Chapter 14.1
Chronica Chronicle 1
“…I want to play a TRPG . ”
On a certain night,
Haruto, cooped in the kotatsu of Itsuki’s apartment, was flipping through the ‘Grand Crest Replay’ when he suddenly mentioned this . [69]
“TRPG?” Itsuki, engrossed in his draft at the table, asked,
“Itsuki, you do know what a TRPG is, right?”
“I do, but I never played one . ”
TRPG—or Tabletop Role Playing Game is an interactive Game between players without the use of gaming console . It’s a game that has its plot driven by dice rolls and decisions .
Players can choose to be adventurers, knights, kings, detectives, policemen and other professions, and aim to complete the storyline by becoming the protagonist of the story .
Most of the plot progression is determined by the Gamemaster (GM), but the story is influenced by the players’ actions, and it’s common to see the plot direction derail in a way the GM didn’t expect . The story develops through player interaction (of course, the decisions of the GM does influence things), so there’s a lot of freedom in the story, and the immersion level of the story is amazing .
“Well…I used to join a TRPG club during college . ”
For some reason, Haruto gave a nostalgic look as he said this .
“Heh . That’s unexpected . ” Itsuki said .
It was his own bias, but Itsuki had assumed that Haruto joined the tennis club .
“…The reason why I got interested in books is because I read the Replay light novel in middle school, so I always wanted to use the chance to play a TRPG myself . After that, when I had to choose clubs, I chose the TRPG club without hesitation . ”
And just to note, ‘Replay’ is a reading material created from a TRPG player (this is also called a session), and sometimes, they would also be published with illustrations .
An outstanding GM, outstanding players, and the dice; such uncertain factors that surpass the will of humans continue to brew, developing a story, and might be more dramatic than an intricately crafted plot, so while there aren’t a lot of readers that actually played a TRPG, they can gain something similar to the fun of reading a light novel by reading a Replay novel .
This ‘Grand Crest Replay Fantasia X Factory’ Haruto’s reading is considered a Replay novel, and the story is about 8 popular novelists and illustrators playing, clashing with characters filled with their own personalities, and creating a thoroughly intense story .
“So, you’re one of those who went from being a GM to an author?” Itsuki asked .
As there’s a lot of freedom in a TRPG, a GM needed skills to create an interesting scenario, and naturally, would need the patience to lead the players to the desired direction and the capability to handle unexpected changes . It was said that amongst the current professional authors, a few of them were TRPG GMs, and refined their story crafting skills through this .
Haruto once joined a TRPG club, and so Itsuki assumed he followed this pattern too .
“No…less than a year after I joined, the club disbanded…”
“…Is this going to be one of those long stories again?”
I don’t want to hear such things now, that was the vibe Itsuki had as he asked Haruto, who was giving a wry, lonely smile,
“It won’t be long, so just listen…during the half year I joined the club, it felt okay…every week, everyone would hold sessions, and I too was GM for a few times . I dumped my college homework to come up with scenarios and original rules… . back then, I thought everything was really interesting . There were about ten members or so, and I was the only freshman there, but the seniors were all really nice…only one of these seniors is a girl . She’s a pretty one, and has a large rack . ”
“…Do I really have to hear you out until the very end?”
“Yeah…quite a few people liked that senpai in the club…or rather, the entire club…she never went out with any other guy . They all understood how each other felt, and had a silent oath to not confess to that senpai to avoid getting the club awkward…but right when summer vacation was about to end, things happened . ”
“Alright, no need to tell me . I know what happened . ”
“…Senpai confessed to me . ”
“You see, I knew it!”
“…I rejected her confession . It’s a lot more fun playing TRPGs than it is to go out with girls, and I didn’t want to create this tense atmosphere in the club…however, after I rejected her, she started to date the other guys . It was common for her to be going out with two, three guys, and the relationships in the club were a mess . Everyone who came to the sessions were very aloof, and those who were dumped by her left…and even she left the club, leaving only the president and me behind . Prez and I didn’t have the strength to continue running the club… ‘it’s all your fault’, and prez told me that . Those words were really destructive . ”
Saying that, Haruto filled his glass with beer, and downed it .
With a weak expression, Itsuki asked Haruto,
“…So, what am I supposed to do after hearing this common story of a club crashing? Can I call you ‘Kodaka-san’ from now on?”
“I can’t live up to that name . Kodaka-san did manage to keep the Neighbors’ Club intact, unlike me . I didn’t…I just had an inspiration after not having read the Replay novels for a long time . ”
“Just had an inspiration, huh…”
Itsuki’s face started to numb .
“Right, so because you ruined my mood for no good reason, as punishment, you’re going to be a TRPG GM!”
And then, Itsuki said this while pointing .
“Huh!?”
“I always had interest in playing a TRPG . Since you were a GM once, that makes things easy . Do your best and let me enjoy this . ”
“I still have the anime work to deal with . I’m busy!”
“Like I care . You got time to drink and share stupid memories while I’m at work . It’s perfect . ”
“…Haa… . well, now that you mention it, I can’t deny it . ”
Haruto showed a little smile, and chirped,
“Right, let’s play! What about the other players?”
“How many players do we need for a TRPG?”
