It took courage to muster courage. That is, the courage to welcome a sudden visitor.
Of course, both Soarina and Fenne felt a strong urge to leave the matter be, but they dismissed the thought with a near-certain premonition that doing so would only result in the visitor continuing to fuss outside the door indefinitely.
If that was the case, one of them had to step forward to the door...
Soarina and Fenne stared at each other in silence. Nothing was ever spoken aloud, yet each understood the other's unspoken meaning well enough.
After a moment, Soarina squeezed her eyes shut tight and rose from her chair as though she had made up her mind.
The reasons were twofold: her standing as a holy woman, which placed her senior to her junior, and concern for Fenne, who, though improved, still remained bedridden...
"Um, who might you be...?"
Soarina opened the door hesitantly and peered at the visitor with visible apprehension.
To her surprise, the one standing before the door was a young boy.
Neither Soarina nor Fenne had any recollection of a boy like him.
It was possible they had simply forgotten, but he was the sort of individual whose presence you would notice even from the other side of a door. It was unlikely they had merely forgotten.
Perhaps sensing their puzzled expressions, the boy declared himself with eyes burning with a fierce will and a voice far louder than seemed natural.
"It's me! Kuhara! Keiji Kuhara!"
He planted both hands on his hips and struck a pose that seemed to say, "Well? Impressed?"
The sight of him could only be described as bizarre.
The reason was simple enough. The name "Kuhara" belonged to the Game Master. Both Soarina and Fenne remembered this clearly and had never forgotten it.
It was puzzling that this boy claimed that name. Even if he truly was the man himself, what chain of logic could have reduced him to such a young form?
At the very least, she had never heard that he had originally been a boy. It was possible she had been mistaken about the facts, having never met him directly in the Renea Sacred Light Kingdom, but Kuhara could not possibly have been that young a man.
Fenne stared at Kuhara, who stood before them with his chest puffed out despite their obvious suspicion.
On Soarina's side, she could only watch the boy who'd introduced himself as Kurihara with a bewildered expression clearly written all over her face.
The situation only changed because of someone other than him. It was a girl who had followed him and uninvitedly barged into the house, standing behind the boy.
"Erakino..."
Fenne let out a small murmur, her voice laced with a hint of surprise and considerable suspicion.
But the other change was dramatic.
"You were alive, Erakino?!"
"Guah!"
The moment she caught sight of her, Soarina dashed forward. Kurihara, bumped by her midway and sent flying, let out a groan like a squashed frog and rolled on the ground, but she didn't even notice.
Flustered, she tried to speak to Erakino in an excited tone.
The relationship between Soarina and Erakino was hard to describe in a single word. But it was undeniably a friendship where they cared for each other.
She had noticed the slight differences in her complexion and hairstyle, but for Soarina, that didn't matter at all.
She didn't know what was happening. But first, she would rejoice in reuniting with her dear friend.
As she thought this and chose her words—
"Too bad! This isn't the Erakino you know~!"
"Eh, bu-but you look just like... A-Ah, maybe you're angry with me? Because I didn't come to find you sooner...?"
Their parting after the tragedy. The reason the supposedly dead Erakino had revived. The reason she was rejecting her now. She understood nothing.
Though a saint, Soarina was still a young girl. It was hard to believe she could make a sound judgment in this situation. Indeed, tears began to well up in her eyes, and not knowing what to say, she pressed her lips together tightly.
Seeing her like that, Zangai let out a deep sigh.
Incidentally, Kurihara, who might have been able to explain this situation, was sprawled in the corner of the room.
"She's such a troublesome woman. Hey, hurry up and get to the point. I wanna move this along. [Understanding]. Like this? Got it? It's that 'getting someone straight' thing that's popular in town."
=GM: Message===
GM authority exercised.
Saint Soarina and Saint Fenne grasped the difference.
―――
In that instant, information pertaining to the current situation was carved into the minds of Soarina and Fenne.
Rather than being made to understand, it was so thoroughly implanted that they would mistake it for something they had known from the start.
The content was that the being before them was not Erakino, but an empty husk called Zangai.
In short, it was limited information on only that one point—that they were entirely different people—but it was imprinted upon the minds of the two saints as an irrefutable, perfect fact.
Soarina finally felt somewhat settled, but paradoxically, that understanding immediately began to breed questions and confusion.
