Day 4. The final day.
The festival had finally come to its end.
It felt like it had gone by in a flash, yet also like it had been forever.
"......?"
When I woke up in the morning, my body felt heavy.
Something strangely soft—cool yet warm—was lying on top of me.
Wondering what it was, I lifted the blanket, and there was Shiro's face.
"?"
Snow-white skin.
On that translucent, cold skin sat features so exquisitely crafted they looked like they'd been sculpted with painstaking care—like a doll. No matter the angle, no matter when, no matter how many times you looked, the only word that came to mind was beautiful.
Not cute—just relentlessly, purely beautiful. A white-haired beauty.
For some reason, that face was resting on my chest. Eyes closed, sleeping peacefully.
"...Leucon... Beyaz... Kao... Beyaz... Wof... Abuyadou... Safede... Putee... Saheidu... Pute... Keo... Putihi..."
Same old dream-talk that sounded like incantations. Just sleep-talking... right?
It's not like something's happening because of the Binding Relic or anything.
And two more marshmallow-slime-like bulges were pressing into my stomach.
More than I expected, huh... wait, isn't this direct skin contact?
"Umm..."
"Biilar... Tsagaan... Varukoinen... Witto..."
Why is Shiro on top of me?
And judging by the feel of her skin against mine... she's naked, isn't she.
Actually, Shiro IS naked!
"......"
Right. Pretend I didn't notice. Just move on.
Anyway, I'd been thinking about this since the day before yesterday. All four of them having feelings for me — I get that.
So sleeping together like this, well... I get that too. I get it? ...Do I?
W-well, putting that aside, it felt like there was something more to it.
Sleeping next to me like this seemed to serve some other purpose.
Probably the Witch's doing. The goal, I think... is to make me stronger.
Right now, I'm a building thrown together with rush construction.
Built on cost-performance, a thin budget, and a tight schedule.
All of it was my own selfishness. I'm getting stronger in less time for the sole purpose of beating Arveld.
But this approach is, if anything, a bad move.
Rush construction eventually runs into problems.
There are no easy paths. There's always a price. That's just how it is.
I haven't made peace with that, but there's no turning back now.
"Could it be..."
It hit me. Could the Witch be trying to reduce that cost?
Not just making me stronger, but thinking about what comes after too.
The Witch could pull it off. If anyone could, she could.
— Maybe?
Shiro sat up and echoed my words. Our eyes met — Shiro was lying above me.
My silver eyes. Shiro's white eyes. They looked similar but were different.
Together, they'd make silver-white eyes.
After staring at each other for a moment, Shiro licked her white lips smooth with her tongue.
I thought I caught a faint, somewhat heated smile. Perfect. Let me ask.
But first things first.
— Good morning.
— Morning. What's up?
— I was wondering if sleeping next to each other like this has some kind of purpose.
— It does, actually.
She said it without hesitation.
— I knew it.
— It's the last day, so I'll just tell you. It was the Witch who proposed it.
— I knew it.
I knew it.
— She had us get rid of one of the five beds we originally had, leaving four. Then the Witch suggested taking turns sleeping next to you. At first it was embarrassing, so Shiro and Chaube were both put off by it. Munieca agreed without batting an eye. That somehow felt like losing, so Shiro went along with it and Chaube nodded too. The Witch also explained the purpose of the sleeping arrangements.
— And that purpose is?
— To help you relax, Wof.
"Huh?"
"The Witch said that by helping you relax, the power of your soul vessel and its contents increases. And also by making contact with those who possess strong power."
"Relaxation..."
If anything, it was the opposite, wasn't it? I was tense the entire time.
I mean, every single night I was sleeping next to an incredibly gorgeous woman and a beautiful girl.
And they were naked, or in thin clothing, or naked — honestly, they were naked most of the time.
Plus this pure-white beautiful girl was lying on top of me, in the nude.
Hmm? Isn't that a bit... problematic, how I'm describing all this?
"Those with strong power — that's Shiro and the others, right?"
First-class delvers — their power was unquestionable.
"Yes. She said that the more prolonged skin-to-skin contact you have, the more your soul vessel and the power within it will grow."
"Is it actually growing?"
"It is, apparently. Something like that. Shiro can tell. Good for you."
"...Ah, thank you."
"You're welcome."
