新メンバーと国境越え
セレーネさんは依然として俺の背に張り付いたままだが、そのまま話は進み......。
ユーミルはグレートソードの件があったので、彼女のパーティ入りを快諾。
トビは女性が増えるのは歓迎とのことで、こちらもパーティ入りを承諾。
というかお前ら、反対しないなら何であんなに大袈裟に驚いてみせた......いや、もちろん事前に何も連絡しなかった俺も悪いけどさ。
これで渋っているのはリィズのみだが、俺が何故かと理由を聞いても頑として答えようとはしなかった。
今も、むやみやたらにセレーネさんにガンを飛ばしている。
......かと思えば、急に接近してセレーネさんの顔から眼鏡を取り上げた。
「きゃっ!」
「何やってんだ!? 返しなさい!」
「......」
野暮ったい眼鏡が無くなり、素顔になったセレーネさんをまじまじと見つめる。
すると、リィズは非情に嫌そうな表情になった。
それから眼鏡を戻すと、今度はペタペタと無遠慮にセレーネさんの体を触り始める。
「いぃぃぃ!? や、やめ――」
リィズと、被害者であるセレーネさん以外の誰も反応できなかった。
それを呆然と眺めて数秒、最も早く正気に戻った俺がユーミルに叫ぶ。
「はっ!? ゆ、ユーミル、とめろぉ!」
「――お、おお! 任せろ! 遂に狂ったか、貴様!」
慌ててユーミルがリィズを止めに入る。
その間に俺は、まだ口を開けて固まっているトビを強引に引き寄せて後ろを向かせた。
男の目には毒になる光景だ。
バタバタという音が収まるのを待ってから、ゆっくりと視線を戻す。
見えたのは衣服を乱して頬を紅潮させたセレーネさん。
その前には憮然とした表情のリィズ、そしてそのリィズを羽交い絞めにするユーミル。
何だったんだ、今の奇行は......。
「リィズ......お前、何してんだよ......」
「すみません。ですが、どうしても確かめなければいけないことがありまして」
「はっ!? 今、とても美味しい光景が見えた様な気がしたでござるが!?」
「それは夢だ。忘れろ」
セレーネさんの為にも。
「で、何だよ。確かめたかったことって」
「秘密です。ですが、それによりユーミルさんよりはマシという結論を得ました。なので、私の意見としては消極的賛成ということにしておきます」
「あ? 意味は分からんが、貴様は私を馬鹿にしているのか?」
「逆に、私と比較して褒めてるんだと思うけど――あ」
「「「「え?」」」」
セレーネさんがつい、といった様子で口を挟む。
それに驚いた俺達全員の視線が集まると、今度は気まずそうに顔を背ける。
「なんだ、普通に喋れるではないか」
「え、あ、その」
「怖がらなくてもいいでござるよ。取って食べたりはしない故に」
「すみません、セレーネさん。妹がとんだご迷惑を......」
「き、気にしないで。理由は何となく、その......察したから」
「セレーネさん、でしたね? その気付いた何か......お話になっても結構ですけど、その時は覚悟して下さいね?」
リィズの笑顔にコクコクコクコクと何度も頷くセレーネさん。
それから深呼吸をすると、先程までより少し落ち着きが見える表情に変わった。
どうやら腹を
「あ、改めまして......セレーネです。弓術士で、鍛冶がメインです。皆さん、よ、よろしくお願いします......」
よし、言えた! たったこれだけのことなのに、何故か自分のことのように嬉しい。
「は、ハインド君。そのガッツポーズは何?」
「気にしないで下さい」
巣立つヒナを見守る親鳥の気分だった。
セレーネさんの方が年上だけど。
その後は口々に歓迎の意を示し、俺達は新たなパーティメンバーを迎えることになった。
セレーネさんの様子はまだちょっとぎこちないが......時間が解決してくれることを祈ろう。
上手く視線を合わせられないようだが、会話の受け答えは大丈夫だしな。
「にしても、荒療治とはやるじゃないかリィズ。お前のおかげで、セレーネさんの緊張が解けたみたいだ。かなり強引な手だったけど」
俺がそう言うと、リィズは表情を変えずに少しだけ考える様な仕草を見せた。
ん? もしかして、俺は何かおかしなことを言ったのか?
