Vol 2 Chapter 3 (1/2)

Chapter 3 - Resolution to Confront The Past

Part 1

”Fuu”

Inside of a diht had already disappeared from, shi+o slowly opened her eyes

Her itated after she experienced an entertain heat was leaving her body and she took deep breaths repeatedly

shi+o waved her ar In conjunction with her hts were turned on, at the saht was turned off

”I sweated a lot”

Although that was in the Elysion, it was because she wasn't used tothatto her skin, and her skin colour could be clearly seen through it Although she wiped her entire body with the towel she prepared, she still felt discomfort

I'll take a bath first, then have a lunch

She was alone in her broad room

There was an Arclight and a bed, it was a simple roo in

——One corner of the four major cyber-related corporates, 'Karasuba'

Even if there were people who still didn't know Kiritou's name, there were no people who didn't know the nae of an enterprise it was Karasuba shi+o was the granddaughter of its cohter of its current president

Unlike Fuyuki as an adopted daughter using the Karasuba nae'

shi+o changed into appropriate clothes and draped a coat on her shoulders before she left the room

Karasuba owned grounds was the size of a small town and her room was inside of the head family's manor

Through thethere were several visible buildings serving as research facilities and behind those buildings were huge headquarters towering over them

It wasn't visible fro now, but on the other side there is the reception hall of the internal education facility 《Bird Cage》 and its various facilities that were dispersed

Partially because it was a holiday, but there were less people in thefrom the appearance, shi+o was the only one from the head family in there, everyone else there was a servant

”My lady, Princess shi+o is staying at hos are all at laboratories researching”

”Master and ain”

Along the way, she heard the servants chatting shi+o shut her heart ignoring the negative chatter

Aren't they getting bored of repeating the sa every time?

Again and again and again and again, that talk continued on a daily basis, these words no longer hurt her but still, somewhere in her heart she felt worn out

shi+o had an older brother, older sister, and a younger sister

The three siblings besides shi+o were already acting as researchers and have attained re called 'Geniuses'

Children of Karasuba didn't play like normal children would, they don't attend school To become people that stand above everyone else, they are subjected to special thorough education froe

They were trained in different subjects But as the y The only thing that mattered was that they had to have excellent results, that was all

Froe they desperately polished their techniques at the expense of everything else

———And despite all of that, shi+o had no talent at all

It took her siblings only a week to learn what she had to study for three months No matter how s' backs

And then, the place 'Karasuba shi+o' belonged to slowly faded away

shi+o entered the dressing rooe bathroom

Her other fa the shower, the only one who used the bath on a regular basis was shi+o It turned into a situation where the bathtub was exclusively hers

”Hafuu〜this is really cal〜”

She soaked in hot water from which white steam rose, and let out a voice

The ater was not only pleasant She also had a sense of freedo shi+o's heart

She relaxed her body releasing all her strength, and floated as the watery sounds filled the air

For just a moment shi+o felt an unbearable weakness no one knew of All the unpleasant feelings melted away in the hot water and her head became empty——is how it should have been That's how it normally was

it turned out really weird

She thought about her first ti with the boy who claimed to be Fuyuki's brother

Even nohen she closed her eyes she was re she had as she released an arrow froht and penetrating through monsters

It was supposed to be a way to kill time She obtained a free pass by chance (or rather it was forced on her) She didn't throw it away because it would be a waste, that's all

But because of that whim, she was reunited with a friend from her past

I wonder if that was fate

Even though the hot water should have warmed her up, her heart was cold

She wanted to ignore all of these feelings, but she couldn't get accustomed to pain that easily

The pain she felt in her heart seven years ago as her dreams and hopes were all shattered, it encroached her body slowly, like poison

Ever since then she didn't expect anything, she wasn't entertained by anything, she just lived her life while reht her own life had no value, that's hoas However

it was fun

These few hours she spent today were really fun It was very enjoyable, even though at some point it became as painful as it hen she was betrayed, she still wondered 'What is going to happen next?' with high expectations

Just a little er——shi+o closed her eyes and entrusted her body to the hot water once again

Part 2

After an hour passed since the break started, Taiga returned to 《Aries》

〈”——Log in”〉

An inorganic voice announced, and he opened his eyes What he saas the interior of 《Babel》's thirty-third training grounds

He had a meal in Paradise which as usual, had no other customers He washed away the sweat and his body was in perfect condition

Then, he heard the sound of an explosion nearby

He wondered just how long she had been going at it shi+o was shooting her arrows at the target which was located forty h there was compensation it was difficult, about 40 of her arrows hit the centre of it

Despite that, it seeress as compared to herself from before the break

Hey hey then why did we have an hour long break to rest There's no point if she doesn't rest is there

Not noticing that Taiga has logged in, shi+o continued to shoot one arrow after another

She didn't grow as an archer, it wasn't like she grasped it intuitively Her progress was fro until the very end a result of her efforts

Not knohat to do, and only repeating the sa in thewith touch A human who only kne to do it that hen it ca circuits were removed

It's impressive that she was able to i

Taiga was shocked, but he didn't hate that kind of thing

Not having a place for hiet out of there Without anyone to rely on, unable to ask anyone for guidance——his old self overlapped with her, Taiga couldn't keep watching or leave her alone

”shi+o, put less strength in from your shoulders”

”EeOnii-san?! I'm sorry, is it time already?”

