by Blitz Kiva
“Did I... succeed?” Iris said with a faint whisper.
“Looks like it,” Yuri nodded.
“I did it! I did it!!” Iris screamed. It had cost her 40,000 yen, but Iris had at last finished the armor she’d been trying to make. She had proof that all the 800-yens she’d sent to death had not died in vain. She hugged Yuri with joy.
“Um, Ai, it’s a little too soon to celebrate,” said Yuri.
The response cooled her head immediately. “That’s true. I still have to compete.” Iris felt like she had already fought a ferocious campaign. But the real battle was still yet to come.
Her fashion competition with Nem really was just about to get started. Iris picked up the completed armor and added it to her inventory. Now if she could just make it to the venue, she could face the battle with confidence.
What kind of armor design would Nem, Megumi Fuyo, bring to bear? As she imagined the glorious MiZUNO real clothing she had seen in the fashion magazines she loved, Iris maintained no illusions that she could make something on that level.
Even so, she felt like she could win.
This was about armor design.
Iris steeled her nerve and left the Iris Brand guild house with Yuri. Just then...
“Ah, Iris! Awful news!” Felicia ran up to her quickly. Her beloved long tails of hair were frazzled, and her face was gaunt.
Iris frowned. It must have taken something truly serious to get her to act that way. “What’s wrong, Felicia?”
“I can’t find any Warp Feathers!” Felicia wailed.
“Ah...” Iris had forgotten. Am I a fool? she wondered.
She remembered people talking here and there about Warp Feathers being sold out. Why had she stayed cooped up in the guild house all this time? To walk all the way to Manyfish Beach, where the contest was being held, would take far too long.
She looked towards Yuri, but her friend shook her head gravely, as well.
Wait a minute, Iris thought. Could the buying out of Warp Feathers have been in preparation for today, to make sure she couldn’t make it to the competition? Or was she overthinking things? Either way, the truth was that she’d known what was happening and hadn’t come up with any countermeasures.
What should she do, Iris wondered. Contact Amesho, who was on her friends list, and explain the circumstances? Whether the monopoly was an enemy tactic or not, if she could just explain, surely they would have to be flexible...
If only the young heir were here, Iris thought.
If the young heir were here, he’d surely produce exactly as many Warp Feathers as they needed from his inventory—not just for Felicia and herself, but for Yuri and the others—just as if he’d foreseen it all.
But for some reason, Ichiro Tsuwabuki was not here now. Kirschwasser wasn’t anywhere to be seen, either. Was this a message from him? “You said you’d handle things yourself, so go ahead and try”? Iris couldn’t help but interpret it that way.
“Don’t get so upset,” a voice said from out of nowhere. A now-familiar Machina was exiting the guild house across the way.
“Edward...” Iris moaned.
“I thought this might happen... well, actually, I didn’t. But I do always keep one in stock for emergencies. You can have it,” he said lightly, and produced the Warp Feather from his inventory.
Iris stared at him. “Ah... um...”
“I’m sure Mr. Tsuwabuki would have enough for everyone, but I’m afraid I’m not as smart as he is,” he continued as he offered the Warp Feather, stating exactly what Iris had been thinking.
Edward had never before breathed a word about his possessions, but the Warp Feather was real. With this, Iris could jump right to the venue at Manyfish Beach... but only Iris. She couldn’t bring Felicia, her model, along with her.
Iris looked at Felicia, and saw her smiling brightly.
“Leave the modeling to me,” Felicia said confidently.
“Leave it to you?” Iris asked. “What are you going to do?”
“I can’t go, but... I’m sure I’ll work something out.” Felicia’s words had a strange self-confidence... in fact, they had an absolute surety about them. “It’s too bad I won’t get to wear the armor you made, though.”
“Yeah...”
“But we need you to go, or it’ll all be for nothing,” said Felicia. “Go!”
How much has she grown, to be able to say something so heroic? Iris thought about the girl she hadn’t even known for very long.
Ah, and in the end...
In the end, the competition she had so bragged about being hers alone was being left in the hands of others. Iris lamented her unpreparedness, and at the same time, she felt as if she had acquired a bottomless power. That power further solidified the image of victory Iris had in her mind.
