69novels Page 24
Page 24
"You...you wouldn't be thinking of...finding me...of...me..."
Asuna Yuuki couldn't bring herself to say the word "reproduction," and her face grew increasingly red.
"I used to think about it, but not now."
"before..."
Upon hearing Asagiri's words, Yuuki Asuna suddenly felt a pang of sadness in her heart. She abruptly stood up, suppressing her emotions, took a deep breath, and calmly raised her hand to tidy her long hair before speaking in a composed tone.
"Oh, I understand what you mean. Yes, Kotoko Iwanaga is indeed very cute. Don't worry, I'll maintain a proper teammate's distance from you in the future, and I won't let Kotoko Iwanaga misunderstand..."
"What on earth are you babbling about?"
"Huh? What are you talking about now?"
Seeing Yuuki Asuna's puzzled expression, Asagiri raised her hand and pointed to the other's trouser leg.
"Didn't you jump into that water tank? The water in there has been used to soak corpses. Aren't you going to take a shower right away?"
Upon hearing Asagiri's words, Asuna Yuuki belatedly realized what was happening, and a blush spread across her pretty face.
"Oh right... I need to take a shower, but..."
Asuna Yuuki looked at Asagiri sitting on the sofa and tentatively asked.
"You don't mind if I take a shower at your house?"
"Absolutely not. If we could shower together, that would be even better."
"Who...who wants to shower with you!"
Yuuki Asuna said this with a blush on her face, then picked up the clothes she wore before entering the dungeon from the sofa and ran into the bathroom of the guest room bedroom.
Similarly, Asagiri also took a bath, though not at the same time as everyone else.
His master bedroom has a private bathroom; after all, it's a large, single-level luxury apartment in Shibuya, so it's impossible for it to only have one bathroom.
.............
After taking a shower, Asuna Yuuki changed into clean clothes and came out of the bathroom.
Although her clothes were clean, she was a bit of a germaphobe and would never wear the black tights she had already worn all day at school again. So she simply went bare-legged, her snow-white feet stepping directly onto the cold living room floor.
"Has it been washed?"
When Asuna Yuuki came out, she saw Asagiri, who had also finished showering and changed into clean clothes, sitting on the sofa, drying her hair with a towel.
A sliver of morning light shone through the window onto his profile.
At that moment, Yuuki Asuna felt a surge of excitement.
Utsunomiya-kun...
She's really good-looking...
The lack of hot water and the increasingly high temperature in the hotel instance are foreshadowing, but they have nothing to do with the floating corpses and evil spirits; there will be 3 more later.
049 The Princess in the White Castle
After a while, Asuna Yuuki finally came to her senses and suddenly realized that it was very impolite of her to be peeping at others. She quickly coughed twice and pretended to be nonchalant.
"Ahem, Kotoko Iwanaga just emailed me. It turns out she also lives in Tokyo. She sent me her address and said that if we're free tonight, we can meet up at her place."
"Go to her house... she's showing her sincerity."
Upon hearing Asagiri's words, Asuna Yuuki nodded. Asagiri had already said that for "players," there must be an absolutely safe and secluded location as a base when entering a dungeon.
Kotoko Iwanaga didn't say she was coming to see them, but instead sent them her home address, a gesture that showed her sincerity.
"that..."
Asuna Yuuki walked to the sofa, hesitated slightly, and then sat down next to Asagiri.
She raised her hand to tuck her long hair behind her ear and spoke softly.
"Is Kotoko Iwanaga a trustworthy person? Her talent makes her unsuitable to be a lone wolf player, and... didn't she say that she fell in love with you at first sight?"
"I already said, this method doesn't work on me."
Asagiri picked up the can of Coca-Cola from the coffee table, drank it all in one gulp, and then asked with a smile.
"Yuki-kun, what do you think are the signs of liking someone?"
"this..."
Asuna Yuuki was somewhat at a loss for words, as the question posed by Asagiri had already touched upon a blind spot in her knowledge.
She's never been in a relationship.
"If I were to believe she really likes me after just a couple of words, I would be incredibly foolish."
"That's true. You're definitely not the type of person who'll fall for a cute girl if she tries to get close to you."
"of course."
Asagiri spoke in a matter-of-fact tone.
"If you like someone, you'll definitely show it through your actions, not just by talking about it, right?"
Asuna Yuuki nodded: "Yes."
"For example, when everyone is staying away from that person, you take the initiative to get closer."
Asuna Yuuki nodded obediently again: "Yes, if you like someone, you will definitely take the initiative to get closer to them."
"For example, you can muster up the courage to ask for his contact information."
Asuna Yuuki looked slightly surprised: "Eh? You know so much about this? Could it be... you've been in a relationship before?"
Asagiri waved her hand, not answering Yuuki Asuna's question, but continued to smile.
"Don't interrupt. For example, if you go to someone's house and cook for them, that definitely means you like them, right?"
Asuna Yuuki nodded and replied instinctively.
"Of course! They're going to other people's houses and cooking for them. What else could it be but liking it...wait?"
When she got to this point, Asuna noticed Asagiri staring at her with great interest. She finally realized what was happening, and her pretty face instantly turned bright red. She couldn't help but pick up a sofa cushion next to her and gently pat Asagiri on the shoulder, saying with a mixture of embarrassment and anger.
"You...you...you set me up!"
