We revived after being forcefully returned to our floating cottage.
“So, we died,” I said simply.
Emily sighed. “That we did. The boss was a lot punchier than I expected.”
“Sorry for dying first, guys,” mumbled Akira, looking dejected.
“Nah, you couldn’t help it. First try is always scuffed.”
“First try or not, that boss was just really tough. It’s a clear difficulty increase from past bosses,” Emily said with a frown.
“Yeah, for sure,” I agreed. “It’s like it was actually trying to take us down.”
“Yep. Most likely, he’ll be the deciding factor in who wins the race to get the Rainbow Guard. He’s just that tough.”
Emily was probably right. That flower’s role was to be a sieve which let only the best players through; a steep difficulty spike was necessary.
“Do we have a plan? Ren, Emily?”
“A plan? Not at the moment, no.” I shook my head.
“Right. We need more information,” Emily added.
“Yeah. But that’s why...”
Simultaneously, the two of us announced, “We’re getting fired up!”
Akira chuckled, looking a little sad. “Ahahaha. It’s like you two share a brain. I’m kinda envious.”
Just then, Shizuku cocked her head to one side. “Hm? I heard a voice out front.”
Indeed, someone was addressing us from outside the cottage. Did we have a visitor?
“Oh, I’ll go take a look.”
I went to the entrance to see who was there, and I found a blond guy a bit older than me.
Wow, a foreigner! Err, wait. I feel like I’ve seen this guy somewhere before.
“Excuse me... Emily... please.”
He was saying something, but I couldn’t understand any of it except for “Excuse me,” “Emily,” and “please.” Man, I was so bad at English. Especially when it came to listening! Typical of a Japanese person like me. With some study, I might be able to read and even write it, but I’d never be able to speak it. Emily spoke Japanese, so I figured this was a result of me relying on that fact for so long.
“Pleeease... speak more slowly,” I responded without much thought.
He shook his head in irritation and began anew. “Sorry. I hear Emily is around here. Is that true?”
“Ooh! You can speak Japanese?!”
“Emily’s such a Japanophile that she made me learn it.”
“You must be Lucas, right? I thought I recognized you. You were in a photo that Emily sent me along with one of her letters.”
“Yep. You’re Ren, I assume? She told me about you. Thank you for all you’ve done for her.”
He extended a hand, to which I gladly responded with a handshake. Japanese-American friendship! What a lovely thing.
“Oh, same here, man. Emily’s inside, so come on in!”
With that, I headed back into the cottage with Lucas in tow. Emily and the others were sitting in the living room, as they were before.
Upon finding her, Lucas shouted, “Emily!”
“Oh, Lucas? What’s the matter?”
“I’m here to pick you up. You need to come back.”
The fact that these two Americans were speaking Japanese to each other meant that they were being considerate so that we could understand them. Very kind, indeed.
“Aw, why? I was just having fun!” Emily seemed pretty annoyed.
“Playtime is over. The academy wants us to record a video of us clearing Aswarth’s Undersea Ruins first. As professionals, we need to listen to our sponsors.”
Lucas was another professional gamer. He was in the same position as Emily, part of a gaming team.
“Hmm. Do I absolutely have to go back?”
“You sure do. Are you aware of just how strong the B80F boss is?”
“Yeah. We just witnessed it, actually.”
“To clear that, we have to pull out all the stops. We need you.”
“Mmm... Okay. I guess I have to, then. But I feel bad for Ren and his friends.”
“They’ll be fine. I doubt their results will differ with or without you. Look at their party: symbologist, sword dancer, sky pirate, and scholar. No matter how hard you try, you’ll never defeat the Hadean Rose with that much dead weight. We have to take this seriously.”
Upon hearing that, Emily snapped, “Lucas! That’s just mean to say to Ren and his friends. Don’t make people remember me as the wife of Mr. Rude Guy.”
Yes, she was his wife. I already knew, as Emily had told me in a letter. In America, sixteen-year-olds could get married with parental permission. Depending on the state, that number went even lower. Emily was like an idol in American spheres, so she didn’t make it all too clear to the public eye, but the fact that she announced it so boldly now meant that she didn’t care if any of us here knew.
“What?! His wife?!” Akira, Maeda, and Yano yelled in astonishment.
Shizuku seemed surprised as well, as her eyes were wide open.
“Um, then...”
“Emily’s...”
“Really...”
“Married?!” Again, the three harmonized.
“Well, yeah? Esports are sports too, so I’m an athlete! And an athlete’s gotta settle down and focus on competition, after all,” Emily declared with radiant confidence. “Oh, but that’s not public info. Keep it a secret for me, okay?”
Still clammed up from shock, the three of them could only nod.
“Go on, Lucas. Apologize for being rude. If you don’t, you can sleep on the couch from now on.”
“Err, all right. My bad; I went too far. I might have just been jealous because it felt like Emily was being taken away from me.”
With that, Emily smirked mischievously and took his arm in hers. “Excuse me? I’m pretty sure I love you enough. Have I not made it clear yet?”
“No, it’s not that.”
“Then what is it?”
“Well, um... Sorry. I was unmanly.”
Oookay. Get a room, you two.
“Hey, it’s cool,” I replied. “It’s more fun when people think we can’t handle it, anyway. Let the trash shine bright! Kill the giants!”
“Ahahaha. See, he’s like that all the time.”
“He’s just as unusual as you said. Though I do apologize, I can’t back down on this. As professionals, we have a duty to claim victory.”
I gave a gentle shake of my head. “No prob. Again, that’s what makes it fun! Let’s take this seriously!”
“Well, that’s that. I gotta go home. It was fun, everyone. Thank you all.” Emily waved to us and moved to leave the cottage with Lucas.
Behind them, Akira called out, “Emily, wait!”
“Oh? What’s wrong, Akira?”
Akira bowed sharply to her. “I’m... I’m sorry! Y’know, ’cause I had kind of an attitude around you and all.”