Chapter 61: Putting Feelings Into a Moment, Part 9
Expectant, yet seeming to want to refuse us, yet with something else mixed in as well... it's not a great way to put it, but the look the NPC Setsuna of Bygone Days gave us wasn't something you could reduce to ones and zeros. I exchanged a split-second glance with Oikatzo, silently pushing the "who introduces first?" duty back and forth.
Sunraku: "Uh... hey. Sunraku, number one of Pencilgon's Band of Merry Weirdos, technique division. And this is Emul."
Emul: "I am Emul, daughter of Vysache...wa!"
Oikatzo: "Oikatzo, number two of Pencilgon's Band of Merry Weirdos, power division. Pleasure."
Pencilgon: "The idiot one-two punch and the mascot."
Oi. As Oikatzo and I shot Pencilgon death glares with our eyes alone, Setsuna looked each of us over before speaking.
Setsuna: "How should I put this... you've gathered quite the incredible bunch, Arthur."
Pencilgon: "Well, yeah. They're small fry for now, but I plan to have them polished up by the decisive battle."
Setsuna: "That's not what I meant."
Setsuna directed her gaze at me and pointed to her own chest... ah, she's indicating my "curse."
Setsuna: "I've never seen anyone carrying two such strong presences from Kuro-chan before. And to be with the child of Ash-Covered-chan too... fufu, it reminds me of someone nostalgic."
Sunraku: "Uh..."
Setsuna: "Oh, don't mind me. Just nostalgia... from a long, long time ago..."
Judging by Pencilgon's demeanor, it seemed an unusual flag was currently under active construction. Oikatzo, stay.
Setsuna: "She's surely long dead by now, but thanks to you, I've remembered some dear old memories. Thank you."
Sunraku: "Huh? Oh, uh... you're welcome?"
I had so little to go on that I had no idea how to respond. While I fumbled, the moment seemed to pass, and Setsuna looked away from me. Forcing the topic and tanking affection points wasn't a good idea. I sent Pencilgon a silent look, urging her to move things along.
Pencilgon: "Setsu-chan, could you tell them about him?"
Setsuna: "...Very well."
[Begin Unique Scenario EX "From This Shore to the Other Shore, With Love"?]
Here it is. Oikatzo and I hit "Yes" without hesitation. Setsuna nodded once and began to speak.
Setsuna: "He... Wethermon... is my lover. A small misunderstanding led to my death... and ever since, he has watched over my grave. All this time... yes, he has never stopped guarding it."
Sunraku: "I see. So that's why he's the Tombguard."
Setsuna: "I don't know how long it's been since the me who was alive died, but by the time I realized it, I had become this... It's not that I'm attached to having died."
Setsuna gazed up at the dead tree — barren, not a single leaf remaining — that stood out starkly from the Prismatic Forest Grotto's lifeforce-choked byways all the way to this spider-lily-covered place.
Setsuna: "Death is an end. What has ended belongs to the past. It shouldn't bind someone's present... or future. So I can't bear it — that he is still chained to my grave, to the past, even now..."
And that's why, Setsuna continued, shifting her gaze from the dead tree to the full moon illuminating the night sky.
Setsuna: "Using the progra—er, magic I constructed, he built a barrier here. By harnessing the moonlight's power and 'inverting' the coordinates into the reverse side of a dimensional axis, he ensured no one could interfere."
A subtly concerning word slipped out, but the gist was: if the spot where we stood was the head of a coin, then Wethermon the Tombguard was on the tail side. That seemed accurate.
Setsuna: "But when the moon loses its light... on the night of the new moon, a gap forms in the barrier. A rift that connects to where he is, in the reverse coordinates."
Oikatzo: "And we dive in there to fight him... is that it?"
Setsuna nodded at Oikatzo's words, then straightened herself and fixed her eyes on me, on Oikatzo, and on Pencilgon.
Setsuna: "Please... let Wethermon... let him rest."
Setsuna bowed her head as she said it. I was wondering how to answer when Pencilgon cracked a grin.
Pencilgon: "Leave it to us, Setsu-chan. We're not like those spineless losers. The three of us will knock that jerk who's been troubling you flat on his back."
