空いている椅子を使って俺達と同じテーブルについたミツヨシさんは、最初にこう切り出した。
「状況はおおよそ把握している。PKに足止めを食っているんだろう?」
「ご存知だったんですか?」
ミツヨシさんはここ、マール共和国を拠点に活動しているプレイヤーだ。
闘技大会の際はトビと帝国で合流、そこから一緒に参加していたらしい。
そしてどうやら彼はPKの横行を把握しているようだ。
「おう。各地からPKが集まっていて、ここいらは過去最高に治安が悪くなっているよ。本当はクレシェンテ海岸で合流したかったんだけど、ギルメンの集まりが遅くてね。全くあいつらときたら」
そう言ってミツヨシさんは店の入り口の方を親指で示してみせる。
彼のギルメンだという何人かのプレイヤーが、そちらから顔を覗かせていた。
ん? 何だあの巫女服に狐面の人......こちらに手を振っているのだけど、異様な存在感だ。
「あの海岸を通ってきたのでござるか? よくご無事で」
「ああ、ちょっと誤解があるようだ。確かにPKは増えているんだけど、君らを襲った夜陰の牙は元からこの辺のPKギルドなんだ。俺らの顔は知られているから......」
「昼間に出たのに夜陰とはこれ如何に。別にいいでござるけど」
トビのツッコミは置いておくとして、奴らマールのPKギルドだったのか。
サーラではPK自体を滅多に見ないってのに......プレイヤー数の差を感じる。
しかし、そういうことなら納得だ。
「つまり大ギルドを相手にしないように、避けられていると?」
「ご名答。そこで物は相談だ。......ところで、この二ギルドの代表はハインド君でいいのかい?」
「いえ、代表はこいつです」
ミツヨシさんの言葉に否定の意を返しつつ、隣のユーミルを手で示す。
ユーミルは一瞬、ん? という顔をした後に慌てて頷いた。
「お、おお、私だぞ! 話なら聞こう!」
「なるほど、君達らしいチョイスだ。じゃあ、ユーミルちゃんに代表して提案を聞いてもらおう」
といっても、ミツヨシさんはユーミル以外を遠ざけて話をするわけでもなく。
単にきちんと代表者の方を向いて話をするのが礼儀と思ったのだろう。
こういうところ、非常に出来た大人って感じがする......見習いたいもんだ。
そんなミツヨシさんの提案を纏めると、以下の様になる。
要は俺達がもう一度クレシェンテ海岸に行って『夜陰の牙』を誘き出せないだろうか? ということのようだ。
周辺の仲の良いプレイヤー達もPKを迷惑に思っており、ミツヨシさん達は一度徹底的に叩いておきたいとのこと。
手順としては一、俺達だけでクレシェンテ海岸に行って『夜陰の牙』と再び交戦。
二、警戒されないように時間差で、ミツヨシさんのギルドメンバーの「半分」がこの町から出発。
三、速やかに合流して一気に叩く――という、要は俺達が餌になってPKを釣るというのが大雑把な流れだ。
俺達がミツヨシさん達の到着まで耐えることが前提になっているが、できるだろうか?
