“Ugh... seriously, how much are they going to work us on the very first day...?”
“Haha, yeah, there was definitely a lot to do.”
On the way home after finishing the executive committee's tasks, I walked alongside Itsuka-kun, echoing his complaints.
*Yeah, there really was too much for students to handle.*
No wonder people kept talking about "black companies."
“A little...? Just how big is your idea of ‘a little’...?”
“Huh? It wasn’t even that hard to begin with, was it?”
“......I can understand you saying that if I think about how fast you were working, but still. No, wait, is that even a speed a high school student can produce?!”
Itsuka-kun looked at me as if I weren't even human.
It was a little awkward, but this was a high school festival and I was an adult; it really hadn't been difficult for me.
“Itsuka-kun. I’m an adult, you know...”
“Huh? You were an adult?”
“Wait... the commander didn’t say anything?”
“She just said you were a spirit protecting me. She didn’t tell me your age.”
“Damn it...”
I figured Itsuka-kun was talking casually because I’d asked him to, but I hadn’t expected him to be kept in the dark about my age.
“My age... my age... huh. Why can’t I remember?”
All I could recall was that I was in my early twenties.
After rolling around in the world of Dark Souls and then living in this world for so long, I guess I’d forgotten my own age too.
Itsuka-kun’s expression shifted to one of utter confusion after I admitted I couldn't remember.
“Don’t look at me like that. What am I supposed to do if I really can’t remember? I'm fairly sure I was in my early twenties, at least.”
“Well, in the world you came from, age probably wasn’t that important.”
In the world of Dark Souls—especially in the third era—the world was already heading toward destruction, so age didn’t mean much.
Not to mention, all humans had become undead bodies that couldn’t truly die.
I nodded in agreement.
“By the way, what are you going to do at the festival?”
Something suddenly occurred to me.
I was curious about Itsuka-kun's plans for the festival.
It wasn’t like you had to do anything in particular, but doing something would still make for a good memory, wouldn’t it?
“Hmm... nothing really comes to mind. What about you, Hieta?”
“I’m going to create one of a man’s ultimate dreams. A sword. And not just any sword—a full-size one.”
I spread both hands wide as I spoke.
A sword was the pinnacle of a man's dreams!
And a full-size one at that? There was no way that wouldn’t take first place in the exhibit category.
“But do you even have the skill to make that?”
“Of course I do.”
Compared to Itsuka-kun’s standards, a normal student might fall short, but I was more than capable.
After all, I had the weapons from Dark Souls as top-tier references, and I was quite handy.
Of course, it couldn’t be a real blade, and since I wasn’t a blacksmith, I couldn’t forge it from metal. I planned to use a 3D pen.
“If that’s the case, you might get a total landslide of votes from the boys in the exhibit category.”
“Right?”
Seeing the spark in Itsuka-kun’s eyes, it seemed he was curious about the finished product too.
“Then let’s hurry home and get to work—”
Wheee-ooo!
The spacequake alarm rang out just as I was about to finish my sentence.
At the same time, the commander’s voice crackled through our intercom.
“Hiki! Shido! We’re recovering you to [Fraxinus] right now and deploying you to the scene, so get ready!”
“Got it!”
“Okay!”
The moment the commander’s connection cut off, we were recovered to [Fraxinus] and immediately transported near the site.
“The spirit's signature is moving south from the spacequake's origin point! Hurry!”
Following the commander’s orders, we moved south, and then we heard singing.
“Singing?”
“Looks like it’s a spirit. Let’s go in.”
Itsuka-kun and I entered the building where the singing originated.
Once inside, we reached the source of the song.
The venue was a performance hall, and on the stage, a woman who appeared to be a spirit was dancing and singing.
“Could that be... <Diva>?!”
Judging by the commander’s words and the situation, the woman was definitely a spirit.
She continued singing, seemingly unaware of our presence.
“Who’s <Diva>?”
“She’s a spirit whose appearance was confirmed only once, half a year ago. We basically have no information on her abilities, so be extremely careful when making contact.”
Having no information on her abilities was a huge disadvantage.
