When he opened his eyes in the morning, the girl from last night was already gone.
Only the faint fragrance lingering on the pillow and sheets reminded Takakai that it hadn't been a dream.
She had indeed come to him—slipped into his hotel room, and then the two of them…
"What a degenerate day that was."
That was the only way he could describe yesterday.
Spending the day fooling around with Maki and Chika was one thing, but then Hayasaka showed up at night and… well, he'd been the one lying back and being serviced.
Sure, Maki and Chika had done similar things before, but it was usually reciprocal. This time, though, he'd barely moved—just let Hayasaka do all the work, genuinely experiencing what it felt like to be waited on hand and foot.
And honestly?
Once wasn't enough.
Too bad she'd already left, vanishing as quietly as she'd arrived.
"Well, time to get to work."
With that, Takakai got out of bed—and immediately noticed the insulated breakfast box on the desk.
Inside: a fried egg, two thinly sliced grilled fish fillets, a roasted sweet potato, a small side dish, a bowl of seafood miso soup, a glass of warm milk, and a mini pancake.
Portion-wise, it was laughably small—less than a single bowl of noodles from his past life's breakfast joints. But the variety was impressive, arranged almost artistically in the box.
Ah, the Japanese "delicate minimalism" aesthetic. I get it, but I'd still prefer tearing up some fried dough sticks and dunking them in a big bowl of soy milk.
After a quick shower, he devoured the meal in minutes, dressed, and left.
Thanks for the breakfast, Hayasaka… but yeah, still hungry.
He grabbed a second breakfast at a nearby café before heading to the meetup spot with Maki and Chika.
Would this morning's discussion be a confrontation or a laughing matter?
Even now, Takakai couldn't say for sure.
Koeda Ki had sounded amicable on the phone, acting like the whole thing was no big deal. But the fact remained—Takakai had broken their deal. He'd traded away his grudge items, only for them to return to him the next day. At best, even if Koeda let it slide, the [Market] would likely blacklist him from future trades.
After all, his ability to recall grudge items seemed unblockable by any known player means.
But the real outcome?
Only face-to-face will tell.
As he turned the corner, he spotted a familiar figure sitting at a bus stop bench.
"Yo, I'm here."
He waved, walking over with a grin.
Maki turned, narrowing her eyes before standing.
"Took you long enough. Couldn't you arrive earlier when a girl's waiting?"
"Ahaha, weirdly hungry this morning, so I got delayed. Where's Chika? Not here yet?"
Casually deflecting, he glanced around—but no Chika in sight.
The plan had been for both Maki and Chika to accompany him to the [Market] meeting.
"Didn't she message last night saying she had something come up? You're only asking now? Did you not check your phone?"
Maki stopped mid-step, turning with a frown.
Shit.
Now he remembered—last night, when Hayasaka was demonstrating her professional skills, he'd vaguely heard his phone buzz. But he'd been too preoccupied to care, just swiping the notifications away and muting it.
Chika sent a message? Completely missed it…
He could've just admitted what he'd been doing, but—
Maki's acceptance of his expanding harem was still a work in progress.
Hayasaka's sneaky visit and early departure clearly meant she didn't want this known.
So, after a brief internal debate, he opted for secrecy.
"Went to bed early."
Straight-faced lie.
Maki arched a brow.
"You? Sleeping early without a girl dragging you to bed? Shouldn't you have been gaming all night?"
Damn, she knows me too well.
"Guess I was tired from the day?"
Second excuse, deployed.
Maki's cheeks flushed pink.
"Y-You—! That's your own fault, you… you pervert!"
She kicked his shin lightly, dropping the subject.
Ugh, this guilt…
He'd wholeheartedly embraced the harem life, yet lying to Maki—even a small omission—gnawed at him in a way hiding things from Chika or Misaki never had.
Weirdly complicated.
Checking his phone, he found Chika's message:
Her family had suddenly planned a gathering in New York, wanting to bring her along. Given the high-profile attendees, it was clearly politically motivated. But as a player now, Chika couldn't afford to travel far—especially with American players still investigating the Nutty Putty Cave clearer's identity.
After a night of convincing her family to back down, she'd only just succeeded this morning—hence her absence.
Should've given her the [Persuasion Necklace] yesterday.
Chika had vetoed using Andres' [Teleportation Blessing] to join them—it was a once-a-day skill, and saving it for emergencies was smarter. So she'd stayed home as backup support.
She's overestimating Koeda's hostility, but… it's sweet she's this cautious for me.
Walking into the abandoned district with Maki, they started single-file but soon intertwined their fingers, strolling hand-in-hand.
Takakai glanced at the crumbling buildings, then at the girl beside him, and sighed.
"What?"
Maki noticed his gaze.
"Just thinking. After clearing Shirakawa Apartments, it was just you and me coming to the [Market] too. Feels… nostalgic, in a way. We're basically old partners now, huh?"
He grinned.
Maki didn't smile back.
"Old partners? We've only done two missions together. I wasn't even there for Fujika Academy or Shirasawa Elementary. If you really saw me as a partner, you wouldn't have left me behind so often."
Her voice was quiet, tinged with something raw.
"Fujika was out of my control, but shirasawa… yeah, that was my bad. But I promise—from now on, I won't go into a dungeon without you."
He pinkedie-swore on it, their fingers tightly linked.
"W-We're not kids…"
Maki mumbled, but her grip never loosened, shaking their hands firmly.
Their pace slowed unconsciously.
Unbeknownst to them, several figures observed from a nearby derelict building.
"Ahhh, young love. So pure~ If I fancied someone, it'd either be me beating them to the ground or them beating me—then we'd decide who's on top."
A player peered through binoculars, chuckling.
"Quit it. They're almost here. We're begging for help here—if we creep them out, we're screwed. Put that down, you fat—"
Another player swatted at him, sparking a brief scuffle before Touyama Akira cleared his throat, silencing them.
Koeda Ki said nothing, but Aoyama Nanami's expression was complicated.
[Red Knot Society], once one of Japan's top Crimson Moon teams, was now down to these three.
Well, two, really—they'd been on the verge of disbanding before Touyama miraculously returned from the dead.
Rumor was, after Fujika Academy crippled them, they'd tried to farm an midnight-tier dungeon to recover—only for it to suddenly upgrade to Crimson Moon mid-run.
Discovering three core grudges, they'd barely found an escape route before stumbling upon a hidden fourth—wiping almost the entire team.
That dungeon—some village—had been loot heaven before stabilizing, though most items were one-use only. Countless teams had raided it, never expecting it to lock as a 4-core Crimson Moon.
Red Knot was just the most famous of the dozens of veteran players lost there.
But what could anyone do?
This is just the fate of players.
Nanami's gaze shifted to Gotou Hitori, who sat tense and anxious beside her.
She knew—whether Takakai agreed to help or not—this girl would act, likely recklessly.
After all, like the Red Knot survivors, she'd lost someone dear—and waited too long for this chance.
If it came to that…
What should I do?
"They're here."
Koeda's voice was soft as footsteps echoed in the hallway outside.