「よぉし、やろう!」
「っと、ユーミルちゃん即答かぁ。本当に良いのかい?」
ユーミルの反応を見たミツヨシさんが俺の方に視線を送る。
あー......俺は頭を掻きながら、微妙な顔でその視線に首肯した。
「実は、さっき逃げ出したのが――」
「あれは逃げたのではない! 進路が後ろだっただけだ!」
「......この町に戻らざるを得なかったのが悔しかったらしくて。こいつにとってはまさに渡りに船ってわけです」
根本的に負けず嫌いなんだよな。
ミツヨシさんは俺の言葉にニッと笑い返し、他のメンバーにも目を向ける。
「私も悔しいです! だからユーミル先輩に賛成です!」
続けてリコリスちゃんが立ち上がり、
「ふむ。確かに私も、やられっぱなしというのは性に合いませんね......私が負けても腹が立たないのは、ハインドさん相手の時だけです」
「きゃーリィズ殿こわーい! ......ごめんなさい、謝るからガチ睨みやめて?」
リィズが苛立ちを込めた目で静かに宣言する。
どうやらメンバーの意志は、PKへのリベンジに傾いているようだった。
そして再度『クレシェンテ海岸』へと到着。
ミツヨシさんの話では、あちらが警戒して現れなかった場合はそのまま『港町ノトス』に行ってしまって構わないそうだ。
彼はギルドメンバーを急遽三十名も集めてくれたので、できれば空振りは勘弁願いたいところであるが。
『和風ギルド“凜”』というのが、ミツヨシさんがギルドマスターを務めるギルドの名前だ。
加入条件は必ず和装をすること、その一点のみ。メンバー数は定員一杯の五十人。
生産専門ギルド『匠』という、これまた和の生産物を取り扱うギルドと同盟を組む巨大ギルドである。
こちらのギルドマスターはあのマサムネ氏だ。
こう考えると、よく俺達のような少人数ギルドと臨時同盟を組んでくれる気になったと思う。
「これは力を示す好機だな! 我々が少数でも役に立つということを見せなければ!」
「おおー!」
「あんまり気張って敵が出なかったら悲しいから、ほどほどにな」
「気合に水を差すな! 出るったら出るのだ!」
「そうだそうだー!」
リコリスちゃんが完璧にユーミルの妹分と化している。
しかし、出るかなあ......一応二度目ということで、襲われないように急いで馬で駆け抜けるという体裁は取るが。
相手が十人以下の場合、『夜陰の牙』は間違いなく襲ってくるとミツヨシさんは話していた。
なので来るかどうかは、相手が異変に気付くかどうかに掛かっている。
「とにかく止まらずに駆け抜けよう。速度に任せて強行突破しているように見えれば、短期間でもう一回来たのを不審に思われ難いはず」
「ハインド殿は心配性でござるなあ。あちらもこちらを仕留め損ねて悔しがっているはずでござるし、問題ナイナイ! 無言で格好つけていても、中身はこちらとそう変わらんでござるよ」
「そういうもんか? 俺がPKだったら、同じ相手に二度も仕掛けたりはしないんだけどな」
それどころか、襲撃に失敗しても成功しても一回ごとに場所を変えると思う。
そういえばPK同士にも縄張りってあるのだろうか? 気にしたことはなかったが。
「ハインド殿がリーダーのPKギルド......? 絶対に相手したくねえ!」
話を中途半端に聞きかじったユーミルが会話に割り込んでくる。
俺がPKねえ......そういう刺激は求めてないなぁ。
「ならんならん。例え話だよ」
「なーんだ、良かった。そうなったらボコボコにして更生させなければならないからな! 面倒だ!」
「ハインドさんがPKになったとしても、私はどこまでも付いて行きますからね?」
「あ、ありがとう......?」
と言っていいのか分からないが、対照的な二人の言葉に礼を返しておく。
そこで、先頭で周囲を警戒していたセレーネさんがサッと手を上げた。
「......!」
不審な気配を感じたら、手を上げたのを合図に全力疾走に移るように事前に相談してある。
ここからは話を止め、全員が姿勢をやや前傾にして手綱を引き絞る。
グラドタークの俺とユーミルが最後尾、一般馬のメンバーの最高速度に合わせて徐々に加速していく。
そうして『クレシェンテ海岸』の出口が近付いてきた時に、それは起こった。
「むおおっ!? 拙者の馬ぁ!」
先頭を走るトビの馬に、矢が複数命中して大きく体勢を崩す。
そのまま馬が横転し、トビは砂浜の上を転がった後でそのまま立ち上がった。
おお! 今のは忍者っぽいな、珍しく。
「トビ、こっちだ! 乗れ!」
「くぅ、レンタル馬の死亡ペナルティが......おのれ、許さん!」
レンタル馬を死亡させると、馬自体は最後に立ち寄った町か村にリスポーンするだけである。
ただ、死亡させた回数だけ返却時に追加料金が発生するという仕様になっている。
これはシステム側で所持金や銀行から強制徴収されるので、何度も死亡させていると結構痛い。
俺はトビの傍にグラドタークで駆けつけると、後ろに乗せて再び加速した。
しかし現れた『夜陰の牙』が進路を塞ぐように壁を作る。
「くそっ、失敗か! 応戦しろ!」
強行突破に失敗した、という体でみんなに声を掛ける。が、これは目論見通りだ。
この位置で止まったことをミツヨシさん達が察して、間もなく応援に駆け付けるだろう。
それまでは、俺達だけでこの大人数を相手にした耐久戦となる。
Mitsuyoshi-san took an empty seat and sat down on our table and the first thing he said was this.
