A little later, in Shibuya, Tokyo, at Asagiri Utsunomiya's home.
"Does it hurt?"
"No, just do whatever you want."
"Are you sure... it won't hurt?"
Although their conversation could easily be misunderstood, in reality, Asuna Yuuki was simply applying medicine for Asagiri Utsunomiya.
Seeing the dozens of bruises of various sizes on his upper body, Asuna Yuuki felt a pang in her heart. Her movements were extremely gentle, afraid of applying too much pressure and causing Asagiri Utsunomiya pain.
"Use a little more strength, Asuna... Oh wait, Asuna." Feeling Asuna Yuuki's almost non-existent, gentle touch, like stroking a work of art, Asagiri Utsunomiya comforted her with a reassuring smile. "I'm not some porcelain that shatters at a touch; there's no need to be so gentle."
"But... *Sigh!*" Asuna Yuuki pursed her lips, finally just sighing helplessly. She slightly increased the pressure as she applied medicine to Asagiri Utsunomiya's bruised body while softly asking, "Why? Why do you push yourself so hard?"
"Because I'm the lead singer," Asagiri Utsunomiya replied seriously. "A lead singer has to push themselves hard, you know."
Asuna Yuuki was speechless upon hearing this and retorted, "We're a team clearing dungeons, not a band. Where does this lead singer thing come from..."
"The principle is the same." His smile faded, and then Asagiri Utsunomiya said in a calm tone, "I am the captain of this team. Since I hold the most important position, it's only natural that I must possess the ability to bear everything, including the lives of the three of you. Of course, that's only part of the reason. More importantly..."
At this point, Asagiri Utsunomiya paused for a moment, then spoke with eager anticipation.
"Just thinking about the scene of myself enduring a hail of bullets and smashing those Blackwatch elite soldiers feels incredibly exciting!"
Her expression became a little complicated, and Asuna Yuuki murmured, "I want to say this is chuunibyou, but you've reached this level... it seems to have completely surpassed the scope of normal chuunibyou..."
"This isn't chuuni, this is..."
"I know, it's cowardice, right?"
Asuna Yuuki smiled gently, put away the things used for applying the medicine, and after putting them back in place, she looked out the floor-to-ceiling window at the sky that had turned completely dark. She raised her hand to tuck her long hair behind her ear and softly spoke with a hint of shyness.
"Um... it's already past eleven... the trains have stopped running, right..."
"Yeah."
Asagiri Utsunomiya was not the type of male lead in most school romance anime who doesn't understand hints. He immediately understood Asuna Yuuki's implication and then smiled as he extended an invitation.
"Since that's the case, why don't you sleep over at my place tonight?"
"Mm-hmm, you're right." Asuna Yuuki was secretly delighted and replied eagerly, "After all, my place is quite far, there's no need to waste money on a taxi, but... I didn't bring pajamas..."
"Wear mine."
"Okay."
Asuna Yuuki replied shyly.
After Asagiri Utsunomiya prepared clean clothes for her, Asuna Yuuki stepped into the bathroom. After all, having gone through several hours of special training, she must have sweated.
Sleeping without showering was completely unacceptable for Asuna Yuuki, who had a little obsession for cleanliness.
What's more...
Asuna Yuuki turned on the faucet and watched the hot water gradually filling the bathtub. Amidst the slightly hazy mist, she murmured to herself with a blush.
"Tonight... will we sleep together..."
◆◇◈◇◆
The outcome did not disappoint Asuna Yuuki.
At Asagiri Utsunomiya's initiative, she lay on the same bed with him. After the lights in the room were turned off and quiet settled, she could even hear her own heartbeat, which was much faster than usual due to nervousness and shyness.
"Um..."
Asuna Yuuki gathered her courage, reached her hand forward, and gently held Asagiri Utsunomiya's hand. The warmth from their palms made her feel a little more relaxed.
"Can Ashikaga-sensei... really be trusted? Not just you, but I also displayed exceptional physical abilities that normal people don't possess in front of her. If the matter of the Players is revealed to the world later, will she..."
"She won't."
Asagiri Utsunomiya held Asuna Yuuki's hand and replied with a relaxed tone.
"How should I describe Ashikaga-sensei... As a direct descendant of the Ashikaga Shogunate, she can be considered a true noble. Unlike Shuchi'in Academy's nouveau riche chairman Oko Shinomiya, Ashikaga-sensei is a pure idealist. It is precisely because of this that she criticized and expressed dissatisfaction with the current atmosphere at Shuchi'in Academy within the Shuchi'in Academy's board. She simply wouldn't care... No, if she knew that the two of us are Players, she would only think it's better. After all, we both enrolled in the high school division as transfer students.
"Ashikaga-sensei's idea is very simple. Since her opinions on the board would be vetoed by the ideologically rigid Oko Shinomiya, she will change the students' stubborn belief that Shuchi'in Academy, as the most famous and excellent high school in Japan, doesn't need any changes, by having them witness things firsthand.
"Shuchi'in Academy is different from ordinary high schools. Most students at Shuchi'in Academy have very deep backgrounds. Since it's impossible to get through to Chairman Shinomiya and achieve top-down change, the hope is that most students will be stimulated to develop the desire for change, thereby changing the atmosphere of Shuchi'in Academy from the bottom up. That's roughly the idea."
Upon hearing this, Asuna Yuuki was somewhat stunned.
"This... this... it sounds so complicated..."