What circumstances could possibly have brought Kurifuku and Zangai here?
"I... I see. So, it's true. You really aren't Erakino. Just an empty shell that looks similar... My apologies."
There was disappointment. But perhaps because she understood that harboring too much hope only led to betrayal, Soarina was surprised that her own grief wasn't as vast as she'd expected.
Perhaps Erakino was already becoming a thing of the past. While that was something to mourn, sorting out the situation before her now was more important.
Soarina apologized to Zangai and, fixing her gaze intently upon her, waited for her to continue.
Zangai, perhaps satisfied that Soarina had calmed down, promptly moved to the main topic.
"Exactly. This one is just an accessory. Just debris clinging to the master. The main event is over there! The sorry excuse of a man who got flipped and sent rolling by you earlier... Hey, you okay? Still alive?"
Soarina and Zangai finally noticed Kurifuku lying motionless in the corner of the room. Realizing what she had done, Soarina hurried over to check on him, while Zangai peered at the situation from behind Soarina's back, a cold sweat breaking out.
Soarina gave him a slight shake, but there was no reaction whatsoever. A bad premonition flickered through both their minds...
The one who broke the stalemate was the other saint present: Fenne Kalmuel.
"He's alive, for now. And... I just learned that he is the Game Master."
Unlike Soarina, who had been calmly watching the situation with her guard up, she quietly made her declaration.
Fenne's ability was mind-reading. Human hearts were far too complex and ugly, so she rarely wanted to use this power, but in this situation, holding back was not an option.
For their own safety, it was better to quickly grasp the situation and seize the initiative.
The mind-reading, secretly conducted during the conversation under that judgment, indeed pointed to the boy before her being the Game Master and the original Kuraibara Keiji himself.
That was, of course, assuming he wasn't a lunatic who only believed himself to be Kuraibara, the former Game Master.
On the other hand, it was Zangai who frowned at Fenne's words.
She lifted her face from Kuraibara, who was groaning and trying to muster the resolve to resurrect himself after regaining consciousness, looked at Fenne, and spat out with great annoyance.
"Ah, mind-reading ability? I'll block that for you. The Master can do whatever."
=GM: Message===
Exercising Game Master Authority.
Permanently rejecting the Mind-reading check on Zangai.
───
Now it was Fenne's turn to frown from within the veil.
She had sensed the activation of some ability.
Yes, it was similar to that ridiculous miracle the Game Master had used.
But why? If her speculation was correct, that power should have been lost due to Takuto Ira's scheme.
Their camp's defeat was certain. If that was the case, the cards they could play were few.
But contrary to Fenne's thoughts, Zangai's mind was shrouded in darkness, impenetrable, as if blocked by some immense power.
Fenne looked somewhat grumpily at Fenne, while Fenne remained poised on the bed, ready to leap out at any moment, holding the highest level of wariness toward her.
The tension snapped when Kuraibara, who had finally managed to resurrect, spoke.
"You saved me, Zangai! Now we can get to the point! Sorry about that!"
A scream echoed through the house. Then an abrupt prostration.
The sound of his head striking the floor rang out briskly as Kuripachi offered Soarina and Fenne the most heartfelt apology he could muster.
Of course, in his own mind it was a perfectly logical, manly, and noble apology, but the two on the receiving end knew only confusion.
A boy claiming to be an old acquaintance had shown up out of nowhere and was now bowing in a grand prostration.
Even granting that he was the real Kuripachi Keiji, there seemed to be no reason whatsoever for such a sudden display.
And even Fenne, who reflexively tried to read his true intentions with her mind-reading ability, found it a tangled, inexplicable mess.
"Your head is a mess. Try organizing your thoughts a little," Fenne pointed out with exasperation. But Kuripachi remained in his prostrating posture.
He showed no sign of lifting his face—if anything, he pressed his forehead against the floor so hard it seemed he intended to rub it there.
"I don't have time for that. I kept wondering what I should've done, what I should've said. But it's all my fault. It's all my responsibility. I'm sorry. That's all I can say."
At this, at last, and somehow vaguely... the two saints began to grasp what he was trying to say.
He was saying that his defeat at the hands of Takuto Ira was his own fault. That this entire situation existed because he had been too weak.
That would include stealing their dreams as well. But more than that, what surfaced in the hearts of the three who had once spoken of their dreams together that day was the smile of a girl who was no longer here.
