3 - Noble Son, Participate

Asuha Tsuwabuki was a 14-year-old girl attending a middle school in Nagoya.

She didn’t yet know what she wanted to be when she grew up. But she had a particular memory.

It took place during spring of the year she was to advance from her fourth year to her fifth in elementary school. She was the outdoorsy type, but she was also quite sensitive to the trends around school, and the big fad at the time was the new game where you caught monsters in balls and had them battle. Asuha enjoyed that game quite a lot.

But there are some less-than-mature adults in the world, and one day, when Asuha went to her friend’s house to play, her friend’s big brother challenged her to a battle. It was partly her own fault for bragging (half exaggerating) about how strong and great her monsters were, but that immature older man employed cheap tricks to render her helpless, and crushed all of Asuha’s precious monsters.

Her friend had apologized fervently, and she’d laughed it off, but on the way home her cheer turned to quiet seething. One of her core beliefs was that when you were frustrated, you should do something about it that same day. And she loved stuffed animals, so on the way home, she decided to stop by a 500 yen shop to buy one to calm down. When it turned out they were sold out, she sank further into depression.

Shortly after, she had happened to pass by an arcade, and noticed that one of the claw machines was full of stuffed monsters from the game she liked. Asuha found a stuffed animal of the monster the older boy had beaten, the one she’d chosen to be her starter partner. To say that she wanted it would not be quite accurate. It was more that she felt she had to save it.

It was a sad little bit of projection, but Asuha felt it sincerely. She had convinced herself that to rescue the stuffed animal from the claw machine would be saving her beaten partner in her 3DS.

She had 500 yen on her. The game cost 100 yen to play, but would give you six plays for 500 yen. She’d just have to try.

Asuha was just in the process of screwing up her courage when she heard a voice from behind her.

“Better not,” the voice said. She turned, wondering who it might be.

It was a child she’d never seen before, dressed in a neat shirt and shorts combo that was well-suited to a lanky frame, a wad of what was probably bubble gum in one cheek.

“It’s in a place you can’t get to with only six tries. You’d be wasting your money.”

“That’s an awful thing to say!” Asuha protested fiercely. She knew that he — or she, now that she thought about it — was clearly right, but her heart could not accept it.

The child looked back at Asuha with a gaze that screamed, “You’re a real handful, you know?” but seemed curious as to the tragedy that had led to such a ridiculous protest.

“You like it?” the child asked, meaning the game.

Asuha nodded.

She liked it. She loved it. That was why she was so frustrated.

“Give it here,” the child said.

She didn’t understand, at first, what the child meant.

“The 500 yen. I’ll get it for you.”

“Can you do that?” she asked in a trembling voice.

The child cracked up laughing. “I’ll do better than you, at least.”

It was a frankness that was, in a way, very cool.

In the end, the child failed to get the stuffed animal in six plays, added another 300 yen, and failed again. It was only after the child’s mother arrived — getting the stuffed animal on her first 100 yen — that Asuha finally received her toy. It was a rather pitiful showing, but Asuha thanked them both sincerely.

“Tell me the party you lost with,” the child asked as Asuha was getting ready to go.

Asuha explained in great detail all about where she had caught the monsters, her emotional attachment to them, and what moves she had given them. After finally expressing all of her frustration at losing, she felt satisfied and comfortable.

Then, just before she left, Asuha asked whether the child was a boy or a girl. The response was given with a firm scowl.

A week later, Asuha had met up with her friend again, and learned that the brother who had beaten her had himself been beaten badly by a party exactly like Asuha’s. It was another week after that that Asuha had learned that the person using that party was the child who had helped her get the stuffed animal before.

The child’s name was Sera Kiryu.

She had never forgotten Sera’s reaction when she declared it “a very cute name.”

Morning came.

Sakurako Ogi, servant to Ichiro Tsuwabuki, had woken up early as always, in her room full of figures, manga, and DVDs. As usual, the first thing she did was cast open the curtains.

Her master had generously given her a room facing to the east, and she took a deep breath as she bathed in the morning sun. She was glad that it was summer and that the sun was out early. If it had been the middle of winter, it would have been dark outside even with the curtains open, which would have made it hard to get enthused about much of anything.

The next thing she did was take off her pajamas and run to her attached shower room. The water temperature was always 25 degrees Celsius. The cold water droplets hit her head and soaked into her chestnut hair, gradually waking her up. She washed off the sweat from sleeping, dried off, brushed her hair and teeth, put on her clothes and makeup, and did various other appearance checks.

Once it was all ready, she attached her lace cap, completing the routine. For the irrepressible maid Sakurako Ogi, it was the beginning of a new day.

She walked around the room, stretching out her arms and twisting her back. Today, she had to prepare breakfast, do the laundry, and clean Ichiro’s Japanese-style room. It was going to be a busy morning, so she quickly headed down the corridor to the dining room to set up her plan for the day.

But...

“Morning, Sakurako-san.”

“Good morni... huh?”

Ichiro was there.

It wasn’t his being there that was odd, of course; it was his house, after all. It wasn’t that he was up early, either; he typically woke up early. Nor was it that he was in the dining room; normally he’d be in the indoor pool or his study at this time of day, but how he used his time was up to him.

But why on Earth was he holding a vacuum?

“I heard something interesting would be happening in the game today, so I thought I might assist you so that we could log in sooner,” he said.

As usual, he had the strangest ways of being considerate.

“You can’t help me with work I’m getting paid for,” she protested. “I’ll do the cleaning.”

Nevertheless, the young heir continued moving the vacuum, his expression cool. “Sakurako-san, I hope you’re not worried that it will diminish your worth if I’m able to do all the cleaning and laundry perfectly.”

“Ngh.” Sakurako was usually considered a very warm person, but this struck a nerve. “Ichiro-sama, even if you are an unparalleled genius, you cannot compete with me in housekeeping skills.”

“Why don’t we put that claim to the test?” he asked.

“Oh? I see you haven’t lost your mouth, Ichiro-sama.”

“It’s the same one I’ve always had. Why don’t we say that the winner will do a favor for the loser?”

“Very well. So be it.”

Sakurako grinned her assent, and the competition began.

“I’ll start with the laundry,” Ichiro attempted.

