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[Accelerator]: "Tch, at least say something before you die."
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His out-of-place message momentarily froze the cheerful atmosphere in the group chat.
But only for a few seconds—soon, everyone was back to chatting as usual.
After all, everyone in the group had watched A Certain Magical Index and A Certain Scientific Railgun, so they understood Accelerator's personality: sharp-tongued but not heartless.
'What a damn tsundere.'
C.C. split her focus slightly to assist Nagami in scoring yet another pentakill.
Her gaze briefly passed over Accelerator's message, and the corners of her mouth curled into an excited smile.
If the group travel function was unlocked, she had absolute confidence they could prevent the Third Honkai Impact.
After typing a polite "thank you" in reply, Nagami stared lazily at the giant Victory sign on the 4K monitor.
He stretched, let his body slump naturally to the side—and without a second thought, rested his head on C.C.'s soft, shapely black-stockinged thighs, narrowing his eyes in comfort.
At this close range, he could faintly smell her unique fragrance—clean, soothing, and oddly charming.
He had to admit, her soft, fair thighs were incredibly comfortable, though being used as a pillow wasn't exactly a relaxing experience for her.
Glancing at the leaderboard, C.C. saw both of their accounts had reached first and second place.
With that, she exited the game.
Her slender hands, gentle and boneless, gave a little stretch before casually resting on Nagami's shoulders.
She began massaging them with perfect pressure and rhythm.
After a while, as the clock crept into the early hours of the morning, Nagami finally crawled into bed. C.C., with those long, flawless legs, walked to the room next door.
Had Kiana not shown up, C.C. would never have bothered sleeping in a separate room.
After all, she was also Nagami.
Even if something "special" happened between them, it could just be chalked up to a... traditional skill-sharing session.
'I mean, who here can honestly say they've never practiced "traditional craftsmanship"?'
Still, he had told Kiana they weren't a couple, so it was probably best to tone things down a little.
The night passed quietly.
Nagami usually slept until almost noon, the standard lifestyle of an otaku.
But with his doubled body and increased mental energy, he actually stayed awake to watch the sunrise.
Tossing and turning without falling asleep, he gave in and played on his phone from bed.
C.C. was doing the same, switching between her tablet and game console.
Near noon, they both lazily got dressed and went about brushing their teeth and freshening up.
Nagami had already ordered delivery on his phone.
It was Sunday.
Since yesterday's situation with Mei had earned Kiana a rare half-day off, she should've already headed to the café today.
After lunch and cleaning up the food containers, Nagami and C.C. decided it was time to improve their physical fitness.
They dragged out dusty old workout equipment from the storage room, set it up in the study's workout area, and began training…
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"I'm home~!"
The sound of the door unlocking was followed by a cheerful, energetic girl's voice.
Nagami was fully focused, gripping his controller tightly as he furiously mashed buttons in front of the giant 4K TV.
"Yeah, welcome back," he replied briefly, without turning around.
Kiana bounced in, swinging her small bag in one hand.
Spotting Nagami lying on the couch with a controller in hand, she hopped over like a bunny and plopped down beside him.
That's when she noticed another controller lying on the couch.
"Nagami, Nagami! What game are you playing? I wanna play too!"
"You?" Nagami's tone dripped with disdain. He glanced at her, unimpressed. "You're too trash. I, the great Nagami, don't play games with noobs."
"What did you say!?" Kiana's expression twisted in outrage as she clenched her tiny fists. "My gaming skills are way beyond what you can imagine! You've never even played with me—how would you know if I'm good or not?!"
"If you're so confident, how about a little match?" Nagami paused the game and smiled at her. "If you can beat me just once, I'll waive your rent. But if you lose, you're on cleaning duty for a whole week. Sound like a deal?"
'Free rent?!'
Kiana's blue eyes sparkled the moment she heard the offer.
Even though Nagami only charged a symbolic 200 yen, to a working girl like her, money was money.
"Hmph, deal! I'm not afraid of you!"
With a defiant smile, Kiana scooted closer, practically pushing Nagami off the couch.
Nagami blinked, puzzled by her sudden surge of confidence.
And so… the match began!
Kiana charged in recklessly!
And instantly… got wrecked.
"Impossible!" Her shocked expression mirrored a certain bug bug meme.
She stared at the screen in disbelief—she'd been completely, utterly crushed, without a chance to fight back.
Sure, she wasn't a hardcore gamer, but she had played a lot before.
Traveling alone could get lonely, and games were a good emotional outlet.
With decent reflexes, she could hold her own against casuals.
But against someone like Nagami?
She was toast.
"L-let's go again! I didn't play my best just now. This time I'll win for sure!"
Her cute little face tensed up as she turned away slightly. The classic bluff of the beaten.
"Sure, I'll play with you… until I run out of patience for noobs~" Nagami replied with a warm, sincere smile.
"That last match doesn't count—there was controller lag!"
"I wasn't focused just now. Rematch!"
"…."
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The next morning.
The familiar sensation returned—Nagami, once again, woke up under pressure.
Unlike the past two mornings, today there was no sensation of being crushed under someone's weight.
What greeted Nagami's eyes was a pair of familiar, dazzling pupils.
The girl lying before him had long, snow-white hair that spilled down her back like liquid silk, shimmering softly like mercury.
A few strands carried the faint, sweet fragrance of shampoo, tickling his nose.
Even in sleep, her long, curled lashes fluttered gently.
Her soft pink lips parted slightly with each breath—so inviting it made one tempted to lean in for a kiss.
One of the straps of her nightgown had slipped down her smooth, delicate shoulder, revealing enough skin to stir the imagination.
She lay there without a hint of caution, her posture completely relaxed, only adding to her intoxicating allure.
Nagami, however, was firmly pinned beneath her.
From his chest came the unmistakable sensation of soft, marshmallow-like pressure—accompanied by the faint scent of her body.
It was the kind of wake-up call most men only dream about.
But instead of basking in the heavenly moment, Nagami chose gratitude in a… unique way.
With a swift, decisive kick, he launched the beauty—this so-called "gift from heaven"—off of him and sat up slowly, trying to avoid letting the drool dripping from his chest spread any further.
"My clothes, dammit!"
"W-Who?!" Startled by the sudden movement, Kiana cried out like a frightened kitten and tumbled off the couch, rolling twice before scrambling to hide behind the sofa.
Only her white-haired head peeked out, eyes blinking in pure confusion.
After a few more blinks, she began to regain her senses.
Rubbing her forehead, she looked around the room. Her gaze eventually landed on Nagami's back… and the dull ache in her waist clued her in on what had just happened.
Putting two and two together, Kiana's instincts screamed that Nagami was the culprit.
'A world-class beauty like me… treated like this?!'
Fuming, she stomped her little foot and glared at him, cheeks puffed with frustration.
But just as she was about to let him have it, her eyes drifted to the glaringly obvious wet stain glistening on Nagami's shirt.
His face also didn't look too pleased.
Even with a tuna's brain, Kiana could guess what happened—and more importantly, who caused it.
Her expression of righteous anger instantly collapsed into a sheepish, awkward smile.
"Oh… Kiana? You're still here?"
The soft sound of footsteps echoed, followed by a yawn.
C.C. strolled into the living room, her flawless white feet slipping into her slippers as she tousled her slightly messy mint-green hair.
"Uh… good morning, C.C.~" Kiana quickly plastered on her brightest smile and skipped over to greet the green-haired girl.
But then she noticed C.C. smiling slyly as she raised a finger and pointed to the wall clock.
A sudden wave of dread hit her. Kiana turned her head stiffly to look.
"Aaaaahhh! I'm gonna be late again!!"