[Apparently there's some idiot who casually asked people to submit names, then genuinely panicked when both the activity report and the comments section got flooded with huge lists of them.] [Perhaps... the heavens really are whispering that I should write another message-board chapter...?]
Chapter 490: Resound, Grateful Legacy — The Reason Is That Their Souls Are Shaped Alike, but Their Wavelengths Are Slightly Out of Sync
Well, the quickest way to encounter Vash is to clear the invitation quest.
When I told Imron that, she tore off toward the Colosseum in the blink of an eye... I wonder if that aristocratic-looking rabbit who scooped her up along the way is the one assigned to Imron?
Well, that's her business. I've got my own stuff to do.
So I headed for the throne room in the Palace of Rabituza, figuring Vash would be there, and what I found was...
???: "N-Nyaaa..."
A tiger-striped Cat-Sith was trembling under Vash's gaze, sandwiched between a broad white Cat-Sith built like a maneki-neko and an intimidating calico Cat-Sith who looked like an upgraded Arameese.
It was a strangely charming yet tense scene.
Sunraku: "........."
Since standing around in the middle of this with an inanimate-looking face felt kind of wrong, I Mask Changed into the True Eye Bird Mask. I was genuinely interested anyway, so I moved off to the side to listen in while giving off an "Oh, don't mind me" kind of vibe—
Aydward: "Unfortunately, this concerns you as well."
Sunraku: "Seriously?"
That one line from Aydward, who'd been scratching his ear with a troubled look, forcibly dragged me into this animal courtroom...
Ah! Emul, you bastard! You ran away!
???: "B-B-Bird Person...!!"
Sunraku: "Hm? Yep, that's me. Bird Person. This is our first time meeting, right?"
???: "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Bird Person. I am Treville... commander of Cazzeria's Booted Knights, Treville. And this is His Majesty Nyai XIII, King of Cazzeria."
Nyai XIII: "Pleasure to meet you, nya."
What a textbook-perfect sentence ending...!
Damn it, that crown is obviously just a koban coin no matter how I look at it...! If I react, I lose, right? Yeah, I definitely lose.
Treville: "—And this one is D’Artammeow, who was once Cazzeria's greatest 'Jeweler.'"
D’Artammeow... D’Artammeow...
Oh, right. That's the one who made the Levin Trigger: Hazard and the Lapistella Cloak.
Sunraku: "...So why is D’Artammeow in this state?"
This doesn't exactly feel like they came here to throw a party.
If anything, it feels like we're five minutes away from somebody having a pinky cut off or getting encased in concrete...
Vash: "Yo, Sunraku. Seems this one here was pocketin' some of the gems you handed over."
Sunraku: "Gems?"
Oh, right.
I'd handed over a huge pile, but only got a few accessories back, so I'd pretty much assumed some were being pocketed...
Sunraku: "No, as far as that's concerned, I kind of handed them over with this unspoken understanding that some could be kept as, like, an advance tip..."
But apparently, this goes beyond simple pocketing.
The whole problem started when one of the gems D’Artammeow had pocketed for personal use came to light in Cazzeria.
Nyai XIII: "This is the one, nya."
Sunraku: "...?"
Looks like a perfectly ordinary Lowenava Amber Crystal to me...?
Nyai XIII: "An extraordinarily powerful attribute is sealed inside this amber, nya. It's a Superior piece, nya."
Sunraku: "O-oh. I see."
Normally, there should be absolutely nothing strange about a Cat-Sith ending sentences with "nya," but Arameese, Treville, and even D’Artammeow all speak normally, so somehow that just makes it feel even weirder...!
Nyai XIII: "Bird Person, knowing how dearly we Cat-Siths love gemstones, you gave us a great many of them as an advance, nya. In that case, what this one should have done was create the finest possible piece. Pocketing one of the finest gems for oneself would be tantamount to making Bird Person—and by extension, Lord Vysache—lose face, nya."
Sunraku: "R-right... Right?"
No, no, no. It's not like I feel nothing about having the highest-rarity gem pocketed.
But the two accessories I got back instead are insanely useful, okay?
I couldn't count on both hands how many situations I never would've gotten through without those two.
Especially the Levin Trigger: Hazard.
That thing is seriously god-tier. Straight-up genius work.
Its synergy with the Skill "Dead Horizon," which activates by repeatedly hopping back and forth across the razor-thin edge of your HP limit, is absolutely insane.
But I can't say any of that out loud.
Because I'm Japanese.
The atmosphere here already feels like they've skipped about three whole stages of proper trial procedure and moved straight on to deciding what kind of execution to use.
I simply cannot muster the courage to go, "Hey, the stuff you made was really good!"
And judging by Vash's attitude, this is—
Then...
???: "Oi, oi, oi! Now that's some 'classy' talk, cat boss. That's right—a 'boss' is supposed to go all in when it counts."
An unfamiliar voice rings out, carrying an almost violently concentrated amount of personality.
???: "The thing about a 'punk' is, whether you're bustin' one up or fixin' one, you gotta start by hammerin' 'em... Let's see how you choose to 'settle this' your way, boss."
What is this?
What is this absurdly concentrated character!?
Pompadour! That pompadour is insane! A red-haired pompadour!
What is that... What!? You... YOU!!
In a room already packed with colorful characters like Vash, Emul, me—against my will, but objectively speaking—Treville, Nyai XIII, and D’Artammeow, this rabbit is "by a mile" the most over-the-top one here!!
What were those student trousers called again, the ones that puff out like somebody stuffed balloons into them, with that explosive-sounding name... Bonten?
Was it really something that divine-sounding...?
Anyway, pants like that, a long-coat-style gakuran outfit, and that thing resting on his shoulder like a sword even though it is very obviously just a square wooden beam...
A Gewaltkeule, an improvised weapon of the late twentieth century!?
Emul: "That's my big brother Evelle, waa!"
Sunraku: "Evelle... So he's 'E.'"
What was it again?
Something about him traveling between "countries" allied with Rabituza as a mercenary.
Bilac had complained that maybe he'd picked up some bad habits from Ceecrue's deadbeat streak... but no, this guy's personality is pretty damn one-of-a-kind.
That whole "countries" thing still bugs me somehow...
But there's one thing I do know.
Excluding the first three—Aydward through Ceecrue—who are under some kind of "restriction," Evelle is the strongest when it comes to straight-up physical combat power.
Sunraku: ".........Heh."
At that exact moment, something sparks inside me.
Let's see...
What was that angle Emul once told me, "Seriously, that angle scares me, so please don't look at me like that, waa"...?
Sunraku: "—The name's Sunraku. Mind if I step into this little situation?"
Evelle: "—Haaah?"
Right now, with Evelle and me both belonging to the same Rabituza faction, there are two ways for us to fight each other.
Just punch him without worrying about what happens afterward?
Nope. Feels like that wouldn't end with just a pinky, so that's out.
Which means I argue against Evelle's position.
Protect D’Artammeow, who's already got one foot hanging over the cliff called "settling accounts."
That is the clever way to "settle things" with this guy who somehow pisses me off just to look at him...!!
Brace yourself, club-wielding rabbit.
Tonight, the shoebill becomes a bird of prey...!!