Ch.355Overseas Travel is Busiest Before You Go (3)

Through Sasith’s previous close-quarters training with me, he had learned the basics of swordsmanship. He was a worthy opponent with a blade. Though he lacked ambition, he had many talents befitting a protagonist.

“Come at me, Sasith!”

I took my stance, sword in hand.

“Okay.”

Sasith immediately swung his sword at me.

CLAAAAAANG-!!

I deflected his blade instantly. I blocked with perfect timing, just as before.

“Ugh…!”

With my perfectly timed parry, Sasith’s stance crumbled slightly.

“Good. Once more.”

I flicked my sword.

CLAAAANG-!

Sasith swung his sword in the same way, and I blocked it once more. This time I blocked a bit faster. Normally, this would have registered as a regular block rather than a perfect parry.

However, I felt the satisfying feedback of a perfect block. I had successfully executed a perfect parry. Sasith staggered once more.

“Just as I thought.”

I got a feel for it while holding my sword. In gaming terms, the parry window had expanded by about 3 frames.

“One more time.”

I readied my stance again.

CLAAAAAANG-!!

This time I defended with a slightly delayed timing. This too registered as a perfect parry.

‘It’s definitely more forgiving now.’

I got the hang of it. It might seem modest, but it was quite an overpowered perk.

“Okay. Good work, Sasith.”

I immediately sheathed my sword.

“What exactly did you just do?”

Sasith looked at me with a puzzled expression.

“Hehehe. That’s my little secret.”

I said with a smile.

“What do you mean ‘little secret’…”

Sasith seemed quite annoyed at not being able to understand what had happened.

——–

Since it had been a while since he’d visited, Sasith went dungeon crawling with Pril.

A while later, Sasith returned to the lobby.

“Ah, you’re back.”

I had Violet sitting on my lap and was fiddling with something under her skirt.

“Really… how long are you going to keep touching me?”

Violet wore an embarrassed expression, but didn’t particularly resist my touch.

“Sigh… another productive day… Wait, no!!”

Sasith seemed to suddenly remember why he’d come.

“What do you mean we’re going to space?!”

Sasith exclaimed.

“Ah. It’s a preemptive strike. We’re reducing Pink Beard’s forces a bit. Kirtan offered to take us on his ship.”

I explained the situation briefly.

“To think the scale would expand all the way to space…”

Sasith didn’t seem too thrilled about it.

“The way to win a fight is simple. Strike first.”

That’s what I said.

Pink Beard’s sphere of influence was quite widespread. Moreover, rebellions had broken out simultaneously in various places. If we jumped into this chaos and destroyed key strongholds, Pink Beard would suffer considerable damage.

“Besides, we need to level up too. Let’s just max out. To level 99.”

That’s what I suggested.

Pink Beard was no pushover. If there was an opportunity for growth, being fully prepared was a good approach.

“Hmm… that doesn’t sound bad.”

Sasith was convinced.

“If we fail, the world ends.”

In typical otaku fashion, the fate of the world rested on high school students. Don’t entrust the world’s fate to high schoolers who are already busy with entrance exams. There are plenty of other people with free time.

“This really is like a manga plot. High school students having to save the world.”

Sasith seemed to be thinking along the same lines as me.

“Right? There are college students who’ve given up on grades, or NEETs, people like that. They have tons of free time. Let them handle it.”

I sighed as I spoke.

“Well, creators of otaku content often had unfulfilling school lives. Most otaku content writers found their school days boring. That’s why they constantly use school settings. They’re compensating for what they missed.”

That’s what I said. It’s true that even as adults, people can still experience romance and such… but there’s definitely a unique freshness to high school experiences. There were clear reasons why people became fixated on that.

“Shota… you’re an otaku content writer too. Isn’t that statement a bit controversial?”

Sasith asked.

“It’s fine. I’ll just add that it’s strictly my personal opinion.”

I immediately prepared a disclaimer.

“This is just the character’s personal opinion. It has nothing to do with the author’s own beliefs~”

I said to thin air.

“Shota… who are you talking to?”

Sasith looked at me with an expression of disbelief.

“Anyway, you agree, right? It’s just an extension of our usual monster-slaying activities. We’re just doing it in space.”

I sought Sasith’s agreement.

“You’re going to do it whether Sasith agrees or not.”

Pril gave me a sidelong glance.

“Hey!! Stop trying to sow discord, you schemer!!”

I shouted loudly.

“Who are you calling a schemer?!”

Pril immediately got angry.

“Alright. Let’s do it, Shota. According to you… the crisis will come in December, right? We should prepare for that time.”

Sasith said.

Yes. In December, gates will open even during the day, letting monsters pour in. Simultaneously, Emoshita itself will be consumed by the other world. Emoshita will be isolated from the outside world.

‘That part is pretty dark…’

It’s like suddenly drifting from a youth story to an apocalyptic one. Depending on your actions, characters you’ve built relationships with might be horribly killed by monsters.

‘Of course, I won’t let that happen.’

