Chapter 61
About two weeks have passed since Isamu became a full-time employee.
Now fully operational, Isamu is once again conducting lectures for beginners as the Tutorial Guy.
「And with that, we’ll conclude today’s lecture. Does anyone have any final questions?」
「No, I’m good!」
「I’m all set too!」
「Me as well!」
「I see. Well then, I’ll be taking my leave. I hope you all have a great time!」
And with that, the third session of the day comes to an end.
Having finished the 2 PM group, Isamu returns to the Starting Town to prepare for the lecture starting at 3 PM.
He heads straight for the meeting place at the stand, where six players have already gathered.
(Alright, let’s give it my all for the fourth session too!)
After psyching himself up internally, Isamu rushes over to them.
As he steps into the stand and looks at the faces of the gathered players—
(…Huh?)
Isamu’s eyes widen.
In his line of sight stands a woman with long, sleek black hair and large, droopy eyes.
Her slightly upturned mouth is cute, and the word 「demure」 fits her perfectly.
It’s Isamu’s former girlfriend.
She seems to have noticed him too, covering her mouth with her hand while her eyes grow wide.
Next to Yuka, a woman who appears to be her friend is talking to her with a puzzled expression.
(W-w-why is Yuka here…?)
Meanwhile, Isamu is panicking at this unexpected reunion and has frozen in place.
「Um… excuse me… are we starting soon?」
After a moment, a boy with a bob haircut speaks up apologetically.
Isamu snaps out of it and opens his menu window.
Checking the time, he sees it’s exactly 3 PM.
It’s time to start the lecture.
(I-I need to focus on work right now!)
Isamu takes a deep breath, forcibly calming himself down.
Then, after mentally psyching himself up with a 「Let’s do this!」, he opens his mouth.
「I apologize for keeping you waiting! I’m Sieg, also known as the Tutorial Guy, and I’ll be guiding you through the game today. Now then, let’s get started with how to play Dream Fantasy—」
☆
Having finished the various explanations, Isamu leads the beginners to the Rookie Forest.
「Excuse me. I want to use the lightning magic I just learned, but I’ve forgotten the words for it…」
「Lightning magic, you say? That would be Lightning. The incantation is ‘O lightning, strike!’」
「’O lightning, strike!’ Got it!」
「Yes, that’s right. The words needed to cast spells are written on this page, so if you forget again, please take a look here!」
「Yes, thank you very much!」
The bob-haired boy says this before running off to join the other players.
As Isamu watches the boy’s retreating back, he shifts his gaze towards Yuka.
He sees her happily engaged in battle with a Giant Grasshopper alongside her friend.
Seeing Yuka’s smile after so long, Isamu can’t help but feel his own cheeks relaxing.
「Excuse me. I’d like to change my name, but how do I do that?」
While still occasionally glancing at Yuka, a different boy from before approaches with a question.
Isamu shifts his attention to the boy and carefully explains how to change player names while actually operating the menu window.
Once that’s done, he checks the time and sees it’s 3:50 PM.
It’s almost time to return to the Starting Town for the 4 PM lecture, so this session is coming to an end.
(In the end, I couldn’t talk to Yuka…)
Whether it’s because she understood everything from the lecture or because she didn’t want to talk to him, Isamu isn’t sure.
But for whatever reason, Yuka never came to ask him any questions, and they didn’t have a chance to speak directly.
He could have approached her with an excuse like 「Is there anything you don’t understand?」, but Isamu lacked the courage to do so.
「…Hah」
It’s not like he was expecting anything in particular.
He wasn’t, and yet Isamu lets out a disappointed sigh.
(Well, at least Yuka seemed to be doing well. That’s enough for me to know.)
Deciding to think positively, Isamu switches gears and puts on a bright expression before speaking.
「Alright, it’s time, so we’ll be ending the lecture here. Does anyone have any final questions?」
「…Yes!」
After a brief pause, one woman raises her hand.
It’s Yuka.
Surprised by this unexpected action, Isamu blinks as Yuka trots over to him.
「I’m glad to see you’re doing well, Isamu. …If you’d like, give me a call when things settle down, okay?」
She whispers this in his ear before returning to her friend.
(…Huh?)
Faced with these unexpected words, Isamu’s mind goes blank.
He desperately tries to understand the meaning behind them, but it’s too sudden for his thoughts to keep up.
As Isamu stands there stunned, the beginners who attended the lecture gather around him.
