by Blitz Kiva
But the voices among the crowd spread. The reaction was bigger from the medium users who occupied the bulk of the player base rather than from the achievement-focused top players. It was true that his armor was very fashionable.
It was a game, so Ichiro’s ability to endure all of Edward’s attacks uninjured couldn’t have been thanks entirely to the armor. It was just that the cool way he’d fought had been well-accented by the formal suit design he was wearing. If that duel itself had been a side show for the fashion show display, then it was quite an impressive scam.
“If you have the money, bring the components and recipes you want to us,” Ichiro said. “Of course, I’ll handle any real money needed to have original designs created, so don’t worry about that. I think that’s everything. Iris, is there something you want to say?”
“Let me go home,” she muttered.
“As I cannot imagine anyone will have custom order requests right away, we will now return to our guild house.”
With those final words, the man known as Ichiro Tsuwabuki escorted Iris back to their safe haven. Once the two passed through the crowd and disappeared into the house, Sir Kirschwasser thanked the spectators for their attention, and followed his guild mates inside.
The departure left a curious sort of atmosphere hanging over main street of Glasgobara Merchant Town. It seemed an all-too-casual end to a duel with such electric build-up.
◆ ◆ ◆
“And that’s about how it went,” Ichiro finished.
“Awful,” Felicia responded.
“Yeah, he’s awful,” Iris agreed.
“Awful and wicked,” Sir Kirschwasser concurred.
“I think it’s fine, personally,” King Kirihito commented, rounding out the reactions.
“But maybe it’s less awful and more stupid...” Iris added.
“You realize that every time you call me stupid, you’re lowering humanity’s average...” Ichiro responded, playing out their usual exchange once more.
The video of Ichiro and Edward’s duel had been recorded using in-game software and uploaded to multiple video sites. Ichiro, who had taken an overwhelming victory over the powerful Edward, had served as good advertising for Iris Brand. Of course, that always came with the criticism that a crafting class couldn’t beat a combat class anyway, which was in turn countered by the point that Edward’s fighting ability was on par with your standard combat classes. And so the arguments repeated over and over in the comment section of the videos.
Naturally, Iris was firmly opposed to Ichiro’s advertisement of Iris Brand. How could you do that without asking me? I always knew you were selfish, but now you’re just stupid!
Ichiro’s response had been thus: “I am not stupid.”
And then, very reasonably, Iris had pointed out that that wasn’t the point.
But it was Iris who had eventually given ground. It was true that she was interested in designing armor, and (though Ichiro didn’t know this) she wanted to be an apparel designer at some point in the future. In the end, she couldn’t fight the appeal of the idea of establishing herself, here in this fictional world.
“So, um, did it change anything?” Felicia asked.
“Nope!” Iris shouted back. “Plenty of people thought it was funny and came by to window-shop, but not one of them actually requested a design. It’s been humiliating!”
“I-I see...” Felicia couldn’t hide her wince.
“Well, I suppose, even if they’re original designs, you can’t beat the ones invented by professionals,” King murmured.
Iris froze. He was right. No matter how passionate she was, at the end of the day, she was still a rank amateur. It was just that her designs had happened to appeal to the young heir, which had resulted in her major exposure. Which meant...
“Heh... heh heh...”
“Well, I like it, though,” Ichiro said.
“That’s right, thank you!” Iris responded with sudden anger to Ichiro’s attempt at comfort. “I am grateful to you, young heir. You let me do what I wanted to do. And I’ve actually had a lot of fun.”
Then she continued...
“But the things you say and do make me sick! Next time, I’m going to come up with a clothing design that will make not just you, but the whole world, howl! I know I’ve said that before, but still!”
“Hmm, good.” The young hair gave a satisfied nod, and sipped his tea once more.
6 - Epilogue
With the story over, everyone started talking about returning to Iris Brand. They had imposed on the Forging Guild long enough.
