ALL NOVEL The Strongest Solo Gamer with Terrible Social Skills Reincarnates as a Hated NPC in a VRMMO Chapter 74
74: The Ishio Family Meeting
――SIDE: Ishio Ran――
After I had stopped crying, I handed Aria over to Natsuki and had her taken to the bathroom. Then, I sat down on the living room sofa and let out a deep sigh of relief.
――When I heard from the maid, Natsuki, that Aria had gone missing, I couldn’t believe my ears. And to think that she had gone to ABYSS…!?
“……I’m just glad she’s safe…”
I muttered to myself, feeling exhausted, as I covered my face with my hand. I knew Aria admired explorers and wanted to stand by my side. She had said some sweet things, but… I never thought she’d do something so reckless.
“Hey! Speaking of which, what about Shouma…?”
I asked Marine, who was standing by my side. I had been so caught up in Aria’s disappearance that I hadn’t even thought about Shouma. Where had he gone?
“I was with Lady Aria when I sent her off, but I haven’t seen him since then,” Marine replied.
“……I wanted to hear more about it. Did Shouma go to ABYSS again?”
As I said this, I took out my magical crystal terminal (Portal). Shouma was definitely in Class D, wasn’t he? It was unexpected that carefree Shouma would be so dedicated to exploration. I wonder how far he’s gotten by now? I’m simply curious, so I’ll go check.
……Hmm, Feng Hongyu.
This is Shouma’s fiancée, isn’t it?
[Shooter] LV.8 Feng Hongyu [5F]
Wow, as expected of the eldest daughter of the Feng family.
She’s already reached the 5th floor just a week after enrolling. Her level is 8, and she’s making good progress. She might even be able to hold her own against the upper-class students in Class D.
――This is interesting.
I thought to myself.
“I wasn’t paying attention, but it’s educational to look at the lower-grade students’ classes like this.”
I turned my gaze to the other students.
The student with the number 1 ID is this guy.
[Defender] LV.9 Aoyagi Sousuke [5F]
LV.9…! He’s probably the top candidate for class leader. Since his floor number matches, he might be in a party with Feng. It’s complicated for Shouma.
But what’s my brother’s student ID number? I’ll check one by one, but it’s not on the class list…… I don’t think he’s at the very bottom, but…
“…”
I found it, just as I thought.
At the very bottom of the scroll. That means my brother’s name is listed as the lowest in Class D. My bad feeling was right. If it were the old me, I would have scolded Shouma, saying “You’re embarrassing me!” But I know he’s been working hard lately, so I’ll let it slide this time.
――Anyway, I’ll take a look at Shouma’s information too.
That’s what I thought, when…
“……Huh?”
I saw some incomprehensible numbers, and I rubbed my eyes, thinking it was a mistake…… No way, this can’t be!
[Novice] LV.10 Ishio Shouma [11F]
I was surprised by the LV.10, but what’s even more unbelievable is the floor number.
――The 11th floor…!?
“What, what, what, what, what…!?”
So, what’s going on? Did Shouma really conquer the 10th floor’s boss in just a week?! That scorching hot demon god?! We barely managed to do it, and…! I couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of it all.
…I want to hear other people’s opinions.
“Malene! Take a look at this!!”
“Is it the Portal? Nostalgic… This is the student roster for first-year students, right? And what about Shouma-sama…?!”
Malene, who had turned her gaze to the screen, read the information on Shouma’s profile and was left speechless, just like me.
“Did you see that? And what do you think?”
“What… should I say…? Did someone help him out?”
“In other words, did he not do it on his own?”
“Of course not. It’s impossible for a first-year student who just entered to defeat the floor master.”
“That’s right… I think so too, but…”
Something feels off.
Recently, Shouma has indeed changed. He’s been keeping up with my special training, and today, he even helped discover the hidden room.
As the head of the Ishiru family, he may have finally gained some self-awareness. On the other hand, I couldn’t help but wonder, “Is that really Shouma?”
I should be happy about it, but…
For some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to be happy about my brother’s growth.
How shallow of me.
Do I still have lingering feelings?
“Sister…”
“!”
I noticed someone calling me and turned to face them, and saw my sister, who had just gotten out of the bath, entering the living room. I gave her a reassuring smile to ease her worried expression.
“How are you? Have you calmed down a bit?”
“Sister… I’m sorry to have worried you. I’m fine now.”
“What happened, exactly?”
“Well…”
Aria told me about what she had done – how she had faked her identity to get her hands on the Portal and what had happened inside ABYSS.
What surprised me the most was the part about Shouma.
According to Aria, Shouma had formed a party on his own and reached the 10th floor, defeating the floor master, Majo Ifrit.
…It’s hard to believe, but Aria, who had been opposed to Shouma, was making him out to be some kind of hero. In other words, everything she said was true…?
No, it’s too early to jump to conclusions. I can’t believe everything, but for now, it’s best to go along with Aria’s story and nod in agreement.
I’m not the only one who’s confused. The maids who were listening in nearby, especially Natsumi and Malene, who had many opportunities to interact with Shouma, looked puzzled.
“Sister, I… I want to apologize to Shouma – I mean, Shouma-nii-sama – for what I did in the past.”
“What do you mean by ‘in the past’?”
“I’ve always thought that you should be the head of the Ishiru family, Sister. …No, my feelings haven’t changed even now. But I was wrong about how to make that happen.”
“…”
“I thought that if I drove out Shouma-nii-sama, you would automatically become the head. That’s why I colluded with the maids to thoroughly bully him.”
“Hmm… I knew you were having a bit of a rivalry, but I didn’t think it was that serious…”
As I looked at the maids, they averted their eyes, looking uncomfortable.
“It was all my doing! I’m the one who made a mess of Shouma-nii-sama’s room, made him eat breakfast that had been trampled on, and came up with all sorts of ways to bully him, hoping that he would leave this house!”
“What… did you do all that?!”
I had no idea that such things were happening, even as his sister…!!
…Well, even if I had known, it’s questionable whether I would have stopped it. After all, it’s just a childish squabble, and I might have even egged Shouma on, telling him to take care of it himself.
“……Are you saying we should stop bullying Shōma from now on?”
“Yes.――The maids also, please.”
The maids nodded hastily, saying “I’m sorry.” Although they said so, their inner feelings must be complicated. Humans tend to have a hard time retracting the faces they’ve shown to others. Their confusion was palpable.
“……If that’s decided, then let’s throw a grand party for Shōma’s sake tonight. We also owe it to Ria for her help, don’t we? It’s not a bad idea to hold a party.”
“Party! Then I’ll prepare a handmade cake! Summer! Malone! Please take care of the ingredients! And also, the cooking preparations for that day?”
“Ah, I’m sorry!”
“I’ll take care of it and prepare it for you!”
While looking at the nodding maids, Ria was beaming with excitement, saying it was going to be a fun day.
……I’ve never thought of doing something for my brother before, so this is a fresh and enjoyable experience. As a sister, I’m also happy to see our sibling relationship improving.
“Brother, will you be happy……?”
“Will you try your best for that?”
“—Yeah!”
I placed my hand on Ria’s small shoulder, encouraging my sister. Although she seemed anxious, her determination was strong since we had decided on a course of action.
The remaining problem was Shōma.
I hope Ria’s actions will be forgiven.
――――――――――――――――――――
I posted the original timeline of Shōma’s story on the recent note. When did Shōma and Kōu Akane meet? When did Shōma fall into darkness? What day did Ria come to the Ishiro estate? …and so on. I’ve organized the information that’s hard to grasp just from the main story, so please take a look if you’re interested.
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