 |
Friends in Crisis |  |
Sayo
It's been a while since I've had a free day with nothing planned. I wonder what I should do today.
Sayo
I've done my guitar practice and homework already, and I finished my book last night. All that's left is... NFO?
Sayo
I've done my guitar practice and homework already, and I finished my book last night. All that's left is... NFO?
Sayo
Which means... going back to guitar practice. Or perhaps I'll visit the library... Hm?
Sayo
A call from Udagawa-san? That's unusual.
Sayo
Hello?
Ako
Ah, Sayo-san! Um, do you have anything planned for today?
Sayo
No, not particularly.
Ako
Really?! Thank goodness~! Um, would you like to play NFO with us?
Ako
Rin-rin and I are going to do some material farming today. So I was thinking you might want to join us...
Sayo
Material farming... That means grinding quests, right?
Sayo
Thank you for the invite, but I think I'll pass this time.
Ako
Huh~?! Why~?!
Sayo
So I don't spend too much time on video games, of course. I tend to lose track of time when I start grinding...
Sayo
More importantly, Udagawa-san, you haven't been spending all of your free time playing NFO since we went to that theme park, have you?
Ako
Ack!
Sayo
Sigh. I knew it.
Sayo
I know how exciting it is to get new equipment. But even so, I cannot condone spending all of your time on video games.
Sayo
In order to fully enjoy your games, you must also apply yourself to your studies...
Ako
W-wait! I know all that, but...!
Ako
Today's a special occasion!
Sayo
Special? In what way?
Ako
The collab event with the theme park just started in-game, too!
Sayo
An in-game collaboration event... You don't mean they planned this as a secret surprise, do you?
Ako
That's exactly what it is~!
Ako
I just found out too. It looks like there's a special quest to hunt this giant white whale monster.
Ako
The whale's super strong, so I heard you need a lot of people to fight it... My guild on its own isn't anywhere near enough.
Sayo
B-but...
Ako
Please! Even just once would be enough...!
Sayo
... I understand. But only for one hour, okay?
Ako
Okay! Thank you so much!
Ako
Hello! It's Ako! Sayo-san, are you busy right now?
Sayo
No, I'm free... Could it be you're still hunting that white whale?
Ako
Exactly! Would you like to come with?
Sayo
No... I'll pass this time.
Sayo
I've already collected all the materials from the white whale quest.
Ako
That's a shame... Oka- Wait, what!?
Ako
Sayo-san, you farmed everything you needed from the event already!? I'm not even halfway done yet!
Sayo
Y-yes. Well, I... got lucky! It just happened to only drop exactly what I wanted!
Sayo
So... Um... In any case, I'll pass for today. You take care not to play too much, Udagawa-san.
Ako
Okay~.
Sayo
Phew... I... might have gotten a bit carried away.
Sayo
This time, I mean it. No more games. For now.
Transcript
Marina
Phew~, it's finally break time~... Oh? Is that Sayo-chan?
Marina
Hey~, Sayo-chan~.
Sayo
Marina-san. Oh, and BanG Dreamer-san as well. How are you?
Marina
We're doing fine, Sayo-chan. Did you just get done with practice?
Marina
Would you like to chat for a bit? We just started our break too.
Sayo
I see. Well, if it's just for a little while.
Marina
You know, lately, Roselia's been looking better than ever! Did you guys have a special training camp or something?
Sayo
No, nothing quite like that... If I had to name something, I suppose it would be the day we hung out together for fun.
Marina
For fun? Now that you mention it, I think you told me something like that before...
Sayo
Indeed I did. Udagawa-san invited us all to go to a theme park the other day.
Sayo
The park was hosting an event in collaboration with a game called NFO, and we all participated in it.
Marina
A collab event, huh~? Sounds fun.
Sayo
Yes, it was quite a lot of fun.
Sayo
Not only that... But I also learned a lot from the experience.
Marina
Like what?
Sayo
I think I was able to witness the importance of detours firsthand.
Sayo
The theme park's event involved clearing missions that we were assigned... They were all quite complex, with no hints provided whatsoever.
Sayo
So of course, we had to wander around the park looking for those hints ourselves... But we ended up taking many paths that had nothing to do with the mission.
Sayo
The first mission was a prime example of that.
Sayo
We needed to gather information from the townspeople, but over half of them offered nothing but idle banter.
Marina
Wow, that sounds rough.
Marina
During times like that, you start panicking without even realizing it, don't you? You start asking yourself if what you're doing is actually helping.
Sayo
Exactly. At first, all we did was panic, but gradually that began to change.
Sayo
Maybe it was because we saw each other panicking, but we all felt a responsibility to get ahold of ourselves.
Sayo
This event showed me that a shared sense of responsibility will gradually transform into a sense of group solidarity.
Marina
So you were able to realize that thanks to the detours you took while you were all panicking, huh...? That's incredible.
Marina
I think that's one of your strengths, Sayo-chan.
Sayo
It is...?
Sayo
Marina
Sayo
Yeah. I can't put it into words, but... It's like, the way you face your problems...
Sayo
Those detours were able to teach you something because you personally wanted to learn.
Sayo
And I don't think it's easy to keep up an attitude like that all the time.
Sayo
Is that... so?
Marina
Yeah! It's gotta be!
Sayo
Fufu. Well then, I'll make sure I never lose that desire.
Sayo
This time, the lesson came in the form of an event we participated in just for fun, but... in the future, Roselia as a band might end up taking a detour, as well.
Marina
I'm sure Roselia will be able to handle it.
Sayo
Yes, I think so too.
Sayo
Thank you very much for today. This talk allowed me to organize my thoughts.
Marina
Really? Thank goodness~! Don't feel like you ever need to hold back, okay? Just come to us whenever!
Marina
If you're fine with us, that is.
Sayo
Fufu... Of course. Then when the time comes, I'll be counting on you.
Sayo
Well then, see you later.