「Thank you so much for everything today!」
「Thanks for being so thorough!」
「’Preciate it!」
These words of gratitude finally bring Isamu back to his senses.
「Oh, no, not at all! Thank you all! Great work, everyone! Well then, I’ll be taking my leave. I hope you all enjoy yourselves!」
After bidding farewell to the beginners, he hurries towards the magic circle that leads to the Starting Town.
☆
Having somehow managed to complete all of today’s lectures and provide feedback to Kimura, Isamu lies on his bed, staring at his smartphone.
On the screen is the name 「Nanasawa Yuka」 and her phone number.
「…Alright!」
Taking a deep breath, Isamu makes up his mind and taps the 「Call」 button.
A cheerful ringtone plays.
His heart beats even faster.
After a moment, the ringtone cuts off with a click.
『Hello, Isamu?』
「Ah, y-yeah. …It’s been a while.」
『Yeah, it has! Well, we just saw each other, but still!』
Yuka responds in a cheerful tone.
It seems to be an attempt at breaking the ice.
「…Y-yeah, that’s true.」
In contrast, Isamu can only give curt replies due to his extreme nervousness and anxiety.
Sensing this, Yuka speaks up in an even brighter tone.
『I was so surprised! Who would’ve thought the person teaching us the game would be you, Isamu!』
「Oh, ah, yeah. A lot happened, actually… You see—」
Isamu explains how he became known as the Tutorial Guy at some point.
As a result, he was invited as a guest to events.
Furthermore, he was scouted by the game admins, and by accepting their offer, he now teaches beginners as his job.
『—Wow, I see! That’s amazing, Isamu! Congratulations!』
「Th-thanks! …So, are you still working at that bakery?」
『Oh, no! We opened a new branch last year. I’m the manager there now!』
「Oh, you became a manager! Congratulations!」
『Thanks! Oh, by the way—』
From there, the two excitedly catch up on each other’s recent situations.
Aided by Yuka’s gentle way of speaking, Isamu is now able to converse normally.
After they’ve both finished sharing their updates and the conversation starts to lull—
「Um… Oh, right! How did you like Dream Fantasy?」
Fearing silence, Isamu brings up a new topic.
He actually had other things he wanted to ask, but he lacked the courage to inquire about them, so he ended up choosing a safe subject.
『It was super fun! But I probably won’t play it anymore.』
「Huh? …W-why not?」
『After that, I was playing with the kids who were there, and we started talking about other games. When she heard about it… Oh, Eri is the friend who was with me! Anyway, Eri got interested in a different game, so it looks like she’s going to play that one.』
「Oh, so you have to switch to that game with her?」
『No, that game is apparently single-player, so I won’t be playing it. It’s just that playing alone seems a bit lonely! You know how these games feel like they should be played with everyone, right? So!』
「I see. Well, in that case, want to play together with me?」
Isamu casually suggests this, falling back into old habits.
(…Crap! What am I saying?!)
He immediately regrets his words.
Sweat suddenly breaks out, and his heart starts racing.
『Huh? But aren’t you busy, Isamu?』
「N-no, I’m totally free…」
『Really? Then maybe I’ll take you up on that offer!』
As he answers nervously, Yuka responds with unexpected words.
Given what happened five years ago, Isamu naturally thought he’d be turned down, but it seems his worries were unfounded.
It appears that Yuka now thinks of him as just a friend.
Isamu breathes a sigh of relief and continues the conversation.
「…Yeah, please do! So, when do you want to play?」
『Any evening works for me!』
「I see! Well, I have some things to do tomorrow, so how about the day after tomorrow in the evening? Um, like 9 PM?」
『The day after tomorrow at 9 PM, right? Yeah, that works! I’ll contact you again before logging in.』
「Oh, okay. L-looking forward to it!」
『Great! Well, I have an early start tomorrow, so I should probably hang up now. Thanks for calling!』
「…Thank you too! See you the day after tomorrow!」
『Yeah, see you then!』
With that, Yuka ends the call.
「…Phew.」
After a moment, Isamu lets out a big breath.
Then, as he casually glances at his smartphone, he sees it’s a little past 10 PM.
「Oh crap!!」
Today, the two guilds [Agreable] with Kaito and [Happinesstrong] with Shuka are supposed to play together from 10 PM, and Isamu has been invited to join.
He’s already late.
Isamu hurriedly puts on his Headgear and once again sets off for the world of Dream Fantasy.
Sub29: My Thoughts on ‘Tutorial Guy’ as the Series Nears Its End
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