The demon king village was a tranquil place that was surrounded with splendid wooden fence. The entrance that depicted a lovely arch could be seen as casually conveying the will 「We greatly welcome other people than villager too」 of the village chief.
As for its scale it was about twice as big as the village of beginning. There might be around three hundred people living there. There was a conspicuously large tower at the middle of the village, a cross was attached at its summit. Surely that was the church. That was Yue and Kaori’s destination.
But, they wouldn’t be able to reach there that easily. There was one reason for that.
Because the demon king village’s village chief-san and four heavenly king-san were standing in their way with a somewhat awesome atmosphere!
「I won’t let you two lay your hand on the village. Criminal Yue-pon and accomplice Kaori. You can choose, will you surrender obediently, or get punched flying.」
The village chief who was meaninglessly emitting pressure GOGOGOGO- on the back of the gallant black dragon was saying that. It seemed in order to protect the villagers, the chief village was planning to punish the two criminals scheming bad thing right here.
It seemed the village chief of demon king village was treasuring his village and villagers.
The black dragon cried 「Gu~ruru♪」 in agreement looking like she was somewhat having fun. The rabbit eared girl fluttered her rabbit ears fuaasaa-, and the pink ranger……the pink ranger was standing still without even a twitch. It was as though she was saying 「I want to be a shellfish」.
All of them were in a really motivated state!
Yue stared at the fearlessly grinning village chief and for a moment she showed a gesture as though thinking of something, and a beat later, she rolled up her sleeves completely looking as though she wanted to say 「Just bring it on~」 while returning back a fearless smile.
Seeing Yue walking forward, Kaori stopped her in panic.
「Geez-, Yue. Why are you that belligerent since we came here! There is an option of surrendering here, and by any chance perhaps we will be able to go to the church without fighting isn’t it?」
「…………Fuh」
「Just now, why did you laugh? Heey, why did you laugh I wonder? I wonder?」
Kaori’s Hannya-san almost came out looking at Yue scornful laugh that was making fun of her, but there she swallowed back her anger with an effort and she cleared her throat while pulling herself together. And then, she faced the village chief and opened her mouth.
「Err, Haji――not, village chief-san. If we surrender can you let us go to the church? If possible, we don’t to fight……」
For the moment, Kaori attempted to negotiate in accordance with the game’s setting but,
「…………Fuh」
「Just now, why did you laugh? Heey, Hajime-kun. Just now, why did you laugh I wonder!?」
She was laughed at scornfully and made fun of with an expression that was exactly like Yue. Kaori-san was enraged with her forehead sporting a blood vein.
「No negotiation against criminal. Death or Destroy-! That is the international common sense!」
「The village chief of a remote village talking about international common sense is……」
Kaori became despondent when she heard the unhesitating declaration of the village chief-san.
「……Kaori. Stop being so unsightly by trying to negotiate after this late. We are criminal! Blowing up anyone who stand in our way and devoting ourselves to plunder until exhaustion are our duty!」
「I don’t think that I’m someone so nasty to the level of a defiant criminal. Or rather, can you stop casually saying
we
to include even me as a criminal I wonder!? After all it’s Yue who is the culprit for all the charges isn’t it!?」
Kaori’s straight-man act was well executed. However, Yue-sama paid it no mind. She took a step forward and held up one hand forward, then her fingertip bent and made a challenging gesture as though to say ‘come and get me’.
Ignoring Kaori who was holding her head, the members of demon king village also showed their motivation in respond to the provocation.
But, there, the rabbit eared girl came forward alone.
「Chief-sama. Chief-sama himself doesn’t need to be troubled only to keep company bunches of this level. I’ll take care of them. Together with pink ranger!」
「!?」
It was the common pattern. For some reason pink ranger turned her head to the rabbit eared girl in a flash with an air as though to say 「Eh, me too!?」 though.
「Hou, not a bad idea. Then I’ll leave it to the rabbit ear and pink ranger. Teach them that the nicknames 『Or rather, this girl cannot get hit with bullet though, seriously. This buggy rabbit』 and 『The most wicked urban legend of the empire』aren’t just for show.」
「Roger desuu! ……Eh, just now, was I nonchalantly got dissed?」
「……」
The rabbit ear girl reflexively stopped moving and looked back, while pink ranger was covered with dark cloud absentmindedly as though she was remembering a black history. The village chief sent a brief glance at such two before the black dragon flew to the sky with him still riding it. It seemed that he would treat himself with being a spectator from up high.
The rabbit ears and pink ranger pulled themselves back together and they each took out a huge war hammer and black katana and they took their stance.
From looking it seemed that pink ranger wasn’t motivated, but the strength of these two was the authentic article. From the point of view of Kaori who thoroughly knew that, it made her got cold sweat that they were fighting these two in this condition where they had no number advantage.
