Volume 13 Chapter 283 Kohina Yukari, Neighbors Cannot Be Chosen
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
After parting with Aqua, I started breaking rocks by the roadside with a pickaxe to gather stone materials.
”Phew, I’ve gathered quite a bit,” I muttered, wiping my brow.
Boredom began to creep in, but this should be enough. I opened my Item Box.
[Bad News: Kohina Yukari-san gets bored of gathering in five minutes.]
[Can’t even build, let alone farm.]
[Is this the team with a leader who’s just a burden?]
[Inko is working hard on building, so you should work hard too.]
[Meanwhile, Aqua-kun is steadily gathering wood while chatting away…]
[↑Aqua-sama likes simple tasks like that. When playing with Toa-chan, he was always chatting with listeners while gathering.]
Ah, seriously!! Why are these the only kinds of people in my comment section!?
For Aqua’s stream, even just cutting down a tree earned him comments like You’re awesome! Keep it up! You’re amazing! But mine?
Is this environmental destruction? We’ve come from an environmental protection group. You’re using the tools wrong.
Nothing but snide remarks! Ugh!
If anything, I want comments like Wow, Kohina Yukari-san can farm for five minutes, you’re incredible! or Kohina Yukari-sama, let’s leave the hard farming to Useless Aqua!. At least say something that shows you care about me!
”Shut up! It’s not my fault I’m bored!! Besides, I’m the leader—I’ve got other things to do!!”
I shoved the pickaxe into my inventory and began walking toward a slightly farther spot.
[Oh, are you slacking off?]
[Leader’s job → slacking off.]
[Aqua-kun! There’s someone slacking off here!]
[Aqua-kun, it’s funny how he foresaw this and made a pickaxe, gathering rocks while preparing.]
[↑As expected of Aqua-sama!!]
[Aqu-tan really understands Kohina Yukari.]
[↑Wait a second. This is starting to sound like a married couple who really know each other, and that kind of annoys me!]
Huh? He’s gathering rocks instead of me…? Not bad. This must be the result of my daily training.
Actually, that would make things easier.
”All right! I’ll leave the gathering to him and go explore the surroundings!” I declared, pumping a fist.
I widened the distance a bit and began scouting the area. It always became a pain when other teams built too close to our base.
A few seconds after I started my exploration, I spotted someone’s building sitting in a key location.
[Whose building could it be?]
[Since it’s not a straw hut, they must be better at the game than Kohina Yukari!]
[This place is close to her, so it might be dangerous if it gets raided.]
[What’s a raid?]
[↑It means being attacked.]
[This spot’s on the way to a material collection point, so having a building here is a pain.]
[Hey, idiot. Don’t walk up so boldly when you’ve got materials! You’ll get robbed!!]
[At least drop the materials at base first!]
Huh? Why do I have to go back? That’s such a hassle.
Still, I approached the building head-on and shouted in open chat:
”Who’s here!? You’re in the way, so move somewhere else!!”
No response.
I pulled out my pickaxe again and slammed it against the metal shutter.
clang clang.
[Forcing someone to move is scary…]
[You mean please move, right?]
[The moving force actress has arrived!]
[Don’t force them to move with a 3-3-7 clap, lol.]
[Thanks for the materials!]
Hah, hah… Hey! This shutter’s hard—it’s not breaking at all!!
Then, a voice called out from inside—faint and uncertain.
”W-who is it…!?”
”Huh?” I paused mid-swing. “Whose voice is that…?”
I lowered my pickaxe and answered sharply.
”It’s me! Kohina Yukari! Hurry up and open this door!!”
”Y-yes! Right away!”
Oh, they’re surprisingly compliant.
A few seconds later, the shutter slowly began to rise.
[Hagetoru has arrived!]
[Isn’t that Hagetoru, lol?]
[So that’s what Hagetoru sounds like.]
[Run, Kohina Yukari!]
[Don’t let them get close to Aqua-sama!]
[No—rather, get them close to Aqua-kun!!]