Same tone, same mannerisms — but the earnest feeling behind Pencilgon's words made Oikatzo and I exchange wide-eyed glances. Was this really Pencilgon? The same Pencil Warrior who, in Unite Rounds, had dragged an NPC king behind a wagon as enemy bait and strung up an NPC princess from a chandelier as player bait?
Oikatzo: "That Pencilgon, the one more final-boss than the actual final boss, chatting amiably with an NPC...?! She's regained her humanity?!"
Pencilgon: "Sunraku-kun, even for you, that's pretty rude, don't you think?"
Sunraku: "This feeling... could this be... a heart...?"
Pencilgon: "Oi, pro gamer."
After a few seconds of silence, Pencilgon — wearing her perfectly usual smile, though her ears were bright red — was gripping what was unmistakably some divine sword or... spear? that looked like it couldn't have been designed by anything but a Unique.
Pencilgon: "Alright, you two. Pre-Wethermon practice. I'm going to carve the violence of level caps straight into your gray matter."
As various thoughts raced through my head — like the god-tier game's incredible ability to recreate a state of outward calm while inwardly being an emotional scramble, or Setsuna's amused, almost tender expression making me question if she was really an NPC — a parade of past tough enemies flashed through my mind. Not just from SLF, but from all the games I'd ever played... ah, this was my life flashing before my eyes.
Sunraku: "You— don't pull out a weapon that's clearly bad news on two small fries! Have some dignity!"
Oikatzo: "Crap, Sunraku, her eyes are serious! She's actually gonna PK us!"
Emul: "Pyaaaaa! Why am I included too...wa?!"
I was let off with 90% HP gone. Emul, meanwhile, got fluffed. And Setsuna watched it all with her eyes narrowed in... genuine, unmistakable delight.
Pencilgon: "Honestly, if we weren't right before the Wethermon challenge, I wouldn't have been satisfied without spawn-camping you at least five times."
Sunraku: "You hear that, Oikatzo? That's Pencilgon for you."
Oikatzo: "Yeah, the Pencilgon who was so infamous they said an honest frontal-assault final boss was more merciful... she's back."
Pencilgon: "Want to make it a full ten for ten?"
When the two of us and one bunny all raised our hands in surrender, Pencilgon sighed and put her weapon away.
Pencilgon: "Well, if a lion started a vegetable garden, people would laugh... ahem. We're comrades sharing the same goal; I'm sure we can talk this out, right?"
Sunraku: "Don't you think there's also a kind of youth you communicate through fists?"
Oikatzo: "I don't hate your style of going all-in on the provocation, Sunraku."
Emul: "I wish you'd stop, though, since it always splashes onto me...wa..."
The only thing you get from games is a real sense of damage numbers and level gaps. Like that, the walk back was filled with a flurry of taunts and punches for a while, until Pencilgon's mouth, which had been set in a tight line, suddenly opened and she murmured:
Pencilgon: "Uh... look, okay. Sometimes even I want to look cool in front of an NPC. And it's like... Setsuna's name and backstory feel like they aren't someone else's problem to me, you know? Y-yes, fine! Even I can get seriously emotionally invested in a game sometimes, okay?!"
Pencilgon confessed, her face red... but did she really have to tell us that? Oikatzo seemed to think the same thing; we shared a wry grin and, with great courtesy, both snorted at her.
Sunraku: "Getting serious about a game? Sounds great to me. If you can take something seriously, it's always more fun that way."
Oikatzo: "Yeah, exactly... games are fun because you play them seriously. I mean, it's literally my job, you know?"
Sunraku: "Oh? A pro who takes things seriously and hasn't discovered a single Unique on your own...? Stop! Don't aim for my eyes with your fingers! The eyes!"
I was just steering things into a nice vibe, but the pro gamer couldn't even take a little playful ribbing. So immature. And putting that seriousness in the wrong place, you premium pro gam— ah, crap, he's overpowering me! Due to our stat distributions, I had the level advantage but was outmatched in STR. As I desperately held off his index finger, which was unhesitatingly aimed straight for my eyeballs, I heard a quiet chuckle.
Pencilgon: "Pfft... ahaha... yeah, that's right... you two are pretty ridiculous yourselves. Fufufu... ahahaha!"