“No, I’ll do that,” Sakurako broke in, stopping him before he could flaunt an even greater lack of delicacy than usual.

And so the morning passed. The show of tremendous immaturity between the two of them got a day’s work of housework done by a little after 8 AM. As for who won the contest... we’ll leave that to the reader to imagine.

Breakfast ended up starting a bit late, and the two cooked and ate together while praising each other on the fight.

“Ichiro-sama, I never knew you were so competitive,” Sakurako murmured as she spread butter on the brown rice bread. With everything that had happened, breakfast had ended up being a simple affair.

“Hmm, I’ll acknowledge that I am. I always feel I must win at all costs.”

“Is that why you also picked a fight with King Kirihito... I mean, Sera Kiryu?”

“Nonsense. We merely came to an agreement about our mutual need for competition. It was not a fight.”

He was splitting hairs, of course.

He had explained the events of the game to her over dinner the night before. Sakurako had been surprised that they’d found King Kirihito so easily, surprised that he’d taken a Zombie Legion out that quickly, surprised that Ichiro had accomplished the same feat, and surprised that Felicia had slapped him.

She was not at all surprised that he had broken the 1,200 yen Monetary Sword. That barely qualified as news.

She also wasn’t terribly surprised that Ichiro had picked a fight with King. That fit her ongoing theory.

“When did you realize it might happen?” Ichiro asked.

“When Kirihito (Leader) was first telling us about King Kirihito,” Sakurako said, holding up her spoon triumphantly. “You were acting strangely, so I thought, ‘Ah, I bet he’s feeling competitive.’”

She truly was an observant girl. Her inference was right on the money.

“Though I can’t help but find it a bit immature to nurse a rivalry with a middle schooler,” she added.

“Nonsense. A worthy rival is a worthy rival, even if they’re only ten years old,” Ichiro argued as he stabbed a fork into his salad smothered in dressing.

“Even if you’re using money to win?” she responded.

“My money is but an extension of my genius,” he said loftily.

It was the money he earned via his genius; thus, it was a part of that genius, and using it in the game was not cheating in any way.

It wasn’t that she didn’t understand what he meant, but it still felt like cheating to her. Perhaps she was too Japanese when it came to money.

“But it must be so hard on Asuha,” Sakurako said, changing the subject to stop her mind from going too far down that path.

Ichiro nodded in agreement.

Asuha had been convinced that Sera Kiryu was escaping into the game world, and realizing that her friend was definitely King Kirihito seemed to make that an inescapable conclusion. A child had stopped coming to school due to being bullied in the real world, and now reigned over the game world as its ultimate player. Viewed objectively, what else could it be?

Asuha must have found it unforgivable.

It was likely that she had initially intended to say something more sympathetic. “Let’s go to school together,” perhaps. Maybe “I’m on your side.” She had probably intended to offer words of encouragement, to draw her friend free of the world of the game.

But the sight of the Kirihitters flocking around, praising “King Kirihito” to the skies, had set her off. It wasn’t wrong for them to have done so, exactly. The timing was just bad. To Felicia, it had likely seemed that King was basking in the adulation. Perhaps, Ichiro thought, he had been slightly in the wrong with his behavior, as well.

“Well, I think we should let Asuha do whatever she wants to do.” Ichiro said, gathering up the dishes. “And I’ll do what I want to do.”

“You’re going to go after Sera and try to fight her?” Sakurako asked.

“I’m not sure if Sera’s a him or a her, but yes, that’s the plan.”

“Huh? She’s a her, right?”

“I believe he’s a him.”

Realizing that they had come upon a slight misunderstanding, they stared at each other in silence for a few seconds.

“Well, never mind that,” Ichiro said, immediately.

Sakurako had noticed a slight change in Ichiro’s behavior since he had first begun playing a week ago. He was looking bored a lot less often than he used to.

He was actually looking forward to Narrow Fantasy Online. It seemed to have far outstripped his expectations. Looking back over the week’s events, that seemed clearly the case, and the incident with King Kirihito just confirmed it.

Ichiro himself had said that everyone enjoyed the game in their own way, and he was clearly figuring out his own unique playstyle. He had found something he never imagined he would: a friendly rival worthy of his skills. Perhaps what her master had wanted for so very long was just something to alleviate his boredom.

She couldn’t escape the nagging thought that this was a supervillain’s motivation, but that was only natural. Ichiro was certainly the “mastermind” type.

“Anyway, the initial agreement I made with Asuha was only that we would help her until she found Sera Kiryu,” Ichiro said.

“I’m not sure that’s a reason to immediately declare her friend your rival on the spot... but ah, well.” Sakurako broke off suddenly as if remembering something. “By the way, what was the interesting thing you mentioned before?”

“Hmm?”

“The thing going on inside the game.”

“Oh, I’ll tell you after we log in.”

Sakurako finished her meal, and the two put their hands together to offer thanks.

“Ah, Ichiro-sama, you really should let me handle the dishes, at least.”

“Please do, then.”

Ichiro moved to the living room to enjoy his post-meal downtime, and around 9:30, with plenty of time to spare, they were both in their Miraive Gear Cocoon seats.

They got into their Miraive Gear Cocoon seats at 9:30 and logged in with plenty of time to spare, arriving right at the frontline base in the Necrolands.

There was a large crowd of people for so early in the morning, in part because it was a Saturday. Felicia was one of them.

She averted her eyes awkwardly at first as she noticed Ichiro and Kirschwasser, but then approached them. “I’m sorry about yesterday,” she said.

“There’s no need to apologize,” Ichiro answered. “In my opinion, there was nothing incorrect about what you did.”

He had a bad habit of saying what he really felt in a very roundabout way, but Felicia just smiled, seeming to be relieved that he wasn’t angry.

“Incidentally, I see there are quite a lot of people here,” Kirschwasser said, gazing over the large crowd of players around them.

There certainly were a lot of them, and they weren’t just standing there. They all seemed to be buzzing excitedly about one single subject.

Felicia and Kirschwasser both looked around, trying to figure out what was going on.

“Do you remember the dungeon we visited yesterday? It seems a player made it to the bottom floor.” Ichiro selected “Config” from his menu window, then called up the Miraive Gear’s proprietary browser. It was an app that let you view web pages at any time while in a game, and it was so convenient that most players installed it despite the 300 yen monthly usage fee.

