I looked around at the scenery with my mouth wide open.
"Oh."
"How is it, isn't it nice to come out like this? The weather is totally great~!"
Chris turned to look at me with a big smile, stretching her neck. She was pushing my wheelchair from behind.
"A lot of flowers have bloomed."
"Spring and autumn have become extremely short, so it's a precious scene. We can't miss such a good time."
Today, Chris and I came to view flowers.
Not in the Astria continent, but in the real South Korea.
The cherry trees lined up like street trees on both sides of the road seemed endless. This path we're passing through with Chris reminded me of a light pink tunnel. Besides cherry blossoms, colorful flowers could be seen here and there. Forsythia? Azalea? Hmm, I can't tell just by looking at the shape. I wasn't interested in flowers in the first place anyway.
Ten years or so living with battle in the Astria continent. And now, the past life that remains only faintly in gray memories. Either way, both had no connection with flowers.
Still, what's pretty is pretty. To think I'd be admiring flowers now, do I seem like a normal girl now?
"That place is also recovering its environment."
"Yeah."
Chris agreed to my voice that came out unintentionally.
The Astria continent.
The land of severe cold.
I spent a long winter in the northern part of the Astria continent.
After conquering the 'Tree of the Abyss', the severe cold due to demonic energy disappeared. Although the temperature itself was still low, befitting the northern region in terms of latitude, it was returning to an environment where various animals and plants could live accordingly.
"But, how did you think of coming out? You've just been wandering around near home."
"We decided to go out together occasionally, right? We also agreed to travel."
"A-ahem. That's true. ...Ah! This doesn't count as travel, right!? Sniff, unnie would be sad if it did!"
"Heheh, don't worry. I'll properly accompany you on the trip."
Squeeze.
I held Chris's hand.
"Ahh...!"
Fiddle fiddle.
Chris's expression quickly turned silly. She started fiddling with my small hand.
I watched her reaction with interest.
Making a tearful face, then smiling, then gaping.
What a really funny unnie.
"And, I've gained some financial leeway too."
Steady YouTube revenue, advertising incentives, selling Legendary weapons and raid dungeon bus customers. The cash and gold left after paying back Chris unnie's money was piling up in my bank account and inventory. The plan for Sweet My Home was progressing steadily.
'Astria Online' was truly a dream workplace.
"It's an era where you can do economic activities in the metaverse too. Hmm, was it 20,000 gold? Uhehehe, I have planned uses for all the money Rain paid back."
Dowry, mumble mumble, something something.
"...?"
While I was looking puzzledly at Chris who was mumbling to herself with a lewd smile, I soon discovered a place where flowers were in full bloom.
I tugged on Chris's sleeve and pleaded.
"Unnie, let's go over there."
"Oh, there are lots of flowers blooming."
There were people around that flower bed too. People chatting with each other on mats under cherry trees, people crouching near the flower bed to view flowers.
"Oh my, look at her."
"Wow... Is it a doll? So cute! Her hair color is pretty too!"
"I think I've seen her on TV, could she be a celebrity?"
"Is that her unnie behind? That person is super pretty too?"
"But... a wheelchair? Oh my, is she physically disabled?"
"Shh, she might hear."
I can hear everything, you know.
I shrank a little at the unexpectedly large number of people and their quiet whispering, but I gathered courage and approached the flower bed pulling my wheelchair.
"Chris unnie, the flowers are so pretty."
I turned to look at Chris with a bright smile among the tall flower stems that had grown up to my sitting height.
Sounds of people gasping could be heard around. At some point, everyone's gazes were directed this way.
"Ah."
I blushed slightly. I had raised my voice a bit too much.
What about Chris unnie?
She was looking at me with her mouth wide open and a dumbfounded face. It looked like drool might drip from her blankly open mouth.
"...?"
Chris unnie's reactions are always unpredictable.
She's a person I can't quite figure out.
"Oh."
Chris laid out a mat under a pretty cherry tree.
So that's what she had under her arm when we got out of the car.
"Here, I brought food too."
"Wow."
It was kimbap. The colorful rolls, although a bit crooked, clearly showed Chris's handiwork rather than a household robot's.
Looking around, there were people who brought simple food like us too. I wonder if there will be trash?
"Hehe, of course we have to properly take care of trash. If we don't want to pay fines. And, cleaning drones are going around, right?"
"Aha, that's true."
Drones going around here and there could be seen. Even in this nature, glimpses of futuristic life could be seen.