Naturally her expression stiffened while she pulled out Gram and Ama no Murakumo no Tsurugi.
「These are, powerful enemies.」
No reply came against Kaori’s words. In exchange what could be heard was 「Sooi」 a stupid voice of throwing something. What was flying was a super compressed flame bullet the size of a fist. The speed was as fast as a bullet in contrast with that throwing voice.
「How cheeky desuuu――uu?」
The rabbit eared girl must be trying to sent it flying with her war hammer attack. The rabbit eared girl faced the flame bullet and launched a horizontal full swing.
But, the flame bullet showed an unexpected movement there. It put on the emergency brakes and the next instant it flew high to the sky.
The rabbit eared girl unconsciously showed an astonished expression wondering ‘Just where could she be aiming at?’, but right after that, her expression became twitching.
「Eh, ah, wait, Yue!?」
Kaori’s uneasy voice resounded, but leaving that aside, the flame bullet drastically angled down and changed its trajectory even further and it quickly hit the target.
Grand explosive sound reverberated, a terrific fire pillar rose up.
――From a corner of the village
It felt like the time of the world stopped. Both the rabbit eared girl and the pink ranger, and the even the black dragon and the village chief, they were looking at the flame blast behind them with widely opened mouth. Naturally, Kaori was also the same. Screams were resounding from the village.
「……Fumu. Although this is a game, but even in a boss fight the village isn’t turned into immortal object or no entry zone.」
A voice that sounded profoundly understanding, and lovely, and in a certain sense terrifying was resounding in the area excessively clearly.
Kaori who returned to her senses with a ‘hah’ made a grand straight-man retort without even hiding her convulsing face.
「Wha wha wha wha, what are you doing Yue!? Are you stupid!? Do you want to die!? This sister-san with a screw loose!」
「……Calm down Kaori. I only blew up a corner of the village a bit.」
「That wasn’t a bit! You cannot throw away your ethics just because this is a game you know!? If you don’t stop this, I’ll get seriously angry here!」
Kaori raised an angry yell ‘Ugaa――’ that was unlike her, however, Yue shrugged her shoulders as though wanting to say 「good grief this little girl」. A pulsing blood vein emerged on Kaori’s forehead. Hannya-san was standing by~.
With a gentle expression, Yue started to explain kindly, carefully, and thoroughly as though she was talking with a dull-witted child.
「……Are you listening, Kaori? No matter what kind of time and situation it is, it’s no good unless you are thinking from the view point of your opponent.」
「At the very least, I understand really well the rage of the villagers who suddenly got bombed.」
Yue-san beautifully ignored Kaori’s retort. She pointed her index finger straight up and began lecturing. Kaori was directing a fixed glare that was at the same level of Yue. As for the village chief followed by the four heavenly kings, they were also listening carefully in interest.
「……Even if it’s a demon king that show up in a game, but why is he fighting? What is his objective?」
「Eh? That’s……if it’s normally then it’s to conquer the world, something like that? In order to become a ruler is the royal road isn’t it?」
「……Exactly. In order to obstruct that, the hero and his party will try to defeat the demon king. Sometimes they will do illegal entry into civilian’s home, they will rummage around as they please, steal, if there is anyone who stand in their way they will murder them even if it’s against their fellow human, in a boss fight they will lynch the single opponent with numbers. Under the name of justice! Under the name of justice-! You are mistaken! I am in the right! Because this is justice!」
「That’s a terrible prejudice……but I cannot say anything seeing I cannot completely deny that.」
Perhaps recalling of someone in the past, pink ranger looked up to the sky.
「Eerr, I don’t dare to believe this but, if it’s for the sake of defeating the village chief of demon king village then doing anything is fine because you are justice――don’t tell me that’s what you want to say?」
「……Do you think I’m a hero? How impolite. Cough-. We are off topic, but in other words what I actually want to say is, fighting from the front is not the only way to exterminate the demon king.」
「Sorry, I completely don’t get what do you want to say.」
‘You still don’t get it……’, Yue-sama lifted up both her hands like westerners in exasperation. Kaori was a child that had self-control. She unconsciously lifted up her Gram but she immediately lowered it back down.
「……If you think from the viewpoint of the demon king, the demon king want the world and that’s why he will fight even the heinous hero squadron alone. Then, in order to win against the demon king without fighting, you just need to erase his reason for fighting.」
「……Yue. Right now, I’m feeling so much goosebumps here. My feeling is like someone who have discovered a madness inside their friend here.」
Kaori who was feeling astonished hugged herself with both hands as though wanting to say that she was looking at a scary person. The rabbit eared girl and pink ranger, and the black dragon were also having the same reaction from hearing this talk. Their expression was like someone who had seen the darkness deep inside the heart of their loved one. Even the village chief-sama was holding his head at his wits end.
