準決勝の対戦相手であるリヒトは、背筋をピンと伸ばした直立不動の姿勢で俺達の前に立っていた。
アイドル張りの甘いマスクで、その口は真一文字に引き締められ、掲示板での評判とは違った印象を受ける。
髪は男にしてはやや長く、しかも青という現実なら浮くこと必至の色なのだが、これがまた似合っている。
それにしても先程から全く動かないな......この人、もしかして......。
「いつまで緊張してるのよ! このっ!」
「「!?」」
突如隣の勝ち気そうな少女、ローゼがリヒトの尻を思い切り蹴飛ばした。
「イッタイ!? 何で蹴るの、ローゼ!?」
「うるさい! あんたがそうやってしっかりしないから、傍に居るアタシ達まで馬鹿にされるんじゃない!」
「え、そうなの?」
「そうなのっ! 気付け鈍感!」
俺達を、というか周囲の状況を無視して行われるやり取りにこちらは困惑しきりである。
男の方の緊張を解すための行いなのだろうが、表面上は喧嘩しているように見えてその実、いちゃついているだけにしか見えないのは何故なのか。
「奇遇だな、俺もだ。だが、もう少しだけ我慢しようか? それで失格になったら目も当てられないからな」
ギャーギャーと騒ぐ二人を、白けた顔で俺達は見守った。
常に熱気のある目をしている皇帝陛下ですら、糸目になって時間が早く過ぎるのを只々待ってしまっている。
どうすんだよ、この会場の冷え切った空気......いや、客席に居る女の子達はそれでもリヒトを応援しているけれども。
ようやくそれが収まると、リヒトが気まずそうに視線をこちらに向けた。
「――あ、終わった? こっちはもうとっくに準備出来てるんで」
「す、すまない、待たせてしまったみたいで......皇帝陛下、もう大丈夫です」
彼自身はこのように、真面目そうで特に悪い点は目に付かないんだけどな。
皇帝陛下は大儀そうに頷くと、場の空気を整えるためかゴホンと大きな咳払いを一つ。
俺達が両前衛を相手にする場合、大事なのは互いに離れすぎないことだ。
ユーミルの運動神経が良いとはいえ、一試合を通じて二人の敵を止め続けることは不可能だ。
頭に血が昇ってユーミルだけを狙ってくれる相手も居るには居るが、準決勝まで来てそれは望めないだろう。
「せぇあ!」
ユーミルがロングソードで薙ぎ払って牽制。
俺はその真後ろでMPチャージ。
相手はどちらも小型の盾持ち、加えて剣の長さもそれほどでもないので、ユーミルには武器のリーチを活かして立ち回ってもらう。
「ひえっ!? 同じ騎士とは思えない威圧感なんだけどっ!」
「ローゼ、右っ!」
「でええええいっ!」
大きく踏み込みつつ抉り込むように、ユーミルが荒っぽい突きをローゼに向かって繰り出した。
小型の盾では衝撃を殺し切れず、ダメージを受けながらローゼが尻餅をつく。
そのフォローに入るリヒトに対して、その勢いのままユーミルが猛攻を掛ける。
おお、凄いな......ユーミルの動きは一戦ごとに、目に見えてどんどん研ぎ澄まされていく。
これなら暫くの間、こちらに攻撃が来ることはないだろう。
今の内にMPに余裕を持たせておきたい。
「リヒトっ!」
「ぬっ! このっ!」
立ち上がったローゼがレイピアでユーミルに反撃を仕掛ける。
一足に懐に入られてしまい、ユーミルはロングソードの利点を活かせない。
加えてローゼの攻撃は非常にスピードがあり、先程まで押していたユーミルのリズムが崩れ始める。
そして態勢を立て直したリヒトがローゼと一緒に挟撃に入ろうとする。
俺はMPチャージの手を一度止め、タイミングを見極めながら前へ。
「ユーミル、一旦離脱だ!」
そのままリヒトの剣を杖で受け止めた。
剣を全力で弾き、その間にユーミルと共に距離を――
「よっしゃ、やっちまえっ!」
取る素振りを見せた直後、反転してリヒトに一撃。
その剣は俺達の言葉に気を抜いていたリヒトに直撃するかと思われたが......
