それから、俺達は出発地点である『アルトロワの村』の入り口へと戻って来た。
――おお、さっきよりも人が増えているな。
プレイ人口が少なくて、直ぐにサービス終了なんてことが無さそうで安心した。
に関しても特に不満が無かったので、俺達はそれぞれ騎士と神官で確定することにした。
フィールドでレベル10になった直後の選択と同時に、初期装備は目の前から消えていった。
さらば、木の枝、木の棒、ポーション、聖水......。
広場に到着すると、ユーミルが大きく伸びをした。
「終わったー! しかしひたすら狩りも悪くないが、やはりボスとも戦いたいな! 刺激が足りん!」
「ホーマ平原は広いし、奥には何か居るんじゃないか? 南、西、東と行って北エリアは雑魚モンスターでも高レベルだったしな」
「そうか、それは楽しみだな!」
平原で出たモンスターはゴブリンに加え、アルミラージという角の生えたウサギが主だった。
アルミラージは素早さと攻撃力に極振りしたようなステータスで、油断するとその角で体力を一気に持っていかれる危険なモンスターだった。
但し耐久力が貧弱な為、先制すれば苦も無く倒せることもあり経験値を稼ぐ上では大いに役立ってくれた。
弱点は角の付け根。
そしてゴブリンに関しては首元が弱点だったので、どうやら弱点部位は狙いにくく小さい範囲に設定している傾向のようだ。
「しっかし、本当に全部俺に資産を預けていいのか? ユーミル、お前、自分の回復アイテムとかはどうすんの?」
人任せ、とも言えるし無欲とも言える。
自分で店のアイテムやら何やらを物色したくはならないのだろうか?
それに対するユーミルの答えは、どうやら自分の欠点を踏まえたもののようだった。
「基本的にはお前としかプレイしないから問題ない。それに、ほら......私が金を持っていたら持っていただけ使ってしまうのを、お前は知っているだろう?」
おじさん、何故か俺にお前の小遣いを預けてくるし。普通は有り得ないだろ、そんなの聞いたこともねえ」
幼馴染とはいえ、他人の家の子供だぞ?
おじさんの中で、俺はどういう扱いになっているのだろう......聞いてみたいような、怖いような。
VRギアの購入資金に関しては、未祐が章文おじさんに頼んで直接受け取ったのだと思う。
コイツの家は割と裕福なので、未祐はバイト等をしていないが小遣いの金額そのものは多いのだ。
「そういう訳で、ゲーム内でも引き続き頼むぞ!」
「ゲームで金の管理を練習して、現実での浪費癖を治す気はないのか?」
「何でだよっ!」
結局は押し切られ、拾った全てのアイテムとゴールドを預かる事となった。
TBでのアイテム移動に関しては、双方の同意があれば特に問題なく行うことが出来るようになっているそうだ。
ゲームによってはアイテムボックスのようなものを経由しないと不可能だったり、トレードの機能を使って無理矢理に移動させたりと手間のかかるものもある、とはユーミルの弁。
しかし、色々と受け取ったせいでインベントリの中が一杯なんだが......。
次にログインしたら、まずはアイテム整理だな。
後は武器を用意――と、聞いておくことがあるんだった。
「そうそう、ユーミル。空いた時間で武器を作っておくから、何か要望があれば言ってくれ。まだどんなのが出来るか分からんから、取り敢えず
「おお、やはりハインドは生産にも手を出すのか。そうだな......ドリル、とか?」
「......は?」
ユーミルがいともたやすく俺の思考を置き去りにした。
......。
――!?
「いやいや! 剣と槍のどっちを使うか聞いてるんだろうが、騎士なんだから! 何だよ、ドリルって!」
「ロマンを感じるだろう? 考えようによっては、ドリルは槍の一種とも考えられ――」
「ないから! 既に騎士とかいうロマンを感じる職を選択しといて、何を言ってるんだお前は!? 却下だ、却下!」
ユーミルが俺の言葉に不満そうな顔を見せる。
意味が分からない。
それはどちらかというと今の俺がするべき表情だろう?
