Forming an alliance with Natsune to see Okeanos was quite a successful move in many ways.
After I ended my broadcast on the first day, Natsune continued her exploration alone, communicating with the eighth stars, and by the time she finished, her exploration rate had reached 51%, just like she had told me.
However, when I returned home after school the next day and logged into the Gray City, Natsune was still online.
“Um, Natsune-senpai?”
[Ah, Izumi-chan! I’ll share the records here.]
As Natsune said that and shared her exploration record, my exploration rate in the desert of ashes showed 97%.
“…W-wait, have you really been exploring alone all this time?”
[Yep! I stayed behind yesterday and kept at it, and it was kinda fun. So I woke up today and kept it up alone!]
“…Eh?”
She said it was fun to explore alone?
Well, I guess that’s possible. Exploration could indeed be fun.
After all, one of the charms of survival games is discovering new things.
But what Natsune and I had been doing was exploring the desert of ashes, which was more like repeating the same tasks without discovering anything new.
Even if there were books for advanced refinement techniques, it was still exploration that couldn’t be used right away.
And she found that… fun?
[Izumi-chan, let’s hurry to the next area! I’m curious about what we can find in other places!]
…This is a serious level of exploration addiction.
Anyway, thanks to our alliance, we were getting closer to Okeanos at an astonishing speed in just three days.
[Beyond the Milky Way~ There’s a world where we’re together~.]
…At the same time, I could also fulfill my desires.
★
[【Gray City】Heading to Okeanos! #KainohIzumi#StarsFlow#GrayCity]
It was a spacious room.
Though it showed signs of neglect with corrosion in various places, there was an emergency generator still functional, so there was no problem turning on the lights.
[Wow! It’s so big!]
Natsune was looking around in astonishment.
Well, anyone would be surprised to see a place like this in a game set in a post-apocalyptic world.
I was enthralled when I first saw it, too.
“And if we go in there….”
As I lightly manipulated the keyboard, the huge door creaked open.
Inside were dusty decorations and games set up for gambling.
[H-Hold on, is this….]
“It’s a, a casino.”
Indeed.
This was a casino made by the creators of the City of Ashes for players to enjoy mini-games.
From poker and chess to roulette, blackjack, and slot machines.
Here, players could wager materials they’ve collected to play any of those games, with rewards up to five times their wager if they won.
[Can we play all the games here?]
“Yes.”
[L-Let’s play together, Izumi-chan! Let’s invite others too!]
“Um, should we?”
Well, even though we came to explore Okeanos for a bit, it wouldn’t hurt to have some fun as long as we kept it light.
Besides, since it’s not real money, there shouldn’t be any issues.
…At least that’s what I thought at the time.
[No way! This is cheating! Suzuha! Give me back my iron!]
[What are you talking about, Tsubaki-senpai? I just played fair! The computer is the dealer, so it’s impossible to cheat.]
[No way! This roulette is definitely broken! There’s no way I could lose every single time!]
– Haha
– Suzuha-chi is too strong!
– Looks like Tsuba-chan lost again…
“Everything’s a mess.”
There weren’t any words in my vocabulary that could describe the situation other than that.
[…Right?]
Fortunately, Natsune agreed with me.
– This is hell unleashed by Mei-chan and Natsune!
– All we can do is apologize for dragging everyone into this hell.
What are you talking about?
Natsune and I finished with a light vibe.
The real issue lies with the addicts who showed up later.
[Then let’s do it again! This time, let’s wager 200 iron each!]
[Okay! But Tsubaki-senpai might be running low on funds soon….]
[I won’t give up! No matter what, I’ll succeed with this roulette!]
I tried to tell Natsune and Tsubaki to not get so engrossed, but it kept going like this.
At least one good thing was that Yuzuki-senpai, Aki-chan, and Utsumi-chan quickly lost interest and went back.
Yukari Akabane didn’t even show up….
[Akakatsu! So this is the casino Suzuha was talking about. I want to join too!]
[Oh ho ho! Then after my roulette is over, it’s a showdown, Yukari-chan!]
[No! How can there be a four-card?! Do you know the odds, Suzuha?!]
[What’s done is done! You can’t change it now, Tsubaki-senpai!]
…And just like that, one more gambling addict was added to the mix.