先程の奇行は、こうなる事を予期してのものだと思ったんだが。
「ええ、実はそうなんですよ。ハインドさんには分かってしまいましたか」
「......明確にどうとは言えないんだが、何かおかしくないか?」
え、リィズは肯定してるんだけど......違うの!?
状況が一段落したところで、トビから買い込んだ道具を受け取っていく。
今の時刻は、午後十時。
後二時間したらログアウト予定なのだが、残り時間でどれだけ進めるだろうか?
「よーし、行くぞお前ら!」
「どうしてユーミルさんが仕切っているんですか?」
「楽しみでござるなぁ、未知のフィールドは!」
「ハインド君、私の戦闘時の位置取りなんだけど......」
しかし、我がパーティはこのように見事に発言がバラバラである。
先行きが少し不安になる出足だった。
ヒースローを西に抜け、一昨日にも訪れたラテラ湖畔へと到着。
エリアボスの『ギガンティックバッファロー』については、それほど語ることはない。
俺とユーミルがシエスタちゃん達と一度倒した相手の上、セレーネさんもレベル差を感じさせない火力を持っている。
五人でかかったところ、問題なく倒すことが出来た。
強いて起きた出来事を挙げるなら、トビがセレーネさんの射線を遮って尻に矢を受けたことぐらいか。即死だった。
この辺りの連携不足に関しては、追々改善していきたいと思う。
ラテラ湖畔を抜けると、街道らしき整備された道があったので俺達はそれに沿って歩いて行くことに。
道は山の間を縫うように進んでおり、その先には関門らしきものが存在していた。
周囲の山には緑が少なく、進む度に徐々に気温が上昇していくのが分かる。
どうやらこの先に砂漠があるという情報に、嘘はなさそうだ。
関門に着いた俺達は、門が開いているのを見て一直線に通り抜けようと――
「止まれ! 出国許可証を提示しろ!」
したら、警備兵の一人に止められた。
いや、考えてみれば普通のことなんだけどさ。
何となく、ゲームだから許される気がしたんだ。気のせいだったけど。
先頭にいたユーミルが首を傾げる。
「出国許可証......? 何だそれは」
ユーミルを下がらせ、代わりに俺が答える姿勢を見せる。
静止の声を出した警備兵は、片目に眼帯をしている中年男性。
どことなく歴戦の勇士、といった雰囲気が漂う兵士だ。
「いえ、持っていません。許可証というのはどこで発行しているものなのですか?」
「――うん? 貴様等、もしや来訪者という奴か?」
「そうでござるが......」
「ではそこで待て! いいか、不必要に動くんじゃないぞ!」
そう言うと、眼帯の兵士は他の兵士に俺達を見張るように命令。
自分は守衛小屋らしき建物へと入っていく。
少しの間の後、中から水晶のような物を手に持って戻ってきた。
「全員、順番にこの水晶に触れるように」
それに何の意味があるのかは分からなかったが、俺達は大人しく指示に従い水晶に触れた。
透明な水晶は、俺達がそれぞれ触れると青く発光。
それを確認した警備兵は「全員通って良し」と告げてくる。
......なるほど、何となく水晶がどういう道具なのか分かった。
それとは別に気に掛かることがあったので、ダメ元で警備兵に質問してみることに。
ねしても構いませんかね?」
「何だ? 見ての通り暇な部署だ。別に構わんぞ」
口調が厳しいから却下されるかと思ったら、意外とそうでもないらしい。
その言葉通り、先程から俺達以外の人影が現れる様子は見られない。
俺が気になっているのは砂漠に向かうプレイヤーの数。
それから帝国という国の、来訪者に対するスタンスについてだ。
「来訪者は帝国にとって戦力になると思うんですけど。囲い込まずに、こんな風にホイホイ国外に出してしまって構わないんですか?」
NPCと比べてプレイヤー個々の強さがどの程度かは分からないが、何せプレイヤーの数は多い。
戦力として使えないということは考えられないだろう。
「大層な自信と大らかさだなぁ......」
どうやら皇帝陛下は豪快な性格の様子。
まあ、放っておいてもプレイヤーのスタート地点は帝国にあるんだ。
余程の事が無い限り、プレイヤーの滞在人数が最も多いのは帝国ということで変わらないだろう。
「俺には、貴様等のように敢えて危険な土地に出て行く奴らの方が理解出来んよ。特に西の砂漠地帯なんてな。ここを通る来訪者も、他の国境に比べて数えるほどしか居ないというのに......物好きだな」
「......つまりユーミルさんやトビさんの様な変人は、少数派ということですね」
リィズが皮肉を飛ばすが、ユーミルもトビもどこ吹く風といった様子。
むしろ、変だという言葉に二人とも嬉しそうな顔をしている。
「良いではないか。少数派大いに結構! 獣道を突き進め!」
「そうだそうだー! で、ござるぅ!」
「うーん、積極的な性格で羨ましいなぁ......私だったら山に行っちゃうと思う」
「これは向こう見ずって言うんですよ。まあ、それはともかく......」
やっぱり、こっちに向かうプレイヤーの数は少ないのか。
だから水晶が直ぐに持ち出せる場所に置いてなかったんだな。
あの水晶は、恐らくプレイヤーの判別装置だ。
警備兵が軽く触った時に僅かに白く発光しているのが見えた。
光った色からして、恐らく頭の上に出るプレイヤーネームの色に対応していると思われる。
NPCはプレイヤーネームを見ることができないようなので、代わりにあの水晶を用いるのだろう。
犯罪履歴のあるイエロー・オレンジのプレイヤーは、恐らく通して貰えないのだろうと思われる。
その場合は、ここを避けて国境を越えないといけない訳か......かなり面倒だな。
とはいえ、俺達には関係の無い話だけれど。
眼帯の兵士に礼を言って別れを告げると、俺達五人はそのまま無事に関門を通過。
門を抜けた直後、そこには別世界のような景色が広がっていた。
「うわぁ......茶色いな......」
