Hearing Kotoko Iwanaga suddenly say such an outrageous thing, Asuna Yuuki said with slight displeasure.
"You'd better calm down."
Asuna Yuuki was truly speechless. An abstract male leader and a perverted loli who says astonishing things from time to time. Fortunately, among the four members of the team, there was also a normal person, Megumi Kato, who attended Toyogasaki Academy. Otherwise, Asuna Yuuki would worry that if she stayed with these two for too long, she would also be infected by them.
Just imagining herself also starting to act crazy made her feel a bit overwhelmed.
She absolutely must not be infected!
"Tch, I'm not sleeping with you! Mind your own business!"
Kotoko Iwanaga's aggressiveness was as strong as ever. Of course, she didn't really dislike Asuna; she just liked to bicker and tease her.
"Then let me see... If we are to enter a dungeon of the second stage, we should sign up on the twenty-eighth day... No, let's sign up on the twenty-ninth day. This way, we will enter the dungeon instance on the thirty-second day after the game server opens. According to the rules, the difficulty will definitely increase after a month has passed."
After saying this, Kotoko Iwanaga first turned to look at Asuna Yuuki beside her, then looked at Asagiri Utsunomiya sitting opposite her and said, "However... when the one-month limit ends, the game's test on Players in the real world will also officially begin."
Asuna Yuuki knew what Kotoko Iwanaga meant. She pursed her lips and said softly, "Most Players don't have the courage to proactively sign up for dungeons, so they will be forcibly arranged to enter dungeons by the Game when the one-month limit is about to end. People who don't even have the courage to face dungeons... the rating can't be too high. From the perspective of the real world, it will be a large-scale disappearance case occurring within one or two days, which will definitely attract the attention of official agencies like the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department."
After saying this, Asuna Yuuki sighed and then murmured to herself.
"The difficulty of this Game is too high. Not only do we need to clear dungeons, but we also have to hide our identity as Players, and even later... we may have to face the Blackwatch, that group of battle-hardened elite soldiers... Moreover, the relationship between Players is also very subtle, and we could become hostile to each other with just a little carelessness... People we can trust, people we can rely on..."
"Only us, right?"
Hearing Asagiri Utsunomiya's voice, Asuna Yuuki's slightly dimmed eyes regained their brilliance. She looked at Asagiri Utsunomiya sitting on the opposite sofa, met his eyes that contains absolute confidence, and the unease and confusion in her heart vanished.
"Yes, we will definitely win."
"Hey, hey, hey!"
Seeing Asuna Yuuki and Asagiri Utsunomiya looking at each other with smiles on their faces, Kotoko Iwanaga keenly sensed that the atmosphere was a bit off. She immediately started rolling on the sofa, and while rolling, she shouted like a little girl who had been wronged.
"Wuuuuu, what kind of people are these... I was first, there's a NTR, there's a NTR!"
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Asuna Yuuki's pretty flushed, and then she said angrily, "Besides, if we're talking about who was first, I met Asagiri-kun first, didn't I? It's true that you're third in the team, well, you're the third party!"
Hearing this, Kotoko Iwanaga pouted, suddenly sat up straight, and seamlessly changed the topic.
"I'm hungry, let's go eat~"
Asuna Yuuki rolled her eyes and said exasperatedly, "Every time you're losing, you use this clumsy way to change the subject."
After saying this, Asuna Yuuki took out two bento boxes from her bag, handed one to Asagiri Utsunomiya sitting opposite her, smiled gently, and said, "I specifically made this bento before I left. You've used up so much stamina and mental energy, so you must be very hungry now, right? Eat quickly, it's still warm."
Asagiri Utsunomiya took the bento box, nodded with a smile, and said, "Thank you."
"Huh?" Seeing the bento box in Asuna Yuuki's hand, and then the bento box she handed to Asagiri Utsunomiya, Kotoko Iwanaga couldn't help but be stunned. After a while, she asked hesitantly. "Didn't you sleep at my house?"
Asuna Yuuki nodded without hiding anything and asked in return, "Yes, what about it?"
"Then you mean..."
"Oh right, I borrowed your kitchen and ingredients, but I didn't make one for you. Just go buy a bento at the school supermarket."
"What!?" Kotoko Iwanaga's face changed. She then hugged the sofa cushion and cried out hoarsely. "You slept on my bed, used my kitchen and ingredients, and made a bento for Asagiri-san!? And you didn't make one for me!? There's a NTR!! This is definitely a NTR! You're too much..."
"Here."
Before Kotoko Iwanaga could finish complaining, Asuna Yuuki took out another bento box from her bag, handed it to her, and said with a smile, unable to hold back her laughter.
"I was just teasing you. I made your share too."
Kotoko Iwanaga frowned slightly and raised her chin.
"Hmph, you think just because of this, I'll..."