”It's fine, just do it”

He cut in the y and prompted her to take the posture

Panicking shi+o tried to pull the string with all her force, she was still stiff

”You're putting too et is at that distance Reth is enough, what's left is technique Yes, breathe slowly”

Just as she'd been told, shi+o took a very deep breath while holding the arrow Three tith faded from her body

Taiga continued to instruct her

”Don't narrow your eyes, like that you won't be able to see the target too well if you burden your eyes too much, your concentration will decrease Control yourself and your breathing YouIf your breath is too deep you will draw out too th, and if your breath is too shallow you won't have enough oxygen and your thinking will be blurry It ht be difficult at first, but you should try to keep your breathing as natural as possible”

shi+o followed Taiga's instructions and fixed both her breathing and vision

She only saw the contour of the target that was forty meters away, the dot in the very middle of it was practically invisible

Seeing shi+o anxious like that, Taiga continued to speak

”You don't need anyis it and what its shape is, it's fine if you shoot at it and just adjust your airasp the feeling Like that you will be able to hit the place you aim at”

”yes”

”Stop your breathing for a ht before you release the arrow, it will stop your body fro small movements and help you to retain the ai, if you decide to shoot then go through with it immediately”

Following the rhythht She stopped her breathing for a moment and immediately released the arrow!

clank——the arrow cut through the air and pierced in a place right beside the dot in the centre shi+o unconsciously a saw her happy smile

”Let's continue How about we see ill happen if you follow the rhythm?”

”Yup!”

shi+o replied vigorously and readied another arrow

Taiga fixed the parts he felt were bad one by one and eventually when the number of arrows shot reached fifty she was able to hit nearly every arrow near the middle

Her body has a natural posture, rhythood learner

It was the first tiht someone who perfectly listened to his instructions like that

Any human would have soree, and that habit would upset what he taught them

But without tendencies of her own, she absorbed Taiga's words like wool At that pace she would improve in no time

”shi+o, let's stop here We'll continue with monsters as our opponents”

”Uu it'll be harder than worms I wonder If I can do it?”

”Hitting theood aim you need to read an opponent's movements”

The basics don't change, only an additional element is added

”oh right Onii-san, you said you had a place you wanted to go to?”

”Yeah, I've been asked so troublesome of an acquaintance It's the arena on the top floor

《Aries' Management Tower》, users call it by a name 'Babel'

Even with that said, the aet a rank-up were athere? Their aiiant rock floating in the sky above the toas——an 《Arena》

”So this is the arena”

”The at also, it's noisy”

Thewith the transfer staff on the top of the spiral staircase, Taiga and shi+o were forcibly bloay to the ae, a loud applause rumbled, it felt like an earthquake

The 《Arena》 rees However it was inside of the Elysion, so it was not normal

Placed in therole was a sparkling, mysterious crystal sphere It was a projector that reflected several three-diness

Their nu battles in real-time in five different locations for each one

”I ood with this”

”That's true it ht be hard for shi+o since you're very shy But what's with this a better to do?”

Responding to Taiga's condescending tone shi+o put on a wry smile

The audience that consisted of over five hundred people cheered and taunted as they pleased Honestly, they were really noisy It seemed like it was hard on shi+o as she was in a state where her legs were unsteady

”I feel as if I was drunkauu”

”Oops shi+o, are you alright?”

He supported shi+o's body who almost collapsed onto her knees At that tiely exposed by the hunter costume

Whoa what's this, her skin is too white

No extra flesh at all and spotless beautiful skin

So white it seemed like it would melt on touch, so brittle it seemed like it would spill on touch

After touching her, he saw her in a new light

”Onii-san?”

She looked up towards hiht have been because of the enthusiasm in this place A drop of red in the middle of pure white, naturally it was her eyes that attracted him with their diabolical charm

”——!! Come on, let's look for a vacant seat, you can lean on me”

”Yes thank you, Onii-san”

After unconsciously staring at her in admiration, he looked away in a hurry and started to look for a vacant seat shi+o could rest on With that said, since it was both daytime and a holiday it seemed to be a very busy time so there was no convenient seat they could use

As Taiga worried about what to do, that's when a man approached

”Oh, isn't it the two from before! What a coincidence!”

