NOVEL NEXT The Strongest Solo Gamer with Terrible Social Skills Reincarnates as a Hated NPC in a VRMMO Chapter 23
23: Koume’s Admiration, the Changed Reason
——SIDE: Koume—
“Whoa!!”
A burst of energy.
With his wooden sword, Tō-kun sliced through the goblin’s neck in front of him. I couldn’t help but be interested in how he could perform such a feat with a weapon without a blade.
“Oh no, you’re going to get hit!!”
Tō-kun dodged the goblin’s attack and struck it down with his sword. It seemed like he had mastered the role of a tank.
I couldn’t lose either…!
“…… Let’s go!!”
I released the taut bowstring, and the arrow flew towards the slime beside Sōji. The half-transparent, jelly-like creature scattered its body parts in all directions due to the impact.
“Pigiiy!!”
The final blow. The slime shot a part of its body towards me, but I wasn’t prepared to defend myself…
“Ha!!”
Kanae, who was beside me, used her discarded jacket to deflect the slime’s attack.
“Koume-chan, are you okay!!?”
“Ah, thank you, Kanae. And, your uniform…”
The clothes on Kao’s upper body had holes in them. I had heard that Slime’s body was acidic, but I never thought it was this powerful.
If it had splashed on my face, it would have been a disaster.
I couldn’t help but shudder at the thought.
“We can buy new uniforms later. What about the other monsters?”
“Hey, we’re done over here!”
Souji, who had finished his mission, swung his iron sword and approached us. There were four dead Goblins around him. In an instant, the light faded, and a small crystal was left behind. The Slime was the same.
“Thanks for the backup, Koume. I was too focused on the Goblins and didn’t notice the Slime.”
“I’m fine, but Kao’s uniform…”
“What? Ah, it’s got holes in it, hasn’t it!?”
“It was attacked by the Slime. But I’m fine, and Koume-chan is too!”
“…I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to you when we get back.”
“No need to apologize! I was the one who moved on my own, and maybe there was a better way to dodge it. You don’t have to worry about it, Koume-chan!”
“…But, you know, it’s Souji’s fault for not dealing with the Slime properly. As an apology, he should give Kao a new uniform.”
“Eh?! Oh, it’s me!?”
“Ahh, that’s a great idea! Let’s go to the uniform store in the learning district together later!”
“It’s okay to apologize, but for now, my mileage is…”
“Souji spent all his money on weapons, following Ishirou’s advice. Can’t we just borrow some?”
“In other words, he’s in debt. Poor guy. I finally understand why explorers run out of money…”
We laughed and teased Souji, who was holding his head in his hands.
We had already spent 30 minutes in the 2nd layer of ABYSS. The exploration was more difficult than I thought. Even though Slimes and Goblins were considered weak monsters, it was a different story when we faced them.
Were the others okay?
And what about Shouma…
“…”
I shook off my doubts and turned my attention back to my party. Our priority was ourselves for now.
“I tried being a tank for the first time, but it’s not going well…”
“Why don’t you switch to an attacker now?”
“No way. I’m the sturdiest one in this party. I’ll continue as a tank.”
“Hmm…it’s strange that the defender has the best weapon, isn’t it?”
“Ah! I thought so too! Souji, why don’t you lend that sword to Hou-chan now?”
“Hey, don’t be ridiculous…I bought this iron sword with my own money! And it’s not just good for attacking; it’s also great for defense. It’s got an anti-corrosion coating, so it won’t dissolve in Slime’s body fluids. I treasure it.”
“I don’t choose my weapons…”
“You were slashing Goblins with a wooden sword, weren’t you? That’s a technique from the dojo, right?”
“That’s a secret technique from the Heavenly Fire God style.”
“Wow, impressive! You’re reliable, Hou-chan!”
“…I feel like I’m being stabbed by a thousand needles…”
Souji slumped his shoulders. Being teased was tough, wasn’t it? …But it was fun, so I’ll let it slide.
“You said it was impressive, but Koume’s bow was impressive too. She hit moving monsters without missing a shot. Have you been good at archery since you were young?”
“It’s not just about archery. As a warrior family, the Hou family has been teaching us various martial arts since we were kids. We can use swords and naginata if we want to.”
“…Is there a reason you chose the bow as your main weapon among them?”
Kazuki turned to me with a question, and the two people around us looked interested.
――Is there anything you’re hiding?
I let out a deep breath, reminiscing about my childhood. The person who helped me back then…
◆
――It was the night of the summer festival.
When I was 14, I went to the summer festival at the Kasamagawa Shrine with Shinma in July.
At that time, we hadn’t started arguing yet. Shinma was also carefree and gentle. So, even though our parents told us to go to the festival, we enjoyed it normally.
As we pushed through the crowds and walked around the stalls, I suddenly realized Shinma was gone. I sat on the shrine’s stairs, waiting for him to come back…
Then, I heard a loud “Don!” sound coming from the back of the shrine grounds. It was too early for the fireworks to start. I felt suspicious and climbed the shrine’s stairs, heading towards the quiet woods.
What I saw there was…
“What the…?”
A gruesome scene with multiple adults lying on the ground, covered in blood. At the center of the carnage stood a “demon” with a skull-like face and thorns all over its body.
“――Grudge”
At first glance, I knew it wasn’t from this world. The pressure emanating from it was like the breath of the underworld. I couldn’t even breathe in that space, and I realized my own “death”.
“Ahh, ahh, ahh, ahh, ahh――!!”
