Kasou Ryouiki no Elysion Vol 2 Chapter 2
Chapter 2 - The Light and The Shadow
Part 1
Silence had come.
The two girls who had an unexpected, chance meeting were at a loss for words. Neither Taiga nor Rui knew anything about it and their gaze drifted between Fuyuki and the silver-haired girl.
"H-hey... Hime-chan..."
"Most likely she refers to Fuyuki. Also that name... Karasuba Shio, was it."
"By Karasuba, does she mean that Karasuba...?"
Karasuba. The name that is known throughout the entire world. One of the four major corporates that governs the cyber market. The household Fuyuki was adopted to eight years ago, and from which she ran away just the other day.
"Its been a while, hasnt it."
The one who broke the silence was the silver-haired girl——Karasuba Shio.
"Its the first time we meet face-to-face... in seven years, was it? I recognized you immediately thanks to your eye colour."
Fuyuki didnt answer. But the moment she heard that its been seven years, she started to tremble as if she was frightened of something and looked down. Seeing Fuyuki act clearly different than usual, Rui asked him in a low voice.
"...how are they related?"
"Who knows... but considering her state, they arent simply acquaintances."
Compared to the scared Fuyuki, Shio looked pretty normal. It felt like Fuyuki felt one-sidedly at fault about something.
Taiga felt a strange discomfort from the girl called Karasuba Shio.
"...why... are you here..."
Fuyuki asked with a trembling voice.
"Thats my line. The culprit who hacked the main server of Karasuba, no matter how much you camouflaged it is probably Hime-chan right? As always, your skills are amazing."
After hearing Shios word, Taiga noticed what was causing him discomfort.
Not just the fact that she carried the name of Karasuba, it was without a doubt that she was a member of that group.
Because Fuyuki dealt extensive damage to Karasuba, it wasnt a happy reunion but a meeting with an opponent who denounced her crimes.
Even so, the girl called Karasuba Shio only felt respect and admiration.
"...arent you angry?"
It seemed like Fuyuki thought the same and asked the question.
For some reason. His little sister thought otherwise——without any basis for it, thats what intuition told Taiga.
"Angry? Me? Why would I be?"
"Because... little sister at that time..."
Fuyukis voice was very feeble, it was completely different from her usual voice that was filled with self-confidence.
It wasnt a devil who bullied his little sister, it was a single frail girl.
"Im not angry or anything. If anything, Im grateful to Hime-chan."
"Gra...teful...?"
"Yup. Its all thanks to Hime-chan. Even if I play around like this I wont be told off by father, the fact that all the work has been wasted, all of it, was thanks to Hime-chan helping me and the researchers to give up."
The silver-haired girl said so and smiled faintly.
Not an evil, but a colourless transparent smile that displayed negative feelings.
"............"
The moment she saw that smile, Fuyuki realized just how much did that girl change in seven years. No, how much she herself changed.
When she thought so, Fuyuki turned her back to Shio and ran away.
Taigas and Ruis voice didnt reach her from behind.
She wanted to run away as soon as possible from the mistakes she made, run away from the past that should have been left behind.
Where are you going to run now? ——Where this time? She felt as if she heard a voice saying that behind her.
When Taiga returned to the real world, it was already evening.
"...now. Where did Imouto-sama go?"
The vermilion light of the setting sun entered through the gap in the curtains, Taiga turned off the Arclight and squinted. Instead of his little sisters figure on the second machines seat, there was a headgear thrown on the floor. Before, when Taiga did something similar she got really angry and said and what if it broke?.
Shell probably be over there...
He left the dive room to look for his little sister and entered the bedroom.
As expected, she hid behind the large bed that filled nearly half of the room. She squeezed herself into a small gap and sat down while holding her knees.
"Found you. It still didnt change even after eight years, your habit of squeezing yourself into narrow places when youre down."
"...Onii."
"Oh, thats an unusual way of calling me."
Taiga sat on the edge of the bed and gently stroked his little sisters head. Her sleek black hair flowed with just a light touch, it felt very comfortable.
"Dont misunderstand though, Im not feeling down. I just thought it would be nice to sit in a place like this since its been a while."
"Is that so."
The conversation ended with just that, Taiga continued to gently stroke his little sisters head as she tried to act strong. He didnt ask anything, he didnt say anything. He believed that was for the best at the moment.
〈"So, hows Fuyuki?"〉
"She went to take a bath, were going to rest early today."
Taiga spoke to a holographic window in front of him as he cleaned the dishes after dinner. Displayed on it was Rui who was in middle of work, she had an appearance of a neat and clean maid.
