[Author’s Opening Note: The writing is floooowing!!]
Chapter 452: O Dragon, O Dragon! We Race Toward the End of Our Longing — O Dragon, O Dragon! Part Twenty-Nine
Yashirobird: “I guess it’s because the game has so many players. Survival Gunman players don’t exactly go around introducing themselves as such, so I never expected to meet this many of them again. Baibaru was still pretty much the same, and you’re still using the same name too, aren’t you? Hehe. It makes me strangely happy.”
Yashirobird—or rather, Atbird.
That was a nostalgic name.
He was the main reason the Gamma server had turned into such a vicious survival FPS.
The Phi server, where Survival—now Baibaru—had ruled the roost, was filled with idiots who tried to solve absolutely everything through bare-knuckle fighting.
Atbird’s server was the exact opposite. It treated the firearm every player received at the beginning as the one true weapon above all others.
My server had been filled with nothing but assassins, so players from other servers sometimes visited it as though taking part in a test of courage.
I gave every one of them exactly what they came looking for.
Yashirobird: “I’m with Team 10PM now, while you belong to Wolfgang, right? Our clans are allies. Whatever you’re doing at the moment, how about we work together?”
In Survival Gunman, every firearm apart from the starting pistol was considered a rare weapon.
The players on the Gamma server gathered whatever shotguns and other guns occasionally washed ashore and fired them without restraint. Whenever players went on “expeditions” to other servers to gather gunpowder, they were usually from Gamma.
Even among them, Atbird stood above the rest.
He was probably the only person capable of firing a musket through the tiny gaps in a thick jungle and hitting his target.
Yes, this guy and I had history.
He had once shot out one of my eyes...
And I had once slit his throat.
Sunraku: “I appreciate the support, but... are you sure you’ll be okay? Your main weapon looks like a bow.”
Yashirobird: “Just so you know, using a bow as an emergency weapon after running out of bullets was perfectly normal on the Gamma server.”
Atbird—now Yashirobird—still used the same slim young-man avatar he had used in Survival Gunman.
But I knew very well that his actual fighting style covered every range: close, middle, and long.
Even now, after willingly abandoning the positional advantage of standing on top of the ship, he kept the enemies away by accurately picking off distant lesser dragons and kicking away anything that came close.
Yashirobird: “Unless I’m mistaken, she’s Saint-chan... Ah, Saint-sama, correct? The fact that someone like her is traveling with only two attendants, neither of whom belongs to her Divine Guard, makes it obvious that something is going on. I’ll help.”
Sunraku: “All right. I suppose meeting here must be some kind of fate. I’ll send you a request.”
Yashirobird: “I’ll send you a friend request while we’re at it.”
We each sent a request and accepted the one we received.
That should have shared The Saint’s Bladesword quest with Yashirobird too... probably?
Sunraku: “Saint-sama, he may be an outsider, but he’s an old friend of mine. May we add him to your escort?”
Eristella: “Yes, I do not mind.”
Excellent. She was wonderfully open-minded.
After putting Bryubas away again, our temporary Saint-chan escort detail—now with one extra member—advanced toward the battlefield where black and gold were clashing.
Yashirobird: “I’m curious about that thing you used to store such a huge ship, but personally, I’m even more interested in ‘that’ weapon mounted on it... Let me fire it sometime if we get the chance.”
Sunraku: “That chance might come sooner than you think.”
Yashirobird: “Splendid. But more importantly! Judging by the powered suit over there... Does that mean you actually have one?”
Sunraku: “Hehehe... Saina, show him Sagittarius.”
Saina: “Acknowledged. I suppose that is acceptable: deploying.”
Yashirobird: “Ooooh...! Excellent! Incredible...! I knew they existed, but seeing one like this really gets the blood pumping...!!”
I understand, Saina.
To put it mildly, he was creepy.
But that guy was a true gun fanatic. He loved looking at guns just as much as he loved firing them.
The way he stared at the long gun Sagittarius made it look as though he might start licking it or rubbing his cheek against it at any moment. Even Saina took a step away from him.
From his perspective, knowing that guns existed while being completely unable to obtain one must have been fairly stressful.