That loud yet endearing smile of hers...
"Erakino isn't coming back. I was just starting to forget, so why do you show up now?" Soarina asked, her voice heavy with something close to despair. She had only just resolved to forget everything and live on. Under normal circumstances, she was not the type to speak with such reproach.
Either sooner or later, she could have handled it with a bit more composure.
But coming on this day, at this moment, when she had finally given up on everything—that was something she could not accept.
"I was thinking we could kill Takuto Ira together," he said with a grin.
That's why Soarina nearly erupted in fury at Zangai's words. Where was this coming from all of a sudden? Are we really still doing this? Especially since, even if it was Kuribuku who said it, the words would be unforgivable, but that they came from the mouth of this girl called Zangai was what she couldn't forgive. She knew nothing. A fake who joined from the outside without knowing anything about anyone's relationships had no right to speak.
Soarina grit her teeth with a sharp *krrt*. Just as she was about to order her to leave with a string of insults utterly unbefitting her, a voice cut in.
"Silence, Zangai. I'm speaking."
"Ngh!"
Kuribuku shut down Zangai's provocation with a quiet... but clearly rage-filled tone.
The will behind those words made Soarina swallow her spit involuntarily. Fenne, watching from the back of the room, felt the same. Had this man ever inspired such fear before? Even when he participated in meetings as Game Master via telepathy, he hadn't been someone to evoke this level of dread. True, he had weakened since then. Losing his adjudicating authority, having been given the form of a boy, and now being reduced to such pathetic groveling here—all of it pointed to his diminished state, and her assessment of that wasn't wrong.
But why was it, then? The words he had uttered. The will contained within them. When she felt their weight... for this moment alone, there was something, a ferocity that could convince one he was the Game Master who controlled everything.
"That's all beside the point. Takuto Ira is certainly my enemy. I want to pay him back. But before that, I want to apologize to you all. That's all for now."
Kuribuku's resolve manifested as a sincere apology.
"I kept going back and forth on what to say if I ever met you guys again. But I'm an idiot, so I can't put it into words properly, and honestly, I don't have a clue what I did wrong. So... I'm sorry!"
Back then, in that place, everyone who gathered had their own ambitions. It was a relationship where mutual self-interest merely aligned within their individual goals, nothing more.
Even so, Kuribara believed the responsibility lay with himself. Because he alone had the means to alter that situation.
Because he alone held the power to change things.
The abrupt revocation of his GM authority by Takuto Ira. In that instant, Kuribara's mind went blank, and he was left stunned.
In the heat of battle—when a single second's value swelled to many times its normal worth, demanding immediate action—he simply stood dumbfounded, paralyzed by panic.
Kuribara cursed his own inadequacy.
Now that he knew the infinite possibilities possessed by the TRPG ability through Zangai's assistance, he understood that even that degree of adversity could have been overcome.
At the very least, the TRPG ability held such potential.
The fool was its wielder. No matter how fine a steed, if its rider is half-competent, it becomes a plow horse.
That half-competent rider was the man called Kuribara Keiji.
No, even that evaluation might be too generous. A half-competent rider would at least struggle clumsily to urge the horse forward.
That was why Kuribara had come here.
To apologize for everything. To face, unflinchingly, his own shallow resolve and the suffering and sorrow it had wrought.
"It's fine now. It's all over. I accept your apology, Game Master. So please, just go home. I've said it before—for us, it's finished."
"No, it ain't over!!"
Fenne's rejection was crushed by an even fiercer refusal.
He had never been this forceful before. The previous Game Master had always been somewhat flighty, putting on a front. It was a kind of vanity, and it was true that it had prevented any honest conversation.
But now, that was gone. He clashed forward with bared emotion, heedless of appearances.
"I'm still here! I haven't forgotten my promise to Fenne! I haven't forgotten Soarina's dream! Of course, I haven't forgotten about Erakino! And I haven't forgotten the promise we all made together!"
Kuribara shouted. He finally raised his head, gazing firmly, alternately at Soarina and Fenne, as if declaring his resolve.
His shouting earlier had been gratingly noisy and unpleasant. But this cry, for some reason, carried no such discomfort.
Without a moment given to object, Kuruhata simply and sincerely threw everything he had into the plea.
As if to say it was all he could do. As if to say this was the best and only option.
"I know it sounds like an easy thing to say. But please, give me one more chance! I'll take back Erakino! And then I'll make all of your— all of our dreams come true!"
