Chapter 880: December 20th: Empathetic Fury
Garunose of the Streamer Frontline, his terrifying plan... was to completely ignore the results of the turf war thus far and assassinate both of our king pieces... in other words, Former King Torvante and First Princess Arfiliya.
Compared to the New King faction, the fact that we have two commander-class figures might seem unfair, but in terms of the number of starting territories and ease of attacking, they have the advantage... To throw away that turf war advantage and come straight for an assassination on top of that, what an audacious Hero-sama.
That being said, an assassination, huh............ I can't deny that my heart was somewhat moved by the idea. This, and only this, is an emotion that absolutely cannot be fully understood unless you're someone who actually played Fae-kuso. You couldn't play it while doing something else, and naturally, you couldn't fast-forward through the playback time......... A forced detour, and the reward you get at the end of all that suffering is the "right to progress the main story," an emptiness so profound you'd think being forced to pay 100 yen would be several times better.
Unless you truly understand this, you can't reach the emotion of "wanting to take a swing the moment you see her face while measuring out three minutes." The monster birthed by the virtual reality known as Full-Dive, that is exactly what Fae-kuso is.........
But, Arfiliya is not Fae-Trash. Though the graphics are somewhat better, her appearance is so identical to Fae-Trash that every single part is unmistakably a perfect match, likely the result of the oozing desires of a certain management staff member named "Amachi Ritsu" who was involved in Faeria Chronicle Online...... I want to punch her first for the thought that this design would be accepted just because it's in a God Game.
But...... But! They are still unrelated. The physical traits that make up Fae-Trash and Arfiliya are, to put it bluntly, quite common, so if it was something like "Faeria who came from another world!", I would have also caused an unfortunate accident.........
No, let's stop burning with rage and grudge over "what-ifs" for a moment. Fae-kuso is Fae-kuso, ShanFro is ShanFro.
"I see... It's certainly a sure-kill if it lands. If the head falls, the body stops. If it lands, that is."
I can't just hear that and step aside and wave him through with 'please, go right ahead'. I can't completely deny that it's attractive, though.
But well, reason wins this time. As the Pioneer Sunraku, who is well-regarded by the Former King and Princess thanks to this and that on the New Continent, I must cut down this self-proclaimed Hero who so boldly declared his assassination attempt.
"Even so, you're doing something pretty drastic here, hey......... You know what I mean, right? A streamer, of all things, is trying to head straight down the path of evil."
"Yeah, regarding that, it's not much of a problem."
...Hmm? That's quite a strange reply.
Not much? So it's not non-existent, but not enough to worry about? It's about the equivalent of wondering whether to heal from taking less than twenty percent damage.
I thought a streamer doing something so straightforwardly evil would be a pretty big source of drama, and under the Pencilgon-style Intimidation Technique, it would be the absolute highest-priority weak point to strike, but...
He either has a face thick enough to stop bullets with just his skin and facial muscles, or......... he does the kind of streams where acting like a murderer is accepted. Seems like the latter.........?
Should I suspect he's a Bakumatsu Patriot? No, he didn't react to the call sign to smoke out Bakumatsu Patriots that I mixed into my movements when I said "straight down the path of evil." He's clean.
Anyone who doesn't point upwards and take a stance can't settle down in Bakumatsu.
"...Well, whatever happens to your social reputation doesn't matter to me. Your targets are an old man and a young maiden in the prime of her youth, you know? Doesn't your conscience hurt?"
There was no reply, Garunose merely shrugged his shoulders. However, what he wanted to say was conveyed perfectly.
───A bit late to be telling me that now, ain't it.
It was definitely that.
"Looks like your killing intent has a high purity. But what's the deal? It feels weird saying this, but they're just game NPCs, right? What's got you burning with so much killing intent? Their faces? Did their faces physiologically repulse you?"
It was a truly casual remark.
Heading out to kill two people without even knowing their Character Stats, isn't that a bit odd? Even games themed around assassination at least explain beforehand why the target should be killed. In short, an external motive.
If he could raise his axe without hesitation despite not even having that... then it must mean their faces are just a no-go.
"..............."
How on earth should I describe that expression? For a moment, a truly brief moment, his expression warped. A momentary distortion that could easily be passed off as "my face felt a bit itchy."
But that momentary distortion......... took the shape of a hatred that couldn't possibly be formed by half-baked emotions.
"...Hmm?"
A hatred so intense you want to brutally murder them just by remembering their faces?
Towards Former King Torvante and Princess Arfiliya?
No......... or could it possibly be?
"That's some extreme hatred. Did you get your beloved left behind on a deserted island or something?"
"!!"
At first glance, it was an incomprehensible question. An extremely... yes, an extremely narrow scope of a question that would only get through to someone whose "memories haven't eroded away."
"What if I said 'Yes, that's right'? Would you give me three minutes?"
At that reply, I involuntarily wanted to cover my face or look up to the heavens... It's a miracle I managed to hold it in. To think that I would meet someone in a world that is the exact opposite of that hell!!
"Comrade-in-Arms...!"
Did that murmur actually reach Garunose?
But what a revelation, in this vast cyber world... to meet a brethren, and in this manner, no less. It's a miracle on the level of a message in a bottle cast into the sea arriving exactly at the address written on the letter.
"...It seems this isn't exactly someone else's business. In that case, let me ask you this time... Can you stop my 'three minutes'?"
The head of the Streamer Frontline, Garunose, is... a Fae-kuso player.
Author's Afterword
The past won't disappear, Amachi Ritsu.
Come to think of it, I realized I didn't write the release date in the previous chapter, huh?
July 14th! It's July 14th!!
Comments
Post a Comment