118. Knights of Charlemagne
118. Knights of Charlemagne
***
A player popular enough to be called a "star player."
For some people, meeting a truly famous star player was something they desperately wished for.
—Jeanne d'Arc, Yoo Eunha.
A pro now in her third year, with a market value that had soared beyond comparison with other players.
Beautiful looks.
Overwhelming skill even among pros.
Her distinctive attitude and personality, without a single flaw to speak of.
Yoo Eunha was such a rare star that her emergence was even credited with helping drive the resurgence of ACK, the Another World league.
And once ACK expanded overseas, it was only natural that she became the player whose name spread the farthest.
A player who made championship history season after season and stood in a class of her own.
Moreover, with that distinctive nickname Jeanne d'Arc added on top, her name itself had become a brand.
The only individual player—not an ACK pro team—to sign sponsorship deals with multiple famous brands.
......
Watching Eunha appear in a swirl of light inside the Colosseum, I rose from the rock.
"You're here?"
"Ah. Serin!"
The woman who greeted me in a brighter voice looked almost "unreal" precisely because she looked exactly as she did in "reality."
A beautiful woman with an aloof look, her faintly gleaming jet-black hair falling to her waist.
The jet-black armor she wore and the subtly luxurious longsword at her waist only made her look even more striking.
And Eunha, meeting Serin in-game in turn, had a thought of her own.
Having met Serin in reality just two days before, now that she realized Serin's appearance was identical to reality, merely meeting like this gave her a new feeling.
Serin, with the Crescent-Moon Weight draped casually over her arm, looked so utterly natural that it almost felt as though this place were the truth and her appearance in reality were the lie.
'What... there's no way that's true.'
Eunha, who had momentarily harbored that strange impression, let out a small laugh and shook the thought off.
And so the two met in-game. Seeing each other wearing their real-world appearances felt strangely novel to both of them.
That was a commonality that applied to both Serin and Yoo Eunha.
As they looked at each other, they felt both strangeness and familiarity at once.
Because they were both feeling it.
And once again, it was Serin who spoke first.
"Eunha, so what's the reason you asked to meet?"
She asked directly, without any beating around the bush. It was Serin's distinctive personality. She preferred to speak plainly rather than talk around things.
"The reason I asked to meet isn't anything special. Serin? Yesterday on stream, you said you'd do the reaction for my donation when we met in person, didn't you?"
"Ah. The reaction..."
At Eunha's unexpected answer, Serin replied, flustered.
'Just because she wanted to see my reaction?'
Without realizing it, she'd been seeing so much talk about Eunha in the community that she'd been assuming, on her own, that even Eunha's simple request to meet must have some grand demand or great reason behind it.
At that thought, Serin let out a dumbfounded laugh and spoke in a soft voice.
"If it's something I can do for you, I'll gladly do it. So please, don't hesitate to say it, Eunha."
Knowing Eunha's personality, I figured she wouldn't ask anything unreasonable of me, so I spoke without hesitation. Even if she asked for a slightly embarrassing reaction or something a little unreasonable, if I only had to show Eunha, I was willing to go along with it to some degree.
"Ah, then. I'll say it without hesitation. Serin, you know. With me..."
So saying, Eunha raised her head and looked at Serin with shining eyes.
......
And so Eunha's words continued.
It was a statement that made even Serin, who had thought she would accept even a somewhat unreasonable request, pause for a moment.
But at the end of it, Serin eventually gave a small nod.
***
- Roland.
- Bradamante.
- Olivier.
- Angelica.
- Astolfo.
It was a list of player names belonging to one pro team.
An ACK league team name. Knights of Charlemagne.
Currently 7th in the ACK league standings.
With the summer season now drawing to a close, they were also a team that had confirmed their playoff "elimination."
And right now, the atmosphere in the Charlemagne team dorm was icy.
1:15 p.m.
Normally, this would have been time to start Another World practice. But the Charlemagne players were gathered in the discussion room at one side of the dorm.
