Small Village Tridente Chapter 13

June, 2XX7

Enforcer

Red, shining cross cuts… I know something about it. If I’m remembering right, it was in our village…

There was a PK in our village…? And it wasn’t just a normal PK either. The players that this enforcer kills are permanently banned from NW. And he had appeared in our village.

「U-um! I have seen those cross cuts! I’m sure that it was etched in our Village…」

「Eh? Then there’s a PK nearby?」

「It’s not just near. I think that there was a victim… at least one from our Village.」

If I encounter them….. if I get killed, then I won’t ever be able to log in to NW again… and from now on, because we don’t know what will happen in the real world, I have to do my best to avoid that from happening.

「If we go back to the village, there is a chance that we might find it.」

There were cross cuts in the village but I don’t think that the enforcer is staying in the village.

The time I saw those cuts was the evening of the day when the interview of the NW company happened. And since then I have logged in many times but I haven’t encountered anyone that seemed to be the enforcer, the only player we have seen is Seirsan.

「Since the enforcer is moving here and there, wherever we are, isn’t it all the same?」

「Y-you’re right. I think it’s just as Saya says… and also, if they don’t have permission they can’t enter our homes.」

Well, you could enter if you forcibly destroyed the walls, but if there was an attack that could destroy the walls, then we would obviously notice it.

If we enter a battle, then we won’t be able to log out. So then all we have to do is log out before they hit us directly.

We reached a good stopping point while leveling up, so we went back to the village and I immediately guided everyone to where the cuts were.

Away from our house, on the wall of a house near the center of the village, the mark the enforcer had left behind remained… a crosscut.

「There really is one… Kanzaki-san, when did you come across this cut?」

「It was there 3 or 4 days ago.」

The time when it happened, it could have been before the rumors spread, or immediately after the event?

「Hmm~… So Mari-chan’s real name is Kanzaki Mari-chan, am I right?」

“Eh, how?”  I thought, but thinking about it, the President calls me the same way she calls my family name in the real world…

「President~! Call me Mari okay~! This is inside NW after all」

「I-I am so sorry. For someone like me to-…it just happened.」

「Hee~, So Rin-san is a president?」

「Ah… sorry president… it just happened.」

Oops. Me too. I got used to calling her that way so it became natural to call the president like that. I didn’t know there was a trap hidden like this when you play with a friend from the real world.

「From now on, I will be calling you Mari-san, okay.」

「Y-yes! Me too. From now on, I will also be calling you Rin-san!」

「I am fine with you calling me President. I am not really hiding it after all… but more importantly! Hime――Saaysan! Do something about your name.」

Saya, whose name was pointed out, objected 「Why do I have to!?」 while sulking. It seems that because the president’s name is 『Saya(沙綾)』 she is opposed to calling her Saaya.

「I won’t. Even if you say that there is no name change in this game.」

Normally you can’t duplicate names so there can be only one. It has become a game where you can’t have the same names.

「If that is so, then I will also be calling you Saya(沙耶).」

「You can’t, the only that I can allow to call me that is Mari, since she is special.」

S-so she remembered! I was really happy about that, “sorry about the time I called you a pickup artist” I apologized in my mind.

Seirsan encouraged the president 「Don’t get sucked into their flirting play!」, hearing that, “We are not flirting!” I replied the usual.

「It can’t be helped then. I will hand over the name Saaya.」

“It’s been mine since the beginning so there is nothing to hand over!” while replying that, they started their usual quarrels. The dark atmosphere from before had been blown away.

Just like that, we need to be properly vigilant, so we checked on each other and ended the day.

It looks like we played until it was late. Looking at the time, it was already about to be 2 am.

When I thought about sleeping, I got curious about the rumored PKer 【Enforcer】 and did a bit of investigation. The birthplace of the rumor was on SNS. I opened the account that I’d made and then left alone, and searched up the keywords.

【Aneeta】

Today I logged in NW and got PK’d but, after being PK’d by this guy I couldn’t log in anymore. Why?

【Shiina】

Oh, isn’t that the rumored PKer? What did that guy look like?

【Aneeta】

It was a character with a hood on so I didn’t see their face. It looked like an a.s.sa.s.sin, and they suddenly attacked me from behind.

【Shiina】

So you don’t know the gender?

【Aneeta】

I don’t.

A player wearing a hood, and with an unknown gender, is it… I won’t learn anything with just this, so I checked the other ones.

【Potato Field kun】

I encountered the rumored PKer but I lost easily. I seriously can’t log in.

【Potato Salad】

Did you talk with the NW Company?

【Potato Field kun】

I did, but all they replied back with was a generic reply. With interaction as lax as this, I’m not sure about what they said about the next world.

【Potato Salad】

Seriously (;´д｀) If I see that PKer, I will take revenge for you!

What’s their battle style?

