Ch.341[Episode 341] Event: Story

“I’m back.”

Sir Dominic returned home early in the morning.

“Huh? What’s this? Did something happen?”

Sir Dominica asked Sir Dominic what might have happened since he hadn’t come home last night.

“Nothing special. I just had a special time with Lady Hime…”

Sir Dominic tried to explain what happened last night but suddenly realized his wording sounded strange.

“Hmm? A special time?”

Sir Dominica latched onto Sir Dominic’s verbal slip.

“No, I mean, all night we had a hot… no, we went all the way-“

Sir Dominic was so flustered that he kept misspeaking.

What he originally wanted to say was that they practiced with burning passion all night, and after playing chicken with the mohawks, they went as far as they could go, but Sir Dominic was already too tongue-tied to explain coherently.

“Well, I understand. We’re adults, right? These things happen.”

Sir Dominica started teasing Sir Dominic as if she’d caught him red-handed.

Sir Dominic was usually quite rigid and boring, so there weren’t many opportunities to tease him except at times like this.

Sir Dominic heaved a deep sigh at Sir Dominica’s behavior, then tried to change the subject.

“By the way, there’s a new Story Mode that’s come out.”

“Why are you changing the subject?”

“While practicing this time, I felt-“

“Felt? What did you feel?”

“…Would you please stop, just stop!”

Sir Dominic burst out angrily at Sir Dominica’s words.

Sir Dominic, famous for his composure, showing such anger was almost unprecedented except when encountering demons.

“Eek.”

Sir Dominica raised both hands, acknowledging she had crossed a line.

It was a sign that she had no intention of pursuing this conversation any further.

“…I apologize. It wasn’t something worth getting angry about.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll listen properly, so continue.”

When Sir Dominic apologized first, Sir Dominica spoke as if trying to soothe him.

Sir Dominic wasn’t pleased with Sir Dominica’s behavior, but he let it go, thinking it was his mistake that caused the situation in the first place.

“Anyway, what I felt while practicing is that clearing the event Story Mode would likely help with practice. Team practice is good, but for individual practice, nothing seems better than the event Story Mode.”

Sir Dominic expressed the thoughts he’d been having up to this point.

“As you know, although we’ve formed a team, each person might have slightly different available times. For that, we need separate practice, and the event story seems perfect for such situations.”

“That’s true. It was designed as if to say, ‘This is how it feels.'”

“…Was? Why the past tense?”

Sir Dominic questioned Sir Dominica’s wording.

“Well, that’s because… I’ve already cleared the event Story Mode?”

“…?”

Sir Dominic’s face filled with confusion.

“Why did you go alone?”

“Well, you’re right, Sir Dominic. I also thought I needed practice after joining the team.”

“Whose team?”

“Tsuki. Lady Hime’s younger sibling.”

“Ah.”

Sir Dominic nodded at Sir Dominica’s words.

He didn’t know she had already decided on a team, but the fact that she had chosen one wasn’t particularly strange.

“Still, I’m quite surprised you’ve already cleared the event Story Mode.”

“Well, we don’t always need to do everything together, right? You and I are the same entity, but we think differently.”

“That’s true.”

Sir Dominic nodded at Sir Dominica’s words.

As Sir Dominica said, they didn’t need to think the same way or do the same things.

It would be best if they each did what they wanted to do.

“Hmph. If you hadn’t done it yet, I was going to suggest we do it together, but since you’ve already done it, there’s no helping it.”

“Well, this event story can be done alone too. Since it’s come to this, why don’t you try challenging it by yourself, Sir Dominic?”

“I suppose I shall.”

Sir Dominic thought about clearing an event story by himself for the first time in a while.

Come to think of it, while he had resolved many incidents and accidents alone, he had rarely cleared a story by himself.

With that thought, Sir Dominic stood up right there.

“Huh? Where are you going?”

Sir Dominica looked up at Sir Dominic, who had just arrived but was getting up again.

“They say strike while the iron is hot. Wouldn’t it be good to go now that we’ve brought it up?”

Sir Dominic began to act immediately as the thought occurred to him.

Taking immediate action rather than preparing this and that suited Sir Dominic’s personality better.

“Well, then, go ahead. No, wait. I should get up too.”

“Sir Dominica, you should rest well.”

“I can’t rest much. I have practice today.”

“That’s why I’m saying it. I can’t tell you to work hard when you might become a potential enemy, can I?”

