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ShangriLa Frontier Chapter 394 Part 1

ShangriLa Frontier Chapter 394: The Assistant Sword Is a Heavenly Machine Part 1

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「…… Eh, you managed to encounter some Bugmen from the Bug Clan? Seriously now?」

「Umm, this is…… Yes, seems like it.」

Just like every other day recently, I was on my way to school alongside Saiga-san. And as usual, the information that Saiga-san related to me came as a huge shock and surprise. So apparently, quite a bit of things managed to happen in ShanFro during my short period of absence.

「It looks like they live in the desert biome just outside the Sea of Trees…… And I also happened to met some…… Grasshopper… hybrid? A hybrid of a bug and a person.」

「Hmm…… You don’t say……」

I’m curious, now I’m really curious to know what I have missed. It is precisely for that reason that I have decided to take a break from Kazegumo President for now. Because if I did not do that, the pile of shame on my shelf would just keep on growing and growing. But since I have managed to progress the story quite a bit, I wanted a change of pace to keep my motivation going.

「And that is precisely why I have arrived here, at the village of the Bug People, but…… Ah!」

「Hm?」

I could feel droplets of rain starting to fall on top of my nose. And then another one and another one. The rain started to fall, gradually increasing its momentum and density. I mean, sure, it was cloudy today, but the probability of rain was rather low, so…… Is this the doing of RNG Gods once more? God damn you, RNG Gods! Why do you keep doing this to me……!?

「And now that I am here, I actually forgot to bring my umbrella with me. Imagine that.」

「Ah, if it’s an umbrella that you want, I have one right here with m…… M-m-m-m-m-m-m…… love parasol?」

「Saiga-san?」

「Ahh! Y-Yesh!?」

Perhaps she must have gotten startled when I called out her name so suddenly like that, because Saiga-san jumped up and shrieked, letting go of the foldable umbrella that was in her hand and letting it fall to the ground. I bent over and picked it up, of course.

「H-Hizutome-kun!?」

「Hm? What is it?」

「Y-Yes! Umm, you see, it’s just…… AHH!?」

Ah, it looks like Saiga-san bit herself on the tongue here.

For a short while Saiga-san looked like she was in severe pain, but after a moment she finally calmed down and faced towards me, opening and closing her foldable umbrella like crazy.

「Umm, t-the thing is…! Getting wet…… Umm, yes, that’s right! Getting wet surely is inconvenient, right!?」

「I guess that you’re right.」

「S-So, it’s precisely because of that……」

「It’s precisely because of this, that……?」

「H-How about sharing an umbrella……!? W-With me, that is……!?」

「Eh? Umbrella sharing? Ahh…… Are you sure it’s fine?」

「It’s okay! It’s really okay, trust me!」

Being presented with a choice like that…… In games, whenever a choice like that is being presented to you, it is wise to make a separate save file, in case the consequences of your choice turn out to be irrevocable. But if it is a multi-ending event, I think that it’s wise to first hear the other party up before actually making a decision.

However, it is actually alright to get a little bit wet when you are leaving home from school, but when you are getting wet when you go to school, this might actually affect your motivation and concentration for the subsequent classes. So it is actually a good idea to avoid getting wet on your way to school if you can help it. In a sense, Saiga-san’s offer here was a literal godsend.

「………………」

DRIP, DRIP, DRIP, DRIP, DRIP, DRIP

「Umm……」

「Y-Yesh……!?」

「Can I take you up on that offer?」

「This is, umm, I mean…… Yes, please! Here you go!」

Because there is quite the difference in our height, Saiga-san had to stretch her arm quite a bit there….. But I guess that this was the best way for her to hold the umbrella. After all, stability is the key in gaming, and even more when you think about RTA’s and creating other various strategies.

「But still, it’s coming down pretty hard there, don’t you think……?」

Drip, drip, drip. The sound of the rain drops hitting against the umbrella was only getting more frequent, creating a rather specific beat to walk by. And since it goes down so hard right now, I highly doubt that it would let go until the school is out as well.

Yeah, since time immemorial the rain has been a subject of various poems and literary pieces. However, as regrettable as it may sound, for us modern people it is nothing more but a source of trouble and inconvenience that affects the transportation. I guess that when it comes to rain, we have lost the original love that we used to have for it…… How unfortunate.

However, there’s no need to worry! This spirit of the past may no longer be present in the modern times, but it is still here! At least when we think of games! But yeah, I think so as well: the rain is ugly and the rain clouds can go blow themselves up for as long as I care.

「Is this…… a dream, perhaps?」

「Saiga-san? Did you say anything?」

「Y-Yeash!? I am fine, thanksh fer ashking!」

「Eh? Ah, yeah, right. If you say so……」

I knew it, the way in which Saiga-san thinks is still a mystery for me…… The way in which she would sometimes bug out reminded me of the Raid Boss to some extent, as he would also go on a murderous rampage completely randomly, every time his switch would be flipped.

Even though the battle against the Raid Boss ended up in my defeat, it was still amazing of an experience. The overall experience of the event, cooperation between Rankers, seeing the Raid Boss giving it everything he had, the look on Kyogoku’s face when she went out in that big explosion….. it was an event full of memories and unexpected situations, that’s for sure.

As for Kyogoku…… Her expression was the best! How do I say it? It was like a spinach. But not the normal kind, no. It was like the spinach that was left in the fridge for about three days and as a result went all limp and soft.

「Ah, Saiga-san, you’d best watch out! The drain canal’s lid is off, so it’s dangerous!」

「Huh? Ah, kyah!」

How should I say it here? I literally had no idea that people who would be able to slip their legs on a straight road like that existed in this world. And even though it would be easier to slip on a rainy day like this one, it would take a special kind of dedication to slip up like that.

In the end, Saiga-san slipped here and lost her balance, flailing her arms about. Of course, I reached out towards her to help her.

「Uwoooh!?」

「Hayhah!?」

And once more here, I don’t know how to say this, but…… I did not know that there are people in this world who are able to prevent themselves from a fall all on their own like that. More on that down below.