Chapter 711: Taking Advantage of Morality
Author's Preface
Writing it makes me want to show it right away, a bad sign......
The card number for the 20th Quasar, the "-" becomes an "_"...... That is all Katarina can say for now. If this helps you find the place where I only mutter about scrapped ideas, fetishes, and money......
Let's change the topic; I can't see any future where my tension improves with this subject. 0 and 100 are the absolute domains where the Goddess of RNG cannot interfere, essentially a sentence named "Determined." That's right...
"S-Speaking of which, how's English for you, Rei-san? 10 points of it are basically moral questions anyway, so the average score is probably high, right?"
"Y... Yes, that's right. Oosuga-sensei... um, the final essay will probably be the usual this time too."
Oosuga・Makiko-sensei... It's not that her Japanese name is spelled out in the alphabet, but she's an actual American named Makiko.
The English teacher, whose last name is Oosuga because she married a Japanese husband, is a very morally sensitive person. Because of that, she has a weird habit of immediately reflecting any disturbing news in the world onto her tests. Things like, "Fraud is rampant these days; what do you think about it?"
In other words, if you follow the news programs from about two weeks before the final test is made and think up an essay in advance, you can guarantee at least 10 points.
The most prominent predictions circulating within the student network are either "the new type of illegal drugs running rampant recently" or "the massive collision accident that occurred on the Tohoku highway a week ago"...... Both are topics completely divorced from my daily life, but if they're going to be on the test, I can't just turn a blind eye. The odds are 6:4, so if I'm betting, it's on the drugs; what you need for a test isn't a one-shot reversal, but average hits to reliably secure points.
"Oosuga-sensei puts trick questions in the text, after all."
The nasty part is that if you read it carefully you can easily understand it, but she's ridiculously good at crafting sentences that completely trip you up if you just skim them, so compared to other subjects, if you don't fire yourself up for the English test, you'll run out of time and get soft-locked.
I really need to set up a proper chart for this... First, while securely guaranteeing 10 points with the current-events essay...
"Ah, um, I-I've prepared countermeasures for English, so if you'd like, um, I-I could t-teach... you?"
"Seriously? Yes, please."
As expected of Rei-san, flawless.
......
............
..................
"No, you really didn't have to......"
"It's fine, it's fine, don't worry about it. It's not like I can brag about just buying a light snack like this, but at least let me treat you."
Before I knew it, it was 7 PM. As high school students, it's technically still within our "active hours," but we aren't quite reckless enough to go playing around at night. After leaving the library, Rei-san and I stopped by a convenience store on the way home to buy meat buns, and I handed one of the two I bought to Rei-san.
To be honest, I was fairly curious about the words "Shocking! ShanFro's Latest Update Content Fastest Feature!" written on the cover of a game magazine released today, but well, it's probably just about new job unlocks or something along those lines anyway. I don't have the sheer audacity to leave Rei-san hanging just to stand around and browse a magazine.
"Here you go."
"T-Thank you ver mush......"
It's gotten remarkably cold lately, so this kind of buying-and-eating hits the spot like nothing else. Take a small bite, and the exposed filling heats the air, sending up steam like smoke. Hmm, so elegant, I feel like I could compose a poem.
Standing in the cold,
Biting into a meat bun,
Oh, so delicious!
Truth is, I have no money,
My pockets share in the cold.
......Oh no, the One Hundred Poets will end up becoming the One Hundred and One Poets. Even Matsuo Basho would be shocked by this, just kidding.
Thinking such stupid thoughts while finishing the food, I threw the wrapper into the convenience store's trash can...... when suddenly, looking at the interior illuminated with green and red decorations, I remembered.
"It's almost Christmas, huh."
"Nghh-hyu!!"
Right after I muttered that, Rei-san choked spectacularly.
"Cough! Cough!!"
"Are you okay?! Should I go buy some water?!!"
"I-I'm fi-ri-rine...!"
No, I'm worrying because you really don't look okay...... But it seems her self-assessment wasn't entirely false. Although she kept coughing for a while, it didn't seem like her airway was completely blocked.
"T-THAT'S RIGHT! It's almost the Christmas season!!"
Christmas...... Christmas, huh. For a high school student in the prime of youth, I do wonder if it's normal to only recognize it as the day of limited-time events, but the Santa Claus who visited our house aggressively pushed fishing and bug-catching at every possible opportunity, so both Rumi and I figured out his true identity while we were still in elementary school.
The scariest time was when I was in sixth grade and found a plane ticket to Brazil left by my pillow...... Wait, is this forced? My young heart genuinely felt terror. No seriously, Father, "Let's go" my ass, this isn't the Pororoca.
"Christmas, huh......"