Shinma suddenly let out a strange cry from the right side, holding a stone and throwing it at the demon.――You idiot, Shinma! My voice was shaking, and I couldn’t form words. Shinma’s foolish act looked like suicide to me.
“Grudge…”
“Hi, hi, hi――!! Don’t come, don’t come!!”
Shinma turned his back to the demon, his face pale. He desperately threw stones, but it was all meaningless.
The demon, with arms that seemed to condense all darkness, grasped Shinma’s face.
“A, ga――!! A, ah――ahh?”
――Is Shinma going to die…?
As Shinma’s face was grasped, and he hung in mid-air, I screamed at the top of my lungs.
“No, no, no――!!”
Along with my voice, thousands of light arrows rained down. The attack, which resembled the twinkling of stars, cut through the demon’s body.
“――Did I make it in time to prevent the worst-case scenario?”
“Ah, who are you?”
“Shh! It’s still moving!――Get away!”
The man in a white Japanese-style priest’s attire, who looked like a shrine priest, drew his bow towards the demon, which was still rampaging. They exchanged attacks at an incredible speed, and I couldn’t help but be amazed by their strength.
In the end, it was settled.
“Ga…gu…”
“You’ve given me quite a workout. But this is the end. It’s time to return to where you belong.”
The man in the white attire stood on the demon’s back, pulling the bowstring taut.
“――”
As the demon looked at me, it reached out its hand towards me.
Just as I wondered what was happening…
A destructive light enveloped the demon’s body.
The demon disappeared, dissolving into the darkness. After thousands of battles――the man in the white attire had won. With an injured shoulder, he walked towards me.
“What a disaster. It’s better to forget about today’s events.”
“Even if you say that, it’s…”
“Ha ha, well, it can’t be helped. Sorry for saying something difficult.”
As he said that, the man gently stroked my head. With that, I finally felt relieved, thinking that the crisis had passed, deep down in my heart.
At the same time, tears welled up in my eyes.
“Oh, um…”
“Sorry, don’t worry about it… I just…”
“It’s okay…”
“!”
“It’s okay to be scared and cry…”
He said, and gently hugged my body. Feeling reassured, I burst into tears in his chest. Looking back, it’s embarrassing.
“…Are you okay now?”
“Y-yes…”
As I turned my face bright red with shame, I stared at the man’s face intensely. It was a face that seemed familiar, as if I had seen it somewhere.
With golden hair and a radiant aura…
Could it be…
“Is it… Shinguuji Akito, the great explorer from the 【Yao Bikuni】 clan?”
“Oops… Have I been found out?”
What was this top-notch explorer, who was on the front lines of ABYSS exploration, doing here?
…No, more importantly…
“I’ve seen you on TV, Shinguuji-san! You’re an amazing explorer! I…”
“Thank you. But today’s events are confidential, okay? It’s a secret mission, after all…”
“My name is Feng Hongyu! I want to become an explorer like you someday… Ah…”
As I got excited, Shinguuji-san gently kissed my lips to calm me down.
Was it just lip service?
To my surprise, Shinguuji-san said:
“You can do it. You’ll definitely become one someday. If it’s you…”
“—”
Leaving me in a daze, Shinguuji-san disappeared into somewhere.
What was left behind was… me and Sho Shin…
“That’s right! Sho Shin is…!?”
I had forgotten until now. I had received the full brunt of that strange pressure. It was no wonder my body was affected.
“Sho Shin!!”
“…You don’t have to shout so loudly, I’m fine…”
As Sho Shin tried to stand up, his body swayed unsteadily. Had he gotten hurt somewhere? Sho Shin stopped, clutching his chest.
“Don’t push yourself! What were you thinking, doing something so reckless?! If Shinguuji-san hadn’t been there, you might have died!”
“…Tsk…”
“It’s good that you’re safe, but from now on, be more careful and don’t do anything reckless…”
“aaah!! Stop nagging! Are you saying that guy was that great?!?”
“Koumei always said so, didn’t she!? She likes strong men, after all!? —It’s great, isn’t it!? Her wish has come true, and she’s being protected by the strong Shinjugi-san!!?”
“Sho, Shouma…?”
“I don’t care what I do! No matter how hard I try……!! Koumei never acknowledges me!! It’s fine, though…… I’m tired of it!!”
“What are you saying, Shouma!? —Hey!?”
“…Or maybe… if I give up my weakness…… then Koumei……”
“Shouma!!?”
As he muttered, Shouma suddenly collapsed to the ground, sweating profusely.
Shouma was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. Three days later, he regained consciousness.
The incident at the shrine remained unknown to anyone. Even though adults saw the “scene” when the ambulance arrived, there was no report in the news or online. Shinjugi-san had said it was a top-secret mission, so maybe there was a government cover-up……?
There were many unanswered questions, but two things had changed since that day. One was myself. I, who had admired Shinjugi-san, began to pursue the same archery training as him.
I wanted to become a perfect explorer like him.
The other was Shouma.
Shouma had forgotten what happened that night. Aina-san said it was due to extreme stress-induced amnesia, but I was relieved.
The last time I saw Shouma, he looked strange. It was as if the “demon’s” grudge had possessed him…… The way Shinjugi-san treated him was a bit guilty, and I thought it was good that he forgot.
But――things didn’t go as smoothly as that.
Shouma had changed since that day.
The Shouma who had become arrogant towards others and emphasized his fiancé status was not the kind and gentle person I had liked.
That was something I couldn’t acknowledge.