〈"Shio-chan, was it. Did you hear the circ.u.mstances concerning that girl?"〉
"No, I didnt hear anything. And I have no intention of asking her."
〈"Eh? Why?"〉
"Its just my intuition, but it isnt just depression. Lets just wait until Fuyuki tells us by herself."
In fact, he really wanted to help his sister immediately. But... if he did that it might backfire, thats what he felt.
It was a problem between those two.
〈"I see. Yup. If Taiga thinks so, it has to be like that."〉
Rui smiled as she said so. Just by looking at her cheerful expression, he felt better over the fact that he neglected Fuyuki.
〈"Ah, but you shouldnt leave her alone."〉
"I know. I want to consult with you, are you free tomorrow?"
〈"Nn〜, Ill have to help in the shop a bit in the morning, but aside from that theres nothing."〉
"Thats good. ——Tomorrows the 1st, I want you to take Fuyuki outside, please."
〈"That shouldnt be a problem."〉
"I appreciate it. Ah, one more thing. Teach me how to set-up initial settings in 《Aries》."
〈"...how to set-up initial settings?"〉
Not knowing the purpose of his request, Rui made a questioning smile.
Part 2
Next day, nine oclock in the morning.
"...fuu, Ive sweat a lot."
After his routine training Taiga took a shower and was eating breakfast in the living room.
Because he couldnt cook, it was a simple meal made up of bread and coffee.
It was Sunday, a regular holiday. Of course there was no school today.
Although he spent five hours of his holiday on his training routine, he cleaned up the dishes and entered the bedroom Fuyuki was sleeping in.
"Fuyuki, its about time to wake up."
"...nnyuu...still...sleepy..."
He poked the sleeping Fuyukis shoulder, but she shook off his hand. The futon fell off her body so her thin negligee and black laced lingerie were visible so he looked away momentarily. Although he was accustomed to it, he still couldnt look at it directly.
"An hour longer, let me sleep for another hour..."
"Dont act selfish, hurry and wake up."
Even though she always said she wants to sleep a little bit more, this time it was much worse than usual.
With grim determination Taiga cast away the futon and carried Fuyuki in his embrace to the washroom. With that Fuyuki opened her eyes and complained "Why do I have to get up on a holiday..." before washing her face, fixing her hair and changing into a proper dress.
...she looks better than I thought.
Taiga felt relieved seeing her act like usual. It might have been her just acting strong like the day before but it was still better than her shutting herself in.
And then, *ding-dong*, a sound of intercom resounded.
"Who is it so early in the morning?"
"She came. Hey, come on."
Taiga headed towards the front door while pulling Fuyukis hand and opened the door.
"Yahoo〜! Good morning you two〜!"
"...Rucchan?"
The one who greeted them with a big smile on her face was Saionji Rui. Her chestnut fluffy hair bounced, emitting an aura as bright as the sun.
"Then Rui, I leave the rest to you."
"Yeah, leave it to me. Thats why... lets go Fuyuki!"
"Eh?"
Suddenly Rui grabbed Fuyukis arm and pulled her outside by force. Significantly weaker Fuyuki did her best to protest and at least wear shoes.
"Rucchan?! Whats this all of a sudden?!"
"Then Taiga, well be back before dinner!"
"Have fu—"
"Before that explain——no, Rucchan dont pull me Ill walk on my own!"
"Come outside first〜"
She suddenly pulled the confused Fuyuki towards the elevator, and the door was closed. Their voices slowly faded and silence came.
"...now, lets get to work."
He returned to the dive room and immediately started preparations to start the Arclight.
It was absolutely necessary to dive alone today.
"——Dive start."
The moment he said those words his consciousness dived into the paradise consisting of electrons.
After a moment of light-headedness, Taiga stood in the middle of the gra.s.sland that was the starting point.
"This place... it really is huge."
According to Ruis explanation he heard last night, people who connect for the first time will always appear in here. But, how many people could it hold. He thought it was wide enough to hold several hundred people at the same time.
"Now, I wonder if shes here——oh, there she is."
Just as planned, no, he found the person he wanted to see earlier than expected. Taiga smiled because he was very lucky.
"...I was prepared to wait for half a day, its really my lucky day."
His line of sight was focused on the silver-haired girl who manipulated windows just like the day before. She was startled and had a surprised expression.
"Hey, we meet again."
"Ah... umm... the person I met yesterday?"
