そしてあっと言う間にグループHの最終戦へ。
互いにここまで勝ち残った、俺達の対戦相手は......。
「やはり来たか......トビ! 待っていたぞ!」
舞台の向こうから現れたトビとミツヨシさんに、ユーミルがきりっとした顔で人差し指を突き付ける。
決勝の相手は軽戦士(回避型)と弓術士(連射型)の、和風装備で統一性のある二人である。
「そっちが一回戦で相手を圧倒した時点で、こうなる気はしていたよ」
「ふふふ......そういうお二人も、暫く会わない内に随分と鍛え上げてきたようでござるな? 拙者、今から胸が高鳴っているでござるよ!」
対するトビも、悠然とこちらに向かって歩きながら余裕の笑みを見せる。
ユーミルは手を降ろすと、腕を組んでそれに不敵な笑みで返した。
しかし俺は、どうにもこの変な空気に耐えられそうもなく......。
なんだか悪い意味で鳥肌が立ってきたぞ。
「動悸か? 駄目だぞ、ゲームで夜更かしばかりして不摂生しちゃ」
「え? あ、ごめん気を付ける......ってハインド殿!? シリアスな空気が五秒と持たないってどういうことでござるか!? 動悸じゃねえよ! 空気読めよ!」
「――っく、はっはっはっはっはっは!」
いやだってムズムズするし恥ずかしいじゃん、そういうの。
やるなら俺を巻き込まないようにやってくれ。
そう言うと、トビとユーミルは「えー」と不満そうな顔で俺を見てくる。
ミツヨシさんが俺達の間の抜けたやり取りに大笑いしている。
ひとしきり笑い終わると、目の端の涙を指で拭ってこう言った。
「......ふー。しかし、ハインド君の言う通りだぞ。試合前のやり取りはリプレイに残らないが、試合中のやり取りは音声含めて下手すると一生ものだ。年取ってから思い出して、後で悶絶しないようにな?」
「否! 我々は敢えて、敢えて黒歴史を作っていく方針であーる! 恥ずかしい演技をして、後から皆で見返して転げ回ろうぞ!」
「ユーミルちゃん、分かっててやってたのか......いやはや、恐れ入るね」
ミツヨシさんの隣のトビは「えっ、そうなの!? 恥ずかしいのこれ!?」などと叫んでいるが、放っておくとして。
もう全員揃ってるのに待ち時間が長いな......これなら、まだ雑談する時間がありそうか。
戦うにあたってミツヨシさんの性格把握もしておきたいので、自分から適当に話題を提供してみる。
「――そういえばミツヨシさんのプレイヤーネームって、どういう経緯で付けたんですか? まさか本名ということはないでしょう?」
「ん? そうだな......トビ君と同じ戦国武将から取ったもので、弓にも関係している人物だ。知る人ぞ知る、という感じだから分からないのが普通だろうけど」
戦国武将でミツヨシか。
うーん......ミツヨシ......弓......ときたら、恐らくあの人だろう。
鉄砲が持てはやされる中、最後まで弓で戦い抜いた長寿の武将。
「――おおおおっ! すごいなハインド君、正解っ!」
ミツヨシさんは俺の回答に驚いたような顔になった後、興奮気味に俺の背を叩いた。
しかし、随分と渋い武将から名前持ってきてんなぁ......。
「さすがハインド殿。93歳で関ケ原とか、本当だったらワクワクするエピソードでござるよなー」
「その逸話の真偽は別として、弓でのし上がった人物なのは間違いないからな」
「昔は同じ弓でも、那須与一だとか源為朝だのの派手なのに惹かれたんだがねえ。この歳になると、そういうのよりもパワフル爺の方にどうにも惹かれちまうのさ。自分もそうありたい、ってなもんでね」
「む? しかしミッチーは、まだ若いように見えるのだが?」