「赤茶けてますね......」
兄妹揃っての率直な呟き。一面の茶色に、緑は極僅かといった比率。
といっても、ここはまだ砂漠というわけではない。
目の前にあるのは「荒野」と形容するのが最も相応しい景色ではないだろうか。
寂寥感漂う乾いた風が、砂埃を巻き上げながら目の前を通過していった。
Chapter 44 - New Party Member And Crossing The Border
Selene-san was still hiding behind my back, but the conversation progressed...
As for Yumir, there was that case with the greatsword, so she was ready to accept her into the party.
Tobi welcomed having more girls in the party so in his case he also consented to having her join us.
To begin with, you guys...if you weren't going to oppose it, why were you surprised in that exaggerated way...well, it's true that it was my fault for not telling them anything before the fact.
This only leaves Riizu, who seemed reluctant, even when she asked me why, I was unable to give her a firm answer.
Even now, she was staring daggers at Selene-san.
...Just as I was thinking that, she got closer to Selene-san and picked up her glasses. With movements fast enough that I was unable to react to them.
[Kyah!]  (Selene)
[What are you doing!? Give them back!]  (Hind)
[...] (Riizu)
Having lost her unfashionable glasses, she now stared at Selene-san's face.
When she did, Riizu made a cruel unpleasant face.
After that she returned the glasses, but this time she started to touch Selene-san's body in a rude manner.
[Iiii! S-Stop-]  (Selene)
Other than Riizu and the victim Selene-san, no one was able to react.
After staring dumbfounded for several seconds, having returned to my senses the fastest, I yelled at Yumir.
[Hah!? Y-Yumir, stop her!]  (Hind)
[-O-Oh! Leave it to me! So you finally have gone mad, huh!?]  (Yumir)
In a panic, Yumir tried to stop Riizu.
While she did that, I pulled Tobi, who still had his mouth wide open and turned him around.
The sight was poison to a man's eyes.
I waited until the commotion died down and turned to look again.
What I saw was Selene-san with her cheeks flushed and her clothes disordered.
In front of her was Riizu with an indignant face and Riizu was being pinioned by Yumir.
What did just happen...?
[Riizu...what are you doing...?]  (Hind)
[I apologize. However, there was something I had to ascertain no matter what.]  (Riizu)
[Hah!? I get the feeling I've just seen an incredible view!?]  (Tobi)
[That was just a dream, forget about it.]  (Hind)
It was also for Selene-san's sake.
[So, what was it? That thing you had to ascertain.]  (Hind)
[That's a secret. However, I got to understand that they are better than Yumir-san's.
