— BukuBukuChagama —

We finally stopped in the arena's armory. Kakuei leaned against one of the boxes while she stood a reasonable distance away.

"... We can't afford to linger here, so let's get to the point, shall we?" She said, hoping he would deliver the news swiftly, like a bandaid being ripped off, rather than prolonging the inevitable.

He let out a sigh and nodded. "I promise I won't take up too much of your time."

That reassured her somewhat, but she didn't like the way his voice sounded. It felt like any hope she had before was slowly melting away.

"Megu—Momonga and I have been talking…" He said, crossing his two primary arms.

"About me, I assume?" She asked, already knowing the answer.

Kakuei nodded once and pushed himself off of the box, closing the distance between them until they were just about a foot apart.

"Buku…" He said, his voice trailing off as he struggled to find the right words. "Momonga and I care about you. You've been… very close to us for years. I-I really don't like this distance that we've placed between us, Momonga and I both."

Buku paused at his words. She felt the same way, of course, but she didn't know if they could ever go back to how things were. Her feelings for him wouldn't change, not for a long time, and he'd never reciprocate them.

So, their friendship was doomed to fail.

"Kakuei, I don't know if we can-"

"Please, Buku, let me finish." Kakuei cut her off, and she gave a small, hesitant nod. "We know as things are, nothing will change, so Momonga and I have agreed on a solution, one that can make us all happy, and we hope you can consider it."

Her heart skipped a beat. A chance?

"What is this solution?" She asked, her voice sounding a bit desperate, but she didn't care. If there were a chance to get what she wanted, then she'd happily embarrass herself.

"M-Maybe I should explain, Kakuei."

Buku turned around to see Momonga's avatar round the corner.

Was she listening?!

Buku considered opening her menu and logging off from the sheer shame and embarrassment that flooded her. Her best friend had listened to everything! Her shamelessness truly knew no bounds! Buku was trying to actively steal Momonga's man, and she had heard it all!

"Alright." Kakuei nodded.

"Buku." Momonga stepped forward and placed her hands on Buku's slimy avatar. "I…don't want to lose you…not ever, so I hope you can hear me out. I know this may sound crazy, borderline unacceptable, but please consider it."

Buku couldn't believe what she was hearing. Even after she tried to betray Momonga and confess to her boyfriend…she still wanted to be her friend?!

"I-I will," Buku answered with a choky voice. She was on the verge of crying. She didn't deserve either of them, especially not Momonga.

"Buku, we both care about Kakuei a lot, and I want us both to be happy. So, would you consider sharing him with me?"

Buku paused, looking at the skeleton in front of her with pure shock. She couldn't believe what Momonga had just asked her!

This girl…truly, she didn't deserve such a kind soul in her life.

"Momonga, are you sure?" Buku whispered out. She didn't want to come between the two, but…her heart wouldn't allow her to refuse the only chance she'd ever get.

"I am. You're my best friend, and I'm open to…g-grow closer." Momonga answered with a low voice filled with nervousness and curiosity.

Buku took a deep breath and turned her slime head to look up at Momonga.

"L-Let's give it a shot."

Momonga quickly pulled Buku into a hug, which was less of a hug and more restricted since they were still in the game.

Kakuei walked beside them and let out a relieved sigh. "I honestly didn't know how you'd react, but I'm glad it all worked out."

Buku smiled internally as she looked up at the man she loved, then at the woman she knew she wouldcould grow to love.

In all of the days, she's spent playing Yggdrasil. Forever in her heart, no day will surpass this day.

— Kakuei (Several Minutes Later) —

"So this is the spot you've all chosen?" I raised an eyebrow as I looked at the open field beyond the arena and just before the forest.

I was still internally reeling from the conversation with Buku earlier; who knew I'd grow to be a harem protagonist?

"It's a great spot!" Touch Me grinned. "This place shall forever be enshrined with the glory of justice!"

"Yeah, it works." I nodded, giving Touch Me a small smile; I could think of my future life as a newly ascended Harem Protagonist with Buku and Momonga later

I turned to behind me and saw the entire guild looking at me, waiting. I couldn't help but hesitate for a moment.

For several years, we've played this game, not just as a way of having fun but as a means to live a life we all truly wished we could live. To escape from the cruelties of the outside world in search of something more—and now, it was all coming to an end right before our very eyes. Seraphim has fallen, the boss is dead, and the player base, while strong for now, will slowly start to wither away.

This truly is the end of Yggdrasil.

I thought when this time came I would be happy and prepared for the end, but now that I am here, I can solemnly say that I am only one of those things.

This end…it's bitter sweet.

"What's up with the stalling, Kakuei? Put the damn thing in the dirt!" Ancient One shouted at me.

"Damn, can't I take a moment to reminisce?!"

"No, you can do that later! Put the fucking thing in the dirt, we have work in the morning!" Wish III backed him up. The rest of the guild began to rush me, but knowing them for so long, I knew they didn't actually mean anything bad with the awful shit they said to me.

