Chapter 108: The Fable Told to Asuna
Seeing the expressions on Kind Mita's and the others' faces, Iwanaga Kotoko, Kato Megumi, Yuuki Asuna, and Asagiri, as the leader, did not interrupt. They simply waited in silence for what came next.
"That voice said…" Kind Mita glanced at Crazy Mita, still pinned on the floor with her limbs severed. Her expression was complicated. "If we bring her to the true core area of this game, she can provide valuable rewards to Player."
Hat Mita nodded so hard her hat almost slipped. "That's right, that's right. It also transmitted a route to the core area to us, but… we don't know if it's real or fake."
Then, as if worried they might take it seriously, she hurriedly added, "How about we just forget it, Player? Let's go back to my house and play the dancing machine and video games together."
"Hat."
Kind Mita's warning carried a faint edge of displeasure.
Hat Mita puffed out her cheeks, letting out a small hiss like an annoyed kitten. She mumbled under her breath, "For me, what happens to this world doesn't matter at all, as long as Player can live happily."
Iwanaga Kotoko immediately turned her gaze to Yuuki Asuna and chuckled. "You finally found someone more love struck than you. That wasn't easy."
"I wasn't some love struck idiot to begin with, okay…" Yuuki Asuna shot back, though her confidence wavered halfway through.
She looked to Asagiri. "Leader, what do you think? The only danger in this Dungeon that will actively come for us should be Crazy Mita. If we kill her here, we can find something to do and just wait out the remaining six hours."
Her voice lowered, becoming more cautious.
"As for the second clear objective, whether that voice the Mitas heard is friend or foe, trying to eliminate the source of the anomaly in this game world is definitely going to be dangerous."
Kato Megumi spoke softly, almost matter of fact. "But clearing the second objective means a higher exploration rate and a higher clear rating."
She glanced at Asagiri with a small, knowing look.
"And… with Leader's personality, he'll definitely pick the more interesting route. Right?"
Asagiri nodded without hesitation, smiling. "You know me well, Phantom."
Kato Megumi's lips curved into a proper, shallow smile. She lifted a hand and tucked her black hair behind her ear, calm as ever. "Then shall we set off?"
"No. Not yet."
Asagiri waved his hand and sat down directly on Crazy Mita. The posture alone made it clear he didn't even consider her a person anymore.
"Let's rest for a bit. I'm at my limit."
Yuuki Asuna froze. Then her eyes flickered, and worry surged across her delicate face. She rushed forward, grabbed Asagiri's arm, and asked sincerely, "Are you okay? With your current condition, summoning Human Asura twice in a row must have nearly drained you. Can you still walk?"
"As I said," Asagiri replied, forcing a faint smile. His black eyes looked noticeably dimmer. "I'm at my limit."
As if confirming his words, the Human Asura beside him swayed once, then twice. Its shadow forged body dissolved into thin black smoke.
Kato Megumi and Iwanaga Kotoko moved to the sofa and sat down as well. Both looked worn down.
"After using my skill continuously for that long, I don't have any combat ability right now," Kato Megumi said.
Iwanaga Kotoko nodded. "Same here. I used my trump card. I need to rest first."
Hat Mita pursed her lips. Even her usual buoyant sway stopped. She hurried to Asagiri's side, squatted down, and asked with anxious concern, "Player… are you really tired?"
Before Asagiri could even answer, Hat Mita suddenly pulled out a mysterious purple object. She flicked a switch, and it immediately began to buzz with a vibrating hum.
Her face was completely serious.
"Let me give you a massage. This way you can recover faster."
Kind Mita and Short-haired Mita both stared. Their lips parted slightly, pupils trembling.
"Y you want to use that on Player?" Short-haired Mita's voice shook.
Kind Mita looked as if she'd been struck by lightning. "You… you're rebellious!"
Hat Mita tilted her head, honestly confused. "But when this thing was invented, wasn't it for massage?"
"But… no… you…" Even Kind Mita, steady through everything until now, was rendered speechless. Her cheeks flushed, and she finally forced the words out in a tiny whisper.
"You already used that… how can you give it to Player? Player will dislike it…"
Asagiri answered calmly, "I have no objection."
Yuuki Asuna went silent for a full beat, then snapped, "You have no objection again?"
