Chapter 42: Preparations — Departure
The Little Wandering Planet: Last time it was Blackbeard the reincarnator. This time it's Meyu Inkyo the traverser?
The Little Wandering Planet: I want to sign up too… but thinking about it more carefully… maybe not.
RawrSoFierce: If you transferred over there, little Kaguya would probably get crushed to death.
Crazy Diamond: I mean, you're an entire planet! Transferring onto another Earth would probably just… break it, right?
Kaguya-sama: …How terrifying. *shiver shiver*
The Little Wandering Planet: …That hurts. Sniff sniff sniff.
We, Ying Zheng: We have only just finished sweeping aside the Six Kingdoms. There is much governance that demands Our attention.
We, Ying Zheng: Moreover, if We were absent for thirty days, the Great Qin would likely descend into chaos. We did not conquer this realm only to lose it over a headache.
RawrSoFierce: So that's Whitebeard, Yukari, Wolffy, and me — four volunteers. But only three slots.
After a moment's thought, Ryū decided to settle it with dice.
That would determine which three would travel to Kaguya Shinomiya's world.
It was probably the fairest method available.
Even if he himself got eliminated…
Well, that would just mean his luck was bad.
He remembered that the Dimensional Chat Group had a dice function somewhere, didn't it?
He'd forgotten where it was, though.
It took some hunting, but eventually, tucked away in an obscure corner of the interface, Ryū found the chat group's dice feature. It worked exactly like an ordinary die — the result was pure luck, and being the Admin gave him zero advantage.
RawrSoFierce: We've got one too many people. Let's roll dice for the spots!
RawrSoFierce: Top three rolls get to join this Group Quest.
RawrSoFierce: One roll each. I'll go first.
Ryū tapped the dice icon on the chat interface.
A neat, square die materialized in the group chat.
It tumbled for roughly three or four seconds.
Then came to a stop.
Five. Not bad at all.
A five was practically a guaranteed slot.
The Eternally Seventeen-Year-Old Maiden: Dice? This one has a bad feeling about this…
The Eternally Seventeen-Year-Old Maiden: But this one is the Yōkai Sage, blessed by great fortune! Besides, just yesterday this one had a little 'chat' with a certain goddess of misfortune. This one's luck should be absolutely transcendent this time!
Despite her bravado, Yukari's heart was hammering. But she reminded herself that just yesterday, she had tracked down a certain green-haired goddess of misfortune and had a nice long "talk" about "reason" with her.
So surely her luck was due for a reversal.
She copied Ryū's dice message directly.
Then hit "Send."
The die spun wildly.
It landed on four.
Yukari let out a small breath of relief. It wasn't a five, and it wasn't a six — but at least it wasn't a one. As long as it wasn't a one, she still had a solid chance of making the team.
At this point, even she had to accept that her luck was genuinely terrible.
She had been in the Dimensional Chat Group for a while now.
And her Points balance still hadn't broken triple digits.
That alone said everything about how miserable things had been for her.
Who could possibly understand the suffering of someone with cursed luck?
The Eternally Seventeen-Year-Old Maiden: Ahahaha! Four! That's practically locked in! Locked in!
Crazy Diamond: Four doesn't exactly lock anything in… I mean, what if Wolffy-san and the old man Whitebeard roll a five or a six?
The Eternally Seventeen-Year-Old Maiden: …Shut it! Boundary warning!
Green Grasslands Wolf King: I rolled too. Got a five.
Green Grasslands Wolf King: Same as the Admin-dono.
The Eternally Seventeen-Year-Old Maiden: …
Edward Newgate: Gurararara! Looks like this old man won't be going this time — only a three. One less than Yukari-senpai.
Yukari Yakumo, who had been on the verge of despair, felt a flash of light blaze through her clear, beautiful eyes.
When she'd rolled a four, she'd thought she was safe.
When Wolffy rolled a five, she'd thought she was finished.
When Whitebeard rolled a three… she let out the heaviest sigh of relief she'd breathed in ages.
How many years had it been since she'd felt this kind of emotional whiplash?!
A hundred years?
Two hundred?
Five hundred?
…
RawrSoFierce: Looks like the roster's decided. Wolffy, Yukari, and I will take on this chain of Group Quests!
RawrSoFierce: Anyone have any objections?
Kaguya-sama: None.
The Little Wandering Planet: None.
Edward Newgate: None.
Crazy Diamond: None.
We, Ying Zheng: None.
The Eternally Seventeen-Year-Old Maiden: None.
With the party confirmed and no objections raised…
Ryū finalized the roster.
Then he opened the Dimensional Transfer gateway.
It was a massive black vortex.
Identical to the one from before.
But before stepping through, he first locked every door and window in his apartment tight.
And hung a sign on the front door.
The sign read: Gone out for a bit.
This was to prevent his next-door neighbor Might Guy from just kicking his door down and barging in.
Having an overly enthusiastic neighbor…
Was its own kind of headache.
* * *
Meanwhile… Yukari Yakumo and Wolffy — one yōkai and one wolf — were making their own preparations.
Yukari informed Ran that she would be away for a while. The exact duration was uncertain, but it would be within thirty days at most.
Wolffy, on the other hand, packed every piece of equipment he could think of.
Then went to request an extended leave from his wife, Red.
The leave was approved with remarkable ease.
The reason? The seemingly inexhaustible mountain of canned lamb that Wolffy had acquired through his deal with Whitebeard had sent his wife Red into absolute raptures. Under those circumstances, Wolffy's standing in the household had naturally gone up.
Admittedly, only by a little. But it had gone up!
* * *
In the world of Kaguya-sama: Love Is War – Geniuses' War of Love and Brains, Kaguya Shinomiya's consciousness withdrew from the Dimensional Chat Group. She stared at the cascade of news reports on her computer screen, a faint shadow of worry on her face.
But the worry dissipated quickly, replaced by a forced calm.
"The Admin-dono, Wolffy-san, Yukari-nee-sama — the three of them should be more than enough to resolve this crisis… right?"
In truth, she was only forcing herself to stay composed. She was, after all, just a heroine from a slice-of-life series.
This had been an ordinary, everyday world. No supernatural phenomena whatsoever.
And now something like this was happening.
How could she possibly not be worried?!
"Wait — they're going to be arriving soon! Shouldn't I be getting ready? Like… having the chef prepare something? But is there even time?!"
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