「では......二挺拳銃!」
「中世! このゲーム、中世風ファンタジー!」
「暗器だ、二つとも! 騎士なら正々堂々と戦え!」
「スペツナズ・ナイフって言ったら殴る」
俺が拳を構えると、流石にそれを見たユーミルが黙る。
ちなみにスペツナズ・ナイフというのは柄に強力なバネが仕込んであり、刀身を飛ばす事が出来る特殊なナイフのことだ。
言うまでもないが、これも到底、騎士が使うような武器ではない。
「ふ、普通の剣で良いです......」
「最初からそう言え! もう適当なのを作るから、細かい要望は二本目からな」
「うむ。実は、まだ余り明確なイメージが湧いてこないのだ。剣を使っている内に何か思い付くかもしれん」
じゃあ、今の無駄な会話は何だったんだ......。
ちなみに適性の無い武器は攻撃力にマイナス補正が掛かるので、もれなくただのゴミへと変わる。
俺がユーミルの持っていた木の棒を装備したら攻撃力が1(元は10)になったので、これは間違いない情報だ。
ステータス画面を見ると騎士は剣か槍、神官は杖かメイスが基本装備であると表示されている。
「で、今日はここまでにするんだろう? ハインド」
「そうだな。お前も夕飯、食べていくだろう?」
「馳走になる!」
「じゃあ五人分だな。ログアウトしようぜ」
「うむ! ......五人?」
メニュー画面を呼び出し、ログアウトの項目を選んで決定を押す。
での体が、足元から分解されて消えていった。
気が付くと、俺は現実世界で目を開けていた。
ギアが覆いかぶさっていて何も見えないが......目の前に接続終了の文字が浮かぶ。
もう外して大丈夫なのか......? あ、画面が消えた。
VRギアを外すと、夕日が部屋に射し込んでいて思わず顔を
未祐も似た様な顔で、半身を起こして周りを見回している。
「むう......体が痛い......」
「休憩無しでぶっ続けだったからな......」
脳の信号を遮断するというのは本当だったらしく、俺達はゲームを開始した位置から全く動いていない。
ただし相応に体が硬くなるので、今後はこまめな休憩が必須かもしれない。
今回は少し長くやり過ぎたような気がする。
。どうして五人分なんだ?」
「いや、章文おじさんも呼んでやれよ。どうせお前、昼飯を作り置きして来たりは――」
でVRギアもゲット出来たんだし、俺からのお礼みたいなもんだ。一旦帰って、嫌じゃなさそうなら連れて来てくれ」
「インスタント食品漬けの私達が、食事の誘いを断る訳がないだろう!?」
「だから威張るなって。お前が料理を覚えて作ってやれよ......」
「亘の料理が食べられなくなるから嫌だ! 覚えたら、絶対に自分でやれって言うだろう!?」
そんなことは......あるかもな。
俺の家は母子家庭だが、こいつの所は父子家庭だったりする。
互いに家ぐるみの付き合いだったのだが、我が家は父が病死。
そしてコイツの所は離婚と、どちらも中学生の頃に不幸が続いた形だ。
それ以来、二人を家に招いて一緒に食事をすることが増えたのだが――
「とにかく、呼んでくればいいのだな! 行ってくる!」
「あ、待て! 急に立ったら――」
「ぬおっ!」
俺が注意した甲斐も無く、女らしからぬ悲鳴を上げた未祐はタオルケットに足を取られて転倒。
に手を伸ばして未祐の体を受け止めたものの――踏ん張りがきかず、未祐を抱えたまま背中を床に強打した。
しかも衝撃で肺の中の空気が押し出され、酸欠のような状態に。
い、息が......。
「......わ、亘......?」
「し、死んでる......!」
死んでねえよ! と叫びたいが声が出ない。
体をよけた未祐が俺の脇腹を突いてくる。
何処を触ってんだ! もっと他にすることがあるだろう、こういう時は!?
