Chapter 16 – Nakamura Wataru: Isn’t This Something I Shouldn’t Be Watching? (5)
Although I conveyed Haruka's advice to Aoi, the opportunity to use it never came, and the day of the tournament arrived.
I am at Aoi's house, but as expected, I do not enter the soundproof room with her; instead, I wait in the living room.
I'm watching the livestream on the PC that Aoi prepared for our practice.
By the way, the soundproof room is the type without windows, so I can't see how Aoi is doing.
I wonder if there's even a need to come to Aoi's house... but since she insisted so strongly, I can't help it.
While solving math problems, I wait for the livestream to start.
The game used in this tournament, "Hebishu," involves fighting in teams of five, and the victory is decided by either annihilating the opponent or destroying their base.
There seem to be several ways to play, but this time, the simplest rules have been adopted.
In the end, my coaching didn't amount to much.
After all, a few days of coaching from an amateur isn't going to change much.
However, Aoi had poured all her available time into this tournament.
Even during class, she shaped her hands as if holding a gamepad, constantly doing mental training.
Thanks to that, when called upon during class, she couldn't answer at all, and it seemed she couldn't even hear the teacher's voice.
It's impressive how focused she can be during mental training.
Now, the livestream has started.
I stop working on the problem set and switch to memorization.
It's difficult to think while watching the broadcast, but while efficiency drops, memorization is possible. Muttering to myself while watching the livestream, by the time it ends, it's imprinted in my brain.
It's a technique I've acquired to ensure I have time to watch Aoi's livestream.
The tournament is a large affair with fifteen participants, three teams of five each.
It's a round-robin match with the top two teams advancing to the finals based on their performance.
The five members of each team are balanced, ranging from beginners to advanced players.
Aoi, of course, is in the beginner slot.
Although the tournament has a strong event color, everyone is serious.
Beginners are targeted first.
Despite the large skill gap with advanced players, if beginners are taken out carelessly, their team's advanced players will be subjected to concentrated attacks.
Therefore, the role of the beginners is to run away properly while causing trouble for the opposing team.
"Eek! Someone with a gun is chasing me! I'm going to be killed!"
And so, Aoi, the leading beginner, screams and runs across the field.
"Violet-san, calm down! It's that kind of game! Calm down!"
Her advanced teammate gives her advice over the call.
"Ca-calm dow――huh!?"
"Violet-san!? Calm down with all your might! You'll get banned!"
Is he a grade school boy?
"Yes! I've calmed down!"
"That's not what I meant by sitting down in a gym class pose! Why did you even set it as a shortcut when you're a beginner!?"
"Ah! I got hit!"
"Of course you did!"
"It's okay! Getting hit has filled up my gauge!"
"There's no such system!?"
"My heart's gauge is filled!"
"Are you just irritated...?"
Despite causing a lot of trouble for her teammates, Aoi was livening up the broadcast.
I, who practiced with her, can tell she's playing seriously.
She started from not even being able to run properly.
It can be said that she did her best in a short period.
However, to viewers who don't usually watch her broadcasts, it seemed like she was fooling around in a tournament.
Quite a few heartless comments were seen.
"Ugh... I'm sorry!"
Despite likely being quite down, Aoi tries not to lower her spirits and shouts loudly.
She moves forward to make up for her mistakes, but such actions are easy prey for advanced players.
She gets sniped easily.
It wouldn't have been strange if she had been headshot, but thanks to her wobbly running, she only takes significant damage.
At this point, if Aoi gets killed one-sidedly, her team's loss is almost certain.
"Awawawawa..."
In her panic, Aoi makes a mistake in her controls and performs a gym class sitting motion.
A sniper rifle bullet passes right over her head.
"Yikes! I'm saved!"
[That was close]
[As expected of Bar-san, lucky]
"Pull back for now!"
"Yes!"
Aoi tries to turn around following her team member's instructions, but she slips and falls into a trench.
Can such a thing even happen!?
"Awawawawa!"
She must have been quite flustered by the consecutive mistakes.
From Aoi's livestream, I can hear the sound of her frantically mashing the controller.
"Violet-san, calm down!"
"Yes!"
The moment Aoi responds positively to her teammate's call―
An explosion occurs around Aoi.
"Yaaah! I'm sorry! The dynamite―!"
"Why do you have such a joke weapon――eh? Kill 1? There was an enemy in the trench!? Chance!"
"Lucky! No... it was all according to plan!"
[Wow, that's lucky]
[She didn't aim for it... right?]
I never thought the dynamite would come in handy in such a situation.
Despite the unintended heroics, Aoi's team won the battle.
There were funny moments of glory, but Aoi's team didn't advance to the finals, and she ranked at the very bottom among all players.
Still, the event itself was quite exciting.
Before I knew it, I had stopped studying and was desperately cheering for Aoi.
The livestream ends, and I wait to congratulate Aoi, but there's no sign of her coming out.
I knock, but there's no response.
Maybe the sound of the knock doesn't reach inside the soundproof room.
She might still be on a call with someone else.
If so, a loud knock would be bad.
I quietly open the door so as not to make a sound.
From the entrance, I can see Aoi's back and the PC monitor.
It seems she's not on a call, but Aoi's shoulders are trembling slightly.