Astral Online: Cursed by the Demon Lord to Become the Strongest Beautiful Girl, I Rapidly Grow and Dominate with Cheat Skills Despite Being the Weakest Profession - Chapter 232
Chapter 232: The Missing Member
After narrowly avoiding drowning, I somehow managed to survive and was now resting on a bench with a parasol set up as a break area.
In the shallow pool ahead, Kuro and the rest of the girls were engaged in a rather fierce battle royale, each wielding water guns. The rules were simple: three hits, and you’re out.
With serious expressions, they shot at their opponents, dodged incoming streams, and used large pieces of floating styrofoam as shields. The intense back-and-forth skirmish saw them constantly racing across the water, looking for opportunities to eliminate one another.
The reason they were going all out? They were fighting for the right to slide down the two-person water slide with me first.
Their unusual determination stemmed from that very prize. For the record, it was Shiori who came up with the reward.
Honestly, what kind of terrifying little sister casually uses her older brother as a prize in a game?
Slightly exasperated, I averted my gaze from their bouncing assets, which moved with their every vigorous motion, and instead fixed my eyes on the cloudless blue sky overhead.
“Still, I really thought I was going to die back there.”
“Good thing you made it back alive. If you’d died from being smothered by a chest, I wouldn’t have known what kind of face to make as your best friend,” said Shiro.
“Only you, Sora, would actually pull off one of those so-called ‘manly dreams’ and die buried in a woman’s chest,” added Shinji.
“Hmph. Almost dying over something as ridiculous as fat lumps shows your lack of discipline,” Yoru muttered, pursing his lips in disapproval.
As I sipped on a sports drink, the two handsome guys and Yoru approached me. My friends joked about the earlier incident, while Yoru delivered his usual blunt critique. The two kept a slight distance as they sat down, while Yoru plopped himself down right next to me.
“Why are Shiro and Shinji sitting so far away from me?” I asked.
“Well, uh… being too close to you in that outfit makes it hard to stay calm,” Shiro admitted.
“Agreed. Seeing you in a swimsuit makes me way too aware of certain things,” Shinji added without hesitation.
Hearing their blunt honesty, I couldn’t help but laugh wryly.
“Fair enough. I get it. If you two ever swapped genders, I’d probably feel the same way.”
Unlike casual clothes or school uniforms, swimsuits unapologetically highlight the body’s shape. It was hard not to be keenly aware of the fact that I was female when I saw their blushing faces as they awkwardly looked away.
“Hmm, being conscious of gender seems troublesome. But as far as I’m concerned, it doesn’t matter whether you’re a girl, a guy, or someone else’s girl. I’ll charm you to the best of my ability.”
Yoru, who had been watching the awkward exchange from the side, struck a beautiful pose like a gravure idol.
I couldn’t help but wonder if he was practicing these kinds of poses at home.
For now, I simply told Yoru my honest thoughts as he wore a smug look.
“You really are still saying incomprehensible things…”
“How rude! I’m serious, you know!”
“Yeah, yeah, if you keep saying weird things, Ilya will scold you again…”
As I mentioned the name of my absent disciple, I suddenly stopped and fell silent.
Yoru clicked his tongue, and after a moment of silence, Shinji spoke up, as if reminiscing about the past.
“If we hadn’t tried to challenge ‘Satan’ back then, I wonder if she’d be here now, mixed in with the girls’ battle royale.”
“Haha, no doubt. She loved Sora a lot, after all,” Shinji said.
“…Yeah,” Shiro agreed, his tone somber.
I couldn’t help but agree with their words.
I could easily imagine a blonde, blue-eyed girl of our age, water gun in hand, joining the battle. The thought made a sharp pain twinge in my chest.
But the reality was, she was gone, and like many beta players, she was trapped in that world now.
The one condition El had given to save everyone was simple: clear ?Astral Online?.
Ironically, or perhaps, fortunately, this was the same condition required to break the curse of the Demon Lord, which added another responsibility to my shoulders.
Yoru, sitting next to me, grumbled, “You’re really a pain to deal with,” but his expression had the warmth of a sibling concerned for their sister.
Ilya, a half-American with her bright personality, had always been the mood maker for the team.
So when we gathered like this, I couldn’t help but feel her absence all the more.
—The memory of the ?Hunters of the Apocalypse?, who had recorded an undefeated legend of Sky Fantasy on social media, came to mind. She had lost in her final attempt in the highest-difficulty endgame content, *Satan*, with limited attempts allowed.
—We had betrayed the expectations of viewers from around the world who had been watching live.
—Many of the fans were split into two groups: those who defended Ilya, who failed to land the last attack in the final battle, and those who criticized her. A lot of unrelated people joined in the uproar, causing the situation to spiral out of control.
—As a result, her parents decided to remove her from the online world, cutting ties with us completely before moving away from Kamisato City.
I don’t know where Ilya’s parents are now or what they’re doing. But I’m sure they’re still worrying about their daughter, who disappeared while playing the beta version of Astral Online.
As the four of us silently watched the girls, Shiro, looking up at the blue sky, revealed his feelings.
“…I still can’t forgive myself.”
“Shiro?”
“I’m the team’s shield, but I couldn’t protect Ilya-san from those who slandered her. I couldn’t do anything.”
“No, Shiro, you did your best back then. I know you worked with famous streamers and celebrities, pleading with them to stop the personal attacks. I saw it.”
Shiro, whose parents were celebrities, had used their connections to advocate to the public that criticizing and slandering individuals was wrong.
We all struggled to make the situation better, even in a hopeless state.
But the one who tried the hardest was Shiro.
Even so, the ones we were dealing with were—outsiders who spewed poison under the guise of riding the wave of the drama.
The effect of Shiro’s efforts was limited to only a few people.
The trolls didn’t stop, and the fundamental issue was impossible to solve.
“…But it still wasn’t enough. It was never enough. People who won’t listen, no matter what anyone says, just vent their stress or think it’s okay to criticize others because they’re famous. The idea that everyone would stop if I just said it out loud was a naive fantasy.”
“…………”
Shiro, who was rarely so emotional, left me speechless with his words.
It seemed like Shinji and Yoru felt the same way. They were both frozen in surprise, not expecting this unexpected side of Shiro, so different from the cheerful image he usually showed.
In the minute-long silence, Shiro snapped out of it and put on his usual bright smile.
“Sorry, I got a bit too heated there. I’ll take a swim to cool off.”
“Hey, wait, buddy! I’ll join you!” Shinji immediately got up and chased after Shiro, who was leaving the scene in haste.
I didn’t really know why, but I felt like I couldn’t just leave Shiro like this.
I was about to get up and follow them when Yoru lightly tapped my shoulder.
“Leave him to us. If you hear him talk like that now, even with your ultra-cute self, you’ll just get flustered and won’t be able to talk properly.”
“But…”
“Also, it looks like the winner among the girls has been decided. It’s rare that the sickly Inori gets to play like this, so you should go join the group over there.”
With a playful wink, Yoru waved his hand and went toward the two girls who had begun swimming competitively in another pool.
If anyone from our old team could handle Shiro, it would be the leader of the ?Hunters of the Apocalypse? team. I trusted that they would manage him well.
I was still concerned, but Yoru was right, taking advantage of this time was important too.
Just as the three of them were leaving, Shiori and the others rushed over, and the silver-haired girl, my girlfriend, raised her hand and flashed a bright smile, proudly declaring her victory.
“I won! So, let’s go slide together now!”
“Okay, got it.”
Though I still had a muddled feeling inside, I took Kuro’s hand and headed toward the water slide.