Chapter 1168 - Reflecting Days in a Shifting World
────Now then.
Around the middle of February. The things to think about and the schedule had increased again, but after about a year, I had gotten used to or rather adapted to a calendar with no blank spaces.
My thick-skinned nature, which was already above average, had been further polished, and I wouldn't shake over a death-defying matter like a one-on-one dinner with the father of the girl I liked while carrying difficult problems.
Although my current self was full of nothing but problems, because I had carved a determination into my heart that I had absolutely no intention of bending, in terms of my extremely personal mental state, there was truly no problem.
Even if I were to perform a kowtow, have my head stepped on, and face the ground, I had already constructed a desperate, no-retreat state of mind where I could proudly shout, 'Please give me your daughter'────
And well, in that state.
Starting with the 'meal' setting with Tetsugo-shi, the Representative of the world-famous 'Yotsuya', a doting father, and my client, and naturally, in a flow that felt like a chain combo, receiving forced summoning orders (messages) under the name of calls from the maid-sama and voice actress-sama,
Furthermore, toward university advancement, digesting the convenience cases that had been arranged for me... in the form of taking on supplementary assignments that could be sensed as too easy at a glance.
And in what would be considered the reverse of the general perception, at the corporate conspiracy (Valentine's), as a return for the previous gifts. While putting my spirit into making chocolate for the three girls────
"────That's why I'm saying, that's not it. More like, you know, boldly and with a whoosh!"
Today as well, I was in the virtual world to carry out my current self.
The time was past noon, the place was completely white. Namely, at the training ground of the faction base where we met after lunch, facing me, who was lecturing from a high perspective, was...
"────That's why I'm telling you to stop with the onomatopoeia...!!"
His face was in perfect condition today as well. None other than my close friend (lol), my great senior, and an extraordinary person of the training-maniac variety whom I didn't want to respect, the 【Peerless】 swordsman, the blonde samurai.
Irori was rolling pathetically on the floor in an unsuited posture, groaning while looking up and glaring at me as if I were an archenemy, as I deliberately chose words that were inappropriate in a bad way.
Oh, scary. He had a face like a movie poster, that handsome guy. I should take a screenshot and sell it for a dime... ────well, jokes aside.
It wasn't rare for us to deepen our friendship through swordplay when we had free time, but in that case, the one who got beaten up was usually me. Recently, I could rarely take a point, but in a pure sword skill match, this guy was continuing far ahead of me, so it was impossible to roll him on the floor.
If so, how did it end up like this now...
"Even if you say that. I don't usually move while thinking in detail either."
"You bugged bastard."
"It's funny when you suddenly throw out low-IQ insults, so could you stop?"
Because after various things, I was asked to teach him my area of expertise.
In short, I was asked to teach him the basics of extreme acrobatic ultra-high-speed movement. ────Yes, I was asked by him to teach him.
To me, that fact itself was much more of an unexpected behavior (bug).
...Thus,
"Well, whatever. Since I'm premised on cheating, copying it completely is impossible to 'do' or 'make you do'. At best, I can only show you that such movements are possible..."
"If it's possible to achieve, then I should be able to replicate it too."
"...Well, yeah. It's certainly lower difficulty than 'Shrink Ground'. It's not like you have to manipulate some indescribable mysterious power like 'Inner' or 'Outer'."
This, like this.
Complete aerial movement, which was currently physically and systematically impossible for anyone other than me... was naturally impossible. But it was probably an idea he reached while adjusting various changes due to the implementation of 'Extense', wanting to extend his mobility to further expand his battle techniques.
Even so, you have enough, Irori, even compared to extraordinary standards────I said that at first, but when I was returned with a peerless, sore-loser face asking if he could establish a match in tag with me (you), I had no choice but to shut up. Unavoidable.
A man has things he cannot yield. Let's respect him as a fellow man... and,
"...Well, however, by attempting to imitate it, I've managed to understand a little more."
"Oh, seriously. You're doing well."
"Even putting aside 'Gift', your head is strange."
"Oh, seriously. You wanna go, you bastard?"
Like that, while taking a lunch break from the morning, running and falling for several hours.
Starting with simple things like wall running without relying on skills, standing on walls, standing on ceilings────removing weight through movement while leaping using floating objects lighter than myself as footholds, or converting inertia and load into rotation to shift my body trajectory in mid-air, and when I showed him some difficult applied versions, Irori rolled over and insults slipped out.
At any rate, I deeply, deeply realized that my head was 'strange' in terms of virtual world adaptability, but when told straight to my face by someone else, depending on the person, it makes me angry.
If so, with the tip of the mock battle training staff I was swinging like a pointer, I poked his head as he lay on the ground... but oh well, he had no complaints about that.
Not as a joke, he seemed normally sulky────can't be helped.
"Let's see... in the previous four pillars, that entered, right? My transport skill."
"...Ah. What about it?"
"At that time, I told you to cut your vision because it would be foolish to get dizzy before the battle, but in other words, if you don't cut it, you can see it. My field of vision, as if it were your own."
"............"
"According to those who experienced it, it seems the feeling is completely different from the first-person videos I occasionally upload to my archives. It's so realistic that they say it's impossible, or something like that."
"........................"
"So, what will you do?"
To think the day would come when he would ask me for teaching... putting aside the idle talk about romance, I never thought such a day would come────therefore, I had no intention of putting it into words, but honestly, my heart was in a pretty good mood.
Irori's extraordinary ambition was an object of admiration that was too respectful to even admire.
As a man, as a friend, on the day I was told such a killer line as 'I want to learn from you' by such a guy... well, what? I couldn't hold back my teasing to hide my embarrassment, but,
"...Just what I wanted. We'll do it until we puke."
"If you puke inside a human's pocket dimension, I'm resigning as your friend."
I'll accompany him as much as he likes, to his heart's content.
I've always loved these two.
It seems the corporate conspiracy that was casually glossed over will have its real show during the "payback".