The elevator slowly ascended.
The once tense and confrontational atmosphere vanished in an instant with Haruto's intervention.
As it turns out, letting two socially anxious introverts interact alone yields nothing good.
However, if there's an extrovert in the middle acting as a bridge, things go much smoother.
At this moment, Komi-san no longer carried her usual icy demeanor.
The sharp, intimidating look in her eyes had softened.
She now looked at Haruto curiously—
Kind of like a cute little cat.
Completely different from how she was earlier.
She had just been called by name.
Komi Shouko was now incredibly curious—how did this boy know who she was?
They had never met before.
And yet, this boy had even said something like, "Nice to meet you."
Could it be… he wanted to be her friend!?
The thought that she might finally make her first friend had her so overwhelmed with hope and excitement that she could barely contain herself.
Haruto noticed that Komi Shouko kept staring at him.
While normally staring so intently would be seen as rude or provocative—
Because Komi Shouko was like a snow-white princess-level beauty, it didn't come off as offensive at all.
And Haruto had a good sense of what she was thinking.
There was no way it was meant as provocation.
"Is Komi-san perhaps trying to say something to me?"
Haruto took the initiative and asked.
The moment he spoke, Komi Shouko panicked.
She did want to talk to Haruto.
She had tried several times, but her communication disorder just wouldn't let her. Her mouth wouldn't open, no words would come out!
But if this goes on, her friend might run away!
So Komi Shouko resorted to using her hands to gesture wildly.
She pointed to herself, then to Haruto, then tilted her head slightly.
But… that kind of random gesture was nearly impossible to understand.
Komi Shouko felt like crying.
However—
"You're wondering why I know your name, and why I said I recognized you, right?"
Haruto asked with a soft chuckle.
Komi Shouko: ‼
Amazing!
How did he understand her thoughts!?
Mind reading!?
But Haruto simply understood Komi Shouko's personality and made an accurate guess.
Meanwhile, Gotou Hitori, who had been watching from the side, felt like she had just been struck by lightning.
The art style around her seemed to turn black-and-white.
'Was that sign language just now? Could it be that this beautiful girl… actually can't speak!? Then weren't my assumptions and behavior just now super rude!? Aaaahhhhhh!'
The lonely girl was drowning in self-loathing.
Haruto, who had been focused on dealing with Komi, couldn't help but twitch the corner of his mouth when he noticed.
He quickly reached out and gave the little loner a headpat.
With introverted girls, you have to be especially careful. Otherwise, small things can make them spiral into guilt or self-isolation.
They're the type who need a lot of gentle care.
Then, Haruto turned back to Komi and said,
"The reason I know you, Komi-san, is because… we're actually classmates."
At that, an exclamation mark popped up over Komi's head.
Really?
How come she didn't know that!?
Haruto continued:
"Komi-san, you go to Sobu High School too, right? We're in the same year, just different classes. We've never really interacted, but I've heard a lot about you, Komi-san, so I recognized you. After all, a perfect girl like you has quite a few rumors circulating at school—though rumors aren't always true."
Haruto wasn't lying to the innocent girl.
They were indeed classmates at Sobu High.
When Haruto entered Sobu, he already noticed Komi Shouko.
At the time, Haruto hadn't completed his temporal loop.
Some memories from before his transmigration had been lost.
So even though Komi Shouko's name sounded familiar, he didn't recall her clearly.
Later, after completing the time loop and recovering his memories, Haruto was no longer at Sobu—
He'd transferred to Hyakkaou and Shuchiin, while also busy managing Foundation matters.
So only now did they meet again by chance and properly get to know each other.
Hearing Haruto's explanation, it was as if invisible cat ears sprouted atop Komi's head, flapping happily.
He complimented her!
And he already knew her, complimented her, and even understood her feelings!
If it's him, then surely—he could be her friend!
Finally, I can make my first friend!
Feeling Komi Shouko's excitement, though she couldn't quite express it clearly, Haruto held up his phone and gave it a little shake.
"I had a feeling earlier—Komi-san, you have communication difficulties, right? But there's no need to speak to communicate. We can share thoughts using text too."
At that, Komi Shouko hurriedly pulled out her own phone.
Why hadn't she thought of that!?
And upon hearing Haruto's words—
Gotou Hitori also snapped out of her self-pity spiral.
So this pretty big sister isn't mute…
She just has communication issues?
Isn't that… just like her!?
Immediately, a warm feeling of finding someone alike rose in her heart. Just like when she first met Haruto in the small park. Back then, Haruto had actually staged an ambush—
Letting her briefly experience the cruelty of human nature.
But this time, it was genuine.
In a way, Komi and Gotou really were quite similar.
Noticing Gotou Hitori had regained her energy, Haruto stopped the head pats. And instead pinched her cheek gently.
Such a worry-prone little thing.
But far from getting mad over the slightly teasing act—
Gotou only felt even more moved.
'Senpai must have noticed I was down, so he went out of his way to explain things...And even gave me those head pats... Senpai's way too gentle—I'm falling for him, sob!'
At that moment, the elevator doors opened.
Just a few short exchanges—
But who could have guessed what complex inner journeys and mental storms the two girls went through?
'We're entering the library now. Since we can't talk easily, let's communicate by text,' Haruto typed on his phone and showed it to the two girls.
Both of them nodded eagerly.
They were more than happy with that.
And so, Haruto added Komi Shouko as a LINE friend. Then casually created a group chat for the three of them.
He already had Gotou Hitori as a friend.
Haruto: In the meantime, why don't you both go find the books you want to borrow?
Haruto: I need to go pick up another friend.
Haruto: Let's meet over there at the reading tables when you're done.
Gotou Hitori: O...okay!
Gotou Hitori: Cat approval sticker.jpg
Komi-san: Mm-hmm!
Komi-san: Nodding cat sticker.jpg
Seeing their replies, Haruto couldn't help but laugh.
These two are so frugal with words—even when typing.
And why does Gotou's text sound like she's stuttering!?
Also, is ending with a sticker some kind of sacred ritual for socially anxious online communication?
Suppressing the urge to comment—
Haruto contacted Asuna Yuuki.
After confirming her location, he headed into the library shelves.
After passing through several rows—
Haruto finally found Asuna between two bookshelves.
Today, Asuna wore a lovely casual outfit.
A fitted white blouse with delicate lace trimming at the collar—overflowing with girlish charm and cuteness.
It was clearly an expensive piece, but it suited her perfectly.
It also gave Haruto a special feeling.
After all, when he saw Yuuki Asuna in SAO—
She was usually in light armor with a sword at her side—brave and gallant. Seeing her now in casual clothes gave off a striking contrast.
Haruto silently approached her from behind—
And gave her shoulder a light tap.
Asuna's body immediately tensed, her hand instinctively reaching for her waist.
But it found nothing.
Right, this is the real world—no sword.
She froze for a moment, then turned around.
Upon seeing Haruto—
Asuna realized she'd been pranked, and puffed up her cheeks in frustration.
"Haruto-senpai, geez!"
She lowered her voice, pouting adorably.