Episode 69

― “With player Calm securing the final weight, he’s pulled off a razor-thin comeback victory!”

― “And of all things, the end lag on the skill player Massacre used right before that was far too long, making it difficult to respond to the unexpected trap. If he had killed player Calm then and there, he could have locked in the score and won!”

― “That’s right. Even in that extremely dangerous situation at the very end, with low health and his back to the corner, player Calm lived up to his nickname and responded calmly. That was the decisive move.”

Massacre had been overturned at the last moment and lost. With that, all the assassin matches had come to an end.

Back onstage, standing beside the MC, Massacre was sharing his thoughts with a face full of regret, saying he was “about to get kicked out of the guild.” I had no idea what had happened in that guild, but in any case, it had clearly been a match he’d all but won, only to lose in a comeback because of one final mistake. Of course he’d be disappointed.

“He must be really bummed. He had that won just now.”

“The wall came up right there, so he couldn’t see the trap being laid.”

“Exactly.”

In a corner beside the stage, we sat on folding chairs that had been set out for us to wait comfortably, watching the stage and exchanging a few words here and there. Thankfully, the electronic display was big enough that it was fairly visible even from this angle. Otherwise, I would have been bored out of my mind the whole time we were waiting.

Sitting beside me, Gang Jegyeong had his long legs stretched out and crossed, his ankle tapping lightly.

“What if Goyeong gets that disappointed too?”

Spouting nonsense as peacefully as ever.

“Your baseless confidence is seriously something else.”

When I muttered that in an impressed tone, Gang Jegyeong grinned and corrected me, saying it wasn’t baseless confidence, it was just confidence. If we fought ten times, I was the one who won six, so wasn’t it definitely baseless confidence for him to assume he’d win? I clicked my tongue at him out of the corner of my eye.

“What are you going to do if you get all arrogant like that and lose? You’ll be embarrassed.”

“I’d be disappointed if I lost, but embarrassed? Not really.”

“If you act like you’re going to win and then lose, that’d be incredibly embarrassing.”

“It’s not like I’m going up against some beginner and losing. If I lose to someone on your level, Goyeong, that’s not really something to be embarrassed about, is it?”

That was…… true. The logic fit so perfectly that I had nothing to say and shut my mouth. Gang Jegyeong laughed brightly.

“Besides, you think you’re going to win too, don’t you, Goyeong?”

“How do you know that?”

“You just seem like that kind of person.”

What did my personality look like for him to say something like that? It wasn’t exactly wrong either, so I had no idea how to refute him.

“I’m right, aren’t I?”

“……Even so, I don’t say things like that outright to provoke people.”

“Of course.”

That kind of pissed me off.

“……By the way, how old are you, Goyeong?”

I was frowning in a gloomy mood after getting swept up in his pace when Gang Jegyeong, who had been staring at me, suddenly asked that. It was a topic that usually came up as a matter of course when meeting privately, but the timing was so out of nowhere that I wondered if he was trying to change the subject.

“Why do you want to know my age?”

“Just…… I suddenly got curious.”

“Suddenly?”

“Suddenly.”

Still, he didn’t look like he was lying. Well, being out of context was basically part of Gang Jegyeong’s identity. And if anything, he would have kept teasing me; it wasn’t as if he needed to change the topic.

I snorted and answered bluntly.

“Twenty-five.”

And as far as I knew, Retake—that is, Gang Jegyeong—was also twenty-five, the same as me. So probably, after hearing my answer, Gang Jegyeong would……

“Aha……. We’re the same age.”

“Yeah.”

……He simply shut his mouth without saying anything else.

……That’s it? Usually, after finding out we were the same age, he’d say something like, “Then should we drop the formalities?” or “Should we speak casually?” But he didn’t even give off that kind of nuance.

And we were the same age, too.

“…….”

……Well. If he didn’t want to speak casually, then whatever.

Just as I started thinking that the second match was nearly wrapped up and Massacre would be coming down soon, a staff member approached and told us our turn was coming up, so we should get ready to go on. At that, as if afraid cobwebs would grow over our mouths, we kept rambling about nonsense while sluggishly getting to our feet, then stood waiting in front of the stairs leading up to the stage.

This reminds me of school. I used to go up and down places like this a lot when giving campaign speeches for student council president or during school events.

