Chapter 381: Side 4: The Unique Daily Life of a Guy Who Can't Trigger a Unique Scenario

The scene changes to the real world.

Megumi: "Alright. You're going to spill everything, right now... Kei!"

Uomi Kei, nineteen years old, is currently being pinned against a wall.

Megumi: "Like, why exactly... Sylvia Goldberg came to deliver a handmade bento to you!!"

Sylvia: "Hello!"

The person himself is on the receiving end of the wall-pin, and if I had to sum up the situation as simply as possible, it's nothing short of a "bloodbath."

Kei: "No, there's a good reason for this..."

Megumi: "Heeh?"

Eyes cold and fixed, a fry dangling from her mouth like a cigar, Megumi Natsume grins as she presses him against the wall.

Megumi: "So, why don't you tell me all about it, then? This deep reason of yours... yeah?"

Kei: "Uh, um, well..."

Sylvia: "Hey Natsumegu! Cool down, cool down!"

Megumi: "Ngh... who do you think made me heat up...!"

Sylvia: "Forget that! I live in the same place as Kei!"

A smile and a thumbs-up with more overflowing confidence and superiority than ever before, like a bomb being dropped. At the very least, Kei's ears were hallucinating the loud, clear call of an opening salvo declaring war.

Megumi: "Wh... huh?!? H-how, what does that mean, Keii!!"

Kei: "No, I mean, the room next door...!!"

Megumi: "Living room, dining room, doesn't matter—you're living together, you idiot!!"

Kei: "Wronnnnng, I meant the next apartment over in the buildinggggg—"

Grabbed by the shoulders, head shaking back and forth violently, Kei somehow manages to clear up the misunderstanding that had progressed three whole stages in Megumi's brain, and his shaking field of vision returns to normal.

Megumi: "So it's just the next apartment in the building..."

Sylvia: "But I visit all the time!"

Kei: "Wai...! Choking...! Can't...! Dying...!!"

Megumi: "Kei, you idiot!!"

Kei: "Gweh..."

Game over.

Kei: "Amelia Sullivan's coming?"

Sylvia: "YES! She might come here?"

Kei: "Ugh... 'The Raptor of Dinoscull,' of all things. Another real hassle's on her way..."

Kei, who'd barely managed to avoid crossing the Sanzu River, mutters the name as he yanks a fry from the so-called bento Sylvia brought. Strictly speaking, it was fast-food delivery repacked into a bento box—fries stuffed in vertically, packed tight like sardines. Amelia Sullivan. While she isn't from a top-tier team like the pro gaming team "Zodiac Cluster," the team she belongs to, "Dinoscull," is ranked among the best in the US simply because she's on it. As a pro gamer, among those who main fighting games, she's second only to Sylvia Goldberg in fame. She's over 180 cm tall and female, with piercing hawk-like eyes that suit "Sullivan" perfectly, making her real-life appearance extremely striking. But more than that, the most notable thing is her skill—maining heavyweight characters yet climbing to the de facto number two spot.

In the American fighting game scene, Sylvia Goldberg is basically a god. Kei did pull off the feat of beating Sylvia, but even so, her record up until now only has a single black mark. So naturally, there are plenty of followers of the absolute champion who main a style focused on speed and footwork. Amidst that, Amelia Sullivan—who uses the exact opposite of the mainstream: slow speed, heavy armor, high durability—presses Sylvia hard enough that she might even boast equal popularity.

Kei: "...It's gotta be about her, right."

Sylvia: "Exactly! Kei, you got the mail too, didn't you?"

But then, out of nowhere, a mystery figure appeared. If I had to describe him, his favorite thing is energy drinks... and he fought on even terms with Metius, the character Sylvia Goldberg controls. That's the "Real Cursed Prison." For Amelia Sullivan, someone who might've been called by that title instead, it's an existence she absolutely cannot ignore. And ever since GGC, no information about him has come out at all. That she'd decide to come to Japan to confirm his existence is a perfectly understandable reason. The problem isn't that—

Kei: "That woman is so sore a loser, it's like her pride is walking around in human clothes... She's absolutely going to barge in."

Sylvia: "Yep."