A girl wearing a dress unsuitable for Aries——Karasuba Shio stared at him puzzled. Taiga approached her not minding it and looked at the window from the side.
"Are you still struggling with the difficult settings?"
"...y-yes."
Although it seemed like she tried various things, she still couldnt get past them. She didnt contact the management, it was convenient for Taiga. Thanks to that he could easily enter a conversation with her.
"Sorry for suddenly logging out yesterday. Although I can only say sorry, but do you want me to teach you how to set up the default settings? Ive learned it earlier."
"Eh...? Is that okay?"
"That was my intention from the beginning. Also——Im interested since you are Fuyukis acquaintance."
The moment she heard that name Shio made a long face. It seemed like she wasnt just an acquaintance.
"For the time being let me introduce myself. Im Tenryo Taiga, Fuyukis brother."
"Hime-chans onii-san...?"
Shio looked at Taigas entire body suspiciously and in the end she stared at his sky blue eyes.
"Oh you really are, your eye colour is identical."
Their pupils had a very rare colour. Even though the siblings didnt look much alike, it was clear with just that much.
"I see. Hime-chans name was originally Tenryo..."
Mixed feelings swirled in Shios pupils as she murmured that.
After catching her interest Taiga continued.
"Then, are you going to take me up on my offer?"
"...I would be really thankful but, is it fine with Onii-san?"
"I dont mind at all——also, by Onii-san you mean me?"
"Yup. Because youre Hime-chans Onii-san right?"
He wondered about being called like that. But if Shio was fine with that, he didnt want to force her to change it. It was a little embarra.s.sing, but it wasnt all that bad.
Even though Shios fear of strangers was on Fuyukis level judging by the glare she gave him, she was surprisingly sociable or rather he felt that she was more open-minded. Maybe it was thanks to the conversation they had yesterday, or because he was Fuyukis brother.
Anyway, it seems like a good start.
He continued to shorten the distance that way.
"You can call me what you like. Ah, also Im going to teach you now how to set-up the default settings.
This is the recommended setting for people who are poor at athletics."
"...eh? Why do you know Im bad at it?"
"I can tell that much just by looking at you."
Not only he could tell if someone was poor at exercising, but could also measure their physical ability just by looking at their arm and leg muscles.
Shio was about the same as Fuyuki, maybe a little worse. It would be hard for her to suddenly play or have a battle in a structure like that.
"...I didnt have time to spare for exercises."
She didnt have time to exercise——these words caught his attention a little, but it wasnt time to pursue their meaning.
"Then about the setting? Can you show me how to fight too?"
"If you want to, then yeah."
"...Onii-san, do you know about me and Hime-chan?"
"Nope, not at all. I dont want to stick my neck into a problem between the two of you, I have no intention of doing that. That would be meddling."
Hearing that, Shio closed her eyes to think for a moment.
Honestly, it might have been a pointless act done by Taiga. He wont learn anything about Shio with this, and it wont cheer Fuyuki up.
He just couldnt leave her alone like that. But with her crippled smile, she looked similar to his little sister.
"...then, just for a moment Ill be intruding on you."
Like that, a strange pair has formed for a limited amount of time.
"Umm, this goes here and this here———oh, its starting its starting."
He fiddled with the open window based on his memory of what Rui taught him, another window expanded and an artificial voice announced.
〈"Welcome to 《Aries》 structure managed by the Kiritou Group. From now on you shall become inhabitants of this world and hunt monsters during your adventures."〉
A promotional video briefly describing mechanisms of 《Aries》 was played. On a dozen number of screens were displayed all kind of weapons.
〈"Now, please pick your attack-configured program. If you have prepared one yourself, then skip this step. Also, together with this initial armament, your costume will also be changed automatically."〉
The weapon that could be chosen were: two handed swords, one handed swords, shields, bows, knives, hammers, spears, j.a.panese swords. There were also minor weapons like tonfas or kusarigamas.
"I have to choose from those? Theres so many that Im lost..."
"Do you have any experience using these... theres no way you do, is there."
"Yup."
"Then, between short and long range which one youd like better?"
"...long range."
There were several ranged weapons from relatively major ones like bows and crossbows to things like chakrams, there were also weapons not even Taiga touched before. Aries was really dreadful.
"For the time being lets try the bow. ...ah, it seems like I can pick a secondary weapon."
"Then you should pick a melee weapon. One with small reach should be fine. Shio wouldnt be able to swing a long one properly, right?"
After selecting a dagger as her secondary weapon, a blue light wrapped around Shio.
