Curious as she was, Asuna chose not to ask too many questions. Although she had cleared a dungeon with Asagiri, they had only met earlier that day. Probing into his personal life would've been inappropriate.
"Then... shall we go in together?"
"Sure, let's go."
Asagiri responded without hesitation and walked alongside Asuna into Shuchiin Academy. As they passed through the school gates, he took a deep breath and spoke with exaggerated emotion.
"This fresh, intoxicating scent... as expected, it must be the fragrance of youth that fills the air when a new high school term begins in early spring— Oh, wait. Actually, I think that's just you."
Asuna, who had been mentally preparing to bring up the serious topic of the dungeon, froze for a second.
"Ah?"
It took her a moment to fully process what he meant—and then her fair cheeks turned a deep shade of red.
Still, she did her best to maintain composure and replied with forced calm:
"I... I took a bath after that. Didn't you?"
"Asuna Yuuki."
Asagiri glanced around calmly, then said in a flat tone,
"Your voice is too loud—and what you just said is far too easy to misinterpret."
Only then did Asuna notice the stunned expressions on the faces of the nearby students.
Realization hit her like a wave.
What she'd said… really did sound bad.
Taking a bath after that—and worse, she had instinctively followed it up by asking if Asagiri hadn't taken one too, all in an attempt to cover her embarrassment.
To anyone listening, it sounded as if the two of them had done something together... something that required a bath afterward.
"Um... let's walk a little faster."
Asuna's pretty face was flushed crimson. She spoke softly, head lowered, then quickened her pace toward the Shuchiin Academy school building, with Asagiri keeping step beside her.
Along the way, they didn't get the chance to talk about the dungeon instance—there were simply too many students around, all chatting and moving through the campus.
Both Asuna and Asagiri understood one thing clearly:
Their identities as Players had to remain an absolute secret.
"Let's talk during lunch break."
Hearing Asagiri's words, Asuna nodded, then walked into the Year 1 Class B classroom.
Asagiri's classroom, Year 1 Class A, was right next door. He walked in with quiet confidence, unfazed by the curious stares of the students already seated inside. Without a word, he made his way to the window seat in the farthest corner of the room—the one often referred to as the Protagonist Seat.
He pulled out the chair and sat down, casually gazing out the window as if he belonged there all along.
The initial attention he drew quickly faded. But just a few minutes later, a stir echoed through the corridor—soft at first, then rising into a brief commotion.
Then—suddenly—silence.
In the midst of the silence, a beautiful girl wearing the Shuchiin Academy uniform, black knee-high socks, exquisite leather shoes, and with long black straight hair, and a beautiful face and slender figure, slowly walked into the A-Class classroom.
All the students in the classroom subconsciously turned their gaze toward the girl, but after seeing her face clearly, they immediately looked away, feeling both curious and wanting to avoid her.
Noticing the reactions of these classmates, Kaguya Shinomiya's expression and eyes remained unchanged, as if she had long expected this situation.
It had been like this since she was a child.
As the eldest daughter of the Shinomiya Family, she was like an exquisite yet chilling Japanese doll that made people around her unconsciously keep their distance.
Shuchiin Academy had a junior high section, and Kaguya had moved up from there. She only needed a brief glance to see that this classroom was filled with familiar faces. There were even a few people who were in the same class as her in junior high.
But... no one came up to greet her.
Everyone's eyes avoided her.
Just like in junior high....
"Hmm?"
Just as Kaguya was thinking this, she noticed a boy sitting in the corner of the classroom looking at her. Unlike the other classmates, his gaze was completely undisguised. Even when she looked over and met his eyes, he didn't avoid her gaze like ordinary people would.
She had no impression of this handsome boy, which meant he hadn't come up from Shuchiin Academy junior high.
Could it be...
He didn't recognize her?
Kaguya thought this to herself, while on the surface, she maintained the etiquette of the eldest daughter of the Shinomiya Family, giving a slight nod to Asagiri, who was sitting there. There was not a hint of the shyness or awkwardness of an ordinary girl, only the graceful demeanor that the eldest daughter of the Shinomiya Family should display.
However, that was all.
As the eldest daughter of the Shinomiya Family, Kaguya could not possibly take the initiative to greet a boy on the first day of school.
Seeing Kaguya sit down in the center of the classroom, Asagiri turned his head to look out the window, thinking about only one thing.
Is Kaguya a Player?
He had to consider this question, partly because Kaguya Shinomiya's various abilities and settings were simply too outrageous. Things like a genius mind, psychological suggestion for forced calm thinking, national competition champion-level archery, and swordsmanship skills. Compared to most characters in the slice-of-life series, she was practically a superhuman.
And the more important reason...
Kaguya was his classmate in the same class.
If she were also a Player, he would have to be very cautious.
After getting Noguchi and Kawa's phones in the instance and learning that new Players could be registered by having ordinary people click the icon, Asagiri had actually considered whether to pull Kaguya into becoming a Player. After all, with Kaguya's abilities, she would definitely be an excellent asset.
However, this thought was dismissed as soon as it surfaced.
Has Kaguya become an asset?
That was simply unrealistic.
The current Kaguya was in the so-called "Ice Queen Kaguya" period, her mind full of cold, imperialistic thoughts, skilled at using others, and also possessing that kind of arrogant self-esteem that bordered on obsession, stemming from being the eldest daughter of the Shinomiya Family. Asagiri simply couldn't believe that she would obediently become his asset after becoming a Player.
Besides, there's no way he would so easily reveal his Player identity to someone he had no basis of trust with, someone he didn't even know.
So, could Kaguya, like him and Asuna Yuuki, have already become a chosen Player?
Asagiri wasn't sure, after all, he remembered...
Kaguya... doesn't have her own smartphone.
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