”?”

A a tilted his neck Wondering, where did I see this guy before?

”Hey hey, did you forget me already? Earlier today, on the main street——”

”ah! The guy who came in to mediate!”

When they had a dispute with the man called Tokuma, he didn't just stand around and dived in Because the only thing he was thinking about back then was to calm shi+o, he didn't look at his face

”That's quite a fast reunion”

”Hahaha, thisof which, I still haven't introduced myself I'm Leon, nice to meet you”

”Leon? A foreigner?”

”Onii-san It's not a real name It's a secondary name used in Elysion It's a temporary name used to hide the real name It's probably the same for that Tokuma person”

”in other words, a pseudonym?”

”Hey hey, froe did you come from that you don't know about the second name?”

Leon was aa didn't have any contact with the cyber world Since neither Fuyuki nor Rui taught him about it, it was impossible for him to know

”It's not like there's a reason to hide it I'a, nice to meet you”

”Taiga, is it By the way, that girl appears to be sick, is she alright?”

”This at to find a place for her to sit, but there's none so I'm kinda troubled”

”Then I know a good place Not only you can sit down there, but it's also quiet unlike this place If you're fine I can guide you?”

Leon's proposal was like a rescue boat However, there was a single question

”a place like that, where is it?”

”Participants waiting room below Normally, unrelated people can't use it, but since the clan is not using it now you can stay there until the match ends Do you knohat a clan is?”

”It's an English word for family however but it doesn't seem to be the case here”

”It's not wrong if you think of it as a kind of group It's a party of four or more players I'm the leader of a clan called 《Lion Alliance》 Well, we're a weak clan with only four s Letroom”

As he said that, Leon passed through the audience and headed towards the stairs installed near the outer wall Taiga deteret some rest was top priority, he placed his ar Leon

”O-Onii-san! I can walk by myself!”

”What are you saying, didn't you fall down Just a little longer so don't make a fuss and bear with it By the way shi+o, you're way too light, you should eat more meat”

”Uustupid Onii-san”

Probably embarrassed, shi+o's face was dyed scarlet and she lowered her head Taiga, surprised by how light her body was held in his arivable

They walked through a corridor located below the audience seats until Leon stopped his feet

”We're here, this is our waiting room”

Guided by Leon they arrived and entered a simple room

There was a projecting sphere just like the one in the field's center and it was surrounded by chairs Taiga helped shi+o to sit down and bowed his head to Leon

”Sorry, you saved me”

”Thank you, Leon-san”

”Don't mention it but why did you cohts here are too hard for beginners alright?”

”I didn't coate soht I would find so in a place full of people”

The fact that Kiritou was involved was the most he could say, he shouldn't talk about his connections any ht have some information

”Is that so By the hat are you investigating?”

”It's about a guy called 『Angel』 who appeared recently”

”Yeah So”

”You know so?”

”Just from the rumours I never saw him myself”

”That's fine Just tell me”

”Sure thing First——uh, wait a second Leon speaking”

It see his back to the two

As the roolanced to check on shi+o's state It seemed like she settled down quite a bit, her cheeks weren't as red as before either

”You look better now”

”Yup, it's all thanks to Onii-san What's the 『Angel』 you mentioned before?”

”A guy who's said to have scattered around a strange prograate why he did that that Haya, forcing people to work She better rest properly”

”eh?”

Hearing Taiga speak shi+o tilted her head, she felt like she knew the name he just spoke

”Must be a different person, right?

She got curious and asked honestly

”By Haya, do you mean Kiritou Haya-san?”

”What, you know her? Oh right, you're both children from the four major corporates You must be acquainted”

”We just exchanged greetings once at a party Oh right The one who's given me a free pass and recommended 《Aries》 was Haya-san, she said her acquaintance uses it”

”That's definitely about me In other words, what? The reason shi+o came to 《Aries》, was because of me?”

What a coincidence, no, it was inevitable

The fact that Taiga and shi+o ht have been fate

”That's really surprising but a party eh See as well”

”Nnn It was the first time in a while since I participated in one That's because a drop-out like me is just a nuisance at home”

For Karasuba she was only a disposable tool Also, a tool of little value——that's what shi+o seriously thought

Ever since her parents said 'That girl only has good looks so let's have her marry as fast as possible'——she learned just how much a person called Karasuba shi+o orth, she was now only a 'Tool for political e'

Taiga wanted to say 'be more confident' but he sed those words That wasn't what he should be saying now

No matter what, that seems way too irresponsible

Because he didn't know anything about her past

”HA?! W-wait a minute! You, don't you kno important this day is?!”

