Accel World Vol 4 Chapter 9 (2/2)
‘…Besides, a one-shot match is honestly much more welcome’
‘Fufu, Haru is the overconcentration-type after all You always expect to decided things in one go’
‘You who spent so h’
After giving a short laugh at each other and saying they’d ainst after school, Haruyuki cut the connection
—I’lad that Takumu is next to me
After sincerely thinking that, Haruyuki thanked froo when he had first fought Cyan Pile, he had decided not to deliver the finishi+ng blow to his friend
After school 7:30 at night
While he was tidying up his ho out a box from the freezer in order to heat up the usual frozen pizza, his doorbell chi
After quickly confir Takumu’s face in a holo-, he ran to the entranceway He pressed the unlock button, and headed to the opening door
“Hey Right on ti…”
Immediately after he ended in ‘-me’, Haruyuki was taken aback as he opened his mouth wide
Another familiar face was there to the side behind Takurave face
“…C-Chiyu…!?”
Why did you come here now?
Without giving hi Chiyuri [2]’ and entered into the hallway She quickly passed by Haruyuki and walked into the living room
After watching the sight of her back while dumbfounded, Haruyuki turned around to face Takumu and questioned him
“…W-Why?”
“I didn't call her here She came with me inside the elevator”
Taku trouble understanding After letting out a thin breath and closing the door, he tilted his head in doubt to ask whether it was okay to enter
After deeply nodding, Haruyuki returned to the hallway along with Takumu
Standing not in the living room but in the kitchen, Chiyuri lifted up the box of frozen pizza which he had left in the sink, made a small smile and spoke
“…As usual, you eat things like this”
And then she returned it to the freezer and lifted up a paper bag she seeht with her
“I got Maether”
She paused for a moment
“…Don’t worry, I didn’t put anything like poison into it”
As soon as he heard that joke, a sharp pain pierced through the center of his chest, and Haruyuki’s face became distorted
—Why did we have to become like this?
That thought ran through his aze away, he saw that Takulasses
Unable to look at the two of them like that anymore, Chiyuri quickly took out a heat-resistant container and divided its contents onto three plates She skillfully carried one plate in her left hand and two in her right hand, and walked into the living room
“Come on, sit down”
S in front of Haruyuki, and placed the other two plates with similar amounts in front of Takumu and herself She took out forks fro room table and held them out to the two of them
When compared to Chiyuri’s behaviour over the last week, each of those separate actions were iether as if in an unseen thread, to the point where Haruyuki couldn’t watch anyaze on his plate, and spoke in a low voice
“…Thank you Itadakimasu[3]”
“…Itadakimasu”
Takumu also said it, and with Chiyuri words of “Go ahead” as the signal, the three of thena that was specially made by Chiyuri’s mama
It was delicious Its taste was far greater than the thing they had eaten as a o But within that deliciousness, there was still clearly that pain which dwelled in Haruyuki’s chest Since he would probably start crying if he stopped chewing, Haruyuki
Their three plates beca the dishes and coain
After re silent for a while, it was 7:50 when Chiyuri finally opened her mouth
“……Noumi told me to come To the location of the duel”
“Wha…”
“Eh…”
Haruyuki raised their voices at the same time as Takumu
Following a h speed
“I…I see You’re already at Level 4 after all…so you’re also entering the Unlimited Neutral Field…”
Foolishly, Haruyuki hadn’t considered at all the possibility that Chiyuri would appear But, certainly, since it’s Nou Lime Bell as part of an ambush
“B-But…how does Nounated time to you, Chii-chan…?”
Takumu’s question was quite natural He and Haruyuki would be arbitrarily changing the designated ti in ambush for them Chiyuri wasn’t an exception to that either
Chiyuri turned down her face so as to escape from the looks directed at her from the two of them, and then mumbled
“…Noumi instructed me like this Meet directly with Haru and Takkun, and tell them that I’ve betrayed him Do that so that they trust me, and Dive at the same time as them…and then once the duel start, heal him”
“……Wh…at…?”
Haruyuki clenched his teeth hard
—Just how much foul play does he intend to do!