"It's not complicated." Asagiri Utsunomiya reached out his other hand, gently stroked Asuna Yuuki's hair as he lay on her side, and said, "Actually, to put it simply, Ashikaga-sensei needs me. After all, a student like me, who completely disregards Shuchi'in Academy yet is more outstanding than anyone there, is truly a once-in-a-lifetime catch."
"Pfft... hahaha~" Asuna Yuuki couldn't help but laugh, then said in a gentle tone, "While it's true, who would be like you and so directly call yourself a once-in-a-lifetime catch? Isn't that a bit too shameless?"
Asagiri Utsunomiya retorted bluntly, "I feel like... it's not as shameful as sleeping in the same bed on the first day of dating."
Hearing this, Asuna Yuuki's face instantly flushed. She got up and said angrily, "Then I'm leaving."
"Oh, threatening me?" Asagiri Utsunomiya seriously retorted, "As the Leader of Justice League, I absolutely do not accept any threats!"
"Tch... you're really confident."
Although Asuna Yuuki said this, she obediently lay back down on the bed.
After several hours of special training, even she felt a bit tired at this moment, so sleepy that she could barely keep her eyes open.
However, before falling asleep...
"I..." Asuna Yuuki gently pulled Asagiri Utsunomiya's hand and said in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz. "As a couple, before sleeping... we should kiss, right?"
Asagiri Utsunomiya immediately replied, "This is what I was waiting for."
Soon after, their lips touched again.
"You... don't touch me randomly..."
Feeling Asagiri Utsunomiya's hand reach into her clothes, a layer of hazy mist appeared in Asuna Yuuki's eyes. She instinctively grabbed his hand and spoke softly.
"I... I haven't prepared myself mentally yet... And I'm very tired today, I'm not in good condition..."
As she spoke, before Asagiri Utsunomiya could say anything, Asuna Yuuki herself became a little flustered and quickly explained.
"Of course, it's not that I don't want to, I really want to do that thing with you... but... I, I'm a first-timer, so I need some time to prepare myself mentally. Don't worry, it definitely won't take too long. Let's rest well today, and when I'm ready, I'll definitely come to you myself, and then we can do that thing..."
Seeing Asuna Yuuki's adorable appearance, stuttering her explanation despite being extremely shy, Asagiri Utsunomiya couldn't help but smile slightly. He gently stroked her long hair and spoke softly.
"There's no need to be so flustered. We can take things step by step."
Hearing this, Asuna Yuuki finally breathed a sigh of relief. She first moved closer, pressed her cheek against Asagiri Utsunomiya's chest, and curled herself completely into his embrace, then spoke softly.
"It's good that you understand me... Then..."
Asuna Yuuki's cheeks were slightly flushed. She pursed her lips, then actively held Asagiri Utsunomiya's wrist, suppressing her shyness, and said in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz.
"If you promise not to be impulsive..."
.
.
.
"...you can touch me a little longer."
◆◇◈◇◆
Meanwhile, in an unfinished building outside Tokyo.
Kotoko Iwanaga leaned on her cane with her left hand, and slowly extended her right hand, aiming it at the specter in front of her that was dressed like a sumo wrestler. Her fingers slowly clenched as she said, "Netherworld Grip!"
In the next second, a pale spectral hand with sharp black nails emerged from the void and grabbed the specter that looked like a sumo wrestler. Following Kotoko Iwanaga's movements, the five fingers also tightened, directly crushing the opponent into pieces.
"It's solved."
Seeing Kotoko Iwanaga successfully deal with the specter that looked like a sumo wrestler, a male spirit with a kitchen knife still on his head and blood streaming down his face spoke gratefully with tears streaming down.
"Thank you, Princess! Thank you, Princess! Now we can move back in, thank you so much!"
Kotoko Iwanaga turned her head, looked at the spirit, raised her hand to adjust her white beret, and then spoke with a cute smile.
"You're welcome. This is also my duty as the God of Wisdom."
Soon after, Kotoko Iwanaga looked out of the unfinished building at the bright moon hanging in the sky.
Because she had successfully completed the request, Kotoko Iwanaga was in a very good mood at this moment, and she even couldn't help but hum a tune, murmuring to herself.
"Ah, really, it's finally the weekend, but I still have to deal with the requests from yokai. I'm so busy that I don't even have a chance to ask Asagiri-san out on a date and spend time together. I wonder what he's doing right now..."
◆◇◈◇◆
Meanwhile, in Chika Fujiwara's bedroom.
Kaguya Shinomiya looked at Chika Fujiwara, who was sitting there eating snacks, with a worried expression and slightly furrowed brows.
"Chika, I have a feeling... Utsunomiya-san and Iwanaga-san from my class, and Yuuki-san from your class... these three people, something isn't right with them."
Chika Fujiwara turned around, her face showed simple confusion, and tilted her head. She asked, "Not right? Is there? Are you suspecting that these three are also Players like us? What's the reason for your suspicion?"
"Reason... not yet." Kaguya Shinomiya said softly, deep in thought. "I just have a feeling. If this so-called Game has some kind of selection criteria, that app will definitely choose Utsunomiya-san as a Player. I don't know why, but I always feel that he is very suitable... No, not just suitable, I think he will become a perfect Player."
"Huh? You rate him that highly? I don't think I've ever heard you praise someone like this, and..."
At this point, Chika Fujiwara showed a slightly meaningful smile.
"And, he's a very handsome boy, you know."
"Don't joke!"
Kaguya Shinomiya raised her hand and tucked her black long hair behind her ear. Her red eyes held no trace of emotion, and she said in a calm tone.
"Before I gain the power I desire... I won't put my mind to such things."