Haven't We Met Somewhere Before?
Blazing sunlight poured down onto the desert. A man and a woman rode a colossal monster across the endless sands — the man seated up front, guiding the beast, while the woman sat beneath the canopy that shielded her from the outside world, lost in thought. Whenever the man glanced back, the pack of animals trotting at his side glanced back with him.
Thud! Thud!
"By the way, why'd you ask me for a ride instead of just taking a gate?"
"......"
Thud! Thud!
"Hello?"
"Couldn't be bothered. You have to wait in line for a gate."
She answered without a shred of concern.
Thud! Thud!
"...This feels like the bigger hassle, honestly."
The man muttered, Unbelievable, my life, and kept steering the monster. Utterly indifferent to his suffering, the woman with golden hair and golden eyes simply sank back into her thoughts.
...It's not like I avoided the same gate out of fear.
Facing Lily with her alt account, she would win. Without question. There was no losing — no matter what variables cropped up, of that much she was absolutely certain.
But there was no reason to press the issue yet, either.
'Even if my alt wins — who says I lost?'
An alt was just an alt. The real her was another story entirely.
"Aaand~ we're here. Time to hop off."
"......"
"I said hop off."
"...Don't give me orders, Dino."
Chukachip — the Twin Spear ranker — dismounted from the two-story-tall monster as casually as stepping off a curb. She left Dinosaurs Are Alive where he sat and headed straight for the plaza of Runos.
"H-hey. Rude, seriously."
I'll expose her someday.
Muttering a threat that would never see the light of day, he followed in her wake, comforted by his menagerie of animals.
"Vlack, oppa!"
"Oh. Choco, you made it."
Chukachip brightened at the sight of Vlack, who had invited her, and walked right over. He was in the middle of wrapping up preparations, but set his work aside to greet her.
"I appreciate it. Pro life keeps you busy, yet you signed on for the whole thing."
"Eh, scrims are predictable anyway. Figured I'd try something like this for once."
"Right, thanks. Go get some rest for now. We're starting soon."
"Where?"
"Hmm... well, you did show up late, so..."
He'd prepared more than thirty guest rooms, but this Mock Siege hadn't been limited to inviting users who would fill the General and Grand General roles. With sponsorship pouring in from all over, VIPs from the real world and key dignitaries from the kingdoms of DeoEn had turned up in force. And on top of that, the festival-scale event had drawn far more important figures than originally planned.
The rooms themselves were more than enough — but the VVIP suites, complete with climate control, every amenity imaginable, and dedicated maintenance facilities, had filled up long ago.
"Head to Room A-3 for now. We've got a few streamers serving as Generals this time. Go say your hellos."
"Huh? There's no empty room?"
"I'd give you one if I could... but you know how much sponsorship we pulled in this event. The VVIP rooms are completely full. Trust me, you'll be more comfortable rooming with a fellow participant than with some total stranger."
Vlack spoke as though asking for her understanding. A flicker of unease brushed across Chukachip's mind — but it was a request from someone she knew well, so she nodded for now.
"...Fine. Sure. We might end up on the same team anyway. I'm used to team life."
"Thanks. Go on ahead."
"Yeah."
A nagging premonition followed her all the way to the door, but she went in regardless.
What are the odds, really? That Lily — the one I've deliberately avoided — is in this room?
"Haven't we met somewhere before?"
Oh, we have.
"...Haven't we met somewhere before?"
Why is she here of all places?
Did Vlack oppa set me up on purpose?
'...No, that can't be it.'
No matter how you looked at it, he would never send her to the room of Lily — someone he'd be rivaling, whether he acknowledged her or not. It had to be pure coincidence. The man was hopelessly busy; a careless oversight, nothing more.
Chukachip steadied her breathing and looked at Lily. Hair like the open sea, eyes that glittered like cut gemstones. Her face was, honestly, more beautiful than anyone she'd ever seen, and her figure was just as unfair. It was the kind of look that made "cheat-level character creation" sound like an understatement.
She'd glimpsed her once through her alt, but this was the first time she was seeing her up close in peacetime — not mid-battle.
'She can't find out.'
She'd been irritated back then, and overdone it enough to spit a few curses besides. She'd changed her playstyle somewhat and altered her voice, so being recognized outright shouldn't be easy — and yet here Lily was, already suspicious. If it was going to happen anyway, then the proper order of things was to crush her thoroughly first, and be found out only after.
"...This is my first time meeting you."
Lie first. Figure the rest out later.
"Really? I could swear I've seen you somewhere..."
My senses had been slowly coming back to me lately, and most of the time, I was right about these things.
The moment Chukachip first stepped into our room, she'd felt an odd pang of déjà vu. Something told her we'd met before — or that some thread connected us one way or another. But if she said no...
I nodded along. Well, if she says no, she says no.
[Have Lily and Choco met before?]
[who knows~?]
[?]
[And somehow Lily and Choco ending up in the same room is hilarious lmaooo]
[LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL]
[Are they deciding the Grand General here?]
[Just settle it with a clean 1v1]
[Choco's actually pretty though, ngl]
[fr lol]
Golden hair swaying, golden eyes gleaming — there wasn't a single area, whether looks or skill, where she seemed to fall short in any way.
No wonder she talked so big about claiming the Grand General title.
Chukachip let out a long breath — phew — and dropped onto the sofa. Leo jolted with a startled "Hyek!"
"Hi there, Leo."
"ChocoChip! Are you in this room too?"
"That's what I was told. By Vlack oppa."
"Ohh, got it."
Leo nodded her head vigorously, then went right back to stuffing her face with snacks. Chukachip followed up with a brief greeting to Yena as well. They exchanged polite speech with each other, but there was a comfortable rapport there all the same.
[Ooh]
[Looks like it's starting]
[So WHO gets to be Grand General, come ooon lol]
[Choco's here, just ask her]
[gogogogogo]
[It'll be Choco anyway, calling it]
"You can watch from over there."
Yena pointed at the black panel set into the wall beside the sofa. Like the monitor in a sync room, it was streaming the venue live.
Countless people sat arranged in a vast circle, while what looked like three commentators occupied a raised platform at the center. Below them stood miniature models of three castles, each ringed by four chairs.
"Do we have to go out there too?"
"Not right away. Once things kick off and they finish the siege introduction and the team introductions, there'll be an interview segment. That's when you'll head out for yours, Lily."
"Ah, I see."
"Oh, right — Choco's the team captain this time, isn't she?"
"Of course she is. Grand General, too. If I don't take the role, who will?"
Chukachip shrugged her shoulders — and her gaze drifted, ever so subtly, toward me.
Adorable.