The well-Balanced Yamamoto-san Gets Caught up in a Death Game

Chapter 39

“Are you alright? Are you hurt?”

I help the girl up who had been sitting on her bottom at the top of the hill.

Up close, she’s truly tiny and adorable.

But her face is as pale as death.

Is she really okay…?

“Um, yes. I’m fine, my HP doesn’t seem to have decreased…”

HP? So this child is a player too?

I was thinking it might not be the best to make a fuss on top of the hill, when…

“Um, w-well then, I’ll be going…”

The girl started to say, but…

No way, with that deathly pale face, saying “Well then”… That’s not going to work!

“Wait.”

I unconsciously grabbed her arm.

Well, this isn’t like my character… I thought, but I softened my voice a little.

“If you’d like, I can at least listen to what you have to say?”

■□■

I take the girl to the chic café I visited with Katze-san yesterday.

This place isn’t very crowded, probably because it’s a bit pricey.

Last time I relaxed in the open-air section, but this time I figured we’d have a more involved conversation, so I asked the staff if they had a private room.

They said they did, so we were guided to the back of the shop and entered together.

I wonder if they’ll charge extra for the private room? Do I have enough cash?

“Um, why…”

“Sorry for the sudden invitation. I’m Yama– uh, you can call me Yama-chan or Yama-san, whichever you prefer.”

That was close.

I almost introduced myself as Yamamoto.

Gotta be careful.

As I’m internally panicking, the girl introduces herself too.

“I’m Lili. I’m an Imp race player…”

Imp? Is that a small demon race?

They’re not a particularly memorable monster, but they look like cute little devils. With this frail appearance, I guess she probably fights using magic rather than close combat.

“Then, can I call you Lili-chan?”

“Yes…”

“So, about why I stopped you… You looked like you were about to die, and I couldn’t just leave you alone. If there’s something going on, why don’t you talk to big sis about it?”

“…………”

…Silent treatment, huh.

Well, it might be a bit much to ask someone to confide in a stranger who suddenly appeared.

Can’t be helped. I guess I’ll have to open up a bit…

“Well, this is just me talking to myself, but… Back when I was a student, I experienced some light bullying? Or maybe being ignored? There was a time when I refused to go to school.”

“…………”

“Even when I shut myself in at home, I was tormented by loneliness. It was painful. There was a time when I thought it might be better if I just died.”

“…………”

“But fortunately, I had a little sister who would listen to my complaints, frustrations, anger, and sadness. Somehow, we formed a connection. When you have something like that, those thoughts of wanting to die start to fade away.”

I glanced over and saw Lili-chan looking at me with serious eyes.

Maybe she was feeling the same way.

In reality, she probably has family and close friends, but this is inside a game.

Unlike real-life friends like Bre-kun and Misaki-chan, connections in games can be both deep and shallow. She might have been in a situation where she couldn’t consult anyone even when she was troubled.

I continue.

“I learned then that talking to someone can often make you feel lighter and help you organize your feelings. So, it’s not exactly my turn, but… I thought maybe I could at least listen to your complaints–”

“Uuu… hic… sniff…”

Eh, Lili-chan!? Why are you crying now!?

Are you carrying such a painful and heavy burden!?

Or rather, what should I do in this situation!?

Flustered, I ended up unable to do anything until Lili-chan stopped crying.

Yes. I’m useless…

■□■

“It’s all my fault…”

Lili-chan began to confess.

The person Lili-chan met on that hill was apparently Take-kun, her former party member.

And now…

“Yama-san, you came to that place, so you’re in a production class, right?”

“Well, yeah. That’s right.”

“Then, you know about the adventurers who are monopolizing rare compounding items, right…?”

“I heard about it at the Commerce Guild yesterday, I think?”

“Take-kun is one of those adventurers monopolizing the rare materials…”

Well, well. That white-haired monster player turned out to be one of the rare material monopolizing adventurers.

I see.

It’s a small world, or something like that… right?

“But Take-kun isn’t doing it because he wants to!”

“Ah, yeah.”

I was surprised by the sudden strength in Lili-chan’s tone.

Lili-chan seems to believe in Take-kun.