Amidst that, Yue created countless explosive super compressed flame bullet while speaking her conclusion with a smug face.
「……The demon king said. I want the world. In that case, it’s fine if the world is just destroyed beforehand.」
See, there wouldn’t be any reason to fight anymore after that right?
Yue puffed up her chest ‘ahem’ with a cute face, but her idea was extremely disturbing. I won’t let you conquer the world! Before you can, I will destroy the world first without fail!
Indeed, the village chief of demon king village said it. ‘I won’t let you two lay your hand on the village’. He fought for that. That was why, if the village was destroyed then he would lose any reason to fight. This was truly a stylish demon king extermination. Crush not the body, but the very purpose itself!
Anyway, first thing first Kaori, rabbit eared girl, pink ranger, and the black dragon, they all simultaneously,
「Yue you demon-!!」
「Yue-san you psychopathhh!!」
「Rather, you are an evil god!」
「The husband is like this, and the wife too!?」
Hurled their straight-man retort.
Yue-sama wouldn’t listen to mere words of the rabble. She floated up with gravity magic, made countless exploding super compressed flame bullets floating around her, and she spread out her hands widely.
She was truly overflowing with majesty like a demon king, with a fearless smile on her lips, and clear sadistic glint in her eyes. Like that she said,
「It’s all peachy if you just win-!!」
Meteor shower rained down to destroy the world(village).
The rabbit eared girl and pink ranger screamed ‘WAAAAAAH’ while running around to intercept the flame bullets, and then the black dragon hurriedly participate in the battle. Seeing them like that, it seemed that it was really as expected that if the village which was a protection target was destroyed then it would be the defeat of the village chief’s side.
「…….Take this and thi~s, and this this and thi~s♪ The village will perish if you don’t try harder you know~. If any of you dodge or charge forward, then I’m sorry but I’ll happily use the opening to destroy the village! Fu-fufu~nofu~~♪」
「Yue-san you fieeend! You bruteee!」
「Aaahm geez-. That’s why I don’t want to do this~~~」
「Oooi, Goshujin-sama! Thy first wife art rampaging here! Do something about it!」
Flame bullets that were carrying terrific power densely approached like a voley of gatling gun, furthermore every single shot was flying randomly following complicated trajectory. If they dodged then the village would be blown up, if they charged forward and the defense line was broken then the village would instantly return to ash.
If Yue used one hit kill attack, the lightning dragon for example to send flying the rabbit eared girl, during that time pink ranger would rush to bring the battle into close quarter combat, but because Yue understood that she attacked with barrage of bullet.
She was merrily firing around like crazy, but the storm of magic she unleashed was delicate and possessed lethal destructive power. It was an artistic special move.
The village chief was going to join into the battle soon, it was at that time,
「Sto, stop screwiiing, AROUN~~~~D!」
「……Nmii!?」
The vertical slash of Gram (flat side) from Kaori-san who was flying in godspeed burst on the crown of Yue’s head. The magic dispersed and Yue fell while making a strange cry. Perhaps she bit her tongue because her hands were pressing on her mouth and her eyes became teary while she was rolling around on the ground.
「……Ka, Kaoriii. What are you doinggg!」
「That’s my line. This is too fiendish! Even though this is a game, but this is still too problematic for a human!」
The black dragon glanced at the village chief. Village chief averted his eyes.
Kaori huffed in anger, but even while in that state she carried Yue who was still teary eyed under her arm.
「Even without doing that, we can still go toward the church without fighting! We can enter the village with my godspeed!」
It seemed Kaori planned to breakthrough using super speed. She was determined to shake off the enemies and slipped into the church.
Yue opened her mouth to say something, but Kaori’s godspeed was invoked faster than that.
This skill that made it possible to shorten the very time to move from point A to point B itself so the user could move in super speed, if it was in a straight line it could surpass even the speed of railgun bullet.
Against this speed that was beyond the pale of the perception ability of living thing in general, it would be beyond anyone’s power to lay their hand on the user without using external aid like magic or artifact, or preparing a special plan beforehand.
Once, even the apostles of that god were unable to even perceive this speed. The cheat of this skill was already proved……
(Eh, no way-)
(……Even though I was going to say that it was impossible)
In this world of godspeed, putting aside Yue who was sticking close to Kaori, any outsider should be unable to perceive her.
With the exception of just one person.
Indeed, pink ranger didn’t even twitch, the focus of the black dragon’s eyes were also still fixed at the spot where Kaori was at before. Though the village chief was looking at far away melancholically, but anyway, he wasn’t following Kaori’s movement.
But, it was only the gaze of the rabbit eared girl――that was following Kaori.
A chill shuddered through Kaori’s body, in that moment the ground under the rabbit eared girl exploded. The rabbit eared girl rapidly approached as though in a frame-by-frame playback!
