[If We Could Walk Together] Part 4

Surprisingly on schedule, this week features a cakeverse release!

This part addresses the "Administrator doesn't seem like the person she used to be" plot point that was brought up back in part 2... with a surprising (yet utterly cakeversey) explanation for her change of heart. And here I was so sure that Quinella would finally come out as a closet fujoshi who got hooked on the YujiKiri or KiriYuji action, but alas. Also, I'm surprised a certain scene in this part didn't get an illustration...

Anyway, only two parts remain until we're finished with this story. However, part 6 is only one page long and basically just gives a short glimpse at what's happening on Gabe's side, so the next part basically bring this side story to an end. I plan to release both parts in the same week, separated by a few days, so the next cakeverse release will be the last one... for now. We'll probably release it at the end of March or beginning of April.

Let's see, under our current plans, we should be getting a Comic Anthology update (it has been a month since the last release, after all) next week. The next Comic Anthology story is KiriAsu focused.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the release. If you have any suggestions/requests for what to work on, feel free to leave a comment or contact us through Twitter/Discord/Email.

Any feedback is appreciated.

-Gsimenas

Credits

Raws: Celest
Translation: Gsimenas
Editing: Gsimenas, emil
Proofreading: JengKay

Translation (choice/nuance) comments:

• All instances of the word "dragon" use the word 飛竜 (hiryuu, "flying dragon") in the original text. I omitted the "flying" part because a non-flying dragon would just be a lizard or something in the West. And the anime sure portrays the UW dragons as regular Westernish dragons, rather than a wyvern or something, so I'm not sure what the "flying" bit is supposed to achieve.
• Chalotte refers to herself using the pronoun "watashi", but the pronoun is written in katakana, rather than kanji or hiragana. This usually implies a sense of unnaturalness. Such instances are indicated in Courier font, just like with other instances of Japanese words in katakana. However, Japanese is known for NOT having pronouns in most of its sentences, so only the instances where she actually uses a pronoun will be indicated in this font.
• Aside from instances where actual system commands are recited, Sacred Arts elements are almost always referred to with Japanese expressions (kanji), rather than English words. Since the Japanese kanji terms aren't as sophisticated as the English variants, I translated the element names literally when they are mentioned in actual Japanese. For example, the "cryogenic" element is called the "freezing element" (凍素) outside of commands.
• The word "supah" was "meccha" (めっちゃ) in the original text. It's a slang word that emphasises whatever comes after it, like adding "super" to some adjective in English. But since slang doesn't really work in Underworld, I had to make it more obvious that Kirito was speaking jargon by going with a slangy spelling of the word "super".
• When honorifics go with names, I left them as is. However, I localised honorifics that went with titles. "Esteemed" is a localisation for "-sama" after a title.

Markup explanation:

• Itallics mark text that was written in katakana English (I only highlighted the cases where the author uses both English and actual Japanese equivalents for the same thing, or when I needed to emphasise that an English word is used there).
• Courier font indicates that the original word was written in kana for emphasis (when such a word usually isn't written in kana)
• Comic sans indicates emphasis added by myself when I needed to stress something to get the meaning across properly.
• Single quotation marks (') are quotes that weren't in the original text but were added for the convenience of English speakers to mark implied quotations. I used it mostly to separate Kirito's internal monologue from his narration, as well as mark sound effects and so on. Actual dialogue lines or quotations (with 「」 punctuation marks) within a narration line are indicated with the usual double (") quotation marks.

Part 3

Index

Part 5

4

Upon consuming their cheesecakes after finishing the shortcakes, Corsche and the others drank up their milk tea with looks of utter bliss.

Once we finished cleaning up with their help, then said our goodnights on our way up the Grand Stairs and finally returned to our personal rooms on floor twenty-eight, Eugeo and I spent several moments standing still at the entrance to our shared living room.

A long day did make me feel exhausted, of course, yet my mind was also still stirred by the fact that we had flown all the way to the 《Great Eastern Gate》 on dragons with the Supreme Priest and Alice——as well as the fact that we had encountered a Dark Knight from the Dark Territory and managed to exchange words with her.

Of course, I had heard from Cardinal about the Dark Territory, as well as the humans and demi-human races residing within the Land of Darkness, but getting a glimpse of the barren, black-as-coal land, as well as the dragon knight with purplish hair, really drove home the point that the threat of the 《Final Load Test》 was right at our doorstep. If the repairs Administrator conducted through the Sacred Arts were to ever fail to keep up with the damage and thus led to the Great Eastern Gate crumbling, a force of tens of thousands would descend on the Human Empire.

What kind of mission was Lipia Zancale, the Dark Knight that should be sleeping at Room 2809 on the opposite side of the hall, bearing that it would bring her to the Great Eastern Gate? If this were a movie, it would be quite likely that this scene served to introduce a plot point about a scheme to either assassinate a VIP or sabotage us in some way, thus I did have the urge to go and peek into the room to check if she actually was sleeping right now, but the Supreme Priest and the Order of Integrity Knights surely wouldn't approve of that idea.

