Chapter 164: The second event – Collapsing Kingdom
Chapter 164: The second event – Collapsing Kingdom
“We’re going then. Look forward to some souvenirs.” I told Eren.
“… Take care out there.” He said while giving us a somewhat weak laugh, seems like he is still a bit unwell.
Either way, me and Hannes left the Beginners’ City and looked at the event’s menu which showed what were the people that we could kidnap to gain points.
“Wait a minute… Why are we able to kidnap people from all the surrounding countries?” Hannes asked me after staring at the event’s menu for a small while.
“Oh, I declared war against all the nearby countries.” I told him.
He opened his mouth wide, but said nothing for some reason. I was going to keep on walking by myself, but a system notification appeared saying that I’d get a penalty if I stayed far from my partner for more than 30s… So I guess we need to keep going together? Alright then.
“Come on, let’s hurry. Eren will surely be targeted by a lot of players, so we have to get the head start!” I told Hannes.
“Isn’t that your fault!?” He replied.
“Why did you shout that…?” I asked him.
I didn’t get why he seemed to be angry, Eren would have been targeted by the end of the event anyways, so it’s quicker to go after all the nearby countries from the get-go and remove potential threats. It is kinda risky, but also more fun.
“Uhn… Never mind that.” Hannes said, then sighed, “Do you have a plan at least?”
“But of course. Jun, do it.” I threw Jun forward, and then it immediately transformed itself into a motorcycle.
“What the…?” Hannes seemed to be surprised by Jun’s transformation.
“Well, please get on the back.” I said as I hopped on top of Jun.
“This is…” He didn’t finish his sentence for some reason.
“Jun.” I guess he wanted to know its name?
“Not that, I mean…” He stayed still and kept looking at Jun, seemingly dumbfounded. I guess he was surprised by seeing a motorcycle in-game?
“Come on, we gotta hurry and start kidnapping people.” I told him.
He sighed again, “I suppose.”
“Just why are you so tired?” I asked him, since he didn’t seem to stop sighing.
“Your fault.” He answered. I didn’t quite get it, but he got reluctantly sat behind me.
“Then hold on tight so that you don’t fall.” I told Hannes as I was about to start moving, but he didn’t really comply, “Hannes…?” I asked him, then looked back to see that he had a troubled expression, “Is something the matter?”
“I mean, uhn… Won’t I get a sexual harassment warning if I try hugging you!?” He asked.
That’s what he is worrying about? Hits towards the chest are normal during battle, but he suddenly starts thinking about this kind of thing now?
“… You were planning on doing something naughty or something?” I asked him.
“What!? No, you stupid!” He instantly answered.
“I was just joking.” I told him.
“That’s not something to joke about!” He exclaimed. I tried to ease him a bit with the joke, but it didn’t seem to work… Rather, he seemed to be even more troubled now.
Well, let’s solve it like this then. I turned forward again, then I used my threads to tie him up to me.
“Whoa!?” He exclaimed.
“There, I touched you first, so it shouldn’t trigger anything now, right?” I asked him.
“I guess… Just don’t do this kind of thing with other guys, alright?” He said.
“What do you mean?” I asked him while still looking forward. I was curious about what was his expression as he said that, but I couldn’t turn around due to how close we were… I wonder what he meant though.
“D-don’t mind that too much.” He said.
“Alright, then… Let’s go!” I exclaimed as I started Jun’s motor.
“Can I request you to drive safely…?” His voice suddenly seemed to be quite worried.
“Don’t worry, it’s a game after all, so you can’t die.” I replied.
After a small silent pause, Hannes started saying, “H-hey, wait a minute, I-”
I didn’t let him finish though. I used Kageyama’s <Shadow Manipulation> and <Materialization> to make a path made of shadows that would be easier to travel than the ground. <Floating> to further remove friction, then <Jet Propulsion> and <Tailwind> to increase acceleration and… Go!
“Wait, wait, wait! Slow down!” Hannes exclaimed, but I ignored it… Which then prompted him to start shouting really loudly, but that was alright.
We moved from the Beginners’ City to some abandoned village and kept on moving forward. I think we can first go to the nearest smaller countries, as they should be easier to get rid of. And the less neighbors we have, the less people will aim at Eren… Yeah, let’s go with that.
It also helps that a good chunk of our neighbors are countries that recently proclaimed independence from the Empire, so they aren’t that well-organized yet, which should make them even easier targets.
… Hannes was still shouting, “Please be quiet, Hannes.” I told him, though not only he didn’t stop shouting, but he was actually hugging me quite tightly… It’s honestly a bit surprising that he got no sexual harassment warning yet.
“Is it that uncomfortable to move like this?” I asked him. I do fly around on my own quite often, but I was never moved around by someone else… Perhaps the sensation is different? That might be it… “Oh well, I suppose this is a bit of a cute side of you.” I told him as he kept on shouting, “We’ll be arriving soon, by the way.”
It’s quite interesting to see the usual violent Hannes being so affected by my driving, but we won’t be able to cooperate properly if I am excessive with my mischiefs, so I suppose I should be a bit careful with what I do… Still, this event looks like it will be quite fun.