"I didn't, don't you agree with my opinion yourself?"
"you..."
Yuuki Asuna was speechless for a moment, and was so embarrassed that she almost turned into a steam princess.
Thinking about it carefully, isn't that exactly what it is?
Things like proactively approaching others when they're distant, actively asking for their contact information, cooking for them...
Isn't that just saying what you've done?
"I...I'm going to sleep!"
Yuuki Asuna couldn't bear to look directly at Asagiri's face. She stood up, ran into the guest room, and locked the door.
Then, she leaned against the door, raised her hand and gently touched her chest, feeling the increasingly intense throbbing in her fingertips, and murmured to herself.
"I...so, I didn't actually dislike Kotoko Iwanaga...so...that feeling is what they call jealousy..."
...........
That evening, in Tokyo.
"No... this... is Kotoko Iwanaga's house?"
Asuna Yuuki and Asagiri got out of the taxi together and were dumbfounded when they saw the castle-like mansion in front of them.
Her family was also very wealthy. The villa where she originally lived with her parents was undoubtedly a luxury mansion in the eyes of ordinary people.
However, compared to the white castle in front of it, it seemed rather shabby.
This place is still within Tokyo city limits!
To build such an extremely luxurious, independent castle in the heart of Tokyo, with no other buildings within a radius of several kilometers, just how extravagant is the wealth of Kotoko Iwanaga's family?
"Please come in, both of you. Miss is already waiting for you inside."
Led by a young woman dressed as a maid, Asagiri and Yuuki Asuna walked toward the white castle in front of them.
"Iwanaga's house...it's ridiculously big..."
Hearing Asuna Yuuki's hushed words, Asagiri replied calmly.
"If I hadn't obtained that thing, I wouldn't be meeting her here."
Upon hearing this, Asuna Yuuki was slightly taken aback at first, but immediately realized that the "thing" Asagiri was referring to was the "inverted pocket watch".
"You...think that Iwanaga-kun might be here, setting up an ambush for us?"
"The possibility is small, but not zero. After all, I can't completely trust her yet. What if she actually knows the hidden rule that killing other players and stealing their phones will allow you to randomly draw an item or piece of equipment from them, and she deliberately arranged to meet us here after we cleared the dungeon, and then had someone kill us? Then all would be over."
After saying that, Asagiri continued softly.
"However, Kotoko Iwanaga not only possesses a very powerful unique talent, but her mentality, intellect, judgment, and various abilities all meet our standards for selecting teammates. Taking the risk of using that thing to verify whether she is trustworthy is, in my opinion, acceptable."
"You're really cautious."
Asuna Yuuki sighed softly, her expression complex.
"It seems there's only one person you can absolutely trust: yourself..."
"No, two."
Asagiri interrupted Asuna Yuuki, smiling softly as she spoke.
"I believe in myself, and I believe in Asuna Yuuki just as much as I believe in myself."
050 The God of Pure Wisdom
Upon hearing this, Asuna Yuuki was taken aback. Just as she was about to reply, they arrived at the gate of the white castle mansion. There stood Kotoko Iwanaga, who had changed into a new light pink dress and wore a pink choker. She was petite and had a lovely face.
"Yuki-kun, Asagiri, please come in."
Hearing Kotoko Iwanaga address Asagiri so intimately, calling him by his first name, Asuna Yuuki felt a pang of jealousy again. Even she, at this stage, only addressed Asagiri as the polite "Utsunomiya-kun."
You're way too familiar with people, aren't you?
Just then, Kotoko Iwanaga noticed that Asagiri's right hand had made a gesture as if she were holding a gun. She immediately realized what was happening and smiled at the maid who was leading the way.
"Thank you for your hard work. You can leave now."
"Okay, Miss."
After the maid turned and walked away, Kotoko Iwanaga looked at Asagiri and gave her a sweet and gentle smile.
"I know you can't fully trust me yet, but I assure you, I've asked everyone in this house to leave for now. There are only the three of us. I haven't set any ambush for you, so please don't worry, you and Yuuki-kun."
"Everyone has been asked to leave, but..."
Asagiri returned the smile and asked in return.
"What about those so-called demons and monsters?"
Kotoko Iwanaga paused for a moment upon hearing this, then, as if amused, chuckled and waved her hand, explaining.
“You’ve completely misunderstood. Although I am the goddess of wisdom for the supernatural beings and they call me Princess, the only things I can command them to do are to deliver a message or gather some information.”
"Let them kill people? More than 95 percent of the monsters are not capable of harming people. The remaining small portion are either monsters that do not understand my commands at all and will attack me even if I am, and are purely malicious, or they are beings that, even if they understand, will refuse to carry out the command to harm people."
"After all, the fundamental reason they revere me as the Goddess of Wisdom is to maintain order between demons and human society. This is also my duty. If I issue orders that contradict this goal, it means that I am not qualified to be their princess."
"and......."
Kotoko Iwanaga raised her cane and tapped it against her left leg, making a crisp sound, and smiled as she spoke.
"A frail girl like me with a physical disability, whether it's you or Yuuki-kun, could easily kill me in an instant at this close range, right? If I really had set up an ambush, I certainly wouldn't have appeared in front of you so close."
After saying this, Kotoko Iwanaga turned around, pushed open the gate of the mansion, and then made a gesture of invitation, smiling.
"Please come in."