[I have a grasp of what's going on. You are being stopped by PKs right?] (Mitsuyoshi)
[You knew about them?] (Hind)
Mitsuyoshi-san is a player that has set the Mahl Republic as his main home.
During the tournament, it seems like he met up with Tobi in the Empire and then they participated together.
On top of that, he seems to know about the PKs running rampart.
[Yeah. There are PKs gathering here and there, this is the vicinity that has the worst public order. The truth is that we were planning to gather in Cresciente Coast, but it took a while for my guild members to gather here. Good grief, those guys.] (Mitsuyoshi)
After he said that, Mitsuyoshi pointed towards the entrance to the shop with his thumb.
Wondering what kind of people his guild members were, I took a peek at them.
Huh? What's with that person wearing Miko vestments and a fox mask...she's waving in this direction though, she gives quite the strange presence.
[Did you pass through the coast? It's impressive that you were able to do so safely.] (Tobi)
[Oh, it seems like there's some misunderstanding here. It's true that there are more PKs nowadays, but the guys of Night's Edge that attacked you were a PK guild from these parts to begin with. Since they already know us...] (Mitsuyoshi)
[Even though they have the word Night in their name they attack in the middle of the day? Not like I care though.] (Tobi)
Leaving aside Tobi's retort, so those guys were a PK guild from Mahl huh?
Even though I have hardly seen any PKs in Sala...you can see the difference of players between each region.
However, if it's like that I can understand.
[In other words, in order to not fight against big guilds, they avoid them?] (Hind)
...By the way, would it be correct to assume that Hind-kun is the representative of both guilds?] (Mitsuyoshi)
[No, our representative is this one.] (Hind)
While denying Mitsuyoshi's claim, I signaled towards Yumir with my hand.
Yumir immediately did a [Hm?]  face and subsequently nodded in confusion.
[O-Oh, that would be me! If you have something to say, let's hear you out!] (Yumir)
[I see, it's a choice that sounds like you guys. In that case, let's have Yumir-chan as your representative and have her hear out our proposal.] (Mitsuyoshi)
That being said, it's not like Mitsuyoshi-san is only going to bring Yumir with him to have talks.
Simply said, you could say that him speaking to a representative is some sort of courtesy.
At times like this, you can feel that he's an adult...it's an example that we should follow.
The proposition we got from Mitsuyoshi-san was as follows.
Could we go back to Cresciente Coast and lure out {Night's Edge}  one more time? Or something like that.
Thinking that the good players in the vicinity are also bothered by the PKs, Mitsuyoshi-san and co thought that we should beat them up one time at least.
According to his instructions, first, we should go by ourselves to Cresciente Coast and engage in battle with {Night's Edge}  again.
Second, so that they don't stay on guard, Mitsuyoshi-san's guild will depart from the village [Half a minute]  later.
Third, they'll quickly join us and we'll beat them in one go...in short, we will act as bait to lure out the PKs.
The objective is to endure until Mitsuyoshi-san and co arrive, will we be able to do it?
[Alright, we'll do it!] (Yumir)
[And Yumir-chan replies instantly like that. Is it really OK?] (Mitsuyoshi)
Seeing Yumir's reaction, Mitsuyoshi-san shifted his gaze towards me.
Ah...after pondering for a bit, I nodded while having a difficult expression.
[The truth is, we did run away a while back-] (Hind)
[We didn't run away! That was just changing our route to go backwards!] (Yumir)
[...All she obtained after returning to this village was frustration. So, you could say that this is a godsend.] (Hind)
Fundamentally, you could say that she hates to lose.
Mitsuyoshi smiled at my words and then looked at the other members.
[I'm also frustrated! That's why, I agree with Yumir-senpai!] (Lyco)
Consequently, Lycoris-chan stood up.
[Fumu. It's that even I, I'm not the type that likes to just be defeated without doing anything...the only time I'll be defeated and not retaliate will be when my opponent is Hind-san.] (Riizu)
[Gyaa! Riizu-dono is scary! ...I'm sorry, I'll apologize so don't glare at me like that!] (Tobi)
Riizu stated calmly with eyes filled with frustration.
Seems like the members are leaning towards getting revenge on the PKs on their own accord.
Then, we arrived at {Cresciente Coast}  yet again.
