System logs flowed down the screen like a waterfall, announcing our victory.
Gate Condition cleared! The gate has opened!
“Wooooow, that was awesome! You really did it with just one attack!”
“Heheheh! That I did! This is the biggest-brain play out there, one that nullified all of its stupid flower-summoning and self-healing gimmicks!”
“Meh... It’s more like an extreme power play, isn’t it? Since you just skipped all the thinking and killed it in one hit.”
“Yeah? Well, this ‘power play’ took tons of minute experimenting and advance preparation! Thus, big-brain.”
While we bickered, another message appeared with a ping!
In 30 seconds, you will be booted from the dungeon.
“Whoops! Okay, it doesn’t matter! Let’s go!”
“It does matter, but fine!”
Akira and I made a mad dash for the warp gate to the next floor. Once we entered, we saw the save point, a pedestal with some sort of jewel on it.
“Save point spotted!”
“Hurry, Ren!”
“You got it!”
I whipped out the Serrurian Dish and placed it against the save point.
Progress saved! In future attempts, you can choose to start on this floor!
“Nice! That’s a Hadean Rose clear for us!”
It has been 60 minutes since you entered. You will now be booted from the dungeon.
Our time was up! We were transported back to the entrance of Aswarth’s Undersea Ruins. Everyone who had died inside recovered, and they were standing nearby.
“Heh. So, girls? Did we nail it, or what? That was all part of my plan!”
“Yes! We finally cleared it! Great job, Ren!”
Akira pounced on me, apparently very excited to have won.
“Um, yeah! We sure did!”
How could I not enjoy a hug from a girl this cute? I’ll take it!
This game was very careful about replicating human touch, so Akira should have been soft... except for some reason, she was firm and hard to the touch.
Oh, right. It’s the Lead Silk Dress. Did she change into that just in case?
“Wow, this stuff really does feel like metal.”
“Ah, yep. This thing saved our hides.”
“It’s awesome how it has high defense but still exposes so much skin. I love that the game still protects you there—very on-brand for MMOs. Yes, yes, very nice.”
As long as it let me savor the sights, I was all for it.
“You gawk too much, Ren! Jeez, you never hold back. But maybe we should thank Nozomi for causing this to happen. If she hadn’t, we wouldn’t have made it to the end.”
Akira looked over at Akabane.
“Well, yes. Getting the answer wrong was my mistake, but in the end, it became our greatest asset.”
“Nah, that’s just luck. You looked mad as heck.”
“Luck is one component of skill!”
“C’mon, now, we won!” Yano interjected. “Let’s call it even, okay?”
“Now we can continue on! We must be in the lead!” Maeda said, excited.
As we all jumped for joy, Shizuku alone seemed bitter.
“It’s all well and good that you’ve overcome adversity, but there is a problem.” Shizuku pointed at Akira in her Lead Silk Dress. “I don’t care about those Akabanes, but I didn’t think that you would wear such indecent attire. I don’t believe it’s right for a schoolgirl to wear that. How will you justify this?”
Shizuku had criticized the Akabanes when she first saw them. Akira had been there for it, so she’d kept herself from wearing the sword dancer gear around Shizuku. That had worked out well for us, thanks to how convenient the yukata was. But with the way things were going at the end, she’d had to change gear.
Akira swallowed hard. “I already know my parents would be mad if they saw me, okay?”
“Your family has higher standards than the Akabanes, so it’s my duty to point it out for you. If people tell you that you lack self-awareness, it’s your own fault.”
“You don’t have to be so stuffy,” I said, stepping in. “Without that equipment, we would have been defeated. Besides, the whole point of all this is so that she doesn’t have to wear that ‘indecent attire’ you won’t stop complaining about. How can you blame her?”
“What you’re saying is only further proof that there’s a self-awareness problem. Now stay out of this.”
“I’m free to speak as I please. What gives you the right to insult Akira like this?”
Just as the situation was starting to get heated, an interloper flew onto the scene.
“But wait, I say! Wait, my beloved sister!”
A masked pervert had appeared to intrude on their argument—with his usual arms-crossed, cool-guy pose!
When did he get here?! Did this guy use Vanishing Whirl just to eavesdrop on us?! What is his deal?!
“I do understand your point, but I do find it rather difficult to agree with you, Iwao Aoyagi.”
Aoyagi? Is he talking to Shizuku?!
I was rattled, but Akira herself was downright flabbergasted.
“HUH?! Grandpa?!”
That’s her grandpa’s name?! But wait, Shizuku looks like a young woman.
“Actually, I felt like I knew you for some reason! Now I get it! You look just like Granny did when she was younger!”
“Urk! Well, yes. It wouldn’t be quite right for a nation’s minister to log in to this game as is. They told me that they could replicate the appearance of any human, so I chose her.”
“Did you get bored while your broken bones were healing?”
“Heh, I thought it was as good an opportunity as any. This also serves as an official visit for me; this is an educational facility with the most cutting-edge technology, after all.”
Okay, now I get it. Ms. Nakada was pretty obsequious around Shizuku, so I figured she was a big shot. Seeing as she was so rough on the Akabanes, I also thought she might have known their family in real life.
Thinking back on it, Shizuku especially favored Akira from the start. Like when she gave us that valuable Super Special Warp Stone, although I just assumed she didn’t know the true value of it.
“You should’ve said something! I would’ve—”
“If I had, you would’ve hidden your true self. I know you’re too cunning for that.”
“Ugh...”
Fear was written all over her face. Was she actually going to get pulled out of school right now? I couldn’t let that happen!
“Please forgive meeeee!”
I stood in front of Shizuku-Grandpa and bowed as low as I could go.
“Akira didn’t want to do it, anyway. I made her do it! I knew sword dancers only had gear like that, but I was only thinking about their abilities! I’m so, so sorry!”