Light particles flocked and covered Shios virtual body. When the phosph.o.r.escence disappeared her outfit completely changed.
"Oh—...you look like a hunter."
She wore a stunning hunter costume. Taiga didnt know, but the costume had an elven motif.
Probably to better conceal in the woods (or at least that was the setting) it was mostly green.
Her shoulders were bare for her upper bodys ease of movement and her thighs were exposed. But it wasnt excessive exposure, on her right leg she had a knee-sock, on her left she had a belt holding the dagger.
"This is somewhat... weird outfit. And its pretty risqué too..."
"Nono, that much is still alright. You look pretty good in it."
Although the costume gave her a flexible and graceful image, but strangely it didnt feel like a mismatch. Rather than that, coupled with her pure white skin and silver hair it added to her mysterious atmosphere.
Shio turned around to check her own appearance, on her back there was a rugged bow, something she had never seen in her everyday life. She stared at it.
And then, something out of place appeared on the edge of her field of view. Floating ten meters away was a plate with circles drawn on it.
"You have to shoot that, probably."
"Eh? ...thats impossible. Ive never done it before, theres no way Ill hit something so small."
"Just try it for the time being. Well discuss it later."
"B-but theres no arrow——"
The moment she said that an arrow appeared on Shios palm. At the same time 〈"The arrow is automatically generated by the image."〉 sounded an announcement which cut off her escape route.
"Looks like theres one. Come on, lets challenge."[1]
"Uuu... Onii-san is high-handed..."
The window displayed an arrow being shot, still reluctant Shio set up the arrow to mimic the video. She adjusted her aim, targeting the plate and released the hand that was holding the feather.
Propelled by the stretched string, the arrow vigorously launched forward penetrating the target——......no such thing. Instead it flew only few meters ahead and hit the ground.
"...well, something like that."
Although Shio tilted her neck, Taiga thought it was an obvious result.
There wasnt enough force put into pulling the arrow, even if the aim was good. But it wouldnt fly far, it was surprising it flew that much.
I thought it would immediately fall down... it seems like theres support.
Enemies were monsters, a target that was moving around.
Perhaps for people like Shio right now, who cant hit the stationary target there is a system that augments the flying distance of the arrows and allows anyone to handle a bow easily with little practice.
"Shio, put more strength into your arm as you pull it, it wont fly otherwise."
"Even if you say that, Im not that strong..."
"No such thing. It might be true in the real world, but this is Elysion. The muscle strength required is minimal and everything else is provided, as long as you have a clear image youll be able to do anything."
Taiga remembered his conversation with Rui the night before.
———Then can a girl who is as weak as Fuyuki play it?
———No problem. If original physical strength doesnt reach the average value, its automatically corrected. Its improved to the level of an average highschooler or so.
"To have your arrow fly straight you need an image in your head. If you do that, you will be able to tell how much strength is required, its easy to sense it. And then, well, just believe. Believe in the fact that you can do it."
"Believing might be the hardest but... Ill try."
Shio created another arrow, slowly took a deep breath and made a proper posture. And then——
"Fuu!"
After a short pause, she shot it.
Unlike the weakly flying arrow from earlier, the arrow flew at a fast pace. But the aim was off and it hit the ground like the previous one.
"A pity. If your aim didnt go off the moment you shoot, it wouldve hit."
"...it looks like its impossible for me after all."
He thought that for a while, but rather than Shio being mentally weak, it was her evaluating herself too low.
That was what caused her to fail, a negative spiral that further made her lose confidence.
We have to change that first I guess.
Fortunately, Taiga was a pro when it came to handling weapons. He could teach her a lot.
"Then, the next opponent will be a monster."
"Eh? And what about that target?"
"We leave it. When youre targeted by a monster it wont be just standing in place."
"B-but suddenly real combat is..."
"Its all right, itll be fine. It was the same for me. The monster over here is disgusting so if you dont defeat it before it approaches you, something horrible is going to happen you know〜?"
"Awawa... s-stop!! Let me rest for a moment——"
"Theres no need for that. Now, lets go—!"
Taiga took Shios hand and pulled her to the forest.
Part 3
At about the same time as Taiga and Shio proceeded through 《Aries》.
On the terrace of a Café near New Citys main station were the figures of Rui and Fuyuki.
"Yahaa— as usual, the sandwiches here are really delicious—"
It was slightly late to call it a breakfast since it was nine oclock. While Rui was wearing a perfectly coordinated outfit with a high amount of exposure and ate lightly, Fuyuki was eating like a hamster, taking small bites.
