearing a disguise that wouldn't be recognized from a distance......... I don't pretend to understand the thought process of a madman, but even setting that aside, what is this girl trying to do?
"No no, half of it is just purely enjoying the sights, but the other half is to talk a bit about ShanFro."
"Don't tell me you called in Rust and Mold too."
"Hmm, I invited them, but it seems those two have general admission tickets........."
"Ah."
I glanced at the long, snake-like lines sprawling everywhere and shifted my gaze back, thinking that even if they had the intention to come, it would probably take an hour or two......
"......Hey, Kuon-san, who are these two?"
"This one here is...... umm? Ramen Knight? The girl with the glasses is my friend's little sister. And this one here, you've met him before too, right, Cinnamon-chan? He was wearing a gas mask back then, though."
"..............."
"..............."
I quietly averted my eyes from Natsume-shi's gaze, which seemed to be screaming, "Seriously!!?". Should I put on the emoticon helmet right now...... but then I wouldn't be able to eat my ramen.
".........I'm going to hold a grudge against you, Kei."
"For someone like you, we have this: a Q&A session where Uomi-kun is guaranteed to answer any question. Real-time."
"Eh, what's with that incredibly fun-sounding event?"
Whoa, they're really doing it. The light is starting to fade from her eyes, so she's evidently being affected by the miasma leaking from the demon realm. The tricky thing about the demon realm's miasma is that it has wicked thoughts but no actual malice......... Well, showing an event like that to denizens of the demon realm who normally lock themselves away underground with steel-clad morals would definitely cause that to happen.
"Why don't you vent all those pent-up feelings you've accumulated, Cinnamon-chan......... right?"
"Right. You don't need to pay attention to me."
"Ah......... umm, okay........."
Leaving Natsume-shi—or rather, the alias Cinnamon-shi—who was now glued to her mobile device while exuding emotions that could only be described as pitch-black, the alias Kuon-something-or-other picked up a hot dog from the tray Cinnamon-shi had brought over and turned her gaze toward me and Rei-san.
"It takes time to type on a mobile device without thought-input, after all. I was thinking we could have a little ShanFro discussion, maybe mixing in some early leaks...... you know?"
"I can't say I admire your methods, though."
If we're distinguishing morally, that's an act classified as evil. Because I'm someone with anachronistic morals shaped by Takeda-shi's teachings, I'm not really good with offline meetups that involve IRL identity reveals. After all, Takeda-shi used to say, "In my era, retro MMOs were still active, so offline meetups sometimes ended with blood being drawn, de gozaru......"
"I basically had you in checkmate through your little sister anyway, so it's a bit late for that, isn't it?"
"...............Little sister?"
"Ah, my little sister is a huge fan of this girl. Apparently, they exchanged email addresses when I set up a surprise prank call once."
"Does that mean........................ your families are acquainted?"
"Stop right there, Rei-chan. If you say that, it means I'll have a family-level relationship with your household too."
"Y-You're right.............................. you're absolutely right."
For some reason, I feel like the temperature of my ramen just dropped.
"So? Is it something so important that you need to spoil it before the afternoon presentation?"
"Ah, yeah. Well, let's see............ I could talk about a lot of things, but if I had to pick the first topic......"
Smiling deviously as she peeled the wrapper off her hot dog, Kuon-shi undoubtedly said this:
"Wanna start a coup d'état together?"
Author's Afterword
If you search for "Ultra Zero Eye", you'll understand exactly what state the protagonists are eating their ramen in. [*1]
It's not so much that she excluded Rust and Mold, but rather that she had something she wanted to discuss with "Sunraku" and "Psyger-0", so she prioritized that.
Wolfgang is a monster clan holding two record holders, after all (though people tend to forget that, especially the author).
Translator's Notes
- [1] Ultra Zero Eye: Transformation item from Ultraman Zero. It is a pair of stylized glasses that has no arms/temples. You literally have to hold it up to your face like a masquerade mask, or miraculously balance it on the bridge of your nose. This means Sunraku's "Ramen Holy Knight Saltias Model" glasses have no ear-stems. He is either awkwardly holding this cheap plastic visor to his face with one hand while trying to slurp ramen with the other, or it's precariously balanced on his face. This is exactly why Pencilgon is crying from laughing so hard.
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