Chapter 256: Gather, Defenders — From Beyond Comes the Serpent of Vengeance
Psyger-0: Um, good evening
Psyger-0: I had fun the other day
Psyger-0: Um
Psyger-0: Well
Sunraku: Ah, sorry, I looked away for a second
Psyger-0: Fnyaaah
Sunraku: Fnyaaah?
Psyger-0: No, it's nothing!
Psyger-0: I'm super cash Death!
Sunraku: ...You mean super energetic?
Psyger-0: Hyes...
Sunraku: Well, anyway, thanks for yesterday
Psyger-0: N-no, no, no!
Psyger-0: Um, well, if anything, I should be the one saying I'm greatly indebted to you
Psyger-0: I never expected you to buy me out... buy me out?
Psyger-0: Myah!?
Sunraku: Stay, stay. Calm down
Sunraku: Just take a deep breath, deep breath
Sunraku: I managed to gather quite a few items too, so I'm grateful
Psyger-0: And, um... about the representative match with Schwarz Vulf
Psyger-0: Regarding that matter, I have humbly received it
Sunraku: Okay. Then I'm counting on you that day
Psyger-0: Hyes!
Rakuro: "Voice authentication, maybe?"
I confirm that those bizarre cries have been rendered directly as text, then toss my mobile device onto the bed. Come to think of it, that's the first time I've ever heard someone use "humbly received" in everyday life...
Rakuro: ".........Hehehehe."
I glance over at the package for VR Kendo Class: Extreme displayed on my shelf and let out a creepy grin even by my own standards.
That's right. That shelf is where I put games I've cleared. I finally defeated that sadistic AI!!
Rakuro: "...Well, I can't exactly say I won fair and square."
It was a little trick that exploited the game's own judgment system, so it's hard to say I won through pure skill... but in the end, the score is what matters. The trophy recorded in my VR system for defeating A.I. Ultimate Master is solid proof of my achievement.
Rakuro: "Alright then... let's do this!"
When I ran into a Restoration-side ranker in Bakumatsu, I seriously braced myself to lose my items, but my Role Play is going great. I even became friends with that ranker after our deathmatch and got all kinds of useful advice from them. A nice refill of high-quality trash-game-ium...
Rakuro: "Hydration starts now, bathroom's done, and all my real-life business is taken care of!"
A few days have passed since then, and today is the day of the Rabituza defensive battle. I've left nothing unfinished in the games I had piled up, so now I can go blow Goldhuneenay's offshoot away with a clear conscience.
Rakuro: "Alright then..."
I've judged this a Class-Two all-nighter situation. Riot Blood is authorized...! This time I'm using Riot Blood Tonight, a legal liquid that stands apart from the rest when it comes to how long it keeps you going.
Rakuro: "Aaaahhh, it's kicking in..."
Alright, preparations complete! I don't care if it's just a snake's shed skin or whatever—I'll stuff it in a bottle and turn it into mamushi liquor!
Sunraku: "Whoa."
Before heading to the meeting point, I stop by Bilac's workshop and spot a black furball wriggling around. I can't help letting out a sound. Then rabbit ears sprout from the furball... Yeah, it's just Bilac curled up into a ball.
Bilac: "Ohh... yer here..."
Sunraku: "What's wrong, stomachache? Got tummy pain?"
Bilac: "What an annoyin' way to put it... I'm just tired, that's all... Yer joinin' in too, ain'tcha...? I was finishin' up yer weapon for it..."
Sunraku: "I see."
This defensive battle—as the word "defensive" suggests—isn't something I'll be fighting alone. I'll be cooperating with Rabituza's NPCs... in other words, the Vorpal Bunny defense soldiers, to push the battle line forward.
My role is the single arrow that pierces the enemy's main keep, the beheading blade that closes in on the commander's head. Put bluntly, I'm the bullet.
Bilac: "Here. I fixed the one ya busted, too."
Sunraku: "Oh, nice. Just what I'd expect from a Master Craftsman."
I put Gilta Brille, the Gleaming Scorpion Gauntlets restored to fighting condition, into my inventory. Bilac curls back up into a rough black furball.
Bilac: "I'm sleepin'... You better win..."
Sunraku: "Leave it to me. Right now, I'm a master swordsman."
Bilac: "Say yer sleep-talk in yer sleep... zzz..."
You're the one who's asleep... Eh, whatever. But I'm not talking in my sleep, you know? Just like a game power-up event, my imitation act has advanced to the next stage.
Heh. Let's see whether the Ryuguin School works against enemies too.
Sunraku: "Alright... once more. Let's go."
I leave Bilac's workshop. My destination isn't Aydward's office... it's underground in Rabituza, the tunnel Goldhuneenay supposedly forced open long ago.