“Anyway, it’ll be easier to play if we can get four players . ”
“Hm, well, we can definitely get Lord Kani…it’s impossible to contact Setsuna…but is it okay to not limit it to authors?”
“Doesn’t matter . ”
“Right . I’ll invite Miyako and my little brother . ”
“Okay . Anyway, do those two have any TRPG experience?”
“Never asked them about that . I guess they’re beginners too . ”
“Okay~ Nayu-chan probably hasn’t played it either . All beginners…right, I’ll go think of a plot immediately . Goodness, busy, busy . ”
Haruto got up with a sigh, his smiling face lacking in the fake heartiness, flowing with the bubbly innocence of a child .
妹
And so, on a Sunday in early March .
Five people, Hashima Itsuki, Fuwa Haruto, Kani Nayuta, Shirakawa Miyako and Hashima Chihiro were gathered in Itsuki’s apartment .
Seated at the windowside of the kotatsu was the GM Haruto, the one at the opposite end near the kitchen was Chihiro . To Chihiro’s right was Miyako, and to her left was Itsuki, seated side by side with Nayuta .
“…Nii-san, can I really join?”
Itsuki heard Chihiro’s whisper, and Nayuta smiled .
“Don’t mind . I always wanted to have a time to play with my future brother-in-law .
“…Really . Please take care of me then . ”
Chihiro sounded a little miffed as he said this .
“It might be a little too quick, but I personally welcome you calling me sister-in-law . ”
“…No, there’s no need for that . ”
“You seem a little listless? Have you unloaded in the morning?”
“Unloaded…? No, I have properly…”
“I’m asking you if you have masturbated in the morning . ”[70]
“Mas…? I-I didn’t!” Chihiro’s face went beetroot, and Itsuki glared over in annoyance,
“Hey . No sexual harassment on my little brother, Lord Kani . ”
“It’s fine . He’s going to be my brother-in-law anyway . ”
“Will not!” “Not at all!”
The Hashima brothers called out in unison .
Chihiro and Itsuki did play video games together a few times, but it was the first time Chihiro joined Itsuki’s friends, and that everyone got together . Chihiro did meet Nayuta, Miyako and Haruto a few times, all of whom often visited Itsuki, Chihiro would always excuse himself in fear of disturbing them, and went home straight away . Thus, he never had a chance to have a proper conversation with them .
Also, it was the first time Miyako and Haruto met .
But despite this, it seemed Miyako, Chihiro and Haruto were adept at interacting with others, so there should not be any issues . Such was Itsuki’s optimistic thoughts .
After the members who never met before greeted each other, Haruto spoke up .
“Eh, I’ll like to thank everyone for coming to participate today . This time, I’m inviting everyone to play a TRPG I designed based on an existing game . You guys are all beginners, so I’ll try my best to simplify the system . If there’s any player who has any requests, I’ll try to fulfil it as much as I can . If you have any suggestions, feel free to mention it . ”
“Oh . ” “Yes~” “Yes . ” “Understood . ” The quartet nodded .
“—The world setting is a common fantasy world of swords and magic . In this world, there are a few continents, and the story is set in one such setting—the Chronica setting . Chronica itself has numerous countries, and there hasn’t been a major war between them over the past decades . Amongst them, the Westernmost country is called the Gagagia Kingdom . ”
“GAGAGA Kingdom?”[71]
“Gagagia Kingdom . ”
Itsuki asked, and Haruto corrected him .
“…There are a lot of relics and caves within the borders of the country . Thus, many adventurers arrived in the kingdom of GAGAGA—Gagagia one after another, searching for treasures, or the fangs and claws of the monsters that reside in the caves, and other materials . Each of you guys are one of the adventurers…now then, please create adventurer roles for your identities . ”
“Create them?” Miyako asked . ”
“This time, I’ve already created characters for you guys, and the parameters and other number details for them have been completed . You can use that as a basis and adjust accordingly . The first type is the ‘knight’, with high attack and defense power, suitable for fighting enemies on the frontlines of protecting allies . The second character is the ‘rogue’, very agile, nimble, uses a bow and dagger for battle, and has the ability to identify traps and open treasures and locks . The third character is the ‘monk’, able to use recovery magic and holy offensive magic, has offensive and defensive abilities second only to that of the knight, and can be a frontline fighter . The fourth character is the ‘mage’, able to use powerful offensive magic spells and able to attack multiple enemies at once . ”
“It’s a very balanced party, but I prefer to clear everything with a full party of monks or bards . ”
Nayuta said “Specialist parties are rather interesting, but this time, I’d like to have everyone follow the rules . TRPGs are different from digital games though . Digital games allow you to gain XP points and retry over and over again, but TRPGs only give you one chance to clear . It’s very risky for anyone who strays away from the recommended gameplay . ”
“Will we end up dying in the game?” Miyako asked, and Haruto gave a mischievous smirk .
“Of course, if you’re unlucky, you may die . If this really happens…anyway, if anyone really dies, we’ll think about it . ”
“Ugh…I’ll be a knight then . Looks like it’s the least likely to die . ”
“So that kind of reasoning…”
Itsuki’s choice left Chihiro with a bitter smile .
“I’ll be the mage then . ” Miyako said .
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