The gods’ goals were a mystery. Yu likely didn’t know anything more, and shaking him down probably wouldn’t result in obtaining any more useful information. Takuto wasn’t particularly skilled at observing people, but that didn’t mean he was bad at inference or deduction. If nothing else, he understood what Player Yu Kamimiyadera was after.
I see. So survival comes above all else, huh? Everyone is afraid of dying, and this world poses a constant threat to life. On the other hand, is it unusual for someone to gamble using their abilities? I don’t want to take that kind of risk either… If he’s like me and came to this world knowing nothing while playing a game, then our goals might be more aligned than I thought.
“King Takuto, how do you wish to proceed?” Atou asked telepathically. “If worse comes to worst, we can always get a different Regalia. I think we can play it safe here if you want to…”
A certain number of Regalia were necessary to obtain the Ascension Victory. However, that also meant they only needed to fulfill the set amount required. Put simply, they could skip some of them. If they turned down Yu’s offer and lost out on obtaining the Regalia Sword as a result, they could make it up with a different Regalia. But they had no reason to look a gift horse in the mouth.
“I wish we had more time to gather information or to consider it… I don’t know if that’s what they were after from the start or not, but it’s pretty cunning,” Takuto responded.
Based on the information they had and the general flow of the conversation, it seemed unlikely Yu was conspiring against them. But Takuto wanted more to convince him—a big enough reason to convince him of why the other party was going so far.
The current situation was too one-sided in Mynoghra’s favor. Even if the person known as Yu Kamimiyadera was someone who put survival and pacifism first, he hadn’t given a strong enough motivation for it. After all, he was the embodiment of THE HERO. Even if he was just playing the role granted to him by Brave Questers, he was still some kind of top player or someone with unique skills on the inside…
And, surprisingly, the final piece he needed to convince him came from an unexpected place. The idea struck Takuto when he shifted his gaze to check on Atou and her gaze silently asked him what he planned to do next. He was now convinced he knew exactly what was motivating the Hero sitting in front of him.
“Brave Questers had an original character system, if I recall right,” Takuto said.
“Gah!!” Yu’s loud reaction confirmed Takuto’s suspicions.
Brave Questers is an epic game series that has surpassed many other RPGs to become a masterpiece, boasting a unique system. It’s called the Original Character System, or OC System for short.
In addition to the Hero and his companions, the player can create their own original character to adventure with them. At first, the OC is weak and almost useless, but with the right build, they can become a special character who can keep any foe at bay, becoming your strongest companion.
Secretly giving the character the name of your crush and playing the game with them—a tradition repeated with every new game released in the series over the years and across the world.
Looking at Atou reminded Takuto of the OC system.
The tragedy of losing your save data was made all the more bittersweet because of that system… Takuto had never used the OC system, so he hadn’t experienced said tragedy for himself, but considering there were still people to this day—when it’s much harder to lose save data—who bemoaned the same tragedy on the Internet, he figured there had to be many more in the past who wept the loss.
Seems like I might’ve been overcomplicating this. Setting aside the entity behind Yu, he seems like a fairly easy-to-read guy. Takuto glanced at the slave girl.
“Could she be…the OC waifu of your dreams?”
“Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!” Yu shouted at the top of his lungs. He cradled his head in his hands and writhed around on the sofa.
“M-Masterrrrrr! Your head! Does your head hurt?! What’s ailing you all of a sudden, MASTERRRRR?!”
Takuto thought this with TRPG Player, Keiji Kuhara, as well, but all the Players so far seemed to be as human as they came. Takuto came to a funny realization that maybe it was just the top players from Eternal Nations who lacked humanity. With that, he made up his mind.
“Very well,” Takuto said. “We accept your offer to work together. However, the main purpose of our alliance will be defense, not active hostility toward other forces. That works for you too, doesn’t it?”
“W-Well, if we’re being honest, yeah…”
“Wait, wait, what’s going on here, King Takuto?” Atou asked telepathically. “Why did you suddenly decide to accept their offer? You were being incredibly cautious up until a minute ago…”
“Either way, it’s too early to decide at this stage, I’d say. Let’s prioritize securing the Regalia first and remain on friendly terms with them publicly.”
“I-If you say so… By the way, what’s this OC waifu thing? Some sort of key character?”
“Nah, I wouldn’t say it’s a key character—or maybe it is? Could it be one?” Takuto wasn’t too sure himself. “I-I’ll fill you in on it later.”
Setting aside the special feelings boys of a certain age have toward the character, Takuto would have to explain in detail to Atou why he decided to work with Yu later. Then he would have to fill in the Dark Elves who made up his empire-management council…
Takuto had suffered greatly once before at the hands of the TRPG Witch, Erakino. That whole incident had become a source of trauma for the Dark Elves who were present for it. To them, other Player factions were the devil—their archnemesis. Even if he explained the circumstances and benefits of the alliance, it wouldn’t be easy to convince them.
Obtaining the Regalia Sword and a Player ally. While Takuto would have to remain vigilant, the gains were immense. But the price he’d have to pay in return would not be small either.
As the conversation rapidly took on a more complicated turn, Takuto found himself feeling more than a little depressed wondering when his days of peace and quiet would come.
“Um… What’s an OC waifu, Master?”
“N-Nothing! It’s nothing at all!”
Takuto looked at Yu, who was frantically trying to distract the slave girl from that topic. Atou was Takuto’s favorite character of all time, and to an outsider, he must have seemed abnormally attached to her too, so he couldn’t really criticize Yu for similar behavior.