“I used to go up on stages like this a lot when I was in school.”

“For what? Broadcasting club?”

“Student council.”

“Was student council that thing? With the student body president and all that.”

“Yeah, that. I was the student body president.”

“That’s unexpected. If it were you, Goyeong, I thought you’d be the one getting caught by the student council all the time.”

“I did hear that kind of thing sometimes.”

I’d tried in my own way to live diligently, so it had been a little upsetting to be treated like some delinquent every chance they got. Of course, if I saw some guy happily dyeing his hair and always missing one part of his school uniform or another, I’d probably assume he was a delinquent nine times out of ten too.

― “Please give another big round of applause to Calm and Massacre, who showed us such an exciting, tension-filled match!”

While we were talking, the MC made his closing remarks and encouraged the audience to react. Our conversation cut off, and I clapped halfheartedly, while Gang Jegyeong stood there blankly with his hands behind his back, swaying.

From the audience seats, reactions as hyped as the atmosphere and thunderous applause burst out loudly enough to split my ears. I’d thought Massacre might come back this way, but he went down the stairs on the opposite side of the stage, so my plan to ask him if he’d been very nervous fell through.

― “Now!”

The MC paused for a beat, drawing everyone’s attention. Only after the applause had completely died down and everyone was looking at the stage did he continue.

― “There is now only one match left.”

A small cheer rose from the audience.

When it hit me that it really was time to go onstage, tension rushed in all at once. It wasn’t like this was my first or second time standing in front of people, but with a match like this ahead of me, it would have been stranger not to be nervous.

I glanced at Gang Jegyeong. On his face, as he watched the stage with an easygoing smile, I couldn’t see so much as the tiniest speck of tension. So he’s made for the stage, huh.

― “These two are, in the truest sense, celebrities of Dusk, aren’t they? I dare say many of you have been eagerly waiting for this match between them.”

A staff member who had been moving briskly nearby handed each of us a microphone.

― “……Then! Please welcome the two guest users who will light up the final arena with a big round of applause!”

We were given the signal to go up. In order, Gang Jegyeong, who showed no sign of shrinking back whatsoever, went first, and I followed him up the stairs.

The moment we stepped onto the stage, the steady applause that had been slightly offbeat vanished at some point, and the cheers gradually turned into shock. The volume was on a completely different level from when Massacre had left the stage earlier.

Even when we stood side by side with the MC in the center, the noise did not die down. I knew better than anyone what the reason was, so I glanced at Gang Jegyeong. The way he stood there quietly and smiled sweetly was not merely bewitching. He was pouring oil straight onto a burning house.

Only after quite some time did the MC finally calm the audience down, wiping away a cold sweat as he spoke.

― “I thought I’d walked into an idol concert.”

His tone was playful, but there was a subtle sincerity mixed into it.

― “Now then, let’s hear introductions from the two guests who shocked so many of you! First, may we have a word of introduction from the person standing on the right?”

The MC pointed to me, standing at the far left from the stage’s perspective. It was certainly better to introduce me before Gang Jegyeong, who was the more buzzworthy one.

For the people who would be wondering whether I was Retake or whether he was Retake, I paused for a moment, taking a breath and drawing it out a little. Feeling the frightening number of gazes fixed on me, I slowly began to speak.

― “……I’m Honey Bread, commander-in-chief of the Holy Knights on Server 3. Nice to meet you.”

When I finished my brief introduction with a moderate smile, I heard applause louder than I’d expected, along with shouts that sounded like a barking water deer. It was enough to make me worry about their throat health.

― “What a wonderful reaction! Seeing the Executors welcoming Honey Bread, I don’t think we need to worry at all about the reaction for our remaining guest. Then, may we have a word of introduction from the person on the left as well?”

Gang Jegyeong, who could very well be called the star of the day, brought the microphone to his lips.

He had only just parted his lips, and already, soft murmurs of anticipation flowed from the front. At that sound, Gang Jegyeong gave a low laugh in his throat. Thanks to the soft laugh spreading through the microphone, an even louder wave of cheers and murmuring swept past this time.

At last, a deep voice rich with sweetness flowed out through the speakers.

― “I’m Retake, commander-in-chief of the Medics on Server 3, and I also stream Dusk. I look forward to spending the remaining time with you.”

The reaction was so explosive that it hardly needed to be said.