Chapter 430: A Beach Day in Youth
"Exactly, exactly."
Iwanaga Kotoko sat on the chair, her small feet in white stockings dangling in the air. Resting her chin on one hand, she watched Hayasaka Ai complain.
"Why did you include her? You don't have a role here, little blonde."
Hearing Iwanaga Kotoko's words, Hayasaka Ai could not help frowning slightly. She snorted softly and said indifferently,
"I'm talking to Utsunomiya-san. You don't have a say here, Iwanaga."
Hayasaka Ai deliberately stretched the word Iwanaga when she said it.
Even Fujiwara Chika, who was not good at reading the room, could hear the complete lack of friendliness in Hayasaka Ai's tone.
"What, want to fight?"
Iwanaga Kotoko jumped directly off the chair, waving her fair fists, anger flashing across her cute face.
"God of Wisdom, the shameless little tyrant, is not to be trifled with!"
When they first heard this, Hayasaka Ai, Yamauchi Sakura, and Fujiwara Chika were all stunned.
Why had Iwanaga Kotoko's voice suddenly changed like that?
It sounded like a boy's.
But when they noticed the look of surprise on Iwanaga Kotoko's own face, they finally reacted and all looked at Asagiri with speechless expressions.
Asagiri, who had just provided the narration, wore a smile on his face. There was even a hint of anticipation, as if he were waiting for the show to begin.
He continued speaking slowly in that deliberately profound tone.
"However, would Shuchiin Private Academy's top cushion, the master of disguise, the blonde hot shot maid, and electronics enthusiast be willing to back down?"
"A great battle is on the verge of breaking out. The air seems to echo with the call to charge."
"Although the two sides have yet to move, their souls have already begun to collide at this moment."
"The air trembles. It shivers. Even the sea breeze outside the villa has stopped."
"Everything in the world seems frozen at this moment, awaiting the life and death duel of these two powerhouses."
"Stop, stop, please stop."
Hayasaka Ai's slight displeasure had been completely overshadowed by speechlessness and the urge to retort brought about by Asagiri's abstract behavior.
She rolled her eyes and said irritably,
"Leaving aside your strange choice of words, who wants to fight this person? I'm not as childish as she is."
"Eh, that's not right."
Hearing Hayasaka Ai's words, Fujiwara Chika raised her fair index finger and corrected her with a serious expression.
"Love is war, and war stops at nothing!"
"You're spouting your strange theories again."
Hayasaka Ai scoffed at Fujiwara Chika's theory, crossed her arms over her chest, and slightly raised her pale chin.
"When ordinary girls fight over jealousy, at most they pull hair or slap each other. But if we Players fight, it's completely different."
Halfway through, Hayasaka Ai noticed that Asagiri, Fujiwara Chika, Iwanaga Kotoko, and Yamauchi Sakura were all looking at her with meaningful gazes.
At first, she did not react.
But once she realized it, her cheeks instantly flushed red, and she stammered,
"I... I was just correcting Chika's point of view. It's not that I'm actually jealous or anything..."
"Hayasaka."
Looking at Hayasaka Ai, who was trying to cover things up, Asagiri chuckled.
"Do you know what the most important thing is when creating a likable tsundere heroine?"
"Wh-what?"
Asagiri explained earnestly.
"Although she uses feigned fierce tsun words to hide her feelings, her acting is incredibly clumsy, and anyone can see through it."
"The tsun shouldn't be too excessive, but the dere should be emphasized."
"Even though her true feelings are already exposed, she still blushes and puts on a clumsy act. It should feel like a flustered little animal trying to hide something."
"Like there are no three hundred taels of silver buried here, or a hamster hiding sunflower seeds."
"That is the lovable tsundere."
Hayasaka Ai's face turned even redder upon hearing this, and she said indignantly,
"You... Don't just interpret things on your own!"
"See?"
Facing Hayasaka Ai's indignant words, Asagiri simply smiled nonchalantly.
"The hamster started hoarding sunflower seeds."
"You... you..."
Just as Hayasaka Ai was too embarrassed to speak, Kaguya Shinomiya appeared just in time to save the day, bringing a large plate of steaming hot egg fried rice to the table.
She then untied her apron, hung it aside, and said softly,
"Let's eat first. Megumi's miso soup and Asuna's stir fry will be ready in a few minutes."
"Then I'll gladly dig in..."
"Slap."
Seeing Iwanaga Kotoko already impatient to start eating, Asagiri swiftly pinched her fair, tender cheek before she could even react.
"Wait until Megumi and Asuna arrive before eating."
Immediately after, without waiting for Iwanaga Kotoko to reply, Asagiri's left hand also shot out, gently pinching the cheek of Fujiwara Chika, who was attempting to sneak a bite.
"She didn't say anything about you, did she?"
"Mmm..."
Iwanaga Kotoko and Fujiwara Chika both looked like they were angry but did not dare to speak.