They probably had a good relationship, right? Her passion suggests as much.

“Take-kun was in a party with me until we reached Forzine. He fought alongside someone as weak and slow as me…”

At this point, Lili-chan’s voice drops.

Did something happen?

“But just one step away from Forzine… Take-kun shielded slow, useless me from the Area Boss’s bite…”

And apparently, he lost his right arm.

The now one-armed Take-kun managed to survive thanks to healing magic and potions, but losing his dominant arm had a big impact. Even though they reached Forzine, he became unable to properly complete requests.

“I apologized. Over and over. But it wasn’t something that could be fixed with apologies… Gradually, Take-kun started to become bitter, and before I knew it, he started hanging out with some unsavory adventurers…”

Guild requests… especially for adventurers who can’t defeat monsters, I think they can only earn money through [Gathering] or [Mining], but the income from that seems to be minimal.

So someone came up with a scheme to make big profits, and Take-kun went along with it — that seems to be part of the truth behind the rare material monopoly problem.

Among the members, many seem to have body parts missing, probably from pushing themselves too hard on the way to Forzine.

And while Take-kun might be desperate to survive, causing trouble for others is… not great.

Above all, it’s not good that Lili-chan is constantly worrying about it.

“I told Take-kun to stop many times, but he wouldn’t listen… Even when he pushed me earlier, he said I was persistent… He said it’s because he protected someone as weak and slow as me that he ended up like this… uu, uuu…”

After saying that, Lili-chan started crying again.

Well, I understand Take-kun’s feelings, but…

Shouldn’t he consider the feelings of the person who’s worrying about him a bit more?

He’s probably upset now, but I wish he’d treat people with a bit more compassion.

“Uuu… sniff… that’s why, it’s my fault… Because I’m weak and slow… Because of me… uuu… Even Take-kun’s life…”

Hmm. I understand Lili-chan’s feelings of regret, and I understand Take-kun’s bitterness too.

But if things stay like this, I feel like both of them will just keep sinking deeper and never reach a happy ending.

I prefer stories with happy endings, you know?

I hate it when things end in tragedy.

So, I’ve decided to guide these two to a happy ending for my own sake!

“I think I can do something about Take-kun causing trouble for others.”

“Eh…?”

“I’m not certain yet… but I think I can manage it somehow.”

Yeah, I can’t guarantee it, but I have an idea of how I might be able to do something.

But that alone isn’t enough.

I’m aiming for a perfect happy ending!

“But that’s not enough. Just that won’t change anything for Take-kun and Lili-chan. Take-kun will still be sulking, and Lili-chan will keep worrying about Take-kun. So we need to change things.”

“Change…?”

That’s right. Even if I solve the rare material problem, nothing will change at the root.

So we need to make an effort to change the situation.

“To change Take-kun’s feelings, let’s start by changing Lili-chan. Let’s show Take-kun, ‘I’ve worked hard and changed this much. So, Take-kun, let’s work hard and change too.’ Then, Take-kun might become more positive about changing too.”

“B-but, changing… how…”

“Do you like yourself, Lili-chan? The weak and slow you?”

“Of course not… I hate it…”

“Then let’s start by changing that.”

“Changing… how…”

There is a way.

In a month, there’s going to be a huge event that Take-kun will probably see!

“The Grand Martial Festival.”

“Eh?”

“You saw the World Event announcement, right? Let’s enter it and win.”

“Eeeeh!? I-impossible! I’m useless and can only use weak magic! It’s absolutely impossible!”

“It’s good because it’s impossible.”

“Eh?”

“If you can overturn that in front of Take-kun, it’ll prove that nothing is impossible. Then, Take-kun might think, ‘What’s losing an arm compared to that!’, right?”

“That’s… maybe…?”

Plus, while Lili-chan will have to do her best, I’ll be there to support her.

Even if Lili-chan says she doesn’t want to, I’ll make her win no matter what!

“So, can I send you a friend request? Don’t worry, I’ll make sure you win.”

I say in a gentle voice. Lili-chan seemed to hesitate a bit, but then, as if she’d made up her mind, she bowed deeply and said, “Please…!”