“Wow...” Felicia said.

“Oh-ho!” Kirschwasser cried.

Their reactions were the polar opposites of each other.

“Might I ask who it was that made it to the bottom?” Kirschwasser asked.

“Matsunaga, the man who runs this blog,” Ichiro said. His browser was opened to an affiliate site, “vsoku@VRMMO Aggregate Blog.”

“Ah, from the Dual Serpents,” Kirschwasser said. “His guild specializes in speed dungeon-diving, so that stands to reason.”

Matsunaga was one of the people Kirschwasser had spoken of so proudly the day before. Ichiro remembered him as an Elf dressed in a green coat who comported himself very elegantly.

“But that doesn’t mean the Grand Quest is finished, does it?” Felicia asked.

“It seems not,” Ichiro responded, after checking his status window to confirm that the special icon marking their participation in the Grand Quest was still there. He then switched back to the web browser and continued. “It appears that reaching the dungeon’s bottom floor is not the win condition. Matsunaga says there are quite a few triggers required to complete the quest, and he wants players from various other guilds to work together to achieve it.”

Ichiro went on to explain that there was a stone monument on the last floor containing information on the Grand Quest’s boss, a.k.a. the Grand Boss. Several spellcaster-class characters would be needed to set off the monument and the triggers around it, which meant that Matsunaga’s party alone wouldn’t be enough.

One thing he knew for sure was that activating the monument in the dungeon would cause the Grand Boss to appear on the surface. Since Matsunaga’s guild couldn’t trigger that alone, he was proposing the formation of a “United Guild” with other top players.

“Master Ichiro, you know an awful lot about this,” Kirschwasser said.

“As a matter of fact, I received an invitation as well,” Ichiro said offhandedly, opening up his messaging box. The newest message showed the name “Matsunaga” along with an account ID in the “sender” column. It was an invitation to join the United Guild, and to attend a strategy conference regarding it. “This is the ‘something interesting’ I mentioned to you this morning. I found the message on my tablet computer when I woke up.”

Felicia tilted her head in confusion. “I-Itchy, are you... famous here?”

“Are you satisfied?” Kirschwasser asked, expression blank.

Ichiro was struck by a feeling of déjà vu. The silver-haired Knight had looked at him in the exact same way when he’d described his microtransaction-based playstyle.

“But Itchy, haven’t you only been playing the game for a week?” Felicia asked.

“Much has happened in that week,” Kirschwasser said, gravely.

Felicia knitted her brow.

It was true that shortly before he’d met up with Felicia in the game, Ichiro had been the center of some controversy. She may have guessed that by this point, and Ichiro saw no reason to hide it.

“It’s on Matsunaga’s blog,” Ichiro said, bringing up one of his past articles to show Felicia.

Kirschwasser peered at it, too, and let out a faint groan. The article had gone up just a few days ago.

“What? Is it about Itchy?” she asked.

“Yes, but that article will not paint Master Ichiro in a flattering light. You may not enjoy reading it.”

“Okay, I won’t read it,” Felicia said.

As far as Ichiro could tell, the site was quite biased, so while it made for interesting reading material, he found it to be an unreliable source. Kirschwasser was right when he said that it painted Ichiro as the villain in a conflict that had happened several days before. But as Ichiro seldom cared what others thought about him, he wasn’t especially angry about it.

Felicia frowned. “So he wrote a smear article about you, and now he wants you on his quest team? That’s kind of...”

“Yes, it’s extremely shameless,” Ichiro grinned. Perhaps he had even meant it as a compliment.

Ichiro described the e-mail Matsunaga had sent to him in more detail. It indicated that there was a possibility that, after the event to trigger the Grand Boss below was activated, the dungeon’s bottom floor might be cut off from the surface. This was merely an unproven hypothesis, but at the very least, it would take a long time to travel from one to the other, which meant that the players who triggered the event on the bottom floor could not participate in the defeat of the Grand Boss.

“This is going to get messy,” Kirschwasser murmured as he listened.

“What do you mean?” Felicia asked.

“The common goal of all players is to defeat Grand Bosses and clear Grand Quests. You would be hard-pressed to find anyone willing to give up on that chance,” he said.

“But someone has to be on the lowest floor activating the monument,” Ichiro responded. “Quite a few someones, at that. You’ll need spellcasters to trigger the monument, skilled Thieves and Scouts to navigate the dungeon, and powerful damage-dealers, too, given the large number of monsters you’ll face on the way.”

In other words, in the battle against the Grand Boss, a significant force would have to be diverted to the lower levels. But, as Kirschwasser had explained, everyone would want to fight the Grand Boss themselves, and push for someone else to be on the dungeon team. It was, indeed, a messy situation.

Felicia grimaced openly. “So is that what they’ll discuss at the conference?”

“Perhaps. I think that when they read this, most players will attempt to recruit the aid of other guilds and top players to trigger the event down below while they fight the boss up on the surface.” Ichiro gazed into the eyes of the silent, scowling Felicia.

Felicia didn’t seem to much care for the way the discussion was going, demonstrating a self-righteousness characteristic to girls her age. It was clear that she disliked this sort of quasi-open calculation.

“Whom else has he invited?” Kirschwasser asked. He didn’t seem to mind in the least.

Ichiro went back to his inbox and checked the body of the message again. “It says he contacted the Red Sunset Knights, too.”

“Oh-ho!” Kirschwasser let out a noise of admiration. “An alliance between two of the Three Great Guilds?”

“You make it sound very impressive, but I’m afraid it doesn’t resonate for me the same way,” Ichiro said.

“Me, either.” Felicia’s reaction was a muted one.

Ichiro felt similarly. Perhaps it was because he had only recently learned of them. But then, even if he had been very familiar with them, it was very unlikely that he would feel the same admiration as Kirschwasser. Ichiro’s basic stance was to mind his own business and pay little heed to the concerns of others.

“I’ll read the message out,” Ichiro said. “It says they’ve assembled ‘only the finest’ for the party. ‘The leader of the largest guild and his four generals...’” That likely referred to the Knights. “‘The brave hero who has never logged out since the service launched, a beloved adventurer who has logged 2,000 friends, a warrior who has skipped school to max out all their skill levels... There are too many to name in all, but we’ll have a party strong enough to take out any Grand Boss. We even have a player who took out a Magi-Metal Dragon solo.’”

