by Unknown
“Uu…… a-and then, Fii? Just how much longer it looks like it will take?”
“Hm~ with this progress…… it seems it’ll take more than half a month~”
“Ugh…… even though it’s a distance that normally wouldn’t take even an entire day to reach……”
“It’s a flower vessel(antique), you know? It took time to both gather them and make them move~”
——I know that.
Going by air, not sea——The Elves’ principle transport, any place on earth would be like their “neighborhood”.
For Elves, something like a ship moving above water was nothing more than an obsolete antique of a distant past.
But now, these slow antiques were extremely necessary——Kurami clicked her tongue.
——It must’ve been a few months since she started acting separated from Sora and the others.
Meanwhile, she endlessly piled the collapse of Elven Garde——the culmination was this.
The greatest marine trade port in the Elven territory——Tilnog, where influential merchants and related companies established a force in the province, reaching even the Govenor.
She tricked them into a game then, gripping their weaknesses, changed the leaders and silently attacked them.
In order to transfer the Senate and make the province move, she even took the majority of the guilds, the House, and the Senate’s consent vote.
——Everything was for this moment.
——For this occasion(timing) when those two were challenging the Old Deus.
For the sake of the siblings moving far beyond the assumption, she too, had to accomplish quite the impossible.
That also applied to the numberless dangerous bridges she had to run through——But——
“……If we don’t make it in time, it’ll all go down the drain——if that happens, then everything will——”
“It’ll be too late for anything…… I understand that, Kurami……”
Fiel hugged Kurami, who was biting her nails from impatience, as she replied as if to soothe her.
——That’s right. This game won’t end without us——no.
Kurami glared at the giant land floating on the horizon——the Old Deus’ game board and bit her lips.
The destination she was leading the huge fleet to was below it——the Eastern Union.
In the spiral’s center——She won’t allow it to end without her in the center of the game.
“……Fii, can you see what those two are doing right now?”
“Yes I can~ Obviously, I can see it~♪”
At Kurami’s words, the irises of Fiel’s eyes and the gem on her forehead glowed faintly.
Her tone of voice and smile spoke of her extremely natural, yet, arrogant confidence.
——With her using the Six Layers Formula(hexacaster), there’s no event within the horizon she couldn’t see through.
……But.
“I ‘see’ them, you see~ but, I don’t really~ understand ‘what they are doing’.”
“……Huh? What does that mean?”
“Hmm, they’re stabbing a horse with a rod——ah, they found a stray dog——now they’re running while crying.”
……………………
“————————Really, those guys, just what the hell are they doing?”
Not even Fiel could see the answer for that question, which Kurami accidentally let out.
■ ■ ■ ■ ■
——The 34th square…… it’s been forty-two hours since the start of the game.
[The square(This place)] the horse-drawn cart loaded with Sora, Shiro and Steph was running through a moist plateau.
According to Shiro’s map, the duplicated surface was a farther eastern surface of Elkia’s reclaimed eastern territory.
The Forest of Spirits——a land virtually grazing on the territory of the Elementals, known as the [Inviolable Area(Sanctuary)].
——Now. Sora had no way of knowing about the murmur faraway on the horizon, but.
While the cart swayed violently, Sora started thinking suddenly, just what the hell am I doing?
I’m playing a game against an Old Deus? I’m surviving? ——No.
If he had to say it, then——he would be [philosophizing]. The theme was…… correct, it was about “rights” ——
——The [Ten Oaths].
It guaranteed the rights, while forbidding all kinds of killing and pillaging——basically, the [Violation of Rights].
But——“living” by itself meant infringing upon someone else’s rights.
…… No one can live alone. They cause trouble for each other and protect each other.
By violating each other’s small rights, holding others’ rights, having their own rights taken——they finally “live”.
And——there’ll be a time where they’ll definitely reach a certain line which they must definitely protect.
The clash between that [contradiction]——those two incompatible rights(claims) couldn’t be avoided.
That’s why the Oaths avoided it——That contradiction(conflicts) should be solved through intelligence(games), not force(war).
But, still——as long as one is “living,” that fundamental contradiction cannot be solved.
The contradiction where one can’t live if they don’t eat(kill)——if one doesn’t violate the maximum rights(life), one can’t maintain the minimum rights(life).
That’s why the Oaths solved it——The guarantee of rights only apply to intelligent lifeforms(Exceed).
That’s why the right to eat anything besides the Sixteen Races(Exceed) was guaranteed——it solved even that fundamental contradiction.
Aah, just how wonderful the [Ten Oaths] are——!!
——But, I want to wait a little on that praising.
Aren’t the [rights] that are being guaranteed——something that was worked out mutually?
Isn’t the [right] to not be harmed, at the same time, a [duty] to not harm?
Then, wasn’t the [right] to harm, at the same time, a [duty] to be harmed?
