For several understood reasons, Yuu was currently in the master bedroom of the house at No. 20 Love Street, Lane 5—a room the girl had previously forbidden him from entering.
The master bedroom was more spacious than the guest room, with richer and warmer decor. Not only was there a small sofa and a low tea table for relaxing and drinking tea, but also a double-sized bed. Aside from the tacky heart-shaped carving on the nightstand, the room's decorations suited his taste quite well.
Of course, the issue now wasn't whether the room was nice or not, but the girl who entered carrying a tea tray and closed the door behind her.
"Even though we're husband and wife, sleeping separately… if the people from the civil registry office saw, even with the ring disguising our identities, we might get kicked out…"
Asuna spoke with feigned calmness, then set down the tea tray and turned toward the bathroom inside the bedroom.
"I'm going to change. If you have casual clothes, change into them too."
Yuu gazed at her slender, graceful back. Though Asuna was still wearing her armor, the beautiful, full curves of her hips still sparked the imagination.
He had touched her before, albeit unintentionally.
"I only have the default clothes after taking off the armor."
"That's fine too," Asuna paused for a moment, muttering as if suppressing embarrassment. "Better than sleeping in armor—who knows how much dust and dirt is stuck to it…"
Yuu fell silent for a moment. "If you care that much, why not just take a bath in the virtual world?"
"Can I?" Asuna suddenly turned, flashing a slightly surprised smile. "I've always wanted to try soaking here, but I'm usually in a rush to log out and give up… Since we have plenty of game time left today, and you brought it up, please wait for me to finish bathing!"
"Hey, wait—"
Before he could finish, his words were cut off by the sound of the bathroom door closing. Yuu sat on the sofa, quietly staring at the bathroom where the faint sound of water could be heard. He looked up, took a deep breath, and let out a long sigh.
"Even if we're husband and wife, sleeping separately isn't that rare… Besides, what's the point of bathing in a virtual world if you can't bathe after logging out?"
After muttering to himself, Yuu shook his head, picked up the teapot on the table, and poured himself a cup of tea. It was a floral tea, named after pink flowers, but the tea itself was clear and light brown.
Yuu took a few sips, soothing his slightly dry throat, suppressing the wild thoughts in his mind, and opened his item bar. The egg from the mailbox had a very simple description—essentially, they needed to stay under a blanket together for a full hour, and the egg would hatch automatically, completing the mission. Of course, that's what it said on the surface; whether there were traps like in the previous trial, no one knew.
He had initially thought it would be one mission per day, but unexpectedly, the second mission arrived right after the first was completed… In that case, the fourteen-day time limit was too generous. The game's progress captured Yuu's attention, and he sipped his tea while lost in thought on the sofa.
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About half an hour later, Asuna emerged from the steamy bathroom.
"Sorry for the wait~"
Yuu, holding his teacup, turned to look at Asuna. Her skin, freshly warmed by the bath, was flushed, her fair cheeks glowing like peeled eggs under the dim room's light. Her slightly damp long hair cascaded down her back, every movement exuding an elegant and captivating aura. Yet her slightly shy expression made her seem like an ordinary girl, easily able to slip into the heart of an average man.
Asuna wore a long, casual dress, revealing only her slender ankles and pearl-like toes. Her steps on the wooden floor were as if a goddess of creation had descended to earth, shrinking shyly under his gaze.
Under her long eyelashes, her eyes were like autumn pools reflecting the full moon, flickering with shyness. Her beautiful lips, like rose petals, parted slightly, revealing glimpses of her clean white teeth. Sometimes she bit her lip, sometimes she smiled casually to hide her embarrassment, her attempt to act calm glaringly obvious.
Seeing this, Yuu immediately looked up, downed the rest of his tea in one gulp, stood up straight, and said firmly:
"All clean? Alright, since you've decided, I won't hesitate—let's sleep!"
"Eh? Ehhhh—!?"
Her clear, damp eyes widened suddenly, and Asuna let out a startled cry, looking at him in disbelief. Her hands reflexively crossed over her chest, and she took two steps back. Those two steps bumped into the edge of the bed, causing the girl to fall backward unexpectedly, her warm, long hair splaying messily.
She lay on the bed gracefully and softly, her breathing ragged as she bit her lip, staring at him with a warning yet gentle gaze. Her beautiful body lay atop the blanket, her lovely face flushed like silk, her inviting appearance making Yuu, who had just finished warm tea, involuntarily swallow hard, then unable to…
Laugh.
"Idiot, even if I really wanted to do something, you could punish me with a Harassment Warning. Why get this scared?"
Asuna snapped back to reality, quickly sitting up and glaring at him with embarrassment and annoyance. "Who's scared?! This is a normal reaction any girl would have, okay? It's your fault for looking so perverted, like a creep!"
