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“Kou…”
“Master…”
“Don’t worry, we all made this curry together, I won’t let a single drop go to waste.”

Kou stared with determined eyes at what she was holding. It was a small piece of pork, lathered in a brown sauce rich with the fragrance of spices. All of that, the pork with curry, was riding on top of a spoon, and Kou gulped loudly while staring at it sharply.

Everyone else around her watched with bated breaths. Hijiri was sitting next to her, firmly holding Kou’s free hand while cheering for her success.

I’m not standing back…I’ll never run away.

Kou felt like she would never be able to call herself a man…or rather a woman? if she did not go through with her decision, and so she shoved it all in her mouth in one go.

The refreshing scent of spices filled her nose, while also making her tongue tingle slightly, while the caramelized onions mixed with the apple and honey, creating a nicely balanced sweetness.

The curry was on the sweeter side out of consideration for the younger girls, and Kou carefully chewed for a bit before swallowing it all. Then she did her best to stop any flashbacks…and eventually began breathing normally as she took another step to overcoming her trauma.

“Kou…!”
“Hijiri…I ate it, I just ate a piece of pork!”

Kou and Hijiri shared an emotional hug, while Hinagiku and Miyuki wiped their tears of happiness before joining hands and dancing happily. And slightly further away…

“What the hell are they doing?”
“I was about to ask the same. For a moment, I thought I was the weird one for not reacting like that.”
“Don’t worry prez, you’re perfectly sane.”

Kasumi and Subaru were tasked with serving the plates, and they just sighed watching what the others were doing.

◇◇◇

After chopping up all the ingredients together, they put it on a large stockpot and let the curry simmer on the fire in the garden’s barbecue hut.

With everyone working so hard, it made sense that it came out delicious, and halfway through eating, Amari also returned from work and joined them eating. In the end, everyone even had a second plate…

“Ahhh…I’m so full…”
“If I keep eating so much, I’ll get fat…”

After the bath, the two youngest said that to each other, which spurred Hijiri and Kasumi to carefully start pinching and checking their own bellies. Meanwhile, Kou and Subaru looked away, pretending not to notice.

It was already quite late at night.

They had all taken baths and changed into pajamas before going down to the living room, where they finished the last steps after their baths before logging into Destiny Unchain Online.

“Umm… Sorry for staying here on such short notice.”
“Don’t worry. We still have some spare futons, and we couldn’t possibly let you go back home alone after dark.”

Kasumi seemed ashamed of still being there, and Kou smiled behind her while combing Kasumi’s hair.

It was required by law for all cars in the city to be equipped with dashcams, and the streets were also lined with various sensors and cameras, making it a much safer city.

But there were always a few blind spots for the cameras, and they did not want to risk Kasumi passing through one of them.

There was the option of having Sora deliver her with the car, but Amari stepped in saying, “Oh, why don’t you just stay with us tonight? I’ll let your parents know,” and so Kasumi ended up joining their sleepover.

“Alright, I’m all done, Kou.”
“Mm, thank you Hijiri.”

Kou was behind Kasumi, combing her hair while holding a blowdryer, and Hijiri was behind Kou, drying and braiding Kou’s hair as well, which had just been completed. Also, Hijiri’s hair had been taken care of by Kasumi earlier.

“Thank you, I’m pretty done with the prez’ hair too.”

Saying that, Kou flipped the switch of the blowdryer off and let go of Kasumi’s hair. Then, she headed to her usual reclining seat to lie down. Everyone else had also found a comfortable spot and were ready.

“Alright everyone, let’s go!”

At Kou’s command, everyone nodded and exclaimed, “Let’s do it!”

They shouted their customized command to Full Dive, and launched Destiny Unchain Online on their NLDs, transferring their consciousness into the game.

◇◇◇

“I do apologize if I made thee wait, Sorleon.”
“Don’t sweat it, I’m actually glad you were able to respond to my sudden request for assistance.”

The members of Nord Glacier were lined up in a small room with a magic circle drawn on the floor like a teleporter. Sorleon was in the middle of the line, and he bowed politely.

“There’s few players with abilities like yours, and we could really use some help.” His voice rang heavy as he said that.

Crim’s group had arrived at the last room of the boss rush area they had reached so far, following Sorleon’s request.

Please come to these coordinates on the fifth floor once you’re online.

Crim had been the first one to dive into Destiny Unchain Online, and she had noticed that message from Sorleon right away.

She knew she had not received any messages while eating, so she assumed the message had arrived sometime after she entered the bath. When she checked her inbox, she noticed that message and the coordinates.

And now…

“How certain art thou that this is not an overreaction? Given thy strength and that of thy guild, I greatly doubt that a boss rush would pose much of an obstacle…”
“…No, not this time. The previous group was quickly sent home earlier…including Lan Canglong.”

In other words…Shao had been defeated. Hearing that made Crim realize the severity of the situation, so she began taking Sorleon more seriously.

“…I see. I wish it was possible to contact Lan Canglong’s members then.”
“No can do, it’s only been two hours since then, and we can’t afford to wait.”

Sorleon replied with a complicated look.

That was another of the annoying gimmicks of the dungeon, likely implemented as a way to prevent leaks or information from spreading too fast. If an entire party was defeated and sent back to their basecamp, they would be locked out from communicating with anyone outside their party for five hours.

“Hmm… Well we can’t stand around sulking, shall we go then?”
“Yeah, but we should decide our formation first…”

The two Guild Masters quickly shifted gears to discuss their formation and tactics.

◇◇◇

“…I think we’re ready. We don’t know what’s waiting for us inside, so stay sharp everyone.”

Everyone nodded firmly to Sorleon’s advice, and they all stepped into the teleporter that would take them to the boss arena. The arena looked like a cave with a torrent of water going through it, like an over-tuned waterpark.

“Woah?!”
“Wh-What’s this?!”

The vanguard group was taken by surprise, and the water quickly dragged them away, their cries half-drowned by it. Luckily, the rear lines and Lua Cheia were not caught.

But those who had been dragged away ended up getting caught by the feelers of giant anemones, which stopped them from moving. Their only saving grace was that it was not a lethal trap, and it did not inflict any deadly status effects.

“I messed up… Sorry Commander.”
“Wh-what’s this…I can’t break free… Hyan?!”

Amongst those caught were Lueger and Ernesta, greatly reducing the strength of the party.

“Preposterous…a trap so soon..?!”
“That’s just an evil design for a boss..!!”

Crim and Sorleon watched all of that unfold in astonishment.

“Commander, what should we do?!”
“Ah… Let’s try to rescue them first! Lua Cheia, I’m sorry but could you distract the boss until then?”

The archer Cheval was unsure of what to do, and Sorleon quickly gained his bearings and gave out orders, while noticing a three meter tall figure rushing at them through the mist. That was likely the floor’s boss.

“A-Alright! We’ll be buying time everyone!”
“But…but first we should check what kind of boss it is..!”

Frey turned around to instruct his friends, but Crim suggested that they should gather information first. But then…the boss let out a war cry.

“GYOGYOOO!!!!”
“ “ “ “ “…THAT B̲A̲S̲T̲A̲R̲D̲ AGAIN?!!!” ” ” ” ”

The figure that emerged was one burned into Crim’s mind. It was that damn tuna that walked upright… Salmonriver Bonithunnus XIII.

Seeing that enemy that had put them through so much suffering, everyone from Lua Cheia shouted in unison, except for Freya who just seemed mildly surprised and rested her cheek on her palm.

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