"...We're not done yet."
Sihyeon, the captain of Team Charlemagne, spoke up as if to break the ice, in a soft voice.
—Player name Roland.
Real name Lee Sihyeon.
"We should practice, even to prepare for the Worlds qualifier. Right, guys?"
He was feeling an immense sense of loss and regret over the confirmed playoff elimination, but the league was still ongoing.
And besides, August 12th, Thursday.
Today was a match day.
Sihyeon opened his mouth with the thought that he had to somehow turn around this deflated team atmosphere.
The first-ever Another World international tournament, Worlds. Sihyeon, who had even familiarized himself with the format of the Worlds qualifier, believed the team still had a chance.
To finish the remaining league matches with the mindset of ending well, if only for the fans, and to prepare for the Worlds qualifier to be held after the summer league ended.
But even so, Sihyeon knew better than anyone how hard it was to raise the team's morale.
Just a few days ago, when their playoff elimination was confirmed by a loss to BS, the Charlemagne team's morale had completely fallen apart.
'For a pro, nothing matters more than results.'
That was one of the things Sihyeon, captain of Team Charlemagne, had felt most strongly during his pro career.
Sihyeon himself had suffered a great sense of loss, but he spoke up with the thought that he still had to comfort the kids on the team.
"......Worlds?"
—Player name Bradamante.
Real name Park Mina.
The youngest female player on Team Charlemagne.
Park Mina let out a short laugh and twisted her lips sharply.
"Sihyeon... you were the one who told me to follow you and join this team. You definitely said that, didn't you? So what is this now? What is this team's record?"
Her voice was icy, thick with resentment.
"Hey, Park Mina. Are you trying to pick a fight right now?"
—Player name Olivier.
Real name Cha Seojin.
He glared at Mina, who was right next to him, and spoke fiercely.
Team Charlemagne. Along with Sihyeon, he was the longest-tenured player on Team Charlemagne.
Even under Cha Seojin's fierce gaze, Mina just smiled crookedly, unfazed.
"No. We've already been eliminated from playoffs, so what's the point of more practice? I mean, seriously, is there really any hope? We're going to lose the Worlds qualifier anyway."
The Mina speaking crookedly now had changed so much compared to before the match against BS.
Her personality had never been great, but she had been a player who approached practice more sincerely than anyone. As if the shock of playoff elimination had been too great, Mina was now saying whatever she wanted without any hesitation.
Sihyeon looked at Mina and smiled awkwardly as he continued.
"...Still, there's the fans' expectations. If you actually look at the Worlds qualifier, we're not completely without hope."
At Sihyeon's words, Mina let out a short scoff and simply turned her head away.
As if she didn't even want to answer Sihyeon.
At Mina's attitude, Seojin frowned deeply and was about to speak, but there was a woman who spoke faster than him.
"Just because you won a few gauntlet matches, your head's gone through the roof~ You really erased from your memory how you fucked up the team's record at the start of the season with your dogshit play, huh?"
Yena snapped at the way Mina was treating Sihyeon, sneering to the fullest.
—Player name Angelica.
Real name Choi Yena.
"...What? Hey, Choi Yena, say that again."
Mina glared at Yena with murderous eyes and growled.
"Pfft... why are you pretending not to hear? I asked if you erased from your memory how your screwups tanked our league record, Park Mina."
But Yena's words continued without hesitation even under Mina's glare.
Scrape.
At that, Mina's expression hardened sharply and she rose from her seat.
"Oh yeah?"
As if to say, what are you going to do about it now that you're standing, Yena instead glared fiercely back at Mina.
As the atmosphere inside the discussion room turned that hostile, Sihyeon panicked.
"Hey, guys...?"
As Mina wordlessly moved to approach Yena, Sihyeon hurriedly tried to block Mina so the two wouldn't clash.
Yena and Mina, the team's female players, had been on bad terms since their first meeting.
