"I think... Kanna is the dragon Kanna, right? I never thought a giant dragon could transform into such a small child. This must also be something you asked Kayaba Akihiko to do, right? Truly, as Kiriko said... you're a lolicon, a big hentai!"
As she said this, Kaguya couldn't help but look at Yusei with disdain, though deep in her eyes there was also some helplessness.
She then continued:
"Moreover, Kanna's name is no coincidence. She appeared after the dragon Kanna. She doesn't have a player game interface displayed above her head. All these coincidences added together point to the truth."
Kaguya's red eyes looked at Yusei, seemingly regaining her usual confidence. Finally, she spoke with a smile.
"Yusei-kun, do you still want to quibble?"
Yusei did want to quibble. But the current situation had sealed off all his escape routes. What else could he say?
Just as Kaguya said, when this many coincidences add up, it becomes the truth.
Feeling helpless, he spread his hands and sighed.
"Alright. You win. I admit it. I do know Kayaba Akihiko."
Kaguya nodded, having expected this. Her expression was complex. She hesitated before speaking.
"Why did you do this? You must have entered the game before Kayaba Akihiko initiated the death game, right? Otherwise, you couldn't have entered the game with your real appearance from the start. You should have known that eventually, everyone's true appearance would be revealed."
Yusei looked at Kaguya in surprise, "You saw me back then?"
A rare blush appeared on Kaguya's face as she glared at Yusei.
"Don't take me for a fool. You were so conspicuous, and not far from me. Of course I saw you. I just couldn't be bothered to greet you."
Yusei smiled... and teased, "True. If it were me, I wouldn't greet someone who had just defeated me either."
"Shut up." Kaguya turned her head away, muttering, "You never fought me one-on-one. Who says you would win?"
"Alright, let's not change the subject." She turned back, her expression serious, "I'll ask you one more thing. Did you know Kayaba Akihiko was going to make this a death game?"
Yusei didn't lie. He nodded and admitted, "Yes. To be precise, I found out about half a month before the game launched."
"But I didn't know you would enter. If I had known Kaguya-sama would play the game, I would have called Old Man Koken immediately and had him tie you up securely."
Ignoring Yusei's remark, Kaguya rolled her eyes at him and continued,
"Then what is your relationship with Kayaba Akihiko? Our lives are in his hands now. What if he has a falling out with you? Wouldn't we all die then?"
Kaguya's voice held worry. She also sighed, "You still haven't considered the future possibilities. A person's mood is the easiest thing to change. Nothing is certain."
"Kayaba Akihiko and I are quite good friends. He usually does what I ask him to. Like our sword skills, for example."
Yusei didn't mention that he controlled Kayaba. That would be too shocking.
This wasn't simple persuasion, but complete hypnotic control... If people knew Yusei controlled a national-level figure, wouldn't the whole world be at his mercy?
He could start wars if he wanted, do whatever he pleased.
"You can't look at things that way. Friends can betray you too." Kaguya said seriously to Yusei.
Yusei felt somewhat helpless under her gaze, but couldn't tell the whole truth. He could only nod.
"Right. I understand. I'll be careful in the future."
Then, Kaguya looked at Yusei curiously again. After clearing the air, their relationship seemed to have grown closer, and she could ask some things more directly.
"Why did you enter this game? And why bring Shiro? Didn't you know it was a death game early on?"
"Well, that..." Yusei scratched his head, somewhat embarrassed, "Actually, Shiro has agoraphobia. She never wants to go to school and can only watch TV or play games at home. She gets very bored."
"So you thought you'd bring Shiro to play this groundbreaking SAO to make her happy?" Kaguya finished Yusei's sentence speechlessly.
Yusei smiled and nodded, "Exactly. Since I know Kayaba, I asked him to get me two NerveGear helmets for Shiro and me."
Seeing the questioning look in Kaguya's eyes regarding his role as a brother, Yusei also felt helpless.
He spread his hands helplessly, "Shiro is a genius who loves chess the most. And I'm not good at it, so I can't play with her. So I wanted to find some fun games for Shiro to play, so she wouldn't be too isolated and lonely."
Listening to Yusei's explanation, Kaguya sighed and gave him a helpless look, "I really don't know whether to call you a good brother or an irresponsible one. To actually bring Shiro into this dangerous game for such a reason... but you also wanted to make her happy, so you hid Kayaba Akihiko's conspiracy."
When she reached this topic, Kaguya's expression became quite grave.
"Absolutely do not tell anyone else that you know Kayaba Akihiko. Even the Shinomiya Family couldn't defy society to protect someone. What Kayaba Akihiko has done violates the laws of the entire society... If others found out you knew about Kayaba's plan but didn't report it, you would be in serious trouble."
Yusei smiled. He wasn't too worried about that, but he was still touched by Kaguya's concern. He had initially thought Kaguya was cold, aloof, proud, and stubborn.
But now, it seemed Kaguya was flesh and blood, an emotional person, and even very considerate of others' feelings.
This greatly improved Yusei's impression of Kaguya.
However, teasing her was still very enjoyable for Yusei.
Then, Yusei looked playfully at Kaguya and said teasingly, "You just said even the Shinomiya Family couldn't protect me. Why would the Shinomiya Family want to protect me? Could it be that the Shinomiya Family wants to recruit me as a live-in son-in-law?"
"Hah? The Shinomiya Family recruiting you as a son-in-law? How would I know that?" Kaguya looked puzzled at Yusei, but when she saw the teasing smile on his face, she finally understood. Her face instantly turned as red as a boiled lobster.
'The Shinomiya Family only had one daughter. A live-in son-in-law... that would mean my... my...'
Kaguya glared fiercely at Yusei, stepped right up to him, stomped on his foot, and then ran back towards the tavern. It looked more like she was fleeing in panic.