Chapter 1288 Reaching for the ‘’Solution” At Hand Part 1

Despite all of my previous fears and prejudices against the neighborhood and its inhabitants, allow me to say this here: the neighborhood is actually a pretty nice and amusing place, at least when you give it a chance and actually get to know its people. Not to mention the fact that all those different people with their different opinions turned out to contain quite a great amount of knowledge when it comes to the game itself and things that I would normally miss out on or simply omit. So at the current moment I feel as though my level of familiarity with it is off the charts! However, even if the limiters for certain hobbies can be utterly destroyed by people such as Takeda-san or that whole Turnip Farmer, I still had my share of fun while being there. But the thing is…… I think that this environment is really toxic and you would either need to have a certain level of maturity or a really thick skin to be there without suffering damage to your mental health. Now I do have to wonder, is that how things really are on those message boards? Or could it be that only this one was this cursed? And the fact that everyone considered me to be a small girl from a good house certainly wasn’t helping their case.

「Kuaaahhh…… Ah, if it isn’t Rei-san.」

「Ahh, good……morning, Rakuro…… -kun……」

「…… Hmm?」

For some strange reason or whatever, Rei-san was pressing two cans of juice against her cheeks with her hand, an action that was so bizarre that it actually made me tilt my head in puzzlement. But putting that strange occurrence aside, since the topic of Death Game Rebellion Online! seemed to be still fresh in both of our minds, it might actually be a good idea to discuss it in greater detail while we continue to walk to school.

「……In other words, it seems to be that this game was designed to be Player Versus Player kind of experience for a while before it was eventually changed to be something else entirely.」

「I-Is that so? I had my own suspicions about that, but I would never think that it was actually true.」

「Yes, it would certainly seem that way to me…… Oh, and while we are still on the subject, Rei-san? Aren’t you cold dressed like that?」

「N-No, not really. It’s just right this way, so I am alright, I’m not cold at all…… Please, don’t worry about it.」

「Or, please forgive me for prying like that, but…… Maybe you have come down with a cold and you simply did not realize that yet?」

「No, I am certain that I do not have a cold…… Most probably. At least I think so……」

After Rei-san said that, what accompanied us for a while was nothing more but the sound of silence.

「Ahh, umm, the thing is…… Umm, yesterday…… About yesterday, oh, wha was it that I wanted to say……? Umm, this is……」

「Ahh, that’s right. Yesterday surely was filled with a whole lot of tension, wasn’t it……? It is certainly something I would not wish to repeat in the nearby future if I could help it……」

「Hauh, p-please don’t remind me about that.」

PLOP! And with that distinct sound Rei-san smashed the cans filled with juice against her cheeks once again. Under this cold and blue sky, it’s a very novel way of asking someone not to remind them about certain things, that’s for sure. But then again, that’s just so much like Rei-san to do……

「No, umm, you see, it’s just that…… Umm, this is, about that, the thing is……」

「No, you see, there is no need to actually tell anyone else what you did or what you happened to experience there…… And I mean, those things might looked nasty and traumatic, but I believe that by experiencing those things and overcoming them human beings tend to grow on a personal level, and our character also improves…… The only thing that is needed there is time……」

Not to mention that things like that may seem embarrassing and cringey to us at the current moment, but I a few years’ time or in some distant future we are certainly going to look back at those experiences with a smile on our lips and while having a good laugh out of it. That’s what good memories are for, to look upon them with nostalgia and the feeling of pleasant warmth filling your chest. On the other hands, there are also memories upon which you cannot bear to look at, even after some time or a whole bunch of time already manage to pass. But those are not pleasant memories, that is something closer to an open wound in nature. And with things like that, you only wish that you could forget all about them.

「No, umm…… Yes, this is, umm, if possible…… Yes, I would really like to forget all about it. And if possible…… if you could forget all about it as well……」

「No, I mean, gee, I don’t really know, you know……? I mean…… Whoa, that was really something. Like, its impact was huge! Definitely something that you would find difficult to simply sweep under a rug and forget it just like that.」

「EEEHHH!? R-Rakuro-kun! You can’t be serious!? Please, tell me that you are joking! Please!!!」

「No. I. Am. Dead. Serious. Right. Now. Can’t. You. Tell?」

Now, I know that this is not all that good to make fun of the black history of other people, especially since Rei-san was apparently just a newbie when it comes to making history like that, but in all seriousness, this is a top notch entertainment for people such myself, hahaha…… Honestly, since Rei-san is always such an earnest and hard—working type, seeing her make cringey memories like the ones of Death Game Rebellion Online! is even more amusing and interesting to watch. So…… yeah, that’s that.

「I-I knew it! You’re making fun of me, aren’t you, Rakuro-kun!? You are totally making fun of me right now!!」

「No, I swear that this wasn’t my intention here, not at all. I really AM curious about it, you see. But you know what would be even more interesting here, Rei-san? If the tone of your voice suddenly turned into that of Kyogoku. Don’t you think that this would have been amusing as well?」

「Kuh…… Uuuhhh, Rakuro-kun, you meanie……!!!」

At this exact moment Rei-san’s face was an even brighter shade of red from embarrassment than it would usually be. And in response to that, she slapped her cheeks with her double canned juice combo once again. But still, that expression on her face just now…… Yes, that’s it. This is the expression of someone who just set sail onto their very first pioneering voyage over the seas of black history. Now then, I can say that this was certainly one hell of an amusing walk to school. So much, in fact, that before we could even notice, we were already so close to school that we could already see the school building. Man, time sure flies by so fast when you are having fun!