Chapter 268: With Time and Money, You Can Gain the Advantage in Most Situations

Pencilgon: "Hey, that guy's clearly not in top form—you sure he's okay?"

Oikatzo: "It's fine, it's fine. Sunraku-kun moves better when he's nicely wilted."

Kyo the Ultimate: "Like a candle burning extra bright right before it goes out?"

Oikatzo: "Yeah, yeah. This guy—around the time he starts his second all-nighter, his movements get all 'is he literally burning his own life force?' But if you soak him in energy drinks and stick him in sunlight, he's right as rain. Just leave him, it's fine."

Sunraku: "Who's permanently at climax mode? I was busy with a bunch of Unique stuff yesterday, okay."

Pencilgon: "Ah, about that. Once this mess is over, you are being handed over to the Library and the Saint's Divine Guard."

Sunraku: "Can I go home?"

He could not.

An omelet that turned into something resembling a monster—one that weeps bloody ketchup tears from countless eyes—after mixing sliced wieners into an energy drink and milk blend. That's the fuel powering me right now, but honestly, I feel like I'm lacking vitamins.

Kyo the Ultimate: "Cows are herbivores, right? So, essentially, aren't beef and milk both vegetables?"

Pencilgon: "Sorry, Kyogoku-chan. That might actually be a no-go."

Kyo the Ultimate: "Wait, what?"

Pencilgon: "Let's smack him and fix it."

A full-swing slap aimed at my cheek. I tilt my head to dodge and counter with an eye-gouge. Tch, she dodged it.

Sunraku: "………"

Pencilgon: "………"

Oikatzo: "Quit messing around and let's actually do some strategy planning, okay?"

Sunraku & Pencilgon: "Okaaay."

Kyotimate tilts her head in confusion, but this is just our normal operating mode, so I'd like her not to worry about it.

Pencilgon: "Well, whatever's inside, their shells are top-tier in stats, and what's more, they're fully loaded with gear, too."

Kyo the Ultimate: "And while their insides are, well, that, they're still members of Schwarz Vulf, so they've all got actual player skill. Not that they're PvP specialists, though."

The two veteran PKers explain things for me and Oikatzo, who've only just graduated from newbie status in terms of playtime. Actually, is there some kind of binding rule that they have to preface everything with an insult about what's inside?

Pencilgon: "Well, since I'm connected to Momo-chan behind the scenes, I can counter three of the five of them."

Sunraku: "I just witnessed some seriously awful match-fixing."

Pencilgon: "The maneuvering begins long before the fight, Katzo-kun. That aside, the real problem is the Saiga sisters."

Rei-shi—that is, Psyger-0—and her older sister, the head of Schwarz Vulf, Psyger-100. No matter what's inside, those avatars are no-life specs pushed to the absolute limit in reinforcement and armament. Even if you know it's coming straight at you, it's hard for a person to dodge a linear motor car. Even more so if you can't set up counters in advance.

Kyo the Ultimate: "As far as I'm concerned, this is a treat—but we're not doing any fixed fights?"

Pencilgon: "The leader of Schwarz Vulf apparently can't afford to just lose cleanly."

I glance across the coliseum at the Schwarz Vulf members on the other side. Among faces that look somehow extremely relaxed, only one is checking her stats with a serious expression: Psyger-100. This whole situation is supposedly built on her collusion with Pencilgon, but what on earth is her real aim?

Pencilgon: "Momo-chan has the 'Master of the Sword' job, and on top of that, she can freely wield Fivefold Ensemble: Quintet—she's basically a perfect superhuman…"

Sunraku: "Master of the Sword, huh…"

Arameese had the Master of the Sword job too, if I remember right. Solo, Fivefold Ensemble: Quintet… it doesn't sound like it's just about firepower. No way… does it refer to the "number" of something?

Pencilgon: "Actually, the Saiga sisters are ridiculously troublesome. Both of their builds lean anti-enemy, but their firepower is so insanely high that it works just fine in PvP too…"

Kyo the Ultimate: "So, hey. Mind if I ask something soon?"

Cutting off Pencilgon, who's been talking with deep feeling about how troublesome the Saiga sisters are, Kyotimate interjects. Her ears—which belong to a category entirely different from a human's—twitch atop her head as the beastman swordswoman looks around at the four of us.

Kyo the Ultimate: "…Where's the last one?"

Pencilgon: "Yeah, that! Sunraku-kun said 'leave the last person to me,' and it sounded interesting, so I just let him handle it."

Oikatzo: "I'll throw in one vote for him gender-swapping and going 'I count as two people.'"

Sunraku: "The fact that gender-bender art of you shows up on the threads regularly is genuinely impressive, y'know."

Setting aside Oikatzo, whose eyes have gone completely dead, that matter is something I haven't been careless about.

Sunraku: "Alright, pop quiz. What are the rules of this representative match?"

Kyo the Ultimate: "……? Each clan picks five members and they fight, right?"