Ichiro (and King Kirihito) said they would be staying a little while longer, but the others took their leave, with Iris at the lead and Felicia and Kirschwasser behind. It had just been a bit of recollection, but it had eaten up quite a lot of time. It was actually rather late in the day, now.
“So now you know,” Iris murmured on the way.
Felicia found herself cocking her head. “Huh?”
“You know, my relationship with the young heir. Right? That’s what you were worried about, wasn’t it?”
Felicia looked back at her blankly, as if to say, “Oh yeah, that’s what started all this.”
Iris felt a wave of exhaustion sweeping over her.
“The story all seems too extraordinary... or maybe too mundane, I can’t tell anymore,” Felicia said. “I guess it was hard on you too, huh, Iris?”
“No kidding,” Iris responded. “It’s like I said when we first met. I find him awful, and while I’m a bit grateful to him, more often he makes me so frustrated I could scream, and I’ll probably beat him to a pulp someday, but I don’t like to badmouth other people’s relatives, so I’ll stop!”
“You’ve badmouthed him a lot already, though...” There was no guile behind Felicia’s words. She was serious.
Of course, Iris was so thankful to the young heir that she couldn’t hate him. But, she reflected, what she felt for him was on a dimension that went beyond like or hate. To put it simply, it was more like the love a person might have for solving difficult entrance exam questions. When she thought about it that way, it was clearly nothing for Felicia to worry about.
To be honest, Felicia seemed to love her “second cousin Itchy” a lot. She wanted to say, “I won’t hold it against you, but please find better taste,” but it was none of her business, really, so she decided to hold off.
“By the way, Lady Felicia, will you be joining Iris Brand?” Kirschwasser asked.
“Hm? Hmm...” Felicia put a hand to her chin and tilted her head thoughtfully. She looked first at Iris, then at Kirschwasser, then at the Iris Brand guild house that towered before them.
The elder Knight’s invitation had been extended purely out of consideration. Felicia had wanted to join the same guild as the young heir, but it would be hard for her to ask to join. Iris Brand was a crafting guild, after all, so there was no objectively valid reason for her to be interested in it. Thus, he must have thought that the kind thing to do would be to ask her.
Iris herself found it a bit awkward, but she didn’t dislike Felicia, so she had no reason to object. But...
“I don’t think so,” was Felicia’s eventual response.
“Oh? A shame.” Kirschwasser raised an eyebrow.
“...Felicia, you’re not refusing for my sake, are you?” Iris asked.
“Huh?! No, of course not!” Felicia exclaimed.
Iris had been wondering if maybe Felicia still had her doubts about her relationship with the young heir, but judging from the girl’s reaction, that wasn’t the case.
There on Glasgobara’s main street, Felicia clenched her hands into fists. “I do want to be in the same guild as Itchy, but at the end of the day, if I’m gonna do one, it should be for something I want to do... that’s what I realized when listening to the story today.”
Iris hadn’t meant it to be an inspiring story, so hearing Felicia say that made her feel a bit self-conscious. “What is it that you want to
do in NaroFan, Felicia?”
“It’s already been resolved, actually. So has Itchy’s reason for joining... but he’s still having so much fun, isn’t he?”
“Yeah, that’s true,” Iris agreed. “He is always having fun...”
The group stopped right in front of the Iris Brand guild house.
“Kiryuhito also takes the game really seriously, despite not actually enjoying games very much...” Felicia said. “So I want to find something, too.”
“It’s a game, so I always feel one should enjoy it that way,” Kirschwasser said, arms folded. “But I suppose the freedom of choice in that regard is what makes VRMMOs so popular.”
As a gamer, he represented those who preferred to engage with NaroFan as a game, but Iris and Felicia’s limited social circles hadn’t put them in touch with many players who felt the same way.
And if the Knight was honest with himself, NaroFan was quite lacking as a game. The draw for most of the users was just the novelty of playing a VR game. The actual balance was lacking compared to classic computer games in more mature markets.