If this was a race in a straight line where the two started from the same starting point, there was no way for the rabbit eared girl to win against godspeed. But, if it was just cutting into the path of an opponent that was approaching from the opposite side, it wasn’t something impossible.
As though to proof that, when Kaori noticed there was a war hammer’s hitting surface approaching before her eyes.
「Fuwah!?」
Kaori unconsciously raised a strange scream while bending backward like a limbo dance to evade the war hammer. The war hammer passed above her head along with the sound as though the air exploded. Kaori’s expression was twitching grandly.
But, she dodged. She immediately returned her posture from the limbo dance state and without paused she rushed……
A shadow loomed above. Obeying the warning her instinct was ringing at her, Kaori leaped to the side using godspeed. If she escaped forward, she judged that surely she would be hit by shockwave from behind and got blown away.
That was the correct move. It was unclear how, but after Kaori dodged using limbo dance she should have taken distance of several meter in an instant with her godspeed, yet the rabbit eared girl who seemed to have catch up swung down her war hammer from behind Kaori.
The impact smashed the ground and the shockwave surged forward like a tsunami.
It was a bad move for Kaori that her legs unconsciously stopped moving. DOU- When she could hear that sound of the ground exploding, the rabbit eared girl was approaching toward her front with a movement that was exactly like an instant teleportation.
(Godspeed――!?)
Kaori evaded while at the same time moving toward the village without pause. Certainly the rabbit eared girl was fast, but now they were side by side. If she could keep rushing forward toward the village like this, she would be able to shake off the rabbit eared girl. Kaori thought that, but the moment her leg stepped forward to advance, she caught sight of an iron ball approaching right from the side toward the position she would be going to and her legs reflexively stopped.
Just from where in the world it came from? Naturally the rabbit eared girl kicked it out almost at the same time when Kaori stepped forward. The iron ball that moved from the explosive leg strength was already the same like a cannon.
It was natural for Kaori to stop moving from the sense of danger, and then, as long as there was just that one moment it was enough for the rabbit eared girl.
(Ah, this is, no good――)
(……I think it’s pointless though.)
She got caught. Kaori who was convinced so resolved herself and she lifted her hand to use Gram as shield. There, Yue whose aura seemed resigned churned her magic power.
The next moment, Kaori and Yue’s figure vanished and then materialized a few meter ahead.
It was Yue’s instantaneous space teleportation magic
Divine Existence
. Actually the skill was liberated after they got the better of Abyssgate. Although, because the skill was only liberated just now, it was affixed with use limitation and the distance it could possibly travel was around 5~7 meter.
This time too they moved to a spot five meter away from the rabbit eared girl but……
「Eh, Shia is――」
「-, Divine Existence-」
The rabbit eared girl wasn’t at the previous spot, and instantly, a shadow loomed overhead. Yue instantly invoked Divine Existence and teleported further five meter to the side.
And then,
「Whyyy!?」
The rabbit eared girl-san was right before their eyes. The war hammer was raised up.
「Nnn-, Divine Existencee」
More teleport! However, they were circled by the rabbit eared girl.
Further teleport! But rabbit eared girl was beside them!
Desperate teleport! Failed to escape from rabbit eared girl-san!
Even though they should be teleporting completely randomly, it was as though the opponent understood where would they teleport to right from the start, the distance of five meter was instantly filled and they were circled around!
「Ah, I see, it’s Future Sight!?」
「No? I’m not using it you know?」
Kaori pointed out that the method of calculating their current position was using the rabbit eared girl-san’s characteristic magic, but the person herself simply denied that while swinging her war hammer. It was barely dodged using teleport. Although this time there was a slight distance between them, but it didn’t change that their path was blocked and they were circled around.
「Then, how do you know our position!?」
Kaori reflexively asked so, to which the rabbit eared girl-san smiled cheerfully,
「Instinct-!!」
And answered so.
Reacting against a speed that surpassed railgun bullet speed, and calculating the materializing position of instantaneous space teleportation using only instinct before circling around that position.
「……This is the bugged rabbit’s way of doing thing with the bugged rabbit’s characteristic after all.」
The eyes of Yue who was saying that tiredly was looking at far away as though she was escaping reality somewhat.
Kaori had never fought Shia directly. She sometimes saw her training, saw her easily dodging Hajime’s bullet and had easygoing thought ‘how amazing~’, but now that she faced her for real she understood well her dangerousness.
Try to imagine this.
A heavily armored tank that possessed a destructive power that was literally a one hit certain death, able to trickily move around with a speed that could dodge even electromagnetically accelerated bullet. In addition, that tank was equipped with automatic repair function, could jump around until the sky, and able to accurately find enemy position whether they were trying to hide or teleport. To say more, a future prediction would automatically activate in respond to an attack that would directly connect to its death, so surprise attack wouldn’t work at all.