「汚いわよ、あんた達!」
すんでのところでローゼがガード、それを見た俺達は今度こそ距離を取った。
純粋そうなリヒトは騙せても、彼女の方は駄目だったか。
「ゴメン、ローゼ! 助かった!」
「べ、別にアタシは......」
リヒトの礼の言葉にゴニョゴニョしながら、ローゼは顔を真っ赤にしている。
こんな心底どうでもいい場面でラブコメらないで欲しいんですがねぇ......。
俺とユーミルは顔を見合わせると、同質の意地の悪い笑顔を浮かべた。
「べ、別にアタシは、アンタの為に防御してあげたわけじゃないんだからねっ!」
「勘違いしないでよねっ!」
それを聞いたローゼは、今度は違う意味で顔を真っ赤にした。
主に怒りで。
「何それっ!? アタシそんなこと言ってないでしょ!」
「「あなたの気持ちを代弁してあげただけですが何かぁ?」」
「ろ、ローゼ! ローゼ! 落ち着いて! むこうの思う壺だって!」
地団駄を踏むローゼを落ち着かせているリヒトをよそに、俺は回復魔法でしれっとユーミルのHPを全回復させた。
そのままバフまで使ってしまおうと詠唱を続けていると......
「あ、リヒトっ! こいつ魔法を使ってる! 攻撃攻撃、早く!」
「何だってっ! 行こう、ローゼ!」
ばれた。が、そのまま『アタックアップ』だけはユーミルに発動、再び四人が接近しての混戦となる。
俺は妨害が難しい詠唱の短い魔法だけを使用しつつ、ユーミルが危ない攻撃だけ手を出してカットする。
この試合に関しては中衛に近い動き。
――それにしても、この二人は強い。
二人とも盾を持っていることから防御が堅く、連携こそミツヨシさんに話した通り甘いものの、どちらも反応が良いので致命的な隙は今のところ見せていない。
どっちも学生だろうけど、運動部かな......身のこなしがとても軽やかだ。
そのままどちらも大ダメージを負うことなく、戦いは進んでいく。
アルベルトの試合とは真逆の、ジリジリとした耐久戦。俺達にとっては慣れた展開である。
長い長い攻防が続くが、徐々に――
「本体の方は全く攻撃してこないのに、どうしてアタシ達が押し負けるのっ!?」
「あんなに密着してるのに、一度もぶつからないなんて......互いの動きを、見なくても把握しているみたいだ。ローゼ、残念だけど向こうの連携は俺達よりも――」
「そんなの認めない! 認めないわよっ! だってあんなに二人で練習したじゃない! 手を止めないで、リヒト! まだ試合は終わっていないわ!」
俺達が押し始める。
回復は『ヒーリング』だけなので中盤以降はこちらのHPも少しずつ減り続けているが、あちらの方がずっと消耗が激しい。
だが二人で剣を取って並んで戦う姿は、トビではないが少し羨ましくもある。
今も目の前でやっている、交互に飛び出してきて剣技を放つなどという動きは、前衛後衛では絶対に実現出来ないことだ。
「――お前はどう思う? ユーミル」
「むっ? 何がだ、ハインド? ――はっ! でぁっ!」
「ゲーム開始当初にお前が思い描いていた絵は、あっちの戦闘スタイルの方が近いと――よっと! ......思うんだが!」
「そんなもの――ぬんっ! 愚問だな! 確かにお前との合体剣技も捨て難いが――せあっ! ......今の私達の戦い方が、一番最高で最強だ! 誰が何と言おうとな!」
嬉しいことを言ってくれる。
そのまま状況は大きく変わらず......HPが残り僅かとなったリヒトとローゼに、徐々に焦りの色が見え始めた。
こうなった場合に相手が取る選択肢は一つ。
「......ローゼ、もう後が無い! アレをやるよ!」
「......分かった! あんたを信じてるからね、リヒト!」
すなわち、大技を使っての逆転狙いだ。
この二人はバランス型......ということは、一番攻撃力の高いスキルはアレか。
二人のMPが大きく減り、持っている剣から眩い光が溢れる。
『ジャッジメントソード』というこのスキルは、物魔混合の大ダメージを与える光属性の魔法剣の一種だ。
持続型だが、効果は短時間。そういう意味ではワルターが使用した『発勁・破』に近い技である。
対人戦では重戦士に特に有効だが、今のユーミルのHPなら直撃すればまず間違いなく戦闘不能になるだろう。
「面白い! 受けて立つぞ!」
対して我が前衛様は、両手を広げてこの宣言だ。
恐らくユーミルも『バーストエッジ』をどちらかに使うつもりだと思われる。
......今のユーミルの集中力なら、二対一でも何とかしそうか?