★
[Do you think it’s okay to just leave them like this?]
“I, I think we did our best….”
I had to stop Kurokami-senpai from wagering all the materials she had collected at the roulette.
I prevented Namikawa-senpai from going all-in against Suzuha in poker.
I even explained the rules of blackjack to Akabane-chan, who didn’t know how to play at all from the start.
Having done all this, shouldn’t we be able to go our separate ways?
Luckily, it seems like each of them received a good reaction from their viewers too.
– Now it’s a scene of frenzy over there!
– Mei-chan and Natsune have to apologize!
While I didn’t feel zero guilt, they did choose this content themselves.
I was okay with it.
Ah, maybe….
“This, this is the last area….”
From the desert of ashes to the gray river, the crumbling city, the corroded shopping district, and finally the area Natsune and I arrived at was the Gray Village.
[Right.]
From Tuesday to today, Saturday.
If you say it’s long, it’s long, but if you say it’s short, it was quite short.
Our journey for Okeanos with Natsune wraps up here.
To be precise, there were still special conditions that hadn’t appeared yet, but simply touring the different areas of Gray City was coming to an end.
[Now, let’s begin the exploration of Gray Village!]
“Yes…!”
I began the last exploration, chewing on that fact.
★
The exploration rate of the Gray City is divided into two categories.
Overall exploration and regional exploration.
Overall exploration is a collective gathering of things regardless of the area, and it increases by collecting materials or techniques excluding items that players can make directly or by completing area maps.
And regional exploration literally indicates how much one has explored a certain area.
As for Natsune’s and my total exploration rate and regional exploration rate, it currently stood at 99.99%.
“F-Finally, this is the real last stretch….”
[Wow. I still can’t fully grasp it. What should we do?]
Natsune and I were standing in front of the last area of Gray Village, at the fallen public office.
Mapping this space would complete the exploration and inform us of the special conditions to reach Okeanos.
[Izumi-chan.]
“…Yes?”
[We’ve been allies for four days now, right?]
“Y-Yeah.”
[I know it’s kinda funny to say this now, but how about we start calling each other by our names more casually?]
“…Eh?”
[I’ll just call you Izumi, so I hope you can call me by my name too. Oh, wait. Since you’re the eighth star, would it be easier to call me Natsune instead?]
“Uh? O-Oh, um….”
What is Natsune talking about?
Calling her Natsune, that sounds ridiculous.
“W-Wait, is your objective to get me to call you by your name…?”
Pfft!
– In the end, is that really it?
– When a person is pushed to the limits, their thoughts just stop.
– That’s the limit…?
Pfft!
[Natsune-chan, you’re really cute.]
This must be a dream.
If it’s not, then the current situation is utterly inexplicable, so it has to be a dream.
[So, you don’t want to…?]
“I-I, um….”
If you ask whether I like it or not, of course, I do.
After all, when I was confirmed for my debut as a second-year student of Stars Flow, one of my greatest expectations was making friends with Natsune.
But as much as I was excited, there was also fear lurking in my heart.
What if we became close, and Natsune gets disappointed upon learning I’m Kayanoh Mina?
I know that it’s a pointless fear, yet I would feel uneasy just thinking about it.
[I want to get a little closer to Izumi…].
“Gah.”
My heart almost stopped.
That’s unfair. That’s cheating, Natsune. I might just have a heart attack.
If you ask like that, how could I possibly refuse…?
“I-I’ll also call you Natsune from now on….”
[Drop the honorifics, Izumi! We’re friends now!]
“….”
Natsune’s voice, filled with joy, slowly closed my eyes.
The world I always thought was bad seemed quite beautiful.
– D-Dead?
– Kainoh Izumi falls asleep here.
– Mei-chan has stopped thinking.
[Now, it’s up to you, Izumi. You finish the mapping for us.]
“W-What? Me?”
[Yep! It was your proposal that started this journey, so you should be the one to finish it. And really, it’s okay to speak casually, right?]
“Ah, um….”
Hearing those words from Natsune, I entered the mapping command.
After waiting for 10 seconds, the map completed, and the exploration rates that stood at 99.99% both hit 100%.
Then, a quest alert rang out—ding!
In it, there was:
[The Path to Okeanos]
[Eliminate all allied comrades you are currently allied with.]
“…Huh?”
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