Chapter 686: Echo Upon the Mirror's Surface, Roar From the Skyscrapers - Part 4

The Orchestra of the Reverberating Nether is a music player.

The Orchestra of the Reverberating Nether is intimately connected with Divine Age humanity...... no, pre-Divine Age humanity.

The Orchestra of the Reverberating Nether is......... a story directed toward that "pre-Divine Age humanity."

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"..............."

Having temporarily logged out, I had promised to meet up with The Professor and the others at 3:00 AM in front of the Doll Base...... or rather, the doors where Orchestra sat waiting. So before that, I needed to get my preparations in order. Though saying that just meant cracking open a can of energy drink.

Orchestra operates under the assumption of a protracted battle, so rather than a Riot Blood: Revolver Lantern, I should go with Tonight...... No, let's intentionally go with Undead here. Drinking this Riot Blood meant exclusively for the living right before facing off against ghosts from the distant past just sounds kind of badass. Mmm, what a refreshing, minty flavor. Taking the taboo ingestion method is powerful, but that doesn't mean you can just indiscriminately mix everything together. A mix only works if you respect the inherent taste of the original ingredients.

"Alright then............"

I managed to acquire the information I wanted from Behemoth. The data searchable on the Tenth Layer is utterly crucial for unraveling the existence known as Orchestra. For some reason, Eta-Zero had built his own bed and was sleeping on the Tenth Layer, but......... honestly I just don't understand him. We registered as friends despite my lack of understanding, but I can't shake the feeling that I'm drifting further and further away from ever truly comprehending his existence......... Eta-Zero, just what the hell is that guy? He has an aura that wouldn't feel out of place in Saba-Gan, but I also sense an alien strangeness completely different from Saba-Gan.

No, I shouldn't worry about it anymore. What he's looking at and what I'm looking at are different. Our objectives are different. And our fetishes are completely different too.

"1:30 AM, huh......... Well whatever, if I clean up a few things in-game, it should be 3:00 soon enough."

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"Yo, Saina. Did you find what you were looking for?"

『Since I am here, it is impossible for it not to be found.』

There you are, you phantom idol otaku. As far as I'm concerned, you're "guilty" too.

"By the way, what were you searching for anyway?"

"Response: .........Negative, response denied."

"Hah?"

"That answer will likely become clear when presented to Orchestra."

You sure have gotten talkative, Saina. And your timing couldn't be more perfect.

"I'm about to launch an assault on Orchestra right now. So even if you deny it here, I'll find out in an hour or so anyway."

"............Understood. Acknowledged."

She gave me a look that practically screamed "Are you serious?", but life is only worth living if you sprint through it at full speed. The moment you make up your mind is the most auspicious day to strike.

"So, why is Emul curled up in a ball with her ears covered?"

『Oh, it's nothing. If there is a chance to preach the magnificence of Sternenblume to non-human species, then there is no reason not to do so. For now, I'll start with a medley from their first album.』

"I-I just want to live my life listening to the sound of a quiet breeze desu wa......"

『For someone like you, I highly recommend 'Riding the Refreshing Wind,' released by the sub-unit 'Rampant Wind' from within Sternenblume.』

"Byanyaaaaaaah!!!"

Listen here, you idol otaku. When you try to recommend something to someone and instantly shove 10 or 20 things in their face, people naturally back the hell away. You probably want to recommend that unit with the confusing wind-themed name more than anything in the world, but if you're going to introduce one song, leave it at that. Don't go dragging out the entire album.

While placing Emul—who had scrambled onto my back at terrifying speeds—on top of my head, I shot Andrew a look of profound pity, knowing full well that the day his lingering attachment is satisfiedwhen all of humanity becomes idol stans will likely never come. But the man himself didn't seem to care in the slightest.

『......Hmm, by the way, Sunraku. Regarding this Orchestra you speak of. As far as I can gather from compiling the information, the music player I lost is currently standing in your way as an enemy due to some unknown factor...... Is that assessment correct?』

"Hm? Yeah, basically. And on top of that, your aunt is going to show up as a ghost too."