It was a nightmare.
Even that demon king was made to lament like this, 「I don’t want to earnestly fight only against that girl. There is no way to defeat her other than using plan to checkmate her. Or rather, when I accompanied her training before this, Donner’s bullet got caught barehanded by her……now that she doesn’t even need to dodge, just what should I do huh」.
By the way, after that training Hajime was improving his artifact’s specs bit by bit. A demon king that was desperately increasing his strength because he was cornered by his wife……it was really surreal.
「……It’s suicidal to do something like fighting Shia and others in this state where our ability is restricted. That’s why, I thought to checkmate her while the game’s setting is still in effect. And yet, Kaori you stupiiid」
「Uu. But, Yue was just too much of a fiend, that was why……」
If it was Yue in full power going all out then she would still manage somehow against Shia. However, right now she was in a state where finally Divine Existence could be used with limit. It was also difficult to declare that the space magic itself was fully usable.
The point was, it was a situation of
level insufficient to clear the stage
.
However, there was no way the enemies would give anymore opening that would let them make an unavoidable attack by taking the village hostage. The enemies weren’t that naïve that the same method would work more than once.
‘Is this stalemate……’
When Kaori was thinking that, she heard a sigh that leaked out from Yue.
「……I don’t want to use this move though.」
「Eh, you still have some kind of plan?」
The reliable Yue-sama. Kaori’s eyes shined.
「Uh huh」Yue nodded half-heartedly, however, she was making a really lovely smile in contrast of that. It was a lovely smiling face that was sadistically bright.
「……Some time ago, Shizuku secretly tried on frilly gothic Lolita clothes.」
「!?」
The sudden words caused pink ranger to move her face in alert toward Yue as though to say 「How did you!?」. Everyone else were directing their gaze to pink ranger as though to say 「Eh, seriously?」.
「……When it was Shia’s turn for washing laundry, she would sniff Hajime’s laundry once without fail before putting it inside the washing machine.」
「!?」
The rabbit eared girl’s rabbit ears stood up straight as though saying 「How did you!?」. Everyone else were directing their gaze to her as though to say 「Eh, seriously?」.
「……Recently, Tio was starting to write poem.」
「!?」
The black dragon’s eyes opened wide as though to say「How did you?」. Everyone else were directing their gaze to her as though to say 「Eh, seriously?」.
Yue smirked broadly while declaring toward the girls who were like that.
「……I am Yue. The first wife who grasp everything of the wive~s.」
She was implicitly saying, 「If you don’t want the happily embarrassing this and that get exposed even further, you understand what should you do, don’t you?」.
In that place where dead silence had returned, it was pink ranger who made the first move.
She plucked off her own mask and then threw it away strongly toward the ground. And then, she collapsed all of a sudden.
「Pink ranger received critical hit. Pink ranger died.」
She even said such narration by herself.
The rabbit eared girl who saw that was trembling while raising her voice.
「Uu, Yue-san you cowaaard! Fight fairly and squarely desuu!」
The rabbit eared girl pointed sharply with her finger, in respond to that Yue-sama,
「It’s all peachy if you just win-!」
She answered so while puffing up her chest. The rabbit eared girl collapsed spread-eagled on the ground. 「I won’t forget this desuuu」Such curse could be heard from her.
Yue’s gaze caught the black dragon.
「Nu, nuguu……」
The black dragon moaned and hesitated of what to do. Toward such black dragon, Yue-sama averted her gaze a bit, and she spoke with her cheeks slightly reddening.
「……Tio, you was cute. You are really a maiden.」
「Thou read it!? Mine book!?」
「……Honestly, I’m sorry. But, before this you have the previous offense of reading my diary as you pleased, so we are even with this.」
「NuguoOOOOOH, it’s just so embarrassinggg」
The writhing black dragon then laid upside down and used both her front legs to cover both her eyes and then she stopped moving.
「Wha, what violence of words……this is terrible.」
Kaori turned a shuddering expression toward her partner. Rather, an uneasy thought ‘Does she know something embarrassing about me too?’ was descending on her mind.
Yue-sama glanced at Kaori. She smiled pleasantly. Kaori grabbed at Yue while saying「What’s the meaning of your smile!?」, but even when she shook Yue’s body back and forth, Yue was only smiling. Kaori’s unease was only swelling up instead seeing that smile.
「Aa~, somehow this development is completely different from what I imagined……but in a sense, perhaps I should say as expected of Yue?」
The village chief-san finally came out. His voice came from the sky sounding like he was exasperated, but also in admiration, with a really speechless expression filled with complicated feeling.