“Wouldn’t you die if you never logged out?” Felicia remarked, accurately. “And isn’t 999 the max number of friends you can have?”

“That message may be slightly exaggerated,” Kirschwasser spoke gravely. “But I more or less understand who he means. They’re all relatively famous players.”

“The one who beat a Magi-Metal Dragon solo is me, isn’t it?” Ichiro asked.

“When did that happen?!” Felicia exclaimed.

“Recently.”

It seemed that, aside from the Knights, the players Matsunaga had reached out to were not necessarily ones associated with large guilds, but instead those who had earned fame on their own terms. Perhaps he had deemed players like that easier to manage, given the unique needs of this quest. Ichiro didn’t know this Matsunaga very well, but he didn’t judge him to be the sort to form his United Guild haphazardly.

Still scowling, Felicia peeked into the open window Ichiro was looking at. “The player who skipped school to get maxed out skills must be Kiryu...” she said, pointing out the one line in Matsunaga’s message. “Which means that Kiryu might be at the meeting, right?”

“It’s entirely possible,” Ichiro said. He was definitely one of the game’s top players, and thus, he would surely have interest in beating the Grand Quest.

On the other hand, they called King Kirihito the ultimate solo player, so it was doubtful that he might want to participate in a coalition like this.

“Itchy, will you be going to the meeting?” Felicia asked.

“I plan to. Of course, King may be there, or he may not. To find out whether or not he will is part of the reason I want to go.”

The Grand Quest strategy meeting was to be held in the wilds of the Delve Necrolands.

“A joint operation between the Red Sunset Knights and the Dual Serpents,” Matsunaga’s aggregate blog proudly proclaimed. In addition to the two great guilds working together, the strength of the other names mentioned had gathered attention of many, which had resulted in the higher-than-usual attendance in the Delve Necrolands that day.

Matsunaga would be recording the conference with the video capture app, and streaming it live. Mid-level players who were curious but not strong enough to make it to the Delve Necrolands piled into the streaming channel to watch.

So it is a big deal after all, Ichiro thought as he took his place at the meeting.

He wasn’t sure why Matsunaga had chosen to broadcast it on such a wide scale, but either way, his advertising had been extremely effective. It was clear that disseminating information all over the web was one of the man’s strengths.

A round table object had been set in the middle of the field’s main thoroughfare to set the stage for the meeting. Several Acolyte class characters were projecting Saint Barriers to keep enemy mobs from interrupting. The many famous players invited directly by Matsunaga sat at the table, while many others crowded around it.

There was one empty seat at the round table. King Kirihito’s, most likely. In the end, he hadn’t shown up. Ichiro couldn’t find him among those sitting around the table.

“Greetings, everyone,” the Elf in the green coat said. “Thank you for accepting my invitation. As I believe you all know, I am Matsunaga.”

The players seated at the table included him, Stroganoff, and the Red Sunset Knights’ four team commanders. There were two players Ichiro had never seen before, as well as two of the Knights’ team commanders who were complete strangers to him. He knew they were supposed to be impressive, but it still hardly registered with him.

“This quest will need to be dealt with simultaneously on two different fronts,” Matsunaga said. “It is for this reason that I gathered you all here today. Now, shall we go around the table and introduce ourselves?”

“I believe I know everyone here,” Stroganoff said, crossing his arms from his seated position. “But I haven’t spoken to them directly. And introductions are necessary in the name of courtesy.”

“Well, then, if I may...” The Elf Scout Matsunaga cast the group an artificial smile and gave a small cough before beginning. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am Matsunaga, leader of the Dual Serpents. My race is Elf. My classes are Scout, Thief, and Shinobi. As you can likely infer, I specialize in exploration and information gathering. I’m not especially good at fighting.”

As he finished, Matsunaga cast a glance to Stroganoff in the seat beside him. The red-haired giant grunted in response.

“Leader of the Red Sunset Knights, Stroganoff. Human Knight, subclasses are Fighter and Samurai. I’m a DPS-specialized heavy warrior, and my preferred weapon is the two-handed sword.”

“Gazpacho, also from the Red Sunset Knights. Dwarf, Fighter, Blacksmith, Knight. Axe is my main.”

After Stroganoff and Gazpacho introduced themselves, the rest of the Red Sunset Knights followed suit. The Paladin Tiramisu, the Mage Gorgonzola, the Ranger Parmigiano-Reggiano. All very delicious names.

It was becoming clear that the Knights weren’t just a large guild, but had a good balance among their commanders. The four of them, plus Stroganoff, would likely be the strongest party in Narrow Fantasy Online, even if they took on a dungeon by themselves.

Ichiro cast a glance at Felicia and Kirschwasser, who were sitting in the bleachers. Kirschwasser was looking on with great interest, while Felicia seemed indifferent. Well, it likely wasn’t very interesting to watch.

The introductions continued to Parmigiano’s left. This was one of the faces Ichiro didn’t recognize.

“I am the High Elf Tomakomai. I did not expect to be called to such an event, so this is quite novel. My class is Philosopher, to which I added the Grappler class for fun.” The androgynous High Elf with the faint green glasses smiled.

A buzz spread through the audience.

“Isn’t that the...”

“The player who hasn’t logged out since the service started...”

“Are you kidding me?”

Realistically speaking, it seemed impossible that you could play that long without ever logging out, but everyone appeared to have heard the rumor.

Next to Tomakomai sat an Anthromorph with cat ears. This one was female.

“I’m Amesho! Me-ow do you do?”

Ichiro winced. The others glared daggers at her.

Tomakomai turned to address her with a gentle smile. “Amesho, could you please speak normally here?”

“Aww, if mew insist... Okay.” The Anthromorph, Amesho, cleared her throat. “Let’s see... I’m an Anthromorph Thief, and I’ve got so many friends! Lots of rare items, too!”

This sent another buzz through the crowd.

“Isn’t that the...”

“The player who has over 2,000 friends...”

“Are you kidding me?”

Of course, the maximum number of friends you could register in the game was 999.

“Next, Mr. Tsuwabuki.”