ユーミルによるミッチーという呼び名を気にせずに、ミツヨシさんは「何歳に見える?」と訊き返してくる。
俺は素直に30くらいと答えた。
ユーミルも似たような答えだったのだが、ミツヨシさんの口から「詳しくは言わないけど、50は超えてる」という驚くべき言葉が出てきた。
若作りだなあ......キャラメイクで弄っていないという髪は黒々としているし、顔の皺も少ない。
体型が細マッチョ風なのも若く見える要因かな? 下っ腹とかも、全然出ていないし。
「ハインドの母親並だな? 若い若い」
「いや、あの人は......モノホンの魔女でござろう? きっとそうに違いない」
「人の母親を化け物みたいに言うなって。バレたらお前、また絞められるぞ?」
そのまま雑談が盛り上がった。
ミツヨシさんは口調こそ崩しているが年齢通りの落ち着きがあって、話していて中々に楽しい人だ。
この分だと、決闘中の精神的な揺さぶりは通用しないんだろうなあ......。
観客達の「なに和んでんだこいつら」という視線を浴びつつ、俺達は舞台上でスタートの合図を待った。
試合開始から数分――。
「せいやっ!」
「はっはっは! 当たらんでござるよー!」
素早く動き回るトビに翻弄され、俺達は苦戦していた。
敵に回るとここまで鬱陶しく、且つ面倒な奴だとは......。
ユーミルの攻撃は当たらず、トビの二刀によって細かなダメージだけがどんどん蓄積していく。
「――もらった! ......ぬおっ!?」
ようやく捉えて肩口を斬りつけるも、その姿がブレてダメージが無効になる。
「残念、空蝉でござる」
「卑怯じゃないでござるぅー。忍者の正統な手段でござるぅー」
小学生の喧嘩みたいな言い合いだ......。
しかし、本当にあいつ帰宅部か? と疑いたくなるような身軽で華麗な動きだ。
バク宙で剣を躱す様は、まるで体操選手かそれこそ創作の中の忍者のようですらある。
そしてそれを見ている俺の方はと言うと、
「――うひぃっ!?」
魔力をチャージしようとユーミルの真後ろで立ち止まった直後、矢が顔の真横を掠めて飛んで行く。
......一瞬でも目を離すとこれである。
正確な狙いに加え、連射型にしては一射ごとにそれなりに威力が乗っているのが怖い。
位置を変え、ミツヨシさんから見てユーミルが邪魔になる場所で再度魔力チャージ。
ユーミルならば多少の矢を受けてもダメージは低いので、こうしてかばってもらいつつ少しずつ魔力をチャージするしかない。
そのせいで俺達は密集陣形を崩すことが出来ない。
油断するとトビも俺に突っ掛けてくる距離なので、防御重視の我慢の展開を強いられている。
「ハインドさん、しっかり!」
「ゆ、ユーミルさんも、頑張って!」
リィズとセレーネさん二人の応援の声が聞こえるが、答える余裕は一切ない。
始まってからここまでずっと劣勢だ......どうやってこの局面を打開したものか。
二人の声援に具体性が無いのも、俺達の現状をよく表していると思う。
ミツヨシさんは明らかに俺の妨害に徹しており、現在のMP量を考えると消費が低い『ヒーリング』をユーミルに送り込むので精一杯だ。
それと相手の攻撃は物理のみなので、同じく消費の低い『ガードアップ』だけは俺とユーミル双方に使用しておく。
被弾することでユーミルの方はMPがそれなりの状態になっているのだが、普段は俺の回復を当てにして特攻している面が大きいので今は慎重になっている。
俺達の戦法は一にも二にも回復ありきなので、この戦況は非常に辛い。
頼むからMPチャージをさせてくれ! と素直に叫んでしまいたい気分だ。
しかし二人とも隙が少ない上に判断が早く、紛うことなき強敵だ。
そんなあちらの狙いは恐らく......
