In the early morning, I wore running clothes and started running.
It was truly a pleasant morning. The bright shine of the morning sun, the singing birds, everything was giving their blessing to all but Hiiro.
And on such a morning, I breathed in and out twice at a good tempo while running.
“Fuu, fuu, haa, haa…!”
Then, I pulled the trigger of my device, strengthening my lower limbs. With that, both of my legs, where the pale magic lines are connected, begin to bring my body forward faster than before, causing the scenery to change in a blink of an eye.
The starting point of magic was, of course, a magic device. However, utilizing magic, increasing the power of that magic, and making that magic theirs depends on the ability of the magician (the alias of a magic user in the Esco World) themselves. Or in terms of the game, it depended on parameters.
Stamina, strength, magic power, intelligence, and agility. There are five types of parameters that exist in Esco World, but the most important parameter is… magic power.
Magic power is the foundation of magic. No matter how strong the magic device and consoles one has, if the magic power of the magician is garbage, their magic power will be exhausted with just one shot of Light1.
Conversely, no matter how weak the device, if the user has strong magic power, they can even shoot a deadly one-shot-kill Light.
And the only way to increase one’s magic power is to patiently repeat the same plain training so many times. When I was just a player holding the controller outside this world, this so-called training was just a simple action of setting the command 『Training』 in the schedule for the day and selected magic power enhancement from them, but…now that I’m inside the game world, the most efficient way to increase my magic power is to do ‘Magic Power Enhancement Running.’
To put it simply, I just have to set a body strengthening type of console and run while strengthening my lower limbs.
“Whoa, what’s with that person, so fast?!”
“Even if he used magic, isn’t he too fast?!”
Just like that, the effects of the action gradually begin to appear. At least, at this early in the morning, no one seems to be faster than I.
I then slowed down and deliberately hit a duo of runners.
“Kya!”
“A-are you okay?”
The girl was caught in the arms of the other girl who was running with her.
“…Ah,”
“S-sorry… I’ll release you immediately…”
“No… I’m fine staying like this… for a little more…”
Yuri at the corner, success!! Excuse me!!
I jumped over the railing of the stairs and took a shortcut, so as to not disturb the precious Yuri, and landed in the park, making the woman who watched me jump and land stop her Yoga. Then, while running from there, I think about my future plans.
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First of all, since the real start is when I enter the academy, for the time being, I have to raise my parameters in preparation for the academy that was full of death flags. This is a must. I don’t want to die, after all.
Hiiro’s initial parameters are actually not that bad. It could even be called good. Yes, although Hiiro the annoyance is just a character that exists only to receive the hate of all players, his parameters are actually not that bad. Even his magic device, Kuki Masamune, can also be used in the final fight depending on how he utilizes it.
And probably because his only purpose is to receive the hate of all players, not only he is the only man who inherits the bloodline of the famous Sanjou family, he also has an extremely high stamina and high growth margin of magic power2.
That is why if he properly trained himself, he probably would have been able to play an active part in the last boss battle. Well, most of the time, he died before that, though (smile).
Anyway, with that reason, if I work hard to raise my parameters, I should be able to avoid any unforeseen Hiiro death event somehow.
The next thing that I need to do is to raise my score, which is the most important thing in the Esco World, but…to be honest, regarding this one, I think it might be better to give up.
Because after the encounter with Lapis, I tried diving into the dungeon several times, but my score was fixed at 0 points and didn’t make even a slight movement. No matter what I did, it wasn’t increasing. And when I tried to contact the scoring agency, I got blocked after a few seconds (I seriously cried.). Hence, I concluded that Hiiro’s score probably would never go up.
As if adding to my misery, scores will become really essential when I enter the academy. So, if I don’t find a loophole to raise my score, I might suffer all sorts of harm there.
Or rather, it’s about time I want to drink a drink other than Dr.Pepper (lamenting).
Anyway, other than parameters and scores, the only thing that matters is the heroine’s favorability, but…currently, I think it’s not a good idea to get involved with them.
Of course, if I raised the favorability of the heroines, there is a possibility that I can avoid the attack of 『Women who absolutely will kill Hiiro』 like Lapis. But, if in the process Hiiro gets judged as 『A man sandwiched by Yuri』, I don’t know how would this world treat Hiiro.
Even impossible events such as the last boss appeared all of a sudden and GAME OVER might really occur. No really, it might truly happen. Hiiro is someone who got killed just because he ate someone’s ice cream, after all.
Besides, I want to see the protagonist tied to the heroine, after all… So being able to pour water to those lily flowers from the shadows is the best for me. Thus, the Lapis-san who kept following me saying 『Have a duel with me!!』 recently, is really troublesome.
“….”
I glanced at the elves hiding in the tree. The figures of beautiful elf girls who wore dark green robes and hoods that hid their faces were spotted on my running course. They’re without a doubt in contact with each other through magic devices, most likely ordered by Lapis.
While being fed up with them, I spotted a nose-glasses-wearing maid who was openly watching me with a telescope.
“….”
What’s with this girl!! Why do you also always follow me!!
I approached her in an instant and took off her nose glasses.
“Oi.”
“This is maid delta. Yes, since I’m wearing a disguise, I haven’t been exposed. Fufu, that man is really stupid.”
“Oi there.”
“Fufu, I’m not exposed yet.”
“You’re already exposed, idiot!! Stop escaping from reality!! What are you supposed to be, the Undefeated?!”
The white-haired maid promptly snatched her nose glasses from my hand and ran away.
Looking at the running maid, I took a deep breath, and then continued running while being watched by the group of elves.
This might be dangerous… The original Hiiro was a hated person, and nobody wanted to get close to him, and yet… How could I attract such attention even though I haven’t officially become a man who gets sandwiched by Yuri… Maybe I should have acted a little more like Hiiro… Well, that’s impossible, though.
“Haa, so hot…”
After running for about two hours, I returned to the Sanjou family’s mansion.
For the time being, I want to shower. I also want to drink cold water. Because there are only vending machines on my running course, I can only drink Dr.Pepper all this time. And my throat is looking for something to moisturize it with drinks other than Dr.Pepper. And if I can even drink it, I want to drink a Yuri.
With that in mind, I tried to open the door of the mansion–
“You’re too slow!”
“Whoa?!”
And jumped away, surprised by the sudden advance of golden color.
The work of art that grace me with its presence, no, the elf princess… Lapis Klue La Lumet, brushes her beautiful golden hair in a refreshing-looking dress.
“Please don’t run for two hours without permission. I’ve been waiting outside the mansion all these time, you know? Making a lady wait for two hours… Can you at least give me a message? If not because of the message from my shadows (the elves), I likely would have returned.”
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“…”
She pokes my chest and lifts her luggage.
“I will live here from today on.”
“…ha?”
Then, with her luggage, she enters the Sanjou family mansion as if she owned the place.
“Ne~? Is your room upstairs~? My room is the corner room on the second floor, but I want the room next to you, can I~? That’s more convenient, right~?”