September 10, 10:30 PM.
[You have two unread messages.]
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September 11, 6:32 AM.
[You have five unread messages.]
Asuna slipped her phone into her school bag and left her room.
Following the spotless spiral staircase, she descended, pushed open the door, and entered the dining room.
"Morning, Mother."
"Morning. Sit and eat."
Holding coffee in one hand and a tablet reading news in the other, Kyouko spoke without looking up.
Asuna hung her school bag on a nearby rack, pulled out a chair, and sat while smoothing her skirt.
"What time did you sleep last night?"
"Ten-thirty." Asuna answered softly, picking up the utensils in front of her.
Kyouko's brow twitched slightly. She set her coffee down with a hint of irritation, her sharp gaze locking onto Asuna. "Asuna, are you deliberately using that tone to protest against me?"
"You're overthinking it. Don't we always talk like this? I don't have anything to protest about."
With a polite smile and an indifferent tone, Asuna lowered her head and began eating breakfast quietly.
Kyouko pinched the bridge of her nose, faint wrinkles appearing at the corners of her eyes. She shook her head in frustration. "It seems you haven't realized your mistake… Last time I asked if you were distracted, and you lied to me. I let it go. You're in your second year of high school! You have just over a year until university entrance exams. Do you want to waste all your previous efforts just for a game? This is for your own good…"
Asuna appeared to listen attentively, but her mind was blank, tuning out the lecture and advice she'd already heard the previous night. She didn't respond or show indifference, instead seeming resigned, not letting unnecessary thoughts surface.
This was the right thing to do. If she were a puppet, this was the most appropriate action.
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Her father was still away on a business trip, and her brother was staying at his university dorm. At home, aside from their housekeeper Sada, it was just the two of them—mother and daughter.
Soon after, Kyouko prepared to drive her daughter to school. The school was on the city's outskirts, a long trip. Usually, she'd ask Asuna to review today's lessons in the car, and if Asuna took out her phone, she'd be interrogated.
Asuna immediately turned off her phone, pulled out her workbook, and studied diligently, letting the scenery outside the window pass by unnoticed.
"After school, Sada-san will pick you up for tutoring."
After saying this, Kyouko drove off. Asuna gave a slight nod, then turned and walked through the school gates.
"Yuuki-san, good morning."
"Good morning, Wannai-san."
"Wow, you look so cheerful today, Yuuki-san."
"Oh, it's Konno-san who…"
At this all-girls school, etiquette carried significant weight in grading. Even in daily conversations, the students here were accustomed to speaking politely and respectfully, and everyone was used to it.
With a soft, friendly smile, Asuna felt a deeper exhaustion than usual, mixed with boredom. A thought unconsciously crossed her mind:
(If I said to him, "Good morning, Sir, you're online again~." he'd probably log out in shock…)
Imagining Yuu's reaction, Asuna pressed her lips together, her smile becoming more genuine. But her mother's words from last night struck like thunder, shattering that smile:
"Unless you get into your dream university, you're forbidden from playing that strange game! …What's that expression? I'm telling you to focus on studying for your own good. Do you want to ruin your future for fleeting fun?!"
"My grades haven't dropped. Who said I'm wasting time?!"
"Besides, you haven't met some strange guy in there, have you? You should know, online scams are rampant lately, especially targeting underage teens addicted to games…"
"Playing two hours a day isn't addiction, and in the whole game, only he could possibly trick me… Who could he even scam?"
Asuna slowly closed her eyes, letting her consciousness sink into unseen darkness, her chest heavy with something oppressive.
Then and now, her true thoughts could never be voiced. If they couldn't be spoken, why think about them so much?
"Yuuki-san, is something wrong?"
A voice beside her pulled her back to reality. Asuna blinked and smiled again.
"Nothing, just worried about the first-period test."
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During lunch break, she was called to the teacher's office by her homeroom teacher, causing a buzz in the classroom. With a bad feeling, Asuna took a deep breath and followed.
"Yuuki-kun, your mother called me this morning… She said you've been a bit unfocused in your studies lately, so she asked me to keep an eye on your classroom performance."
Seeing the teacher's odd expression, Asuna froze, her hands at her sides slowly clenching, but her body reacted automatically:
"I'm sorry! I'll focus more in class than before. Please don't worry!"
Bowing nearly ninety degrees, she lowered her head, her long hair falling forward, hiding her expression from view.
"Don't overthink it. I'm not blaming you, Yuuki-kun. We teachers know how seriously you usually study…"
Asuna barely registered the teacher's subsequent words. On her way back to class, she stopped at the restroom, locking herself in a stall.