Ahh…… how profound, Sora indulged, deeply moved.
“Free will and rights carry responsibility and duty”……in the previous world(Earth), those words are still being discussed.
But, in this world——if one puts it in a simpler and easily understandable way.
It can be expressed with a single sentence——In other words!
————[You can eat if you want, but, don’t complain if you get eaten, alright!?] ……
“Uwooooahhhhhh! Hey, can’t you raise the cart’s speed!?”
“It’s a cart made in a hurry, you know!? If the speed is raised even more, it’ll flip and fall downnnn!”
“……N-Nii……! Fire, need more…… fire……!”
Behind the sprinting cart——was a swarm of monsters in pursuit while baring their fangs and claws.
Sora——Maybe it was the last time he held that philosophy in his heart.
He was swinging and throwing torches, struggling hard while clinging to his life.
——They chased a horse, was pursued by a dog, and after painfully managing to repel it, they captured the horse.
While making full use of Steph’s riding skill, Shiro’s design skill, and Sora’s precarious Sunday Carpentry skills, by the time they somehow managed to make a substitute that could possibly be a cart, eighteen hours went by.
At the end of the struggle worth a volume of a book, they left the reigns to Steph and sprawled in the cart.
The sound of the cart’s wheels turning lightly acting as a lullaby, they fell into a mud-like sleep——both of them saw a dream.
They had broken through a hurdle they considered to be an impossible game and a pleasant journey started……
Like the saying, “Dreams are fragile things” ——Really, it was so fragile, it already collapsed a few hours ago.
The cause was what they saw when they he
ard Steph’s scream and looked behind——it was due to “hell(that)”.
Like the swarm of death crossing the [12th square] in pursuit and now——
“Hey!! Could it be if you take one step outside the city in this world, it’s a world of serious swords and magic!? I’ll complain about that Tet bastard to JAR〇[10] for such deceptive advertising saying ‘A utopia where everything is decided by games’ you know!?”
——Sora shouted after painfully experiencing the [Fantasy World] for his first time.
But, it was a field where one’s heart seemed about to break just proceeding through that square.
Even so, they thought there was still hope if it wasn’t on a terrain impossible to cross by foot…… but.
They didn’t hear anything about “Monster Encounter: ON” ——!!
The distance between the monsters and them were closing in and the hastily made cart was making noises, like it was about to fall apart.
If that happened, the only fate left for them would be…… a dead-end route as [food]……
“Normally, there’s no such monsters like thissss! Just where is this place!?”
“……We’re currently…… in the Inviolable Area(Sanctuary)…… near, the ‘Forest of Spirits’……”
“Ah! Good news, Sora! The reason they’re appearing is because we’re on the outskirts of the ‘Forest of Spirits’! If we leave this place, we’ll be fin——like I’ve been saying, please don’t try to jump down from the cart!!”
“……Nii…… Nii, stay alive……”
Sora, due to having too much fear, was about to unconsciously let go of his life and breathed roughly.
——Calm down.
When they were thrown into a super fantasy world——How did the people from another world survive?
……The trend was use the ultimate cheat of fighting with a chosen power or something similar…… isn’t that right?
But…… Sora took a single glance at the monsters pursuing them and smiled bitterly.
Here we have a hikikomori sheltered girl and a clearly obvious NEET gamer.
They didn’t have any experience with such primitive killing intent directed at them, much less being chased as food.
In modern-day Japan, just what kind of lifestyle would one need in order to grow enough guts to face these monsters head on?
——A cheat-like sword technique? Cheat magic? Or was it superpowers? ——Wrong, right.
It’s wrong, isn’t it, it wasn’t like that, right, definitely none!
Humans——we——aren’t a race that fights like that, right——!?
Facing the oncoming death, Sora put more strength into the hand holding his little sister’s.
“……Shiro. If I return to Elkia…… I’ll make them develop the technology of [sniper rifles] ……”
With distant eyes, he raised such a flag.
——It would from a distance, one-sidedly, without allowing counterattacks, certainly, reliably——kill them.
That’s how the animal called human fought, Sora was convinced of that——but.
“……Rejected……”
She instantly rejected her older brother’s proposal.
“……Nii, how about we burn this place……? Let’s drop highly efficient explosives on it…… C6N12H6O12(Hexanitrohexaazaisowurtzitane)[11], every day?”
Sora felt a shiver at the suggestion she made with her eyes shining unnaturally.
——Don’t say something as naïve as firearms.
——Shall we burn down this forest every day from now on?
——Let’s just bomb this area with an aircraft, plow it and turn it into an empty land?
She’s really a genius, huh——As expected of my prided little sister.
Right, that’s exactly how humans——
————An impact.
His thoughts escaping out of control were brought back to reality.
