A little later, in the Year 1 Class A at Shuchiin Academy.
The homeroom teacher, Miwa Ashikaga, was giving a lecture. The students below were all concentrating, as the students who could enter Class A were all excellent in academics, also known as the key class. However, in the corner of the classroom by the window, one student was lying on his desk, in a baby-like sleep, completely out of place with the scene of diligent study.
And Kaguya seemed to be listening attentively, but in fact, every time she lowered her head to take notes, she would secretly glance at Asagiri, who was sleeping openly in the corner of the classroom and was not criticized or woken up by Ashikaga-sensei.
"Utsunomiya... is actually sleeping during class?"
Kaguya frowned slightly, feeling very strange in her heart. One must know that Asagiri Utsunomiya was the top scorer in the Shuchiin High School entrance exam and also the top scorer in the Sakura Province joint exam. He was a true academic genius. Although he hadn't shown much diligence in his studies since the start of the school year, sleeping during class had never happened before.
Why is this happening?
Could it be... that he entered a dungeon last night or early this morning, and was severely sleep-deprived, which is why he's sleeping during class?
Then why didn't he just ask for leave?
Kaguya couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation. To be honest, she couldn't even quite understand Asagiri as a person. According to normal logic, if he were really a "Player" and was severely sleep-deprived because he entered a dungeon, he would definitely find a reason to ask for leave. After all, Ashikaga-sensei's attitude towards him was unusual, which was obvious to anyone with eyes. Was asking for leave really a difficult thing?
However, it's also possible that he's using counter-logic to clear his suspicion...
No, that's not right.
If that were the case, wouldn't it mean that Asagiri, as a "Player," has already started to suspect that there are other "Players" around him, and even suspects me and Chika? Otherwise, who is he showing this counter-logic to?
Kaguya couldn't think of a convincing answer. The only way was... To test him.
The morning classes quickly ended, and it was lunchtime in the blink of an eye.
"Utsunomiya." Kaguya stood up from her seat and walked to Asagiri's front, speaking in a flat tone.
"The spring exams are next week. At a time like this, you still have the leisure to sleep during class. It seems the position of top in the grade this time belongs to me."
This was the most reasonable and least suspicious statement Kaguya had thought of after much deliberation. After all, her usual image at school, while not the kind of aloof indifference that avoids interaction with everyone, was also not the type to proactively seek out other students, especially male students, for conversation. Therefore, the upcoming spring exam and the competition for the top spot in the grade became the perfect reason for her to initiate a conversation with Asagiri.
"So sleepy... Oh, it's Kaguya."
Hearing Asagiri's way of addressing her, Kaguya couldn't help but frown slightly and spoke in a flat, emotionless tone.
"Utsunomiya, please address me as Shinomiya."
"Look at what you're saying." Asagiri shook his head and asked with a light chuckle.
"Then, if I asked you to address me as Asagiri-sama, the strongest in Shuchiin Academy, would you comply?"
Kaguya's frown deepened upon hearing this, her expression showing some displeasure.
"How could that be possible..."
"Then there's your answer, isn't there?" Asagiri waved his hand and said nonchalantly.
"So, if you won't let me decide how you address me, how could I possibly agree to you deciding how I address you?"
"That's sophistry..." Before Kaguya could finish, Asagiri suddenly spoke, uttering a surprising remark.
"I was up all night playing the dungeon yesterday, didn't sleep at all, so I had to come to school to catch up on sleep."
Hearing the word 'dungeon', Kaguya's pupils shrank in surprise, but the next second, she immediately raised her right hand, gently placed it on her left cheek, and maintained a flat tone as she spoke.
"Dungeon... Are you talking about an online game? I didn't expect you to be addicted to online games. It seems this competition is my victory."
"Your victory?" Asagiri stood up, shook his head, and walked out with Kotoko, leaving Kaguya with just one sentence.
"You already lost a long time ago."
Watching Asagiri and Kotoko's retreating figures, Kaguya's beautiful red eyes flickered, her thoughts unknown.
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Ten minutes later, Ashikaga-sensei's office... No, it should now be called the dedicated activity room for Asagiri and the strategy group members.
Asuna, who had just woken up not long ago, her pretty face showing undeniable fatigue due to excessive physical exhaustion in the dungeon and insufficient rest, but still forcing herself to gather her spirits and rush to school, looked at Asagiri, who was sitting on the opposite sofa happily drinking ice cola, and said softly with a complex expression.