Taking out the phone hidden in her pocket, she held the power button, and the screen lit up instantly.
[You have six unread messages.]
She opened the messaging app but lacked the courage to read the six unread messages. Biting her lip silently, she stared at the latest message in the chat bar, her throat tightening, her eyes glistening.
Yuu: {Are you okay, Asuna? Even if we can't meet in-game, we know each other in real life too. If you need to vent or complain, remember to reply to my messages.}
(Really?)
(Hmm~ It'd be a long story. Don't fall asleep halfway!)
(My mom does care about me, but she'll never try to understand what I really want.)
(Even I don't know myself. For 17 years, I've been chasing something invisible, moving toward unclear goals—unconsciously deciding to attend a prestigious school, unconsciously aiming for a good university, unconsciously planning to get a job.)
(Because Mom said so, I did it. It's become a habit without me realizing.)
(But in that world, I was different. I picked up a weapon of my own will, found my path with my own thoughts, and fought in my own way…)
(And, with my own feelings, I held your hand.)
(I don't know if those choices were right or wrong, but there's no doubt I gained feelings and experiences in that world that don't exist in reality.)
(So, do you know, Yuu-kun?)
(There's still so much I haven't told you. If that night, I could've stayed…)
"Sorry…"
"I'm sorry…"
Even so, the words filling her heart couldn't be spoken.
Pressing the phone tightly to her forehead, Asuna trembled and curled up, crying softly, her voice barely audible.
"I'm not Asuna…"
"I'm just a coward too scared to face reality…"
If she replied, she could no longer be Yuuki Asuna, walking side by side with him naturally. At some point, this had become incredibly important to her. It was something Asuna, at this moment, couldn't and shouldn't do.
In the quiet restroom, only her own voice echoed. On the ring finger of her left hand, it was pure white, feeling empty.
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The sky was gray, as if it might rain, the air sticky and uncomfortable.
After a day of studying with an empty feeling, Asuna said goodbye to her friends and got into the black sedan driven by their housekeeper, Sada.
The streets were quiet, or perhaps she didn't want to hear too many sounds.
"Young Miss, Madam said there'll be a matchmaking meeting for you in a few days."
Asuna stared out the window, replying after a long pause in a soft, flat voice.
"Who?"
"Your father's adopted son, Sugou-sama."
"…Sugou, huh."
Asuna muttered, closing her eyes, trying to recall his face. But as her vision darkened, Yuu's face naturally appeared in her mind, along with his relaxed, slightly flirty smile.
"Asuna, you're my wife. Who'd let you go on a date with another guy?"
(…If only Yuu-kun could say that, how nice would it be.)
"Tell him I'm not going!"
With clear disgust and rejection, Asuna's tone was rarely so firm. Sada looked troubled. "It might be better if you tell Madam yourself…"
"…You're right. Sorry, Sada-san." Asuna sighed, resting her head against the car window, her eyes staring blankly into the distance.
"I got carried away. Please don't mind it."
"Of course not."
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Arriving at a prestigious tutoring center known for sending many students to the University of Tokyo, with an excellent reputation and exorbitant fees, Asuna watched the black sedan drive away. As she turned to enter the tutoring center, she instinctively pulled out her phone.
[You have seven unread messages.]
Yuu: {At least let me know you're okay, alright? Otherwise, I'll assume you got hit by a Frenzy Boar in-game and report it to the police.}
"He's such an idiot! How dare he threaten to call the police? What's he thinking?!"
Without a shred of doubt about his statement, Asuna panicked. Her previously pale face flushed with anxiety. Biting her lip slightly, her fingers hesitated over the friend interface for a few seconds before giving up on opening the chat bar. Instead, she called her brother, asking him to quickly explain things to Yuu.
For example, that she couldn't reply right now, her phone had issues—anything to fool that idiot into calming down!
"Really, when I was still Asuna, I didn't see you being this proactive in looking for me…"
Pocketing her phone, she couldn't help but grumble. On her small, slightly flushed face, the happiest and most relaxed smile of the day appeared.
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After tutoring, Asuna returned home. The night felt heavier than usual, perhaps because rain was coming.
"Sit and have dinner."
Kyouko's cold tone was as usual, as if the person before her wasn't her daughter but a student who'd made a mistake.
"Alright."
Asuna pulled out a chair and sat quietly across from Kyouko. For some reason, her mother rarely turned on the lights during meals, even at dinner, using candles for illumination.
