Time rewound slightly.
This was the tenth day since Saeko Busujima had arrived in Ruri Gokō's world. In other words, they had already recharged three times, one hundred hours each.
And the cost was not being paid by Saeko herself, but by Lacus Clyne, who had invited her.
At present, because he needed something from A2's side, A2 had only stayed in this world for a single day.
If A2 wanted to come back after returning, then their visit here would have to end as well, and they would need to invite her again from scratch. Otherwise, there was no way to do it.
Lacus was willing to pay the cost of leaving and inviting everyone over again, but A2 refused.
Over these past few days, Saeko had spent her time either training herself or accompanying Ruri and the others around Akihabara, learning more about the current manga, anime, novels, games, and the like—especially the popular ones.
The more they learned, the more likely it was that future members who joined might come from "works" they had already seen.
One interesting point was that they had also become uploader-streamers and started livestreaming online. That seemed to have sped up the progress of Ruri's energy bar somewhat.
Among them, Lacus's performance was the most impressive. Her heavenly singing voice, combined with her flawless beauty, made her fan count skyrocket. She also contributed the most to the energy increase.
"Saeko, did you ask Dr. Kōzuki what she's going to stream later?"
Tessa, who had just come out of the bath, asked the purple-haired girl still swinging her sword in the courtyard.
Half a day earlier, Dr. Kōzuki had informed them that she would hold a special livestream after half a day. It would also be a livestream that was not allowed to be downloaded or shared.
In other words, when the time came, they would not be able to download the content of the stream. This was also a new function in the livestream room of the Superdimensional Channel.
That made it even more confusing. If she was going to stream, why prohibit the spread of the livestream content?
Did she not want to increase her energy coin income?
Was the content of the stream so serious that she would rather give up the energy coins?
"I can't figure it out either."
Saeko stopped swinging her sword as she answered and took the towel Tessa handed her, wiping the sweat from her body.
Aside from restricting downloads of the livestream video, Kōzuki Yuuko had also said she would turn on anonymous mode when the time came.
So-called anonymous mode meant that when someone spoke in the livestream comment section, their member ID would not be displayed.
As long as they did not reveal who they were, no one would know who was speaking.
Of course, they would need to pay attention to their tone, since people might guess their identity from how they spoke.
"And she's turning on anonymous mode to keep it from Mr. Kain. What is she planning?"
Tessa murmured curiously.
Because Dr. Kōzuki had told everyone that under no circumstances could they let one person know about the time of her livestream—the person currently in Dr. Kōzuki's world, Mr. Kain.
She wanted to hide it from him?
He had clearly gone over there and worked so hard, even taking risks to help her, yet she was hiding this from him. That seemed a little excessive.
However, Dr. Kōzuki had said the livestream content was related to Mr. Kain and that she wanted to give him a surprise. It was like secretly preparing a surprise for someone's birthday, so the person in question could not know.
But in that world's time, it was not Mr. Kain's birthday either. That made Tessa very curious about what kind of surprise Dr. Kōzuki wanted to give him.
"Lacus, what do you think?"
She asked Lacus, who looked like a quiet literary girl as she sat reading.
Right now, only the three of them were in the villa.
Ruri Gokō and Saori Makishima had gone to school, while Kaori Makishima had temporarily gone to the company for work.
"Well, I think she might be planning to tease Mr. Kain."
"Huh?"
"Tease him?"
"Yes. I feel like that Dr. Kōzuki rather enjoys teasing people."
Lacus was not saying that at random. She had judged it from Dr. Kōzuki Yuuko's words and behavior toward those above her.
Then Lacus turned her gaze toward Saeko. She suddenly closed her book, walked up to her, and became very serious.
"Miss Saeko Busujima, you know why Mr. Kain thinks I'm very dangerous, don't you?"
"Did you read my thoughts?"
"I didn't. But my intuition tells me you know."
Saeko fell silent.
At the side, Tessa could not help growing tense. Why had the atmosphere suddenly become strange?
"Yes, I do know."
Over the past few days, Saeko had come to understand why he considered Lacus dangerous to him. It was something that left Saeko deeply envious.
"What is it?"
"That is something you need to discover for yourself, Lacus. All I can tell you is that this so-called 'danger' is not the kind of 'danger' you understand it to be."
"What does that mean?"
Lacus looked somewhat lost.
"Danger, but not that kind of danger?"
