VOLUME 1
Chapter 4: The Duel
Part 1
A few days later.
Afternoon, during the week that Jun had designated for this second attempt.
The three of them were back at the Valley of Death.
“Today, we’ll take a shot at the Veil Guardian. When we defeat it, we’ll get the personal use airship. If we do not succeed, this group will be disbanded.”
Kasumi and Eri nodded tensely in response to those words.
Nearby, their camp was neatly set up.
They decided on a plan. They would fight with great care. They would strike when they should.
“Hey… Can we do this?”
“Regardless of whether we are able to do it, we’re still doing it.”
“Okay, okay.”
Kasumi’s teeth chattered in nervousness. Jun smiled bitterly. Even though they still had an hour of climbing to do, they already had this on their mind.
“Kasumi-san, are you bad at test-taking?”
“Huh? Oh, I’m not. I can collect myself before tests. I’ve always been a high scorer, and I’ve been praised a lot for it.”
Her innocent response made even Jun smile brightly.
“Well, we should remember what happened last time. The environment and such will always be the same, so we should prepare for that.”
“The environment will be the same every time huh… but without Jun-san…”
“I’ll stay here on alert. It’s fine, you can do it.”
Jun put his hand on Kasumi’s shoulder.
“I believe in you. … Let’s leave this island together.”
“Ah, uh… I…”
Kasumi gazed at Jun dizzily and hugged him tightly.
“Got it! I’ll do it! Lemmie have at it!”
“Let’s go and succeed with our plan!”
“Yeah!”
Nodding, he smiled.
“Together… Jun-san and us doing stuff together… huh.”
She began walking towards the mountain, stumbling with each step.
Eri, watching that, muttered, “So…”.
Jun glanced at her.
“You know that you’re manipulating Kasumi now, right?”
“I thought I was relieving her of her anxiety.”
“So you’re saying that you’ll take responsibility?”
“I’ll keep my promise.”
Eri punched Jun in the chest.
“Hey…”
“I’m hitting you.”
“… Since you’re doing it, don’t say it.”
Eri took a big sigh and let her shoulders drop.
“You really are a good-for-nothing guy.”
“Give me a break!”
“I know basically what you want … You want to continue with a group of close friends?”
Jun bit down on his lip firmly and glared at Eri.
“What do you know?”
“It’s common in online games. This, I understand. It’s the same for me too. In any MMO, people tend to meet with others and form groups to play together… though such a groups can be called many different things, such as guilds and clans. Hey, individual members of teams feel great. They feel as though they are breathing the same air as their comrades and, in the process, are able to completely forget about things like school, family, or bad events.”
Jun looked at Eri, surprised.
Eri smiled.
“Hey, it’s the same for us. We really felt lonely. Wasn’t that why we went on online games looking for ways to connect with others? At least that’s how it was in my case. Surely, that also applies to you, Jun.”
She shook her head. She laughed, poking fun at herself.
“However, close groups will end up breaking up someday. If somebody leaves due to real life situations, or if somebody loses interest in the game… Hmm, those aren’t the biggest reason. That would be… that, for various reasons, the interpersonal relationships broke down. Among those reasons, the biggest is love. That stuff about who likes whom, who confessed to whom, and who rejected whom… Feelings like hate, jealousy, and regret, comparatively insignificant, can cause things to be strained within even the closest groups. Like in the real world, it would become less comfortable. … Er, the virtual world would become the real world. Though they were just supposed to be our avatars, before we were aware of it, people were going out in real life too. … The fun times would end. Everybody would go back to the real world.”
Jun remained silent.
No, he was unable to say anything.
In front of his eyes, Eri, a girl who was younger than him was able to display such maturity with this issue that he was not able to organize in his own head himself.
“But…”
She continued to talk. She pointed at Jun, her body shaking courageously.
“I thought I finally understood you, Jun. I was mistaken. I’m irritated with your attitude. I’ll get angry. I think you’ve been looking down on me.”
“What do you mean…”
Just as he said that, Eri, without hesitating, stuck her head out.
She frowned and inflated her cheeks…
Instinctively, Jun shut his eyes.
