Chapter 613: A Pure and Righteous Match-Fixing Strictly Adhering to the Rules
Author's Preface
I didn't get Muon, so this is a rage update.
7:00 PM. This was the exact time Mold logged in, naturally tailing along with Rust, who had recently started actively logging into ShanFro as well.
Rust wasn't here. Even though she practically bankrupted herself out of sheer joy, debtors respawn in a completely different location.
"Jeez, Karen... wait, I mean, Rust... Saying 'I just want to get a slightly better grasp of the unit's performance,' doesn't that just mean you're putting off paying back your debt again...?"
Because an ordinary amount of debt wouldn't trigger the "Bankruptcy" status, Rust's debt had swelled to an absolutely astronomical amount... but as long as Rust and Mold had their devised sure-fire winning strategy, it would all work out somehow. That is exactly why Rust was currently enjoying her stagnation on this Shell Layer... or rather, enjoying her vacation here, indulging in the freedom to pilot tactical units as much as she wanted without any restrictions.
"Just watching Rust go on a rampage every time is kind of boring... Maybe I should play around a bit too."
Although he was completely out of his element, he was somewhat interested in the card game category. A card game where maintaining composure and securing stability is valued above all else—no matter how disadvantageous or advantageous the situation—seemed like it might actually suit him...
"Mold-sama."
"Eh? Me?"
If his shoulder was just tapped with a *pon*, then there was no mistaking it. Turning around, he was greeted by a single young girl sporting a full-faced, beaming smile. For a split second, her outfit—which looked like a fusion between a low-exposure tailcoat and a bunny girl suit—made him wonder if she was an NPC or something, but spotting an NPC running around freely in Leviathan was exceedingly rare.
Because of this, Mold decided to check the name that was presumably floating above her head... Wait, huh?
"How do you know my name..."
Still filled with doubt, he shifted his gaze directly above the girl's head, only to see the four letters spelling out "Sunraku."
"Yooo〜, Mold-kuuuun..."
"Hyuu."
His psychological state at that moment was akin to witnessing a wolf tear its way out of the back of something he fully believed was a sheep. With a fiendish smile so terrifying it momentarily created the optical illusion that every single bared tooth was a fang, the girl dug her slender, delicate fingers into Mold's shoulder to ensure there wasn't even a one-in-a-million chance he could escape, and whispered.
"I didn't know what time you'd log in, so I ended up having to wait until the sun went down... I missed you, y'know?"
"D-Did I do something...?"
"If anything, you're about to."
◆
"And so, I've brought you Red One's right hand... or perhaps, her brain."
"H-Hello..."
If Rust is here, it's a ninety-nine percent chance Mold is too; my prediction hit the bullseye. Having dragged along Mold, who had showed up with a completely carefree face, I arrived at the restaurant where my party members were waiting. Apparently, they were serving up the marbled meat from the Second Layer's boss, Superior Homage Frost Body. While everyone else was chowing down on steaks... I, the wise tactician Sunraku, deduced that just because it's called 'marbled meat' doesn't necessarily mean it's marbled beef, and executed a brilliant diversionary tactic by ordering "Nigiri Sushi"...!!
"Impossible, sushi...!?"
"Is your brain as smooth as pudding or something?"
"Well, I can eat sushi in real life whenever I want, so...?"
"But if you can't eat it right now, isn't that even emptier than a pie in the sky?"
"Since it's Full-Dive, isn't it basically just a pie generated in your mind..."
You just don't get it. The only actual difference between real life and VR is whether or not it fills up your stomach, right? If you just want to enjoy the taste and texture, doing it here is way more efficient.
Though, personally, I prefer the feeling of it filling my stomach, so real life wins after all.
"So, um... why was I called here?"
"Oh, it's nothing big. I just need a tiiiiiiiny bit of cooperation from Rust... She can do it, right?"
"W-What are you talking about..."
Don't play dumb with me. There is absolutely no way that mecha-loving Neph-Holo fanatic would ever be satisfied with just rentals. It's probably true that she's currently enjoying her jockey life where she can pilot tactical units practically risk-free, but it's completely unthinkable for her to just stay there indefinitely.
There's only one way for Rust and Mold to team up and meet the conditions to reach the Fourth Layer. These guys already have the strategy for conquering the Mech races firmly in their grasp.
"The Perfect Trifecta. It's the ticket to reach the Fourth Layer, and simultaneously the voucher to exchange for a massive amount of Score... I already asked 'Isana', you know? For the Mech races here, you can buy multiple tickets for the exact same bet. In other words, Mold, if you buy three tickets, it's problem solved."
"A-Ahahahaha... Yes, you're exactly right."
In other words, it means exactly this: In a Mech race, if Rust feels like it, she can cross the finish line in whatever placement she desires, and she can forcibly make the others cross the finish line in whatever placements she desires.
Match-fixing? No, not at all. It's pure, unadulterated rank manipulation completely adhering to the rules, which explicitly allow interference.
As long as they aren't rendered completely inoperable, a racer doesn't lose their qualification to participate. So if she just beats them half to death and drags them across the finish line in whatever order she wants, congratulations, they successfully completed the race.
"Because she kept stacking up all that debt, she finally hit the absolute lowest threshold of this girl's affection rating, didn't she?"
"Eh, how did you figure that out?"
"If you can't read an affection rating in less than a second, you'll end up getting eaten by pizza."
"?????"
Did you really think I wouldn't notice, "Isana"? I didn't realize it until I reached the Third Layer, but the moment I noticed how blatantly cold your treatment of Yashirobird had become, I arrived at this exact conclusion. This is annoying. Depending on how the affection rating works, if things go poorly, it might even trigger deliberately unhelpful behavior from the game systems... What's the condition? Given that both Rust and Yashirobird are hovering right at the bottom threshold, does getting sidetracked incur penalties? No, if that were true, it wouldn't be weird if "Isana's" affection rating dropped just from us sitting here eating...
"Well, whatever. If maintaining the status quo is the better option, there's no need to force a change... So then, Mold, what's the lineup for today's race looking like?"
"Hahaha... I'm going to go pay a quick visit."
A visit? You mean to Rust? If that's the case... Wait, what do you mean by 'a visit'!?!
◇
"───And so, that's what happened."
"...I see. As always, he's incredibly fast at sniffing these things out."
Inside a private room that looked eerily similar to a prisoner visitation booth, Rust displayed a level of relaxation that made it impossible to believe she had bankrupted herself from a mountain of debt. Hearing the facts conveyed by her partner, she let out a single sigh.
"That being said, my performance investigation finished a long time ago... Honestly, I was planning to wait until the flow of Score coming in got a little thicker, but..."
"Then...!"
Sunraku's deductions were mostly correct. There were a handful of other players besides Rust who had fallen to the status of jockeys, but even assuming every single one of them targeted Rust simultaneously, she had already acquired enough mastery over the mechanics to effortlessly deal with all of them.
"3, 1, 5, 7, 8, 6, 2, 9, 4."
"Eh, hold on a second, let me get something to write that down..."
"...No. Memorize it."
"Umm, the greatest ham meat..."
Watching Mold frantically try to memorize the string of numbers, Rust lightly cracked her neck.
I see. The "manifesto" passed from Sunraku through Mold was certainly information Rust couldn't have possibly obtained in her current position. And that information was more than enough to justify Rust aiming for the next Shell Layer right this instant.
"...My retirement race. I'll make it flashy."
Author's Afterword
Even the Gravity Board rules never explicitly state that you can't just fly on your own to cover the distance, and the Roulette operates on the rule that "the results are finalized the moment the ball stops."
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