Chapter 309: Like a Maiden, Like a Demon Hound
Sorry I skipped an update because my right hand was sore.
I just wanted to rebuild Nebuka... (the cause of it getting worse)
Rei: "Um... uh... g-good morning..."
Rakuro: "Yeah, good morning. So, how'd it go?"
I ask Saiga-san as she wakes up and sits up. She pats herself down, checking that her clothes aren't out of place. Then, after a little "pause," she answers.
Rei: "...Um, I was able to log in, but... a message came up saying there's a system error and to please log out."
Rakuro: "Ah... if that message pops up, it means there's a problem besides the output system. Gonna have to send it in for repairs after all."
Rei: "Is that so... Then, um... I'll borrow yours."
Saiga-san, sitting on a futon that looks way softer than the bed I normally use, gives a little bow. I wave it off like "no big deal" and stand up — and a self-inflicted Stun Beat shoots straight through my legs!?
Rakuro: "Nngh—!"
Rei: "Are you oka— eep!"
My legs went numb and I almost toppled over, but I just barely held it together. But Saiga-san, bracing for me falling on her, stepped forward, tripped on the hem of her kimono, and fell...
Rei: ".........!"
Rakuro: "Guh— bwuh!?"
Saiga-san's head, boosted by inertia and gravity, drove into my solar plexus like it was gouging right through me.
Rei: ".........! .........!?"
Oh crap. Breakfast's about to make a comeback. The strength in my legs that had barely been holding me up shatters into dust. I buckle at the knees and crumble. And Saiga-san's head, which had been buried in my stomach, drops straight down thanks to gravity...
Servant: "Milady, regarding today's schedule a moment of your— ...Pardon me."
Rei: ".........! .........!"
Rakuro: "Wait—!"
From a certain angle, it looked like I had Saiga-san's head in my lap. And we got spotted by a member of the household staff at a timing so perfect you'd think some kind of event flag triggered it. I'm clamping my mouth shut with both hands, trying desperately to keep the breakfast that's churning backwards inside me down, so I can't say a thing. Saiga-san, meanwhile, still has her head on my thighs as she tries to explain herself.
Rei: "This isn't what it looks like."
There is absolutely no persuasive power to that explanation. The sliding door shuts, and an indescribable silence drifts between me and Saiga-san.
???: "........."
???: "........."
Well, I at least avoided the worst possible bad ending — puking in someone else's house. But... Storm Cloud Saiga Castle. The true final boss... was Saiga-san.
Rei: "...How can I possibly... apologize...!"
Rakuro: "I-It was an accident. Really, don't worry. No, seriously. It's fine, it's fine."
Knees together. Head down. Hands together in front of her head. Saiga-san is executing the ultimate Japanese apology technique: the full dogeza. I'm begging her to lift her head. I mean, the visual is just way too dangerous. If we were anywhere else, I'd be the one getting punished for this.
Rei: "But..."
Rakuro: "No, really. This whole thing started because I lost my balance. Honestly, it's more like... reverse noblesse oblige, or I'm the one in danger here..."
Depending on how this looks, I might not be able to go out on a new-moon night anymore. Please, I'm begging you. The Saiga family doesn't have some kind of secret clean-up squad, right?
Rakuro: "Ah, anyway. Were you okay with the data transfer and all that?"
Rei: "Uh, um, ah, well... it's fine... Um, Iwamaki-san taught me how important backups are, so..."
Rakuro: "Oh, okay. Then it's fine... I should probably get going soon."
It's not that something bad happened, exactly. But Storm Cloud Saiga Castle has worn my mental state down to nothing... I haven't been this tense since I did a no-continue campaign TA on Cosmo Buster. The final boss stage in that game was insane. A flat, wide-open plain with zero obstacles, and you had to fight every single chapter boss you'd faced so far, back to back, with no mid-stage save. Who the hell thinks of that? There were healing items scattered sparsely across this huge area, but they're all buried under an endless carpet of trash mobs... Ugh, just remembering it is giving me a headache. In the end, spamming support bombardments was the best strategy. Trash enemies and NPCs flying through the air like you'd smacked a dusty tatami mat... I guess you could say that had a certain charm.
Rei: "Ah, um..."
Rakuro: "Hm?"
Rei: "Uh........................I'll, um... see you to the front door..."
