Chapter 26: Houkago DC-bu

In the corner of his eye was a clock, it joyously informed him that the time was at hand.
The current time in this virtual world, was Midnight──
It was the time he was waiting for; the time of the promise.
Yos.h.i.+ was in the plaza buying ingredients from the players gathered there, all the while thinking that Suzu and Edgar would arrive any minute.
Very soon he would be with Suzu, his imagination was filled with thoughts of a clan just for the two of them.

「Yos.h.i.+-kun」
「…… Oh hey there, Suzu-chan. You came~」

Long awaited sound brushed against Yos.h.i.+’s ear, a soft and gentle voice.
Among the ma.s.sive crowd of players trying to sell him ingredients, he spotted the figure of Suzu, clad in her white robe.
Suzu’s complexion had several dark shadows etched onto it.
The moment he saw her, Yos.h.i.+ was now sure of one thing.
I won.
I beat Edgar-kun, I won this contest.

「Hmm~ What’s the matter, Suzu-chan? Are you upset?」
「……」

Yos.h.i.+ was wearing a sly smile, but Suzu said nothing in response.
She did not move from where she stood, simply staring at Yos.h.i.+ without a single word.

「Now then, how about you come over here. Hmm…… Did Edgar-kun run away because he thought he would lose?」

Yos.h.i.+ quickly scanned the surroundings, but Edgar was no where to be seen.
I guess he was disheartened knowing he would lose, he went and disappeared huh.
Hmph, what happened to all that talk about「With one hour left, I’ll pull something off」

While imagining Edgar grinding his teeth in frustration, Yos.h.i.+ lightly chuckled as he walked over to the silent Suzu.
If was as if, he was a knight, going to fetch his princess.

「Well now, Suzu-chan. What shall I name our clan? I want it to have a wonderful name that shows our love to the world, Suzu-cha──ッ!?」

And, as he was basking in euphoria, the awfully talkative Yos.h.i.+ suddenly shut his mouth.
This was because, behind Suzu came a terrifying gaze. Standing there was a dark skinned elf── Megu.
That gaze sent chills of fear running through Yos.h.i.+’s entire body.
That girl, if I remember she is Suzu-chan’s friend──

「……Aaah~ it’s no use. I can’t hold it back any longer, nope」(Megu)
「Really though, he even said『A wonderful name that shows our love to the world』. You’re quite the shameless b.a.s.t.a.r.d huh」
「……ッ!?」

Yos.h.i.+’s expression instantly grew stiff.
Standing behind Suzu… was not only Megu.
A bald-headed Fighter, and a Knight that carried the same att.i.tude as him.
It was Andou and Yamabuki.

「Y-You are…… Yamabuki-kun?」
「…… But ‘cha know~, even I would feel disgusted by that. Yos.h.i.+」(Yamabuki)
「Why are you here……!?」

Seeing Yamabuki who he knew very well, Yos.h.i.+ drew away.
So Suzu-chan wasn’t alone with just Edgar-kun huh.
No, more importantly, now of all times, why are they here.

「S-So what. Do you plan on separating me and Suzu-chan by force?」
「No, Stupid. Why’d the h.e.l.l we have to do somethin’ like that」(Yamabuki)
「Fine, I never want to talk to you again, but since you don’t get it I’ll say it here. Use those repulsive eyes of yours and have a goood haard look at our statuses!」

Megu’s anger was on the verge of exploding as she cried out.
Being shaken by her intimidating aura, Yos.h.i.+ opened up Megu’s status.
Floating before Yos.h.i.+, was a Status Window.
Looking at that screen, Yos.h.i.+ immediately noticed that an unbelievable name was written there.