Tessa also asked curiously.
"Tessa, if you figure it out too, don't say it. Otherwise, you'll gain another 'enemy.'"
"Huh? I'll gain another enemy?"
Tessa, who had been curious, suddenly decided it was better not to ask.
"So, Miss Saeko Busujima, do you see me as an 'enemy' now?"
Lacus also realized that "enemy" did not mean an actual foe, but she still did not understand what it referred to specifically.
"No. I don't see you as an enemy. I will only support everything he chooses to do."
Just as Saeko did not see Tessa, who also harbored subtle feelings toward him, as an "enemy," she would not interfere with anything he did.
Therefore, even if Lacus developed a relationship with him beyond friendship, she would not be Saeko's "enemy."
Saeko would simply abide by the rule she had set for herself at the very beginning and support him silently.
As for why he considered Lacus dangerous, the truth was that Lacus was an extremely special girl. If she had to be described in one phrase, it would be "holy maiden"—a pure, saintly girl.
She possessed a powerful affinity and charm. He had seen that, which was why he worried that if he came into contact with her too much and their relationship deepened too far, he would develop genuine feelings.
If Lacus had been from the same world as Saeko, then Saeko would not have hesitated to tell Lacus the truth about why she was dangerous to him. That way, she could bind him to Saeko's world.
"Can I understand it as meaning that 'danger' does not mean Mr. Kain thinks I'm frightening, or that I might threaten his life?"
When Lacus asked that, Saeko only smiled without answering.
"I understand."
Since it was not the kind of danger she had imagined, Lacus felt much more at ease.
"Um, it's almost time for the livestream."
Tessa reminded them, so it was time to watch the stream.
The three of them sat down and logged into the Superdimensional Channel. Half the members were already online. The only person not yet online was the one who would be streaming.
Ah, there she was. She had logged on and posted a message.
Dr. Kōzuki: Everyone, this stream is private and cannot be downloaded. You must receive an invitation from me to enter the livestream room, so please be careful. I will only send the invitation once. If you enter and then leave the room on your own, I will not send another invitation.
That was interesting. It meant they might see something in the livestream room they could not bear and leave, only to find themselves unable to reenter because it was not a public stream.
The next second, the other party opened the livestream room. They clicked on it, but sure enough, they could not enter. The streamer's approval was required.
Then the invitation popped up.
Accept.
After entering the livestream room, the image on the screen made Tessa pause.
The scene showed Kōzuki Yuuko leading a group of women into a hot spring bathhouse.
Mm. From the look of it, they were going to soak in the hot spring, which meant they would remove their clothes. So that was why she did not want screenshots or video evidence left behind.
But why did she think they would be unable to bear it and leave?
Did she think they would get bored watching a hot spring livestream and quit?
Tessa looked around the room and pulled the camera view.
Hm?
There seemed to be someone in the hot spring pool.
The steam made it hard to see clearly, but by moving the camera, she could get a clear look. What she saw was—
Uh!!!
Why was he in there too?
He did not seem to know that a group of people had come in.
Right. Lacus had just said that Dr. Kōzuki Yuuko wanted to tease him. Could it be that her plan was to tease him?
Aside from Kōzuki Yuuko, the other girls did not seem to know he was here either.
So this teasing from Dr. Kōzuki felt oddly childish.
In the blink of an eye, Tessa's small face tightened slightly. She was becoming irritated.
What was wrong with those girls? Shouldn't they call him a pervert, scream, and chase him out?
None of that happened.
Then shouldn't he feel awkward and leave on his own?
Some of them looked very embarrassed, but once they saw Kōzuki Yuuko boldly enter the hot spring pool, they followed along.
As a result, the shy ones hesitated for a while, then entered as well.
This felt bad.
Then a girl named Cui Yifei began criticizing Dr. Kōzuki Yuuko, and as events developed, Tessa's dissatisfaction grew even stronger.
When Dr. Kōzuki Yuuko directly pressed that lump of flesh onto the tablet computer in his hands, Tessa's hand was already clenched into a fist.
Yes, a lump of flesh. That was exactly the insulting term Tessa chose for it.
Immediately afterward, that vixen suddenly climbed onto his lap, facing him directly. She settled there in an intimate, nearly embracing position.
Aaaaaah!
Now Tessa understood the purpose of this woman's livestream.
(End of Chapter)
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