[Hagetoru, the chance has come. In the confusion, have Aqua-sama take responsibility for some in-game fun!]
Hagetoru is definitely Emily-chan, right? Aha, I see. So that’s why she’s changing her voice—trying not to get caught.
”W-w-wait, I surrender!” Emily-chan emerged from the house, both hands raised high.
”Huh. How commendable to surrender voluntarily,” I said, resting the pickaxe on my shoulder. “I was gonna beat her and take her coins, but I’ll let it slide for honesty.”
”So, please let me join the Kohina Yukari army!” she said, eyes shining.
Huh? What should I do…?
Kanon-san had previously warned me that while Emily-chan could approach Aqua, Hagetoru shouldn’t be allowed near him.
[Good! Hagetoru!!]
[You too will get close to Aqua-sama!!]
[Whoa!!!]
[Finally, the encounter that all the board members dreamed of—Aqua-sama and Hagetoru!!!]
[Go for it! Hagetoru, go!!!]
[Please! Kohina Yukari, show us the interaction between Aqua-sama and Hagetoru!]
[Kohina Yukari—no, Kohina Yukari-sama, please!!]
[RamenHagetoru: Please!!]
[↑Hey, lol]
[Don’t flood the comment section too, lol]
[Hagetoru, that’s ghosting behavior.]
[↑In this tournament, ghosting is allowed; you can freely watch the opponent’s stream.]
Hmm, hmm, hmm. What should I do… I drummed my fingers against the pickaxe. Emily-chan’s alone. She’d get bored by herself, but I don’t want Kanon-san to hate me either…
Then, I offered a compromise.
”Got it. You can’t join the team—but the Hagetoru team will be part of our alliance. You understand what that means, right?”
”Y-yes! I’ll gather materials in Kohina Yukari-san’s place…” she said, bowing deeply.
Very well.
She can’t officially join, but this way, Emily-chan still gets to enjoy the game.
It’s different with her, but as Hagetoru, team-up options are limited.
[Kohina Yukari is stingy.]
[By the way, have these two played games together before?]
[This response is correct. No matter how great Aqua-sama is, you need a buffer when it comes to Hagetoru.]
[I thought it’d be a no-go at first, but this team’s got a shot.]
[↑Even if Kohina Yukari is kind of a mess, having Aqua-sama, Inko, and Hagetoru on the same side is huge.]
[↑Don’t forget about Morikawa!]
[↑That guy’s useless. He got caught by Kanon-nee-san’s team and locked in a cage.]
[Morikawa was supposed to play with Aqua-kun, but now he’s in a rivalry with Kanon-sama’s team.]
[↑On stream, Morikawa said with a straight face that his time to be popular had finally come.]
[↑LOL]
[For Morikawa, either team would’ve been fine.]
I received several materials from Emily-chan.
”Hmm, you’ve got a lot of scrap, don’t you?” she said, sifting through the pile. “This’ll come in handy.”
”Well then,” she added, brushing off her hands, “I’ll come check on you again in an hour. Oh, and please have 1,000 sulfur ready by then.”
”Yes! I’ll gather 3,000 before you come next time!!” she shouted, already sprinting toward the cave entrance.
All right! Since Emily-chan’s gathering materials for me, I won’t need to farm anymore. My farming problem’s practically solved!
[T-This guy, LOL]
[I see, so this is the strategy of a player with 1,000 hours of playtime.]
[↑Actually, it’s faster to steal from someone than to gather materials yourself.]
[Isn’t this enough for Kohina Yukari’s job?]
[↑True. If I want to beat Kanon-sama and Nee-san’s team, I have to do at least this much.]
[Kohina Yukari is good at negotiations and leadership, so this is fine.]
[↑In this case, it’s not negotiation but extortion, lol.]
[Well, I’m glad Hagetoru joined the alliance. In this game, there are limits to what you can do alone.]
[↑I get it. Anyway, the only ones who could pick up Hagetoru were Kanon-sama and Nee-san’s team, or Mary-sama and Prime Minister Habu’s team, who’ve played together, or here with Kohina Yukari.]