「……Th, Th, The『After-School DC Club』? Wh-Wha, What the h.e.l.l is this!?」
「Obviously it’s our Clan」(Megu)

A somewhat unusual Clan Name was written on Megu’s Status.
However, Megu was not the only one who wore that Name.
Andou and Yamabuki.
It was even written on Suzu’s status──

「A-Are you kidding!? Even though I bought all the ingredients, How!?」
「…… Well, I really had to bust my back you know」

“I can’t believe this,” it happened while Yos.h.i.+ still had swirls in his eyes.
Like saying that there was no escape, a st.u.r.dy arm wrapped around Yos.h.i.+’s shoulder.
A black haired and plain-looking guy.
It was Edgar.

「……Y-YOU!?」
「Hmm? What’s the matter? Is there something stuck on my face? Well, there’s something stuck to my status screen that wasn’t there before though」

Forcefully placing his arm on Yos.h.i.+’s shoulder, Edgar turned him with a wide grin.
And once again, on Edgar’s status screen was a name. The same clan name Suzu and the others had; the name「After-School DC Club」 floated above him.

「H-H-How did you!?」
「This contest is our win, Yos.h.i.+」
「Why!? How did you clear the Clan Quest!? Did you use some glitch to get around it!?」
「…… Hey, c’mon now. What’s with those false accusations」
「ッ!?」

Edgar sharply glared at Yos.h.i.+.
Putting his hand on the back of Yos.h.i.+’s head, Edgar placed him in a headlock.

「W-Wait…… Are you raising your hand against me!? If you do that, then I’ll call the GMs──」
「Go ahead. Either way it’s more beneficial for us. We can tell them about someone who used RMT after all」
「……ッ!?」

Yos.h.i.+’s expression turned pale.
Seeing Edgar’s menacing gaze, the fundamental idea that「It was impossible to be physically harmed by another person while you were in town」quickly vanished from Yos.h.i.+’s thoughts.

「I, I never used RMT. You don’t have any proof of it」
「Shut it. Now listen well, I’m really close to getting p.i.s.sed off. So stop wasting your breath. I’m sure you don’t want to lose all your precious items and money, right?」
「……Y-YEsh」

From Yos.h.i.+’s mouth came a reply almost like a shriek.
Yos.h.i.+ was thoroughly shaking in his boots, but Edgar continued to pile on threats.

「Yos.h.i.+, since I won this contest, how about I ask a favor from you?」
「W-Wh, What might that be?」
「Don’t worry, there’s some merit in it for you too. You’ve spent all your time here buying ingredients, isn’t that right?」
「……Eh?」

Not knowing the meaning behind those words, Yos.h.i.+ stood momentarily confused.

「B-Buying…… ingredients?」
「Yup. You said you needed them, right? Lizard Skin, and Crab Claws, also Leather Straps…… What else am I missing?」
「「「ANIMAAL HAAAAIR!」」」

The moment Edgar sent a quick glance over to them, Megu, Andou, and Yamabuki pulled out an enormous amount of「Animal Hair」; so much so that it was overflowing out of their hands.
And just like the pile animal hair they held in both arms, big bright grins spilled onto their faces.

「Wha…… how, huh, wa」
「Well, we have a really reliable comrade you see. Despite the current shortage, she was able to give us a considerable amount of Animal Hair」

The person who brought all this animal hair, was none other than Usa.
Perhaps she possessed incredibly good fortune. When Usa went to Rabasta Woodlands there was already a bunch of players there, but she always managed to come up on top. Again and again, Usa was victorious in her struggles and obtained all this animal hair.

「W-W-Wh, Why do I have to buy them from you guys!」
「Weren’t you supposed to be the Savior of beginner players? We’re beginners too you know. And also……」
「…… Hiii」

Edgar peered into Yos.h.i.+’s eyes.
The overwhelming fear caused Yos.h.i.+ to let out another squeal.

「Everyone wanted to report you to the admins because they suspected you of using RMT, but you know, I was thinking it would be fine to let you off the hook」
「……ッ」
「To report, or not to report…… I’m having trouble deciding」
「I-I, I-I-I, I never used RMT!…… I never used it, but…… Your ingredients…… I’ll buy them」

The crestfallen Yos.h.i.+ hung his head.
Seeing his appearance, Megu and the others rejoiced.