According to Mitsuyoshi-san, if they were to be on guard and didn't appear, he wouldn't mind if we just went to {Port Notos} .
He was able to gather around thirty members after all. Though, if it was possible, I would prefer if they just forgave us and let us pass.
{Japanese Style Guild "Rin"} , that's the name of the guild Mitsuyoshi-san acts as guild master in.
The requirement for joining is to always wear Japanese style clothing, only that prerequisite. The number of members is the current cap, 50.
There was also the crafting specialized guild {Takumi} , this was another huge guild focused on crafting that they have allied themselves with.
The guild master for this one was Masamune-shi.
Thinking about it, it's a wonder how a small guild like ours was able to form a temporary alliance with such big guilds.
[This is the time to show our strength! We have to show them that we'll be useful even if we lack the numbers!] (Yumir)
[Yeah!] (Lyco)
[Don't overdo it, it'll be sad if the enemies don't show up, everything in moderation.] (Hind)
[Don't go spilling cold water on my motivation! If I say they are going to come out, they will!] (Yumir)
[That's right, that's right!] (Lyco)
Lycoris-chan has completely changed into some sort of little sister of Yumir.
However, I wonder if they'll show up...since it's technically our second time, we are hurrying up with our horses so they don't attack us.
Mitsuyoshi-san said that if the opponents were ten people or less, {Night's Edge}  would definitely attack.
That being said, if they attack us or not will depend on if they notice that something strange is going on or not.
[Anyway, let's run past without stopping. If they see that we are trying to force our way through with speed, it'll be hard for them to think that something odd is going on even if we have come back in such a short time.] (Hind)
[Hind-dono, you are such a worrywart. Their side should be the same as ours, they are probably frustrated that they were unable to kill us so it'll be fine! Even if they act as if they are silent, inside they should be the same us.] (Tobi)
[Is that so? If I was a PK, I would never use a plan against the same opponent twice.] (Hind)
On the contrary, regardless if a plan has gone well or not, I would change the location each time.
Now that I think about it, do PKs have their own territories? I never thought about it.
[Hind-dono as the leader of a PK guild...? I wouldn't want him as my opponent!] (Tobi)
Yumir cut into the conversation having only heard part of our conversation.
Me as a PK huh...I don't desire such stimulation.
[No, no way. It was a what if scenario.] (Hind)
[Oh, that's a relief. If that was the case, I would have to beat you up in order to rehabilitate you after all! That would be a pain!] (Yumir)
[Even if Hind-san becomes a PK, I'll follow you wherever you go, you know?] (Riizu)
[T-Thanks...?] (Hind)
I didn't know if that was the right thing to say but I could only express my gratitude towards both of their contrastive replies.
At that moment, Selene-san, who was staying vigilant of the area in front of us, raised her hand.
[...!] 
If she felt that there was something wrong, we had decided beforehand that she should give a signal for us to run at full speed once she raised her hand.
From now on, we stopped talking, leaned forward and grasped the reins.
Me and Yumir were taking the rear since we were riding the Grado Turks, we matched the speed of the common horse the other members were riding and accelerated gradually.
Then, when we got close to the exit of {Cresciente Coast} , that happened.
[Nuoooh!? My horse!!] (Tobi)
Tobi was riding at the front and his horse was pierced by multiple arrows and its posture crumbled.
Like that, the horse fell over throwing Tobi tumbling towards the sandy beach, then he stood up immediately.
Ooh! That was rather ninja-like, unexpectedly.
[Tobi, over here! Get on!] (Hind)
[Kuh, the penalty for rental horses...damn you, I won't forgive you!] (Tobi)
If a rented horse dies, they'll just respawn in the last village/town you passed through.
It's just that, you have to pay extra depending on the times they have died when you return them.
This is part of the game system and it'll force you to pay from the money in your possession or the money in your banks so...it gets pretty expensive if they die a lot.
I rushed towards Tobi on my Grado Turk and had him ride behind me, then I sped up again.
However, {Night's Edge}  acted as a wall obstructing the road.
[Damn it, we failed! Counterattack!] (Hind)
Our plan to force our way through failed, I used my body and voice to say that to everyone. However, this was all part of the plan.
Mitsuyoshi-san and co guessed that we would be stopped around this part, so they should probably rush to help us in no time.
Until then, we'll fight a battle of endurance against this many opponents.
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