Yashirobird: “It’s connected to the Divine Era, just as I thought. Even when I draw detailed blueprints here and give them to blacksmiths, all they ever say is, ‘We can’t make this.’ I figured there must be some kind of system lock. There’s supposedly a hidden blacksmith Job called Ancient Craftsman, right? Could it be related to that? You know how Divine Era weapons are sometimes excavated like fossils? I’ve been gathering every single one shaped exactly like a shotgun. Could an Ancient Craftsman actually repair them?”
Sunraku: “You start talking really fast whenever Survival Gunman or guns come up.”
Yashirobird: “Hahaha! One is the game I devoted my youth to, and the other is my life’s work.”
Baibaru had been pretty extreme too, but this guy was something else...
Still, meeting an old friend didn’t feel bad.
Yashirobird: “By the way, how far are you taking her?”
Sunraku: “Over there.”
Yashirobird: “Seriously...? Oh, more importantly, may I ask you something?”
Sunraku: “Go ahead.”
Yashirobird: “There’s a knight running toward us from behind at an incredible speed.”
...
Wasn’t I going to be killed if she caught me?
Sunraku: “S-Sainaaa! Pick up Saint-chan! We’re running!!”
Eek!
Wasn’t she moving even faster now?!
Did seeing Saina carrying Saint-chan like a princess make her speed up?
Damn it! This flag was less a flag and more a land mine!
Was that woman some kind of boss monster?!
Sunraku: “S-Saint-sama?! I seriously need you to explain everything for me when she catches us, okay?!”
Eristella: “Hehehe. This is rather exciting.”
Yashirobird: “You took her without permission?! Sunraku, that’s impressive... Even scribbling on a dragon’s reverse scale wouldn’t provoke this kind of reaction.”
Sunraku: “The reverse scale ran away from home on its own! What was I supposed to do?!”
Why was she so fast?!
Wait, stop!
May I use Bradion now?!
...
...
...
...
Josette: “Then I shall execute you.”
Sunraku: “Defense attorney Saint-chang!!”
I was pinned face-down beneath her foot, so I couldn’t even tell how she planned to kill me!
Was it my head?
Was she aiming for my head?!
Eristella: “Wait, Josette. I wrote it in the note I left behind, did I not? This was my own little scheme.”
Josette: “Saint-sama, this is a separate matter.”
Eristella: “Oh my. Then I suppose there is nothing I can do?”
Sunraku: “Hold it! I bet it’s something like, ‘A man entered the two-meter area around Saint-chan, so he must die!’”
Josette: “Ten meters.”
Sunraku: “That dead zone is far too wide!!”
Yashirobird: “Wait, doesn’t that make me an execution target too? That’s bad. Any chance of a pardon?”
No! I don’t want to die!
I refuse to die!!
Josette: “...It was a joke. I would not take on such a ridiculous red-name penalty in front of Saint-sama.”
Sunraku: “Does that mean you would have executed me without stopping if Saint-cha... sama weren’t here?”
Josette: “It would depend on the circumstances.”
Sunraku: “So it does depend on the circumstances.”
She finally released me, so I got back to my feet...
Wait, was that a tower shield?
Were you planning to beat me to death with it?
Eristella: “Josette, where are the others?”
Josette: “They are searching in other areas. It was merely by chance that I found you.”
So I had almost been killed by coincidence.
I wanted to confront her about that, but a first-rate man knows when to hold himself back.
Josette: “However, Saint-sama, there was no need for you to come personally. Had you simply given the order...”
Eristella: “Hehehe. But then one of you would surely have insisted on remaining at my side, would you not?”
Josette: “Ngh...”
Eristella: “Besides... I wished to speak for a while with the golden one—the Dragon King who has reigned since the Divine Era.”
Yeah, Siegwurm was surprisingly reasonable once you actually spoke to him.
I certainly hadn’t expected him to lecture me with perfect common sense while my drawers were completely exposed.
Sunraku: “So? What are you going to do?”
Her answer came in the form of a party request sent to me.
An attacker, a tank, and long-range support...
This temporary party was starting to look surprisingly well balanced.
Josette: “I shall do it. I will prove that the title Maximum Defense: Defense Holder is no mere show.”
Psyger-100’s natural personality seemed to be rather intense, but Josette’s behavior was all roleplay.
I had recently seen a roleplayer whose mask fell apart far too easily, so Josette looked especially convincing by comparison...