Until then, Yena had been the only woman on the team, so Sihyeon had put considerable effort into recruiting Mina, thinking the two would rely on each other. Reality had been the opposite.
They fought whenever they met, and they disagreed on practically everything. At worst, the two women had even gotten into vicious physical altercations, so he had to stop Mina somehow.
Unlike Sihyeon, Seojin watched them as if he wanted them to fight. In his view, the resentment between them had grown so deep that they would have to clash once before it could be resolved.
So Sihyeon panicked and blocked Mina, but Mina was utterly relentless.
"M-Mina?"
She didn't even tell Sihyeon to move. She simply kept pushing forward, as if to say, what are you going to do about it?
Step.
Step.
Sihyeon, unable to bring himself to lay hands on Mina, was hurriedly pushed back.
Conversely, Yena's eyes twitched as she watched.
'That fox bitch, I'll tear her to pieces...'
To Yena, Mina's behavior looked, whether Mina realized it or not, like she was flirting with Sihyeon again.
Just as the distance between them rapidly closed.
"Stop!!!!"
A huge voice suddenly burst out, loud enough to shake the entire discussion room.
A beautiful voice, clear and ringing.
—Player name Astolfo.
Real name Ryu Hamin.
"Hey. Both of you, stop it. What the hell do you think you're doing right now?"
The man with the distinctive long hair said that, glared fiercely at Mina once, then turned his gaze to Yena.
Under Hamin's gaze, Mina flinched and stopped, and Yena stared back at Hamin as if to say, what did I even do wrong?
"Ha. Seriously, this is why! You can't just keep coddling them like this, Sihyeon!"
Sihyeon, being pushed back without even being able to lay a hand on Mina. At that, Hamin shouted and, unlike Sihyeon, reached out without hesitation.
Grab.
"...Huh."
Mina, her arm suddenly caught by Hamin, turned her gaze blankly.
"Hey. Park Mina, don't you think you're going too far? Just because Sihyeon hasn't said anything all this time, do you really think it's fine? Do you think you're the only one hurting right now and everyone else is totally okay?"
Hamin continued seriously, looking straight at Mina.
"N-no... that's not what I..."
At Hamin's demeanor, Mina, all traces of her earlier crooked smile and twisted attitude gone, answered in a small, flustered voice.
At Mina's reaction, Hamin frowned even harder and yanked her arm, pulling Mina in front of him.
"Ah. Aah?!"
Ignoring Mina's startled shriek, Hamin pulled her in front of him and continued.
"Right now, everyone on Team Charlemagne is feeling regret and frustration. Even if they don't all say it out loud like you do, everyone's hurting inside about the playoff elimination! And right now, just as much as you... I'm frustrated too, and I regret it a lot."
Faced with Hamin speaking to her with such seriousness, Mina could only nod without saying anything. And she turned her gaze away, unable to look at Hamin.
Mina, meekly accepting Hamin's words.
Watching Mina, Yena clicked her tongue inwardly—'that fox bitch and her little act'—but she didn't let it show outwardly.
Because she knew that if it actually escalated into a fight, Sihyeon would dislike her for it.
At the sight of the two of them, Seojin let out a short laugh and shook his head.
"This team's a real shitshow, running like clockwork."
The heavy, gloomy atmosphere that had settled after the playoff elimination was confirmed. So he'd actually wanted them to have it out in a big fight.
But as soon as Hamin stepped in, the atmosphere immediately calmed down.
Unlike Seojin, who found that somehow unsatisfying, Sihyeon smiled faintly in relief now that the situation seemed to have settled.
"Hamin, always... thank you."
He felt Hamin had mediated well what was about to escalate into an extreme situation, but even at Sihyeon's words, Hamin just gazed at Mina for a long moment, let out a small sigh, and shook his head.
"...No, it's nothing."
Let go.
With that, he released Mina's arm. At which Mina quickly moved away from Hamin.
"Then, guys, let's pull ourselves together and practice. Got it?"
As Sihyeon slowly looked around the room and spoke, no one objected anymore.