“Thanks, everyone. I’m gonna go now.” Iris nodded, then looked at the faces of those around her.
Felicia, Yuri, Edward... and for some reason, Kirihito (Leader), who had joined them at some point. He didn’t say a word, but just nodded, as if he had done something to help.
Iris used the Warp Feather. Her body was enveloped by a ray of light, and she could feel herself flying into the skies above Glasgobara.
“Okay...” Felicia said with a nod after she watched Iris go. She then started walking purposefully towards one of the many shops that lined the main thoroughfare. In addition to armor, the eaves were lined with cheap potions used by less popular crafting guilds to earn their daily wage.
“Felicia?” Yuri asked, head tilted. She was probably wondering what she was doing.
Felicia spun around to face Yuri and the others again. “I’m not sure if we can catch up or not, but we’re gonna go, too.”
“Seriously?” Edward asked dubiously.
“We’d need to pass the Volgund Volcanoes to get from here to the beach,” Kirihito (Leader) agreed. “The terrain is so rugged and winding, there’s no way we’ll make it.”
“When you said we’d be going, you didn’t mean we’d be walking there, did you?” Yuri asked.
“Of course not.” Felicia grinned wryly and shook her head.
Of course not. She had another way to get them there. When she’d said, “Let’s go,” that was what she had meant.
Felicia turned toward the shop again and pointed to a long shelf full of potions. “Please give me all your Fatigue Restorers, from here to here.”
“Sure thing,” the Seller Avatar said briskly. Felicia checked her status window and saw her cash on hand significantly decrease. Still, she had plenty left. It was money she had earned defeating countless Shimeji and Shiitake, in the hopes of buying new armor to suit her level.
Felicia now turned to a different shop and bought out all the Fatigue Restorers there. Even in a game, she had never spent money so recklessly before. She could understand a little bit how Ichiro felt. If it served her objectives, if it was for the people she cared about, she felt no hesitation in spending her hard-earned money. She felt a little happy, too, with the reminder that they had the same blood flowing through their veins.
Felicia had guessed the reason why Ichiro wasn’t here already. It was probably the same reason Felicia was doing what she was doing now. If she was right, then she had some idea of where she might find him, and Kirschwasser would be there, too.
She couldn’t cede that role to Ichiro, though. He had a more important role to play.
“Felicia, um, what are you...” Yuri was clearly baffled to see Felicia sink all of her money on Fatigue Restorers. Her confusion was only natural, but it was just as natural that Felicia wasn’t buying the items without a plan in mind.
Felicia pulled a knife from her belt. The object was known as the Dominion Dagger, a Beast Tamer-exclusive item. Only Kirihito (Leader) clapped his hands in understanding as he saw it.
Felicia brought her Dominion Dagger to her lips and played a lovely tune. Immediately, an enormous arm broke through the ground below them, causing tremors as it arose.
&n
bsp; Yuri and the others were dumbstruck.
Eventually, not just the arm, but the head, body, legs, and whole body of a 50-meter-tall lump of inorganic metal rose out from the ground to stand before them.
It was Felicia’s friend: the Power Golem, Gobo. It had stamina issues, but other than that, its stats were extremely high.
The monster, as if in accordance with Felicia’s will, slowly lowered its hand. She stepped onto its palm. “Okay, everyone, get on! Let’s get going!”
“Huh? Get on? This thing?” Yuri whispered with unrestrained nervousness.
Edward, meanwhile, couldn’t hide his delight. “Can we, really?”
He really must love robots, Felicia thought. Which I guess you could tell from his avatar...
Kirihito (Leader) also stepped on without any hesitation.
“Okay, Gobo! Move out!” she called.
The Golem let out a wordless roar as Felicia pointed east, to the Volgund Volcano region. Flame shot out from the countless boosters on its back, and the mountainous frame slowly lifted into the air.
The various players coming and going on Glasgobara’s main street watched it go in open-mouthed awe.
