Chapter 44: Dead Weight

"Rene, Pahal, go on ahead! Warn the elves!"

"But if we do that...!"

A massive army of mechanical soldiers was advancing on the Great Forest like a raging flood.

A gigantic, ultra-sci-fi city packed to the brim with defensive systems... Trying to charge straight into its central command, where the city chief was located, and persuade her—or take her down—was obviously impossible if you thought about it for even a second.

The only thing we could do right now was get word to the Great Forest, which was directly in the army's path, as quickly as possible. It would be ideal if we could also convince the elves to evacuate or abandon the forest entirely... but that was absolutely out of the question for those stubborn, hardheaded elves. At best, we could get them ready to fight. That was the realistic option.

"Kizuna's right. Leave this to us and get going."

"I'm glad you finally got to say a line you've always wanted to say, Padron."

"Yeah, that's right... Wait, no! I just said what I genuinely thought!"

"An excellent leading question. You have incriminated yourself, Padron."

"Not you too, Nanashi! Damn it, I've got no allies here...!"

Hmm. I've got no choice but to ride this big wave.

"I understand, Padron."

"Tierra...!"

"There comes a time in everyone's life when they want to say something like that. It can't be helped, right?"

"I told you, that's not it!"

All right. I got my moment.

Thanks, Padron. I'll give you an extra-large dinner tonight.

Now then. The basic rule is to rack up points whenever you get the chance. Let's take advantage of the momentum and score a few more.

"...Kizuna, you should go, too."

"Huh?"

"If it's just Rene and Pahal, they'll probably be turned away without even being heard out. It'll just be a repeat of what happened earlier."

"That might be true, but... I don't think anything will change just because I go."

"Hehe. That's not true at all."

And there it is: the classic move where Tierra shows that she understands Kizuna—the player!

You affirm him by telling him he's amazing. Overdo it, and you'll spoil someone, but let a little encouragement slip out now and then, and it can be incredibly effective... I think. Probably.

At least, I like girls who act that way.

"Rene, Tetoma, Piska, Padron, Nanashi, Lies, Pahal, and me. And right now, Minia... and, well, Mr. Circus, too. We've come together despite our different races, positions, and just about everything else. Piska and Padron were even enemies, and Tetoma was hostile toward us at first, too, wasn't it? And yet here we are, traveling and fighting together. That's an incredible thing, and it's something that could only have happened because of you, Kizuna."

"Because of me...?"

"It's all because you've continued to face everyone honestly and directly. I think that's something you should be proud of. If it's you, Kizuna, I'm sure you can move the elves' hearts, too. That's what I believe."

Yeah. That came out pretty nicely.

Please make sure this conversation gets a good scene in the game, devs.

Then Padron, Piska, and Nanashi joined in, following my lead.

"She's right, Tierra. Go on, Kizuna."

"Kizuna, leave this to us and get going, nya!"

"Hey, you! You're still messing with me...?!"

"What are you talking about, nya~? I just said what I was thinking, nya~!"

"You savage! You're absolutely doing this on purpose...!"

"Don't call me a savage, nya!"

"...Well, there you have it. We have more than enough energy to spare, so there's no need to worry about us."

This is a guaranteed scene trigger.

With this many main characters contributing to the conversation, there's no way the story won't give it proper attention.

"...I don't really understand difficult things. But... I think Kizuna can do it."

And now the main heroine chimes in.

"Besides, I'm SSS. The strongest."

"What's SSS?"

"I don't know, but apparently it's amazing."

Rene puffed out her chest with a proud little hmph!

Man, it's amazing how she can be this cute without even trying. It's not like my performance, which is one hundred percent deliberate.

"Anyway, Kizuna, you and the others need to hurry to the Great Forest."

"Okay, got it. And everyone, don't push yourselves too hard!"

"Of course."

"Okay."

"Got it!"

"Understood."

"Nya!"

『Acknowledged.』

And that's how things went.

Kizuna, Lies, and Pahal headed for the Great Forest, while the rest of us were left to fight the mechanical soldiers—

—Or so we thought.

『Command interference detected. Eliminating target.』

Yeah. This really isn't going to work.

"My sword is useless against machines, you know."

"YOU SHOULD'VE TOLD US THAT SOONER, NYAAAAA!!"

Sorry. I'm completely dead weight in a fight.