"Fuyuki, arent you hungry? Thats no good〜 you need to eat breakfast properly."
"...its about time you said whats the purpose of this. Why did you bring little sister outside?"
"Nn? Thats because we havent played together just the two of us lately you know? Lately Taigas been with us the entire time."
Rui gave her an answer with a blank expression causing Fuyuki to sigh. At a single glance it was clear she was plotting something, considering the way her brother acted in home it seemed like he was part of it too.
Seriously, what a meddlesome pair.
It seemed like she really made them worry.
"I understand. Ill take that as the truth for now. Do you have anything planned?"
"Fooling around until sunset, that is all!"
"In other words no plan is it."
Fuyuki was amazed by her best friends haphazard declaration.
"Well, its not like I dont have a plan at all? I thought I could pick some clothes for Fuyuki."
"Clothes... is it?"
"Yup. Fuyuki has a lot of similar clothes right? You need some variation when it comes to clothes!"
"Little sister already told you before, that shes not familiar with something like that."
To be precise, she didnt have a need to worry about clothes up until now.
She was alone in a small laboratory, immersed in work every day. She was fine with any clothes. The only clothes she owned were the ones she took from home when she ran away, she knew nothing about fashion and trends.
"Its a shame because youre so cute. For girls, fashion is a weapon you know?"
"Haa... a weapon."
"Thats right. And its not just to appeal to boys, its also important to care about it when among girls. Fuyuki looks good no matter what she wears, think about it. Dont you think if you were to wear the same clothes you usually do when going on a date with Taiga, there would be no freshness?"
"Muu... that might be right."
As expected, when her brother name was mentioned she could no longer ignore it.
Because she had a date promised before the Grim Reaper incident last week, it wouldnt hurt to pick some battle clothes now.
"Then its decided. Lets go at once!"
"I appreciate it, but is that fine with Rucchan? Isnt Rucchan a rival that competes with me for Brother?"
Just like Fuyuki, Rui was also attracted to Taiga. Thats what she herself had declared last week.
Since they were competing with each other, she didnt expect Rui to cheer her on actively——
"Nn〜 before being my rival, Fuyuki is my friend. And if my friend wants to look cute for a person she likes, Ill gladly help her."
Hearing Rui say such a thing with a big smile, Fuyuki sighed once again.
"Haa. Thats right, Rucchan is that kind of person."
"Thats the person I am. Come on, eat up and lets go〜"
The two girls resumed their breakfast while basked in warm sunlight.
"You shot down 73 of them, are you used to it yet?"
"...if thats all I do Ill get used to it even if I dont want to."
On the other hand, the two inside Elysion finally left the forest.
He left the countless monsters they encountered along the way (or rather lured them at her) to the silver-haired girl and as a result, her skill with a bow improved in a short while. Since Shios opponents were all disgusting monsters, her mood worsened significantly.
She got used to moving in cyber world and was able to defeat the enemies they encountered with room to spare.
Then after an hour of walking through the forest the two finally reached the exit.
"Why is there a gate at the forests exit?"
"No idea. Its probably the creators hobby. Even so, it is a ridiculously huge gate."
The two of them stopped by the forests exit and looked up the huge gate. Ahead of them was a cliff, and there was no other route that could be used.
And, as the two of them waited, a large window emerged in front of the gate.
〈"『Forest of Silence』 completed, congratulations. If you proceed, the tutorial will be finished. If you journey to a new location, adjusting your equipment will be left to your own discretion and youre free to do as you please."〉
As the voice message finished, the heavy gate slowly opened.
〈"Now then, please enjoy your second life in 《Aries》."〉
Beyond the door there was only light. It simply seemed fantasy-like.
"...shall we go?"
"...yes."
They looked at each other and took a step towards the light at the same time.
〈"——Move"〉
Immediately after that he experienced something he felt many times before, it was as if his entire body was being twisted.
When they were able to distinguish colours again, rather than being surrounded by lush and dense forest vegetation, they were right in the middle of a city crowded by people.
"Waa〜"
Unconsciously, Shio raised a voice of admiration. Taiga reacted similarly in the past, he looked at the unfolding spectacle with a surprised expression.
It was a strange place completely different from cities in the real world.
The first thing that entered their vision was the abundance of nature. There were rivers running throughout the entire city, non-existing in reality, trees that emitted seven colours of light arranged all over. The buildings were fitting for the world, and were fashionably build out of stone.
In the square where the two were, there was a fountain that ejected water high up in the air, giving birth to an arched rainbow. On top of it, there were several people.