“…You got me there.”

Sir Dominic and Sir Dominica exchanged pleasantries and parted ways.

Sir Dominic headed to the event Story Mode, while Sir Dominica went to where Tsuki was.

…

Sir Dominic arrived at the Story Mode lobby for the first time in a while.

It was a place he had forgotten after personally resolving up to the 4th area.

“Let’s see… event… event… Ah, there it is.”

Sir Dominic looked around to check where he could access the event story and spotted a place with two steam locomotive models.

That must be where the event story was accessed.

“Welcome! Come enjoy the event story, ‘Red Arrow VS Iron Shark’!”

Sir Dominic’s guess was correct.

That was the entrance to the event story, and as expected, several people were out promoting the event.

The difference from the alpha phase was that the promoters were not coders but civil servants from the Executive branch.

Sir Dominic headed straight to the event Story Mode as soon as he discovered it.

And in the middle of his walk, he encountered some unexpected figures.

“…?”

“…!”

Chubby cheeks. Soft, squishy limbs. Short, two-head-tall bodies.

It was the Hero and the Demon Lord.

Sir Dominic immediately looked around.

The presence of the Hero and Demon Lord meant that two more people would be nearby.

“Sir Dominic?”

“Hmm? What brings you here?”

Sir Dominic’s prediction was accurate, as he could see the Chief of Staff and the administrative official nearby.

“Are you also here to clear the event story?”

“Well, you could say that.”

The Chief of Staff growled toward Sir Dominic.

“Which means you’re also here to see the event story, right?”

“That’s right.”

Sir Dominic nodded at the Chief of Staff’s words.

As he did so, Sir Dominic glanced at Princess Teu Le Vante and the Hero, who were riding tiny toy trains with flushed cheeks, making choo-choo sounds.

You know, those rides meant for children.

“…Then, are you also participating in this race?”

“By ‘also,’ do you mean you’re participating too?”

Sir Dominic tilted his head and asked back at the Chief of Staff’s words.

The Chief of Staff briefly closed his mouth at Sir Dominic’s sharp question, then confirmed the fact.

“That’s right. Our Demon Lord is still growing. When one is growing, it’s best to build memories.”

“So you’re saying you’re participating in the race to build memories?”

“That’s what I’m saying.”

Sir Dominic nodded at the Chief of Staff’s words.

Seeing how firmly he stated it, the Demon Lord was definitely participating in the race.

If the Demon Lord was participating, it meant the Hero was probably participating for similar reasons.

Sir Dominic looked at the Demon Lord and Hero once more.

On the toy trains that moved with choo-choo sounds, the Demon Lord and Hero were raising their arms in celebration with very excited expressions.

Since they were moving without tracks, their movements were quite erratic, but because the toy trains were moderately slow, the Chief of Staff and administrative official could control their movements with just a little attention.

Princess Teu Le Vante and the Hero seemed to enjoy the irregular movements even more, as if they found them more fun.

“You have your work cut out for you.”

“Well, we’re doing this because we want to.”

The Chief of Staff nodded with folded arms at Sir Dominic’s words.

He truly looked like the Demon Lord’s loyal servant.

Sir Dominic looked at the Chief of Staff.

The Chief of Staff’s gaze was fixed on the Demon Lord.

More precisely, he was watching the tennis balls attached to her horns, because as soon as the tennis balls fell off when the Demon Lord was celebrating too vigorously, the Chief of Staff would pick them up and put them back on the Demon Lord’s horns, repeating this process.

Anyway, after watching the two harmless, squishy figures for a while, Sir Dominic turned his head again.

While it was nice to watch the Demon Lord and Hero, the event story came first.

Although the Demon Lord, Hero, Chief of Staff, and administrative official also seemed to be here for the event story, they appeared busy now, so Sir Dominic decided to say goodbye and leave.

“Well then, I’ll go ahead to the event story. May you have only happy memories.”

“!”

“!”

Sir Dominic approached the Demon Lord and Hero riding the toy trains and bid them farewell.

The Demon Lord and Hero were startled by Sir Dominic’s sudden appearance but soon waved their arms in response to his greeting.

They were very polite, the Demon Lord and Hero.

“I’ll go ahead then. You seem busy.”

“Ah, yes. Go ahead.”

Sir Dominic passed by the administrative official as he moved away from the Demon Lord and Hero.

He said goodbye to the administrative official and headed to the event story lobby.

Now it was really time to see the event story.