「トビ君、離脱だ! これで決める!」
「フッ、どうやら拙者達の勝ちのようでござるな! さらば!」
「! まずい、ユーミル! トビを捕まえろっ!」
「くっ......!」
ユーミルの剣は無情にも届かず、トビは俺達から大きく距離を取った。
フレンドリーファイアの心配が無くなり、ミツヨシさんが
And then, in the blink of an eye it was time for the last battle of group H.
Both of us managed to win until now, our opponent was...
[You came as expected...Tobi! I was waiting for you!]  (Yumir)
Yumir pointed at Tobi and Mitsuyoshi-san, who appeared from the other side of the stage while wearing a stiff expression.
Our opponents for the finals were two men wearing similar japanese style equipment. A light warrior (evasion type) and an archer (rapid-fire type).
[Since you completely crushed your first opponents like that, I had the feeling it was going to end like this.]  (Hind)
[Fufufu...the same goes for both of you, haven't you trained quite well during the time I haven't seen you? My heart can't stop throbbing right now!]  (Tobi)
Our opponent Tobi, calmly walked toward us while showing a smile.
Yumir lowered her arm, then crossed both of her arms and showed a fearless smile.
However, I, I can't seem to stand this kind of weird mood...
For some reason, I'm getting goose bumps, in a bad way.
[Throbbing? That's no good, you can't go around playing games all night and neglecting your health.]  (Hind)
Why did this serious mood last less than 5 seconds!? I don't have palpitations! Read the mood!]  (Tobi)
[..kuh, Hahahahahaha!]  (Mitsuyoshi)
I mean, that kind of thing is kinda creepy and embarrassing you know.
If you are going to do that, leave me out of it.
Saying that, Tobi and Yumir said [Eeeh]  while looking at me with displeased faces.
Mitsuyoshi-san burst out laughing at our idiotic back and forth.
After laughing for a while, he wiped the tears at the edges of his eyes and said this.
But it's like Hind-kun said. While what you say before the match won't get left behind in the replay, if you are not careful and talk during the match, it'll get included in the recording.]  (Mitsuyoshi)
[No! I, I was creating this dark history on purpose!
[Yumir-chan, you were doing it on purpose huh...good gracious, consider me impressed.]  (Mitsuyoshi)
Tobi, who was next to Mitsuyoshi-san screamed [Eh, really!? Is this sort of thing embarrassing!?] , but let's ignore it.
Even though we are all here already, the waiting time is so long...if it's like this, I guess there's still time for idle talk.
I want to get a grasp of our opponent Mitsuyoshi-san's personality, so I'll bring up a suitable topic of conversation myself.
[...Now that I think about it, Mitsuyoshi-san's player name, why did you choose it? It's probably not your real name right?]  (Hind)
[Hmm? Let's see...like Tobi-kun, I took it from a warring states military commander, he was also someone that used a bow.
A warring states military commander and Mitsuyoshi huh?
Yup...Mitsuyoshi...bow...in that case, it's probably that guy.
Even during the times that guns were getting popular, that long lived military commander kept using a bow until the end.
[Ooohhh!! You are amazing Hind-kun, you are correct!]  (Mitsuyoshi)
After showing a surprised face because of my answer, Mitsuyoshi excitedly struck my back.
However, he sure took the name from quite the understated military commander...
[Fighting in the battle of Sekigahara at the age of 93, if that was true, it would be quite the exciting episode right!?]  (Tobi)
[Leaving the matter of if that anecdote is true or not aside, there's no doubt that he was a person that rose in the world as an archer.]  (Hind)
[Once you get to this age, instead of those, you tend to get charmed by powerful old men instead. It was like that for me.]  (Mitsuyoshi)
[Muh? But Mittchi, I think you still look quite young?]  (Yumir)
Mitsuyoshi paid no attention to the name Mittchi that Yumir gave him and asked us [How old do I look to you?] .
I honestly replied with around 30.
