The final result was that Asagiri Utsunomiya went with Asuna Yuuki to the nearby supermarket to buy groceries, and then returned to his place.
When checking out, Asagiri Utsunomiya wanted to pay, but just like that time buying bento at the school supermarket, Asuna Yuuki took the initiative to pay. Her words: "In the first dungeon, you could say I received your life-saving grace. Today, I'm staying at your place again, and I already feel very embarrassed, so let me handle the payment."
After returning home, Asuna Yuuki wore an apron, then took out a hair tie from her pocket, gently held it between her lips, and with both hands, tied her beautiful, long flaxen hair into a high ponytail, a hairstyle suitable for cooking. Then she wrapped the hair tie around twice to secure it. Just by looking at the proficiency of this series of movements, you could tell she wasn't doing it on a whim, but was experienced and often cooked.
"Let me help you wash the vegetables."
Hearing Asagiri Utsunomiya's words, Asuna Yuuki reached out, gently pushed Asagiri Utsunomiya's shoulder, and said angrily, "Forget about it. You, who order takeout and eat bento every day, don't come here to cause trouble for me. Just wait obediently. I'll cook a light dish for you first, and then make a stew. Do you have any dietary restrictions?"
Asagiri Utsunomiya shook his head, then said, "Well, okay. Anyway, I was just being polite, I didn't really intend to help."
Hearing his words, Asuna Yuuki rolled her eyes, looking slightly speechless, and said angrily, "I knew you were just being polite. Alright, go sit and wait."
Afterwards, Asuna Yuuki carried the freshly bought groceries and entered the kitchen.
◆—⊰✧⊱—◆
About an hour later...
"*Huff, huff*, so hot~" Asuna Yuuki, wearing thick gloves, placed the iron pot she was carrying onto the table, then lifted the lid; an appetizing aroma instantly filled the air.
Afterwards, she took off her gloves, went into the kitchen to scoop two bowls of rice, took two pairs of chopsticks, and after getting everything ready, she looked at Asagiri Utsunomiya sitting on the sofa and spoke in a completely gentle tone like a typical housewife.
"Dinner is ready, come and eat while it's hot."
"Yuuki, you really are..." Hearing Asagiri Utsunomiya's words and his undisguised amazement in his eyes, Asuna Yuuki's face blushed slightly. To hide her shyness, she deliberately turned her head away from his gaze and let out a soft hum in a typical tsundere tone.
"As a teammate, I just considered that after you eat a good meal, you might be in a better state and be able to clear the dungeon faster, so I can also benefit. It's that simple."
"Oh, I see." Asagiri Utsunomiya replied with a nod, picked up his chopsticks, picked up a piece of stewed meat, and put it in his mouth. After tasting it, he said with a regretful tone, "That's really a shame. The food you made is so delicious, and you made it specifically for me. If it were a normal first-year high school boy, he would probably have completely fallen for you by now."
Asuna Yuuki untied her apron and put it aside. She also picked up her chopsticks, picked up a piece of stewed meat and put it in her bowl. With a look that seemed to have seen through Asagiri Utsunomiya's thoughts, she said in a slightly helpless tone, "You're not normal, so you won't fall for me at all, right? I already guessed..."
"No." Asagiri Utsunomiya denied and shook his head first, then looked at Asuna Yuuki's face seriously and said deeply, "I've already fallen for you."
"Huh? Ah..." Asuna Yuuki was stunned for a few seconds, her brain entering a shutdown state. The moment her brain started working again, her pretty face instantly turned bright red, and she stammered: "Huh? Ah? You... don't make that kind of joke... I, I... that..."
"Alright, let's eat."
During the rest of the meal, Asuna Yuuki would secretly glance at Asagiri Utsunomiya sitting across from her every few seconds. She felt that the moment the other person said that sentence just now, her heart rate had definitely exceeded one hundred and eighty.
What did it mean to have already fallen for her?
Was it, after all, what she thought it meant?
◆—⊰✧⊱—◆
After eating, Asuna Yuuki took the initiative to wash the dishes, then sat on the sofa, watching Asagiri Utsunomiya playing on his phone. She pursed her lips, feeling very nervous in her heart, and felt that the atmosphere in the room had become inexplicably awkward.
Perhaps the atmosphere wasn't awkward; it was her who was truly awkward.
In such silence, several hours passed.
"Ugh... so sleepy..."
To make it easier to move when entering the dungeon, Asuna Yuuki, who had changed into the newly bought, washed sportswear that could also be worn as pajamas, saw that the time was approaching eleven o'clock. She seemed a bit listless, yawning non-stop, and her eyes were almost unable to open.
"Sleepy? If you're sleepy, go to sleep."
Hearing Asagiri Utsunomiya's words, Asuna Yuuki thought that before officially entering the dungeon, the app should be able to initiate a feature to wake them up in advance, just like last time. So, she nodded and fell into a baby-like sleep on the sofa.
◆—⊰✧⊱—◆
Asuna Yuuki didn't know how much time had passed, but she once again felt that familiar sensation of suddenly and completely waking up from a slumber without any buffer.
Asuna Yuuki sat up from the sofa, took out her phone, and looked at the screen. A window with a countdown appeared there, showing ten minutes. Below the countdown was a description of the current dungeon.
[Location: ??? Hotel
[Time Limit: Twelve Hours
[Mission Objective: Survive until the time limit ends.
[Public Hint: Extremely terrifying vengeful spirits are lurking within the Hotel. Please try to avoid direct confrontation with them.]
[Because you received a rating of A- or higher in the previous dungeon, a special hint is provided.
[Special Hint: Ordinary weapons cannot completely eliminate vengeful spirits.]
After reading the text in the app and noticing the word 'vengeful spirit', Asuna Yuuki couldn't help but feel a little nervous. She looked up at Asagiri Utsunomiya, who was holding something that looked like a medical box, seemingly preparing something.
"The dungeon hints are out..."
"Yes." Asagiri Utsunomiya said with a nod, held the medical box, and sat beside Asuna Yuuki, comparing the content provided by the app on his phone with Asuna Yuuki's.
"There are two differences."
Upon hearing this, Asuna Yuuki looked at the text on Asagiri Utsunomiya's phone and indeed found two differences.
The public hint she received was: 'Extremely terrifying vengeful spirits are lurking within the Hotel. Please try to avoid direct confrontation with them.'
The public hint Asagiri Utsunomiya received was: 'Extremely terrifying vengeful spirits are lurking within the Hotel. Please try to finish the fight quickly and avoid facing more than one vengeful spirit.'
The special hints they received were also different.
Asagiri Utsunomiya's special hint was—
'Valuable information can be obtained at the reception desk on the first floor of the Hotel.'