228 – 228 – Summer. festival. Fireworks #3
228 – Summer. festival. Fireworks #3
Nike runs into the darkness with her hair in two ponytails.
As I was about to leave the club room to catch Nike, Victoria grabbed my arm.
“do not go.”
“Now Nike is—”
“I told you not to go. I.”
This situation was quite strange and embarrassing.
Nike, who overheard our conversation, might have been hurt in many ways.
That’s right, if you heard ‘Victor, you’re getting hurt because of Nike’, it wouldn’t be strange for Nike, who is sensitive in his own way, to be shocked.
In addition.
I still didn’t know what Victoria was talking about from Orca and why she was doing this.
There was a need to have a serious talk, but there is not enough time right now.
Kwaaak.
Victoria’s arms gripped me tightly.
I feel the will to not let go.
I’ll have to give it my strength to get over it like this.
Then one of them might get hurt.
So said.
“Let go, Victoria.”
“I can’t let go.”
“Victoria, I don’t know what you heard and said. It’s not like you.”
“… … .”
Now Nike’s figure has completely disappeared from my sight.
But it’s okay.
If you follow him right now, you will find Nike wherever he goes.
However, Victoria had no sign of letting go of my hand yet.
Even for me, this situation makes me a little impatient.
Are you going to carry all the way to Victoria Car like this?
Seruk.
Then Victoria let go of my arm.
I don’t know what kind of change of heart there was, but it was a good opportunity for me.
“… … .”
But for some reason, my footsteps do not fall easily.
I had a hunch that if I left Victoria alone in this room, in many ways, irreversible things would happen.
In other words.
I felt like I was being forced to make a choice.
Victoria and Nike.
If you choose one of the two, you don’t know if you will be alienated from the rest in many ways.
It’s a crueler double-deal than you think.
Which direction should I choose from here?
Think calmly.
The answer came quickly.
“Victorica, I still don’t know what you’ve learned. If you had explained it in more detail, I might have been here as you said.”
pod.
I hurriedly ran into the darkness where Nike disappeared.
The kong clings to my back like that.
ㅡKong-Kong… !
“That’s great.”
He is a born hunter.
I’m good at keeping track of things.
Maybe it will help to track down Nike, who may have gone somewhere.
“Kongkong, find out where Nike might have gone.”
ㅡKong-Kong… !
A kunky on my shoulder pointing to the right with its forelegs.
Following the guy’s words, I headed right at several forks in the road.
ㅡKong-Kong… !
Is it left this time?
After chasing Nike for a long time, a familiar road appeared.
This road was the way to the living content type field 「Forest of Sacred Trees」 that opens after the ending.
It was also the place where I first met Nike.
Susa sasa sasa-.
Forest on a windy summer night.
-Hooong… .
“You mean Nike is somewhere here?”
The forest is large and wide.
On this dark night, I thought that if Nike had decided to hide, I wouldn’t be able to find him. But for some reason I also felt like I knew where Nike might be.
that buck
Stepping on branches, I entered the forest.
“It’s been a while since I came to the forest at night.”
Insects of summer chirping loudly.
Looking up at the sky, the starlight seen through the branches is like pouring rain.
The fact that I was once homeless here seemed like a dream when I thought about it now.
But the good thing is that this is a field for life content, so dangerous monsters do not appear.
And when it comes to the geography of this forest, I am quite bright.
Bubbly.
Stepping on dry leaves and fresh grass, I headed towards the simple hut where I had stayed before.
It might be more accurate to describe it as a place where I met and lived with Nike earlier.
I could say that it is a remnant of a miserable life in many ways and at the same time a place with memories in its own way.
When I got there, something was crouching in what looked like a crumbling hut.
It was like a raccoon curled up to hibernate in the winter.
“Nike.”
“… … .”
Nike didn’t answer when I called.
I want to hear the wooden stick just in case.
Then, as I poked at the inside of the hut, something growled loudly with a rustling sound. Apparently Nike was very angry.
“Nike, I don’t know what you heard, but I think you should calm down first. I don’t think Victoria said that out of malice either.”
A continuous growling sound.
It was clear that Nike’s heart was pouting and hurt.
“Come with me and talk to Victoria. If there is a misunderstanding, clear it up, and if there is something we couldn’t tell each other, talk about it. Talking is free.”
The growl gets louder and louder.
Nike didn’t seem to want to talk to me much.
