Although it was somewhat incredible, Ruri actually enjoyed going to school.
Of course, this wasn't because she was hungry for knowledge; in fact, her life stage had long since skipped "student" and jumped directly to the "corporate slave" level, as experience gained in practice was far superior to paper theories.
She simply liked the relatively closed environment of the school, because here she didn't need to worry about "where Lord Ryu ran off to," nor did she need to face situations like "why is there suddenly another girl."
The only regret was that Chika was also there, making it impossible for Ruri to exclusively enjoy the identity of "school heroine."
But Chika was not a threat!
Childhood friends who haven't started dating by this age generally won't develop a romantic relationship—this is a universal theorem summarized from shoujo manga.
'I wonder what Lord Ryu is doing right now?'
Sitting in the back row by the window, Ruri looked at her textbook on the surface, but in reality, her thoughts had wandered off to who knows where.
Just then, she inadvertently glanced outside, and her gaze was instantly captivated, her mood becoming as clear and sunny as the sky today:
It's Lord Ryu!
The distance was a bit far, but she recognized him at a glance!
Ah, sure enough, he looks so handsome from any angle... who is he waving at?
There aren't many people in this school he would actively greet; could it be those few from the Student Council?
Ruri leaned her head out slightly; from her angle, she could only see a slender, retreating back moving further away.
Silver hair, middle school uniform... Oh!
The Student Council President's younger sister.
Ruri breathed a sigh of relief, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly as she withdrew her inquiring gaze.
Lord Ryu is a hidden lover of older women; he likes long, straight black hair and mature older sister types who can accommodate him the most, and has always had no interest in those younger than him.
—This is why Ruri keeps her hair long and consumes high-quality milk daily, hoping to provide enough assistance for the development of certain parts.
Shirogane Kei?
Just a little girl who hasn't even started developing properly yet; she poses no threat.
'Hehe, no need to pay her any mind~'
The maid thought to herself in her heart.
...
Returning home, Kei changed into her indoor shoes and walked hurriedly through the living room.
"Kei-chan?" Shirogane Miyuki had returned very early today and was washing vegetables in the kitchen; he subconsciously leaned out to ask, "Is something the matter?"
"No, just focus on cooking, big brother!"
Shirogane Kei went back to her room, flung her school bag aside, and threw herself forward onto the bed, recovering her stamina as if collapsing from exhaustion, while her mind replayed the events of the day.
Slowly, her face flushed red, and she turned her head to bury it in the pillow:
I spoke with Brother Kuse... I was too nervous and didn't pay attention to what I was saying; what a failure!
Come to think of it, the entire Shirogane family can be indirectly connected to Ryu, which counts as a marvelous twist of fate.
Kei is a classmate and best friend of Moeha, and through that knows Chika, sharing a similarly close relationship, so knowing Ryu is a natural progression;
Shirogane Miyuki is the Student Council President and (self-proclaimed) Ryu's academic rival, while Chika serves as the secretary in the Student Council, where Ryu occasionally drops by;
Kei and Miyuki's father failed in business years ago and has been working part-time to pay off debts, keeping the Shirogane household finances tight. But a year ago, when he submitted a resume to try his luck, he was hired by a burgeoning new company. The household finances improved slightly, they moved into a larger apartment, and she even got her own room—only later did they learn that it was a subsidiary under Kuse Ryu's name.
Added to the previous experience at the Kyudo tournament, it could be said that although their actual interactions weren't many, Kei really heard about Ryu everywhere...
"Next time I need to behave more elegantly... he won't think I'm a weird person, right?"
Kei seriously recalled today's events and didn't find anything inappropriate; it shouldn't have caused Ryu any ill feelings.
She shook her head and took out her phone to distract herself, only to find the class group chat almost flooded with a pile of messages, startling her as soon as she opened it.
"So lively?"
Because people kept posting new messages, Kei didn't read them one by one but swiped a couple of times to randomly pick a few that looked informative... and the intelligence she gleaned made her eyes go wide.