"Confirmed?"
"It has been confirmed." Asagiri put down the ice cola and said in a flat tone.
"Kaguya revealed two fatal flaws, so... it can be 100% confirmed now, she is a Player."
"The first flaw was when she heard me mention the word 'dungeon', she performed her usual action of forcing herself to calm down through psychological suggestion, indicating that she was greatly shaken internally."
"The second flaw was that in order to cover up the real reason for her sudden action, she desperately tried to cover it up and change the subject, saying that she didn't expect someone with my personality to be addicted to online games."
"However, how could she, someone who doesn't even have a smartphone and can't even figure out how to use a computer properly, know about online games? To take a step back, even if she learned about the existence of online games from other students, she shouldn't know words like 'dungeon'. To take another step back, even if she did know, combined with the first point I just mentioned, her reaction upon hearing the word 'dungeon' was contrary to common sense."
"Therefore, she must be a 'Player'."
After Asagiri finished speaking, Kotoko immediately added, "However, given Kaguya's situation, she doesn't pose too much of a threat to us. After all, she lives in an environment where she is monitored every moment and has no freedom whatsoever. Even if she can use the excuse of staying overnight at Chika Fujiwara's house to get time to enter a dungeon instance, she can't arrange her time freely and enter dungeon instances frequently like us."
Asuna's face looked somewhat complicated, and she said, "Threat... Will Kaguya be our enemy?"
"Hard to say." Asagiri shook his head, neither confirming nor denying. "Kaguya's personality is too distorted. She received a cold, imperial education from a young age. Although she always appears as a refined lady and the eldest daughter of a prestigious family at school, who knows what her style of action will be as a 'Player'? If she enters dungeon instances alone, I think in order to survive and gain the power to break free from the shackles of fate, she wouldn't hesitate or waver at all, even if it meant killing someone."
Just as Asuna was about to reply, Asagiri spoke with a smile.
"Oh right, I forgot, I wouldn't hesitate to kill either."
Kotoko quickly raised her hand, her small body bouncing on the soft sofa, eager to speak.
"Me too~ Me too!"
Asuna looked speechless, sighed slightly, and complained, "I'm afraid that if I stay with you two for too long, my entire moral compass will completely break down..."
"Alright, let's talk about serious matters." Asagiri put away his smile and said slowly,
"Sixteen days have passed since the game started. We need to decide something now."
"Should we not waste any day and enter a dungeon of the first stage difficulty next time, or should we wait a bit and enter a dungeon of the second stage difficulty directly after the game difficulty increases?"
Hearing the question Asagiri posed, Asuna thought for a moment before replying,
"My suggestion is... wait a few days and then enter a dungeon of the second stage difficulty."
"That's what I was thinking too."
"Huh?" Hearing Asagiri agree with her opinion, Asuna couldn't help but ask curiously, "At a time like this, shouldn't you be saying things like, 'Oh no, there are no dungeons to provide me with fun, I'm going to be bored to death,' or 'Oh, I really want to kill Banshees and zombies'?"
"That's true." Asagiri smiled nonchalantly, then said something that surprised both Asuna and Kotoko.
"But, the spring exam is next week."
"Huh?" Kotoko and Asuna both looked bewildered.
"Ex... Exam?"
They really didn't expect that while they were talking about the supernatural game, Asagiri would suddenly say that the spring exam was next week. This was like the Joker and Harley Quinn, after a busy day of crime in Gotham City, still having to drag their tired bodies to the supermarket to buy groceries and then go home to cook. It was reasonable, but also abstract.
"There's that reason, but it's not the main one," Asagiri said with a serious expression.
"The main reason is that after experiencing several difficult and dangerous dungeons, the pressure in my heart has exploded, and I need to play some eroge for a while to ensure my physical and mental well-being."
Upon hearing Asagiri's words, Asuna's face instantly turned red. Originally, she didn't know what eroge was, but after Asagiri mentioned that game 'Rapelay 3' last time, she went home and searched for it online... At that moment, a door to a new world opened before Asuna's eyes.
And Kotoko's remarks after hearing Asagiri's words were even more unbelievably outrageous.
"What? You've accumulated a lot of pressure? Helping the Leader relieve stress is also my bounden duty as a team member! Please don't be gentle with me, being rough is perfectly fine too!"
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I've fulfilled my promise and delivered all 5 chapters this week. Here's hoping for the same success next week!