「……Nn. As expected I cannot fight everyone. It’s only natural that I will aim for a victory without fighting. The leftover strength that I can preserve――can be used to fight Hajime to my heart’s content.」
「Nn? You want to fight me? I completely thought that you will also target me with verbal attack that I’m really staying on guard here though.」
The village chief-san tilted his head in puzzlement, which in respond Yue grabbed Kaori’s hand and she answered.
「……Nn. This is a rare chance, so a battle for the last. I think it’s also fine to test how far can I go in a tag team with Kaori.」
「Eh, Yue?」
Kaori looked at Yue in surprise. Yue turned her gaze toward Kaori and asked 「What do you think?」.
「……Hmm, I guess. We also don’t need to worry about anything
already, let’s go all out for the end!」
「……Nn!」
Yue and Kaori touched their fist at each other in a display of their motivation. Their words caused the village chief to notice that the two had noticed
and he made a wry smile.
Seeing Yue and Kaori who looked like they were having fun as though they were going to participate in the event that would be the last enjoyment of the day after this, the village chief started to manipulate the floating display near his hand.
Yue and Kaori were enveloped in gentle light. Next, two large swords materialized in front of Kaori, they stabbed smoothly into the ground. They were a black demon sword and a white holy sword. They were Kaori’s exclusive artifacts――【Demon Sword of Circle Calamity Anima Ernte】 and 【Holy Sword of Gospel Bel Rexion】.
Yue herself felt her magic power overflowing from her body which became a golden undulation that whirled visibly outside. Her hairs that were fluttering gently and her shining eyes that looked like garnet wordlessly displayed that she was in her perfect state.
「Originally this is a space for training. There is no need for even a shred of reservation or mercy. Well then, let’s play a bit grandly before the dinner.」
jakin What was taken out with such sound was Donner & Schlag. Their form that was emitting crackling sparks was truly ominous.
「Come, sister with a screw loose, and the village chief’s regrettable daughter?」
The provoking words of the demon king village’s chief caused the two to have blood vein pulsing on their forehead and,
「「Bring it on-!!」」
They replied with words that also sounded belligerent.
The stage was the sky.
The village chief who was flying around in the air with crimson ripples spreading from him was cornered by the splendid combination of the villager girl who was flying in godspeed with silver wings spread out, and the apprentice sister who had three layers of halo ring behind her and five heavenly dragons obeying her command.
Meteor shower of bullets streamed like a shower in the sky, giving rise to the profuse blooming of flowers of flame blast.
「Oo, Hajime-san is not just using Cross Velt, he even started using Grim Reapers.」
「Everyone is going at it seriously. Even though they understand that they won’t die, isn’t this a bit too extreme?」
「Sometimes going wild like that art also necessary. After all they couldst not really cut loose in earth.」
Shia and Shizuku and Tio had gathered before anyone knew it. They were watching the battle while sitting on the ground while grasping their knees. They were absentmindedly staring at the battle of the three.
Just as Shizuku said, they wouldn’t die in this space, even so the extremely radical battle caused them the spectators to be in suspense with their heart pounding, but……
They understood from watching.
「……They look like they are having fun.」
「……Right.」
Both Yue and Kaori looked like they were really having fun. On top of that, the combination of the two was harmonizing further into godly level. It was as though they were practicing dancing to the same beat for real, which made anyone who watched would want to shout 「Oooh」 in admiration, the two were exhibiting such artistic techniques and tactics one after another.
Actually, from some time ago Tio had been going 「Ooh, amazing! There! Go!」 completely as a spectator.
But, both Shia and Shizuku seemed to be in a slightly different state,
「……Muu, I will be able to match the rhythm more skillfully there. For Yue-san, doing it like this, like boring inside will be better.」
「……Yue is also too soft there. In that setting Kaori have the habit of going to the right. Even though if it’s me I will be able to do it in the way that makes it easier for Kaori.」
For some reason the two where pouting a bit with an expression that didn’t find the show enjoyable. Perhaps they were jealous toward someone. And from their words it could be easily guessed who was the target of their feeling.
Even while there was a fierce battle going on the sky, the voices of 「Kaori you stupiiid~」, or 「Yue you idiooot~」insulting at each other could be heard from below. Each time they found something to be dissatisfied about from each other’s movement, they would quarrel with each other, but even that quarrel itself looked like they were having fun somehow.
And then, each time Shia and Shizuku saw that, they would pout 「Muu」 again.
「It’s really wonderful that they art getting along well.」
After glancing at Shia and Shizuku, Tio turned her gaze toward Yue and Kaori in the sky. Tio who were looking at both sides in order then whispered with a gentle tone.
A while after that, the showy extreme game continued until the magic power and bullet that were prepared by the setting ran out.
The hazy consciousness surfaced from the pleasant shaking and the voice of their beloved calling their name.