When grandiose talk reaches this level, it becomes almost laughable.
Setting Soarina aside, Fenne stared down at the little fool with a look of weary disbelief.
The story had already reached its end. What good would struggling further do?
"There's no point. What's changed between then and now? Do you have something— anything— capable of bringing down a foe that powerful?"
"You have me!"
He'd had that same thing last time, Fenne thought. But since Kuruhata was speaking from sheer momentum, trying to reason with him would accomplish nothing.
Honestly, Fenne wanted nothing more than for him to just go home. He did appreciate the raw honesty of the man confronting him with his true feelings, but that alone wasn't enough to change anything. This world— Takuto Ira— was not so kind.
Letting himself get swept up in Kuruhata's words and making things worse would only lose everything for good.
But Kuruhata seemed entirely unaware of what was going on inside Fenne's head as he desperately pressed on with his pitch.
"I'm an idiot. A fool, an idiot, a braggart. That's why I failed. It was my own softness. I thought I could handle anything as long as I had that power, that I didn't need to rely on anyone— that arrogance, that softness, is what brought all of this about…"
On the road here, Kuruhata had desperately ruminated on how things had come to this.
Not in the sense that he resented his current situation. Rather, why had he been defeated, and why had every person who followed him ended up miserable?
Zangai had mocked him mercilessly for grunting and groaning with a furrowed brow late into the night, but Kuruhata arrived at his answer surprisingly quickly.
It was because of something within him— something that might be called a kind of complacency.
"It was always like this. Win a gamble, and I'd get cocky right away. I'd let my guard down midway through when I should have kept it up until the very end. I'd take on fights I couldn't win just because I wanted to look good. I thought I could turn all of that around, but in the end, I was still just me."
People don't change so easily.
Even when they think they have, it's usually only temporary, or the essence of who they are remains unchanged. More often than not, that's how it goes.
He—Kurahajime had admitted his own weakness. Having admitted it, he now sought a way to turn things around from here.
That began with taking responsibility. He would apologize for the mess of the previous battle and plead for true forgiveness.
"That's why I needed comrades who would stop me. Someone who would slug me if I went off the rails. I can't do it alone. I got arrogant, thinking I was the strongest and could do anything, and I acted selfishly all by myself—and look what happened. I should have listened more to what you and Erakino were saying. She was right there, so close…"
Indeed, at that time, Kurahajime had kept a step back, at a distance.
Most decisions had been made by Soarina, Fenne, and Erakino. It was impossible to tell if Kurahajime was even listening, and since Erakino handled coordination with the Game Master, the two saints didn't feel the need to press the matter. Kurahajime was pleading to change that situation. Desperately arguing that victory lay there.
"This time I won't screw up. I want to borrow all of your strength and reclaim what was lost. To do that, I'll listen like crazy. If I don't understand, I'll say I don't understand. If something's dangerous, I'll say it's dangerous. The time for putting on a front is over! I'm the weakest and the stupidest one here!"
Rather pathetic words spilled out.
But neither Soarina, nor Fenne, nor even Zangai laughed or mocked him for it. They simply accepted, with grave seriousness, a man's apology and resolve.
"So please, help me!! It's a lifelong plea!!"
Thud, Kurahajime struck his forehead against the floor once more.
"Soarina, Fenne. I need you two to reclaim everything!!"
And with a loud shout, he concluded as if to say nothing more could be added.
…After a brief moment passed, it was Soarina, who had been watching Kurahajime with a worried expression, who spoke first for some reason.
"Can you truly promise to help rescue Erakino? Will you swear to reclaim it all?"
"Yeah, I swear it to you, and I swear it to myself. And I swear it to Erakino. No more running. I'll think with everything I have, and do everything I can. I'm going to try like hell. As long as you two help me, I'll win against any enemy!"
A vague sense of unease arose.
Fenne felt a sense of crisis as the other two seemed about to make a rash decision, and hurriedly read Kurahajime's mind. If she exposed the twisted thoughts hidden within him, Soarina might surely reconsider.
But upon actually reading Kurahajime's mind, Fenne was stunned.
"Surprising. He's serious. He's dead serious saying those words."
That was the unvarnished truth of Kurahajime Keiji's heart.
