Chapter 354: Plan to Go to Kyoto
"Regardless..."
Kato Megumi sat gracefully on the sofa. Dressed in a white dress, she gave off a gentle, wife-like air.
"Since we can choose the real world, we should choose the real world, right? We can also find out what kind of dangers are hidden in the world we live in."
"Then let's confirm our registration first?"
Hearing Utsunomiya Asagiri's question, Yuuki Asuna and Iwanaga Kotoko both nodded.
Immediately afterward, the four of them turned their gazes toward Yamauchi Sakura, who was sitting there happily tasting a slice of strawberry cake.
"Eh? Me?"
Yamauchi Sakura still had cream on the corner of her lips. Seeing Asagiri and the others staring at her, she hurriedly put the cake down on the tray, coughed twice, placed her hands on her legs, and sat up very straight.
Then, with a serious expression, she said,
"Team Member March approves choosing this Dungeon!"
"Pfft..."
Upon hearing Yamauchi Sakura's words, everyone was amused.
Yuuki Asuna held back her laughter, reached out to pat Yamauchi Sakura on the shoulder, and could not help saying,
"You don't need to be that serious. Actually, just nodding is fine."
"Team Member March..."
Asagiri could not help smiling as he teased,
"I couldn't tell. You're quite the chuunibyou."
Yamauchi Sakura's cheeks turned red. She was so embarrassed she wanted to find a hole and crawl into it.
After a while, she laughed awkwardly.
"So just nodding is fine... Looking at you guys, I thought this was some serious business discussion..."
Yuuki Asuna first pointed at Iwanaga Kotoko, then at Asagiri, and sighed softly.
"With these two people who love acting abstract, our team never has any truly serious moments."
"Audacious."
Hearing Yuuki Asuna's words, Asagiri clicked the [Hunt] keyword in the Eye Icon APP to confirm registration for the Dungeon, then spoke righteously.
"How dare you be disrespectful to the Vice President of Shuchiin Academy, the top scorer of the joint exam, the strongest Player, Tokyo's number one Eroge Shooter, the Tokyo Tournament champion, the founder of the Strategy Group, the mysterious hero who resolved the Dead Realm, the Persona user with unrestrained talent, the lead singer of a great band, Lord Utsunomiya Asagiri!"
Yuuki Asuna was speechless and sighed.
"How on earth did you come up with so many titles..."
"Then shall I come up with a few for you too?"
Hearing Asagiri's words, Yuuki Asuna, who had been helplessly complaining, was slightly stunned.
Then anticipation appeared in her eyes. With her face faintly red, she nodded shyly.
"If you really want to make some up... I guess that's fine..."
Seeing Yuuki Asuna, who clearly wanted a cool nickname but was acting coy because she usually had to pretend to be mature, Kato Megumi, Iwanaga Kotoko, and Yamauchi Sakura could not help smiling.
"Then..."
Asagiri did not hesitate at all, as if he had already thought of Yuuki Asuna's titles in his heart.
"Crimson Shadow! Class: Flash Blade! Tsundere Swordsman!"
At first, when she heard the first two titles, Yuuki Asuna's lips had already begun to curl up because she thought they sounded very cool.
But the moment she heard the last title, her face flushed red, and she said angrily,
"What is Tsundere Swordsman!? I'm not a tsundere at all, okay!?"
"You are definitely a tsundere. It's just that the dere part accounts for a much higher percentage than the tsun part, but you're still a tsundere."
After finishing that sentence, Asagiri immediately pointed at Iwanaga Kotoko and spoke quickly.
"Then your title is..."
Before Asagiri could finish, Iwanaga Kotoko took the initiative to declare,
"Princess of the Yokai! God of Wisdom! The deity in charge of the balance between the supernatural and the human world! The reasoning specialist of the Strategy Group! Utsunomiya Asagiri's lover!"
"Ho ho, as expected of Iwanaga Kotoko. You already thought of your own title? Hagi-Kotoko, you guy..."
"That's only natural! This is the power of my God of Wisdom!"
Watching Iwanaga Kotoko and Asagiri sing in harmony like a comedy duo, Yuuki Asuna rolled her eyes and said helplessly,
"Are you two some kind of stand-up comedy pair... Then what about Megumi and Sakura Yamauchi's titles?"
"Hmm... As for Megumi..."
Asagiri thought for a moment, then spoke.
"Unperceivable Shadow Blade! The Bleeding Nightingale in the Darkness! Illusion Assassin! As for Yamauchi..."
At this point, Asagiri looked at Yamauchi Sakura.
Under her expectant gaze, he gave an abstract nickname that made all the girls present feel slightly awkward.
"Physically Frail Priest! One Who Is Dying but Not Yet Dead! The Player with the Lowest Average Completion Score in History!"
Yamauchi Sakura froze for a moment.
Just as Yuuki Asuna thought she had become depressed after hearing the words "dying but not yet dead" and remembered her terminal illness, and was about to comfort her, Yamauchi Sakura suddenly burst into laughter.
