Seeing the Add Friend success notification on the phone APP, Yūki Asuna looked up at Asagiri and spoke calmly.
"It certainly isn't easy to gain your trust, is it, Mr. Houseki... no, Utsunomiya-kun?"
"Isn't this the kind of vigilance a 'Player' should possess?"
Asagiri smiled and replied. Then, he placed the chainsaw and drill on the ground and proceeded to take off his black overcoat, removing the books and magazines he had taped to his body as protection. Finally, he removed the sunglasses and black mask he had been wearing.
The moment he took off his sunglasses and black mask, revealing his true appearance, Yūki Asuna's eyes trembled slightly.
His slightly long black hair, which was untidily styled but not messy, and his black eyes, which held a subtle, ever-present smile that instinctively made people feel at ease, suggested that even if the rest of his face was mediocre, he could still be called handsome just by his hair and eyes.
However, the rest of Asagiri's facial features were also very pleasing, and he didn't have the overly feminine softness seen in some idols.
Coupled with his tall, over six-foot figure, simply put, he was very handsome.
"So that's what you look like..."
Yūki Asuna wasn't the type to be a fangirl who swooned over handsome men. The reason she made such a comment was that Asagiri's words and actions, combined with his appearance, created a strange sense of contrast.
"How about it? Handsome, right?"
"Yes, quite handsome."
"Oh, thank you, thank you. Yūki Asuna-chan, you are also very beautiful."
Neither Asagiri nor Yūki Asuna displayed the awkwardness or shyness typical of high school students when discussing this topic. The reason was simple: in their current situation, Yūki Asuna had no mental capacity for such thoughts. Besides, she didn't have any special feelings for Asagiri; she was merely stating a fact—he was indeed very handsome.
Next, Yūki Asuna conducted a test.
The equipment rewarded for clearing the instance—the slender rapier—looked ordinary, but with a single thought, the rapier would instantly disappear or appear, which was incredibly convenient.
Just as Yūki Asuna made the rapier disappear again, Asagiri suddenly walked up to her and did something that caught Yūki Asuna completely off guard and made her cheeks flush—he simply and directly took hold of both of her hands, and not just in a simple handshake, but in an intimate, intertwined-finger grasp.
"Wha... what are you doing..."
Despite everything, Yūki Asuna was still just a high school girl. Having her hands suddenly grasped by Asagiri left her flustered, and her heart rate immediately accelerated.
"Why are you blushing? Be normal; don't let a romance-brain take over."
In contrast, Asagiri's expression and tone were as calm and composed as ever.
"Try it now, can you equip the rapier?"
Hearing this, Yūki Asuna immediately realized that Asagiri wanted to use this method to verify whether a "Player" could still summon their equipment if they were subjected to some kind of restraint.
"Hmph, I, I was just caught off guard. It's not a 'romance-brain.'"
Yūki Asuna first retorted, then tried to summon the rapier, but nothing happened.
"I can't summon it."
"Mm."
Asagiri nodded.
"It seems that under physical restraint, you cannot summon your equipment."
Yūki Asuna bit her lip when she heard this and replied softly, her expression complex.
It wasn't because she was holding hands with Asagiri in an intimate, intertwined-finger grasp. It was because she realized that since entering the instance, he had been the one carrying her forward. Whether it was escaping the room, figuring out the "Careworker's" true purpose, or testing the equipment to gather information after receiving the clearance reward, Asagiri's actions were always highly efficient.
If she were an ordinary girl, being guided through a clearance without having to exert herself might be a source of happiness. But Yūki Asuna was different.
Her self-respect, nurtured by her elite education since childhood, would not allow her to remain a burden, like a decorative, useless accessory, simply leeching off Asagiri for the clearance.
Of course, Yūki Asuna knew that rushing into action impulsively out of pride wouldn't help and would only make her a burdening teammate. She simply resolved to adapt to the instance rhythm as quickly as possible, ensuring that the next time they entered an instance, she would at least demonstrate her value as a teammate.
"Wait a minute, that's not right..."
After letting go of Asagiri's hand, Yūki Asuna suddenly frowned.
"The reward from this APP is a rapier... although these aren't easy to buy, they aren't impossible to acquire either. Since you could bring a chainsaw and a drill in, couldn't I just bring a weapon from the real world next time? Even with the convenient function of instant access, as one of the rewards for an A+ rating... isn't it a bit too underwhelming?"
"Congratulations, my blind student, you've spotted the crucial flaw."
Asagiri did not explain directly but guided Yūki Asuna's thinking with a question.
"Since I could bring weapons like a chainsaw and a drill into the instance, let's exaggerate a bit: if I had a gun nearby, would I be able to bring it into the instance as well? If we can bring our own weapons, then what is the meaning of the so-called 'equipment' given as an instance reward?"
Yūki Asuna mused thoughtfully.
"Exactly, what's the meaning? Is it that bringing your own weapon... is a courtesy given to novices entering their first instance, and we won't be able to bring weapons in the future? No, it's more than that. I get it! The fact that we could bring our own weapons into this Novice Instance is one of the clearance hints itself!"
Asagiri asked with interest, "Oh? How so?"
Yūki Asuna's mind was opened, and her delicate face flushed with excitement as she immediately replied.
"Because the 'Careworker' never attacks the 'Players.' Therefore, as long as we escape within the time limit, there's absolutely no need for combat. If we don't escape within the time limit, some anomaly will happen in the sanatorium, and we won't be able to leave. So the key point is only when the 'Player' deduces the Careworker's true purpose, and when they gather the courage to open the room door. Whether the weapon carried is a fruit knife, a drill and a chainsaw, or even nothing at all—entering empty-handed—has no impact on clearing the instance."