Chapter 737: The Fastest Star

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Who was it that thought, "This is bad"?

Was it the awe toward the fact that he proudly wore the scars carved by the wolf, the Emperor of the Night, whose majestic presence would be deeply etched into the heart of anyone living amidst the vast wilderness of the New Continent?

Or perhaps the astonishment that he was being permitted to conduct himself with such grand audacity right beside a serpent so close to the Progenitor?

No, out of the two "Contractors" who happened to visit the Serpent's Apple, only she was the one who knew.

(Sunraku...! Sunraku, he's that guy, right? The one from the Orchestra video!)

Augusta, drinking alcohol-free Kahlúa Milk—which is to say, coffee milk—suddenly stared at the eccentric salmon-headed man whose clothes had exploded, with a gaze that was a mixture of astonishment, joy, and excitement.

Sunraku.

That name was now becoming famous even among people who were not gamers playing Shangri-La Frontier.

Bomber Bunny, Naked Mask-Man, Jet Samurai, Saina-chan's Producer, Tsuchinoko-san.

He was a player called by many names, but due to his exploits in a certain massive Raid Battle and a specific video that broadcast his existence to the world, his hottest nickname right now was...

"Speed HolderMaximum Speed, the fastest player in the world..."

"Hm?"

"!!"

Perhaps the words she had accidentally muttered reached his ears, because when Sunraku turned around, Augusta hurriedly averted her eyes back to the coffee milk. Augusta was a promising rookie who felt no shame in roleplaying, but she also possessed a shy side appropriate for her age.

Perhaps judging it to be his imagination, the salmon head turned back towards the two people who had entered the cafe before Augusta and her companion. Sneaking glances at him, Augusta excitedly whispered to Nine, who was sitting next to her.

"Hey, what should I do, Nine-chan! It's Sunraku! It's Sunraku! A super famous person!!"

"SO, gOOD fOR yoU."

"Y-You think I can get an autograph... or maybe take a screenshot together!!"

"gOOD fOR yoU."

However, from Nine's perspective, this was no time for that. Among the many "Goldunines" that branched off from the Original Serpent, the Progenitor Goldunine, the first eight clones—the 2nd through the 9th—possessed a caliber of power entirely on a different level (naturally, the Progenitor Goldunine was included in this exceptional tier). That was absolute, unadulterated fact, and the ones who had massacred almost all of the hundreds of "Goldunines" were those very single-digit clones. They slaughtered each other and eventually vanished... but even so, not all of them had truly disappeared.

In fact, one of those single-digit Goldunines was right in front of her. From Nine's perspective, she wanted to flee this place—which was like hell, or rather, hell itself—as quickly as humanly possible. Nine was not the type to actively throw herself into battle, yet (though Nine herself had no way of knowing this), she wasn't the type to completely abandon her pride like Wimp, either.

For Nine, who felt "anxiety" even regarding her own survival, the option of running away entirely alone was impossible. Was outside the cafe truly safe? What if that white serpent flashing in and out of sight had circled outside? Tormented by an anxiety that made her want to tear her hair out every time the white serpent hid its presence, Nine could not bring herself to leave the side of Augusta, the only ally she could trust.

"I want to ruN away, i want to run Away, i want to run awaY, i want to Run away..."

"Wanna take a screenshot together too, Nine-chan?"

However, there was one more irregular presence in this place. The eccentric known as Sunraku, cloaked in the presence of the night, who had built a relationship with a single-digit Goldunine that wasn't one of servitude. In this world, there was no one who did not fear the night. That was no exception even for the Goldunines, and despite having a goofy fish head, every time his gaze turned this way, an incredibly chilling and oppressive intimidation washed over them.

But, conversely, that eccentric stood on equal—or near-equal—footing with the Goldunine commanding the white serpent. Or perhaps, if she got on this person's good side, the chances of her survival would increase... Which is why Nine turned her gaze toward the other Goldunine in a desperate plea. Begging her to absolutely, under no circumstances, make the mistake of picking a fight.

And Augusta was also turning her gaze toward Sunraku. Thinking, "I wonder if he'll take a screenshot with me."

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Three Goldunines, and three players allying with them. Plus, a whole bunch of completely unrelated idiots getting way too hyped up in this place.

Now then, what to do about this? The subject matter is Goldunine the Inexhaustible's Unique Scenario EX, "My Endless Struggle."

To begin with, the underlying structure of this scenario is still completely unclear. If the goal is that we have to defeat that Goldunine, then the mechanic of having the other Goldunine clones fight each other offers absolutely zero benefits.

Then should we just make the Goldunine we backed the ultimate winner? If that's the case, the existence of that Goldunine feels incredibly out of place. No matter how you look at it, that thing assumes multiple parties taking it on; even considering our levels at the time, it was an opponent that me, Rei-shi, and Akitsu Akane together couldn't even put a dent in. Four Dragon Serpents plus that main body... If handled poorly, isn't this going to be an ultra-massive Raid Battle exactly like Siegwurm? Under those circumstances, a deathmatch between Goldunines... the premise and objective of the game-like quest structure simply don't match.

"...Hmm."

Could it be that the correct route is actually for players to put in the effort to persuade the Goldunines to cooperate?

To begin with, Unique Scenario EX quests already have insanely vague clear conditions purely for the sake of lore flavor, even compared to regular Unique Scenarios. What even is "Nestle close to the dream the serpent sees at the end of its feelings"? Are we supposed to just go to sleep?

"Well now, whether by strange coincidence or destiny, three Goldunines have gathered here. Shall we have a toast?"

"are you planNing to slip poison inTo it, i wonDEr?"

"If putting poison in makes the drink taste better, I might consider it."

If I knew I wouldn't actually die even if I died, I'd swallow a pufferfish raw right now. No wait, those things have surprisingly terrifying jaws, so it's probably better to fillet them after all. It'd probably chew right through my stomach.

"So anyway... to be honest, it's almost morning, so I'd really like to log out soon, but obviously I can't just say 'well, bye' in a situation like this. That's why we're going to settle this right here and now."

"settle what exactly."

Isn't that obvious, Wimp?

"Whether you all die here, or whether we become friends."

It was at that moment that the door to the "Serpent's Apple" opened───

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Author's Afterword

In the ShanFro worldreal world, where the status of gaming—which is kind to NEETs—has elevated to the level of professional sports, does this basically make Sunraku the equivalent of Keisuke Honda...? (Well, he doesn't have that much name recognition just yet).