Around that time, Ichiro and Kirschwasser were in the middle of the Volgund Volcanoes. They were surrounded by figures wearing identical outfits of chain mail and ninja gear, Japanese tabi on their feet, and horned noh masks covering their faces. A truly strange group. The group moved perfectly in sync as they surrounded them.
As he watched, Kirschwasser murmured, “The Dual Serpents Shinobi Army... So it does exist!”
“Indeed, but what’s up with their clothes?” Ichiro asked. It was truly a disastrous spectacle that inspired feelings of embarrassment by proxy.
The established color for ninja uniforms was black, or perhaps dark vermilion if you wanted to pursue greater realism. But that wasn’t the case for these. They were wearing knickerbockers in the year’s “in” floral patterns, granting them a refreshing spring mood (though it was already summer), and a stylish but not-too-casual aura. They also had coordinated hats in a pale pink gingham check. Such trendy pattern on pattern! What ninja fashion! Even the horns of their demon masks had been touched up with chic ornamental flowers.
The softness!
The color scheme!
The coordination!
It seemed unbelievable, but Megumi Fuyo was almost surely behind the designs.
“How fashionable!”
“Fashionable, but completely lacking in taste.” At their relaxed reactions, a single Elf appeared from amidst the frilly Shinobi Army.
“Oh, it’s you two,” said the familiar voice. “Hello.”
“Hello, Matsunaga,” Ichiro said. Sadly, he wasn’t wearing any sort of wonderfully elegant armor, just the usual ninja gear and Hide Coat. It seemed hardly fair.
With his usual superficial smile, Matsunaga said: “Your goal is to stop me, I assume?”
“Yes, more or less.”
Matsunaga raised one hand, and the frilly Shinobi Army unsheathed their Ninja Swords. Decorated with beads, these swords resembled chic fashion accessories, as well, but even that couldn’t hide their dangerous edge.
As Ichiro had more or less surmised, it was Matsunaga’s group that had bought up the Warp Feathers. He wished he’d gotten confirmation at a much earlier stage, but that just showed how skillfully they controlled the flow of information in the game.
“I’m terribly sorry, but I can’t let you go, Mr. Tsuwabuki,” Matsunaga said. “As you know, I came prepared. I can’t allow you to ruin everything on your whim, as you did in the grand quest.”
“I think you’re being rather oversensitive.” With one hand in his pocket, Ichiro looked up at the sky. “Did you consider that Iris and Felicia might not make it to the venue?”
A voice as clear as a bell, yet with a coldness that sent chills down the spine, sounded out nearby. “Personally, I’m hoping that they won’t.”
Ichiro looked and saw a girl carrying a black, lacy parasol and an Anthromorph in a tattered robe. Both were walking up behind Matsunaga.
Sorceress and Taker. So the two of them were also part of this.
“It seems Matsunaga and Amesho didn’t think that far ahead,” said Sorceress. “But our role is to help our leader win through any means necessary.”
“Are you suggesting that Nem might lose to Iris?” Ichiro asked.
“She might.” Sorceress’s eyes, watching Ichiro, were their usual round shape and deep blue color.
It was all as he had expected. He couldn’t even bring himself to utter the word “nonsense.” Surely Sorceress understood Nem’s desire to fight a fair competition, and yet she still wanted to offer absolute victory to Nem, her leader. What could lead a person to such actions, he wondered.
It wasn’t necessarily what they really wanted, he thought, as he noted the naked annoyance in Taker’s expression.
“I’m surprised that you could tell,” Ichiro said. He opened the microtransaction screen from the menu window and called up a sword.
“Oh, you’re going to meet us head-on?” Sorceress asked, looking mildly surprised. “Knowing you, I’d expected a snarky comeback and a blunt refusal to participate.”
“Nonsense. You’re acting as if you understand me at all.”
Sorceress narrowed her eyes at Ichiro’s words, as if she were trying to restrain some kind of intense emotion rising up within her.
Ichiro looked to Kirschwasser. Kirschwasser gave him a small nod.
Ichiro had been told not to interfere with Iris at all, and so he had no intention of getting deeply involved in the competition. He wasn’t trying to take Iris’s side, but merely trying to watch the match to its end as a player.