[Ah? I don't get it, but are you making fun of me?]  (Yumir)
[It's the opposite, I believe she was complimenting you while comparing you to me...ah.]  (Selene)
[[[[Eh?] ] ] ] 
Selene-san finally opened her mouth even though she was still in that state.
We all gathered our sights on her in shock and this time she looked away embarrassed.
[Hey, aren't you talking normally now?]  (Yumir)
[Eh, ah, eh.]  (Selene)
[You don't have to be that afraid. It's not like we are going to eat you.]  (Tobi)
[I apologize, Selene-san. My little sister made you go through that...]  (Hind)
[D-Don't worry about it. I can kind of understand the...well, I can guess the reason she did it.]  (Selene)
[Selene-san, right? What you have in mind...is fine if you say it, but I hope you are prepared for what's coming if you do.]  (Riizu)
Against Riizu's smile, Selene-san nodded her head countless times.
Then she took a deep breath and she looked a bit calmer than what she had been before.
It seems like she has made up her mind.
[I-I'll say it again...I'm Selene. My job is archer and I mainly do blacksmithing. Everyone, I'm looking forward to working with you...]  (Selene)
Alright, she said it! Even though it was just this, I was really as happy as if I had done it myself.
[H-Hind-kun. Why are you fist bumping?]  (Selene)
[Don't mind me.]  (Hind)
It was like a parent bird watching his daughter leave the nest.
Though Selene-san was older than me.
After that, they all unanimously showed they welcomed the addition and we all welcomed our new party member.
Selene-san was still acting a bit awkwardly...but let's hope that fixes itself over time.
Seems like she can't really look at people in the eye but she's able to hold a conversation.
[However, those were some drastic measures you took there Riizu. Thanks to you, it seems like Selene-san's nervousness was dispelled. Though it was quite forceful.]  (Hind)
When I said that, Riizu didn't change her expression but she did look like she was slightly thinking about something.
Hmm? By any chance, did I say something strange?
I thought that her actions just now were done expecting it to end like this.
[Yes, that was what I was aiming for. So, Hind-san understood my actions.]  (Riizu)
[...I don't know how to explain it, but wasn't it strange?]  (Yumir)
Eh, Riizu is saying that it was like that though...is it not like that!?
Since we settled down, I received the things they bought from Tobi.
It was currently 10 pm.
The plan is to log out after 2 hours, but how much we'll be able to progress in the remaining time?
[Alright, let's go everyone!]  (Yumir)
[Why is Yumir-san taking the lead?]  (Riizu)
[I'm looking forward to them, those unknown fields!]  (Tobi)
[Hind-kun, about the position I should take during battle...]  (Selene)
However, our current party was a complete mess.
I was slightly worried about our future.
We exited through the western side of Heathrow and we arrived at Latera lake shore, the place we visited yesterday.
Regarding the area boss called [Gigantic buffalo] , there's not much to say about that.
Being a monster that Yumir and me already defeated with Siesta-chan and the others aside, Selene-san had firepower that didn't make it seem like there was that much of a difference in levels between them.
With five of us, we were able to defeat it without much problem.
If I had to talk about something that did happen, it would be that Tobi obstructed Selene-san's line of fire and received a bolt in the buttocks. It was instant death.
Regarding this lack of coordination, I believe it'll get better over time.
Once we came out of Latera lake shore, we found a highway that was well maintained and walked parallel to that.
The path continued between mountains and we could see up ahead, something that looked like a checkpoint.
There wasn't much green on the mountains and we could feel the temperature rising as we kept walking.
Seems like the information saying that there's a desert up ahead wasn't false after all.
Having arrived at the checkpoint, we saw that the gate was open so we tried to just go through it-
[Stop right there! Show me the permit for leaving the country!] 
Once we tried to, a guard stopped us.
Well, if you thought about it, this was normal.
I somehow thought that since it was a game they would let us through. It was just my imagination though.
Yumir who was at the front tilted her head.
[Permit to leave the country...? What's that?]  (Yumir)
I made Yumir step back and showed her that I'd be talking with them instead.
The guard that talked while standing still, was a middle aged man wearing an eye-patch on one eye.
Somehow, he looked like a soldier that had gone through many battles, that's the feeling he gave.
[No, we don't have one. Where can we get said permit?]  (Hind)
[...Hmm? Are you guys those so called visitors?] 