俺は保険に『リヴァイブ』を詠唱しておくか迷った末に......『クイック』の詠唱を選択。
ユーミルのオーラは今にもはち切れんばかりに、バチバチと激しく空気を震わせている。
ここはこいつを信じて、詰めの一手を。
この程度を捌けないようじゃ、どの道次に進んだところでアルベルトの兄貴には勝てない。
「行くぞっ、ローゼ!」
「ええ! これで決めるわっ!」
研ぎ澄まされていくユーミルの感覚が、その背中から俺にも伝わってくるかのようだった。
逃げ場なく挟撃してくる二つの剣の、踏み込んだ先にある僅かな綻び――そこにユーミルが力強く踏み込み、長剣が翻る。
盾をすり抜けて胴に剣が食い込み――魔力が爆発。
ローゼが激しく壁に叩きつけられた直後、リヒトの剣が迫る。
輝く剣はユーミルの頬を掠め、それだけでもHPバーが激しく点滅して大きな減りを見せるが......カウンターの剣がリヒトを完全に捉えた。
俺の側はローゼを吹き飛ばした直後に『クイック』を、そしてたった今『エントラスト』をユーミルに向けて発動。
再度魔力が爆発――同じ軌道をなぞるようにして飛んだリヒトの体は、ローゼに折り重なるようにして動かなくなる。
一連の攻防に静まり返っていた会場に、大歓声が沸き起こった。
Our opponent for the semifinal match, Licht, was standing before us with his back straightened.
He had a handsome face like that of an idol and he had his mouth tightly shut, he gave a different impression compared to how the BBS portrayed him.
His hair was fairly long for a guy and even his blue hair would feel out of place in real life, however, it still suited him.
Nevertheless, he hasn't been moving at all for quite a while...this person, don't tell me that...
[Just how long are you going to stay nervous for! You little!] 
[[!?] ]  (Hind and Yumir)
Out of nowhere, Rose, the maiden next to him kicked him in the buttocks with all her might.
[It hurts!! Why are you kicking me, Rose!?]  (Licht)
[Shut up! Because you don't get your act together, I'm getting mocked too because I'm next to you!]  (Rose)
[Eh, is that true?]  (Licht)
[Yeah it is! You are so thickheaded!]  (Rose)
Ignoring us, or rather, they were having this kind of exchange ignoring their surroundings making us feel quite bewildered.
I wonder if this was done to relieve the guy from his nervousness, while it looked like they were having a fight on the surface, in fact, for some reason I could only see it as them flirting in public.
[However, shall we wait for a bit longer? We wouldn't be able to show our faces if we were to be disqualified because of that.]  (Hind)
We looked over their noisy conversation while our mood turned sour.
Only the Emperor, whose eyes were always filled with enthusiasm, was waiting for the time to pass as fast as possible.
What are we going to do about this? With this cold atmosphere filling the venue...well, even like this, the girls in the guest seats are still cheering for Licht though.
Having finally resolved their dispute, Licht awkwardly shifted his gaze towards us.