Wearing a clear, sunny smile, Pencilgon slapped both her cheeks and then returned to her usual expression — the one fitting a moment-ist who launches flashy fireworks, a fearless smirk curling the corner of her mouth as she declared:
Pencilgon: "Our opponent is a Unique Monster that forces a level difference of 150 — the kind of thing that would make a story boss crap itself! Even so, we can do it. Let's take this seriously and win!"
At those words, Oikatzo and I — and Emul, seemingly caught up in the momentum — all silently gave a thumbs-up.
Pencilgon: "I'm going to work you like cart horses, and you won't be resting even if you die, so be ready!"
With under two weeks until the decisive battle, we were about to get very, very busy.
Pencilgon: "Well, until you both hit level 50, you'll keep on fishing."
OF COURSE.
Rakuro: "Gwaaah...!"
I hauled myself out of bed with a huge yawn. Yesterday had been a packed schedule, I thought, rubbing my eyes as I left my room.
After that, Pencilgon's mood had veered into runaway-high territory, dragging us into an all-night fishing marathon. Once my level surpassed the Lifestide Lake Serpent's, that damn curse effect caused eels to start fleeing the moment they spawned, bringing my leveling to a halt while the other two nagged me to death about it.
Then, when I was isolated in a separate spot and venting my frustration by fishing like crazy, I accidentally summoned a rare monster called the "Lifestide Destrolobster" — level 80.
Since it was genuinely too strong for even Emul to handle, I dumped the whole problem on Pencilgon and laughed — until Oikatzo somehow managed to aggro a second lobster, turning the whole thing into a living hell.
Honestly, I'm amazed no one died. But by defeating those two lobsters, I'd grown to level 51, and Katzo to level 46. With my leveling finished at terrifying speed, I'd broken off from the group — partly due to the Skill Gardener. And that was everything that happened during last night's login.
As I gazed through the window at the climbing morning sun, I thought over today's plans.
Rakuro: "First, skills. If there are new skills I can learn, that's top priority... there are also some materials I want. Anyway, first I need to confirm whether Rabituza has a Skill Gardener. Depending on their stock, I'll want to visit the Skill Gardeners in other towns too..."
Muttering to myself, I was pouring milk into a glass when a magazine on the table caught my eye. It was apparently a fashion magazine my little sister Rumi had forgotten to take with her. On the cover was a female model with a radiant smile. If I hadn't been literally, painfully aware of this person's true nature, I'd probably just have thought she was a beautiful person.
I was staring intently at that person — the very one I'd been gaming with just hours ago — when a hand reached in from the side and snatched the magazine away.
Rakuro: "Ah."
Rumi: "What's this, what's this? Big bro's become a fan of Towa-sama too?"
Rakuro: "Towa-sama...?"
My murmur was meant as "why is my sister calling her with a '-sama' honorific," but Rumi apparently took it differently. Holding the magazine aloft, she began to extol the wonders of "Towa-sama."
Rumi: "Towa Amane! One of Japan's star models, someone we can proudly show off to the world! There isn't a single teen who wants to be a model and doesn't look up to Towa-sama! If there is, they're a total fake!"
Rakuro: "A star model..."
Rumi: "Towa-sama just doesn't need to try too hard! Just photographing her every move could fill an entire fashion magazine — she's practically born to be a model! And she's amazing, you know? Once, a fan secretly took a picture of Towa-sama on the street and uploaded it to social media, and even though Towa-sama hadn't noticed and couldn't have known when the photo was taken, it was so ridiculously photogenic it looked like she'd known in advance. Just the most incredible best shot..."
Rakuro: "Ah, I see."
Rumi: "?"
Rakuro: "No, it's nothing. Just talking to myself. That Towa-sama person or whatever... she has a private life too, so give her a break with the unauthorized pics."
I downed the rest of the milk in one gulp, said that to Rumi, and headed back to my room. I see, I see. So that's how it is.
Rakuro: "Towa—“eternity”—who lived for the moment, and Setsuna—“moment”—who spent an eternity... huh."
If I were Pencilgon, even if it was just a game's fiction, even if it was just a total coincidence, I'd definitely want to take it seriously. All the more so when the NPCs in this god-tier game reacted just like real people.
Guess I'd better tighten my own focus too.