"Don't slander me. From start to finish, my expression was about wanting to finish the mission and log out," Yuu shrugged, casually walking to the side of the bed, pulling back the blanket, and lying down. He patted the pillow beside him.
"You've bathed, you've changed—hurry up and hatch the egg."
"Guh…"
Gritting her teeth slightly, Asuna stared at his overly calm expression, then took a deep breath. As if making a decision, she whispered firmly, "Hmph!"
She opened the menu, turned off the room's lights, and faced the bed, stepping closer. Moonlight streamed brightly through the window. The girl's brown hair looked softer under the night's glow, her eyes unwavering, shining with clear, resolute determination like the flash of a sword.
For some reason, Yuu felt a slight sense of foreboding.
"Yuu-kun…"
"During this short time we've been together, I've realized one thing…"
Asuna spoke while slowly gripping his collar. All her shyness turned into relief from recognizing her own feelings, a gentle, soothing smile forming on her beautiful face.
"Though I don't know you well enough yet, and I don't know what's going on with you in the real world…"
She walked to the side of the bed, pulled back the blanket, and gently slipped her soft, warm body into the empty space beside him.
"Though in this virtual world we're forced to be husband and wife, and there's no emotional foundation to reach this point…"
Propping her cheek with one hand, she gazed at his faintly tense expression, her eyes and laughter equally gentle:
"But I'm okay with it."
"…What are you actually trying to say?"
Suppressing the burning surge within him, Yuu pretended to be calm and met her gaze, showing no trace of panic. After all, this was his first time lying under the same blanket with a woman other than his sister—a woman who had just bathed, smelled amazing, and was so close. It was as if he could reach out and grab her as he pleased, as if he could forget everything and freely unleash the beast awakening inside him.
Perhaps the system had foreseen this situation? That's why it made physical sensations match the real world and disabled the Ethics Restriction System, letting him release his primal instincts in this virtual world—only to fall into depravity, becoming what that damned system wanted.
In the warm, fragrant blanket, Yuu gritted his teeth inwardly, steadying his increasingly erratic breathing. Though that damned system didn't grant it, his Advanced Shooting Skill kept him as calm as an old dog, facing the beautiful, adorable girl before him with poise and grace.
(Stupid teenage girl, I said those things not to sleep with you but to give you advice, to make you realize and dare to do what you want in the real world! So don't provoke me here—hurry up, fulfill your desires, and lose your memories with a smile!)
"I'm saying…"
Asuna stared into his eyes intently, ignoring how red her ears had become. Only when she caught a hint of avoidance in his gaze did she squint with satisfaction, giggling.
"I'm saying I want to hatch the egg with you, that's all! Don't get the wrong idea~"
Her finger tapped the tip of his nose, and Asuna laughed triumphantly, like a silly older sister finally outsmarting her genius younger brother. Her body, which had been slightly tense, gradually relaxed as her voice stopped. She pursed her dry lips, looking at Yuu's not-so-clear but visibly relieved expression.
For some reason, she hid under the blanket again and whispered, adding:
"Though if you got the wrong idea, I wouldn't mind…"
Yuu: "…"
His face twitched slightly, and as he was about to say something, he froze on the bed.
*BUZZ!*
Without any warning, a blinding white light flashed before his eyes, and the warm, cozy blanket suddenly felt empty.
It was the logout light.
As the thought crossed his mind, a cold breeze slowly crept in, the blanket gradually falling, barely holding onto the last traces of her scent and warmth.
Stunned for a moment, Yuu sat up from the bed. The girl who had been lying beside him had vanished from this world without a word.
"Asuna…?"
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[Power disconnected, you have been forcibly logged out.]
The text blocked her view, causing Asuna's racing heartbeat to suddenly stop. Then, an empty feeling, detached from reality, enveloped her entire body, a heavy pressure pulling her from the water's surface back to the ocean floor.
"What's going on?!"
Her eyes widened, and the room, obscured by the virtual helmet's dark lens, appeared before her. Asuna gasped like someone drowning, struggling to sit up from the bed. The room's lights were on. But she clearly remembered turning them off before entering the game…
Blinking in shock, she removed the helmet, and the question was answered.
"Asuna."
A familiar, cold voice sounded beside her. The bone-chilling coldness instantly froze her blood. Her entire body stiffened, Asuna opened her mouth but struggled to breathe, her lungs feeling as if filled with icy water, painful and suffocating.
Even seeing a real ghost might not have terrified her to such despair, right?
"M-Mother…?"
Asuna mechanically turned her neck toward the voice's source. Standing beside the bed, Kyouko stared at her expressionlessly, as if a storm was brewing in those cold eyes.
"Come downstairs and explain exactly what you were just doing."