This, though... this was just too much nonsense. It was a blasphemy on the sacred name of competition. He was trying not to get righteously indignant, but if he let them continue on this way, it would be the height of disrespect both towards Iris and Nem. Ichiro himself would probably never admit it, but he was angry, in his way.
Matsunaga, showing no interest in Sorceress and Taker’s attitudes, pulled out a Kunai Dagger and said: “Now, would you stay here with us for a little while?”
“Nonsense. You’re not holding me here at all,” Ichiro said, speaking a bit faster than usual. “I desire, of my own will, to strike you down here. Whether or not you wish to fight is of little interest to me.”
Sorceress stared at him in bemusement. “You really are quite twisted.”
“We’re not gonna take that from you,” Taker agreed.
At the same time, Kirschwasser readied his sword and shield. A new air of tension ran across the battlefield.
It was just then that an intruder flew down from the sky above...
The enormous Power Golem Gobo used the boosters on its back to pick up speed and touch down on the side of the Volgund Volcanoes—though perhaps “touch down” would be a less accurate term than “crash.”
While Yuri and the others tried desperately to hold on, Felicia, with the special privilege of being the Golem’s master, merely stood confidently on its palm. The Shinobi on the mountainside scattered like spiders exposed to the light.
Gobo made landfall with a thunderous sound and a huge cloud of dust. Then slowly, it stood back up to its towering height. Felicia knew that everyone was looking up at them in awe.
“Hey, Felicia.” Of all those assembled, only Ichiro offered her a leisurely greeting. “I thought it was about time you’d be showing up.”
“I had a feeling you’d be here, too, Itchy,” she said. And just as she’d suspected, he seemed to be revving up for a fight with Matsunaga, Sorceress, and the others.
Felicia didn’t know Ichiro as well as some—for instance, Kirschwasser, who was standing beside him—but lately, she was starting to realize that he was not quite mature enough not to stay out of something just because he was told to. That was all the more reason why she was here.
“Itchy, Mr. Kirsch, leave
this to us,” Felicia said, thumping a hand against her chest.
Ichiro, who was just about to open his item inventory to retrieve something, suddenly stopped. He looked up at Felicia with an expression of mild surprise. Kirschwasser’s expression mirrored his.
“The competition may be between Iris and Nem, but I can’t shake this feeling that you need to be there, too,” Felicia explained. “Besides, having seen how hard Iris has been working, I really want to stick it to the people trying to sabotage her.” Felicia looked down at Taker and Sorceress from her vantage point atop the Golem’s palm.
“What about your modeling?” Ichiro asked softly.
Felicia looked at Ichiro. What she was about to say was something she knew Iris would never say, yet she had no choice but to say it. She was aware that this was a decisive difference between them, but for Iris’s sake, it had to be done.
“You can work something out, can’t you, Itchy?” she said.
When Felicia—Asuha—said something like that, she knew that Ichiro couldn’t refuse. She also knew that this was because he saw her as a child. It was unbelievably frustrating to her.
“Like, maybe you can log out right now, buy a new NaroFan game, use it to make a new character, and make it in time? You and Mr. Kirsch can work out something, right?” she said.
She knew it was a pathetic thing to say. After her posturing to Iris that she would handle it, in the end, it was not she, but Ichiro who would.
“Um...” Matsunaga, who had been quiet up until that point, finally raised his hand. “Are you finished talking yet?”
“Ah, yes. Do forgive the wait. I’ve decided on my course of action.” Ichiro turned back to Matsunaga and the others. “Let’s give Felicia what she wants. Sir Kirschwasser, I want you to put ‘her’ into action.”
“Yes, sir.” At his master’s words, the silver-haired elder Knight nodded reverently, then opened his menu window to prepare to log out—but there were two others present who weren’t about to let that happen. Naturally, it was Taker and Sorceress.
“I don’t think so!” The Anthromorph, dressed in his rags, raced across the mountain path to press closer to Kirschwasser. But a single shadow leaped out like a shot from behind Felicia to intercept him.