After a "pause" that felt like it held some kind of intense inner battle, Saiga-san says that. Her shoulders slump, so it looks like she lost the battle...
Rakuro: "Well, right after I get home might be tough, but by tonight or so, I can rush to get ready for the New Land trip, right? Oh, you free tonight?"
Rei: "...! Yes! I'm free! I'll make myself free!"
Honestly, I asked figuring a serious degenerate like Saiga-san would have time. Sometimes I wonder if being a degenerate comes with some kind of time-generating ability. Like a pro gamer who keeps showing up in Constipation, or the strongest pilot who logs in every single morning, no matter what. By the way, according to the latest "Rust Bulletin," there've been a lot of accidents lately in NephHolo from people overloading boosters. Sounds like a dangerous place. Wonder what's causing it.
◇
Is this actually reality? I've pinched my cheek over and over until it's red, but is that really from the pain? If it is, then why is the other cheek — the one I didn't pinch — also red?
Rei: "Ehehehe, a lap pillow..."
It was a sudden accident, but the simple fact that her head rested on his lap makes Rei's cheeks loosen no matter what. The VR system breaking was genuinely unexpected. But was it a blessing in disguise? Or a case of "Sai Weng losing his horse"? Grinning wide, Rei does a little skip as she heads to her room. Even this hallway she's so used to walking feels like a red carpet leading straight to glory.
Rei: "~~~♪"
Rakuro had completely the wrong idea, but even a young lady from a prestigious family doesn't normally walk around in a kimono. To put it bluntly... she'd been putting on airs. Rei was about to change into her room clothes and get ready for tonight, heading to her room... when, right as she was about to pass by, one of the sliding doors quietly opens.
Sen: "Rei."
Rei: "Y-Yes, what is it, Sen-nee-san?"
Sen: "I heard all about it from Momo."
Rei: "...?"
She'd undercut her sister, who was on the verge of cashing in paid leave for the upcoming Lycagon showdown. She does feel a little bad about that. But honestly, for a working adult, her login rate is way too high. And from what former clan members say, she apparently spends nearly all day logged in on her days off. So maybe it was about time she got a proper scold—
Sen: "Rei. I hear there is a gentleman you have feelings for?"
BWHAAAAA!?
Rei: "Wh-wh-wh-wh-wh-wh..."
Sen: "...Well, when you invited a gentleman to your room, I did suspect as much."
Rei: "N-No...! Ah, um, uh..."
Sen: "Listen, Rei. The women of the Saiga family, for generations... and I, of course, am no exception... have been hopeless at love. You are the same. Do you understand this?"
Rei: "Urk..."
Sen doesn't know. The fact that this hopeless-at-love little sister has been nursing this crush for nearly three years. If she knew, the conversation routing into "lecture mode" is as clear as a raging fire. So in a sense, this was another blessing in disguise.
Sen: "In any case, Rei. As your elder in life, allow me to impart a word of advice."
Rei: "O-Okay..."
Still, when it comes to life experience, her older sister is a senior who's gone all the way to marriage. There's no harm in hearing a golden nugget of wisdom. At Sen's beckoning, Rei sits in seiza and leans in to listen. Then Sen slowly opens her mouth and says, simply:
Sen: "...A fait accompli."
Rei: "Excuse me."
Sen: "Wait, Rei. Wait, I said, Rei."
As expected. The women of the Saiga family can only choose extremes. Zero or a hundred... no, a thousand. The curse of the clan is still going strong.
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Sunraku: "Norman-kuuun... is that thing ready yet?"
Norman: "Ah, Sunraku-san...! Y-Yes! Thanks to the assistance from the Golden Scales, all the various parts have been installed."
Sunraku: "Excellent... Mm, wonderful...!"
Norman: "I never imagined I'd see my dream realized in this form...! I truly can't thank you enough, Sunraku-san..."
Sunraku: "Nonsense. If we can continue to have a good relationship moving forward, that helps me out too... Ah, that's right. I did come up with a name for it."
Norman: "Oh! May I hear it?"
Sunraku: "A name like a valkyrie that carries warriors, and like a demon hound loyal to its master... Yes, its name is..."
Norman: "Its name is...?"
Sunraku: "...Brunhilde Baskerville... No. It's 'Bryubas.'"