Yumir gave a similar answer, but the surprising words [I won't say the exact age, but I'm over 50 years old.]  came out of his mouth.
He altered his appearance to look younger huh...he has the default hairstyle in black and there are few wrinkles in his face.
Is the main factor that he looks young that macho-like body type? He's not showing stuff like his abdomen either.
[He's like Hind's mom then? Young young.]  (Yumir)
[No, that person...isn't she a genuine witch? There's no doubt about it.]  (Tobi)
[Don't go talking about other people's mothers like they were monsters.
Like that, our conversation heated up.
Mitsuyoshi's way of speaking broke up but there was this calmness befitting someone his age, he was someone fun to speak to.
If it's like this, shaking up his mental state mid match won't be a possible strategy huh...
While receiving gazes from the audience that were saying [Why are these guys acting all calm in there?] , we waited for the start signal on top of the stage.
A few minutes after the match started-
[Seiyah!]  (Yumir)
[Hahaha! You are not hitting me!]  (Tobi)
Tobi was toying around with us while dodging with swift movements and we were currently struggling.
To think having someone go around you would be this annoying, besides, for him to be this troublesome...
Yumir's attacks didn't land, and while Tobi didn't deal much damage with his dual blades, the damage kept accumulating.
[-I got you! ...Nuoh!?]  (Yumir)
Just when she finally caught him and cut his throat, the body started blurring and the damage was nullified.
[Too bad, that was a cicada shell.]  (Tobi)
[It's a legitimate action for a ninja like me!]  (Tobi)
While they were having an argument like elementary schoolers...
However, is that guy really part of the go-home club? His swift and splendid movements made you doubt that.
Like dodging the sword with a backflip, he looked like a gymnastics athlete or some ninja straight out from a novel.
Just when I said that as I watched them...
[-Wha!?]  (Hind)
At the time I stopped right behind Yumir to charge my MP, an arrow flew straight by my side.
...This happened when I became distracted for just a split second.
On top of having high accuracy, it was scary how each arrow carried considerable power for a rapid-fire type.
I switched places and started charging up again from a place where Mitsuyoshi-san would find Yumir annoying.
Yumir shouldn't take much damage even if she takes a couple arrows, so I've got no choice but to slowly charge up my MP while having her cover me.
Because of that, we had no choice but to stay close to each other.
If I let my guard down, Tobi would also be able to get in range to hit me, so I was forced to play really defensively.
[Hind-san, hang in there!]  (Riizu)
[Y-Yumir-san too, do your best!]  (Selene)
I hear Riizu and Selene-san cheering for us, but I have no leeway to reply to them.
We've been at a disadvantage from the start until this point...how are we supposed to turn this situation around?
There's no meaning behind their cheers, I believe it's pretty clear what our situation is like right now.
Mitsuyoshi-san is clearly aiming to obstruct me, so thinking about the current MP amount I have, the best I can do right now is to cast a {Healing}  since it doesn't cost much towards Yumir.
Or, since both of their attacks are physical types, I could use the similarly low cost {Guard up}  on both me and Yumir.
Yumir's MP is in a good condition since she has been bombarded by attacks, however, unlike our usual fights where she can just go on a suicide attack while having me healing her, this time she has to be careful.
Our battle strategy is based on using a revive or two, so our current situation is quite painful.
I'm begging you, please let me charge up my MP!! Is the kind of honest plea I'd like to scream.
However, on top of them not having many gaps, their decision making is really fast, they are strong without any doubt.
Their aim is probably...
[Tobi-kun, stand back! I'll finish it with this!]  (Mitsuyoshi)
[Fuh, seems like this is our win! Farewell!]  (Tobi)
[!! This is bad, Yumir! Catch Tobi!]  (Hind)
[Kuh...!]  (Yumir)
Yumir's sword was unable to reach him and Tobi took a great distance from us.
The consideration of friendly fire disappeared and Mitsuyoshi's arrow was nocked towards the heavens.
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