Chapter 9: The Final Battle and a Secret Event

“Kokoruuu! You were so cool, cheep! That was awesome, cheep!”

Once the battle royale had ended and we returned to the pier, Kokoru’s cheepy little brothers greeted him with glee. Having seen Kokoru defeat Peater, they had a whole new level of respect for him.

“Hahaha. Bawwwk, I just got lucky.” Kokoru was bashful.

A shadow was cast over him from above. When he looked up, he saw Peater there. The Birdman clapped a hand on Kokoru’s round shoulder as he landed.

“Luck is another aspect of strength. You were victorious over me, and that shows how far you’ve come. You’ve done well to grow so much. As a fellow Birdman, I’m overjoyed to see strong youth like you. One day, you’ll surpass me in both name and deeds.”

“Um, thanks, bawk.”

“Now, it does not behoove a loser to prattle,” Peater said. After that, he turned and left.

What a good sport. Peater really has the spirit of a warrior.

“You did so great, bawk! As your father, I couldn’t be more proud!"

“I hardly recognized you, bawk. I’m so happy for you, darling!”

“When we get home, we’re having a party to celebrate, bawk! You’re a hero among chickens!”

“Yes! We’ll throw a superb party, bawk!”

I was perfectly satisfied with my all-out meta-redefining work was coming to fruition! It was lovely that everyone else was so happy, too.

“Daddy, you’re exaggerating, bawk. That was just the preliminary round. Besides, Ren’s the one who deserves to be celebrated, bawk. He’s the one who picked up a guy like me, took me under his wing, and trained me.”

Kokoru’s statement prompted all the little cheep-cheeps to look at me.

“Master! Make us strong too, cheep cheep!” They surrounded me.

Awww, so cute!

“Heh, all right. If there’s a second time, come find me. You all get to have Skull Rings!” I answered, cuddling the little chicks.

“Takashiro!” Akabane tugged at my sleeve.

“Hm? What's up?”

“Do not ‘what’s up’ me! You promised that you’d help me with Akira, remember?!”

“Oh, yeah, I did say that.”

I doubted Akira would be angry at this point, anyway. She’d probably accept Akabane with a big ol’ smile. At worst, she could just offer a small apology, and that would probably be enough.

I dunno what she’s so afraid of.

“Okay, let’s get to it, then.”

We made our way to my guild, where Akira was talking to the other girls. Akabane hid behind me the whole way.

“Hey, Akira?”

“What’s up?” Akira turned to me with a smile.

But before I could talk, someone came to interrupt us.

Hey, that’s the guy who works for Akira’s family. I think his name was Arima?

“Milady, your play was excellent!”

“Oh, hey, Arima,” Akira answered before glancing at me. She shot me a meaningful wink, as if to say, Looks like he didn't notice a thing.

Thanks to the Mimic Fan, Akira had made it through the whole match without being seen in her Sword Dancer gear.

And since Maeda had been so successful in sinking other ships, Akira hadn’t had to do much close combat at all.

Welp, she made it through and had a good time doing it. That’s what counts.

“It was all so moving, despite this being a video game. I enjoyed watching you. Thank you for allowing me to watch.”

“Oh, no problem. I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“That I did. Likewise, you seemed to enjoy yourself—so much so that I daresay you were shining out there. I’ve never seen you having so much fun, Milady.”

“Heehee. Are you implying that I’m usually rather gloomy?”

“Hahaha, absolutely not.”

They sounded like two friendly celebrities chatting it up.

Huh. Is that how Akira is in real life? She practically acts like royalty!

Arima then turned to me. He seemed to look at me with wariness in his eyes. But then I realized that he was actually looking at Akabane behind me.

“Are you certain this is acceptable, though? I do believe that’s Nozomi Akabane over there.”

Their families are at odds, right?

Because of that, Akira and Akabane had started off on poor terms.

Akira looked at her as well. I sensed Akabane holding her breath. Not because of Arima’s glare, but because she was afraid that Akira would be angry with her for hiding her EF identity.

She really, really wanted to be friends with Akira.

Akira put on a bright and cheery smile as she said, “What family she’s from doesn't matter to me. We’re friends, and my friend just happens to be an Akabane. If we know that we can be friends, I don’t see any reason we shouldn't. So yes, I’m certain. How about you, Nozomi?”

Yep. Akira would say something like that.

I knew she would never get mad. I had been playing beside her for years, after all.

“Erm, yes! Same here! Even if our past relationship was sour, that doesn’t mean the future has to be the same. The young must look toward the future!” Akabane swept her hair back, probably thinking she looked super cool. But her lips were curled into a grin, kind of ruining it.

Arima laughed. “Hahaha. I’m in my twenties, so I’m not exactly old.”

“You’re not young, either.”

“You really think so? Well, that certainly stings. Anyway, yes, I see your point; I have said too much. Please forgive me.”

With that settled, it was time for us to turn our attention to the finals.

The four finalists were as follows: our guild, Hell’s Crafters; Baddest of the Bad, with Alfred and his top-tier growth rates; Yukino’s guild, Mystic Arts; and finally, Homura’s Grand Museum.

Alfred making it to the top was pretty much the natural course of things.

There was also Mikott, who had the power to vie for first or second place. And the fact that she was with Yukino's PvP-loving guild meant she was a shoe-in, too.

Grand Museum’s NPC was Bruno, an old merchant guy who’d started at around level 7 or 8, so he was a surprise contender.

Then, there was us! We had picked Cowardly Kokoru! In fact, we were probably the greatest upset.

Suddenly, we all heard Ms. Nakada’s voice. “Okay, here we go! All guilds who made it to the finals, please come to the meeting point! We will now discuss the final battle!”

Woohoo! Time to go to the finals!

◆◇◆

“At last, it is time for the final battle of the guild competitive mission! For this year’s event we have tasked your guilds with raising an NPC from zero to hero! But who will be the last ones standing?! We’ll see soon enough! Now, here are the four NPCs who remain at the finish! Come on out, boys and girls!”

Ms. Nakada’s spirited announcement echoed through the venue. This time, we were in the audience stands, where our parents had been during the battle royale.

The area was like a stadium, with fantastically huge monitors facing all directions in the middle. Presumably, everyone had been watching the airship battle with Ms. Nakada’s commentary.

In response to her speech, the monitors disappeared. In their place, a circular stone ring slowly rose from the ground.

Pop, pop, pop! Psheeew!

Suddenly, there was an explosion of fireworks!

This is just like a pro-wrestling intro! Ms. Nakada’s playing the part perfectly, too!

On the rising stage were the four hero candidate NPCs: Kokoru, Bruno, Mikott, and Alfred.

The stadium erupted in cheers.

This was quite the lineup. Many people probably expected Selphie and Peater to be up here instead of Kokoru and Bruno. But Selphie's team had made a fatal error in her development, and poor Peater had been brought down by those five points we stole.

Fountain of Knowledge had ended up just three points shy of Homura’s guild. If Kokoru hadn't defeated him, they would've actually made it here.

Kokoru had better do his best as the final remaining representative of the Birdmen.

“Kokoruuu! You can do it! Believe in yourself!”

“Go get ’em, Kokoru!”

Akira and I cheered for Kokoru from the VIP section.