It was a town filled with fantasy.
"...I thought I wasnt into fantasy settings but this is somewhat extraordinary."
Taiga muttered, overwhelmed by the sight of the city.
As he looked up, there was a huge rock floating in the sky and there was a spiral that connected to the building on top of it. Unconsciously he thought that it went beyond common sense.
It seemed to be quite a big city, according to the map he expanded from his terminal they seemed to be in the citys centre. On the upper corner of the map there was its name written, 《Central District, Central Kadora》.
And with that, a single question appeared.
"So, what do I do now?"
According to the announcement at the gate, the tutorial was already over. There will be no more guidance.
"It said do as you please is what it said but..."
"Lets catch someone and ask. Wait a moment."
The two beginners couldnt make any progress alone.
Since it was impossible for Shio who was scared of strangers, Taiga told her to wait and after choosing a person he started to gather information.
On the other hand, Shio who was waiting for Taiga was looking around.
What entered her field of view were objects made with transparent ores and trees glowing in seven different colours, they were things that didnt exist in the real world.
But they werent the only thing that caught Shios attention. Even ordinary boulevards bustling with people and the noisy atmosphere were the first experience for her, who was always confined in the mansion.
"Theres a lot of people here... I wonder if all cities are like that."
From the middle of the main street, Shio continued to look at the city around her.
With her pure white skin and revealing clothes Shio stood out. But she was carried away by the sight of the city and didnt care about her surroundings.
Thats why she didnt notice people that started to stare at her, that was also why she wasnt aware of people flocking to her.
"Eh, what is it...——ah!!"
Absorbed while looking forward at a huge tower in the distance, Shio took a step forward and collided with a man next to her who wore black clothes on his entire body. She fell on her b.u.t.t and immediately tried to apologize——
"...to stand in my way, what a foolish little girl."
Hearing the mans words, her heart groaned.
It was just an accident. It was just a little incident that should have ended with a single apology.
But the mans eyes, they looked down on her as if she was an insect, those pupils roused memories from depths of her heart.
"Aaa...aa..."
——Why are you so incompetent.
The words her father said to her while having the same look in his eyes, haunted her in the form of auditory hallucinations.
"A bow from the initial equipment... hmph, a newbie. Weak small fries like you shouldnt tempt fate and watch how you walk. Youre an eyesore."
The mans att.i.tude was abnormally overbearing. He thought of himself as absolute.
As she heard more of his offensive speech and att.i.tude, the more her emotional scars opened.
The surrounding people were just looking at it from a distance.
"Hey, look that guys the A-rank..."
"Yeah, its Tok.u.ma... better not to get involved, lets go."
And with that, none dared to meddle between the two of them.
The ranting man who was standing in front of terrified Shio clicked his tongue.
"...tch. Hey, are you listening——"
"Yes, thats enough."
The man extended his hand towards Shio, and then Taiga grabbed his hand and entered separating them.
"Who the f.u.c.k are you."
"Im with this girl. This is enough. Youre going too far, she only b.u.mped into you."
Taiga released his hand and crouched. He sandwiched Shios cheeks between his two hands as she repeated "Im sorry, Im sorry." with an empty look in her eyes and made an eye contact.
"Shio, look over here. ——Shio!"
"...O...Onii...-san...?"
"Are you all right? Come on, stand up."
As he gradually raised the volume of his voice, Shios eyes finally noticed Taiga. And as he attempted to take her hand to help her rise, the rude man reached towards her again.
"Wait, that woman still has to——ghu?!"
"——Cut it out you b.a.s.t.a.r.d."
Taiga grabbed his hand again and squeezed it with enough force to crush his wrist.
He cast him a glare, releasing his caged blood l.u.s.t causing the man to unconsciously step backwards. And when the man noticed that fact, his expression turned furious.
"You b.a.s.t.a.r.ds... mere insects like you think you can stand against me!"
The man shook off Taigas hand and put it on a sword he had by his waist. At the same time Taiga placed his hand on the nodachi. Thats when a man came out from the audience.
"Leave it at that, Tok.u.ma. If you pull out a sword in the city, even if youre an A-rank I wont remain silent. Babel is close too, should I call someone from the management?"
"...tch!"
After hearing those words, the man called Tok.u.ma clicked his tongue and walked away after giving Taiga and Shio a dreadful glare.
After Tok.u.ma disappeared in the crowd, the man whispered to Taiga.
"The two of you stand out too much. Its better if you leave as soon as possible."
"...looks like it."
Wondering what happened, people started to gather around them. It didnt seem like things would settle down like that.