My goal was to resolve everything peacefully without anyone in Emoshita dying.

“Let’s do it.”

Sasith made a big decision as our leader.

“Aww!! That’s our leader!”

I immediately tried to roll toward Sasith for a hug.

“You’re just saying that to manipulate people, aren’t you?”

Sasith tried to maintain a stern expression, but couldn’t help the corners of his mouth twitching upward.

And so, our space journey was decided.

———

The next evening.

We all gathered in front of my house. In the air above the front yard, Kirtan’s translucent ship hovered.

“Alright. Everyone just needs to board.”

Kirtan, wearing his pirate hat after a long time, stood proudly with his arms crossed.

“Do we need to take motion sickness medicine?”

Madoka asked.

“No. That won’t be necessary. You won’t get motion sickness. The ship simulates the same gravity and stability as the ground.”

Kirtan declared confidently.

“Big bro. Big bro.”

At that moment, one of Eri’s triplet sisters, Hana, poked my side.

“What if I get motion sick and throw up? Hmm?”

Hana stared at me intently.

“Yeah? What about it?”

Wanting to be a kind big brother to Hana, I answered with a bright smile.

“Would you hate me then?”

Hana asked.

Ah… she’s worried I might show disgust if she throws up.

“What are you saying? If it’s vomit from Hana’s mouth, I could even eat it with pleasure.”

I gave a thumbs up as I spoke.

“Ugh… that’s so perverted.”

Eri said with a genuinely disgusted expression.

“That’s the worst pickup line I’ve heard all year.”

Mika said the same.

“I’m so happy!!”

But Eri’s triplet sisters beamed with smiles. Heh. See? It worked. The haters are out. This is sophisticated flirting tailored to a child’s perspective.

“I… sometimes I’m really scared of my sisters.”

Eri said with a complicated expression.

“Whose vomit would you eat most deliciously?”

Eri’s triplet sisters immediately tried to establish a ranking.

“……”

Even Madoka, who tried to show the composure of someone older than Eri’s sisters, eventually joined in.

“What about me?”

Madoka seemed concerned about this point. Hehehe. Madoka is still a child too.

“Just actually throw up and see if he eats it or not.”

Taiga said in a tone full of mischief.

“Taiga!!! Grow up!!!”

I shouted loudly.

“Grow up? Hahahahaha!! He’s showing his true colors!”

Taiga laughed hysterically.

“Alright!! Enough fooling around! Get on board!”

Kirtan said, making a hand signal.

ZIIIIING-!!

A beam of light shot down from the sky.

“Jumping when entering is the golden rule!!”

I immediately executed the rule established in WoW. When entering a dungeon, you have to jump for better loot drops.

WIIIIING-!

As the light beam enveloped me, my body floated straight up into the sky.

“Ah… I shouldn’t have gone first.”

Only then did I realize my foolishness. If I had let my girlfriends get pulled up by the light beam first, I could have enjoyed the view of their panties on the way up. That was a regret for the ages.

Anyway, all our party members boarded Kirtan’s ship.

———-

“Everyone!! Launch!!!”

As soon as we boarded, Kirtan gave the command with great dignity.

“Aye!! Captain!!”

The navigator immediately took the helm.

WOOOOOONG-!!

At that moment, the ship vibrated briefly. However, the vibration soon reduced to zero. Indeed, at this rate, there was no need to worry about motion sickness.

“Ooh… he really does seem like a captain.”

Taiga said to Kirtan.

“Yeah. I thought he was just a layabout who watched TV and drank at home… but he’s a captain. I had forgotten.”

Umi nodded.

Right. He was actually a key combat member in our party. I had forgotten that too.

“Wow… it’s beautiful.”

Mika, Aki, and Ms. Aiko went into full tourist mode, admiring the night sky.

“Kyaa!! This is the best!!”

“It’s amazing!!”

“So cool…”

Eri’s triplet sisters also gazed at the night sky with their mouths agape. They’re going to drool.

At that moment, Konoha, the drama enthusiast among the triplets, scurried over to me.

“Big bro. Make a constellation for me. Okay?”

Konoha immediately made a somewhat romantic yet demanding request.

“Always so forward… you absorb all the weird things from dramas like a sponge.”

Eri chuckled with disbelief.

“Sure. See that shining star there? If you connect it with that one to form a triangle, that’s the Konoha constellation.”

I hastily created a constellation.

“Why a triangle?”

I thought she’d be satisfied with anything… but Konoha immediately asked a follow-up question. What are you, an interviewer?

After pondering briefly, I chose the model answer.

“When I saw Konoha’s princess-like slender cheeks, a triangle came to mind.”

In reality, Konoha had chubby, childlike cheeks, but as a drama enthusiast, she wanted to appear more mature. So I tailored my response accordingly.

“Kyaa!!”

Konoha jumped up and down at my words. Thank goodness Konoha was simple-minded.

Anyway, the ship smoothly headed toward its destination.

But… where was the destination again? Well, I’m sure Kirtan and his crew will take us somewhere suitable. I decided to take it easy.