And she laughed very happily, to the point where her shoulders shook.
"Hahaha, what is that... Dying but not yet dead, you make me sound like some old lady with one foot in the grave. Not good, not good. Wait until my abilities grow, then give me a new title."
Yamauchi Sakura really liked the atmosphere when she was with Asagiri.
Of course, this did not mean she liked being given strange titles by him.
Rather, it was because Asagiri did not treat her differently because of her terminal illness.
There was no cautious pity, nor any heavy sadness.
If one only looked at this point, it might seem as if Asagiri did not care about her at all, giving the impression that whether she lived or died did not matter to him.
But...
"I will not let you die. I will definitely find a way to make Yamauchi Sakura's life continue."
Recalling the expression Asagiri had worn when he said those words, a complicated look appeared in Yamauchi Sakura's eyes, and her heart could not help fluttering.
Since meeting him, that had been the first time she had seen him show such a serious expression...
"Hey, hey. What are you spacing out for?"
Seeing Iwanaga Kotoko's small, fair hand waving in front of her, Yamauchi Sakura came back to her senses as if waking from a dream and shook her head with a smile.
"No... nothing."
"Hmm? Nothing?"
Iwanaga Kotoko's deep purple eyes stared at Yamauchi Sakura's face, observing her misty gaze and slightly red cheeks. Then she spoke bluntly.
"Why does it feel like... you were thinking about something lewd?"
"Eh? No, no..."
Yamauchi Sakura first waved her hand.
But then her gaze subconsciously turned toward Asagiri sitting there, and her voice sounded a little guilty.
"Hmm... probably not..."
"Hey, hey, hey! Don't start feeling guilty halfway through!"
The legendary tactician Iwanaga Kotoko keenly noticed Yamauchi Sakura's unusual shyness and awkwardness.
Just as she was about to complain to Asagiri, Asagiri spoke first.
"Registration is already confirmed. The system says it will notify us when the Dungeon officially begins. As for the location of this Hunt themed Dungeon, it is Kyoto City in our world."
"Kyoto?"
Hearing this, Yuuki Asuna frowned. After thinking carefully, she asked in confusion,
"Is there any goal worth completing for Players from other worlds in Kyoto? Although Kyoto is also a famous city, it doesn't have high end tech research companies like Kayaba Akihiko-san, nor any important administrative centers. Isn't it just a tourist city that represents traditional culture?"
"Kyoto has many shrines."
Iwanaga Kotoko raised her fair index finger and explained with a smile.
"Fun fact. Although Tokyo has the largest population, in terms of the number of powerful supernatural existences, Kyoto is the undisputed number one among all cities."
"Eh? Why?"
"I don't know. Maybe it's the influence of the cultural atmosphere, or maybe it's because Kyoto has many ancient shrines. In short, whether it's the number of supernatural events or the frequency of those events, Kyoto City is very high on the list."
After Iwanaga Kotoko finished speaking, Asagiri added in a flat tone,
"And according to Sakurakawa Rikka, that mysterious organization that once tried to assassinate Kotoko, the one the Sakurakawa Family is also involved with, seems to have shown traces of activity in Kyoto City recently."
After saying this, Asagiri stood up from the sofa and looked at the four girls in front of him.
"Although I don't know how long it will take for the Dungeon to start, it's summer vacation now anyway, so let's go to Kyoto City tomorrow."
Iwanaga Kotoko cheered.
"Woohoo, travel, yay~"
...
Half an hour later, in a conference room on the top floor of an office building in Tokyo.
Miwa Ashikaga sat at the head of the table.
On her right sat the head of Dai Sakura Bank, Katahara Metsudo; the head of the Kure clan, Kure Erioh; Shinomiya Unyo as the representative of the Shinomiya Family; and Shijo Maki and her mother as representatives of the Shijo Family.
"They're here..."
As a Player, Shijo Maki also possessed excellent hearing.
She could hear the steady sound of footsteps coming from the corridor outside the door.
"Thump... thump... thump..."
The moment the conference room door was pushed open, everyone's eyes turned toward it.
What entered Shijo Maki and the others' sight was Asagiri, wearing a long black trench coat and a pure black mask, appearing in full combat attire.
"Everyone is here. Good."
Asagiri scanned the room, then walked over and sat down in the seat on Miwa Ashikaga's left.
Looking at Katahara Metsudo, Kure Erioh, Shijo Maki, and her mother sitting opposite him, he smiled.
"I'll skip the boring pleasantries and get straight to the point. I called you all here today to discuss our future cooperation plans."
After saying this, Asagiri gave Miwa Ashikaga a look.
The latter understood. She took a briefcase from beneath her seat, placed it on the table, and opened it.
Then she spoke slowly.
"This device is called NERvGear. It is a brain-machine device developed by us. To put it simply, it creates a virtual environment that completely simulates reality, including the user's five senses."
.....
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