I retraced my steps to bring back the items Emily-chan had offered.
I had to be careful. If I died on the way, I’d drop the Ai items—and someone else could steal them.
Just as that thought crossed my mind, an arrow grazed the avatar’s hair.
”Hey! That’s dangerous!” I shouted in the direction the arrow had come from. “Quit sneaking around and shooting from cover!”
*Rustle*.
A familiar figure stepped from the bushes.
”Oh, I’m sorry,” Aqua said, lowering her bow. “I mistook you for a bear. And Kohina-senpai.”
”Wait—it’s you!?” I blinked, exhaling.
I sighed in relief as Aqua emerged into full view.
”Geez! We nearly shot each other!” I said, pressing a hand to my chest. “We seriously need to come up with a signal next time.”
[Tch!]
[Aqua-kun, so close!]
[Next time, let’s definitely take it down!!]
[Aqua-sama, it’s the wild little bear Yukari—run away!]
[Good news, Inko is usable.]
[↑I watched Inko’s stream earlier, and I’m relieved to see it’s a proper base.]
[Inko has been practicing all week.]
[Wow, they’ve already completed a tower in the center of the base. Inko is capable.]
[Unlike Kohina Yukari, who took over 15 minutes to build a straw tofu hut.]
I joined up with Aqua, and together we headed back to the base.
Huh. It’s… slightly better than what I built.
”Thanks for the base, Inko-san,” Aqua said, dropping the haul in the crate. “I’ll leave the materials here.”
”Thank you, Aqua-kun,” she said warmly. “And Yukari also brought back a lot, huh?”
Well, not exactly. I didn’t gather any of this—Emily-chan did. Speaking of which…
”I added Emily-chan and RamenHagetoru to the alliance,” I said, brushing the dust from my gloves.
”RamenHagetoru!?” Inko choked. “Is that really okay?”
”Hagetoru… isn’t that the person who’s always getting banned in our comment section?” Aqua asked, eyes narrowing.
Their avatars’ faces tensed slightly.
”It’s fine,” I reassured them with a wave. “They’re not part of the team, just the alliance. If something goes wrong, we can always break it.”
[Aqua-kun is being cautious LOL]
[This is a natural reaction LMAO]
[The usually laid-back Aqua-sama is being cautious!?]
[Hagetoru, you’re amazing…]
[Good news, Aqua-sama recognized Hagetoru, who often gets banned in the comment section]
[↑This is only exciting for the forum folks]
I left the items in the storage box, then let everyone else handle farming and construction while I patrolled the surrounding area.
If someone tried building too close again—like last time—I’d “invite” them into the alliance.
”Hmm, seems like no one’s around here,” I murmured, checking the perimeter.
My gaze drifted to the kill log scrolling across the bottom left of the screen.
Whoa. I didn’t know where it was happening, but the kill feed was going wild. Kotono-san’s name had shown up earlier—what was going on over there?
[Nee-san has already gotten 10 kills.]
[Nee-san and Mary-sama are too much. They’re hunting down anyone they see, lol.]
[I thought Kanon-sama was being quiet, but maybe she’s building.]
[Everyone seems to be clustered nearby.]
[Huh? Isn’t this team’s base kind of isolated?]
[↑Everyone wants to get close to Aqua-sama, but even more so, they don’t want to get close to Kohina Yukari.]
[With Hagetoru at the front and Kohina Yukari at the back, no one can approach.]
[↑That’s true, lol.]
[Kohina Yukari’s base building is terrible, but her defense is perfect, lol.]
[About the base that Mary-sama has been destroying, which is being built by Furia-sama—]
[↑It’s over, lol.]
[Stars namonamo.]
No one around here. I guess I’ll head back to base for now.
Aqua was working hard to gather materials, so we should have plenty of weapons and gear.
Back at base, I dumped the items I’d picked up along the way into the box.
Everyone in the comments kept saying I wasn’t doing anything—but collecting loot like this would be useful later. Hmph!