Sunraku: "Kyotimate, correct. Oikatzo, go stand in the hallway."

Oikatzo: "Isn't that stray shot way too unreasonable?!"

It's a joke. Laugh it off. Yes, the rules of this representative match are a PvP battle between five members belonging to each clan. Outside helpers from other clans are not allowed in principle, and that's why Kyotimate joined Wolfgang.

Sunraku: "Then, second question… when exactly is a 'resignation' finalized?"

Here's where quick wits show themselves. Oikatzo and Kyotimate are still tilting their heads, but Pencilgon—and only Pencilgon—has noticed something, and she looks at me with an extremely… yes, extremely amused smile.

Pencilgon: "Wait, for real?"

Sunraku: "Yep, for real real."

Kyo the Ultimate: "What's that mean?"

Pencilgon glances at me. I don't happen to have a fetish for feeling smug by explaining things, so I'll let her take over the explanation.

Pencilgon: "Hmm, well, it's a super simple story. What do you think is the quickest way to overturn a five-versus-four disadvantage?"

On the opposite side of the coliseum, objectified mani is being handed from Rei-shi to Psyger-100. While the sub-leader—Re… Ri…? Uh, the one with the leveling-sounding name—stands there with his mouth hanging open in a daze, Rei-shi, now officially a solo player, makes her way over to us.

Psyger-0: "Um, well… Arthur Pencilgon… -san."

Pencilgon: "Yes, yes, what can I do for you?"

Psyger-0: "Um… I would like to… request to join… the clan 'Wolfgang.'"

Pencilgon: "Okaaay! (Gladly!) Welcome, welcome! You’re very welcome!"

The simplest way to overturn a five-versus-four disadvantage? That's obvious. Pluck one person from the opponent's side, and it becomes four-versus-five—advantage, us.

I remember it clearly, Schwarz Vulf-san. Your leader definitely said: "We will approve Rei-shi's withdrawal from the clan upon payment of the total amount the clan has invested in her development, plus the cost of all Magic Scrolls used."

Earning tens of millions—no, in a worst case, hundreds of millions—of mani in a short period would be difficult… normally, that is. But I am a Strike-It-Rich: Billion Getter, officially recognized by the system, with total assets exceeding even one billion. Rei-shi called this plan "buying out her contract," and she wasn't far off. Transferring Rei-shi—along with the contract that binds her—over to Wolfgang. As for me, my pockets are still incredibly deep, so I don't mind at all. But Rei-shi is conscientious, so she says she'll pay me back for what I covered. At any rate, at this very moment, Rei-shi's affiliation has become "Wolfgang," and the side short on members is now "Schwarz Vulf."

Pencilgon: "By the way, Sunraku-kun, about how much money do you have right now?"

Sunraku: "I'm not covering a single damn bit of your debt, not one bit."

Pencilgon: "That way of phrasing it means you've built up quite the stash—?! Between Zero-chan's debt and your attitude… don't tell me your cash on hand is in the… hundred millions…?"

The fact that she can grasp the approximate contents of my wallet just from this exchange is genuinely terrifying. Pencilgon, who's been paying off her debts through various shady negotiations, still carries a massive amount of debt left over from her past crimes. Having discovered that there's a walking safe full of cash close at hand, she starts getting fired up, but my stance hasn't changed.

Pencilgon: "Don't you have even a shred of spirit to help out your reliable big-sister figure?!"

Sunraku: "Oikatzo. Say you had tens of billions. Would you cover Pencilgon's debt?"

Oikatzo: "Hell no. Watching her squirm in debt makes my food taste better."

Pencilgon: "Dammit… if I were in your position, I'd say the exact same thing, so I can't even argue back…!"

We're all very good friends. Seeing our friends suffer brings us joy.

If this is what you call friendship, maybe humanity ought to be reset once.

Pencilgon: "Ahem. Well, we'll take our sweet time with the money negotiations later... but anyway, you pulled off the unexpected fine play of stealing Zero-chan for us."

Sunraku: "Yeah."

Pencilgon: "Sorry, but we're not doing five-on-four, and we're not waiting around for it to become five-on-five either. Let's make it four-on-four."

Apparently, if we bully them any harder, the other side might explode. As expected of Pencilgon: she knows exactly how to keep them dangling without letting them live easy or putting them out of their misery.

It looks like she's still plotting something, but I'll leave that alone for now.

Pencilgon: "Alright. Looks like the other side is just about dying to beat the crap out of us, so I'll explain the strategy."

With a confident smile worthy of a model, Pencilgon says just one thing.

Pencilgon: "Katzo-kun, use the Tactical Machine Beast and sweep all three of them."

Oikatzo: "Hell yeah."

She pronounced Schwarz Vulf's death sentence.

The protagonist isn't the only one keeping information hidden.

I Yuzapa'd it (meaning: skipped it), but I'll eventually write how Sunraku converted that mountain of treasure into cash. I want it to connect to the next development.