The reality where the claw drawn by one of the monsters teared through the wooden cart like butter.
Hmm, it seems like it really won’t end up simply as a joke, he thought.
“My bad, Shiro…… seems like I messed up somehow. It really seems to be ‘Game Over’.”
Murmuring that, Sora started analyzing the result, the reason of their defeat with no light in his eyes.
——Where did I go wrong?
For challenging God? Did he take the handicap known as survival too lightly?
Or was it that he dared to be born even though he was just a mere virgin? ——
While Sora was fading into dusk with a dry smile, Shiro quietly spoke.
“……Nii…… how does it feel…… to die, while still a virgin……?”
“Ah~…… It’s a regret so huge, it makes me feel like dying, to say the least…… haha……”
Aaah…… humans are weak.
They lose and lose again, keep losing, then they bite the dust in disappointment, just to look back at the cause of their loss, full of regret.
Even so, they still think “next time, next time without fail” and keep walking forward——until the day they finally win arrives.
Sora collected his reflections and problems——In the next world(Next), first, let’s aim to graduate from being a virgin.
I have no clue how I’ll do that, but…… well, let’s entrust that to the me of the next world. Fight.
——Sora threw out his limbs with no strength, finishing the conclusion(result) of his life.
“Nii……”
Sitting across from Sora, Shiro whispered thinly.
With a distance so even her breathing could be felt, she lowered her face to hide her red-dyed cheeks.
“……Then…… before dying…… since it’ll happen, anyway……”
Shiro exposed her white skin underneath her clothes while her moist eyes were burning——
——Now, then. Sora the virgin, age of death: 18 years old.
What should be done normally in this situation——his immediate reply: do nothing.
It’s Shiro. His little sister. 11 years old——right now, she’s down by two dice so, provisionally 8.8 years old.
Would there be an uproar over how she’s out of elements for that role or drop into a preach about a maiden’s skin?
But——facing real death before him, Sora asserted without even noticing he was confused and confirmed.
——It was in a weekend movie theater.
Those shitty people satisfied with their real lives deliberately have sex when under extreme life or death situations.
The mood breaking behaviors of the viewers and the production, Sora was doubting for quite a while.
It would be fine if they just died like that, or so he thought——but, he was the one who was wrong.
I see——Those guys…… everyone——
——They were all virgins——!
If I’m going to entrust it to the next world, then, certainly, I would think about it before dying, right!?
Sympathizing with Hollywood more than ever, Sora extended his hands towards the warm skin before him.
“Hey, you thereee! What are you doing in the rear at such a time————”
It happened in an instant.
Twice——a roaring sound resounded, making the cart jump as the group dance in the air.
What happened——without even being granted time to consider the question, he hugged Shiro on reflex.
Falling to the ground, rolling with the momentum…… he raised his head while in pain and saw.
——The real monster was here.
A huge crater was drawn in a perfect circle in the soft humus[12] ground.
In its center——there was a single monster exhausted, breathing heavily.
It was a young, small, and cute beast with the appearance of a human on all four limbs with their head tilted——
“……I won’t share Izuna’s meal, desu! S-Sora is the one at fault, desu!!”
T
he little girl was dressed in a kimono with fennec-like ears, shouldering a rucksack while swinging her big tail.
Facing their way while glaring with her eyes half-closed while in a bad mood was——Hatsuse, Izuna, but.
…………
“……Hey, let me hear about the reason you said such monsters shouldn’t be here?”
He confirmed the safety of Shiro in his arms with her eyes spinning, then checked his own body.
That he was almost unharmed was almost a miracle, considering he fell off a running out of control cart.
Seeing Steph hadn’t suffered any big injuries, either, Sora——asked a question he could already guess.
“……Nearly all large animals became extinct during the [Great War] ……The rest is just like you’ve guessed——”
——As for what happened, the current situation explained it all.
The “one step” Izuna took——the ground shook.
Next, a single punch——no, a “one stroke” ——made the ground roll up and changed into a crater.
Most likely, she attacked what she called a [meal], although——it no longer retained its original form.
The swarm of monsters ran away without even a single one left behind——just like how small spiders scatter.
That was only natural, so long as the peak of the food chain——[the predator(Izuna)] was there.
“Excluding Imanity, the other races…… predations and defenses, various outbursts of anger——yes, well……”
Indeed, said Sora, looking up at the sky.
[Rights] are something that worked out mutually, and, at the same time, it was a duty.
But——as for whether those rights and duties were guaranteed or not, without the Oaths——
“……Nii, this world…… isn’t gentle…… with anyone, other than…… the Sixteen Races(Exceed), right……”
As the ones who escaped from becoming prey, Sora and Shiro thought——Humans are calculating living beings.
To think they would feel pity for the ones threatening their lives just a little while ago.
Would that be the ego of the survivors, they wondered……