”Huh? Where’s Aqua?” I asked, glancing around the empty main room.
”He just came back,” Inko replied. “Said he was going on a little trip after handing over his equipment.”
Hmm. Maybe I’ll check out the area where the kill logs were going crazy—after I grab gear from Inko.
Before I could move, the screen shook violently with a loud impact.
*Boom*.
”What the—!?” I yelped. “Who’s attacking us!?”
Inko and I peeked through the gap in the base wall toward the commotion.
”Give back Aqua-kun!”
”Give back Aqua-sama!”
Two figures rushed toward us. One of them was wielding a Rocket Launcher.
”Give back Aqua-kun!!”
”Give back Aqua-sama!!”
Wait—only one had the launcher. The other was waving an enormous flag printed with a black-and-white photo of Aqua.
”Aqua-kun is alive!?” one of them shouted. “Wait, what!? Why did you pick that photo!? It looks like a memorial portrait you see at summer Koshien [T/N: Japan’s national high school baseball tournament]! Don’t just declare Aqua-kun dead like that!”
Wait a second—looking closely…
Isn’t that… Emily-chan!?
She was the one waving the flag with both hands like her life depended on it.
That girl! I let her join the alliance—and she betrayed me!!
Clack
The second rocket hits. The building shudders with a low groan.
”Aahhhhhh!” I shout, half-laughing, half-panicked. My stomach hurts from laughing too hard.
”Hey, Inko! Hurry up and do something!” I yell over the mic.
”Even if you tell me that,” she snapped, “the gun and bullets I handed Yukari were all I had!”
I grit my teeth. No choice, huh? Fine. I’ll handle it.
I shift position, aim through the shattered wall—two enemies in my sights.
”Return Aqua-sama! Return the position of Mom!” Emily-chan screeches.
First, the noisy one.
I take down Emily-chan with a single shot.
Phew. Quiet now.
”Return Aqua-sama! Even though I’m not his wife, why are you getting so close?!”
The real Emily-chan respawns fast and reenters the field.
Of course. Her base is nearby. Geez, seriously!
[Not his wife, yet getting so close?]
[By the way, she’s hiding in Shirogane Kingdom.]
[Hagetoru, that’s good. Keep going, defeat Kohina Yukari and free Aqua-kun from this team!]
[Huh, Hagetoru is actually capable.]
[Here comes the reevaluation of Hagetoru!]
[That’s right! Hagetoru, say more!!]
I pick her off again, then swing my sights toward Mikuni.
”Return Aqua-kun!” I shout.
”Hmph!” Mikuni snapped. “If you care so much, you should’ve been there instead of running away when he was born! If you want Aqua back, defeat me!”
A third rocket slams into me—bam [smack].
My character collapses.
”Ughhhhh!” I groan.
I messed up. Teased her out of habit. Should’ve just shot straight.
”…Indeed, you’re right,” I mutter. “Back then, I said it was for Aqua-kun and Marin-chan, but it was really just me… too scared to confront the nobility.”
Mikuni drops the Rocket Launcher with a heavy clunk [thud].
”Kohina Yukari… I have a request,” he says. “Fight me. One-on-one.”
”…Hmph! Sounds good,” I reply, standing tall. “I’m in. Better than guns or rocket launchers any day.”
I toss my weapon aside and step out of the base.
”Inko, I’m sorry if I lose,” I say quietly.
[Here comes the one-on-one!]
[World, are you watching? Guns and rocket launchers mean nothing.]
[(The final) Yui Bureau will end with a fist-to-fist showdown.]
[It really is about power. by a power cult believer]
[Guns have been proven ineffective against Aqua-sama.]
[When it comes to Aqua-sama’s class, I’m starting to think even a rocket launcher could be caught bare-handed.]
[↑ I get it lol]
[↑ It’s unlikely, but with Aqua-sama, it seems possible LOL]
[The most peaceful dialogue resolution method in the world → one-on-one with fists.]
[From now on, if anything happens, let’s settle it in the real world with a one-on-one against the head of state. Words aren’t necessary.]
