第３８７堀：みんなが幸せって素晴らしい (Part1)
### Chapter 387: It’s Wonderful That Everyone Is Happy
**Side: Comet**
"Bwahahaha...! Hii—! My stomach hurts!"
I was rolling around laughing inside the carriage.
It’s incredible, really.
No, I suppose it’s only natural that we couldn't win against them.
I’ve been made to realize it time and time again, but I never expected to be reminded of it yet again.
Reminded of what, you ask?
The difference in caliber between Yuki-kun and his group, and us.
The gap is so vast it’s almost comical.
"The moon and a turtle," isn't that the saying from his homeland?
Besides, it’s hilarious, so I have no complaints.
"Oh, for heaven's sake. Please stop thrashing about in the carriage!"
The one complaining about my behavior is Hifie.
Honestly, we’re traveling together, but all that ever comes out of her mouth is a lecture. She’s such a stick-in-the-mud.
She’s living proof that being serious all the time doesn't get you anywhere.
It’s a prime example that even people—no, living things... even corpses need a little breathing room.
Though, I’m the corpse here, of course!
*Twinkle...*
Suddenly, a sound played inside the carriage.
"What was that sound? Was it from that game Comet was playing?"
"Don't touch it—!!"
"Eek!?"
I shouted reflexively to stop Hifie’s movement, and in that split second, I snatched the game console that had fallen to the floor.
Checking the screen, a different-colored creature had appeared.
"Yes!! That’s the fourth one!"
"W-what is the meaning of this, all of a sudden!"
"Huh? You don't know? It’s the game that’s a massive hit in Yuki-kun’s homeland. It’s called Poke-mon. A 'shiny' one appeared."
"Is there any need to scream over something like that?"
"It has a veeeeery low encounter rate, you know. And Hifie, you’re hopeless with machines. For some reason, I don't know if it was the shock of it falling or what, but it was already on the verge of attacking. If you defeat it, you can't catch it. If you had picked it up and accidentally pressed a button, there’s a high chance it would have been 'goodbye.' In fact, haven't you done something similar about three times already?"
"Guh."
"I haven't forgotten the agony of those times. Half a day of hard work, gone in a single 'click' of the power button. I truly understand the pain Yuki-kun spoke of. It’s an unforgivable act. To trample on someone’s efforts... the hatred is welling up inside me."
The despair of that moment—it cannot be expressed in words.
The screen turning pitch black, the momentary state of shock, followed by the desperate return to sanity, holding onto a sliver of hope as you turn the power back on.
Holding onto the faint dream that, surely, it saved automatically.
And then, being crushed by reality when you see the save data date is from yesterday.
And it’s always on those occasions that you’ve managed to get a good item, too.
Well, I’ve learned that there’s a dangerous creature in my inner circle, so I’ve started saving frequently now.
"That’s because you were playing games under the guise of research in the first place!!"
"Yeah. I admit that was wrong, so I endured it back then. However, because of that, I cannot let Hifie touch the game—the crystallization of my blood, sweat, tears, and time. You understand, right?"
"Over a mere game..."
"I believe Yuki-kun taught us that there is development to be found even in play, didn't he?"
"Gnnn... Wait, in the first place, it’s your fault for rolling around laughing, Comet!!"
"No, no, isn't it impossible *not* to roll around laughing after seeing those documents?"
"I haven't even read half of them because you started laughing so suddenly!"
"I think speed-reading is a necessary skill for a ruler, you know."
"Don't lump me in with your speed-reading! You can't possibly grasp the contents of a text just by glancing at it!"
"Could you stop talking about me like I’m some kind of monster? I’m a perfectly respectable beautiful corpse, you know."
"What 'beautiful corpse.' Your personality is beyond disappointing."
"Well, that’s fine. I’ve never really cared about my appearance since long ago. Anyway, we can move forward if you’d just grasp the reason why I was rolling around laughing."
"...Understood. Please wait a moment."
She looked like she wanted to say something, but Hifie went back to reading the documents.
In the meantime, I caught the shiny one, tossed it into the box for shiny collections, recorded it properly, and then put it into my item box.
I’ll be busy explaining things to Hifie after this anyway, and if that happens, there’s a risk she might touch the game by accident.
If the data gets wiped, I wouldn't even be able to cry.
If it came to that, I’d have to settle the score with Hifie right here and now.
Actually, I wanted to train my main members during this carriage ride.
I have a promise to battle Yuki-kun and Taiki-kun when I get back, and I don't feel like I can win against those two as I am now.
At first, I was just playing around, just like Hifie said.
But I couldn't win a single match against those two with a half-hearted attitude.
*"It’s because it’s a game that you have to be serious."*
*"I won't lose to someone half-hearted."*
That’s what they said, and that’s how I learned the depth of games.
In a sense, it’s a battle under ideal, equal conditions.
If you put in the time, you can clear it, and in battles against people, it’s about exploiting weaknesses and reading their thoughts.
Honestly, losing was incredibly frustrating.
I thought it was just a game, yet I couldn't even win once.
That’s why I’ve been working hard in the carriage, learning how to get stronger, carefully selecting stats, learning moves...
It’s a shame I can’t do my research, but I’m grateful for the time I can spend immersed in games like this.
"W-what is this... what..."
Oh, did she finally reach the part where I started rolling around laughing?
"Doesn't this mean we are picking a fight with Noble? If we do this, won't the people of Ex suffer the consequences?"
"Yes, yes. Calm down and think about it carefully. Unlike our situation, we don't have Luna-san acting as a buffer, and we haven't seized control of the dungeon. You understand that, at this point, our safety cannot be fully guaranteed by just our negotiations or Popuri’s, right?"
"...I understand that."
"We had detached units and reserve troops stationed, and there’s no way Noble wouldn't do the same. That’s why Yuki-kun adopted Eris-kun’s strategy."
"To call for a joint exercise and have the monsters clash against each other, is that it?"
"Exactly. We don't know how many monster troops Noble has prepared, but he’ll want to gauge our strength, and I don't think he’ll refuse. That way, we can gather the majority of the monsters. If our monsters win decisively there, they’ll likely change their perception of us, and they might even leave the management of the monsters to us."
"I see. If that happens, we can grasp the location of all the monsters."
"Well, I don't think it will go that smoothly, but it will be possible to whittle down Noble’s forces. If he fails at persuasion or looks like he’s going to lose against Yuki-kun and the others, he might think about releasing the monsters into the Ex royal capital to escape during the chaos, so this will be useful in preventing that."
"...Did he think we couldn't stop Noble?"
Ah, what a pain.
This is why people with rigid heads are a problem.
I suppose it’s just her personality.
She might be likable as a person, but she’s so extreme—it’s always all or nothing.