[That's the case but...]  (Tobi)
[In that case, wait right there! Hear me? Don't you dare do anything unnecessary!] 
Once he said that, the guard with the eyepatch ordered another guard to stand watch.
Then, he entered what looked like a building for the security guards.
After some time passed, he came outside holding some kind of crystal.
[All of you, touch this crystal one by one.] 
We didn't know what this was all about, but we all obediently touched the crystal like he had instructed.
The clear crystal emitted a blue light whenever we touched it.
Once the guard saw that he said [You can all pass through] .
...I see, I can sort of guess what sort of device this crystal is.
I had some interest in it and there was nothing to lose, so I asked the guard.
[...Do you mind if I ask you a question?]  (Hind)
[What is it? As you can see, I'm free. I don't mind.] 
Since his tone was harsh I thought that he would refuse, but that doesn't seem to be the case.
Like he had said, I couldn't see anyone coming apart from us.
What I was interested in was the number of players that went to the desert.
Other than that, about the country called the empire, the stance they had regarding the visitors.
[I believe visitors can become part of the empire's military strength. Without keeping an eye on them, is it really fine to just let them go outside the country like this?]  (Hind)
I'm not sure what the strength of a player is compared to that of an NPC, but the number of players is big.
I don't think they'd be useless as military strength.
[That's quite the self-confidence to have...]  (Hind)
Seems like the emperor is quite the big hearted person.
Well, even if he let us go, the starting point for players is the empire.
As long as nothing much happens, the fact that a big amount of players will stay in the empire won't change.
[The visitors that pass through here, can't be compared in number to the ones that pass through other borders...you sure have strange tastes.] 
[...So you are saying that oddballs like Yumir-san and Tobi-san are in the minority, right?]  (Riizu)
Riizu threw that sarcastic remark but Yumir and Tobi acted as if they didn't care.
In fact, they looked happy at the fact that they were being called weird.
[Isn't it fine. I'm OK with being part of the minority! We follow our own path!]  (Yumir)
[Yeah yeah! D-degozaru!]  (Tobi)
[Yes, I'm so envious of their positive attitude...if it was me, I'd probably have gone to the mountain.]  (Selene)
[This is called being reckless. Well, leaving that aside...]  (Hind)
As expected, the number of players that go through here is not high.
That's why they left the crystal somewhere where they could get it right away.
That crystal is probably a device to distinguish between players.
I saw it emit a white glow when the guard touched it slightly.
Regarding the color of that light, I believe it corresponds to the color of the player name on top of our heads.
Since it seems like NPCs can't see the player name on top of the players, so instead, they use the crystal to do it.
Probably players with a yellow name due to having a past criminal record, won't get permission to pass.
In that regard, they can't really pass through the country unless they go through the border. huh...it's quite troublesome.
In any case, that has nothing to do with us.
I thanked the guard with the eyepatch and informed him that we were leaving and we safely passed through the gate.
Immediately after passing through the gate, a scenery that looked as if it came from another world spread out before our eyes.
[Uwah...it's all light brown...]  (Hind)
[It all turned reddish brown.]  (Riizu)
We siblings murmured our thoughts. The whole surface was light brown and there was close to no green.
Even though I say that, this was still not the desert.
What was in front of us was a scenery that would be more appropriate to call it a [Wasteland] .
The dry wind brought a sense of loneliness with it and it blew up a cloud of dust in front of us.
VRMMO no Shien Shokunin ～Top Player no Shikakenin～
ＶＲＭＭＯの支援職人　～トッププレイヤーの仕掛人～
https://www.novelupdates.com/series/vrmmo-no-shien-shokunin-%ef%bd%9etop-player-no-shikakenin%ef%bd%9e/
Action Adventure Comedy Fantasy Harem Slice of Life
Adventurers Beautiful Female Lead Blacksmith Brother Complex Calm Protagonist Childhood Friends Clan Building Cooking Crafting Curious Protagonist Dense Protagonist Elemental Magic Fantasy Creatures Game Ranking System Gamers Hard-Working Protagonist Healers Level System Love Interest Falls in Love First Love Rivals Male Protagonist Misunderstandings MMORPG Ninjas Possessive Characters Priests Siblings Siblings Not Related by Blood Sword And Magic Virtual Reality Younger Love Interests Younger Sisters
https://ncode.syosetu.com/n4014ds/
二階堂風都