Chapter 70: Then die from now on.

Okeanos.

A deity who ruled the sea before Poseidon in ancient Greece and Rome, and the name of the river said to encircle the Earth.

In the Gray City, it is one of the final pieces of content in the game, and the only legal way to experience the beautiful

sights of nature in a world otherwise dominated by the bleak, gray landscape.

To see Okeanos in the Gray City, players must collect all materials, skills, and beast data within the game, and

complete the mapping of all regions.

Once this achievement is reached, players will receive a quest notification. The contents are not predetermined but

are randomly assigned. For example, they may require the player to catch 50 fish in the Gray River and raise them

for two weeks in-game, or to explore all regions again in reverse order.

And now, both I and Nat-chan had fulfilled all the preconditions to reach Okeanos, and a quest notification

containing special conditions had arrived.

[The Path to Okeanos]

[Kill all allied forces, currently on your side.]

“…Huh?”

A quest I couldn’t understand.

“U-um, excuse me, does this also apply to me and Nat-chan…?”

[…Yeah. It says to kill all allied forces.]

This was absurd.

Why would such a condition be in place? It wouldn’t hurt to just give a normal one.

My head was spinning.

[Aha! Maybe if we break the alliance and then rejoin it… ]

“That… That probably won’t work.”

The special conditions for the Path to Okeanos are randomly set, but once determined, they never change. If we

wanted to alter these conditions, the only way was to use a nuclear option to revert the game to its initial state.

But that wouldn’t be allowed right now…

[Then, how about we first break our alliance and ask the others for permission…?]

“O-Okeanos can only be unlocked once in a game.”

Okeanos is a special reward given only to the player who first conquers all regions and items in the Gray City.

What’s important here is not the fact that everything is conquered, but the fact that it’s the first time it’s been done.

As a result, if Okeanos has already appeared on a map, it will never appear again.

If we wanted to see it again, we’d have to use the nuclear option to return the game to its original state.

[…I see.]

I could hear Nat-chan’s voice filled with disappointment as she processed my response.

[Ha… we both worked so hard.]

After saying this, Nat-chan’s character moved closer to me and sat down despondently on the floor.

Her posture made it seem as though all the effort we had put in so far was for nothing.

• Of all the conditions, this one had to pop up.
• This quest is full of human malice; it’s so terrifying.
• It completely destroys all the trust we’ve built.
  The chat filled with negative comments, and the atmosphere of the stream grew darker.
  [Hah…]
  “W-we’ll find a way…”
  [Hm?]
  “We’ll, we’ll find a way…!”
  But I didn’t want to give up.
  If I gave up, Nat-chan would see Okeanos, or if Nat-chan gave up, she’d see it.
  That wasn’t right.
  We had to see Okeanos together.
  I didn’t want to make all the memories and effort from the past four days feel meaningless.
  Even if we had to start the exploration from scratch…
  “There’s definitely a way. We’ve been working toward seeing Okeanos together up until now…!”
  [Izumi…]
  Honestly, with my knowledge, I couldn’t see a clear answer…
  But if there was a chance, I would keep trying. If we could see that beautiful sight after putting in more effort…!
  [Izumi. We’re friends, right?]
  “Y-yeah! F-friends, so let’s find the way together…!”
  [I’m glad.]
  Whoosh!
  “…Huh?”

An unpleasant sound that seemed to pierce my flesh echoed through the air.

And for some reason, my screen had turned a dull gray.

• ᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏᄏ
• Natsune, it didn’t seem like you hesitated at all when you stabbed me ᄏᄏ

The blood was spilling onto the floor. The knife had punctured my chest.

“N-Natsune…?”

My mind couldn’t process what was happening. Even if I prayed that someone would tell me this was just a dream,

the cold reality was staring me right in the face.

Looking at my character crawling on the gray screen and seeing Natsune’s character looking down at me from above,

the answer was clear.

“Wait, w-what is this…?”

Natsune had stabbed me.

[Izumi already saw Oceanos, so this time, let me have it!]

