Click, click, clack—
The sound of fingers tapping buttons on a handheld console echoed in the quiet room.
"Hah... I still need over a dozen Dragon Fangs and Evil Bones to complete the final ascension. Compared to the absurdly low drop rates of rare materials like Demon Hearts and Dragon Reverse Scales... farming these high-demand common materials actually takes more effort."(TL: when I need 440 idean for an evoker)
Staring intently at the screen of her handheld console, Yutsuki muttered to herself with a sigh.
"Mhm..."
About ten ters away from Yutsuki, Natsumi sat on the bed. Holding a book casually taken from the bookshelf, she pretended to read while secretly observing Yutsuki. She looked a bit fidgety.
Natsumi's Spirit power had fully recovered to its peak condition. If she wanted to, Natsumi could turn the wall behind her into a piece of paper and make a clean getaway right now.
As for why she didn't, the reason was simply the girl in front of her who was completely focused on playing her ga.
Natsumi had always been sowhat wary of Ryougi Yutsuki... or rather, she dreaded her.
Up until now, all of Natsumi's pranks had failed, directly or indirectly, because of Yutsuki. It was as if her thoughts had been seen through. Running away might actually play right into Yutsuki's hands—this thought made Natsumi hesitate out of fear of the consequences.
It felt just like when you want to cheat during an exam, and the invigilator suddenly sits down right behind you. Even if they don't do anything, you don't dare make a move for fear of getting caught.
But...
(She really is... just playing a ga.)
Natsumi couldn't help but think it was a bit weird.
After making omurice for Natsumi's dinner, Yutsuki didn't seem to intend to talk to her much either. She handed the dinner to Natsumi by the bed, retreated to her original spot, devoured her own dinner in a few bites, and had been playing gas ever since.
Honestly, Natsumi really wanted to ask, what exactly did Yutsuki co here to do?
She said she was worried Natsumi would run back and tease Shido if she escaped, so she ca to monitor her personally. At first, Natsumi didn't think Yutsuki's reasoning was strange. However, seeing her actions now, Natsumi felt that Yutsuki's initial joking remark—"using monitoring as an excuse to slack off and play gas"—was actually the truth.
"No way!! Didn't the guide say this boss's instant-death probability is so low you can ignore it?! Why did the very first ultimate attack wipe out my whole team! Aaaaaahhhhh—I shouldn't have been cheap, I should've just bought the Guts Rings!"
(She really is a weirdo.)
Watching Yutsuki holding her head and groaning not far away, Natsumi hugged her knees and thought casually.
"Reine, how is Natsumi's ntal state?"
"Mhm... her emotions and affection level haven't changed much. Her stress level has eased slightly."
"That's good..."
Hearing Reine's report, Kotori breathed a sigh of relief.
Standing in the hallway outside Natsumi's room, Kotori looked through the window and saw Natsumi sitting quietly on the bed, reading a book. Although she knew very well Natsumi was just pretending, secretly keeping an eye on Yutsuki and waiting for a chance to escape... allowing Yutsuki to stay in the room was still a kind of progress.
Keep in mind, no matter how hard Kotori tried to talk to Natsumi, Natsumi always kept a "stay away from " attitude. Even with Shido, her savior, conversations didn't last more than five minutes before she would lose her temper and kick him out.
"Honestly, when Yutsuki-nee suddenly ignored Natsumi and started playing gas by herself, I was worried for a mont about what would happen."
Kotori sighed lightly and said, sounding slightly helpless.
"Well... first the 'makeover' plan in the morning, followed imdiately by trying to build her confidence in the afternoon. Such a breathless schedule probably put a huge amount of pressure on Natsumi."
Rubbing her chin in thought for a mont, Reine slowly analyzed.
"That's true. I was too anxious."
Kotori chewed on her lollipop and sighed lightly. Honestly, when she heard from Reine that Natsumi would recover her powers in just one day... even though she kept telling herself to stay calm, the tight tifra made her unintentionally rush things.
Yutsuki's approach—not showing an incomprehensible amount of goodwill, but rather an easy to understand lack of malice—might have been a good buffer for Natsumi's currently confused mind.
"Monitoring... that's a blind spot I didn't think of at all. But then again, this effect is only possible because it's Yutsuki-nee."
Kotori shook her head and thought with a bitter smile.
Kotori had noticed Natsumi's wariness towards Yutsuki since the morning. Thanks to this, if it had been anyone else, Natsumi probably would have just used her Angel and escaped without overthinking it.
At the sa ti, Yutsuki's ticulous observation skills, which allowed her to accurately gauge the right distance when interacting with others, were the reason Natsumi didn't throw a tantrum and kick her out.
With all these factors combined, Natsumi—who should have fled the mont she recovered her Spirit power—stayed because of Yutsuki's presence. This bought Kotori quite a bit of ti to safely formulate a plan.
However...
"Yes! Finally beat the boss! Oohhhhh—this story CG looks great!"
Hearing the girl's cheers coming from inside the room, Kotori had black lines down her forehead.
"Yutsuki-nee... you didn't forget you're supposed to be monitoring her, did you?"