When Yuuki Asuna brought the stir fry out from the kitchen and saw Asagiri using both hands to restrain Iwanaga Kotoko and Fujiwara Chika, she could not help smiling.
"Caught trying to sneak a bite, huh?"
"But you don't have to specifically wait for us. If they're hungry, just let them eat first."
"Asuna..."
Fujiwara Chika's eyes showed a touch of emotion, and she said righteously,
"Don't worry. How could we possibly start eating without waiting for you? I would never do such a thing!"
"Oh, please."
Asagiri exposed Fujiwara Chika's pretense with a single sentence, speaking bluntly.
"If I wasn't holding your face, by now your stomach would probably be bulging, and you'd be lying on the sofa like a corpse."
"That's right."
Iwanaga Kotoko tried to add another blow.
"That's why you're so fat!"
"Oh really? No one's ever called me fat before."
Fujiwara Chika tilted her head, a cute, innocent smile on her face.
She glanced at Iwanaga Kotoko, then smiled sweetly.
"But compared to you, Kotoko, I guess I am on the heavier side."
Critical hit.
True damage.
Seeing Iwanaga Kotoko flustered and at a loss for what to do, looking all puffed up with anger, everyone present could not help bursting into laughter.
Perhaps this was the so called natural counter to the schemer.
Or perhaps Fujiwara Chika was the schemer disguised as innocence, while Iwanaga Kotoko, who usually acted so cunning, was actually the truly innocent one.
...
That night, on the balcony outside a bedroom on the second floor.
"Hoo... hoo..."
Kaguya Shinomiya sat in a lounge chair and gently blew on her teacup, then took a shallow sip of the freshly brewed black tea from the exquisite porcelain cup.
Feeling the gentle night sea breeze and listening to the comforting sound of waves softly lapping against the shore, her eyes, however, showed a hint of complexity.
As if she had something on her mind.
"Miss Flat Chested President, what are you worrying about again?"
Hearing this sudden voice, Kaguya Shinomiya looked up and saw a figure illuminated by the dim moonlight slowly descending onto the edge of the balcony in front of her.
The scene was almost like a god descending to the mortal world.
"Oh, it's just you, Vice President. You startled me."
Hearing Kaguya Shinomiya's words, which were laced with a smile, the observant Asagiri instantly saw through her lie.
What startled her?
The surface of the black tea in Kaguya Shinomiya's cup had not even rippled when his voice sounded, indicating that she had not flinched in the slightest.
However, this deliberate act of feigning weakness was also part of Kaguya Shinomiya's charm, with her love struck mind.
"So, what are you worrying about?"
Hearing Asagiri's question, and watching him drink from a can of chilled Coca-Cola under the moonlight, Kaguya Shinomiya's eyes could not help showing a hint of a smile.
She lowered her gaze to her reflection in the black tea inside the porcelain cup and said softly,
"Today... I was very happy."
"Since my mother passed away, I haven't felt this happy in a long time."
"Don't jinx it here."
"You're saying strange things again, but I think I generally understand what you mean."
Kaguya Shinomiya placed the porcelain cup on the table beside her, looked up at Asagiri, who was sitting on the edge of the balcony, and gently tucked her black hair behind her ear.
Then she said faintly,
"I have an idea."
"If there is no Nyx Incarnation in the Dungeon world Shido Masayoshi enters, then for our two teams to enter together would be a waste of an opportunity to kill a Nyx Incarnation."
"Even if there is a Nyx Incarnation in the Dungeon world he enters, if we enter the same Dungeon, it's a bit..."
"Then let's split up."
Asagiri seemed to have already guessed what Kaguya Shinomiya wanted to say, and he smiled nonchalantly.
"If there is no Nyx Incarnation in the Dungeon world Shido Masayoshi enters, then we'll split up."
"If there is a Nyx Incarnation in the Dungeon world he enters, then we'll decide based on the specific circumstances."
Because Asagiri had initiated the game's hidden main quest, only he could actively choose a Dungeon world that was guaranteed to have a Nyx Incarnation.
Only he could receive further mission prompts when entering the corresponding world.
Kaguya Shinomiya's idea was simple.
A mere Shido Masayoshi was not worth wasting an opportunity to kill a Nyx Incarnation.
The most reasonable arrangement would be for the Player team she led to kill Shido Masayoshi, while Asagiri's team eliminated the Nyx Incarnation.
After all, as time passed, Nyx's power would grow stronger and stronger, and it could very likely create more Incarnations.
Eliminating Nyx was the ultimate main quest of this game.
Shido Masayoshi could at most be considered a side quest.
"You agreed so easily?"
Kaguya Shinomiya said with a smile in her voice.
"I originally thought you'd say something like, for caution's sake, it's better to act together."
"How could that be?"
Asagiri placed the can of Coca-Cola in his hand beside him, looked directly into Kaguya Shinomiya's eyes, and said softly,
"Kaguya Shinomiya is an important family member I can trust."
.....
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