Taiga said his thanks to the man, took Shios hand and quickly left the spot.
Part 4
After walking through the main street for five minutes they entered a small pa.s.sage, and finally caught a breath.
"You should be able to calm down here, right...? Shio, are you all right?"
"Y-yes... thank you, Onii-san."
As Shio fixed her breathing, Taiga thought about the previous incident.
The man from before, he was called Tok.u.ma... an A-ranker, hes also a qualification holder isnt he. He had a seriously screwed-up personality.
One of the strongest guys in the Aries, there was only a hundred of them among the players. A player thats allowed to go on suppression missions against viruses——thats a qualification holder.
"His arrogance probably comes from that..."
"? Onii-san, what do you mean by that?"
"That Tok.u.ma guy, he thinks he can bully weaker people just because hes strong. Seriously, to think thats the reason he acts so bossy. How ridiculous."
A brute that immersed himself in the sense of superiority in his small world——there were people like that in Renjou as well. To think there were people like that in this game.
"...isnt that normal?"
Suddenly, Shio muttered that.
"Mm? What did you say?"
"——Isnt it obvious that weak people are going to be treaded upon? At least for me, it reminded me of Hime-chan."
Hidden in those words was a strong feeling contradicting her tone.
What kind of past did she have to be able to say words like that. As if it was an absolute truth, Shio stared at Taiga with a cold look in her eyes.
Taiga was at a loss, not knowing how to answer.
Those words were definitely related to the problem between Shio and Fuyuki. Thats why he couldnt find an appropriate answer. He fixed his breathing, and just when he attempted to answer Shio,
Thats when a ringtone was emitted from his terminal. The callers name was——Kiritou Haya.
"What now, at a time like this... Shio, go towards that big tower over there. Ill catch up soon."
"That spiral tower?"
"Yeah. Thats where you can go through rank-up procedure. So go ahead and leave me for a moment."
"Okay, I got it."
With that said, Shio started walking towards the giant tower that was piercing the sky. He sent her off and didnt try to hide his displeased look as he accepted the call.
"Yes yes, Tenryo here——"
〈"Youre slow!! Pick it up faster!!"〉
That moment, he thought his eardrums died.
〈"When you see its a call from me you should answer immediately!! I dont have time to spare——Taiga, why are you blocking your ears?"〉
"You ask...why...seriously Haya...dont shout...with your volume...set at max..."
What rushed into his ears was no longer a voice, it was bombardment made with sound. It was probably because it was set to maximum, but the sound exceeded even the Grim Reapers sonic attack and it still resounded in his bones, his visibility shook as well.
"Ah—s.h.i.t... a sound this loud completely stunned me..."
"...are you all right?"
Taiga stood up while ignoring the sound still ringing in his head and looked at the window displaying the caller again.
"So, what is it?"
〈"Oh, yeah. Taiga, do you have any time to spare?"〉
"No, theres something I have to do——"
〈"You dont have time? Then find some. Or rather, make some time for me right now."〉
"Isnt that kind of unreasonable?!"
〈"I wont accept a negative answer or complaints. Ive stuff piled up and I dont have enough time."〉
Not enough time——after hearing those words he noticed big bear-like circles under Hayas eyes that and that her complexion was worse than before.
"Hey Haya. When was the last time you slept?"
〈"A lot of work has piled up. I dont have time to sleep."〉
She worked both as the schools student council president and as a researcher affiliated with the Kiritou Group. Just that was enough of hard work, but now Haya had more work forced on her. Indeed, she might not have time to sleep.
"...make sure to secure some sleep time. At this rate youll pa.s.s out."
〈"Thanks for your advice. I do have intentions of adjusting it. ——Actually theres work I want you to do that involves Aries."〉
"Is it fine if I do it?"
〈"Even though I said its work, its just an investigation. Ill send you details via mail so make sure to check it."〉
"Wait wait. I didnt say Ill do it——"
〈"Ooh. If Taiga takes this off my shoulders, Ill be able to take a break〜 But if a certain someone refuses, Ill have to stay up all night again〜"〉
"Guh..."
With a proud look on her face that was her specialty, she cut in the middle as Taiga spoke. He was the one who told her to secure some sleep time. If he refused here he would turn out to be a man whos only good at talking.
〈"Then, I leave it to you—♪ "〉
In the end she made a wicked smile right before the window disappeared.
Taiga made a huge sigh. Its been only two weeks since they met, but Hayas insolence was getting worse.
"What am I, an errand boy?"