In the next moment, Eri and Jun were standing face to face.
“Believe in me.”
Hearing those words whispered into his ear, Jun jumped in surprise.
“Please believe in me. Our friendship won’t be broken. I won’t let it break, no matter what kind of I’m faced with. Yeah, I won’t break it myself. It’s okay with you and your huge influence on Kasumi. After I punched you, you comforted Kasumi, but you’re still pulling on her hand, taking her wherever you go. I’ll help you until you can be just like her friends from before. If you accept her, I’ll give you my blessings. Even though I laugh as I hit you, I’ll still stay with you too. I’ll punch you when you start flirting, but I won’t leave. That is what I won’t do.”
“So you’re saying that either way, you’ll end up hitting me.”
“Yeah, but you do irritate me.”
“That’s irrational.”
“Is it, huh?”
Eri’s face hinted at it. Jun gently raised his eyelashes.
Eri was smiling.
Behind them was Kasumi, standing, who looked angry like a fierce god.
“… Eri-chan, can I ask as to what you’re doing?”
“Huh? … Uh, Kasumi?”
“Hey, Eri-chan, what are you trying to do, being so close to Jun-san’s face?”
Kasumi smiled sweetly.
Her eyes didn’t match her smile. Her mouth stiffened.
“Hey, Eri. I think your behavior is about to cause a crisis among our group…”
“Sorry. I’m really sorry…”
Kasumi grabbed Eri’s shoulder as Eri was bowing down to apologize.
At this rate, the ‘useless girl will be forced to converse with the mademoiselle’.
Jun, upon being let go by Kasumi, shrugged.
He looked up at the blue sky.
With a sigh, he said, “Guess I don’t have a choice.”
“It’s always you, Kai. You always let me be close to you.”
Kai was always the group leader. Jun always wanted to be comfortable when in a position of authority.
However, Kai wasn’t here right now.
Though he felt like he was on the right track, meeting up with him, … no, her would still take some more time.
Having taken the first step towards his goal, today’s battle strategy had to succeed.
“I wanna see you.”
Jun accidentally said that out loud.
VOLUME 1
Chapter 4: The Duel
Part 1
A few days later.
Afternoon, during the week that Jun had designated for this second attempt.
The three of them were back at the Valley of Death.
“Today, we’ll take a shot at the Veil Guardian. When we defeat it, we’ll get the personal use airship. If we do not succeed, this group will be disbanded.”
Kasumi and Eri nodded tensely in response to those words.
Nearby, their camp was neatly set up.
They decided on a plan. They would fight with great care. They would strike when they should.
“Hey… Can we do this?”
“Regardless of whether we are able to do it, we’re still doing it.”
“Okay, okay.”
Kasumi’s teeth chattered in nervousness. Jun smiled bitterly. Even though they still had an hour of climbing to do, they already had this on their mind.
“Kasumi-san, are you bad at test-taking?”
“Huh? Oh, I’m not. I can collect myself before tests. I’ve always been a high scorer, and I’ve been praised a lot for it.”
Her innocent response made even Jun smile brightly.
“Well, we should remember what happened last time. The environment and such will always be the same, so we should prepare for that.”
“The environment will be the same every time huh… but without Jun-san…”
“I’ll stay here on alert. It’s fine, you can do it.”
Jun put his hand on Kasumi’s shoulder.
“I believe in you. … Let’s leave this island together.”
“Ah, uh… I…”
Kasumi gazed at Jun dizzily and hugged him tightly.
“Got it! I’ll do it! Lemmie have at it!”
“Let’s go and succeed with our plan!”
“Yeah!”
Nodding, he smiled.
“Together… Jun-san and us doing stuff together… huh.”
She began walking towards the mountain, stumbling with each step.
Eri, watching that, muttered, “So…”.
Jun glanced at her.
“You know that you’re manipulating Kasumi now, right?”
“I thought I was relieving her of her anxiety.”
“So you’re saying that you’ll take responsibility?”
“I’ll keep my promise.”
Eri punched Jun in the chest.
“Hey…”
“I’m hitting you.”
“… Since you’re doing it, don’t say it.”