He continued, “Indeed, you see players like Iris and the Forging Guild, who set up shop as crafters in Glasgobara, and players who just spend their time relaxing in the Vispiagna Meadows with their friends, rather than grinding levels. Thus, Lady Felicia, it is up to you to find your own form of enjoyment.”
“Hmm...” Felicia folded her arms and thought. “Well, you know... Even if I don’t join the guild, I can still come here to hang out anytime. Right, Mr. Kirsch?”
“Indeed. There will always be tea waiting here for you.”
“Yeah...” Felicia nodded, and Kirschwasser smiled.
He pulled on the thick black door in front of him, which gave out its usual squeak of wood. The Iris Brand lobby appeared before their eyes.
Despite knowing it would be that way, Iris couldn’t help but wince at how empty it was. But then, suddenly, she caught sight of a human silhouette moving around the lobby.
Who could it be? she wondered, straining her eyes. What she finally saw startled her.
It was a woman, dressed elegantly. Her race appeared to be Elf, and her outfit was extremely striking. What she was clad in was not armor, but modern-day apparel of the sort that Iris Brand designed. A one-piece dress with what looked like a sleeve belt, in a tasteful houndstooth check pattern. Engineer boots smartly completed the outfit. Her wavy hair, despite its volume, seemed light and weightless, and was topped by a tasteful red beret.
Her coordination was surely the work of a professional, and the sight of her made Iris feel two inches tall. She couldn’t hold a candle, a match, or even a spark to this woman’s refined taste.
Had there been another person like her in the game? Iris froze. She could tell that Felicia and Kirschwasser behind her were bewildered.
“Is this Iris Brand?” the woman, whose avatar name was Nem, asked with a quiet smile.
“Oh, um, yes!” Iris burst out.
“And are you Iris?”
“Y-Yes!”
Nem gave Iris a piercing look from the tip of her head to the bottoms of her feet, then swept her eyes across the work displayed all over the store. After finishing a full look around, she let out a laugh.
“U-Um...?” Iris asked.
The next words out of Nem’s mouth, Iris wouldn’t forget for the rest of her life:
“It’s nothing.”
“Um...”
Airi Kakitsubata. In her 17 years of life, this was only the second time someone had picked a fight with her for no reason.
Naturally, she didn’t know yet that this second one had also been sparked by the behavior of the young heir, Ichiro Tsuwabuki. It really was utter nonsense.
Meanwhile, in the Forging Guild’s guild house, Edward had finished the work King had asked for and come back out of the workshop. Having its durability maxed out hadn’t changed the graphic of the XAN itself at all, yet somehow, it seemed to sparkle more. King Kirihito thanked him with a slightly satisfied smile, and paid Edward for his work.
“The XAN is one of the legendary weapons, isn’t it?” Ichiro asked, watching them through the corner of his eye.
“Yeah...” King said. “There’s only one of it on the whole server.”
“Just like Amesho’s knife,” Ichiro said.
“Yeah, it’s weird...” King murmured as he gave the XAN a few test swings. Despite its legendary status, it was rather plain-looking. “For weapons of which there are only one each in the game to have such ridiculous stats... You’d think all the game’s users would hate me.”
“Though the fact that you and I can dominate as solo players the way we do says odd things about the game balance to begin with,” Ichiro said.
As far as Ichiro knew, the Thistle Corporation was a young company. He had heard that their president, Azami Nono, whom he had met at Megumi Fuyo’s party recently, had started as a genius technician, and that she had created Thistle by headhunting geniuses and artistic types from other companies. It wasn’t a group that would have the knowhow to create a balanced game.
But the reason the game nevertheless got a steady stream of new players was probably because of the care put into the graphics, creating lifelike recreations down to the smallest detail. That was the part that Ichiro found so satisfying, too.
“It’s not unusual for people to play it even as they complain, either,” King added.
“That’s the nature of online gaming,” Edward murmured in response to King. “There’s no end to the complaints people have for the devs. If we don’t like it, we could just quit. But we keep playing it because we like it, crappy as it is. Am I wrong?”