I sprint at full speed away from Emul as she notices me and comes running over, then head toward the meeting place.
......
...
Sunraku: "This thing's huge..."
What the hell is this? When they said "tunnel," I pictured something about the size of a mountain tunnel cars drive through, but this thing is so wide that ten cars could drive side by side and there'd still be room to spare.
It's this huge both vertically and horizontally... and it runs straight to Goldhuneenay? A force large enough to leave the Vorpal Bunnies barely able to hold the line is going to come pouring through a tunnel this huge?
Sunraku: "This... I might actually have to get serious, or things could get bad."
Aydward: "I would prefer that you refrain from holding back."
It's an event that directly affects my playstyle. Of course I'm not going to hold back.
But the biggest immediate problem is...
Emul: "Hahh... why, hahh, did you run away, wa... hahh..."
Sunraku: "Why? Well, that's..."
Aydward: "Emul. I believe I did not approve your participation."
It isn't me who answers Emul's question about why I didn't bring her along, but Aydward. The sharp firmness in his words makes Emul's body tremble.
Aydward: "Emul, I already explained this to you. In a battle against Goldhuneenay, even if it is only an offshoot, returning alive has to come second... Older siblings like me and Bii—and, just barely, Ii—may be one thing. But you cannot withstand Goldhuneenay's poison."
Emul: "But, but...!"
Aydward: "There is no 'but.' The soldiers fighting here are standing their ground as men prepared to die in order to protect you and the others... As the one entrusted with this country, I cannot allow you to trample on that sacrifice."
A flat declaration. Are those the words of an older brother who shares the same father, or of a king entrusted with a nation by that great father?
Unable to argue against words that leave no room for objection, Emul turns her gaze not toward Aydward, but toward me.
Emul: "Sunraku-san!"
Sunraku: "Hmm... On this one, you should listen to Aydward, Emul."
Emul: "Euu..."
Sunraku: "That said... Aydward, there are two things wrong with what you said."
At those words, not only Aydward but Emul too gives me a puzzled look. Heh. If I weren't wearing the Staring Bird Mask, I might've looked away out of embarrassment. But right now my glare power is up twenty percent. The stare of an intellectual-yakuza rabbit? Bring it on!
Sunraku: "You said returning alive comes second, right? Correct yourself. Today, right now, I'm going to purge the curse—poison—binding those soldiers. At least give them some paid leave."
Aydward: "And the other?"
Heh... Caring about your little sister is all well and good, but you're underestimating Emul just a bit too much. She's fought Lycagon with me. She's fought Ctarnidd with me. She's put up with my recklessness every step of the way.
Sunraku: "Emul isn't so weak that she'd make light of the defenders' devotion. At least let her handle rear support."
Our gazes cross in silence. Just as expected from an intellectual yakuza, his narrowed, sharpened eyes carry a dangerous light that reminds me of his father.
But right now, thanks to the glory of victory, caffeine, and the salmon meunière I had for dinner, I've got enough energy to meet that threatening stare head-on.
Oh? You wanna go? If you make me get serious, then... uh... something's gonna happen.
Aydward: "...Hah. Very well. But following him is forbidden. Rear support only... understood?"
Emul: "H-Hai na..."
Sunraku: "Make sure our route home is secure in case things go bad, Emul."
Emul: "H-Hai na! I'll go get ready, wa!"
As I watch Emul run off, Aydward looks up at me with a half-lidded stare of a different sort from the glare he gave me earlier.
Aydward: "You seem remarkably skilled at handling my little sister."
Sunraku: "Same as you. I'm what you'd call a big brother, too."
Though my own little sister gives me the sense that she has enough guts to survive perfectly well on her own even if I leave her alone.
Aydward: "I see... Then this way. We will begin the strategy meeting."
Sunraku: "Nice. I don't dislike a good briefing."
We enter a fairly sturdy hut built in one corner of the enormous tunnel. Inside, Vorpal Bunnies are gathered around a table.
The rabbits staring intently at Aydward and me as we enter all have one thing in common.
Sunraku: "So this is Goldhuneenay's poison."
Aydward: "Yes. Serpent venom that spreads to others and eats away at the body... Even a direct descendant of Vysache would not escape unharmed if struck by it directly. That is the kind of poison it is."
Then Aydward looks me straight in the eye.
Aydward: "This is the final confirmation. From this point onward, as commander, I cannot permit you to withdraw... Are you certain?"
Sunraku: ".........Heh. I haven't been on adventures soft enough to get scared by a mere reptile."
A window appears. This isn't a prerequisite leading to a Bonus Unique Scenario; it's a Unique Scenario that has branched off even further from another Unique Scenario.
[Unique Scenario "Rabituza Defensive" — Begin? YES / NO]
My hand moves without hesitation.