「……Nnu」
「au?」
Yue who opened her eyes slightly absentmindedly looked at the face of Kaori which was in front of her eyes. Kaori was also staring in a daze at the face of Yue who was in front of her.
「……I’m sorry, Kaori. I have no interest of that way.」
「That’s a terrible misunderstanding. I also don’t have an interest of that way. Yue you idiot.」
Perhaps they were slightly half-asleep, it seemed they were thinking that the other was crawling into their bed.
「Don’t sleep talk, wake up.」
When their gaze followed the direction of where the voice came from, there was the figure of Hajime looking down at Yue and Kaori there. The two blinked their eyes repeatedly and then when they looked around, they understood that they were in Hajime’s underground workshop. Not just Hajime, there were also Shia, Shizuku, and also Tio there.
Hajime laughed a bit while talking to the waking up duo.
「There should be no problem, but both of you, do you feel anything strange in your body?」
「……Nn. Nothing particular.」
「Yep, I’m also fine here. ……I see, we came back.」
They had returned from the world game back to reality. Kaori who took in that fact let out a sigh of relieve.
「Yeah, that’s right. I was surprised you know? When I came home, both of you were sleeping in this kind of place, you two wouldn’t wake up, and when I investigated the game was activated.」
「Uu, I’m sorry Hajime-kun. Looks like the game device broke because of our carelessness. When we noticed we were taken in already.」
「Looks like it.」
Hajime shrugged his shoulders to tell her to not mind it. Yue looked over the workshop and asked.
「……As I thought, only Endo was a program?」
Hajime answered positive to that question.
Actually, Hajime, Shia, Shizuku, and Tio who appeared at the end of the game were the same like Yue and Kaori. They were the real people who were diving into the game.
It seemed Yue and Kaori weren’t really conscious of the time, but the time was already evening right now, Hajime who was in the middle of going home accidentally met up with Shizuku who had taken care of her family business and was heading toward the Nagumo residence. The two of them then went home together. Right after that, Tio’s group also returned home.
They woken up the droopy Shia who was still sleeping like a log even when the sun had set, searched for Yue and Kaori who weren’t anywhere and when they tried looking at the underground workshop, they found the two collapsing on the floor.
When they investigated, it became clear that the game device was malfunctioning and taking in the two.
At that point, it was when the two had finished their series of random encounters and were walking on the highway. At that time Hajime was pretty much able to quickly make the two returned to reality if he wanted but,
「Why didn’t you do that then?」
「The two of you looked like you were having a lot of fun. Besides――」
Recently Yue’s use of magic (offense magic instead of handy magic) was remarkably few, perhaps it was because of that her trigger of offense magic inside the game became really light.
When Hajime investigated the game log, he saw that Yue destroyed the church right after she entered the game. Hajime thought that perhaps, was she stressed out from living inconspicuously in earth although it didn’t show up in her surface? Thinking that this was a chance that was hard to come by, Hajime decided to continue the game so Yue could cut loose once in a while.
To say more,
「About this game device, I’m especially paying attention to its safety. That’s why, originally it’s impossible for it to absorb the surrounding people by its own just from it falling a bit. And yet, for it to malfunction and get bugged like this――Kaori, you are the cause.」
「Eh!? Me!?」
「Yes. This is just my guess, but when this device hit you, I think you unconsciously used your disintegration ability at that time. You used it for just an instant, and it was really only a slight activation, but a part of the safety mechanism along with the magic power in it were dispersed because of that.」
「Wa, was that true?」
「Yeah. Even for just an instant but it was still disintegration magic. Even though it was an incident, but you unconsciously activated that kind of atrocious thing, to put it another way your control was sloppy――Kaori, you are too much of a peace idiot.」
「Hauuua!?」
Hajime’s exasperated pointing out caused Kaori to crouch in guilt and shame. Yue poked at her repeatedly while dealing additional blow 「……Kaori is too loose~, your stomach is also too loosee~」. 「My stomach isn’t flabby-」 Kaori objected back in reflex.
And so, in order to disperse Yue’s possible stress, and admonished Kaori’s peace complacency, Hajime used Abyssgate program in order to buy time while he and the others finished their preparation and dived in inside the game.
「Well, though it seemed that Yue saw through that we weren’t program right away.」
「……Nn. Naturally. A program and the real Hajime, there is no way I’ll mistake between the two even just for an instant.」
「Uu, even I noticed it right away.」
By the way, Kaori noticed after she saw Hajime’s reaction against Yue’s violence. Kaori’s expression turned complicated. perhaps she felt vexed of losing against Yue.
Seeing such Kaori, Yue rubbed the salt on the wound once more, Kaori made her rebuttal against that, and then they started going into a fight like usual.
But, there an amused chuckle interrupted them. When the two who were glaring at each other turned their gaze over there, they found the figure of Hajime chuckling with a really pleasant expression looking at them.