If Bakumatsu follows the usual routine, there will probably be a Northern-Massacre Holy-Crusade Flying General Santa Claus Subjugation Event, and Nephilim Hollow will definitely have an event where you can get limited colorings, so Rust is going to be noisy. As for Galaxy Traveler...... it's just going to be the Ghost Fleet Saint Nikolaus Annihilation Battle anyway, right? Who the hell would willingly go into that demonic war sector where Teraton-Class ships sink like stones?
"U-Um!!!!"
"Hm?"
"Um, well, you see. If, um, that is, if... um, on the 24th...... i-if you don't have any plans........."
"Yeah."
Perhaps because she was coughing just a moment ago, Rei-san opened her mouth while looking at me with a face that still hadn't lost its redness.
"W-With, with m-me............!!"
Oh my, this is just like the general public's, or rather, modern Japan's typical Christmas───
"Would you like to play ShanFro!!"
"Sure."
As expected of Rei-san, I find that hardcore dedication to ShanFro very favorable. To be honest, there are a lot of brutal things waiting for me in ShanFro right now, but if it's a request from Rei-san—a fellow member of Rabituza and a hardcore gamer—I'm more than willing to swallow my pride and log in.
"Man, talking with you has actually made my aversion to ShanFro fade a bit. Thanks."
"............Y-Y-Yesh."
◇
Rei developed a 37.6-degree fever.
◇◇
Thirdrema Grand Duke's Castle, Inner Salon.
Those who had engraved the red pencil logo onto their clothes and armor gathered, fixing their gazes upon a single woman.
The woman remained silent, her eyes closed...... yet, perhaps having reached some sort of conclusion in her mind, she snapped her eyes open and spoke.
And with a single sentence:
"Operation Bomb Body Double! Who are the volunteers!!"
"I'll do it!"
"No, me!"
"I wanna be the Grand Duke's daughter or the Princess, sir!!"
"No, playing a female role is impossible with that voice."
"But wouldn't it be hilarious if they opened their mouth and this voice came out?"
"And then you self-destruct."
"Ah—that actually sounds pretty good."
"Order! Order!! Seriously, you guys love this role way too much."
Bomb Body Double—a fiendish tactic deemed an inhumane weapon back in the Round Table (United Rounds) that had devolved into a post-apocalyptic wasteland. The concept is exceedingly simple: disguise yourself as a VIP NPC, drag players in, and self-destruct...... That is all there is to it.
Simple, and therefore vicious. The more a game lacks death penalties, the more this tactic is stubbornly repeated. Ultimately, the front lines overflow with hordes of the exact same face, and the sight of that exact same face charging at you with weapons drawn unfolds—an infectious, fiendish combat strategy. That is Operation Bomb Body Double.
"Fufufu...... thanks to our cooperator, our stock of self-destruction magic is steadily piling up, so this looks like it'll go smoothly...... So, how are things on the intelligence team's end?"
"For now, we're tracking the ones streaming on their side reasonably well, but honestly, it just feels totally normal. Occasionally they play weirdly efficiently, though, so it's practically confirmed they're exchanging info behind the scenes."
"Also, chasing after Karintou is impossible. Hell, that woman is literally streaming right now."
Figured as much, Pencilgon smiled wryly in her mind without breaking her confident grin. The two guys she'd call her friends were a bit too eccentric themselves, but in this world, there exists a breed of people who fight around the clock at a level where you seriously have to wonder if the term "short sleeper" even begins to cover it.
All-Night Knight Karintou is an even more extreme type among them. Because she happens to earn enough income to live on, her thought process becomes: taking a break from gaming by playing games, so let's play more games.
The troublesome part about the Streamer Alliance is that they can constantly keep a certain number of players logged into ShanFro at all times, which is very, very inconvenient considering what Pencilgon and the others are about to do.
Escorting Former King Torvante and Princess Arfiliya from the ship returning to Fifticia from the New Continent all the way to Thirdrema. A mission that, no matter how you struggle, requires breaking straight through the New King's forces......... The RPA is already filled with nothing but guys who have completely pulled the wedge called "morality" out of their brains.
(Ideally, if we just tossed Sunraku-kun into Fifticia, it seems like things would somehow work themselves out, but......)
Thinking of her surprisingly shy friend, Pencilgon sighed, assuming he wouldn't show up in a populated area until at least the moment the New King and Former King forces clashed head-on.
Author's Afterword
In short, it's Lu Bu in Santa Claus colors. A Red Hare with antlers way beyond a reindeer's level is pulling the sleigh.
Translator's Notes
- [1] 20th Quasar: A reference to the Yu-Gi-Oh! OCG card "Shooting Quasar Dragon" (released as a 20th Secret Rare), which carries the official card number "20CP-JPF06".
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