Just as Kotoko Iwanaga was halfway through her sentence, Asuna Yuuki opened the bento box. The aroma of the food wafted into her nose, making Kotoko Iwanaga, who had expended a lot of energy in the dungeon, feel like her stomach was about to growl.
"Hmph... *munch!* Hmph!" Kotoko Iwanaga took the bento box handed to her by Asuna Yuuki, picked up a meatball with her chopsticks and put it in her mouth, a look of happiness spreading across her cute face.
Seeing this, Asuna Yuuki said, "Since it's come to this, let's eat first."
◆◇◈◇◆
Two days later, Friday, in the afternoon, outside Toyogasaki Academy.
"Utsunomiya-san, Yuuki-san, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."
It wasn't until Megumi Kato's voice sounded beside her that Asuna Yuuki turned her head belatedly and saw the other person, dressed in her school uniform, standing beside her at some point, and couldn't help but say with a hint of surprise.
"Huh? Kato-san, when did you arrive? I didn't even notice you. Did you use your talent again?"
"No." Megumi Kato shook her head and replied in her usual flat and gentle tone. "I'm not very noticeable to begin with."
Asuna Yuuki felt a bit awkward, as Megumi Kato had mentioned before that she was quite sad about her low presence.
Just as Asuna Yuuki was considering how to change the subject, Asagiri Utsunomiya said thoughtfully.
"Hmm, as expected of Kato-san. If I had a talent like that... Tsk, tsk, tsk, I wouldn't even dare to imagine what I'd do."
Hearing this, Asuna Yuuki couldn't help but retort, "Generally speaking, isn't that kind of talk an internal monologue? Who says something like that, a declaration like a criminal, so openly and honestly?"
"Heh, that shows I'm consistent inside and out, outspoken, and confront my true inner self and desires, which is why I awakened the power of an invincible Persona."
"Wasn't it confronting the fear of death? How did it turn into true desires again? And you say 'confront', but it sounds more like you're showing off, doesn't it?"
"Um..." Listening to the conversation between Asagiri Utsunomiya and Asuna Yuuki, Megumi Kato calmly and softly interrupted. "Could you please flirt later? Don't we have something serious to talk about?"
Hearing Megumi Kato say that she and Asagiri Utsunomiya were flirting, Asuna Yuuki's face flushed slightly, but the corners of her lips couldn't help but curl up.
"Right, serious business." Asagiri Utsunomiya looked at Asuna Yuuki and Megumi Kato, cleared his throat twice, and said, "From your talents and jobs, you both seem to be physical, melee damage dealers. One uses a sword, and the other is tentatively using a dagger. So, here's the problem.
"Although the rewards provided by the Game can enhance Players' overall physical ability, it doesn't seem to directly improve Players' combat skill proficiency. Anyone who has played games knows that while stats and equipment are important, a player's operational skill is also essential. Therefore, you two need some special training in combat techniques."
Upon hearing this, Megumi Kato's expression remained unchanged, and she just said in her usual flat tone, "Special training... It is indeed very important, but who should we find? We need to find someone trustworthy who is proficient in at least both sword and dagger techniques..."
"Don't tell me, there really is someone." Asagiri Utsunomiya interrupted Megumi Kato's words and then added with a light smile, "Let's go."
◆◇◈◇◆
Half an hour later, inside a dojo in the suburbs of Tokyo.
"Ashi... Ashikaga-sensei?"
Asuna Yuuki, who followed Asagiri Utsunomiya into the dojo, saw Miwa Ashikaga standing there, with the large banners with kanji characters for Mind and Technique respectively, hanging behind her. She wasn't wearing her fitted professional black suit but had changed into a loose training kimono called Gi.
Asuna Yuuki was completely stunned. She never would have thought that the so-called trustworthy special combat teacher, proficient in sword and dagger, would actually be this teacher.
"Come in."
"Oh... Oh, okay."
Seeing Asuna Yuuki bend down to take off her shoes, Miwa Ashikaga shook her head and said in a flat tone, "There's no need for so much ceremony. I'm dressed like this just out of personal habit. Utsunomiya-san told me that what you need isn't the flashy, performance-oriented stuff like kendo, but true life-and-death combat, a struggle between life and death, unrestricted combat training. So, for your clothing, just wear what you normally wear."
"Okay."
After Asuna Yuuki and Megumi Kato walked in, Miwa Ashikaga looked at Asagiri Utsunomiya, who wasn't being polite at all and was leaning against the wall, and said flatly, "You really know how to find things for me to do."
Asagiri Utsunomiya shrugged and said with a matter-of-fact tone, "Providing extracurricular tutoring to excellent students, isn't that the mark of an excellent teacher?"
"Normally, tutoring is for academics, isn't it? And..."
Miwa Ashikaga glanced at the cover of the small booklet Asagiri Utsunomiya had taken out, her brows furrowed.
"What kind of stuff do you usually read? 'Sniper Rifle Component Structure Diagrams and Descriptions'? What? Are you going to rob a bank?"