King shrugged his shoulders. Even if he was, he couldn’t be too far off the mark.
“Well, everyone has their own way of enjoying the game,” Ichiro said.
“That’s true.” Edward nodded to Ichiro’s words. “If you want to try to become the best in a broken game system, that’s fine. If you just want to continue pursuing the plot on the front lines, that’s fine. If you want to create armor designs you like the way Iris does, that’s fine. Though it’s not something I understand, personally.”
Ichiro could have said something stuck-up, like “I see you’ve become a little wiser,” but he didn’t.
Edward was a proper adult. He had let his emotions make him narrow-minded for a while there, but he wasn’t the kind of person to keep that going forever. And at the end of the day, it was the Forging Guild that had the overwhelming support of the game’s player base. When Ichiro had ignored that and extended a hand to a half-baked (from Edward’s point of view) crafter like Iris, he should have just laughed it off and said, “What a fool.”
The reason he hadn’t been able to do that was simply because Edward was too sincere a person. It would be easy to dismiss him as lacking vision, but Ichiro personally liked people who stuck faithfully to their own sense of values. Of course, it was important to be flexible with your ideas, so as not to impose them on others, but it wasn’t right to expect that of all people all the time.
“But...” Edward continued, then paused.
Ichiro prompted him. “Yes?”
“...I really hate you.”
“Really? I like you quite a lot.”
Nearby, King Kirihito murmured, “Adults are such a pain in the ass” as he sheathed his sword.
And that was the end of the small talk. King exited the store, and Ichiro decided to return, as well. As they walked out of the Forging Guild side by side, King Kirihito wore an openly sour expression on his face.
“By the way, old man...” King addressed him as they got out onto main street.
“Yes?”
“Your guild house...”
“Yes, someone’s there.” Ichiro nodded, remembering what he’d seen just a few hours ago.
When they had originally left Iris Brand to head out for the Forging Guild, and then when they had been trading small talk in the lobby, he had sensed someone w
atching him out on main street. He’d also noticed a little while ago, just before Iris and the others headed back, that the person had entered the Iris Brand guild house.
“Shouldn’t you have gone with them?” Edward asked.
“Are you worried?” Ichiro responded.
“I was wondering if you’d picked another senseless fight with someone.”
Ichiro shrugged, the usual cool expression on his face and one hand on his pocket. “Nonsense. There’s no such thing as a senseless fight. They’re things that happen inevitably when beliefs and opinions collide. Of course, I’ll always win, regardless.”
“You’re firing on all cylinders today, old man.”
“But I may not be the one fighting, this time...” he said.
Iris Brand’s black door opened with a clank. And then...
A female avatar stepped out, dressed in equipment he had never seen before. Her race appeared to be Elf. As the woman saw Ichiro, she averted her eyes in surprise. Ichiro quietly narrowed his eyes at the girl. And then he said...
“Good evening. I never expected to run into you here, Megumi.”
He could see King in his peripheral vision, watching in puzzlement, but Ichiro ignored him.
Megumi Fuyo. The daughter of the president of Tsunobeni, Inc., and president of the fashion brand MiZUNO. The fuyo, or cotton rose tree, was known in Chinese as the nem, which must have been where her avatar had derived its name. He had meant it when he’d said he hadn’t expected to meet her here.
She seemed to steel herself, and then, a moment later, she turned to meet Ichiro’s eyes. “Good day, Ichiro.”
“I suppose you came here to meet Iris?” he asked. “Were you that worried about the person who made my brooch?”
Nem’s only response was silence, which all but confirmed it. She opened her mouth plaintively, then averted her eyes from Ichiro. Then she met his eyes again, and eventually said this:
“Ichiro, I don’t understand the meaning of ‘good.’ If I may ask... is that brooch really that good?”
“Well, the design of it actually isn’t good at all,” Ichiro answered, as breezy as he was tactless.
