After confirming that the boss had fallen, the people became one with the ground as if on cue.
They had used up every last ounce of strength they had, to the point they didn’t even have the energy to lift a finger.
Before the players, who were barely managing to pant for breath, the clear message appeared.
[Congratulations! You have cleared the boss!]
“W-we did it….”
“Ah… I seriously thought I was going to die.”
Sighs of relief burst out from here and there.
More than the joy of clearing it, the fact that they had survived again hit them harder….
Emily’s voice, as the leader, drifted quietly on the ashen wind.
“Did anyone… die?”
Silence settled over them.
But that stillness was far from despair or emptiness.
It was a silence born of joy, and of accomplishment.
“H-haha….”
“Hehe…. Ha, hahah.”
Laughter flowed.
Because everyone had joined forces and achieved something they had believed impossible.
That sense of reward welled up hotly from deep within their chests.
Clap, clap, clap!
Just then, the sound of applause they had forgotten rang out.
And in the place where the boss had been just moments before, a blue-haired girl had appeared.
“Bravo, bravo! Arca was truly moved this time too. I almost shed tears, really.”
“Arca….”
Ian called Arca’s name as if sighing.
Representing everyone, Adrian waved his hand dismissively.
“We don’t even have the strength to answer you, so just do what you came to do and go.”
Of course, Arca puffed up her cheeks with a sullen expression.
“Chee. But Arca was waiting for this very moment! If you keep doing that, I’m going to hate you all.”
No one took her whining seriously.
Some were even snoring.
At the sight, Arca sighed and shook her head.
“Haa… Really, I guess things like this happen when the boss is too hard. But I had a hard time waiting too! Play along with me a little!”
She looked just like a child throwing a tantrum to get her parents’ attention.
But what could they do? They really had no strength.
Whether she chattered noisily beside them or not, they paid her astonishingly little attention.
In the end, the first one to get tired was Arca.
“Haa… Fine, fine. I’ll disappear, okay! Still! I meant it when I said I was moved. Is this what you call humanity’s potential? Honestly, the chance of all of you surviving was close to zero, so I’ll have to recalculate your combat strength.”
Of course, even though her whining had turned into praise, no one gave her any attention….
But at her next words, the people had no choice but to listen.
“In that sense, this time Arca will give all of you a present!”
Arca’s present.
When they thought of the flag she had given Emily in Area 2, they couldn’t help but feel greedy.
Even those who had dozed off for a moment focused on Arca’s voice at that instant.
“As you all expected, Area 4 is the residence of the dark elves, Tedumaya.”
In truth, this was information one could learn with only a little attention.
Rather, there wasn’t a single player who didn’t know they had to remain in Limbahitam until Area 5.
So stop wasting time and talk about the present.
The people sent Arca sharp looks, and the AI girl, smiling in satisfaction at their reaction, opened her mouth.
“In that sense, the present is… ta-da! This Arca has prepared a small festival in Tedumaya. Everyone, please enjoy it with happy hearts~. Clap, clap, clap!”
“Th-that’s the present?”
While everyone stared in disbelief at Arca, who was excitedly clapping all by herself, Arca lightly lifted the hem of her skirt for her final farewell.
“Then, everyone, welcome to Area 4.”
And just like before, Arca vanished naturally.
Someone stared blankly at the place where she had disappeared and muttered.
“Is she insane?”
Everyone felt the same way.
***
Two days had passed since the boss raid.
Many things had changed during that time.
First, the path to Area 4 had opened, and with the root cause gone, the periodic waves of monsters had also died down.
Of course, not everything was positive.
“Did we not clearly ask for just a little more time?”
“Ha! Nearly two weeks have passed this time too. How much time are we supposed to give?”
“At least a month is needed for a safe攻略—”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Do you want to rot in a place like this for ten years?”
Despite it being a perfect clear unlike before, conflict had arisen among the players.
A conflict between the radical攻略 faction centered around Emily and the moderate攻略 faction centered around Shaura.
It had not escalated into a major fight, but it was clear that cracks were beginning to form among the players.
During that time, people left the outpost one by one and headed for Area 4.
Originally, I had planned to follow them to Area 4 as well, but since the fatigue from battle had not completely worn off, I decided to rest a little longer.
And today.
Having recovered my stamina, I left the tent to go to Area 4, Tedumaya.
“Did you rest well for two days? Your complexion looks good.”
The person who blocked my way was Kalinia, the person in charge here and the search party captain.
I answered her with a smile.
“Well, thanks to you. You look pretty good too.”
“Hoho… It is all thanks to you.”
Two days ago, when she confirmed that we had returned, she had been happier than anyone else.
It was the moment the dark elves’ long-cherished wish had been fulfilled.
I still couldn’t forget the tears that had welled in her eyes then.
Was that why? Kalinia’s atmosphere felt much softer than before.
And that suited her far better.
“You said you were going to Tedumaya?”
“Yeah. I’ve rested well, so I should go. Aren’t you going?”
“Not everything has been settled yet. It will likely take some time before I can return.”
“I see.”
Well, this was a world inside a game.
If an area changed all at once just because the boss had been cleared and the crisis had been resolved, how would the latecomers who followed after us grow?
So our time together ended here.
All I had to do was cheer her on for the future ahead.
“By the way, what kind of place is Tedumaya? I’ve never heard the specifics.”
“Hmm…. To put it simply, it is the home of us dark elves, ruled by Her Majesty the Queen.”