【Potato Field kun】

Melee was their main attack, and no magic skills were used.

【Potato Salad】

Ho~. Then just use long range magic to ambush…

【Potato Field kun】

They’re the ones who are going to ambush you, so it might be impossible to find the person first.

Organizing the information I gathered until now, what I found out was, the enforcer is a player who uses a hood to hide their face, and a melee type that doesn’t use magic. They don’t fight face to face and aim to ambush you. And after you get PK’d, it will be impossible to log in.

Normally I would just ignore this rumor, but if there’s a chance that this enforcer might be loitering nearby, I can’t really relax and go on an adventure…

But for now, I’ll sleep. Now that I think about it, I didn’t hear about Saya and the president’s plans for tomorrow… well, it should be fine if I just send them a message when I wake up.

It’s 10 in the next morning and I’m still wrapped up in my blanket sleeping soundly when I’m woken up by Yuki-chan. Holding back the desire to sleep more, I tearfully start my day. Eating the food that Yuki-chan prepared at this time I don’t really know if it’s breakfast or lunch

「Onee-chan, you’ve been gaming a lot recently, right? You’re going to take entrance exams this year so make sure your grades don’t drop, okay?」

Exams, huh… I still haven’t decided on what high school to go to, I’m thinking of going to any high school that is near, so it doesn’t really feel that important. My grades are above average, it’s the common line where you can’t get praised or get scolded.

Now that I think about it, I wonder what high school the president and Saya will go to… those two are competing over the highest grades, so I think that they might aim for a different school than I will.

Thinking about the two like this, me being with them, I’m starting to think more and more that it’s mysterious. Before this, they were people who were completely out of my reach after all… Thinking that I should ask what school they’re aiming for, I looked at my phone and found a message from the president.

【Saya (沙綾)】(President)

Is everyone still sleeping? I am going to log on first and level more.

【Saya (沙耶)】

For the time being, I am awake~! Once I am done with my business let’s meet up.

So you’re already logged in, President. It seems that Saya had something to do so she would be late.

【Mari(茉莉)】

I am awake now~. When I’m done eating I’ll log in too. （＃＾＾）／

Now that I think about it, I’m always on an adventure with Saya, so it might be the first time that I logged in to NW when Saya is not. Even though the President is just starting, she is already leveling up solo. And… I suddenly remembered something ominous. Ambushing players who are alone, the enforcer that forcefully expels you from NW.

――The president is in danger!!!

“I’m done washing the plates!” ignoring the shouting Yuki-chan, I hurried up, went back to my room and logged in to NW.

When I logged in, I immediately noticed something unusual. A scar… the second cross cut, it was etched onto the ground.

Once again, someone was PK’d right here…?

I got anxious and quickly messaged the president.

【Mari】

Are you alright? Where are you? Being alone is dangerous.

【Rin】

Oh my, Mari-san. It is alright.

I am cautiously choosing enemies that I can hunt solo.

【Mari】

The enforcer might be nearby.

It seems that a lot of solo players get ambushed.

【Rin】

I-Is that so? You’re right, it might be dangerous to do it right now as there is a high chance that they are near. I’ll hurry up and return to the village, let’s meet up there.

For now, it looks like the president is safe. That’s rea.s.suring…

And… as I felt relieved, at that moment, from behind me a sharp thrust pierced through my body.

UNKNOWN ATTACKED → MARI RECEIVED 93 DAMAGE

Eh?

Being suddenly pierced my HP decreased.

No way… thinking that as I turned around, I saw that appearance.

Wearing a hood and a mask covering their face with an ominous look, and the attack from behind, there is no mistake… it’s the enforcer.

When I checked the name, Unknown showed up. It’s not that their name is Unknown, but a command you use when you don’t want another person to know your status or name… that’s why the name got displayed as Unknown.

I’m fine, I’m calmer than I thought I would be.

For now, if I earn time, the president should come.

Even against the enforcer, we should have the advantage with more people.

Now that I am in battle, it’s impossible for me to escape by logging out. Until the president arrives, I should at least earn some time.

I took distance from the enforcer to confront them. I am using a transforming weapon, so if it’s close range I use the scythe, and if it’s long-range then it’s also possible to use the bow. Since I can use both, even if I lose in abilities, making use of the transforming weapon I should be able to fight evenly in 1vs1.

Originally, changing the weapon you carry has a 10 second penalty and will give a really big opening, but the transforming weapon is considered one weapon so changing doesn’t result in a penalty.

I stare at the enforcer that I am confronting.

However… right then, I noticed something.

The enemy’s weapon is a spear…

And then, I remember that spear.

Wait a moment…

Why does the enforcer… why does that guy have that weapon?

After all, that spear is… Tridente is… Seirsan’s weapon…

「Give that back… that spear is, it’s my comrade’s possession!!!」