He was sincerely apologizing and sincerely acknowledging his own foolishness. But what surprised Fenne most of all was that he truly believed that just Soarina and Fenne joining forces would open the path to victory.
"Fenne. I was thinking of trying to believe in him one more time..."
"Surprising. You too, seriously? Have you already forgotten what you just said? This is a textbook example of a bad man. You'll be in for it if you're fooled."
Looking at Soarina, who was hesitant yet had a glimmer of expectation in her eyes, Fenne held her head in her hands. How had it come to this? She should have stopped it, but now it was too late. The fact was that Soarina was already in deep.
"I-I don't think he's that kind of person. He's the Master of Erakino, so if we cooperate..."
"Utterly hopeless..."
Fenne was exasperated at how utterly useless they were. It wouldn't be wrong to say she was washing her hands of the whole affair. A strong sense of foreboding lingered, but it was less about danger and more a signal of peace slipping away and a mountain of trouble arriving.
"Fenne... W-well? Will you cooperate? Like, if you just nod along, it all falls into place, you know, it wraps up nicely..."
"No way..."
"Fennneeee~..."
The pathetic voice came whining and pleading.
As soon as she realized she couldn't rely on force or sweet talk, she resorted to tearful begging. She probably wouldn't budge even if her life depended on it.
And now Soarina was joining in with backup support. Indeed, she was fidgeting, glancing between the whining Fenne and Soarina, waiting for a chance to insert herself into the conversation.
Fenne let out a huge, heavy sigh.
"No, I won't. But leaving you alone to die miserably would leave me with a bad reputation. I have no choice but to look after you. An adult guardian charm that doesn't match this cute appearance at all... my life really is just drawing the short straw every time."
The feeling was one of resignation mixed with lament, yet strangely, it didn't feel entirely unpleasant.
Only, there was sheer exasperation. And she was completely resigned to seeing this through to the bitter end.
"Thank you, Fenne! I'll make you happy too! I'll make both of you happy! That's a promise!"
"Y-yes... Please take care of us."
"Surprising. Both of you are serious, aren't you?"
"Call me Keiji. I'm no longer a Game Master. Just a foolish human, but one who's made up his mind! Kurifoto Keiji, at your service!"
"Yes, Keiji!"
It was Kurifoto who, just moments ago, had declared he now understood his own foolish tendency to get carried away.
It seemed he hadn't grown at all.
Fenne sighed again. Correcting his personality appeared to be her role.
Soarina was in the midst of being enthusiastically deceived by some dubious man, and that peculiar girl Zangai, her own agenda seemingly moving forward as intended, simply watched the scene with a cheerful smile.
Suddenly, Kurifoto stood up and began speaking with a confident voice about how Soarina and Fenne were invaluable companions, how they were wonderful beings brimming with potential, and how important they were to him.
Watching Soarina's cheeks flush slightly at his words of praise, Fenne deliberately made a sour comment.
"Keiji, wouldn't you be better suited as a kept man than a Game Master?"
"Thank you, Soarina. Thank you, Fenne. And are you watching up in heaven, Erakino? I've practically won already. Just wait and see, Takuto Ira. If we combine our forces, there's nothing to fear. The path to victory is in sight..."
"Haaah..."
Kurifoto wasn't listening. The fact she'd called him Keiji—and that she'd even slightly acknowledged him—was probably lost on him. Fenne sighed once more.
Still, for some reason, she didn't feel bad about it.
"First, I suppose I should correct that annoying habit of getting carried away so quickly..."
"Whoaaaaa!! Let's do this, Erakinooooo!! Just you waituuuuu!!"
Kurifoto raised his spirits, and Soarina cheered for him with a flushed expression.
Zangai folded her arms and nodded with hearty "mm-hmms," like a doting parent moved by their precious child's shining moment, while Fenne looked out the window as if to say "How noisy."
Thus, those once called the TRPG faction gathered anew, with new resolve and determination in their hearts.
With a persistently loud, boastful, foolish, and idiotic man placed at their head.
* * *
Subsequently, Kurifoto Keiji was severely scolded by the bakery owner who came to complain about the tremendous noise, and immediately became disheartened.
After that, various critiques continued to come regarding the use of abilities and methods for defeating Takuto Ira, but...
Their story, beginning anew from this point.
=Message═══
The following units have joined player Keiji:
Soarina, the Saint of Splendid Burial
Fenne Kamuel, the Buried-Face Saint
―――