Either way, she probably was actually bearing a message from her superior——the Dark General. While I very much do find it hard to stop thinking about what she was planning to bring up during tomorrow's talk, we'll be participating in the event ourselves, where we must satisfy the Supreme Priest if we don't want to get turned into plates, I mean, vases.

Although the 《shortcake with a double serving of strawberries》 and the 《cheesecake with a double serving of cream》 that were requested of us had already been baked and stored inside the refrigerated storeroom, it still concerned me that both of those were just upgrades for the old entries of our menu repertoire. I would very much like to bring out the apple tarts that I had been planning to first unveil during next week's tea party, for tomorrow instead; unfortunately, however, the kitchen has yet to receive its shipment of the key ingredient for the recipe: apples. Although I do feel like I managed to find a hint for inventing a new cake recipe among the impressions Corsche and the others shared on our cakes, I also lacked the time to actually turn that idea into material form……

As I stood there pondering one idea after another, Eugeo tapped me on the shoulder.

"Kirito, we did what we could, so let's go get some rest for the night."

"Oh, yeah…… you're right. Ehm…… we do have a training session with Scheta-sensei from nine o'clock tomorrow once again, right?"

At my question, Eugeo nodded like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Tomorrow's not a rest day, so why wouldn't we have one."

"And getting a break for just the morning portion is…… off the table, huh……"

"We just had a break for yesterday's afternoon portion, remember? Heck, wasn't the fact that we were going to have a training session tomorrow the whole reason for getting the cakes done this very night?"

"You do have a point there, but……"

As if to dispel my indecisiveness, Eugeo clenched the hand he had left on my shoulder.

"Even Corsche and the others spoke so well of your cakes, Kirito. Let's have some faith in them, okay?"

"……Yeah, you're right. Though, I do have to correct you there: it's not my cakes, but ours."

Upon my response, my partner gave a slightly embarrassed smile.



Once I moved over to my personal bedroom, changed into the colourless shirt and shorts that served as my pyjamas and then went to bed, I was instantly assailed by severe drowsiness.

If you think about it, since relative time in Underworld should be accelerated to at least a thousand times that of the real world, it was indeed strange that you really do get sleepy every night just like you're supposed to; though, despite spending three years in this world, I haven't really noticed any problems with my brain——wait, I mean my Fluctlight, so far. I do get a sense that the moment when I return to the real world is precisely when any such problem would actually rear their heads, but there's no real point to worrying about it for the moment……

Such thoughts of mine were about to dissipate as I fell into a deep sleep, but right at that moment…

"Kirito……Kirito."

Getting the sense that I was hearing a faint voice close to my ear, I gave what basically amounted to an automatic response.

"Save it for tomorrow, okay……"

Turning over, I tried falling asleep once again, but the voice didn't go away.

"It'll be too late by then. I just need a minute, so hear me out."

"Yeah, sure…… I hear you, crabs have poison in them, I know that……"

"Sheesh……"

That phrase was followed by a 'Bofun!' (poof) sound. The thin blanket whirled up, before descending again.

"……What's the big idea……?"

With strenuous attempts to lift my eyelids, I turned over to the opposite side.

And right before my eyes lay a black-haired woman.

"…………Uowah!?"

As I was about to spring out of the bed in shock, my drowsiness entirely blown away in an instant, the woman quickly held me down in place.

"Don't cause a ruckus; you'll wake Eugeo up."

"E-easy for you to say not to cause a ruckus; who in the world are……"

As I was about to demand answers from her in a hoarse voice, I finally realised something. That this woman of ethereal beauty was Charlotte the Black Spider, the familiar of Cardinal the Sage, in her human form.

"Ch-Charlotte……san? Where did you even come from, and what are you doing here?"

As I enquired in a whisper, the woman elegantly shrugged her shoulders while still lying in bed.

"I've just returned from Cardinal-sama's side, where else?"

"O-oh, right……"

Thinking back on it, despite usually lurking somewhere on my body, Charlotte had taken her leave this evening, mentioning that she "got curious about something"; she had been gone ever since. I didn't really mind the fact that she came back per se, but——

"……Y-you could've returned in a more discreet way…… why are you even in your human mode anyway."

"Well, you wouldn't wake up otherwise. More importantly, I have an urgent message for you from Cardinal-sama."

Whispering this, Charlotte quickly scanned the bedroom with her gaze.

"……I have confirmed that there are none of the Supreme Priest's terminals in this room, but you can never be too cautious."

Once she muttered those words, she lifted up the blanket and covered both my head and hers with it.

"System call…… Generate umbral element."

Creating three darkness elements with a fluent incantation, she whispered.

"Hold your breath."

"Form element, mist shape."

Turning the darkness elements into mist, Charlotte manipulated them with her fingertips to permeate the blanket with it, forcing it to absorb the mist particles.

"You can breathe now."

"Phew……"

Looking up at the cloth now-tinged with a faint purple light, I enquired about it.

"Why darkness elements……?"

"When you do this, the cloth becomes capable of absorbing practically all sounds."

"Whoa……"

Now that she mentioned it, I could no longer hear the sound of the night breeze that had been faintly reverberating in the air.

"Sure is a handy technique, I'll learn it for myself."