“We… we were supposed to find a way together until the very end…”

[Hey. The condition doesn’t change, and Oceanos only opens once, right? Then, there’s no other way. One of us has to die. It has to be either me or you.]

Natsune’s voice was cold and matter-of-fact. It was so cold it was almost frightening.

[If one of us has to die, wouldn’t it be better if you, Izumi, give up since you’ve already seen Oceanos?]

“Th-That’s… true, but…”

This ending, where everything we’d worked for was destroyed, felt unbearable.

“B-But you said we were friends…?”

[Because we’re friends, I believe you’ll forgive me and sacrifice yourself.]

“Ugh…?!”

• Ah, it’s all ruined now ᄏᄏ
• Poor Izumi, but why is it so funny?
• Why is it that everyone who travels with Izumi becomes a sadist?
• It’s all Izumi’s fault anyway…!

The chat window was quickly filling with negative comments, and the mood of the stream naturally began to darken.

“That’s… so cruel…”

“I-I started this journey… it’s mine…!”

[Izumi, you said it yourself, right? The gray city is a game where alliances don’t matter. If you get betrayed, it’s the victim’s fault.]

“But Natsune… I thought you’d never betray me…”

I’d believed we would stick together until the very end…

[Sorry, Izumi. I’ll capture it and send it to you, so please forgive me, okay?]

“Ah…”

Once again, the unpleasant sound of the blade slicing into me echoed. Then, two words appeared on my screen,

announcing something I couldn’t deny:

[You Died]

“This… this is a lie…”

It had to be a dream. There was no way Natsune, who had always been so kind, would betray me and kill me like this.

She couldn’t be the one laughing sweetly and asking for forgiveness while stabbing me in the back.

[Natsune: Sorry, Izumi! But we’re still friends, right?]

But the message from Natsune in the chat forced me to face the cold truth.

“…I’m done.”

Now, the gray city held no meaning for me anymore…

• Bye, Izumi!
• It’s sad for Izumi, but why does it make me laugh so much?
• Why does everyone who travels with Izumi turn into a sadist?
• It’s all Izumi’s fault anyway…!

Is this really the same Mei-chan who never used to chat at all in the original narrator?

Now, she can have conversations like this with Natsune. It gives me chills.

[Recommended: 63 / Not Recommended: 11]

Eighth Star: If this was in a good situation, it’d be fine, but right after being betrayed? ᄏᄏ

Maker: At least something happened…

ᄋᄋ: So, you’re not an antisocial, awkward mess anymore?

Maker: The growing VTuber, that’s Kaiyo Izumi.

Mei-chan Love: Do people who like Mei-chan turn into sadists?

ᄂMei-chan Love: Or do sadists like Mei-chan?

Loo: That’s a tough question.

Loo: Not really curious about it though.

Iruzubumi: I want to betray Mei-chan like Natsune and make her miserable.

ᄂIruzubumi: So that Mei-chan would depend on me forever.

Loo: I think that’s impossible for the rest of your life, teacher.

ᄋᄋ: Holding my breath until Mei-chan goes back to her antisocial, awkward, low-spirited self.

It says “Oyabun,” though?

Christmas.

The day that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ.

But in Japan, Christmas is not a public holiday.

When I first learned this, I was so sad.

Then, I found out that South Korea is the only country in Northeast Asia that designates Christmas as a public

holiday.

They say even the dead were resurrected, but we can’t even make Christmas a holiday?

Is this all the reverence that Jesus deserves? Reflect, Christianity.

Of course, I’m non-religious.

But that doesn’t mean I dislike Christmas now.

Actually, I like it.

Because we have winter vacation during Christmas.

Jesus really is amazing!

“Well, everyone, make sure to rest well during the break!”

“Yes!!!”

The classroom was full of excited “insiders” making plans to meet during winter break.

Naturally, I couldn’t blend in, so I packed my things quickly and tried to leave the classroom.

“Kaiyo-san!”

It was Miyauchi-san who called me back.

“We’re thinking of having a Christmas party together. Come with us!”

“…Eh?”

She looked at me with firm, resolute eyes, making it clear that she wasn’t taking no for an answer.