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 32
Chapter 32: The White Messengers
The words that came out of the girl’s mouth, who somehow seemed vaguely familiar, were completely foreign to me.
?Messengers from the Guardian.?
?Adventurer license cards.?
What on earth is that supposed to mean?
They suddenly appeared out of nowhere, saying things I couldn’t make sense of, and expected me to just open the door to these suspicious individuals? Even religious solicitors are more convincing in their approaches.
Maybe because they looked like kids, they thought they could underestimate me.
Don’t treat me like a fool.
Feeling a bit irritated, I put on a cold expression and curtly told them, “Uh, sorry, but we don’t accept religious invitations here, so please leave.”
I said that and, without waiting for a response, I cut off the video feed from the intercom.
Expecting they might ring it again, I turned off the power to the intercom. Now it won’t ring anymore.
Let’s see what their next move will be.
If they start knocking on the door, I’ll just call the police.
As I was preparing myself, Shiori, who had been glued to my back, watching the situation anxiously, spoke up in a slightly frightened voice.
“Who… were those people?”
Oh yeah, I remember Shiori is as bad with horror as I am.
Facing those mysterious girls, it’s no wonder she’s scared.
“Well, I hope they just leave, but if not, Shiori, if it comes down to it, I’ll take responsibility, so be ready to use force.”
“No way! There’s no way I’m punching people like that with my bare hands—they’re too creepy!”
“It’s okay, it’s okay. It’s morning, and they’re not ghosts with immunity to physical attacks. With your master’s iron fist, you’ll easily fend them off.”
“Then you can fight them with dad’s wooden sword over there!”
“Hey, I might be strong in VR, but I’m totally weak in real life.”
“Don’t lie! I know the kendo club tried to recruit you!”
“Wait, how do you know that?”
As soon as I said that, I heard a “click” from the door, which should have been locked.
When I turned my gaze, I could see the key that had been facing sideways slowly moving vertically.
No way…
A chill ran down my spine.
Feeling an imminent threat, I broke out in a cold sweat, quickly hid Shiori behind me, and grabbed the wooden sword with my right hand.
I felt its solid weight in my hand and couldn’t help but wonder if I could replicate the skills I’d honed in VR games with this girl’s body.
But this isn’t about whether I can or can’t.
I have no choice.
Shiori was paralyzed with fear.
I was the only one who could act.
With that anxiety gnawing at me, the door slowly opened.
And that’s when I snapped.
Driven by fear, the moment I saw the white-clad girls, I charged at them with the wooden sword in hand.
The skill I was trying to replicate was one I’d used countless times in ?Sky Fantasy?: the movement skill ?Dash? combined with the overhead strike skill ?Arc Blade?.
Lowering my body like a bullet, I dashed forward, putting all my strength into the downward swing of the wooden sword.
Although slower than in the game, it was a precise recreation of a strike that would cause serious injury to an ordinary person.
But the white-haired girl, seeing the strike closing in on her, simply smiled.
“Impressive. I didn’t expect you to display such sharp swordsmanship, especially with that cursed body. However…”
Without changing her expression, she effortlessly caught the wooden sword and, with strength unimaginable for her slender frame, easily disarmed me.
She grabbed my hand, twisted my arm into a lock, and pinned me down on the hard concrete floor of the entrance.
“Gah!?”
“Big brother!”
“Shiori-sama, please stay where you are. Even though I can ‘heal’ this, I’d rather not be forced to break Sora-sama’s arm, even for a moment.”
As Shiori moved to try and help Sora, the other white-clad girl stepped in front of her.
Her tone was calm and detached, but Sora could tell she was serious about breaking her arm if they made a wrong move.
She could feel the intense pressure on her skin.
“Ugh…”
Even Shiori couldn’t move under such circumstances.
Sora, too, was completely restrained by the white girl’s surprisingly strong grip. With her right arm locked, she couldn’t resist at all.
Well, this is a problem.
Honestly, I didn’t think I’d win, but I didn’t expect to lose this easily.
As she pondered what to do, the white-clad girl who had her pinned down spoke:
“We are only here on behalf of the ?Guardian? to deliver your license cards and provide an explanation. If you agree to listen, we won’t resort to any further rough treatment.”
“Rough, huh… Just so you know, what you’re doing counts as unlawful entry and assault. I was acting in self-defense, but you…”
“Oh, don’t worry about that. We’re not bound by the laws recognized by this country.”
“Men in Black?”
“Big brother, since they’re wearing white, wouldn’t that make them Men in White?”
“Either way, it’s clear they’re not a normal organization. I bet the TV networks would love to hear about this!”
After a strange exchange with Shiori, Sora said this, and the girl smiled.
“Hehe, we’ve existed since about six months ago. You simply didn’t know about us. And even if you told the police or the media, no one would take any action.”
“If you’re an organization similar to an urban legend, I guess that makes sense. But six months ago is right when the beta test for ?Astral Online? ended. Are you connected to that game somehow?”
“You’re well-informed, as expected of Sora-sama.”
“Gathering information on forums before starting a game is just common sense. And while I was at it, I looked into urban legends a bit. There are rumors that a lot of people went ‘missing’ during the beta test.”
“Believing in urban legends? Sora-sama, you have an adorable side, don’t you?”
What a thoroughly evasive answer.
However, staying in this position is becoming quite painful. Even though it’s summer, the floor in the entrance is cold. If I stay like this, I might end up with a stomachache, and I need to meet up with Kuro and Aria in about two hours.
Realizing this, Sora glanced at Shiori and said:
“Alright, fine. I’ll listen to what you have to say, so let me go.”
“Thank you. If we had had to break your arm, I would have been scolded by my superiors.”
With that, the white-clad girl stepped back from Sora.
Sora didn’t immediately get up but instead pondered on the spot.
Scolded by their superiors, huh?
White clothes and white hair.
Incredible strength from slender arms.
They’re probably not human.
The term ?Messenger? can also refer to ?Angel?. If they are like angels, then their superiors might be ?Archangel? or even ?God?.
Either way, they certainly don’t seem normal.
She moved into the house without hesitation and placed the wooden sword back in its original position as if she had always known it was there.
Do these people have complete knowledge of the inside of my house?
As the mystery deepened, Sora decided to ask her one question before listening to their story.
“By the way, how did you open the locked door? My dad put a lot of effort into our security system, especially the entrance, which doesn’t open without a ‘card.'”
“Unfortunately, that information is classified as corporate confidential, so I cannot provide an answer.”
The already eerie and suspicious people became even more suspicious. Given their earlier statement about being able to heal a broken arm earlier, I wonder if they can use magic or something.
“Ugh, for now, just sit on the living room sofa. Since you’re not actual guests, I won’t offer tea, but we can’t talk while you’re standing.”
“Thank you for your consideration.”
Sora stood up, brushed the dust off her clothes, and let out a deep sigh at the increasing complexity.