Chapter 289: Almost Died
"Eh, so that's how it is..."
Irisviel's frankness caught Yotsuya Miko completely off guard.
'Even though she's already a mother, why does she still have such a pure, innocent expression like a little white rabbit? Just what kind of safe environment has she been living in until now?'
Miko wondered inwardly, while maintaining a warm smile on the surface as she chatted with Irisviel.
As they talked, Miko suddenly noticed something slightly odd.
"Why is it all about games?" Miko looked at Irisviel, who was talking incessantly about the games she had played recently, her eyes filled with confusion.
"Ahem, Irisviel, restrain yourself a little..." From the side, Hikigaya Hachiman clearly realized the issue as well. To prevent Irisviel from accidentally letting slip her identity as someone from another world, he quickly spoke up to interrupt their conversation.
"Ah, I'm truly sorry! I was so excited that I accidentally..." Hearing Hachiman's reminder, Irisviel instinctively covered her mouth and apologized to everyone. Everyone was supposed to be chatting together, but she had accidentally turned the place into a venue for her to promote games.
"It's okay. Actually, Hana and I like playing games quite a bit too..." Miko's facial muscles twitched slightly, but she quickly assured Irisviel that her behavior was no big deal.
"Really?!" Hearing Miko say they liked games too, a flash of joy appeared on Irisviel's face.
Even though both she and her daughter, Illya, loved gaming, the genres they played were actually quite different. Illya liked playing competitive parrying and fighting games with Hachiman and Komachi, whereas she preferred cute-looking "girl games."
Because of this, Irisviel had always hoped to find a few friends who would play similar games with her...
"It's mostly true, I guess? Since we have school, we don't play that much usually..." Miko wiped away non-existent sweat from her forehead, not expecting Irisviel to be so thrilled by her words.
What she said wasn't exactly a lie, but it wasn't entirely true either. She and Yurikawa Hana did enjoy gaming, but it was mostly limited to when they stayed home. Since Hana was particularly active, they usually spent every weekend during the school term wandering around the city, leaving very little time for gaming.
"Then, can I ask what kind of games you usually like to play, Miko?" Because they were both women who loved gaming, Irisviel's way of addressing Miko jumped forward several levels of intimacy.
"Just things like dress-up and simulation games, I suppose?" Miko looked away guiltily, not daring to look Irisviel in the eye. In her mind, Irisviel was undoubtedly a hardcore gamer who would surely look down on the games she mentioned.
However...
"Miko!" Hearing Miko's perfectly matched answer, Irisviel excitedly grabbed Miko's hands and held them to her chest.
"Um, why... why the sudden excitement?" Seeing Irisviel's eyes welling up with tears of joy, Miko thought she had said something wrong.
But in the next second, a massive force she couldn't resist at all surged from her arms. As her body was pulled forward, Miko felt herself plunge into a warm, soft place...
"That's great. Mama found a gaming companion of her own." In another corner of the sofa, Illya was enjoying the ice cream Hachiman had just bought. Noticing that her mother and the big sister brought home by the "big baddie" were hugging, a look of relief appeared on Illya's face.
Since her mother had found her own gaming friend, Illya wouldn't have to endure her mother's pitiful gaze and play those boring dress-up games with her anymore!
"It certainly is unexpected." Hachiman nodded in agreement.
He had invited Miko and Hana home simply because they happened to be near the Hikigaya residence on such a sweltering day. He hadn't expected his casual gesture to successfully solve Irisviel's long-standing dilemma...
.
.
.
'I can't breathe...'
After being pulled into Irisviel's embrace, Miko felt her connection to oxygen had been severed.
'They're even bigger than Hana's!'
Miko had experienced "motorboating" from Yurikawa Hana before, but it had never reached the point where she actually couldn't breathe like today!
"Mmph! Mmph!" Her brain became hazy due to the lack of oxygen. Realizing her consciousness was fading, Miko frantically flailed her arms, trying to struggle out of Irisviel's hug.
However, due to the side effects of the Holy Grail, Irisviel's body was normally quite weak. Because of this, Irisviel relied heavily on magical energy to reinforce her body for daily
activities. Clearly, Miko's slender strength was no match for Irisviel's magically reinforced arm strength.
So hard... The moment she grabbed Irisviel's arms to try and pry them open, Miko felt as if she were grabbing onto solid rock.
"Eh? Miko!" Yurikawa Hana was standing by, initially celebrating the "heartwarming" scene of the hug, but she suddenly noticed that Miko had stopped moving entirely!
Hearing Hana's scream, Irisviel hurriedly released Miko to check on her.
Cold, fresh air flooded into Miko's nose in large gulps. She breathed greedily. As time passed, her face, which had turned flushed from suffocation, gradually returned to normal.
"I really thought I was going to die..." Her breathing finally leveled out, and Miko crouched on the floor with her head in her hands, looking utterly terrified.
Ever since she discovered she could see the spirits of this world, she had often thought she might die at their hands. But she never expected that she had almost died just now in such a comical way—from suffocation.
"I am truly, deeply sorry!" Opposite Miko, Irisviel apologized with a face full of guilt. She swore she had no intention of hurting Miko; she was just so excited that she had hugged her a bit too hard!
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