“Hmm?” At Matsunaga’s prompting, Ichiro held up a hand and answered. “I am Ichiro Tsuwabuki, a Dragonet Magi-Fencer. I came because I was invited, though I’ve only been playing for a short time. I believe my abilities are easily on par with yours, though, so there’s no need to worry.”

Yet another buzz ran through the crowd.

“Isn’t that the...”

“The player who buys over a million microtransactions a day...”

“Are you kidding me?”

It wasn’t quite right, but not far from the truth. He cast a glance at Felicia in the stands. She looked mortified, but Ichiro didn’t care.

Just then, Amesho began tugging at his sleeve. “Hey, hey. Are you the one Matsunaga mentioned in his message? The one who skipped school to max out all his skill levels?”

“No, I’m the one who defeated a Magi-Metal Dragon solo. The one you’re referring to does not appear to have come.” Ichiro indicated the empty seat at the table.

“It does seem we’re missing one, but I suppose that was to be expected.” With the introductions out of the way, Matsunaga spoke up.

“We have around us the game’s most famous players. Isn’t it sensational? This is how a VRMMO works. It’s the devs who write the scripts, but we’re the ones who act them out. Such things are of utmost importance.

“Enough, Matsunaga,” Stroganoff interrupted as Matsunaga rattled on. “Let’s get down to business. Due to IRL concerns, Gazpacho and I must leave by 11:00 at the latest.”

“Oh, that’s right, Stroganoff. Your job,” Matsunaga said. “Then let us discuss. Of course, the business is more or less what I described in my message. I’ve explained it on my blog, as well, and I believe everyone knows the situation by now.”

The guild led by Matsunaga, the Dual Serpents, had reached the lowest floor of the Grand Quest dungeon, the Forgotten Catacombs, yesterday. They’d shared the results of their investigation, and the conclusions they had come to.

Sorting through all the script and setting fluff, he had decided that the quest was likely to take place on two levels.

In the previous six Grand Quests, the Grand Boss was waiting on the lowest level of the dungeon, and the defeat of that boss cleared the quest. The Dual Serpents and the Red Sunset Knights had cultivated a close relationship based on information sharing. Matsunaga’s group would get the fundamental information on the dungeon and its boss, and Stroganoff’s group would execute a plan of attack based on that. Everyone had expected that this time would be the same.

“But that won’t work this time. There will likely be two boss monsters, or a boss and an enemy of equivalent power. One will be at the bottom of the dungeon; the other, on the main thoroughfare. It’s likely that the quest requirement ‘Stop the Source of the Miasma’ will be resolved when the Grand Boss on the surface is defeated, thus making it the ‘true’ boss.”

But at the same time, Matsunaga continued, he had determined that the Grand Boss spawn event wouldn’t trigger unless someone cleared the obstacles on the lowest level of the dungeon first. Therein lay the problem.

He had decided to designate the process of getting to the bottom of the dungeon and removing the obstacles there Sequence A, and the battle with the Grand Boss on the surface Sequence B. Naturally, Sequence B could not be accomplished until Sequence A was completed, but most of the players participating in the Grand Quest would be more interested in Sequence B.

Matsunaga’s investigation of the Forgotten Catacombs had suggested that completing Sequence A would require some very experienced players. Given their usual way of executing their plans, that burden would usually fall to the Red Sunset Knights, but they weren’t about to agree to that so easily.

The players who participated in Sequence A would be far enough from the second event that they would probably miss the first run against the boss. They might not even get to participate in Sequence B at all.

The Knights were a guild of Achievers, specialized in combat. Their ambition was to defeat the Grand Boss and to carve their names forever into Asgard history.

Thus, Matsunaga proposed a plan:

The Dual Serpents were dungeon rush specialists, so they would join a mixed team heading for the bottom floor. The main force of the Knights would remain above-ground, where they could accomplish their primary goal of defeating the Grand Boss.

Naturally, if a boss monster were to appear at the end of Sequence A, then the dungeon-diving team would need some skilled fighters, as well. Some division of battle power would be needed, which was why he had invited famous players not affiliated with the two great guilds.

“It seems you have the plan already worked out,” Stroganoff said with a sharp gaze. “So the purpose of the meeting is to discuss how to divide our forces, is that right?”

“Well, more or less,” Matsunaga said breezily. “But Stroganoff, you mustn’t think you’ll get to steal all the spotlight. This is the Grand Quest in preparation for the game’s one-year anniversary. The developers are clearly putting a lot of work into it. And I’m sure the top players we’ve brought here want to defeat the Grand Boss themselves.”

All eyes turned to the three top players invited who weren’t from the guilds. In other words, Ichiro, Amesho, and Tomakomai.

They were all assumed to be quite powerful, but they were as well known for their eccentricities as anything. If Matsunaga was right, then at the very least, it wasn’t clear from looking at their expressions. Ichiro was placid, Amesho was grinning, and Tomakomai was smiling gently.

Ichiro checked on Felicia, who was still sitting in the stands.

Matsunaga had been keeping the reins on the conference, skillfully controlling the entire conversation. Fast talkers like him could be found everywhere, of course, but judging from Felicia’s attitude earlier, she’d seemed to find it unpleasant. She wasn’t the only one.

Matsunaga’s unsubtle dominance of the conversation was earning him glares and scowls from Stroganoff’s Knights. It was hard to say whether their attitudes were just a part of an extended roleplay, or some other calculation.

“But you mentioned that triggering the event would require spellcasters, didn’t you?” Stroganoff asked.

“Yes, I did,” Matsunaga said.

“Then the Philosopher and Magi-Fencer should head for the bottom floor. Thief is a class best suited for dungeon-diving, too. Shouldn’t they be the ones to go underground? I hear Tsuwabuki there reached the bottom floor solo.”

That last line sent a new buzz through the audience.

To his right, he could hear Amesho murmur, “Wow, amazing.”

Ichiro naturally replied that, yes, he was amazing.

“For such a large man, your way of thinking is very petty, Stroganoff,” Matsunaga said with a chuckle.

“First, as leader of the Knights, you should offer up some of your own members as a show of good faith. I believe Gorgonzola is an excellent spellcaster, and Parmigiano quite the fine explorer.”