俺は胸が詰まったせいで、無呼吸状態でたっぷり十秒は動けず――
「な、何すんだこのボケェ!! 息が出来なくて、今まさに死ぬ所だったわ! 喉から変な音が出たぞ!?」
「す、すまない! わざとじゃないんだ!」
「当たり前だ! さっさとおじさんを呼びに行けー!」
「許してくれー!」
謝罪の叫びを上げながら、未祐が部屋から慌てて走り去っていく。
俺はそれを見送った後、静かになった部屋の中で再び膝をついた。
「うぐ......」
酸欠状態で叫んだから、頭がクラクラする......。
未祐の怪我が無さそうなのは良かったが、割と散々な気分だった。
After that, we returned to the entrance of the place we initially departed from [Altrowa Village] .
...Oh, there are more people than before.
Seems like we won't have to worry about the game service ending because of low population.
Since we weren't dissatisfied with our jobs, we decided to go ahead with knight and Shinto priest.
After we reached level 10 in the field an option appeared at the same time, right after that, the beginner gear disappeared in front of our eyes.
Farewell, wooden stick, wooden branch, potions, holy water....
Once we reached the plaza, Yumir started to stretch.
[We are done! Just fighting mobs is not bad, but I want to fight a boss! There's not enough excitement!] 
[The Homa plains are vast, shouldn't there be something further on? The monsters in all directions were trash monsters but their levels were high after all] 
[I see, I look forward to that!] 
Apart from the goblins in the plains, there were horned rabbits called [Almirage] .
Since the [Almirage]  was a monster that focused on speed and offense, if you were not careful, it was a dangerous monster that could take your HP in one go.
However, their HP was pretty low, so if you preemptively attacked them they were easy to beat, making them a good source of experience.
Their weak point was the base of their horn.
When it comes to goblins, their weakness is the base of their neck, seems like they have set the weak areas to be extremely small.
[However, is it really OK to leave all the items and gold to me? Yumir, what are you going to do about healing items?] 
You could call it leaving it to others or not being greedy.
Does she not want to go look through stores herself?
The answer Yumir gave me, seems to have been based on her own weaknesses.
[I'm basically not going to play with anyone other than you so there should be no problems. Besides, you see...you know that if I had the money, I would just spend it, right?] 
[Well yeah...for some reason, Akifumi ojisan leaves your allowance in my hands. You normally wouldn't hear something like that] 
Even if we are childhood friends, I'm the child of another family, you know?
What does he regard me as...I want to ask him, but somehow I'm scared of it.
Even the cost of this VR gear, I believe Miyu asked him directly to for the money.
This girl's family is pretty wealthy, so even if Miyu doesn't have a part-time job, her allowance is pretty big.
[That being the case, please take care of it even inside the game!] 
[Using the in-game money as practice, don't you have any intention of fixing the way you waste money?] 
[Why!?] 
In the end, I was forced to look after all the drops and gold.
When it comes to item trading, there doesn't seem to be able issues as long as both parties agree to it.
From what Yumir said, it seems like the inventory is like an item box and you it's not possible to go through it, so there's no way to use the trade feature to forcibly take items against another player's will.
However, because I took all sort of things, my inventory is full...
The next time I log, I should sort the items.
After that I should prepare weapons for us...oh, there was something I wanted to ask her.
[So, Yumir. Once I have some free time I plan to make our weapons, if you have any requests just tell me. I still don't know what I can make, so just give me an idea for now] 
[Oh, so you are taking up crafting as expected. Let's see...a drill, maybe?] 
[...What?] 
Yumir easily left me unable to think.
...
...!?
[No no! I wanted to know if you prefer a sword or a spear, you are a knight after all! What do you even mean by drill!] 
[It has a nice ring to it, right? Think about it, drills make you think that they are another type of spea-] 
[They don't! You've already chosen to be a knight, what are you even talking about!? Rejected, rejected!] 
When she heard my words, Yumir made a displeased face.
I don't get it.
Isn't that the expression I should be making?
[In that case...dual guns] 
[Middle ages! This game a middle ages fantasy game!] 
[They are shady weapons, both of them! If you are a knight, fight fair and square!] 
