Chapter 26 (1/2)

Chapter 26: Houkago DC-bu

In the corner of his eye was a clock, it joyously informed him that the time was at hand.

The current time in this virtual world, was Midnight──

It was the time he was waiting for; the time of the promise.

Yos.h.i.+ was in the plaza buying ingredients from the players gathered there, all the while thinking that Suzu and Edgar would arrive any minute.

Very soon he would be with Suzu, his imagination was filled with thoughts of a clan just for the two of them.

「Yos.h.i.+-kun」

「…… Oh hey there, Suzu-chan. You came~」

Long awaited sound brushed against Yos.h.i.+’s ear, a soft and gentle voice.

Among the ma.s.sive crowd of players trying to sell him ingredients, he spotted the figure of Suzu, clad in her white robe.

Suzu’s complexion had several dark shadows etched onto it.

The moment he saw her, Yos.h.i.+ was now sure of one thing.

I won.

I beat Edgar-kun, I won this contest.

「Hmm~ What’s the matter, Suzu-chan? Are you upset?」

「……」

Yos.h.i.+ was wearing a sly smile, but Suzu said nothing in response.

She did not move from where she stood, simply staring at Yos.h.i.+ without a single word.

「Now then, how about you come over here. Hmm…… Did Edgar-kun run away because he thought he would lose?」

Yos.h.i.+ quickly scanned the surroundings, but Edgar was no where to be seen.

I guess he was disheartened knowing he would lose, he went and disappeared huh.

Hmph, what happened to all that talk about「With one hour left, I’ll pull something off」

While imagining Edgar grinding his teeth in frustration, Yos.h.i.+ lightly chuckled as he walked over to the silent Suzu.

If was as if, he was a knight, going to fetch his princess.

「Well now, Suzu-chan. What shall I name our clan? I want it to have a wonderful name that shows our love to the world, Suzu-cha──ッ!?」

And, as he was basking in euphoria, the awfully talkative Yos.h.i.+ suddenly shut his mouth.

This was because, behind Suzu came a terrifying gaze. Standing there was a dark skinned elf── Megu.

That gaze sent chills of fear running through Yos.h.i.+’s entire body.

That girl, if I remember she is Suzu-chan’s friend──

「……Aaah~ it’s no use. I can’t hold it back any longer, nope」(Megu)

「Really though, he even said『A wonderful name that shows our love to the world』. You’re quite the shameless b.a.s.t.a.r.d huh」

「……ッ!?」

Yos.h.i.+’s expression instantly grew stiff.

Standing behind Suzu… was not only Megu.

A bald-headed Fighter, and a Knight that carried the same att.i.tude as him.

It was Andou and Yamabuki.

「Y-You are…… Yamabuki-kun?」

「…… But ‘cha know~, even I would feel disgusted by that. Yos.h.i.+」(Yamabuki)

「Why are you here……!?」

Seeing Yamabuki who he knew very well, Yos.h.i.+ drew away.

So Suzu-chan wasn’t alone with just Edgar-kun huh.

No, more importantly, now of all times, why are they here.

「S-So what. Do you plan on separating me and Suzu-chan by force?」

「No, Stupid. Why’d the h.e.l.l we have to do somethin’ like that」(Yamabuki)

「Fine, I never want to talk to you again, but since you don’t get it I’ll say it here. Use those repulsive eyes of yours and have a goood haard look at our statuses!」

Megu’s anger was on the verge of exploding as she cried out.

Being shaken by her intimidating aura, Yos.h.i.+ opened up Megu’s status.

Floating before Yos.h.i.+, was a Status Window.

Looking at that screen, Yos.h.i.+ immediately noticed that an unbelievable name was written there.

「……Th, Th, The『After-School DC Club』? Wh-Wha, What the h.e.l.l is this!?」

「Obviously it’s our Clan」(Megu)

A somewhat unusual Clan Name was written on Megu’s Status.

However, Megu was not the only one who wore that Name.

Andou and Yamabuki.

It was even written on Suzu’s status──

「A-Are you kidding!? Even though I bought all the ingredients, How!?」

「…… Well, I really had to bust my back you know」

“I can’t believe this,” it happened while Yos.h.i.+ still had swirls in his eyes.

Like saying that there was no escape, a st.u.r.dy arm wrapped around Yos.h.i.+’s shoulder.

A black haired and plain-looking guy.

It was Edgar.

「……Y-YOU!?」

「Hmm? What’s the matter? Is there something stuck on my face? Well, there’s something stuck to my status screen that wasn’t there before though」

Forcefully placing his arm on Yos.h.i.+’s shoulder, Edgar turned him with a wide grin.

And once again, on Edgar’s status screen was a name. The same clan name Suzu and the others had; the name「After-School DC Club」 floated above him.

「H-H-How did you!?」

「This contest is our win, Yos.h.i.+」

「Why!? How did you clear the Clan Quest!? Did you use some glitch to get around it!?」

「…… Hey, c’mon now. What’s with those false accusations」

「ッ!?」

Edgar sharply glared at Yos.h.i.+.

Putting his hand on the back of Yos.h.i.+’s head, Edgar placed him in a headlock.

「W-Wait…… Are you raising your hand against me!? If you do that, then I’ll call the GMs──」

「Go ahead. Either way it’s more beneficial for us. We can tell them about someone who used RMT after all」

「……ッ!?」

Yos.h.i.+’s expression turned pale.

Seeing Edgar’s menacing gaze, the fundamental idea that「It was impossible to be physically harmed by another person while you were in town」quickly vanished from Yos.h.i.+’s thoughts.

「I, I never used RMT. You don’t have any proof of it」

「Shut it. Now listen well, I’m really close to getting p.i.s.sed off. So stop wasting your breath. I’m sure you don’t want to lose all your precious items and money, right?」

「……Y-YEsh」

From Yos.h.i.+’s mouth came a reply almost like a shriek.

Yos.h.i.+ was thoroughly shaking in his boots, but Edgar continued to pile on threats.

「Yos.h.i.+, since I won this contest, how about I ask a favor from you?」

「W-Wh, What might that be?」

「Don’t worry, there’s some merit in it for you too. You’ve spent all your time here buying ingredients, isn’t that right?」

「……Eh?」

Not knowing the meaning behind those words, Yos.h.i.+ stood momentarily confused.

「B-Buying…… ingredients?」

「Yup. You said you needed them, right? Lizard Skin, and Crab Claws, also Leather Straps…… What else am I missing?」

「「「ANIMAAL HAAAAIR!」」」

The moment Edgar sent a quick glance over to them, Megu, Andou, and Yamabuki pulled out an enormous amount of「Animal Hair」; so much so that it was overflowing out of their hands.

And just like the pile animal hair they held in both arms, big bright grins spilled onto their faces.

「Wha…… how, huh, wa」

「Well, we have a really reliable comrade you see. Despite the current shortage, she was able to give us a considerable amount of Animal Hair」

The person who brought all this animal hair, was none other than Usa.

Perhaps she possessed incredibly good fortune. When Usa went to Rabasta Woodlands there was already a bunch of players there, but she always managed to come up on top. Again and again, Usa was victorious in her struggles and obtained all this animal hair.

「W-W-Wh, Why do I have to buy them from you guys!」

「Weren’t you supposed to be the Savior of beginner players? We’re beginners too you know. And also……」

「…… Hiii」

Edgar peered into Yos.h.i.+’s eyes.