Matsunaga’s words had some logic to them. They would need high-level spellcasters and explorers to complete the underground dungeon segment. In addition to being part of the top player guild, the two that Matsunaga had mentioned had powerful support and analytical abilities. They were well-suited to dungeon-diving.

But they were also an essential part of the Knights’ basic teamwork tactics. Gorgonzola was a high-DPS spellcaster, and Parmigiano was excellent with ranged weapons. Sending those two down into the dungeon would cripple the Knights’ ability to coordinate against the Grand Boss. That was a hard pill for Stroganoff to swallow.

The two stared at each other, sparks flying between them. Matsunaga was intentionally trying to weaken the Knights in the battle above. That was why he had invited the three top players. If King Kirihito had also come, it would have reduced the necessity of sending the Knights against the Grand Boss even more. He alone could handle all the work of a single Knight corps.

Naturally, the Knights weren’t going to stand for letting their credit be stolen in the name of some “united front” with the other top players. But since they had come there on the pretense of cooperating to finish the quest, they couldn’t exactly say that.

Calculation met calculation. Ichiro turned his eyes back to the gallery in time to see Felicia getting out of her seat. Perhaps she couldn’t stand it anymore.

He couldn’t blame her. It likely wasn’t an interesting conference to watch, and King Kirihito a.k.a. Sera Kiryu hadn’t even shown up.

The staring contest that seemed like it might go on forever was broken with a single word from the young heir, Ichiro Tsuwabuki.

“I think I’ll go below.”

His pronouncement sent a shockwave out from the table, which continued into the stands.

“I have no interest in the glory of slaying the boss. Of course, I’m not especially interested in what’s going on at the bottom of the dungeon either... but I am the strongest of those assembled here, aren’t I?”

It was not a line one should be saying at a meeting of the game’s top players. They all glared at him, itching with the need to argue. But it would be a waste of effort. His expression showed him to be as pliable as a willow.

In addition, the truth was, they couldn’t deny it. It wasn’t that they thought of themselves as weaker than Ichiro, but if they didn’t concede the point now, Ichiro would keep arguing instead of moving on to his next point.

Amesho was giggling, while the others gritted their teeth in silence.

“That’s why you want me far away from the surface, is it not?” Ichiro asked. “Matsunaga, and Stroganoff, as well... Am I wrong?”

“You are, of course, correct, Mr. Tsuwabuki,” Matsunaga assented with a thin smile.

Stroganoff remained silent, but didn’t deny it.

“I wasn’t expecting you to be the first to speak up,” Ichiro said. “Oh, that’s right. Naturally, I’ll be going down below, along with all members of the Dual Serpents. Stroganoff is being unyielding, so let’s ask Tomakomai and Amesho first. What do you want to do?”

“What else can we mew?” Amesho was the first to speak. “I’m fine going underground. I’ll go in Parmigiano’s place.”

“Thank you,” Parmigiano said.

They seemed to come to some strange agreement, perhaps as fellow cat people.

Thus, the Knights’ ranged specialist, Shooting Star Parmigiano, would be allowed to remain on the surface. All eyes fell once again on Stroganoff and “Demon” Gorgonzola.

Matsunaga let out an artificial laugh, then nudged the red-haired Knight once more. “Still being stubborn, Stroganoff? Two of the three top players have indulged you. Surely you could at least send out your top Mage.”

Stroganoff folded his arms and sat silent for a time, then turned his eyes to his third squad commander, two seats down. “Apologies, Gorgon.”

“Not at all.” That was all the Elf man in the full-body indigo robe had to say.

And so, the famed top players worked out their teams for the completion of the Grand Quest.

The surface team would be the Human Knight Stroganoff, the Dwarf Fighter Gazpacho, the Human Paladin Tiramisu, the Anthromorph Ranger Parmigiano, and High Elf Philosopher Tomakomai.

The underground team would be the Elf Scout Matsunaga, the Dragonet Magi-Fencer Ichiro Tsuwabuki, the Elf Mage Gorgonzola, and the Beastman Thief Amesho.

It’s all nonsense, thought Ichiro. Nearly the entire conference had gone just as Matsunaga wished it. It was a farce.

The moment Matsunaga declared the conference over, Ichiro stood up swiftly and took his leave.

The conference was taking place in the middle of the Necrolands, with the Saint Barrier the only thing protecting them from hordes of the walking dead.

Felicia had left her seat, unable to take watching the conference any longer, but she couldn’t bring herself to roam out into the Necrolands swarming with high-level monsters. All she could do was just sit at the far edge of the barrier, watching the zombies wander through the ghost town in the distance.

Were all top players really people like them?

To Felicia, that conference had just looked like an ugly struggle for dominance.

It wasn’t that she disliked the game. She had initially joined NaroFan to find her friend, but to be honest, she also quite enjoyed defeating monsters and gaining levels. Shouldn’t the game be more like that, with everyone just having fun together?

Felicia turned that over and over again in her mind as she gazed off at the distant zombies.

Just then...

“Hey, Felicia.”

She turned instinctively to the voice behind her. It came from a young man in a glossy black suit, the usual cool smile on his face.

“Itchy...”

Inevitably, it was Ichiro Tsuwabuki.

“Is the conference over?” she asked.

“Oh, yes. May I join you?”

“Okay...”

Ichiro sat next to Felicia, still smiling.

She could see the spectators exiting the bleachers, confirming what he had said about the conference being over. Some stuck around to exchange small talk, while others left the barrier’s range immediately.

“What happened?” she asked. “I thought no one wanted to go underground...”

“Well, it was less that no one wanted to go underground and more a contest of wills between Matsunaga and Stroganoff. I’m part of the underground team.”

“Oh?” She knew that Ichiro wouldn’t have much interest in the Grand Boss, but she wouldn’t have expected him to join the underground team, either. The Itchy she knew wasn’t the type to compromise.

Ichiro lifted a finger in response to Felicia’s skeptical comment. “Let’s see if I can guess what you’re thinking.”

“Huh?”

“While watching the top players at their conference, you began to feel a degree of contempt towards them. Then, you began to wonder if King Kirihito a.k.a. Sera Kiryu was just like them, a thought which led you into self-recrimination. Am I right?”

“Ugh...” she said. Ichiro’s guess was right on the mark. It was as if he could read her mind.