[If you say ballistic knife, I'm going to hit you!] 
As one would expect, after Yumir saw me readying my fist, she proceeded to shut up.
By the way, the thing called a ballistic knife is a knife with a powerful spring built in, making it able to shoot a blade.
It goes without saying that...that's not a weapon a knight would use.
[A, a normal sword is fine...] 
[Just say that from the beginning! I'll just make a normal one, I'll leave the more detailed ones for the second onward] 
[Umu. Actually, I don't really have a clear image for it yet. I might be able to think of it after using the sword for a bit more] 
In that case, what was all that pointless conversation we just had...
For the record, if you use a weapon that's not suited for your class you will get a penalty, making them basically trash.
Once I equipped Yumir's stick, its attack was reduced to 1 point, so there's no doubt about it.
In the status window, you can see that knights fundamentally use swords or spears and Shinto priests use maces or staves.
[So, this is everything for today, right? Hind] 
[Right. You are going to eat dinner too, right?] 
[It's going to be a feast!] 
[That makes it five portions then. Let's logout] 
[Umu! ...five?] 
I opened the menu and pressed the log out option.
The digital body started to disintegrate from my feet upwards.
When I came to, the real word spread in front of my eyes.
I can't see anything because I have the gear on me though...in front of me, a message that said that the connection was terminated appeared.
Is it OK if I take i off...? Oh, the window disappeared.
When I removed the VR gear, the setting sun was illuminating the room and I unconsciously frowned.
With a similar face to mine, Miyu raised the upper part of her body and started to look around.
[Nuu...my body hurts...] 
[We played continuously without taking a break after all...] 
The part about a portion of your brain being isolated seems to be true, I had not moved at all from where I was when we started playing.
It just that my body was feeling very stiff, from now on, we should probably take proper breaks.
I get the feeling that we have overdone it this time.
[Hey, Wataru. Why did you say five portions?] 
[Well, go and bring Akifumi ojisan. After all, you probably ate some pre-made food for lunc-] 
[Don't be like that. I was able to get the VR gear thanks to him, so I want to thank him. Go back for now and if it looks like he doesn't mind, bring him here] 
[For people like us that always eat instant food, there's no way that we would refuse!] 
[Don't try to act proud. How about you learn how to cook and start making your own meals...] 
[That would mean I wouldn't be able to eat your food anymore, so no! If I learned, you would definitely tell me to cook it myself,right!?] 
Well...she might be right in that regard.
My family might not have a father, but in her case, she doesn't have a mother.
Both of our families have known each other for a while, but my father died from illness.
In her case it was divorce, both of us had been unfortunate since junior high school.
Since then, the times we have eaten together has increased but...
[Anyway, it's fine if I call him, right!? I'm going!] 
[Ah, wait! If you stand up so suddenly-] 
[Nuoh!] 
As a result of not heeding my warning, while raising a feminine scream, Miyu slipped with the towel and fell down.
Since I had bad reflexes, I tried to hold out my arms to catch Miyu but...I wasn't able to stand firm, so while carrying Miyu in my arms I fell backward and my back hit the floor hard.
Furthermore, the air in my lungs was let out because of the shock and I was in a state of lack of oxygen.
C-can't breathe...
[...W-Wataru...?] 
[H-he's dead...!] 
I'm not! Is what I wanted to shout but my voice didn't come out.
Miyu proceeded to poke my torso.
Where are you touching! There are other things you should be doing, right? At times like this!
Because my lungs were blocked, being unable to breath, I couldn't move 10 full seconds...
[W-what are you doing, you idiot! I couldn't breath and I thought I was going to die! An odd sound came from my throat, you know!?] 
[S-sorry! It wasn't on purpose!] 
[Of course it wasn't! Just go and bring him here already!] 
[Forgive me!] 
While shouting her apology, Miyu left the room in a panic.
After seeing that, I fell to my knees again in the room where silence had returned.
[Ugu....] 
Because I had shouted while I was lacking oxygen, I was feeling dizzy...
I'm glad that Miyu didn't get injured, but instead, I was in a pretty bad mood.
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