"Do be careful though, as you'll lose Life if you inhale the darkness elements in their mist state."

"……Yes, ma'am."

'Why didn't you say so sooner then……', muttering this at the back of my mind, I returned to the topic.

"So then, what's this message from Cardinal?"

"Kirito, do you remember what Eugeo mentioned about the Supreme Priest this evening?"

Getting a question in response to my question, I muttered, "Ehm."

"As I recall……'Till now, she was supah scary, but seeing how awfully caring she was with Yukiori and how she saved the Dark Knight's dragon too, my impression of her changed a bit'……or something of the sort……"

"He hadn't used any strange words like 《supah》, but yes."

Whispering this, Charlotte brought her face another three cm closer to mine. As an oddly sweet scent wafted from her, I chanted "Her spider mode is her actual form!" in the back of my mind as I listened to the rest of what she had to say.

"——For some time now……specifically, since the first tea party held on the rest day seven days ago, I myself have been feeling a subtle change in her tone and demeanour. At this point, I don't have to keep it to myself; Cardinal-sama and I had anticipated undoubtedly finding ourselves in combat against the Supreme Priest at the tea party, so we had even come prepared with teleportation arts for isolating you and the knights."

"Wait…… r-really?"

"Though, we never did actually find ourselves in battle. Far from it, in fact, as the Supreme Priest agreed to hold weekly talks with Cardinal-sama on each rest day, and even approved the idea of cooperating to repair the Great Eastern Gate…… such a response would have been utterly unimaginable from the old her."

"Hmmh……"

Now that she mentioned it——the Supreme Priest Administrator we had met during our audience on the fiftieth floor the day we had first entered the Central Cathedral, was as cold as ice and was clad in an aura as sharp as a blade, making me feel so tense that I couldn't even keep my breathing in order. I do also remember Eugeo telling me, "Considering that you remained so composed even in front of Norlangarth's emperor, I didn't think that there was anyone other than Azurica-sensei who could make you flinch, Kirito", after the audience.

"You do indeed have a point there, both Eugeo and I did get the feeling that she might not be as scary of a person as we had initially assumed…… Though, isn't that just what humans are like? I mean, like, including you, Charlotte, I feel that people with an unchanging emotional state are the ones in the minori……"

"Supreme Priest Administrator, for one, is an exception."

Charlotte declared as such in an even more subdued voice.

"I'm sure you've heard from Cardinal-sama, right? The Supreme Priest ended up burning the will of an inhuman being that controls this world into her own soul. At that very moment, her humanity had been erased down to the last fragment…… or at least it should have been so."

"Well then…… why didn't the Supreme Priest try to kill Cardinal at last week's tea party……"

"Both Cardinal-sama and I have been harbouring the same concern; based on today's events……. the fact that she didn't kill the Dark Knight and, on the contrary, even allowed her to come with us to this tower, our doubts have turned into conviction. That is why Cardinal-sama decided to brave the dangers and inspect her own memories and soul. To be precise, the memories of Administrator that reside within Cardinal-sama."

"…………"

Unaware that my drowsiness was utterly gone by now, I held my breath as I found myself drawn in by Charlotte's words.

"As a result…… Cardinal-sama has arrived at a single hypothesis. 'Perhaps the cakes that you and Eugeo make have had an impact on Administrator's personality'……as she put it."

"T-the cakes did what!?"

Blurting out a shout involuntarily, I shut my mouth in a panic. Luckily, thanks to being soaked in darkness elements, the blanket seemingly didn't allow anyone outside of it to hear me. Toning down the volume, I responded with a question.

"W-what's that supposed to mean……? I do admit that the cakes are delicious, but they're just sweets."

At that point, Charlotte closed her eyelids for a moment, as if recalling the taste of the cheesecake she had eaten at today's tea party, before she whispered.

"Apparently, Cardinal-sama found it practically impossible to rewatch those memories even with her arts, as they were too old…… but it seems that when Administrator was still a little girl named Quinella, her mother used to bake them occasionally."

"By baking 'them'……are you referring to cakes?"

"Correct."

Staring fixedly at those deep crimson eyes of Charlotte, identical to those of her spider mode, as she nodded, I muttered the following.

"But……it did seem like it was the first time both the Supreme Priest and Cardinal had eaten any."

"It seems that the cakes that Quinella's mother used to bake were a different kind of cakes compared to the shortcakes and cheesecakes you bake. Flat cylinder shape, divided into triangular pieces, the soft and tender texture…… those were details that could be extracted from those memories, but the same couldn't be said about their colour or flavour, according to Cardinal-sama."

"…………So, you're saying…… that despite them being a different kind of cake, getting a taste of our shortcakes and cheesecakes has had an impact on the Supreme Priest's personality?"

"That seems to be the case."

"In that case, if we were to successfully recreate the cakes that Quinella's mother used to bake to a perfect degree…… and then let Administrator eat them, what would happen?"

When I timidly enquired on this subject, Charlotte spent several seconds in silence, before gently shaking her head to the sides on the pillow.

"I don't know…… But…"

"……But……?"

"Something will happen. That is the one safe bet here…… or so Cardinal-sama says."

Part 3

Index

Part 5