"A massage is normal," Asagiri said, as if this settled everything.
"Normal your head."
Yuuki Asuna gave a light snort, then put away her Exorcist Longsword. She placed both hands on Asagiri's shoulders, her tone gentling.
"Wouldn't it be better if I do it? Why would you need that kind of tool?"
Hat Mita didn't show jealousy or dissatisfaction. She simply put away her treasured purple item and pulled out a light pink electric guitar instead, smiling brightly.
"Then I'll play a song for Player."
She placed her slender, fair fingers on the strings and began to pluck. A pleasant melody spilled into the room.
Logically, an electric guitar shouldn't produce sound without being plugged in. But this was a game world. Just like the key formed from molten metal earlier didn't need time to cool, the guitar didn't need a cable to sing.
Watching Hat Mita play, fully absorbed, Cute Mita tugged timidly at Kind Mita's sleeve.
"What was that thing Hat sister took out just now…?"
"Ah… that…" Kind Mita hesitated, staring into Cute Mita's innocent eyes for far too long. In the end, she forced a smile, reached out, and gently patted her head.
"It's a massage tool."
"Oh… I see." Cute Mita nodded sincerely. "I don't have one of those in my inventory."
Kind Mita's expression turned even more complicated. For some reason, the fact that the little girl Meta didn't have that purple mood item made Kind Mita feel like the game's creator still had a sliver of bottom line left.
When Hat Mita finished her song, she lifted her head and adjusted her cool hat. She looked at Asagiri with a proud grin, like a child begging for praise.
"How was it? Player, am I amazing?"
"Amazing," Asagiri said. "So cool."
Hat Mita beamed at the praise. But then Asagiri reached out and took the electric guitar from her hands.
Yuuki Asuna blinked, surprised. "You can play too?"
"A little."
Asagiri smiled. Then his fingers moved across the strings, and an unfamiliar melody poured out, fast in rhythm and bright in tone.
Yet the moment it filled the room, the expressions of the Metas, Yuuki Asuna, Iwanaga Kotoko, and Kato Megumi all grew faintly complicated.
"The melody is cheerful, and the rhythm is fast," Hat Mita murmured, confusion in her eyes. "So why does it make my heart feel… sad?"
Yuuki Asuna looked at Asagiri and asked quietly, "What's the name of that song?"
"Unreachable Love."
Asagiri set the guitar aside, then spoke in a slow, storytelling tone.
"A long, long time ago, there were three people. One was the daughter of a world famous pianist. Another was a popular high school girl with a heavenly voice. The third was the male protagonist."
"Many things happened between them, but the point is this. The pianist's daughter and the popular girl fell in love with the male protagonist at the same time."
His voice remained steady, almost gentle.
"And they also regarded each other as the most important friend in their lives, someone they never wanted to lose."
"But the male protagonist could only choose one. No matter who he chose, the other girl would be heartbroken. She wouldn't just lose her love. She would lose her most important friend too."
"So she could only hide that feeling deep in her heart, while silently hoping it would somehow reach the other person."
Asagiri's gaze drifted, distant for a moment.
"That's why it's called Unreachable Love."
Yuuki Asuna frowned, unconsciously speaking her thought out loud. "If they don't want to lose each other, and the male protagonist likes both of them, why can't all three just be together? I can't judge whether that kind of relationship is right, but it's better than all three suffering, isn't it?"
"Yes," Asagiri said immediately, nodding in deep agreement. "You're right. As expected of Violet, you hit the nail on the head. Perfectly said."
Yuuki Asuna stared at him for half a second, then her face flushed with anger as realization hit.
"So after all that, this was a fable told specifically to me, huh? A dagger hidden behind the map, a wolf's ambition!"
"Listen to how you're talking." Asagiri waved a hand, completely serious. "I just played music and told a story. You, the listener, figured out the truth yourself."
"Sigh… I really have no way to deal with you…"
Yuuki Asuna sighed helplessly, pressing her fingers to her forehead. Then her expression sobered as she looked down at Crazy Mita beneath Asagiri, changing the topic.
"Still, more than ten minutes have passed, and nothing has attacked us. It looks like she doesn't have the ability to communicate with that Prototype Mita remotely."
.....
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