As much as I may dislike some of them or outright ignore others for extended periods of time, I can confidently say that this is my family.

And what's a family without a little bit of fighting?

"Alright, alright." I waved them off. "I'll plant the seed now."

"About damn time!" Ulbert grinned, and a good chunk of the guild chuckled along.

I opened my inventory and smiled slightly at the sight of the boss drop.

[Seed of Yggdrasil (Rank: World Item) - Within the belly of the World Eater lay Yggdrasil's greatest creation, her essence in the form of a seed. Find a safe place to plant this seed, and from it, a sapling carrying Yggdrasil's offspring will grow. (NPC Creation)]

I summoned the seed from my inventory and took a moment to marvel at its beauty.

It was golden brown, not unlike the bark of the World Tree Yggdrasil. To add even more beauty, it had carvings that ran along the whole thing, to the point that it looked like Nordic characters had been engraved on it.

"The shitty devs…produced something great?!" Pero asked aghast, not believing his eyes.

"What wicked illusion is this?!" erxctionlover73 held his massive stone hands to his face and dropped to a knee dramatically.

Yeah…I was gonna miss these guys and gals.

Alas, It is time.

I stepped forward with the golden seed and dropped to my knees. I gently placed the seed in the edited dirt and covered it back up.

In an instant a text panel appeared before me. I blinked for a moment before I could feel the presence of everyone in the guild lurking over my shoulder.

"Ooh, let me make them!" Ankoro Mocchi Mochi beamed, jumping up and down.

"Yeah, let one of us make it! You have enough overpowered NPCs as it is, Kakuei!" Take crossed his arms.

"Enough!"

Everyone visibly sagged their shoulders and looked at Ulbert.

"Kakuei is the guild leader, and more than that, he's the reason we beat the boss at all! To try and take ownership of this item would be foolish!"

"Ulbert is correct. We may have sacrificed ourselves for perfect justice, but Kakuei embodied our will and struck down evil incarnate!" Touch Me nodded sagely.

I tilted my head at both of them. I didn't mind letting someone else create this NPC…but damn, do they know how to butter me up!

"Then, I will proceed." I said formally before typing away with a goofy grin on my face like a kid in a candy store.

Let the record show, it was today where the guild and all of Yggdrasil would learn that KakueiSolos, the Spider monster and leader of Hell's Paradise, can cook.

— Later —

"I regret ever making you edit that NPC," Ulbert said, facepalming, as we sat in the War Room. Most of the guild had gotten off with the exception of a few members, currently Touch Me, Pero, Buku,Momonga, and I were left.

"Why did you ever think it was a good idea to let this spider cook?" Pero asked with genuine curiosity.

"I didn't think he would do some shit like that?!" Ulbert defended himself.

"Did you really read through everything?" I blinked.

"Of course! This NPC is not only supposed to be the pride of our guild, but the entirety of Yggdrasil! Why the hell would I not read it?!"

"Well, I'm gonna be honest." I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly. "I really wanted to keep the whole 'evil theme of Nazarick' going when I made it."

"And you made it that evil?!"

"In all fairness, it's an NPC, not a living person." I held my hands up in defense. "It'll never enact the tragedies that it could if it were alive."

"It's about the principle!" Touch Me jumped in. "The seed was supposed to be the child of Yggdrasil, not the next World Eater!"

"But it's my child." I held my hands up in defense. "My baby boy…girl…what is it?"

"It's a seed! How the fuck would we know?!" Ulbert shouted once more, and this time, I couldn't help myself; I burst out laughing.

The others looked at me for a few moments before joining me.

The rest of the night was spent with all of us conversing about things we forbid to be talked about within the guild: Our lives.

All things considered, it went better than anyone would expect.

"So, how's your little girl?" I asked, placing my head on my hand.

"She's doing wonderfully! A spitting image of her mother!" Touch Me beamed, happy to talk about his daughter when he could.

"Now that everything is peaceful within Yggdrasil and our enemies are long gone, you should get both her and your wife on again. They may have a better experience when they aren't being constantly attacked because you're there."

"We'll see," Touch Me said in a voice that effectively ended any chance of that happening. Surprisingly, his wife didn't like the game all that much. It was mainly because of the sheer amount of toxicity they experienced when they tried playing it. She's more of a reader, which I respect.

As for his daughter…she's his daughter; she'll do anything he says, so maybe she'll hop back on before the end.

Either way, I'm gonna need them to get on and grind their accounts before the end of Yggdrasil. Most of us don't have families to care about, but Touch Me was one of the exceptions—and I'd be damned if I let them be separated.

— Chapter End —

Author's Note: Took me a while to finish this one, but I finally did. The next chapter is the progressive end, and the chapter after that will be the final meeting/server shutdown. Chapter 32 will officially start the world change to Tensura.

Beta Reader: Basilisk Dragonboy1