Then, Leon as talking in the corner of the room suddenly raised his voice in panic The atmosphere for the conversation disappeared, the two looked at each other

”You didn't know didn't I fucking tell you that before?! The clan ——Wait, I said wait, hey!?”

It seemed like the caller suddenly disconnected, and Leon's voice resounded throughout the roo him

”Leon-san, what happened?”

”See troublesome hey, Leon! What is it?”

”last minute cancellation”

”Ha?”

”Today's match, we aren't able to participate without four members and as it suddenly turns out one h it was detero”

Seeing him fall into a slump like that, it seeame

”Can't you ask someone else to stand in?”

”《Lion Alliance》 is a clan that has only four members, we don't have any substitutes And there's no time to look for one——”

That's when Leon stopped talking, and his line of sight was cast towards Taiga

Taiga had a bad premonition, he wanted to take shi+o and leave the room but——

”I beg you Taiga! Participate in the game instead!”

”it turned out like this after all”

He was a bit too slow

”There's no one else but you! Hey, I beg you!”

”You're the one who said it'll be too hard forthat?”

”Just this time we can overlook it! Anyone who can increase the head count is fine!”

”Hey hey”

Nohimself too much

”Is it fine even if we lose?”

”Since we're participating we have no intention to lose! Rather than ad, I'd rather participate with a handicap! Of course, I won't tell you to do it for free If you participate, then el』!”

”mm”

Because of that condition, his resolve started to falter

For Taiga himself there was no profit fro lady If he continued to collect information at this rate and took too e of insults

Moreover, Leon not only helped thea was also indebted to hi a room for shi+o to rest in He would feel horrible if he were to decline

Also, it's not like he didn't have any interest in PvP

”tell me more details”

”You'll participate?!”

”For the ti toout there”

Even if he was pulled in by Leon for nu his punches That's why he wanted to know if he will be useful before agreeing to it

”If you want specifics I can't explain it to you because I don't know them myself yet”

”Hey hey”

Not knohy he didn't know the contents of the gaa was shocked But it seeood reason for that

”Don't jump to conclusions It's not just us None of the participants know the content of the ganalled That's the real thrill of 《UNKNOWN》”

According to Leon's explanation

Participants don't know the rules until the very last moment Rules are different every tireatly——it was held only once a month Arena's most popular event the 《UNKNOWN》

”The registration will be over soon, and they will announce the rules for the first tied from the old 『Rank Bonus Reversal』 to 『Movement Speed』 whatever it means”

”Fuun and the number of participants?”

”This tiroups of four people, so a total of forty Victory conditions soroups besides your own It's really simple, I'll take care of all last minute details”

While saying that, Leon deployed aand sent it over to Taiga

Aa curious was a sentence that stood out since it ritten in red

”So what's the prize for winning this?”

”An update prograrams It seems to drastically power up a weapon The rewards for participating now seereat this time”

”Hee”

With these words, Taiga glanced at shi+o She was resting while sitting on a chair and looking curiously at the projection sphere floating in the middle of the room

”LetEven if we lose you will help ht?”

”I promise you that”

”Then I'll participate”

”Yeah!! Then right now it's most important to send the party application to otherto explain the circumstances to the other members now!”

After saying just that Leon turned into an incredibly hurried state, he ia

〈”A party request has been filed by player Leon Do you accept it?”〉

Taiga tapped YES, his name was added to the Leon's and the other two a seemed to have become a member of their party

”In that case shi+o, can you wait for a while? I'll end it in a flash and come back”

”Y-yes That's fine but Onii-san, are you really participating?”

”It seeainst it?”

”beginners like us will be only tread upon by the strong people”

Again Those eyes again

Trusting in those words as if it was an absolute truth, eyes of sogle against it——eyes of a hu reality

”You won't win anyway, so it's better not to participate at all The one ill be laughed at after losing won't be Leon-san, but Onii-san right? no ainst soinning That's what I think”

For so cry asking why does it have to be so

He couldn't agree to it——that's what he thought instinctively

”I won't be able to win against higher-ranked people, eh then if I win thisAlright! I've got some motivation now!”

”I' you it's impossible”

”In that case, let's have a bet?”

”A bet?”

”Yeah shi+o will bet that I' to lose I say it'll be just the opposite The loser is going to do one thing the winner requests of him——how's that?”

Although shi+o looked up at Taiga to find his real intention, but she couldn't read his thoughts that easily She gave up after a h

”Fine I'm in Since Onii-san will lose anyway”

”Is that so Then, just look at it from there”

Leaving behind the girl who closed her htly guilty

I feel as if I've cheated her but this time it couldn't be helped

Taiga th was that of an A rank or higher He worked together with Fuyuki and Rui at subjugating viruses after all Other users should be no match for him