[-Ah, you are done? We have been ready for a while now.]  (Hind)
[M-My apologies, it seems like we have made you wait...your Highness, we are done.]  (Licht)
He seemed earnest and it didn't look like he meant any ill will.
The Emperor nodded and coughed loudly to set order in the venue.
For us, when we are against two vanguards, the important factor is for us to not get too far away from each other.
Even though Yumir's reflexes are good, it's impossible for her to keep stopping two opponents at the same time in a match.
There might have been opponents whose blood rose to their head and aimed exclusively at Yumir, but we shouldn't hope for that kind of thing having reached the semifinals.
[Seyah!] 
Yumir kept them in check by swinging down her longsword.
I stood right behind her charging up my MP.
Both of them had a small shield and their swords didn't seem that long either, Yumir was going around taking advantage of the reach of her weapon.
[Hyeh!? This intimidating aura is not something you'd think it's coming from a fellow knight!]  (Rose)
[Rose, on your right!]  (Licht)
[Deeeeeeeeeih!]  (Yumir)
While sticking close to her, Yumir wildly lunged towards Rose.
Being unable to block the shock from the impact with her small shield, Rose fell on her back while taking some damage.
Against Licht, who came to support her, Yumir kept that vigour up and released a fierce attack on him too.
Ooh, this is incredible...Yumir's movements have visibly sharpened since our first match.
If it keeps going like this, I probably won't receive any attacks for a while.
I'd like to replenish plenty of MP during this time frame.
[Licht!]  (Rose)
[Nuh! You little!]  (Yumir)
Having gotten back up, Rose counterattacked Yumir with her rapier.
Because the distance between them had shortened, Yumir was unable to make use of her advantage in range.
Adding to that, Rose's attacks were fairly fast, the rhythm that Yumir had built up until now crumbled.
Then, having fixed his stance, Licht paired up with Rose in a pincer attack.
I stopped charging my MP for a moment and stepped forward while ascertaining the proper timing.
[Yumir, retreat for the time being!]  (Hind)
Like that, I stopped Licht's sword with my staff.
I repelled the sword with all my might and during that brief time, I took some distance along with Yumir...
[Alright, take him out!!]  (Hind)
Immediately after acting as if we were retreating, we turned around and attacked Licht.
I thought it would have been a direct hit due to him having let his guard down because of our words but...
[You guys play so dirty!]  (Rose)
But Rose was already there blocking, after seeing that, we took some distance for real this time.
Even if you deceive the pure Licht, it doesn't seem to work against her.
[My bad, Rose! You saved me!]  (Licht)
[I-It's not like I...]  (Rose)
While fidgeting due to Licht's words of gratitude, Rose's face turned bright red.
I wish you didn't turn this scene into some love comedy when it's not the appropriate place though...
I exchanged glances with Yumir and we made the same evil expression.
[I-It's not like I, it's not like I covered you for your sake you hear me!]  (Yumir)
[Don't get the wrong idea!]  (Hind)
Having heard that, Rose's face turned bright red for a completely different reason.
In other words, it was anger.
[What are you even saying!? I didn't say that you know!?]  (Rose)
[[We were just expressing your feelings for you, got a problem!?] ] (Hind and Yumir)
[R-Rose! Rose! Calm down! You are falling into their pace!]  (Licht)
Ignoring Licht as he was trying to calm down Rose, who was stomping her feet in frustration, I calmly used healing magic on Yumir to restore her HP to full.
Like that, I used buffs on her too and kept casting spells...
[Ah, Licht!! That guy is using magic! Attack him, attack him, hurry up!]  (Rose)
[What!? Let's go, Rose!!]  (Licht)
They noticed. However, I finished casting {Attack Up}  on Yumir and then it turned into a four person close quarters fight again.
I only used low cast time spells that were hard to interrupt and only cut in when Yumir was going to get hit by dangerous attacks.
In this match, my role is more of a middle guard.
But I have to say that...these two are quite strong.