Seriously, was it necessary to save energy like that? The atmosphere during meals was so heavy—who could have an appetite?
"Asuna, about the matchmaking."
Kyouko's sudden words startled Asuna, who was complaining internally. She set down the utensils that nearly slipped from her grasp and said softly:
"Mother, Sugou-san is like a brother to me. I won't marry him."
Without excessive personal desire, simply stating a fact, Asuna spoke flatly.
"Feelings can be cultivated. What matters is whether he's worthy of you." Kyouko replied, unshaken, sipping water from her glass, the short, deep lines at the corners of her mouth twitching slightly.
"Marriage is also a qualification. A marriage that's materially unsatisfying will only lead to regret… From this perspective, Nobuyuki meets the criteria perfectly. At a young age, he's already head of your father's company's R&D department. He has talent and qualifications. Starting his own business in the future is no issue. Marrying him guarantees your life."
Asuna opened her mouth, her face slowly showing disbelief.
"Listen carefully, Asuna. Your father and I want you to have a happy, smooth life. With your talent, as long as you keep working tirelessly, you can achieve exceptional qualifications and live among the elite… If you don't choose a man worthy of you, your future will be dragged down, leading to a miserable, unhappy life."
Her matter-of-fact tone caused a certain emotion to surge and swell in Asuna's heart, the urge to vent reaching a breaking point. Finally mustering her courage, she looked seriously into her mother's eyes.
"Mother, does that mean you didn't marry Father for love, but only because of his background?"
"…"
As if at a loss for words, Kyouko fell silent. Before Asuna could feel a hint of victory, the oppressive gaze from across the table locked onto her, making her instinctively look away and bite her lip slightly.
"…Fine, if you want to talk about feelings, that's okay."
Kyouko's chest rose and fell as she took a deep breath, shrugging with feigned nonchalance. "If you don't like Nobuyuki, that's fine, as long as you can find a partner worthy of you. As your mother, I wouldn't obstruct your happiness—I'd even help as much as I can…"
"But do you have one?"
She raised her thin brows, staring directly at Asuna with a slight sneer.
"You go to an all-girls school, and I've never heard of you being close to anyone at tutoring. You've clearly never dated, yet you act self-righteous talking about feelings to me? Asuna, have you read too many novels and comics to become this childish?"
Asuna gritted her teeth, her hands clenching tightly on the table. This time, she didn't back down, boldly meeting her mother's intimidating gaze.
"True, I've never dated, and it's fine if you call me childish."
"But that doesn't mean I'll stay silent and go along with dating someone I don't like."
Her strong tone, firm conviction, and unyielding gaze left no room for argument, causing Kyouko's eyes to widen slightly in surprise.
"Mother, I won't go on a blind date with Sugou-san, and I'll choose my future husband myself—on this, I absolutely won't compromise!"
"…"
In the quiet dining room, her voice echoed, sharp and clear like a silver sword.
After a moment, Kyouko snapped out of it, frowning tightly. "Asuna, do you have someone you like now?"
Taking a deep breath, Asuna answered firmly, her gaze steady.
"Yes!"
Someone she wouldn't mind marrying for real—those words, of course, couldn't be said aloud, only whispered in her heart.
But before her heartbeat could quicken, Kyouko asked with a serious expression:
"Don't tell me you met him in that game?"
"…"
The atmosphere froze instantly. Asuna stiffened, her pupils shrinking slightly, her expression showing unexpected confusion.
"Good heavens, is this online dating…?" Kyouko sighed in disbelief, one hand propping up her cheek as if supporting a slightly dizzy head.
"Listen! Asuna, not only are you playing games and neglecting your studies, but you're also getting into online dating, something only low-performing students do…"
Before her mother could finish, Asuna pushed the table and stood.
"I'm full. I'm going upstairs."
Kyouko slammed the table and stood, her brows rising sharply.
"Wait a minute, Asuna! Is this how I taught you manners?!"
Ignoring her mother's harsh shout, Asuna acted as if she hadn't heard, closed the dining room door, and hurried upstairs.
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September 11, 7:42 PM.
[You have eight unread messages.]
Yuu: {How much do you hate me to make Kou-nii pass messages to me…}
[You currently have no unread messages.]
Asuna: {How can I have the same courage as you?}
Yuu: {It's simple—just say one word.}
Asuna: {What word?}
Yuu: {For this mission, will you team up with me to complete it, Asuna?}
Asuna: {Yes.}
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When this message appeared, Yuu couldn't help but smile, then replied softly:
Yuu: {Accepted.}