"Do you remember?"
Yuu jolted, reflexively straightening his back, looking at her with a serious and slightly nervous expression.
"What do you remember?"
"I remember..." Asuna's hands rested on the table, she looked down at Yuu, but for some reason, her beautiful face gradually flushed, and her speech became a bit stuttered.
"A-approximately everything before yesterday... including when the two of us fought in the VR Club ring, and the reason why I transferred to Sobu High..."
It seemed she recalled something embarrassing to confront, she instinctively avoided Yuu's gaze, scratching her neck slightly, appearing awkward.
"I see."
Understanding Asuna's current embarrassment, Yuu smiled relaxedly, and said in a gentle, comforting voice: "That was to find me, right? You must have had a hard time, even though you didn't remember anything, you could still make decisions because of that strange attraction, taking actions like chasing a husband from afar."
"Chasing a husband from afar, that's nothing like i-it..."
Asuna sat back in her seat as if exhausted, puffing her cheeks slightly, and hid her embarrassment by pretending to drink coffee.
However, after calming down a bit, her gaze gradually became complex, she looked at Yuu with a hesitant expression.
"Well... regardless of what I'll do."
"Yuu-kun, since you already have a girlfriend like Yuigahama-san, you should restrain yourself more when talking to other girls, otherwise you're too flirtatious..."
"Oh, you're right." Yuu just realized. Neither he nor Asuna had returned to their original relationship. Using such teasing terms on Asuna, who was an ordinary friend, was indeed inappropriate.
Pulling back their emotional distance, he apologized with the proper attitude: "I spoke without thinking. I hope you don't mind."
"No, I was just saying it, I actually don't care much... Never mind."
Regret that came too late flashed across Asuna's face. She said nothing more, just letting out a weary sigh.
Her lips touched the rim of the cup, she sipped the coffee, letting the bitter taste different from latte slide down her throat.
However, her mood brightened again because of Yuu's next sentence.
"But you don't need to worry either. Wasn't I already very restrained when talking to you before the cultural festival? Usually, the way I talk to other girls is like that. I only flirt with people very close to me."
"...That means, I'm someone special to you?" Asuna secretly lifted her shining eyes, asking in a soft voice to confirm.
"Of course." Even though his feelings hadn't returned, Yuu could still nod firmly based on the facts.
"We should be very special to each other—if not, there wouldn't be so many strange things happening around us, right?"
"Ah, after you say that..."
Slowly placing her cup down, Asuna's happiness didn't last long. Her face was filled with worry and difficulty.
Recalling the Heart's Will light that appeared in the fighting ring, and the strange experience she had for the second time, where her memories were covered and rewritten by a mysterious fog.
Indeed, there was a strange fateful bond connecting her and Yuu. The in-game ring and her current feelings also proved that their past relationship was extraordinary.
Were they just netizens who married in the game? No, if it was that simple, she wouldn't be obsessed to the point of transferring to Sobu High to find him.
Was she a frightening stalker who liked him unilaterally? Although it seemed like that, and Yuu told her not to remember it in the ring, as if something terrible had happened in the past...
But Asuna was certain her personality wasn't distorted to that extent. Moreover, Yuu's expression at that time, rather than fear or embarrassment, was more like having unspeakable difficulty, wanting her not to get lost.
So, were they not only married in the game, but also dating in the real world?
This should be the most likely option, after all, Sherlock Holmes once said (continuation omitted)...
(But if so, why is Yuu-kun dating Yuigahama-san again?)
Since the cultural festival, Asuna had really wanted to ask Yuu this question.
Before the Kyoto match, she was already in a state of amnesia. However, Yuu, who knew everything, met her, instead of trying to get everything back, he lied by saying he had never met her before and was dating Yuigahama.
After that, Yuu even advised her to give up searching for the truth, asking her to pretend everything never happened...
If she had really dated Yuu, this was clearly the action of a jerk man, right?
Abandoning an amnesiac girlfriend and finding a new lover. No wonder her self in the fighting ring was angry enough to use Heart's Will, stabbing Yuu's chest with a sword while saying she wouldn't forgive him!
Asuna couldn't help but glare at Yuu angrily, then averted her gaze when Yuu showed a confused expression, temporarily suppressing the desire to question him, and continued to clear her mind.
Regardless of their past relationship, the only certain thing was that there was a mysterious force blocking them from acknowledging each other, and even the Heart's Will light couldn't fully overcome it.
In any case, Asuna hadn't remembered the reason for her going to the Autumn Fair, and that beautiful piano melody. She only knew that everything was related to Yuu, and was the key to restoring her original memories.
"But it turns out, Heart's Will isn't a cheat that only appears in games, but some kind of superpower of mine..."
Suddenly realizing this, Asuna couldn't help but admire: "It can even penetrate the mysterious power that can seal memories. It feels amazing."
While saying that, she glanced at the table full of energy, took a new straw as a substitute for the thin sword in her hand, then closed her eyes, and began to build emotions.
According to Asuna's understanding, what was called Heart's Will was strong and steadfast emotions. Whether it was the desire to seek the truth, or the stubbornness to not want to be toyed with by memories. As long as it was straight and sharp like a sword, it could emit miraculous light.
So now, what kind of Heart's Will should she use to test...
"Ha!"
Not long after, enveloped in anger towards that jerk man, she suddenly thrust towards Yuu. The tip of the straw pointed straight at his forehead.
A strong wind blew, blowing Yuu's bangs to the side, revealing his moist and innocent eyes like a child's.
"I clearly didn't do anything, why are you attacking me?"
Ignoring Yuu's pretend pitiful voice, Asuna pulled back her hand, examining the straw that showed no abnormalities with a bit of regret.
"It didn't work, huh... Maybe this is just an ability that can function between virtual and consciousness..."
Yuu couldn't help but comment: "If it could be used in the real world, it would be terrifying. Even I wouldn't be able to beat you then."
Recalling his experience of almost being stabbed in the chest in the fighting ring, he unconsciously rubbed his arm, for the first time feeling worried about his own combat strength.
After all, he was getting further on the path of becoming a jerk man, and what was called a jerk man was a creature that would be beheaded by an axe if not careful...
As for why Heart's Will, the special skill once given to him by the system, had transferred to Asuna, and even helped her restore memories altered by the system, Yuu was too lazy to investigate, even unwilling to think about it.
After all, he had decided it was a system error, so blaming everything on the system not only wouldn't be wrong, but also saved energy. That was good.