[↑ No one can beat Prime Minister Habu, right?]
[↑ Even if Prime Minister Habu weakens, Morikawa, Aqua-kun, and Iria are waiting in the wings.]
I face Mikuni, unarmed, stripped of all gear.
Wait—why is Emily-chan also stripped?
She wasn’t even fighting. Why make your avatar completely naked?
Focus, focus. Not the time for that.
At Emily-chan’s signal, Mikuni and I charge.
[Go, Mikuni-sama!]
[Mikuni-sama, do your best!!]
[Please bring back Aqua-sama. Mikuni-sama!!]
[Hang in there, Mikuni-sama!!]
[Breaking news, in the comments for Kohina Yukari-san. No one is supporting Kohina Yukari-san.]
[↑ LOL]
[Shirogane Marin: Good luck, Kohina Yukari-san.]
[↑ My future mother-in-law!?]
[Marin-san, unexpectedly supporting Kohina Yukari!?]
[Considering that Marin-san probably struggled raising a child alone and managing a company, I can understand her feelings. Of course, on the surface, it’s probably already resolved, but that’s separate from this.]
[↑ Indeed.]
[When you think about it, Kohina Yukari, who protected Aqua-kun when Mikuni-sama wasn’t around, is the only one allowed to punch Mikuni-sama. I get it now.]
[↑ Thanks for the easy-to-understand explanation.]
[Kohina Yukari, do your best!]
[Kohina Yukari, today, it’s okay to win!]
[The flow has changed.]
[Ah!]
[Won. Kohina Yukari won!]
[Wooooooahhhhhh!]
Huff, huff, huff.
I keep my breathing under control, hiding the tremble in my fingers.
Mikuni doesn’t even play much… that was way too close.
Still, I face the camera with a smug grin.
[She’s smug, but she almost lost just now, LOL.]
[Kohina Yukari-san, who isn’t good at the game, having a close match with Mikuni-sama, who has played for 1000 hours.]
[I’m really glad I won.]
[Mikuni-sama, in the end, intentionally missed the attack…]
[↑ Only Kohina Yukari could make someone trying to lose on purpose feel considerate.]
[Phew, I’m glad.]
[I never thought it would go from “Give Aqua-kun back!” to this, haha.]
[Both of you fought well.]
I respawn and walk up to Mikuni’s character.
We shake hands firmly.
”Thank you, Kohina Yukari,” Mikuni says. “I don’t think this makes up for anything, but I feel a little clearer now.”
”Hmph,” I reply, folding my arms. “If you want another punch, come at me. But don’t overthink it. I don’t think your choice back then was wrong.”
I glance away, voice softening.
”I also… ran away. From home.”
(Yeah. I ran too. Aqua helped us make up, but I’d walked out on the nobility myself.)
So, I don’t have the right to criticize Mikuni. The taunts earlier? I was just saying what Aqua couldn’t.
”Kohina Yukari…” she murmurs.
W-What? Don’t look at me like that!
I jerk my gaze away from her avatar.
”Also… as for returning, why don’t you just join the same team?” I say, still avoiding eye contact. “What are you hesitating for?”
I send the invite without turning back to the camera.
[Tsundere activated!]
[Oh, oh, oh, Kohina Yukari-san, is the tsundere coming out!?]
[I never thought I’d see Kohina Yukari’s dere side.]
[This guy, not only in character but even in real life, is turning her face away, lol.]
[I cried.]
[Kohina Yukari, you’ve grown up, haven’t you…!!]
[Aqua-kun said that if you’re a man, it’s fine to have as many moms as you want.]
[↑As expected, Aqua-sama!]
[I also heard Aqua-kun mumble in his sleep during a stream, “All the girls in this world are my moms!? Woohoo!”]
[↑As expected!! Aqua-sama!!]
[(Conclusion) theory: after all, it’s Aqua-sama.]
[Thanks to Aqua-sama’s recognition of all girls as moms, the faction wars over moms have disappeared from this world.]
The team list in the lower-left corner now displayed Mikuni’s name.