'I heard this can port ALO data without barriers, and the performance is even better than NERvGear.'
'No, it should be said that this machine was originally designed to go with ALO; the SAO incident earlier just disrupted the schedule.'
'I still like the NERvGear; this glasses-type is too simple.'
'ww, a product only a few months old and it already has believers, huh~'
'You guy...'
Shirogane Kei let out an "Ah," and hurriedly went to the official website to verify. As soon as she entered, there was a livestream news link:
'...In this way, the second-hand market will also be greatly affected, right?'
'That is a matter of course. It was already hyped to an abnormal price; now we can only say it's returning to the game helmet's intrinsic value.'
'Then could you analyze for everyone, why release a new product at this point in time?
The NERvGear craze is still in the ascendant, and there are no competitive similar products on the market yet. There is no need to rush to launch a new generation of gaming consoles. Isn't this competing with oneself?'
'Well this... it must certainly be part of the Kuse Group's strategic planning, right?'
—The Kuse Group released a new product?
Shirogane Kei's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly searched for it. The search engine interface also had ads placed on it, and immediately a line of large text accompanied by an image jumped into her field of view:
[Crash Impact Incoming! The Summer Assassin Shaking Japan!]
[ALO Exclusive Platform — AmuSphere Shocking Arrival!]
[Lightweight Upgrade, Perfect Compatibility, Ultra-High Cost Performance!]
[Let every player experience the thrill of soaring in the sky!]
[AmuSphere! Your Best Choice!]
"...."
Kei blinked, her brain unable to react for a moment.
Ding-dong!
The sound of a doorbell came from outside. Judging by the movement, Shirogane Miyuki went to open the door and spoke a few words with the visitor. A moment later, Shirogane Miyuki called out to her, asking her to come and sign for a package.
"Package?" Kei walked out hurriedly, looking puzzled.
"I didn't buy anything?"
"Home delivery... I don't have any recollection either. Could it be Dad?"
The Shirogane siblings coincidentally thought of their own unreliable middle-aged man... that person might indeed have encountered some good fortune at work and then bought some expensive ingredients for the children to celebrate.
"Doesn't that guy consider the household budget?"
Kei said this with her mouth, but she was still quite happy, only to find it unexpectedly heavy after taking the package.
If this weight is beef or something... are we living on instant noodles for the rest of the month?
"Excuse me, what is inside the package?"
"Uh, it's electronic machinery, there's a record upon delivery... oh, a game console, seems to be the very popular kind."
"!"
Shirogane Kei held her breath, her pair of clear, large eyes seemingly forgetting how to blink.
Shirogane Miyuki scratched his head: "Game console? Could it be NERvGear?"
"...No."
Kei lightly bit her lip. An emotion that she couldn't tell if it was joy or touched—anyway, a somewhat dizzying feeling—blocked up her chest.
"This must be... Brother Kuse promised to send it to me... it's the [AmuSphere]!"
Kei's fingertips went white; holding the package, she excitedly rushed back to her room, leaving Shirogane Miyuki standing there bewildered.
"Brother Kuse? Eh? Brother?
Is Kuse that Kuse? Since when did you two have such a good relationship?
Why is it Kuse? Onii-chan has never heard about you having a new brother!"
Bang!
Forcefully closing the door, Shirogane Kei leaned back against it, her gaze falling on the postscript of the delivery slip:
[The feeling of flying in the sky is great, you will definitely fall in love with it — Someone fulfilling a promise]
"Wu..."
Her body slowly slid down, sitting on the floor hugging the package.
Covering her mouth, it felt like she would accidentally let out an unseemly scream; although she hadn't looked in a mirror, the expression on her face right now must be very strange too.
"No good, Brother Kuse, this kind of thing..."
Her small feet couldn't help but tremble; not knowing if it was shyness or what, she revealed excitement and jubilation befitting her age.
"I've only seen this kind of thing in manga!"
________________________________________
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