Chapter 767: That Beating Heart, That Surging Blood Is Exactly What...

───If one is cornered even after running away, where in the world is there left to run?

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I'm just tired. Of holding emotions? Of making my own choices? Or perhaps, of everything.

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

The sky I gazed up at blankly was clear and devoid of a single cloud. It was just like my own heart, completely exhausted from holding any emotions whatsoever.

"......No matter what I do, it's no good."

Unwanted songs, unwanted directions. Even if I rebelled against my agency, falling into a slump would make me look more pathetic than a beaten dog.

I couldn't come up with lyrics, and I haven't touched a piano in days.

The trigger was a single failure. The fact that I ruined the performance of a lifetime as Kousaka ShiyuShiyu due to poor health...... and the fact that I received no small amount of criticism because of it. The accumulating frustrations and dissatisfaction reached their limit, and even when trying to find a way out, the bad things just kept piling up.

And so I ran away, to a world called Shangri-La Frontier where I could become a self that wasn't Kousaka Shiyu.

Calling myself Shiyu, yet still... strictly speaking, I was terrified of seeing the ugly parts of people by getting involved with them, so I kept moving forward alone.

If things didn't improve, they would rapidly worsen. The feeling of avoiding people eventually turned into misanthropy. Simple solo play eventually turned into an excessive reclusive lifestyle. For some reason, I ended up living with a gorilla, but at least a gorilla wouldn't write bad things about me on social media.

That's exactly why, with a feeling like I'd thrown everything away...... I immersed myself in Shangri-La Frontier. I even started distancing myself from being a singer, which was supposed to be my dream......

And then I met her, a girl with white hair and red eyes.

Seeing her hurl insults straight on without any restraint was, more than the shock of the insults themselves...... something I admired. To sing exactly as my heart felt, the dream I had aimed for since I was a child. But unlike me, who became increasingly bound by the obligations and hesitations that piled up as I grew older, how natural she was, speaking whatever was on her mind exactly as it was.

While spending time with her, whom I ended up calling "Ojou-sama" and following around, the fact that some other door opened inside me was just a charming little quirk.

Even if she was just an existence made of AI and data, Shiyu believed that if it had affected his life, it was an undeniable truth.

That's precisely why......... Yes, that's precisely why I intended to dedicate my entire being and all my strength for the sake of the "Ojou-sama" bearing such a cruel destiny.

"......How pathetic."

But what was the result? Fighting through to the bitter end, and even ensuring the survival of three Goldunines—that was all thanks to the achievements of just one person. As for what I did...... I merely drew the aggro of about twenty terrifying man-eating poison dolls, and I couldn't even handle that, getting chewed to pieces in a helpless display.

As a result, Ojou lost both her legs, and Amphi, her kin, died. And I, being a player, remained completely unscathed.

It was just too miserable. Even if I tried to laugh it off as something unavoidable like a natural disaster, those two lost legs, along with the shoes I had gifted her, continued to present Shiyu with his charges of guilt.

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

Should I just run away again? But, running away from reality, running away from the game...... where in the world could I possibly escape to? Every time I looked back at myself, only self-loathing piled up. Without the courage to run, nor the face to show the current "Ojou"...... I simply, slowly consumed time that served absolutely no purpose.

It was then.

"I fiiiiiinally found you......... You weren't anywhere I looked...... and that high-handed Goldunine was way too paranoid to even hold a conversation with......"

"You are........."

That appearance, that voice.

"It hasn't been two weeks yet, right? It's been a while......"

"......Who?"

"Eh, isn't that cruel?"

He recognized the voice. Shiyu was still a singer, and he prided himself on being above the human average when it came to "sound". But even so, that "appearance" completely failed to connect with the person in his memory. That was just how...... bizarre that man was.

"Hm? Is it my appearance? An appearance issue? No, you can tell just by looking at the player name, right......"

"A-Ah...... Sorry. I have that hidden so I can't see it...... or rather, um...... it's just, how do I put it, far too......"

"CoolBAD taste, right?"

"Rather than saying 'Bad Boy'...... isn't it, well, leaning more towards horror......?"

Although taken aback by that bizarre appearance, after exchanging words to this extent, he immediately remembered who it was.

After all, he was one of the factors accelerating Shiyu's self-loathing; combined with that impactful appearance, even having met only two or three times was enough to leave a fairly strong impression in his memory.

"Well, whatever, it's a hidden trump card anyway, so I might as well take it off...... gotta change the face too, and there."

"Um...... Did you need something?"

"Yeah. To put it bluntly, let's get revenge!"

Removing that bizarre equipment and donning a bird mask with an intense gaze, Sunraku threw those words at Shiyu. Revenge...... Against who? There was no need to ask. Therefore, this silence was hesitation built upon understanding.

"......I'm happy that you invited me, but......... I'll pass."

"Hmm...... I can actually use psychology, you know."

"Huh?"

The conversation suddenly jumped. Unable to grasp the intent behind a topic that had instantly done a 180-degree flip in response to his words of refusal, Shiyu made a puzzled face as Sunraku continued speaking.

"It's probably something like this, right? Even if we beat that Goldunine, it's not like the legs of the Goldunine at your place are gonna heal, and it's not like her kin snake will come back to life. In that case, rather than literally poking a bush to draw out a snake and causing even more damage, it's better to curl up and let the storm pass...... or something along those lines."