Originally, the one acting as her helper was the AI ・Iora. But it seemed like she was allowed to act freely to learn about society. It was enviable, to be released from that tyrant.
And, another sound came from the terminal. It should be the mail Haya spoke about earlier.
"Umm... and the content is... whats this?"
The first word that he noticed after expanding the text was———Angel.
He didnt want to read it, but since it was sent to him, he could no longer ignore it. He looked through it reluctantly.
To summarize briefly contents of the job.
For a week now, it seemed like a program of an unknown origin was circling around the structures Kiritou operated. It didnt seem problematic in itself, but it seemed that this program disrupted the game system, it was viewed as a potential danger by Kiritou and they started an investigation.
And the author of the program called himself Angel.
The work was to collect information on Angel. The program was scattered all over the structures, and Taiga was in charge of 《Aries》, or so it seemed.
This work, it seems like something an underling would do...
He didnt know whether it was forced on her or she picked it by herself, but it seemed like she couldnt be picky with her jobs.
"...Ill ask while Im touring around with Shio. Even so, 『Angel』 eh. Thats just like the Grim Reaper, it seems like this world is full of stories like that."
He murmured that happily, and started to walk towards the spiral.
——A huge tower located in the middle of 《Aries》, 《The management tower》 known as 《Babel》. It was a facility players often use, the only place you can access the management from within structure. This was the place the rank-ups were performed and also the place where you could buy attack-configured programs, it was possible to perform various procedures inside.
"Welcome to the management tower. How can I help you?"
When Taiga stepped into the towers interior, one of the women standing at the entrance called out to him.
She had green hair that nearly reached the ground and was very beautiful. There were ten women with cold smiles on their faces, no, to be exact there were ten bodies.
AI...MR-7 was it?
It seemed like that was how Fuyuki called them. Although it was a humanoid drone with mechanical body at that time. It could do both housework and office work, it was used for a variety of ch.o.r.es and matters such as reception, it seemed to be used in many areas.
"A person should have been here a while ago. Her name was Shio, she probably wanted a rank-up."
"Please wait a moment, the person in question was directed to the thirty-third practice field after finishing the procedure. If it pleases you, shall I guide you?"
"Please."
Taiga followed the AI that went ahead and began to climb the spiral staircase.
There was free s.p.a.ce on every floor, they were places the players used to chat. The further he went the amount of players increased.
"What is up there?"
"The Arena is located on the top floor. Its a place where players can compete against each other under the variety of conditions, anyone can partic.i.p.ate."
"An arena... Ill go and take a look after I collect some information."
After a few minutes, he arrived in front of the door that was marked with number 33, the female AI bowed and left. Taiga opened the door and heard a noise of something cutting through the air coming from inside.
He recognized the sound of an arrow.
The released arrow hit the centre of the target located twenty metres away and exploded with a small popping sound.
"Youve improved a lot. Its completely different from when you first entered."
As he called out, Shio trembled for a moment and then slowly looked behind. It might have been because of the conversation before, but she had a dark expression.
"...the performance augmentation was improved because I became a D-rank, thats all. Its not a real strength."
"Not all of it is fake. Shios aim is improving right?"
"...is...that so... Did Onii-san rank up as well? The condition is to break through that forest and come to the city, so did Onii-san also become a D-rank?"
"No, I want to stay as I am for now."
I would become weaker instead——is what he refrained himself from saying.
For Taiga who had an abnormal physical ability far beyond a normal persons, the system that was augmenting players ability would bring the opposite effect. If his nerve connections were disconnecting after he got serious as an E rank, that meant there was no point in increasing it.
"Then, were going outside already?"
"About that, theres a place I want to visit. Do you mind if we take a detour?"
"Since youve been helping me out this entire time I dont mind it at all. Ah, but itll be lunchtime soon."
"Then we can take a break. Lets meet here in an hour."
Taiga opened the window to start the log-out process. What should I eat〜 as he thought of Masters cuisine, he heard a faint voice.
"...dont you want to know about my and Hime-chans relationship?"
A quiet, barely audible murmur.
He knew Shio would eventually ask that question, Taiga answered quietly.
"Ive told you at the beginning right. I wont ask you about it. Its something between you and her, thats something the two of you need to solve amongst each other... am I wrong?"
"...theres no need to solve anything... nothing at all."
After saying that, Shio returned to the real world.
"...looks like it wont be easy."
Taiga who was left behind sighed in secret, and followed her logging out as well.
Translators Notes and References
↑ He says here "lets challenge" in English.