Hearing Kotori's words, Shido couldn't help but smile bitterly.
"Probably not... right?"
________________________
October 28th, Saturday. Morning.
"Ah... slls so good."
An enticing aroma woke Natsumi from her sleep. Letting out a slow yawn, Natsumi rubbed her sleepy eyes and looked around.
"Yo, you're up. Wait a second, breakfast will be ready soon."
Yutsuki had already changed out of yesterday's cute dress into simple loungewear. She had her hair tied into a ponytail with her clover ribbon, wore a pale yellow apron, and was preparing breakfast in the small kitchenette inside Natsumi's room.
"..."
Natsumi felt the corner of her mouth twitch slightly. After struggling for a mont, she gave up the urge to retort, sighed, and asked.
"You... what ti did you even go to sleep yesterday?"
Originally, she had planned to pretend to sleep last night, and then sneak away when Yutsuki got tired of playing gas and went to sleep. But unexpectedly, from 11 PM to 2 AM, she didn't see Yutsuki stop playing to sleep. Instead, she couldn't fight off her own sleepiness and fell asleep first.
"Well, I'm not really sure." Tilting her head, Yutsuki showed a friendly smile. "But for , pulling all nighters for three or four days is just a normal, everyday thing. So, that naive idea of sneaking away while I'm asleep—you better throw it away sooner rather than later."
"...Tch."
Realizing her thoughts were seen through by Yutsuki, Natsumi clicked her tongue in annoyance.
With no other choice, Natsumi finished washing up under Yutsuki's supervision, then started eating.
"Delicious..."
Hot miso soup, white rice sprinkled with seaweed, paired with grilled salmon and tamagoyaki. After enjoying a Japanese breakfast that felt as hearty as a dinner, Natsumi couldn't help but whisper.
"Oh, glad it suits your taste. I rarely try making Japanese dishes, and I accidentally made a bit too much."
Seeing Yutsuki's happy expression, Natsumi hmphed and turned her head away. She probably just made my portion because she had no choice, she thought.
"Hmph. Not as good as the bread, bacon, and eggs from yesterday."
"Guh—I lost to Shido."
Yutsuki seed quite shocked.
Her food yesterday was cooked by Itsuka Shido. Gaining this piece of irrelevant information, Natsumi got up, walked back to her bed, and shrank under the covers.
"Yare yare..."
Seeing Natsumi still looking guarded, Yutsuki shook her head lightly. After cleaning up the dishes, she sat back in her chair and continued playing her ga.
Soon, the room returned to silence. The only sound left was Ryougi Yutsuki playing gas.
As the minutes ticked by, Natsumi suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of irritation for so reason.
It wasn't anxiety from not finding a chance to escape, nor was it fear of what might happen next. It was for a much simpler reason.
(I'm so bored.)
Huddled under the covers, Natsumi hugged a plushie and complained internally.
She didn't know if it was because Yutsuki was there, but Natsumi hadn't seen anyone else enter the room. While it was a good thing to temporarily put aside headache-inducing questions like "Am I really cute?", Natsumi found that, besides waiting for Yutsuki to lower her guard...
She was bored to death.
Click, click, clack!
In the quiet room, the sound of Yutsuki pressing the ga buttons beca exceptionally clear.
"..."
When soone feels they have nothing to do, they naturally beco curious about what others nearby are doing.
Quietly poking her head out from under the covers, looking at the completely engrossed Yutsuki, Natsumi finally couldn't help but ask.
"Um... what ga are you playing?"
"Hm? This?"
Playing gas is playing gas. Even though Yutsuki seed completely absorbed, she still seed to be paying attention to Natsumi. Hearing Natsumi's voice, she answered imdiately.
"This is a newly released PS Vita ga from XX Company—Fairy Dream 3. It's set in dieval Europe, a story taking place after a great war between evil gods and goddesses. The ga incorporates classic fantasy elents like elves, monsters, and magic. As a 3D RPG, the gaplay system is pretty good, but what I like most are the character designs. Above all else in the Fairy Dream series, the CG artist is my favorite, Tsunako-sensei. The quality of the character models is absolutely top-tier in the industry, especially the elf Ecoli... ah, sorry, I accidentally got too excited."
Seeing Natsumi shrink her head back under the covers, Yutsuki scratched her hair awkwardly. She took another handheld console out of her suitcase and quietly placed it by Natsumi's bed.
"Well, actually, no amount of explanation can compare to experiencing the beauty of a ga yourself. I have an extra PS Vita anyway, so I'll just leave it here. If you want to kill so ti, feel free to play it. This ga supports multiplayer, so you can ask if you don't understand anything."
"..."
Seeing no reaction from Natsumi, Yutsuki rubbed her nose and went back to her seat.
Beep beep—
Suddenly, Yutsuki's PS Vita notified her of a multiplayer request from an alchemist with the ID "Cri".
"Yare yare~"
Looking at the lump in the blanket clearly facing away from her on the bed, and the missing PS Vita, a smile couldn't help but surface on Yutsuki's lips
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