「Wow, Wow! He’ll buy them for 6,000 Manila a piece, and we have about 40 of them so…… I don’t know how much that is, but aren’t we like, going to be super wealthy now!?」
「Man, I feel bad for calling you disgusting, you 『lan-trad』!」
「…… Uuu」

Wahhaaha, Megu and the others erupted with joy.
However, among them there was one person, only Suzu stood silently gazing at Yos.h.i.+, all the while wearing the same dull facial expression.
It was like that gaze was filled with deep pity towards Yos.h.i.+.

「ッ! S, Suzu-chan! Pleaase forgive mee! All I wanted, I just wanted to make a clan together with you」

“Please understand,” Noticing her gaze, Yos.h.i.+ made a desperate plea to Suzu.
Making light of the tense mood from earlier, he cried out with tears in his eyes, as if he was made out to be the victim.

「Yos.h.i.+-kun……」

Very quietly, Suzu cast her gaze downward.
Time pa.s.sed, it was only a few seconds, but for Yos.h.i.+ it felt like time had stopped; it was a painfully long time.

And then, as if gathering her resolve, Suzu took a deep breath, and once again turned her gaze to Yos.h.i.+.
── Completely unlike her usual self, that gaze was extremely icy and cold.

「…… I can’t make a clan just by myself」(Yos.h.i.+)
「…… Go die……」

Suzu only said those words.
As if his waist was shattered into a million pieces, Yos.h.i.+ sank to the floor.
Seeing him, Edgar couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

A worthless man and a worthless contest.
But as proof of their triumph, the clan「After-School DC Club」let out their first victory cry, as newborn fledglings to this world of Dragon’s Krone.

I have never seen Sasaki-san (Megu-san) in such high spirits.
Warm rays of suns.h.i.+ne were dancing in a certain cla.s.sroom at Kasumigaoka High-School. Megu was wearing an almost creepy smile as she approached Ran who looked at a loss for words.
The reason for Megu-san’s good mood is pretty obvious.
Because of the incident with Yos.h.i.+ yesterday, they were able to get their hands on a substantial amount of money.
That being said, when you include their Helper Usa, the money they「liquidated」 from Yos.h.i.+ was distributed amongst everyone, so each individual didn’t receive much.
Or rather, for me that amount of money is like a small drop in the bucket, but for Megu-san who’s been living her life in poverty ever since she started playing, it was apparently an unbelievable amount of money.

「Heey~ there, Ed! Yesterday you were really cool too! I just want to say it straight, that you’re the best for saving us!」
「Well, thanks」

Should I try to stealthily give her a ton of money from Aran?
She would probably die from shock.

「…… Say, though it’s about Yos.h.i.+zumi (Yos.h.i.+). Apparently he’s saying home from school today, but ya think the reason is that?」

Seeing he pops his head into the neighboring cla.s.s from time to time, Yamabuki brought up that info.

「…… Eh, what, so that lan-tard is skipping school?」
「He was all raring to go yesterday, but I guess he’s sulking in bed right now」
「Well yea, he went through some bad times. Though he got what he deserved」

No sympathy whatsoever, saying it like he didn’t even care, in response to Andou’s question Megu and Yamabuki voiced respective「Of course he would be」while nodding.
Immediately after Yos.h.i.+ bought ingredients from Ran and the others, very strangely, Yos.h.i.+ suddenly disappeared. Megu was saying “I’m p.i.s.sed he just up and logged out,” but apparently the real situation was different.
It was because in that short period of time Yos.h.i.+ had his「Account Banned」by the admins of Dragon’s Krone.