『That is the part I fail to comprehend. Because that thing is.........』

"Yeah, I know. I completely understand your confusion......... That's exactly why I'm going in to verify it. Once I figure it all out, I'll come back and give you the answers."

『To be lectured by a civilization that has yet to even reach the skies. I see, how truly amusing.』

"Oh, and one more thing."

『Is there something else?』

"The fact that you lost that music player. Judging by your reaction, you don't seem to know."

『.........?』

"Andrew-san. Go ask 'Ivory' about it."

You'll probably regret it so hard you'll die.

......

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

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

"Yes, good evening. This is Mirei, who was just about to go to sleep before being abruptly dragged out of bed and summoned into ShanFro."

Waiting for me at the Doll Front were the members of 【Library】—showing an utterly bizarre turnout rate considering it was 3:00 AM—and Mirei, the player who had cleared Orchestra before me. While I held a somewhat complicated cocktail of emotions regarding our past grievances, I had no use for such moldy sentimentality right now. If it's true that Orchestra changes the face it shows based on the individual, then what happened to others doesn't matter in the slightest. I just need to smash the face it shows to me. That's all there is to it.

"A full dive is practically the same as sleeping anyway, so it's totally safe."

"Except for the fact that my brain is currently operating at absolute full capacity, you know."

It's an unspoken rule not to point that out. Well, even if gamers don't say it, the Realists will constantly preach it to us until our ears bleed anyway, so it basically evens out.

"Come to think of itー, would you like some advice from someone who cleared Orchestra before youー? See, I've gathered quite a lot of information, you know? It's quite the bargain??"

"..............."

"What's wrong?"

"I appreciate you willing to teach me, but if that's the case, I'd prefer you skip the roundabout monologuing and just give me the main points. It's elementary, Mirei-kun."

"Ugh!"

Bansai-shi told me everything, you know? Mirei-san......... I heard you're an extremely passionate Sherlockian............ No wonder you always speak in such unnecessarily roundabout ways. I have no use for moldy sentimentality, but my feelings of frustration are carefully preserved as precious fuel for my heart......

"While you're at it, why don't you teach me Baritsu? Baritsu...... Right, Great Detective-san?"

"Fuguuugh."

"Well, could we perhaps leave it at that? She can't actually use Baritsu, you see. Once upon a time, she recklessly tried it against the Shadow of Lycaon and things ended rather horribly."

"I'm actually very interested in that story."

The moment I heard she tried it against Lycaon, I felt like the punchline was already blatantly obvious, but regardless, it sounded like top-tier conversation material.

"Even the Professor......... Please, spare me. That's a serious dark history of mine......"

Well, setting the idle chatter aside for a moment. It seems there was a proper reason why such a massive number of 【Library】 members had gathered here...... Looking over the faces of the lore nerds, the magical girl with an unusually deep voice pointed a hand in my direction and declared.

"Now then, we've secured the cooperation of Sunraku-shi, whose path toward Orchestra's Canon route has been confirmed. All that remains is figuring out exactly how to record the battle against Orchestra...... Look at the time. Let's hear everyone's opinions quickly."

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Author's Afterword

・The Mirei Baritsu Incident

Right around the time Eta-Zero unlocked the "Armored Gladiator" job, a rumor had begun circulating with alarming plausibility: "If you try hard enough in this game, you can throw giant monsters without any skill assist." In order to verify this rumor, Mirei—who had recently watched a martial arts program and felt like she had suddenly grown stronger—decided to pick a fight with the Shadow of Lycaon of all things (even though the encounter itself was accidental).

The result was a completely unceremonious anticlimax where she didn't even receive a "Curse." Mirei grabbed Lycaon's front leg, got kicked away, had her lower body bitten clean off, got swatted by its tail, and was finally smashed into a rock and killed. The entire sequence of events flowed with such artistic perfection that it became legendary within 【Library】.

As for the rumor itself, the actual truth behind it was: "You can throw monsters without skills if you max out your performance using accessories and armor."