Felicia really didn’t want to believe that her friend was as shallow as the people at that conference. She didn’t want to, but she was beginning to think that way. Ever since the incident yesterday, she had started to wonder if she really understood Sera Kiryu at all.

Ichiro continued, “There are two things that I can say. Number one: They are enjoying the game in their own way. This is a pure, innocent feeling. It may seem grating to an outside observer, but I believe it’s something to be respected.”

“What’s number two?”

“King wasn’t even there, so you probably shouldn’t worry about it,” he said, lightly. She had to admit he was right.

The words seemed to spring from Felicia’s mouth, unbidden. “Kiryu’s...”

“Hmm?” Ichiro urged her on immediately.

She hadn’t meant to give voice to those thoughts, but realizing that maybe it was something she needed to tell Ichiro, she continued. “Kiryu’s really good at gaming, but doesn’t really like games.”

“Oh.” It was a neutral response, free of emotion, but she could tell he found it surprising.

“That’s not to say Kiryu hates them. It’s more like... ‘I found out gaming was the thing I was best at, so I just naturally end up playing games.’”

That was something Sera had told her just before they entered middle school. Sera was invincible when it came to computer games, and while not quite as dominant when it came to board games, she had still never seen her friend even break a sweat at card games or Othello.

Sera specialized in action games, but excelled at strategy games, as well. Anything, basically, that didn’t require physical activity.

“It sounds like your friend is a born genius,” Ichiro said. “You do see people like that from time to time.”

“You say that so lightly, Itchy...” Felicia said with a frown. Perhaps even born geniuses couldn’t compete with Ichiro Tsuwabuki most of the time.

“I’m a pitcher in the softball club,” Felicia continued.

“Yes, you mentioned you’re their ace, didn’t you?” he answered.

“Our club isn’t that good, and I’m not especially talented,” she admitted. “But I love softball, so even if I found something I was better at, I’d probably want to keep doing it. So...”

“It makes it feel even more like Sera Kiryu is taking the path of least resistance?” Ichiro said, giving her a chance to hedge.

“Yeah...”

“Then you have no choice but to speak to your friend,” he said.

In the end, that was it. Felicia — Asuha Tsuwabuki — believed that Sera Kiryu was fleeing the rigors of reality by retreating into a game. She believed it was her duty to bring her friend back out so that they could go to school together. That belief hadn’t changed in any notable way.

But what if Sera’s feelings weren’t so simple? Dragging her friend back into the real world might not necessarily be the best course of action. So, in the end, all she could do was ask and find out.

And yet, she thought...

“I don’t know where Kiryu is right now.”

“True,” Ichiro nodded. “But that only applies to the game. There is another method by which you could talk to Sera Kiryu.”

And there it was. Felicia looked away. “Go to Kiryu’s house, you mean?”

“Felicia... Asuha, rather. I’m sure this is not the first time the idea has occurred to you.”

She hesitated. Of course, Ichiro was right.

“K-Kiryu’s house, huh?” she murmured with great hesitance. “I don’t want to go... I mean, it would have been awkward from the beginning, but after what I did yesterday...” Felicia mumbled indistinctly as her gaze continued to drift.

But then, what happened yesterday was all the more reason she had to go. She and Sera would never reach an understanding if they didn’t talk.

“You’re searching for King, are you?” The voice, like a coiling serpent, echoed out of the ruined town.

Felicia immediately latched on to Ichiro’s jacket sleeve.

It was a familiar voice. Felicia turned and saw an Elf man standing there, his golden hair blowing in the dry Necrolands wind. He wore a dark green coat over a ninja’s uniform. Felicia did not bother to hide her displeasure at the sight of him.

“A fine conference, Matsunaga,” Ichiro said.

Indeed, it was Matsunaga, leader of the Dual Serpents, the organizer of the conference, and of the United Guild.

“Thank you. We’ve never been properly introduced... I am Matsunaga. Really, I didn’t expect you to come to our little meeting, Mr. Tsuwabuki. I’m sorry about that article I wrote about you the other day,” Matsunaga said with his artificial smile.

So they had never met face-to-face before now? Ichiro had caused some trouble not long ago, and Matsunaga had written an article about it. It seemed that was as much as they had ever interacted.

“It didn’t bother me in the least,” Ichiro said, brushing off the words easily before changing the subject. “I wasn’t expecting to see you out already. I assumed you’d still be hashing out details with Stroganoff.”

“Actually, the one participating in the conference was a kagemusha, a body double,” Matsunaga said with a chuckle. “I love verifying things, you see. I have multiple accounts, all with the same face. It’s very convenient for times like these.”

With that, Matsunaga snapped his fingers. The air around them wavered, and several figures appeared. They were all handsome, smiling Elves wearing identical ninja gear and coats. “Matsunaga” was the name on each.

It was extremely unsettling, and inspired a powerful feeling of déjà vu.

“Why does this keep happening lately?” Felicia groaned.

“Indeed,” Ichiro agreed.

“I thought it made for a good show. You don’t like it?” Matsunaga snapped his fingers again, and the kagemusha Matsunagas all disappeared instantly. They must have had players behind them, suggesting a powerful degree of authority he held over them. Or perhaps they simply enjoyed playing the anonymous kagemusha role.

“Well, then, Matsunaga. Do you know where King Kirihito is?” Ichiro asked.

Given his opening statement, it seemed natural to assume that he did.

“No, I don’t,” denied Matsunaga with a grin. “It’s just, how to put it... Out of the kindness of my heart, I would ask you to stop searching for King.”

“Weren’t you searching for him?” Ichiro asked. “You invited him to your conference.”

“I ran into him yesterday at the bottom floor of the dungeon. I invited him, but of course, he turned me down. So I wasn’t expecting to see him there,” Matsunaga said.

Matsunaga was the kind of man for whom every word and smile seemed to have a double meaning.

Felicia moved behind Ichiro, not bothering to hide her caution in his presence. She couldn’t tell if he was roleplaying, or if this was simply how he talked, but either way, Felicia didn’t like men who smiled like that.

“You know Kiry... ihito?” Felicia asked, still gripping Ichiro’s sleeve.