Of course this was a reality that Ran and the others did not know about. When a new player came to City of Crescendo he saw a Player just handing out money so he reported it to the admins. After the admins investigated Yos.h.i.+’s account, the discovered signs that he had used RMT.
Of course, using RMT was obviously a breach of the code of conduct. The admins determined that Yos.h.i.+ had malicious intents as he tried to break the game’s balance by handing out money to beginner players, and they promptly issued a ban on his account. The reason that Yos.h.i.+ sunk into the ground, was because he was forcefully ejected from the world of Dragon’s Krone.

「It got a bit difficult along the way, but it’s great that we were able to make a clan huh」
「That’s right. Although I didn’t think it was cause so much headache」

As the delighted Suzu spoke, Ran replied as if he was stuck with a bad aftertaste.
As I thought, I have to start treating my sub-character as a main one as well.
I guess I should start the grind and level up Edgar huh.
I never know what will happen in the future after all. This time we were lucky enough to pull through because of Chrono, but the way he is I doubt he’d be willing to help again.

「Ah, now that I think about it, there’s something I didn’t hear about」

And so, as if he had just remembered something, Ran spoke up.

「Huh? You didn’t hear about something」
「About that clan name…… Who came up with it?」

By the time Ran joined up with Suzu and the others, the Clan Quest was already finished, and their clan had been established.
And it was given the name「After-School DC Club」[1].

「Ooh…… The name huh」
「Well, we were low on time after all」
「…… So that name, Andou came up with it huh」

Andou awkwardly scratched his head when Ran pressed the question.
Honestly speaking…… I would’ve liked to have a cooler name.
Once a clan name is decided it can’t be changed after all, so complaining about it now is a bit pointless.

「…… I guess, it’s pretty lame huh, Edogawa-kun」

Suzu interrupted Ran’s conversation with a soft voice.

「Eh?…… Oh, yea, it is kinda lame」
「That name, I wanted it to capture the feeling of all of us playing together though……」
「…… Huh?」

Hearing those words, Ran grew stiff as if he was struck by an attack with the “petrify” effect.
You’re tell me, the one who made that name was──

「…… The one who came up with that name, was Suzu-san?」
「Yup. It was me」
「……Ouh」

His words stuck in his throat. Letting out a croak like the cries of a frog, at the same time Ran’s chest violently pounded.
In that instant, Ran’s thoughts were blown out of the water.

「Uh…… ah, I mean…… i-it’s a pretty good name, yeah. I think it’s real great」
「Ah, Edogawa’s being weird」
「Ed, he’s fl.u.s.tered huh. You’re waay too easy to read」

Ran was like a fish out of water. Megu and the others fired snide remarks at him while wearing wide grins.
And, seeing the fl.u.s.tered Ran, the gap between him and the reliable Edgar was somehow amusing. Suzu’s shoulders shook as she tried to hold back her laughter, smiling all the while.

A relaxing afternoon, the sound of their cla.s.smate’s conversations filled the cla.s.sroom.
Among those sounds, the sound of Suzu and her friend’s laughter could be heard, as the noise danced around the cla.s.sroom.

Author Afterword:

This marks the end of Volume 3.
For all your impressions and pointing out errors, Thank You So Very Much.
For you continued readers.h.i.+p, Yoros.h.i.+ku Onegais.h.i.+masu!

Ash Dancer’s Afterword:

Thanks to those who showed their support, and an extra thank you if you also supported the author by buying the light novel.
Next volume is my favorite so be sure to stick around!

Footnotes:

1.

TL note: “After-School DC Club” is otherwise known as 「Houkago DC-bu」, which is the t.i.tle of this chapter.
I a.s.sume the DC stands for “Disconnected” which would make their clan name “After-school Offline Club”.

Technically DC could also stand for “Dragon’s Chrone/Crone”, since the author doesn’t specify how “Dragon’s Krone” is spelled.
That said, if it’s suppose to be “Chrone” I’m going to have to flip some tables since “Chrone” isn’t a real word like “Krone” (Krone being an alternative spelling of “Crown”).