For a second, I worried that my lack of popularity had gotten us rejected—but they joined right away. I let out a quiet breath of relief.
”…Kohina Yukari, thank you,” Mikuni murmured.
”Wait! I’ll say it first, but don’t thank me for something like this!” I snapped.
Th-this isn’t that kind of thing!!
I glared straight into the camera lens.
[Scary LOL]
[Is that a sign of embarrassment? LOL?]
[Kohina Yukari, it’s pointless to do that now.]
[Yeah, yeah. Your dere is already exposed!]
[RamenHagetoru: 2828]
[↑Ah]
[Kohina Yukari, quickly catch Hagetoru.]
[Mikuni-sama, the instigator is Hagetoru, who incited this situation!!]
[You idiot. Hagetoru, stop playing in the comments and run already!]
Oops, right—the traitor’s punishment was still pending.
I grabbed Emily-chan by the scruff of her hoodie as she tried to spin and bolt.
”Guh!?”
I plopped her down in front of a flustered Mikuni.
”You were just betraying us, weren’t you?” I asked, folding my arms.
”N-no, um, hehe… I-it was just a joke and a bit of fun, right? More importantly, look,” she said, gesturing sheepishly.
What’s with that hand? If you’re going to offer something, just show it already!!
”Huh? Um, how about inviting me to the team…?”
”Huh!? Why should I invite [you]—who betrayed the alliance!?” I snapped. “I’d rather cuff you and make you live in a cage for three days!”
Emily-chan’s avatar slumped, its expression twisted in despair.
Don’t look so pitiful. I-it’s your fault for betraying us in the first place.
And stop giving me those eyes, Mikuni and Inko!!
”Ah! Fine! I get it!” I said, flinging up my hands. “Since you betrayed us, I can’t invite you to the team yet—but I’ll give you one more chance as an ally. Don’t mess it up again!”
”Ahh, thank you so much~!” she chirped.
Wait a minute!
Don’t cling to my character! Enough already!
[I’m glad〜]
[Hagetoru, make sure to take it seriously next time!]
[That’s right! That’s right!]
[You guys, when Hagetoru first jumped in, you were clapping and cheering, but you flipped your reactions way too fast lol]
[LMAO]
Wait, huh? Doesn’t it feel a bit… heavier?
My character moved slower than usual.
”Hey, doesn’t it feel heavy?” I asked.
”I feel it too,” Mikuni said, frowning.
”W-wait, me too…” Emily-chan added.
Apparently, it wasn’t just me.
”Kohina-senpai! Can you hear me?” Aqua’s voice crackled through the comms.
”Yes, yes, I can hear you,” I replied.
It seemed Aqua, who was off gathering materials, was also lagging.
Without ending the stream, I flipped off the screen view and peeked into the group chat where all the participants were logged in.
Huh… It wasn’t just us—everyone was experiencing the same issue.
[Breaking news: Saba-chan NPC is respawning and overheating]
[↑ LMAO]
[Hey, what are you doing, Server? lol]
[Saba-chan, get off the ship.]
[It’s unprecedented for the Server to be the cause of the lag w]
[A Server that’s completely burned out, lol]
[Hey, someone take a tub of ice to Saba-chan!]
Something was definitely up with the Server.
It had been such a good moment, too. Who knew how long it would take to recover?
”Hey, what happens in this case?” I asked.
”For now, we’re waiting for the admin’s response,” Aqua said. “Kanon looks busy too… Kohina-senpai, just waiting might bore the viewers. How about we do an impromptu radio show? If it’s someone I know, I can hop into their chat and invite them.”
Huh, that actually sounded kind of fun.
Plus, Kanon-san really did seem swamped—so if Aqua was offering, I didn’t mind helping out.
”Alright. So, who should we invite as the first guest?” I asked.
”Hmm. Then, I guess the first guest will be…”
Aqua grinned.
I smirked back.
Only these two can save Mayuzumi-kun!!
Next time, Mayuzumi dies!
(Of course, just kidding…)
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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