At the very least, you have to know what your opponent can do before you can deal with them.
Still, we had to make contact, so there was no choice but to move forward.
Clang! Tumble-tumble—
Suddenly, Itsuka-kun accidentally kicked a drink can at his feet. The sound of the can rolling echoed through the performance hall, which until that moment had been filled only with singing.
Because of that, <Diva> stopped singing and realized we had entered.
“Idiot! What are you doing?!”
“No, I couldn’t see the floor...”
“Oh? Were there guests? Where are you?”
<Diva>, having noticed us, asked where we were; she seemed open to talking.
“Commander. What do we do?”
[Let Shido try talking first. We’ll support the conversation from here, so Shido, approach her first.]
The moment Itsuka-kun was about to move according to the commander’s instructions—
[Hold on. Here’s your choice.]
A choice appeared.
Until the choice was decided, we couldn’t move rashly, so we stayed still until the commander gave instructions.
The problem was that it took a little too long. <Diva> kept asking where we were, and the situation became urgent.
“Kotori!”
[Sorry! Number 2.]
Once the choice was decided, Itsuka-kun stepped onto the stage and revealed himself to <Diva>.
“Ah~ You came up on purpose? Nice to meet you. I’m...”
“Ah, hi? I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop or anything, but your voice was so beautiful...”
[Affection level is dropping!]
I was standing a bit far away, so I couldn’t hear the two of them talking directly, but from the crew’s voices over the intercom, I could tell the strategy was failing miserably.
Over the intercom, we kept hearing that <Diva>’s affection level was plummeting, and now it had fallen all the way to the level of disgust.
[Her affection level is below cockroach status!]
*Is this really how it’s supposed to go?*
What on earth did he say for her affection to drop below that of a cockroach?
While I was wondering, I noticed <Diva>’s behavior becoming suspicious.
She tilted her head back and took a stance as if she were gathering energy.
Like a dragon getting ready to breathe fire in a game.
“Ha!”
Just as I predicted, <Diva> let out a shout and released a shockwave that blasted Itsuka-kun off the stage.
On a normal stage, that would have ended with a few bruises, but the stage in this performance hall was incredibly high.
If Itsuka-kun fell, he’d either die if he was unlucky or, at the very least, be severely injured. I ran without a second thought, grabbed him, and pulled him back up.
“Itsuka-kun! Are you okay?!”
“Who are you people? Why are you alive? Please disappear from this stage, this world, and this probability space as quickly as possible!”
*Is this woman insane?*
I couldn’t help but think that.
She’d suddenly tried to drop someone to their death, then insulted them for still being alive, and now she was telling us to vanish from the world entirely.
She wasn’t just crazy. She was on a whole different level of insanity.
“What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Hah?! Don’t speak. Don’t spit. Don’t breathe. Don’t you know that just by existing, you’re polluting the air around you?”
Seeing <Diva> insult us without even pausing for breath, I could tell she really wasn't sane.
How much did she hate us to be able to criticize us without taking a single breath?
And all we had done was show ourselves.
“Enough with the bullshit. You almost killed someone, and that’s the crap you’re saying?”
I didn’t need to be polite to this bitch.
Every word she chose treated human life as something lower than ants.
I didn’t know what had happened to her, but anyone would get angry if she talked like this.
“Are you deaf?! I told you not to speak—”
<Diva> was about to start insulting me again, but the ceiling suddenly collapsed, cutting her off.
“Itsuka-kun! This way!”
“O-okay! Got it!”
I called out to Itsuka-kun and pulled Havel's Greatshield from my inventory, raising it overhead.
Thud-thud-thud—
After a while, the sound of debris striking my shield stopped. When I lowered the shield, the AST were visible through the gaping hole in the ceiling.
“Ah~ Ah~ Isn’t this amazing! Yes! This is what an audience should be like!”
Seeing the AST floating in the sky, <Diva> flew toward them, her voice filled with excitement.
Looking at the difference between how <Diva> had acted toward us and how she acted just now, I got chills and rubbed my arm.
[Hiki! Shido! I’m recovering you now!]
With the commander’s words, we were recovered to [Fraxinus].
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