It is said that Nike often showed his instinctive and wild appearance as a druid, but isn’t this the first time ever?
“Nike.”
I put my hand inside the hut.
Then something grabs my hand and bites it.
“Ugh.”
It hurt.
I never thought Nike would even bite me.
“If you feel relieved by biting me, so be it.”
“Victor, what are you doing there?”
“… … ?”
I turned my head.
Then, in the darkness, in the moonlight seeping through the branches, I saw a girl with pink hair hanging down to the left and right, standing looking at me.
“Nike.”
“What are you doing there?”
“Then who is in here?”
What the hell is this guy hiding in the hut biting my hand?
I was having a conversation with me just a while ago——if I had to say the conversation, I was talking one-sidedly to myself, but anyway.
Seruk.
I tried to take the bitten hand out of the hut.
Then, a four-legged beast with impressive soft and chubby brown hair protrudes along with my hand.
– Grrr… !
“raccoon?”
The guy was a real raccoon.
No, I thought it wasn’t Nike.
I was quite shocked because in many ways the stories I had just said had turned to nothing.
“No, it was a real raccoon.”
pat-.
The raccoon let go of my hand and disappeared somewhere in the bush.
Nike asked, just as I was staring blankly at the tail and plump ass disappearing into the distance.
“Victor, what are you doing here? I’ve come to pick mushrooms and herbs and some herbs from the forest. On a moonlit night like today, you can see the mushrooms well, so you can collect a lot.”
Nike talked about stories that he didn’t have to be curious about.
But I already knew that Nike was pretty bad at lying.
Nike didn’t come to the forest to pick mushrooms or herbs.
It just ran away in many ways.
However, it seemed that he wanted to make the fact that he had overheard our conversation disappear. Did he think I wouldn’t notice or did he want me to?
Of course, covering up the problem didn’t solve the problem.
If you ignore it because it’s a nuisance, it’s because you don’t know if you’ll end up suffering in many ways with interest that you won’t be able to ignore someday.
* * *
Fire.
A fire burns.
“Victor, you still light the fire.”
It seems that the sparks I created with the skill «Make a bonfire» were quite impressive.
Even though it was summer, the forest was a bit cool.
Tumble, thump, thump.
Nike relaxed his shoulders as if relieved by the rising flames.
On top of the flame, I put the pot I had obtained from the hut.
After pouring water, the mushrooms and herbs that Nike had collected were boiled.
“Come to think of it, Nike was boiling the pot like this when I first met you in the forest.”
“… … .”
Like a wild animal, Nike was drawn to the delicious smell.
“Now that I think about it, a lot of things seem to have happened there.”
Nike looks at the bubbling pot.
The guy said soon.
“… Does Viktor think so too?”
“what.”
“You started to get hurt, Viktor, after meeting me… .”
“You’ve heard the story, too.”
“… … .”
Nike shut up.
I also shut my mouth for a while and was lost in thought.
Everything I’m going through is happening because of Nike.
In a way, it might not be a lie.
Newly released DLC.
Looking at Nike’s face shining in the advertisement, I waited for the release date.
If I hadn’t downloaded the game back then, hadn’t bought the DLC, I might not have fallen into this bizarre world.
If so, what was I doing?
Did he just live a normal life because he paid off all his debts?
But what is ‘normal’ anyway?
I couldn’t imagine it because it was something I’d never had before.
“Before… .”
Nike opens her mouth small.
“It has been like that before. People said it was hard because of me. I’m sick… . It was because of me that the war broke out. The death of my father or mother… .”
“who?”
Nike did not respond to my words.
However, listening to the story, it seems that Nike has heard a story like today.
I heard such a story from Victoria’s mouth again today, so it’s not strange if I was shocked and ran wild.
“Certainly, after meeting you, the number of injuries has increased.”
Nike is shocked and surprised.
Something looked very depressed.
“But not because of you. everything I chose Nike, you’re a great person, but honestly not that great. You don’t have the ability to hurt anyone around you.”
When I talk about it, it seems like an insult.
But in my own way, I wanted to comfort Nike.
Was my heart conveyed well?
Nike opened his mouth slightly.
“Cain.”
“Cain?”
“The man told me. It all happened because of me. On that day, the night the palace was burning. I still remember.”
“is it.”
“me. I want to talk to Miss Victoria. Actually, I had something to say before.”
Nike got up from his seat.
He seemed to have gained courage.