A Rider wearing the mask of a Rogue...! (This is extremely hard on me mentally.) (Buff the Sclash Driver users too.)
I was going to skip today's update, but my fave is suffering, so here's my first post.
Also, the title is what the author was thinking while writing this.
Chapter 298: That's Exactly Your Problem
Rei: "...And then, the seventh monster was a humanoid, tree-like monster."
Rakuro: "Ah—was it that Aberrant Wood-Mage?"
Rei: "Y-Yes! That's it. You know about it?"
Rakuro: "More or less. That thing was the last one when I cleared 'Invitation.' If you snatch its staff away, it gets visibly weaker."
Rei: "I see... I'll try that."
Things had gotten messy in various ways because of the bombshell incident, but whatever else you could say, we were comrades with one thing in common: the game we were both putting the most effort into right now.
So I talked SLF with Saiga-san on the way to school while she steadily cleared the tasks Vash was giving her.
Rakuro: "Oh, right. I was gonna post this in the Wolfgang group chat later too, but it looks like we've got a base lined up."
Rei: "Really?"
Rakuro: "Yep. Setting up a clan house has been urgent for a while now, since I need to hand over the reward for Rust and Mold's help..."
Rust had basically told me this:
Rust (recalled): "Call me when you can use the robot."
Her login rate in SLF had dropped in an extremely obvious way, but she was definitely in NephHolo instead, which meant I got beaten up by her pretty often. Maybe because her equipment restrictions were gone now, she'd been energetically trying out new machines lately. Next time, maybe I'd knowledge-check her with a machine whose whole body was basically weapons...
Rei: "Um, well... where did you meet Rust-san?"
Rakuro: "Huh? Oh... in another game. It's called Nephilim Hollow... though it was a pretty niche game."
Rei: "...I-I know it. It's the game where you pilot mannequin-like robots, right?"
Rakuro: "Wait, you know it?"
That honestly surprised me. When I stared at Saiga-san in shock, she looked away, a little embarrassed, and opened her mouth.
Rei: "Well... I could never get used to the controls, so I left the story half-finished..."
Rakuro: "Nah, that's understandable. The PvP rankers move like it's the most natural thing in the world, but the system itself expects you to know where all the boosters are and move the machine like it's your own body. It really isn't for everyone."
Apparently they're making a sequel, but I wonder if they'll improve that part. If they bend too far toward player convenience, the setting itself loses some of its appeal, so as one player, I kind of hope it stays just awkward enough to control.
Rei: "Um, well... if the opportunity ever comes up, could you maybe teach me how to control one in NephHolo...?"
Rakuro: "Hm? Sure, I don't mind... Though Rust or Mold might make better teachers."
I only learned this recently, but Mold was a perfectly capable NephHolo player in his own right. His aptitude as an operator just happened to be even higher.
Mold (recalled): "Man, it's been a while since I've piloted one."
Watching him say that while casually brushing aside newcomers gave off some serious strong-character energy. But apparently the "Anti-Mold Lockdown Method" I'd used a while back had spread among the newbies too. Mold carelessly opened voice comms, and the opposing player made him self-destruct with a rapid-fire barrage of puns.
Mold (recalled): "I never thought anyone besides Sunraku would pull that strategy."
He'd said that to Rust as an excuse, but I wonder if he realizes that almost every ranker is now trying to use it as an effective way of shutting down the right-hand man who once supported the invincible Rust.
Rei: "No, um... th-that's right! I can see you like this, Hizutome-kun, so... um... coordinating our schedules and things would be easier..."
Saiga-san explained that while turning her face away for some reason. Well, maybe it was one of those etiquette things, like turning away so someone doesn't see you sneeze or yawn. My little sister sneezes openly like she couldn't care less about any of that.
Rakuro: "I see... If you're okay with me, I'll go out with you."
Rei: "Ghk—........................................ Y-Yes... if you would go out with me someday, then..."
There was an incredible pause there, but Saiga-san goes into loading screens in the middle of conversations fairly often, and she did the same thing as Psyger-0, so I guess that's just the kind of person she is.
And then I was restrained and hauled away.
Rakuro: "Drafting the track team on their way back from morning practice is cheating!"
???: "They're volunteers, so it's fine. Time for an interrogation, asshole!"