“The Queen?”
“You did not know? The one who leads us dark elves is none other than Her Majesty.”
Apparently, after moving to Tedumaya as an outstanding mage, she took the throne, warded off countless threats, and stabilized dark elf society, or something like that.
Kalinia said that thanks to her excellent reign, they were now enjoying peace.
“So there will be no need to fight there as you did here. It may be a little disappointing for people like you, who wish to resolve dangerous matters.”
“Not disappointing in the slightest.”
Still, I was curious what the boss in such a peaceful place would be.
I just hoped it wouldn’t have some bizarre patterns… Sigh, as if that would happen.
While I sighed inwardly thinking about what lay ahead, Kalinia bowed her head to me.
“Once again, Ian, I offer you my sincere gratitude. Thanks to you all, we were able to take one step closer to our dream of reclaiming Durigarda.”
Then she held out a necklace to me.
“What’s this?”
“It is proof that you are my precious friend. If you take that with you to Tedumaya, everyone will welcome you.”
“Oh. I’ll put it to good use.”
Now it was time to say farewell.
I accepted the necklace and held out my hand to Kalinia.
“Then I’ll be going.”
Kalinia’s hand overlapped with mine.
“Yes. I pray that we may meet again. May the Mother’s protection be with you on the path ahead.”
The warm heat I felt in my hand.
Looking at each other’s faces, we exchanged sincere smiles in farewell….
And set out on our own paths.
***
The road to Area 4, Tedumaya, was not particularly difficult.
All I had to do was pass through the east, where the defense force was stationed, then the north, where the supply unit was, and continue straight up along the road to reach the dark elves’ residential district.
If there was just one problem….
“It’s really far.”
“Yes. It really is.”
It was the distance we had to walk to Area 4.
I hadn’t felt it because I’d spent most of my time in Area 3 in the west, but Durigarda, where I was, was truly enormous.
From what I’d heard, it was about twice the size of Area 1.
In fact, by the time we reached the eastern outpost of the defense force, the sky had already turned black.
Only now did I realize that the others hadn’t left after resting only a single day for no reason.
But….
“Um… why are you following me?”
“I-I’m not. We’re just going the same way.”
“I don’t think so….”
I looked with narrowed eyes at the pink-haired woman, Veronica, who had at some point started walking right beside me, glued to my side, and she turned her head away.
As far as I knew, this person definitely had another party, so why was she following me instead of sticking with them?
Under my persistent stare, Veronica eventually let out a sigh.
“I left the party.”
“Huh? Why on earth?”
“That’s… Do I have to tell you?”
“If you’re going to keep following me like this?”
Unlike me, a solo player, she was a player who had been in a party all along.
And now she was following me?
No, it wasn’t as if her party members had been wiped out in this raid, so what was her reason for leaving her party and following me around?
Even after letting my imagination run wild, I couldn’t think of any reason.
After staring at me for a moment, Veronica’s face flushed red.
Then she cautiously moved her lips.
“…cool.”
“What?”
“B-because you’re cool! You, Ian, traveling alone.”
“…Eh?”
Did I… hear that wrong?
What did this person just say?
At Veronica’s sudden confession attack, my brain couldn’t handle the overload and shut down.
However, once Veronica’s mouth had been set loose, it did not stop.
“Your face is cold enough to feel chilly, and your noble bearing is like a beautiful lone wolf. And when you hold a sword, you’re so sexy. It’s like the goddess of war descended from the heavens, and at times you’re like a wounded beast, so I just want to take care of you. Haa, haa. When you make a desperate expression, my heart pounds, and even when you just frown, you look like a painting. Hoo, hoo….”
“Stop, stop! Please stop!”
Was this what it felt like to die from words?
Just listening made it feel like my face was going to explode, and I wanted to hide in a mouse hole right away.
Thank goodness there was no one around. If there had been, I might have climbed to the peak of the Valtor Mountains and jumped off.
I fanned myself repeatedly with my hand and barely managed to calm my heart.
Then, before Veronica’s second confession attack could begin, I shouted first.
“I get it. I get it, so stop. If you do that one more time, I’m seriously leaving you behind.”
“R-really?”
“Really. So that kind of gushing is absolutely forbidden! Got it?”
“Of course. Hehe!”
As expected, it seemed what made the traveler take off his cloak wasn’t the wind, but the hot sun.
My heart was still pounding and wouldn’t calm down.
Anyway.
After spending the night in the east, we set out early in the morning, passed through the north, and took the road toward Tedumaya.
Dealing with the tidal wave of affection pouring in from right beside me was quite taxing, but still, without her going berserk like before, we were able to arrive at the gate leading into Area 4.
“So this is Tedumaya….”
“It’s much grander than I expected.”
Honestly, because they were elves living in a tropical rainforest, I hadn’t had high expectations even if it was called a city.
I thought it would be fortunate if it were just a little better than the rural village I had stayed in back in Area 1.
But the wall before my eyes was no less impressive than Staria’s.
At the thought that I could finally stay in a proper city, my heart began to pound.
With that excitement, the moment I stepped inside the gate—
“Halt!”
A man’s thunderous voice rang loudly in my ears.
A group of dark elves leapt down from atop the wall.
Boom!
At the same time as a rough cloud of dust billowed up thickly—
“If you move even one step from there, we will take your lives at once!”
Their spears pointed at our throats.