Chapter 53: Ayanokouji, You Actually Want to Play Galge, Don't You!
"Love?"
Ayanokouji Kiyotaka heard this term and fell into deep thought.
From a literal definition, love is a strong, positive emotional and psychological state. It represents a deep and sincere feeling toward a person or thing—a profound level of affection. From a biological standpoint, it is nothing more than emotional changes brought about by the secretion of hormones.
However, Ayanokouji had never felt love or been loved; he didn't understand what Katsuragi Keima meant by his words.
"Because someone is watching me, I can feel power," Keima said while looking down at the handheld console in his hands.
What he was referring to was the characters in the game. When playing while swimming, the female characters on the screen acted as his motivation. It was precisely because of his bond with the characters in the game world that he could surpass his physical limits and obtain startling explosive power.
"Someone is watching?"
Ayanokouji pondered Keima's words.
'Someone is watching Katsuragi Keima. Is it Horikita? Or Kushida? Or perhaps Sakura?'
Come to think of it, during the swimming test, there were quite a few people focusing on Keima. Can a person burst forth with higher potential just because they are being observed? Ayanokouji completely failed to grasp the meaning behind Keima's words. This was knowledge that had never been taught within the White Room.
Seeing Ayanokouji's pensive look, Keima assumed the other boy had developed an interest in the games he played.
"Have you heard of CLANNAD?"
"No."
"Have you heard of Aokana: Four Rhythm Across the Blue?"
"No."
"Do you know what an AVG is?"
"No."
"Do you know what a Galge is?"
"No."
Ayanokouji had never heard of any of these terms.
"Sigh, how can you know nothing? You seem to be a bit lacking in common sense." Keima sighed.
Ayanokouji didn't expect that Keima would seemingly see through his essence at a glance. In the White Room, what he learned were abilities considered "useful." Other unnecessary "worldly" matters were discarded. The string of things Keima just mentioned were things Ayanokouji had never heard of in the White Room. They were blanks in his knowledge.
'If this were an exam, I would probably get a zero and be expelled,' Ayanokouji thought to himself.
"Since that's the case, let me give you a proper science lesson."
Keima then proceeded to tell Ayanokouji the entire history of the development of Galge. Ayanokouji had never studied this kind of knowledge before. It was a brand-new field. Perhaps... this was the reason he came to this school?
"Ayanokouji, do you understand?"
"Yes."
Ayanokouji repeated Keima's words back to him. The latter patted him on the shoulder with satisfaction. "Not bad."
"But I still have a question."
"What?"
"What does this have to do with swimming? Is there a connection between games and the real world?"
"You really are just an amateur. Games are games, and reality is reality. Although I love games, I don't choose to conflate the two." Keima sighed. "If you want to understand, I suggest starting with My Youth Romantic Comedy Is Wrong, As I Expected. It's quite suitable for beginners."
"Understood."
Ayanokouji nodded. He had never touched this field. Currently, it seemed to have educational value. Especially since Keima had demonstrated abilities that exceeded the philosophy of the White Room. The other boy's very existence seemed to be a negation of the entire White Room.
However, based on their conversation, Ayanokouji judged that Keima wasn't targeting him.
"I have nothing else." Ayanokouji nodded and took his leave.
Keima watched Ayanokouji's retreating back and narrowed his eyes slightly. He knew Ayanokouji was different from the other students—whether it was the quizzes, the swimming, or that gaze observing him from the shadows, Keima had captured it all.
However, Keima didn't care much. The other boy's lifestyle had nothing to do with him. He was also preparing to quickly find Elsie. Before Ayanokouji approached him, Elsie had a look of absolute confidence on her face; she was about to say something before being interrupted.
At that time, Keima had said he didn't have enough points and could only eat the cheapest set meal. He had a feeling Elsie was going to do something strange... The more confident she was, the more likely she was to cause trouble! Whatever she was planning, he had to stop her!
Thinking this, Keima didn't even have time to play games; he quickened his pace toward the dorms.
"So tired... haven't eaten... dizzy..."
Because he had burned out during the swimming class, Keima's movements were like those of a skeleton soldier about to fall apart; he couldn't quite tame his own limbs. Furthermore, Keima had lost track of time playing games late into the night yesterday, so he was severely sleep-deprived. Having skipped breakfast, his physical state was disastrous. His consciousness was beginning to blur.
"Damn, what's with this strong sense of foreboding in my heart..." "I have to find that girl quickly, before she causes another disaster!" "So tired... move, you dead legs!"
Just as Keima was about to pull out his handheld to burn his last bit of energy to keep moving, someone walked around the blind corner of the path ahead—
Sakayanagi Arisu.
The two collided.
"?!"
The sudden impact left both of them dazed. Sakayanagi took a step back, her cane supporting her body as she narrowly maintained her balance. Because of her physical disability and petite frame, a collision with a normal student would usually send her tumbling.
But this time, Sakayanagi seemed relatively unaffected. It was as if... a gust of wind had just blown past her.
Though Sakayanagi didn't know what had happened, she felt a flash of displeasure and prepared to turn around to see who had bumped into her. However, seeing Keima lying on the ground with his eyes closed and a look of profound peace on his face, her expression stiffened slightly.
"Y-You, are you alright?!"
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