Eri took a big sigh and let her shoulders drop.
“You really are a good-for-nothing guy.”
“Give me a break!”
“I know basically what you want … You want to continue with a group of close friends?”
Jun bit down on his lip firmly and glared at Eri.
“What do you know?”
“It’s common in online games. This, I understand. It’s the same for me too. In any MMO, people tend to meet with others and form groups to play together… though such a groups can be called many different things, such as guilds and clans. Hey, individual members of teams feel great. They feel as though they are breathing the same air as their comrades and, in the process, are able to completely forget about things like school, family, or bad events.”
Jun looked at Eri, surprised.
Eri smiled.
“Hey, it’s the same for us. We really felt lonely. Wasn’t that why we went on online games looking for ways to connect with others? At least that’s how it was in my case. Surely, that also applies to you, Jun.”
She shook her head. She laughed, poking fun at herself.
“However, close groups will end up breaking up someday. If somebody leaves due to real life situations, or if somebody loses interest in the game… Hmm, those aren’t the biggest reason. That would be… that, for various reasons, the interpersonal relationships broke down. Among those reasons, the biggest is love. That stuff about who likes whom, who confessed to whom, and who rejected whom… Feelings like hate, jealousy, and regret, comparatively insignificant, can cause things to be strained within even the closest groups. Like in the real world, it would become less comfortable. … Er, the virtual world would become the real world. Though they were just supposed to be our avatars, before we were aware of it, people were going out in real life too. … The fun times would end. Everybody would go back to the real world.”
Jun remained silent.
No, he was unable to say anything.
In front of his eyes, Eri, a girl who was younger than him was able to display such maturity with this issue that he was not able to organize in his own head himself.
“But…”
She continued to talk. She pointed at Jun, her body shaking courageously.
“I thought I finally understood you, Jun. I was mistaken. I’m irritated with your attitude. I’ll get angry. I think you’ve been looking down on me.”
“What do you mean…”
Just as he said that, Eri, without hesitating, stuck her head out.
She frowned and inflated her cheeks…
Instinctively, Jun shut his eyes.
In the next moment, Eri and Jun were standing face to face.
“Believe in me.”
Hearing those words whispered into his ear, Jun jumped in surprise.
“Please believe in me. Our friendship won’t be broken. I won’t let it break, no matter what kind of I’m faced with. Yeah, I won’t break it myself. It’s okay with you and your huge influence on Kasumi. After I punched you, you comforted Kasumi, but you’re still pulling on her hand, taking her wherever you go. I’ll help you until you can be just like her friends from before. If you accept her, I’ll give you my blessings. Even though I laugh as I hit you, I’ll still stay with you too. I’ll punch you when you start flirting, but I won’t leave. That is what I won’t do.”
“So you’re saying that either way, you’ll end up hitting me.”
“Yeah, but you do irritate me.”
“That’s irrational.”
“Is it, huh?”
Eri’s face hinted at it. Jun gently raised his eyelashes.
Eri was smiling.
Behind them was Kasumi, standing, who looked angry like a fierce god.
“… Eri-chan, can I ask as to what you’re doing?”
“Huh? … Uh, Kasumi?”
“Hey, Eri-chan, what are you trying to do, being so close to Jun-san’s face?”
Kasumi smiled sweetly.
Her eyes didn’t match her smile. Her mouth stiffened.
“Hey, Eri. I think your behavior is about to cause a crisis among our group…”
“Sorry. I’m really sorry…”
Kasumi grabbed Eri’s shoulder as Eri was bowing down to apologize.
At this rate, the ‘useless girl will be forced to converse with the mademoiselle’.
Jun, upon being let go by Kasumi, shrugged.
He looked up at the blue sky.
With a sigh, he said, “Guess I don’t have a choice.”
“It’s always you, Kai. You always let me be close to you.”
Kai was always the group leader. Jun always wanted to be comfortable when in a position of authority.
However, Kai wasn’t here right now.
Though he felt like he was on the right track, meeting up with him, … no, her would still take some more time.
Having taken the first step towards his goal, today’s battle strategy had to succeed.
“I wanna see you.”
Jun accidentally said that out loud.