At the sah his brain, Haruyuki was eventhose instructions to him and Takumu
As if sensing that, Chiyuri continued in a thin voice
“…But, that’s i now, it wouldn’t be persuasive at all That’s why, I…thought that I would tell you two the truth and ask you two”
“Ask us, you say……”
Looking at first Haruyuki and then Takumu ide eyes ith pale tears, Chiyuri clearly spoke
“Please take o If you say it’s impossible…if you say that, it can’t be helped, so instead I’ll Dive into the Unliht here and now, and wait on the other side until you two come No matter how many months or years it takes, I’ll wait”
“…Chiyu, you……”
Those words were squeezed out from his blocked throat Chiyuriwords like the «Unliirl who should have been a beginner that didn’t know the basics of Brain Burst only a week ago
Haruyuki had held dozen, hundreds of questions within his chest since this incident began
—Why!
—Chiyu, just what on earth are you going so far for! For what purpose are you continuing to so insistently and foolishly earn points in the Brain Burst that you denied until now!!
Yes, Haruyuki wasn’t able to stop hi even this
What if even Chiyuri’s words now are a trap? What if this is a strategy where she betrays us two-fold, interrupts during the duel and steals away the points of me and Takumu?
Honestly, although it was a battle against Dusk Taker where they didn’t knoould happen in the match even if it’s one-on-one, their chances of victory would al ability was added to the mix It would become just like the battle on Tuesday
Haruyuki couldn’t understand He couldn’t grasp Chiyuri’s true intentions at all
The one that broke the heavy silence was Takumu’s quiet voice
“…I understand, Chii-chan We’ll go together”
“T-Taku…”
Takumu turned towards Haruyuki, smiled quietly and spoke
“Haru Half a year ago, you savedour first battle in that hospital You surely wavered about it, right? There was plenty of possibility thatwas just lip-service and that I would try to hunt the comatose Black Lotus iave et that time……That’s why”
Taking a deep breath through his tre throat, Takumu resolutely declared
“I will also believe in Chii-chan It’s frustrating that I can’t understand Chii-chan’s real intentions no matter how I think about it…But, whatever may happen due to Chii-chan’s actions, I will accept it”
Within the silence that once again filled the room, Haruyuki saw Chiyuri’s lips move silently
It was aof a tree, but the clear words reached his ears
…Thank you, Takkun
The instant he heard that, Haruyuki shut his eyes tightly On the screen of his eyelids, the tears that he had seen Chiyuri shed yesterday in her room were recalled
I’ to my oill
Chiyuri had said that while crying In that case, the small details of the situation already didn’t , or not believing The problem was only that And the answer to that was decided Since o, since the tily talk to each other, it was already decided
“Alright”
Haruyuki also nodded
“Let’s go together The three of us”
At the same time as it reached 8 PM, Haruyuki sent the first typed email to Noumi The specified Dive time was 8:30 The location was in front Kouenji Station within the Unlimited Neutral Field
Of course, these would both be changed froain Since they would only send the new directions a few seconds before the arrival of the previous designated time, even if Noumi had someone set up in ambush, it was impossible for Nouer of Nou at the same time if they met up with each other in the real world like Haruyuki and the others, but Haruyuki didn’t believe that Noumi had a comrade he trusted that much Furthermore, Haruyuki and Takumu had also considered the idea that the acco with Noumi on this side in order to eliminate that possibility, but they diserous to leave one’s unconscious body in front of Noumi
While rando the time and location, Haruyuki continued to send mail after mail
The feeling of tension while on standby was unpleasant like when being left alone for a long ti that the irritation that Nouht noas incomparable to his nervousness made him able to endure it On Nou and howto extend this
9:12 PM
After a the extension more than 15 times, Haruyuki finally spoke
“All right…We’ll Dive in one minute”
“Roger”
Takuave that anshile Chiyuri also nodded
The one-match battle which bet all the points of three people Despite how long it had been prolonged, it would start in one hour In other words, everything would be over after only three to six seconds in the real world
Within his heart, Haruyuki called out ‘Senpai’ to Kuroyukihime as in the far away Okinawa
…Senpai, if I lose, you’ll probably be extrery, and also sad But, I believe that you’ll definitely understand in the end It is exactly because I aiht that I have to do this
Five seconds before 9:13
Haruyuki pressed the transmit button for the last email
The contents were—[Location: Urounds Time: Now]
“Let’s go!!”
Right after Haruyuki shouted that out, the three of theether and cried out the command
“““Unlimited Burst!!”””
References
↑ The kanji used here is different from the usual対戦for acceleration duels Instead, he uses決闘, which basically means the more classical kind of honorable one-on-one match or shoot-out
↑ She says おじゃまします, which is a co someone else's home
↑ Common phrase spoken before one eats