Chapter 73: Momentary Thoughts Part 2

He should be taking out the sword at any moment now, but for some reason the Gravekeeper just stood still out there, looking at me.

「To dodge the “Tensei”, which is an ultimate weapon, in such a manner…… That was a truly a Tensai-like move if I do say so myself…… A warm round of applause!」

「That pun…… Physically hurt me……」

I felt like saying anything right now would be too much for me, but the words just came out all on their own.

「Well…… It’s just like Setsuna-san said……」

「………」

I wanted to console him in some way, but the quest’s scenario carried on mercilessly. There was a sound and sight of cracks forming all over Wezaemon’s body. All of the mechanical fluids leak out of his body and now the only thing that was left were the thin traces of black smoke.

「ONCE AGAIN, THERE’S A CERTAIN BEAUTY IN…… COMING TO AN END……」

Gravekeeper Wezaemon…… No, Wezaemon’s arms fall down after he finally managed to fulfill his duty. The rest of his body shortly follows, crumbling away and after losing his legs, his torso hits the ground with a loud *THUD*

「MY, BODY…… ROTTEN…… SLEEPING…… AHH, SETSU… NA…… I’M COMING TO…… WHERE YOU……」

After saying that, Wezaemon’s head finally falls from his shoulders and hits the ground. Its armor shattering completely, thin traces of smoke coming out of his mechanical parts.

「Is it…… over?」

「Come on, if there’s anything more to that I’m really going to cry.」

「That’s not true and you know it.」

However, for as long as there was no indication that the quest has been cleared, there was something we were clearly missing here. We were still vigilant, looking all around us for a possible indication of any sort. Then the field around us gradually began to change.

The cherry blossoms which were in full bloom during the fight were now rapidly decaying and withering away. It looks like the world was inverting itself back to its original state before the fight began. Then, a see-through visage of a woman appeared right before us.

「Arthur, Sanraku, and Katsu…… It looks like you were able to do it.」

「Set-chan……」

「You three, thank you very much for your heroic deed. With this our…… No, Setsuna’s wish is finally granted.」

Hm? What was that? Was that only my imagination, or did Setsuna-san sound like someone else for a moment there?

「Set-chan…… Does that mean you’re not the real “Setsuna”?」

「No, Arthur…… I am “Setsuna”. That much is clear to me. However, I am fundamentally different from Setsuna that passed away on that day. I am…… how should I put it? I’m something of a Setsuna’s manuscript, her last will that was left in this world after she died. An existence that’s bound to disappear once its role is fulfilled……」

「Ahh, so that’s why you are “Of the Distant Past”……」

A remnant of the past, born from Setsuna’s wishes. Not entirely Setsuna, but a visage very similar to her. So, does this mean her existence was copied and reproduced from the original? As I was thinking about that, Setsuna-san smiled brightly.

「Set-chan……」

「No need to be sad, Arthur. The world itself has responded to her wish…… It was bound to happen sooner or later.」

Setsuna-san looks at each and every one of us while her visage was becoming more and more transparent, about to fade away completely.

「You are the brave pioneers. Descendants of the second plan, the “Pioneers of the World”…… If you so desire to know the truth about the root of this world, seek out “Bahamut”.」

「Bahamut?」

「Let me explain, Katsu. It is a mythical creature that looks like a fish but is treated like a dragon. Or dragon-deity.」

「Geez, that much I know…… What I meant by that, Pencilgton, do you happen to know what that thing is in this game?」

「No, not really. There are no monsters like that as far as player encounters are concerned…… Set-chan? What’s up with that?」

「Fufufu, that’s as much as I can disclose to you. The rest, you’ll have to find out for yourselves. Isn’t that what opens the future for humans?」

A mischievous smile blooms on Setsuna-san’s lips as she was almost completely gone by this point.

「Ahh, one last thing. It’s not something that “Setsuna” programmed me to say, but it’s more of my own actions and words.

「Hm?」

「Thank you for always spending time with me. I love you, Arthur.」

「Eh? Ah! L-Likewise!」

Leaving those words behind, “Setsuna of the Distant Past” disappears completely. After the last of her polygons vanish, the thing that dominated the area right now was complete silence.

「Say, Pencilgton?」

「Gusu…… I’m not crying, just so you know.」

「I didn’t even say anything.」

He said that, but the way in which he wiped his face wasn’t convincing in the slightest. However, it was certainly interesting that a ghost AI could generate a line like that. I wanted to ask him about that, but something was telling me that it wasn’t that good of an idea right about now.

「So, aren’t we going to discuss the fact that you just got confessed to?」

「To think that Pencilgton is capable of shedding tears. Color me surprised.」

「This feeling…… Is this, my heart……?」

「That’s it! You wanna go, you two!? Huh!? Want me to chop your fucking heads off!?」

「Oh sh*t! Because we don’t have weapons right now, it would be really painful!」

「Is this my reward!? Coming this far only to fall victim to PK!? Sanraku, please die instead of me! Take one for the team, will you!?」

While we were being chased around by Pencilgton, a new window popped up and the three of us came to a sudden halt.

「…… Anyway, thank you for bearing with my selfish request. Thanks to you I managed to complete this unique quest.」

「Think nothing of it. We helped you because we wanted to do so.」

「That’s right. And the title for slaying my first Unique Monster in this game is more than enough of a reward for me.」

「It’s really nice to see someone being proud of their accomplishments, no matter the reward…… Was it fun……? Ahh, doesn’t matter! It was for me, and that’s what really matters.」

「You keep on saying that and we’ll be the ones to give you a nice beating you bastard……!」

After we stopped messing with one another, the three of us looked at each other and we give ourselves a sincere smile and a pat on the back as a sign of a job well done.

「Well then, you lot! Let’s see just what kind of rewards we managed to score for ourselves!」

「GRAVEKEEPER WEZAEMON WENT BACK TO IT’S ETERNAL SLUMBER.」

「THE WISH OF “SETSUNA OF THE DISTANT PAST” WAS SUCCESSFULLY FULFILLED.」

「THE EX QUEST “FROM DISTANT PAST WITH LOVE” IS NOW CLEARED.」

「RECEIVED THE TITLE “NURSER”.」

「RECEIVED THE TITLE “MOMENTARY THINKER”.」

「RECEIVED THE TITLE “CERTIFIED ANCESTOR”.」

「RECEIVED ACCESSORY “INVENTORY”.」

「RECEIVED ITEM “SECRET SWORD TECHNIQUE: DRAGON FIRE PILLAR”.」

「RECEIVED THE ITEM “BOOK OF THE WORLD’S TRUTH: GRAVEKEEPER CHAPTER”.」

「UNIQUE QUEST EX “EPIC OF VORPAL BUNNY” READY TO PROGRESS.」

「“WORLD QUEST: SHANGRILA FRONTIER” READY TO PROGRESS.」