Uomi Kei knows. Sylvia Goldberg knows even more. The force that drives Amelia Sullivan is the complete opposite of grudges or jealousy. And the fact that her steps almost never stop.

Right now, Kei is the only one who knows the true identity of the mysterious helper gamers, "No Face" and "No Name." Strictly speaking, Megumi also knows the identity of one half, but we'll skip over that. Furthermore, if it's someone who knows Sylvia Goldberg's current location through their private acquaintanceship...

Megumi: "...Hey, Kei."

Kei: "Stop, Megumi. I don't want to look! I do not want to see the giant silhouette on the other side of that frosted glass!"

Megumi: "No, that's our manager, obviously."

Kei: "Ah, what. Don't scare me like that..."

Click

Manager: "Oh, hey there, Kei. There's someone who wants to see you. If my eyes don't deceive me, I can't shake the feeling it's Amelia Sullivan... can I get her autograph, maybe?"

Kei: "Strategic retreat!"

Manager: "Ah, he ran!!"

Sylvia: "It's a huntiiing!"

Oikatzo: Hey.

Sunraku: What.

Oikatzo: I've got a request to ask of you.

Sunraku: Is this one of those things where I'd have more fun saying no?

Oikatzo: Wait! My life's in actual danger here!

Oikatzo: I'm gonna get spine-snapped!!

Sunraku: Whoa, what's with that dangerous situation.

Oikatzo: Look, the details are a real pain so I'll skip 'em.

Oikatzo: Cutting to the chase: how about you show up to an event in November as "No Face"? I mean...

Sunraku: What? No way...

Sunraku: It just sounds purely like a hassle...

Oikatzo: With that in mind, let's negotiate.

Oikatzo: At this rate, my private life's going to be shredded to bits.

Sunraku: Well, I might just hear out whatever info you're offering.

Oikatzo: If you don't join, I'll send Sylvia Goldberg on a raid to your house.

Sunraku: That's extortion!

Sunraku: That's what the rest of the world calls extortion!

Oikatzo: Shut it! Either way, she's already counting down the seconds until she's in Fifticia, so with the next Third New Land Survey, she's coming to the New Land—just give it up!

Sunraku: Wait, isn't that way too soon?

Oikatzo: No, I'm pretty sure we're not the ones who should be saying that.

Oikatzo: Anyway, forget that. Getting back on topic, that was the first condition.

Sunraku: Wait, you're just gonna keep going? Are you sane?

Oikatzo: For the sake of protecting my private life, I'll gladly fall into madness.

Sunraku: Pretty sure what you're falling into is a female role, though.

Sunraku: That photo where someone edited your face to look more like a girl—it's hilarious that they didn't touch any of your facial features at all.

Oikatzo: Shut uuup!

Oikatzo: Shut uuuuup!!

Oikatzo: That thing nearly landed me in a crossdressing punishment game!!

Sunraku: Oi, stop, I'm dying.

Sunraku: I'm gonna Mold all over the place.

Oikatzo: Doing a Mold (verb).

Oikatzo: Anyway, if we trace this back to the source, it's all because you fought Sylvia with such a flashy display.

Oikatzo: A pro gamer's coming all the way from the US to request a match with you.

Sunraku: Ugh... that's the part where you, the one who actually beat Sylvia, should be taking the aggro.

Oikatzo: ......

Sunraku: Ah.

Sunraku: Well... November, huh...

Oikatzo: Okay, got your word!

Oikatzo: I screenshotted it too!

Oikatzo: Three shots!

Sunraku: That was way too dramatic.

Sunraku: Actually, if we're talking about that, what about asking "No Name"-san?

Oikatzo: We can't put that on public airwaves, obviously.

Sunraku: It's already been broadcast to the whole world, though... Oh well. That aside.

Oikatzo: Hm?

Sunraku: Sending me games before release and all that—aren't you completely trying to box me in?

Oikatzo: That's just your imagination.

Sunraku: And the real reason?

Oikatzo: Just... not Star Rain, okay?

Sunraku: International is a bit...

As for Sylvia, after her defeat at GGC, she received another round of upgrades and is even stronger now.