"......That's,"

A 100% correct answer, hitting the bullseye perfectly. Furthermore, because he had completely guessed everything right down to the "poking a bush to draw out a snake" part, Shiyu stared at Sunraku with a look of bewilderment and astonishment.

"That's amazing, um...... that psychology thing, it's like mind-reading."

"Nah, just a hunch."

Shiyu was struck by a different kind of emptiness than before Sunraku arrived, but as if to say 'who cares if I can read minds or not,' the half-naked bird head continued piling on his words.

"Listen up, Tarzan, revenge is the ultimate mental therapy. Society's morals and whatnot will claim that revenge breeds nothing or that it's empty, but that's a lie. If that were truly an absolute truth, the word 'vengeance' wouldn't even exist."

Laughing at morals through his nose, the words spun from the depths of his beak seeped into the fading flames at the very bottom of Shiyu's heart.

"Revenge is done to bring a negative back to zero. If you don't get this over with, that debt will remain in your heart forever...... Let's say Goldunine the Inexhaustible is defeated without you having any involvement, Shiyu. A sense of accomplishment isn't going to visit your heart. All that will be left is an Ojou-sama without legs and the bitter taste of defeat."

A LandmineTaboo word.

The flame that was slightly trying to regain its momentum was swallowed by a different kind of flame and flared up. Surrendering to his surging passion, he opened his mouth to scream and shout......

"There is only one way to cure her legs."

In the first place, there was no way a man who was so intimately familiar with inciting others...... that is, shaking their emotions, wouldn't notice a word that acted as a landmine.

"......What, did you say?"

The flames of anger rapidly extinguished. However, the emotions that had flared up, albeit in the form of anger, were completely grasped by the hands of this bizarrely dressed man.

Though the types were different, the tongue of a man who had crossed words with those possessing the charisma to draw in human hearts eventually harbored the power to move the hearts of others as well. Not to deceive, nor to instigate, but words with the power to ignite a fire.

"The Saint is a great person, you know. Her prayers make the impossible possible, and her gaze observes even the distant future...... Ah, that's right, for example, I hear that if it's just something like regenerating lost limbs, it works permanently?"

"That's...... That's, you mean......"

"Whoops, but even the Saint doesn't just do any and everything for free. Especially since the one she'd be healing is a 'Goldunine' and all......"

When Sunraku hyped up his words, Shiyu's eyes sparkled, and when Sunraku deflated his words, the blood drained from Shiyu's face.

The eyes of the bird mask took on a fiendish glint as if saying, "This is getting pretty fun," but Shiyu was no longer in any state to notice that.

"The coming December 24th! For the world, it's XChristmas Day, but for ShanFro, it's XX-Day! After all, according to the Saint-chan's OracleSchedule Announcement, that's the day Goldunine the Inexhaustible will raid the frontline base!"

"!!"

"Shiyu, if you're serious about getting that high-handed girl's legs back, you're gonna have to give up on watching for Santa Claus to come at midnight! I've already made the arrangements! The condition for the treatment is to show spectacular performance in the battle against Goldunine!! So what's it gonna be, Shiyu? Are you gonna stay holed up without riding the winning horse? Or........."

An extended fist. The answer had already been decided.

"......I have a lot of things I want to say, but. Thank you...... Sunraku-san. It might be comical to be this obsessed with an NPC...... but right now, I'm just as grateful to you as I would be to a lifesaver."

A fist bumped against a fist. At the strong impact echoing through his fist, the half-naked bird head happily let the sound of a smile slip from his throat.

"I've got an acquaintance who went so hardcore over an NPC that he completely nuked his own real-life human relationships...... It's not something to show off, but it's nothing to be ashamed of either. Shiyu, let's make this a fun revenge."

───A fun revenge.

Those words, etched strangely clearly into the brain of Shiyu—whose eyes were now brimming with vitality—caused him to freeze in his tracks. Ten seconds, twenty seconds......... Just as Sunraku, who had completely swapped roles from earlier to become the bewildered one, tried to speak to him, Shiyu suddenly raised his head and asked Sunraku a single question.

"Hey, Sunraku-san."

"Ueh, ah, yes, what is it?"

"That whole conversation we just had...... is it copyrighted or something?"

"......... .........? ............??? Eh? Ah, uhh............ R-Royalty-free material...... I think?"

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Author's Afterword

Actually, Saint-chan is deeply compassionate, so if Shiyu sincerely bowed his head, she'd heal her normally.

But the church officials and her fan club... I mean the church, and by extension the knights serving the Saint, know that selling her miracles out so cheaply leads to nothing good, so you have to clear it with them first. How to make them accept it is the important part.

(Specific Method)

Ah, what a coincidence, Commander Josette...... No, this is sudden, but there's this beautiful, albino, high-handed Ojou-sama (with reptilian elements) who's missing both her legs...... Missing limbs generally can't be healed with potions, right? I guess she'll just stay like this forever...... Ah, well, maybe there's a demand for it among amputation fetishists? Man, so pitiful. But I guess only Saint-chan could heal such a major injury...... Eh? What? Name? Ah, umm, seriously, what is it...... I've only ever seen her called Ojou-sama...... Grah, what a pain! Hey, Josette! If you want top-secret bromides of the Goldunine series (like screenshots of Wimp getting blasted directly in the face with detergent bubbles from a sneeze) at half price, then put a good word in! Eh, oh really? No need for change?

Thanks for your continued patronage! And don't forget to put that good word in with Saint-chan!!

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