Since both of them have shields, their defense is solid, as Mitsuyoshi-san said their coordination is good. Both of their reactions are good so until now, they haven't shown fatal gaps in their defense yet.
They both look like students though, maybe part of some sport club...? Their movements are quite nimble.
Like that, the match continued with both sides not taking much damage.
It was the complete opposite of Albert's match, a slow battle of endurance. It was something we were used to.
A long long exchange of attack and defense continued and eventually...
[Even though that True Self is not attacking us at all, why are we the ones being pushed back!?]  (Rose)
[Even though they are so close to each other, they haven't bumped into each other even once...even without looking, they have a clear understanding of each other's movements.
[I won't accept that! I can't accept it! I mean, we have worked out together that much! Don't stop moving, Licht! The match is not over yet!!]  (Rose)
We started to pressure them.
From the middle of the match onwards I only used {Healing}  for our HP recovery so currently our HP kept decreasing bit by bit, however, they were losing theirs at a much faster pace than we did.
However, looking at them fight side by side with their sword, even if I'm no Tobi, it made me a bit envious.
The action of releasing sword skills mutually that is happening in front of me right now is something that wouldn't be possible to do with a vanguard and a rearguard.
[...What do you think, Yumir?]  (Hind)
[Nuh? What do you mean, Hind? Hah! Deyah!]  (Yumir)
[The image you had in mind when we first started playing this game, should be something close to their fighting style...whoops! ...Or that's what I was thinking!]  (Hind)
[Something like that...there! It's such a foolish question! It's true that I would love to use combination sword skills with you but...seyah! ...Our current fight style is the best and strongest! No matter what anyone else says!]  (Yumir)
She sure said something that made me happy.
The battle continued without big changes...having been left with only a bit of HP, Licht and Rose started showing signs of impatience.
Having reached this point, there was only one choice for them to make.
[...Rose, we have no other choice! We are going to use that!]  (Licht)
[...Got it! I believe in you, Licht!]  (Rose)
In other words, they will try to use a powerful skill to turn the tables around.
These two are balanced types...which means that their skill with the highest offensive power is that one.
Both of their MP was reduced drastically and their swords were overflowing with a dazzling light.
The skill called {Judgement Sword} , was a magic sword skill of the light element that dealt a big amount of hybrid damage.
It had a persisting effect but the effect didn't last long. In other words, it was a skill similar to the {Hakkei*Yabu}  that Walter used.
In PvP it was particularly effective against Heavy warriors, but with Yumir's current HP, she would definitely get knocked out if she took a direct hit.
[Interesting! I'll take you on!]  (Yumir)
In response, our vanguard here declared that while spreading out both of her arms.
Most likely, Yumir plans to use {Burst Edge}  on one of them.
...With Yumir's current level of concentration, would she be able to do something against them even if it's 2 vs 1?
I was hesitating thinking that I might have to start casting {Revive}  as insurance...but I opted for {Quick} .
Yumir's aura was still going strong and the sparks and its intensity made the air tremble.
Let's trust her here and bet everything on her.
If we can't deal with a situation of this level, we'll end up facing Albert aniki anyway and won't be able to win.
[Let's go, Rose!]  (Licht)
[Yes! We are ending it with this!!]  (Rose)
The sensation that Yumir had sharpened her senses was transmitted to me through her back.
It was a pincer attack with no way to escape, at the first sign of a gap she could rush towards...Yumir strongly rushed at it and swung her longsword.
The sword slipped through the shield and the torso was stabbed through...then magic power exploded.
Immediately after Rose was violently blown away towards the wall, Licht's sword approached.
The shining sword grazed Yumir's head but even with just that, her HP bar decreased to dangerous levels...however, her counter hit Licht directly.
I used {Quick}  right after Rose was blown away and just now I finished casting {Entrust}  on Yumir.
The explosion happened again...and Licht's body was flying following the same trajectory as Rose and stopped moving as he fell on top of her.
The audience that had fallen silent during the exchange of blows burst into loud cheers.
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