Laying out a mat, eating a lunchbox among beautiful scenery.
In my faint memories, scenes of going on a picnic in childhood from my past life flickered and disappeared.
"It feels nostalgic somehow."
"Hm? What does?"
"Ah, it's nothing."
I shook my head to erase the scene that came to mind.
Something unrelated to my current self.
There was a time when I struggled with confusion about identity felt between 'that' and me, but now I'm just 'Rain' and 'Seulbi'.
Chomp.
I picked up chopsticks and put kimbap in my mouth.
"It's delicious."
"Right, right? Unnie woke up early in the morning to roll it!"
Chris puffed out her chest and acted smug.
It's hard to define the taste of kimbap. The sourness of pickled radish, ham flavor, rice flavor, the nuttiness of sesame oil and seaweed. Various things interlock to create a subtle taste. Bibimbap is like that too, do Koreans like eating things mixed together? Still, such food must have been created because it's delicious.
Chomp chomp chomp, Chris, who was looking lovingly at me constantly moving my chopsticks to put kimbap in my mouth, suddenly looked around and started talking.
"Isn't it amazing?"
"Wueh?"
I made a strange sound with my mouth full of kimbap. Gulp, after swallowing the kimbap, I asked Chris back.
"What is?"
"Even though we can see much more beautiful scenery in virtual reality, people still come out to play like this in reality."
"Ah."
Certainly.
Around us, there were people who came out with their families, and couples enjoying the scenery.
"I guess realism is the issue. Even with current technology, there's a limit to the synchronization rate of virtual reality."
"..."
"Unnie works on making virtual reality feel more like reality. But when I see things like this, it often makes me think. If everyone lives in a realistic virtual reality, if they turn their eyes away from reality, what will happen to this world?"
I silently put chopsticks in my mouth.
Realism.
What I lacked.
What I couldn't find here.
What I regained in the Astria continent.
These people are different from me. I felt realism there and couldn't find realism here.
How about now?
After finishing the kimbap, I drank water and lay down on Chris's lap.
Swish swish.
A spring breeze blows gently. Pink cherry blossom petals softly land on my silver-white hair. Chris's gentle touch brushes away the cherry blossom petals and strokes my hair.
Now, this place is okay too in its own way, but.
While savoring Chris's touch, I slightly lowered my slightly opened eyes.
I looked at my legs.
* * *
Whirr.
On the way back to Chris's car with my body on the wheelchair.
Perhaps because I became a bit more thoughtful, I stopped talking after the conversation under the cherry tree.
"...?"
At some point, even Chris became silent. I turned to look at her.
Chris was looking at me with a worried expression. Did she sense that my mood changed a little?
I pouted after letting out a deep sigh.
"Unnie, why does your face look like that?"
"U-um? What's wrong with unnie's face?"
Chris hurriedly felt her own face. Pretty Chris's face distorted this way and that. I laughed out loud at Chris's comical appearance. Ahaha!
"Unnie, your face is totally funny!"
"Heh, r-really? Hnng!"
Chris wiped her nose and smiled brightly. Looking like this, she's such a dummy. Where did the charisma from when she's a raid leader go?
With distracting thoughts gone thanks to her facial comedy, I moved my wheelchair feeling much lighter.
Ding, ding.
The sound of Chris's phone ringing, she took out her smartphone.
Woong.
A hologram of a pink-haired, cute female Mage floated in the air.
Chris tilted her head and spoke to her in hologram form.
"Bae Merong? What is it? A direct video call from in-game?"
-Unnie, unnie! An event occurred in the elf forest! ...Is that Rain behind you?
"Bae Merong unnie."
Hologram Bae Merong smiled mischievously at me visible behind Chris.
-What... Are you two on a date? Flower viewing? Unnie, that's mean. Not inviting me!
"Uh, ahem! I'm taking Rain out to play! ...R-really? Do Rain and I look like we're on a date? More importantly, what's the matter? What event?"
Chris, who turned to look at me with her cheeks turning slightly red, soon asked about the business.
-Someone calling themselves the envoy of the Alpharion Empire emperor visited the elf kingdom, it seems like a special event.
"Event?"
-They're looking for people from the raid parties that did first to third clear of the Tree of the Abyss? The Red-White raid party, No Name, and Scada raid party.
Rain and Chris looked at each other.
Alpharion Empire? Event occurrence?
Suddenly?