Shiro was purring. Like a cat — cute.
Without thinking, I started petting Shiro. She flinched slightly.
Whoops, she was being so cat-like that I just... But Shiro didn't say a word and let herself be petted.
Shiro's white fur was silky-smooth, just a little damp and cool to the touch. It was easy to pet.
As I stroked her, I could feel the sensation of Shiro's two marshmallow-like slime bulges pressing against me.
"Hey, Wof."
"W-what is it?"
"Something hard and warm is poking into Shiro's belly."
"Right. Let's get up!"
I hurriedly pushed Shiro aside and sat up.
Shiro climbed off the bed. I averted my gaze as much as I could.
That was when I ran into Chaibu, who had just gotten out of the bath. A morning bath, huh.
And then Chaibu saw Shiro in the nude and absolutely lost it — but that's another story.
Shiro. Cover yourself.
Today is the final day.
The meeting, too, had no agenda and simply concluded with Alhazard Abra Mirin's closing address.
"Everyone. What is a delver? It is one who explores the very thing before them. Exploring the unknown. Exploring dreams never yet seen. Perhaps exploring life itself. Or perhaps exploring the heart of someone dear. All of those are what it means to be a delver. We are all explorers of everything. This 'Great Ob Rounds' was a first in every way — the venue, everything. There were things unheard of. Truly a festival befitting us, the pinnacle of delvers. Once again, we held this event without incident and brought it to a safe close. My thanks to all of you. I eagerly look forward to meeting you all again five years hence. This concludes the 'Great Ob Rounds' assembly. Explorer Grand Guild, Grand Guild Master — Alhazard Abra Mirin."
And just like that, the "Great Ob Rounds" came to an end.
The afternoon held one final exhibition match.
It was perfectly fitting for a finale.
"Then let us begin the final exhibition match! The finale is a tag match! 'One-Stroke Severance' Kaede Akima and 'Auto Doll' Munieka Eldorado! Facing them, 'Strange Chef' John and 'Human Fo—' No — changed to 'Afterlife Vision System ver. β'!"
You've got to be kidding me. A pink sphere materialized with a soft wobble, and the arena buzzed.
Well, obviously. When a pink sphere suddenly appears out of thin air, of course people are going to buzz.
And when you're told that thing is a Rank I delver, you'd be completely bewildered.
"Victory is determined by surrender or knockout. Killing your opponent is strictly prohibited. Is that understood?"
Well, honestly? In a situation like this, Kaede is practically the only one acting normal.
'Then let us begin!'
Suddenly, the 'Afterlife Vision System ver. β' started firing lasers everywhere.
Lasers shot from the small spheres orbiting the large pink sphere.
"Wha—?!"
Kaede slashed through the lasers. They can actually be cut. She cut through them one after another.
In the meantime, Munieka and Jon clashed.
Jon produced a grotesque giant fish from thin air — six horns, four eyes, three fangs.
He even brought out a kitchen.
On a massive cutting board, he filleted it into three slabs, then cubed it. Masterful knife work.
That red flesh. Could it be tuna? He carefully sliced the cubes thin and arranged them on plates.
He poured soy sauce into small dishes. Done.
Jon shouted.
"Eat this!"
I was stunned. Th-this is sashimi. Actual sashimi.
Wait, why!? Why sashimi!? What is this guy doing?!
"Magnificent, isn't it."
"Peep peep peep peep...!"
"You expect me to eat this?"
"Eat this!"
"Very well. I'll eat it."
She's going to eat it. What is this even. Kaede-san and the pink sphere both watch intently.
Munieka-san takes a single bite and utters one line. Did she really eat it?
"It has a very peculiar and interesting flavor."
So it wasn't good.
The match was won by Munieka-san and Kaede-san.
"And with that, the current 'Great of Rounds' has officially concluded!"
And so the grand festival—four days that were both long and short—came to its true end.
Deep night.
The moon and her daughters revealed themselves in grand splendor, a night sky so filled with stars it was as if they were raining down.
Hydrangea Grand Hall. The arena.
The battlefield, wrapped in a silence so complete it made the scorching clamor of the daytime seem like a lie, held two figures: me and one other.
A young man with wild, sharp, and intelligent golden beauty.
Alverd von Lautbelto.
We face each other.