Chapter 74

Holding a knife and an apple, I stand in the center of the stage, and everyone looks at me with expectant eyes.

What is this? Could they be expecting some high-level performance with such a tool? But I can't do anything so sophisticated. So I deliberately dispel their expectations.

"One-shot act! I'll do an apple peeling!"

Amidst the audience's disappointed groans, I quietly place the knife against the apple and start peeling it.

Squish, squish, the flesh and skin of the apple separate, and after one full circle, I begin to thinly peel the flesh from the core.

A long strip of apple. Normally, it would break immediately, but thanks to my dexterity and cooking skill level in the game, it manages to hold its shape.

I focus all my nerves on the knife and the apple, being careful not to break it, and the apple peeling grows longer and longer.

Eventually, it stretches so far that it almost reaches the floor of the stage. At the edge of my vision, Zaku, who had moved closer at some point, waits for the tip of the wobbling apple. The moment it touches his lips, he takes a thin slice of the apple into his mouth.

I continue to peel the apple with a squish, squish sound.

Zaku munches on the thin slices of apple with a crunch, crunch sound.

At first, the atmosphere in the venue was one of disappointment, but it softened. Rather, it became more relaxed. The disappointed gazes from before were gone, replaced by warm ones as I finished peeling the core and Zaku ate it all up neatly.

"…Thank you."

Holding Zaku, who looked satisfied after eating the apple, I simply say that and retreat to the side of the stage as if fleeing.

"Ugh! Why did it turn into something so embarrassing!"

In the place I fled to, I crouch down and voice my tension and inadequacy from before.

"Come on, Yun-chan, it was good."

"Yeah, big sister! I can't use a knife that skillfully."

"I don't need such consolation. It doesn't make me happy."

The sisters try to console me, but I just want to be left alone. What's with a one-shot act being apple peeling? If anything, throwing an apple into the air and cutting it into six pieces before it hits the ground would be more of a performance. Besides, compared to the awkward silence at the beginning, it was over in an instant.

"Hehe, no, I think that was a performance true to your style."

"Japanese is convenient, isn't it? Even something that doesn't look good can sound positive with words like 'unique' or 'true to you.'"

"Don't be so pessimistic. Look—"

I thought Claude was going to console me, but he shows me a thread on a bulletin board. It's being updated in real-time and growing in number.

Moreover, the title of the thread is [Yun-chan is Seriously a Nursery Teacher Part 4] or something like that.

Claude reads out some excerpts from the thread.

"Our nursery teacher is doing a one-shot act." "Wow, a live stream!" "I'm looking forward to seeing a high-level performance." "Since Mew-chan is at that level, it must be pretty high." "What...?" "What!? Apple peeling?" "...Boring." "No, maybe something will change." "Hey, the fox cub is eating the apple." "This is so cute." "It's relaxing. Just like a nursery teacher." "Someone said it was boring, but apple peeling is actually difficult." "Wow, the apple keeps stretching. And the fox cub keeps eating." "Well, it's not a high-level performance, but that's what a one-shot act is supposed to be." "It felt very ordinary and relatable." "The other sisters are so beautiful and high-level that they seem unattainable, but now I feel like I can get close to Yun-chan." "I guess it's just my imagination, but it feels like she's just like us." "Agreed. After that performance, she was sitting alone, hugging her knees, looking down." "That's so cute." "I want to hug and comfort her." "That's my job." "No, it's mine." "No, mine too." "This is too powerful..." "I didn't expect that to be the main act..."

As Claude reads out the thread, I start screaming to drown out his voice. For some reason, I felt that staying depressed wouldn't be good. A compulsion to cheer up rather than be consoled arises.

"Stop it! I get it, I get it. I won't be depressed anymore! So stop it!"

"Hmm, that's a shame."

What's so disappointing? I want to ask, but I keep quiet because I feel like I'll get countered.

"Well, now that Yun-chan is feeling better, it's my turn."

"Ah, yeah. Sei-nee, good luck."

"Big sister, please do something flashy."

With a casual wave, she is sent off by us.

Standing in the center of the stage, Sei-nee holds a staff in her right hand and spreads her arms wide.

"It's performance time!"

With those words, orbs of water start to form from the staff and hover in the air. As the water orbs accumulate to twenty, they rise twenty meters above everyone's heads, trailing water tails and forming a water arch.

"Ice Shard!"

The new spell she casts instantly lowers the temperature of the square, turning the water vapor into a white mist and the water arch into an ice arch. The light from the many orbs illuminating the square passes through the ice, refracting into a rainbow that falls on the people under the arch.

"Final act—Diamond Dust!"

Raising the staff to the sky, all the ice in the area shatters. Amidst the screams and shouts, people who look up at the sky fall silent, imprinting the scene in their minds. The chaotic reflection of water and ice envelops the area, creating a magical shower of light. The person who created this spectacle bows in satisfaction and quickly leaves the stage. The audience, as if remembering, starts clapping and cheering, and the venue reaches its highest level of excitement.

"Wow... amazing."

"Yeah, beautiful."

Staring at the sky, we watch the ice shards shatter and scatter.

"No, no, it's beautiful, but... the player's level is really high."

"What do you mean, 'but'!?"

At my comment, Mew nods very honestly. Enjoy the atmosphere, I tell her.

"It's amazing. She cast so many spells and connected them smoothly."

"Smoothly? Isn't that normal?"

"Of course not! Think about it. Being able to spam arts without any cooldown is ridiculous, right!?"

"Umm, yeah, you're right."

Mew's explanation makes sense. But as a ranged attacker myself, I've never really felt the need to worry about the cooldown after using an art. Honestly, I don't prioritize it.

Now that you mention it, spells should have a cooldown, but being able to use them continuously is a mystery.

"But Sei-nee can do it."

"That's because she keeps the spells in a casting state unique to mages."

"Ah, that's the one where you keep consuming MP and can activate it at will."

"Right, she adjusts the timing and activation of so many spells seamlessly and smoothly. There are probably various optimizations to reduce the cooldown and other things, but it's a highly skilled player action."

"Hmm."

Hearing this, I realize it's impressive, but I'm not sure why it matters. I doubt such skill is necessary in the first place.

"What? Your face looks like it's saying it's useless."

"Isn't it, though?"

"Ugh! In PvP and guild battles, every second of combat can decide the outcome! Against the CPU, a decent level of skill is enough, but in player battles, individual skill can quickly turn the tide!"

As Mew gets excited about her interests, I half-heartedly listen and greet Sei-nee as she returns from the stage. Mew tells Sei-nee about my reaction, and Sei-nee, looking troubled, puts a hand to her cheek and comforts Mew instead. I sigh, "Honestly," and a wry smile escapes me at the usual sibling scene.

The peaceful fifth night is suddenly interrupted by a loud alert at midnight, and everyone falls silent.

—I didn't forget. I just wasn't prepared because it could come at any time.

We have detected signs of an attack and have a good idea of the weaknesses. Over the past few days, many people should have been informed of the predictions.

And now, it has finally appeared. That's the thought that crosses my mind.

—Emergency Quest: "The Great Phantom Beast Feast and the Phantom Beast Feast Defense"—

The moment the date changes, the forest of the floating continent transforms.