I was forced into my own seat and surrounded, glaring resentfully at the interrogators. If it came down to it, I'd counterattack by reading aloud Germy Piercing's latest masterpiece, "Lavigne Sunflower"...!
???: "So seriously, are you and Saiga-san actually dating?"
Rakuro: "No? We just have something in common. Didn't I tell you that before?"
???: "Then what's this thing you have in common?"
Rakuro: "Well, y'know, I'm a guardian of privacy..."
Germy Piercing: "You sure as hell don't guard my privacy!"
Huh? The hell is Germy Piercing yapping about?
Rakuro: "Shut it, Lavigne Sunflower."
Germy Piercing: "Lavigne?"
???: "Lavigne...?"
Germy Piercing: "Wha— you— where did you find that...!?"
Rakuro: "You leave the page with your half-written poem open when you go to the bathroom. You're way too careless."
Because of where our seats are, when you get up I can see it perfectly.
Rakuro (reading): "—The glittering sunlight. I, one blossom in a field of sunflowers, was captivated by you..."
Germy Piercing: "Everyone, I think ganging up on someone for an interrogation violates human rights. Let's stop here."
???: "No, poet. This is just a player substitution... Get him!"
Germy Piercing: "Whaaat!?"
The poor sheep's face stiffened at the smile I gave him after flipping our positions and seizing the initiative. Now then, let's begin the fun, fun Dark-History Exposé—also known as the Poetry Reading...!
Though using a scapegoat to divert the conversation was probably about at its limit too...
For the record, we ended up concluding that the poem itself was actually pretty good.
◇
Raika: "Morning, Rei."
Rei: "Ah, good morning, Raika-san."
Raika: "I heard, y'know? You came to school together with that rumored boyfriend of yours~?"
Rei: "B-Boyfriend...!? N-No! That's, um, uh, well... yes! A friend!"
Raika: "Hmmm...? But you do want to get closer to him, don't you?"
Rei: "That's, well........................ Yes."
Raika: "Seriously...? I smell trouble brewing."
Rei: "Trouble? It's nothing like that..."
Raika: "Just the fact that you're this fixated on him is raising the rumored guy's profile—wait, Rei, don't start raising your aura with that dead-serious face. Ngh, even an amateur can feel that pressure...!"
Rei: "............"
◆
Lately I'd been feeling more and more eyes watching me. I was thinking about that as I left school, sending wicked thoughts—suffer more...!—at the track-team capture squad wheezing through their running drills, when a car that was obviously expensive pulled up beside me.
Wait, left-hand drive? An import? Why?
Rei: "Um, Hizutome-kun..."
Rakuro: "Oh, Saiga-san."
I stared in awe at the vehicle, which looked like the Saiga family's power—mostly the financial kind—had physically manifested. Then the rear-seat window rolled down and Saiga-san's face appeared.
Rei: "So, um... this Saturday and Sunday... would you like to play SLF together?"
Rakuro: "Huh? Oh, yeah, sure. That's fine..."
Why ask now? It felt like we ran into each other pretty often when we logged in anyway... Ah, maybe she meant hunting together or something like that?
Rakuro: "Yeah, okay. Though I think the research vessel bound for the New Land sets sail on Sunday, right...?"
Rei: "...? You're boarding the New Land research vessel?"
Rakuro: "Ah, yeah. I picked up a quest... Rei-shi—no, Saiga-san, you still haven't been to the New Land, right?"
Rei: "Right... Yes, it'll probably be fine. I can muscle my way onto the passenger list, so I can board too."
Rakuro: "Huh. That's good."
...Hm? It felt like the flow of the conversation glitched for a second there. Was that just my imagination? Whatever.
Rakuro: "Then I'll email you beforehand for the weekend."
Rei: "Y-Yes!"
Still, an invitation from a genuine hardcore no-lifer... She seemed like the kind of person who'd propose a slaughter as casually as inviting someone out for a walk. Should I buy some Riot Blood now just in case?
I still hadn't drunk—dosed myself with—the other bottle of Revol Blantan that had reached me through extremely suspicious circumstances.
Well, it's not like I'm going to fight something on Ctarnidd's level again anytime soon.
I've somehow gotten used to the Crystal Scorpions already.
- Raika Ema