“Know him? Hmm... we’ve crossed paths in the dungeons a handful of times. After all, I’m in an explorer’s guild, and I like verifying things, which often leads to me diving into unexplored dungeon depths. Sometimes I’ll reach the lowest floor of a dungeon, and just as I begin thinking, ‘Ah, I’m the first one here!’ I find King there, as nonchalant as can be.”

“Oh? That’s impressive,” Ichiro said.

“He must recognize me by now, as he’s greeted me a few times. But he may not remember my name. That’s about the size of our acquaintance.” Matsunaga shrugged.

Felicia wasn’t sure how to react to his implication that this made him and King Kirihito close.

“On that subject, Mr. Tsuwabuki,” Matsunaga said, “a question. Were you diving the Catacombs by yourself? That’s impressive.”

“I wasn’t by myself. She was with me,” Ichiro responded, indicating Felicia.

Matsunaga laughed. “That’s effectively by yourself.”

“Certainly. But while, effectively, I was by myself, to insist that I was alone would be to ignore Felicia’s existence. I cannot approve of that... even if, effectively, I was by myself.”

Felicia snapped, “Sorry for not being more useful! Sorry I’m only level 39!”

“Ah, you gained a level? Congratulations.”

“Congratulations, indeed. Once you hit 40, you clear most of the equipment restrictions, and everything becomes much easier,” Matsunaga said.

Ichiro and Matsunaga both applauded her, smiling. It seemed like they meant it sincerely, but Felicia was in no mood to accept the praise without reservation. She just clung tighter to Ichiro’s sleeve and grumbled.

“Given your level of skill, I had assumed you would want to fight the boss on the surface,” Matsunaga commented, turning back to Ichiro.

“As I said at the conference, it simply doesn’t interest me,” he replied. “You also seemed to want to keep me away from the surface, so why complain?”

Felicia didn’t quite like the tone she heard in Ichiro’s words. He probably wasn’t lying; Ichiro had shown no interest in going after the boss on the surface. But she also wouldn’t expect him to just go along that easily with Matsunaga’s schemes. Ichiro must have seen some personal gain to be had in going along with the underground group. It would have been possible for him to simply not join the United Guild, so what was his reason for going along with this man’s request?

She channeled those doubts into stinging words directed at Matsunaga. “Exactly what’s so great about beating the boss on the surface?”

Felicia’s words were a rebuke to both Stroganoff, who was trying to keep his Knights force strong and united against the boss, and the scheming Matsunaga, who had been plotting to tear them apart.

Matsunaga’s smile did not waver, even as he scratched his cheek self-consciously. “Miss... Felicia, is it? Do you play any online games besides NaroFan?”

“No.”

“I thought not. You didn’t look like a hardcore gamer. Then you don’t know, I suppose. Defeating the boss on the surface is a truly amazing thing.” For once, his tone was entirely straightforward. “Of course, it’s amazing because we as a group have assigned value to it. This is all just a program to begin with. The developers control everything. But, you see... we’ve all invested our blood, sweat, and tears into making our game characters stronger. Those who share that common objective wish to prove their strength to each other, and defeating a boss confers a certain amount of status in that regard.”

She could at least understand the logic behind his words, but she rejected it on an emotional level. “But it’s still just a game...”

“What’s wrong with just being a game? Surely you have things that you’re passionate about,” he said, arguing with enthusiasm. It seemed clear that Matsunaga was quite a heavy gamer.

Ichiro commented, “But Matsunaga, you seem to lack a certain interest in defeating the boss, as well.”

Matsunaga smiled in response to Ichiro’s observation. “Ah, could you tell? Yes, I’m part of the dungeon crawl team. Though it’s not that I lack interest, exactly... but I’m happy as long as my blog flourishes as a result. I enjoy feeling like I’ve created an event.”

It was unlikely that Felicia would be able to accept Matsunaga’s words at this point in her life. The self-righteousness typical of girls of her age was a block against such understanding.

“I believe she doesn’t like me,” Matsunaga noted.

“It appears so,” Ichiro agreed. “I’m sorry. You may be roleplaying your character’s villainous tendencies a bit more than is necessary.”

“I don’t mind. That’s my guild’s policy.” It was hard to tell how serious Matsunaga was being, but he waved his hand and turned away with a flourish of his coat.

“Are you going?” Ichiro asked.

“I have a few arrangements to make. I’ll see you, Mr. Tsuwabuki. I look forward to tomorrow.” With that, he began walking away.

Once he was out of sight and Ichiro and Felicia were left alone in the Necrolands’ ghost town again, Felicia spoke through her pursed lips.

“Itchy. You are participating, aren’t you? In the quest, I mean...”

“Does that upset you?” Ichiro faced her, his smile as cool as ever. “Felicia, I told you that I would accompany you until we found Sera Kiryu. And I also told you that once we did, it would be up to you to decide what to do.”

“R-Right...”

“We have found Sera Kiryu. Maybe you didn’t know what you wanted from that at first, but I think you now have a starting point. In other words, you’ve passed the first hurdle. If you want to try to approach King again, you should do what it is that you want to do. And I will do what I want to do. Our initial promise has not changed.”

Ichiro’s attitude was as self-serving as ever. It was no way to speak to a 14-year-old girl. Felicia was about to comment on that, lowering her face, then raising it again to try to speak. But she closed her mouth a moment after opening it.

Felicia knew. She really knew. She knew what it would mean if she accused him of being cruel, or asked him to help her out more than he already had.

Asuha Tsuwabuki was an adult now. At least, she had insisted that this was the case. Ichiro was merely speaking the way that one would to an adult.

The truth was, she wanted Itchy’s help. The thought of dealing with things on her own made her nervous. She felt the same way when it came to Kiryu. As she was now, Asuha had no faith that she could pull Sera Kiryu back by herself.

And yet...

Felicia nodded. “Okay. Got it.”

Itchy was merely treating her as an adult, as an equal. Felicia knew that he was acting colder to her than she had expected, but she had no intention of asking for special treatment and regressing back to childhood.

Ichiro was busy with his own concerns. To ask him to come back with her and continue to help her search for Sera Kiryu would just be selfishness. She was no longer a child.

“Now that we have that all worked out, shall we return? I expect Sir Kirschwasser is feeling lonely without us,” Ichiro said.

“Sure,” she agreed, and the two began to walk side by side down the Necrolands’ main street.