「No, really. The two of you get along well huh.」
Even though they were going to start quarrelling for real just now, but why was his impression toward them was like that instead? Yue and Kaori tilted their head in puzzlement, to which Hajime pointed at the hand of the two while saying.
「When you two collapsed, the two of you were hugging each other so strongly as though you two absolutely wouldn’t let go of each other. Look, even now you two are holding hand without any sign of letting go.」
「……Nn?」
「Eh?」
Hearing Hajime pointing out so, Yue and Kaori gazed at their own hand. Indeed, they were tightly grasping each other’s hand. What’s more it was what was commonly referred to as lover hand holding with how their fingers were interlocked with the other’s fingers.
When push came to shove they covered for each other faster than they could think, and when it came into battle they displayed action that was dancing to the same beat, and even when they quarreled they snuggled close to each other naturally.
What could these two be called other than intimate friend? Seen from the view point of a certain demography of people, there were already lily flowers blooming profusely at their background.
‘This is involuntary-!’ As though to say that, the two let go of each other’s hand hurriedly, but before the two could speak out any complaint or excuse, the two were pulled backward strongly. At the same time, their face got buried mofu- into a soft place.
「Kaori-san, I’ll say this in advance, but Yue-san is my Yue-san. I am her number one best friend! Be aware of that, thank-you-ve-ry-muchh! Desuu!!」
「Yue. Don’t meddle with my Kaori too much. After all I’m Kaori’s number one best friend. Be aware of that, thank-you-ve-ry-muchh!」
Shia and Shizuku sullenly glared at the other with Yue and Kaori who were gasping for breaths from their face getting buried into the voluminous chest of the two were in between them. It seemed they were respectively feeling a bit jealous that their best friend was going to be taken away.
「Nou, Goshujin-sama. While this sight art something commonplace, I’m feeling really alienated here, what shouldst I do?」
「……Should I step on you?」
「!? This damned Goshujin-sama-. I love thee.」
The underground workshop was somewhat in chaos, but right after that, a new character descended down from the ceiling. A part of the ceiling toppled over suddenly, and a little girl came down smoothly from the upside-down sofa.
「Muuh, leaving out Myuu like this! How unfair nano! It’s dinner nano! After eating Myuu will also play that nano!」
The princess of Nagumo family seemed to be helping Remia and Sumire while her papa and others were playing. What a well-behaved daughter.
Urged by Myuu who didn’t forget to call them for dinner even while huffing in anger, the decisive battle for the seat of number one best friend ended for the moment. They all climbed up the stair while Yue and Kaori were pacifying Shia and Shizuku respectively.
「Nn? Myuu doesn’t go?」
「I’ll return by ‘pyon-‘ nano.」
「……You really like that huh.」
Hajime chuckled while exiting the room.
By the way, what she meant by
pyon
was the shortcut to the living room. If the sofa toppling over was the shortcut to fall into the underground, the ‘pyon’ was a mechanism to leap to the living room from the underground. It was like that thing singer used to leap up to the stage in a concert and so on.
The princess of Nagumo family didn’t like normality!
Myuu moved to the floor tile where she could ‘pyon’, and that time she was about to activate the mechanism, thud a sound came from deeper inside the workshop.
‘Oh?’ When Myuu tilted her head and took a look, there she found a book with strange colored front cover.
Myuu took that book with her hand.
「Hm~m, Myuu cannot read this nano……. Well, doesn’t matter! Rather than that it’s dinner nano!」
Myuu wasn’t bothered and jumped into the living room using ‘pyon’.
With her hand still carrying the book.
The living room of Nagumo residence was overflowing with liveliness. Yue and Kaori was still quarreling with each other stingingly like always even in the dinner table, however Shia and Shizuku could only see that as the proof of them getting along well and they were blazing with strange rivalry, Shuu and Sumire yelled 「We are home―」, Tio was raising voice of ecstasy from getting stepped on, and the neighbors were startled.
The little adventure of the two love rival(friend) that happened from a little happening ended, and today the common day of Nagumo family ended peacefully and safely too.
AN: Thank you very much for reading this every time.
Thank you very much too for the thoughts, opinions, and reports about misspelling and omitted words.
Now then, in the middle it felt like I don’t understand anymore what I’m writing, but for now the small adventure of Yue & Kaori is over.
Sorry that in the end I put a strange groundwork.
I just put it in for the time being, thinking that someday I might be able to use it for the material of an extra story, something like that.
Come on, Myuu has the property of being liked by strange existence after all.
By the way, perhaps the material I dropped was a bit unfamiliar, so I’ll explain lightly.
R’lyeh Text
A fictitious grimoire that appeared in Cthulhu Mythos. It might be able to summon something bad. Possibly the reader would be called by something bad.
