"Our cafeteria accepts pre-orders, you know. You just select what you want on the app in advance, and then pick it up with a digital code at noon."
"That's awesome~"
"This ordering program, along with the equipment in the new multimedia classrooms and the server setup for the campus LAN—basically, Ryu-chan had people do all of it. Compared to before, it's getting more convenient day by day."
"Is Kuse-san... that enthusiastic?"
Asuna carried her tray of food, leaving the service window alongside Chika. Listening to this new classmate's endless narration—where six or seven out of every ten things were about Ryu—the chestnut-haired girl couldn't help but feel curious.
"Of course!
Don't look at Ryu-chan having a villain's face; he basically belongs to the Lawful Good alignment. Not only is he enthusiastic about helping others, but if he encounters something unfair, he'll also gallantly step in!"
Chika was full of praise: "Asuna-chan, if you run into any trouble at school, you can go find him too~"
"Okay, uh, I'll consider it." Asuna agreed reluctantly.
The Ryu she learned about from Chika's mouth was completely different from the image circulating in the rumors! This plunged Yuuki Asuna into a bit of confusion.
Ryu's reputation wasn't good. While his ability was unquestionable, he seemed to be a villain who enjoyed bullying the weak... opinions of him had always been mixed. Yet in Chika's account, Ryu seemed to be a saint who excelled in character and learning, enjoyed giving to charity, and had absolutely no flaws in his private morals!
Even if evaluations of the same person differ slightly, they shouldn't be this polarized, right?
"Eh? He actually came to the cafeteria today?"
Chika suddenly revealed a delighted expression, leading Asuna to change their route and head toward another table.
The chestnut-haired girl looked up and discovered Ryu and another student sitting not far away. The two sat opposite each other, focusing on dealing with their own portions of cuisine, appearing quiet and independent amidst the bustling cafeteria.
Seeing Chika humming a tune as she walked over, Asuna had no choice but to brace herself and follow, and the two sat down in the adjacent seats.
Chika didn't shy away at all, carelessly leaning close to Ryu, while Asuna sat next to Ruri. The maid's raven-black shoulder-length hair and her fair, delicate countenance gave Asuna a sense of stunning beauty.
"Hello~"
"Hello~"
The two greeted each other and exchanged names. Ruri was actually quite famous in certain circles; even Asuna had heard her dad mention once that Ryu was always accompanied by a very difficult-to-deal-with maid.
Now seeing Ruri with her own eyes, Asuna relaxed inwardly:
She's just a normal girl, not as scary as Dad said~
However, the eldest young lady of the Yuuki family failed to notice the flash of displeasure in the maid's eyes when she lowered her head.
—This was inevitable. After all, having her alone time with the person she liked interrupted would make anyone unhappy.
But Chika was completely oblivious. While splitting her disposable chopsticks, she asked, "Don't you usually bring a bento?"
"Occasionally, there are times when I want to change the taste."
"Really?" Chika was puzzled. "It looked pretty rich to me. Balanced meat and vegetables, good nutrition, and the taste was very good too."
Of course you think it's rich. After all, whenever you see rare dishes, you thick-facedly come over and mooch food directly~
Ryu couldn't help but glance at her, then cleared his throat.
"Ruri's skills are getting better day by day; I can't tolerate it anymore."
"...Eh? Did you misspeak?"
"No, precisely because her skills are getting better and better, she spends more thought on it, making my lunch increasingly sumptuous—but her time has decreased.
This fellow has a strong sense of responsibility. Even if the work increases, she won't just slap it together; she'll only deduct from her own rest time. The result is fatigue accumulating day after day... that won't do."
"So that's why you came to the cafeteria?"
Chika nodded in understanding, while Asuna opened her eyes wide in surprise. She didn't expect the seemingly cold Ryu to actually have such a considerate side.
But immediately after, Ryu said, "Of course. If she can't throw herself into work with an energetic posture, even if she spends more time, her work efficiency will drop drastically—as her employer, I can't let such things slide."
Asuna: "..."
The maid being criticized in his words lowered her head seemingly in shame after hearing her master's words, yet the corners of her mouth were faintly upturned.
"Hehe~"
Chika waved her chopsticks, giggling: "You're still like this. Clearly doing a good deed, yet you insist on making yourself sound like some kind of villain.
Asuna, listen to me, Ryu-chan has been like this since way back. You absolutely mustn't be deceived by his cold attitude; he's actually very easy to talk to~"
No, that's probably only easy for you to talk to—Asuna awkwardly agreed repeatedly.
She didn't have Chika's coarse nerves; she certainly wouldn't go up and buddy up to Ryu carelessly!
"Chika-san likes ALO as always, I see."
Ruri noticed that Chika's phone strap had been changed to a cartoon figure from ALO: "That's a Sylph fairy, right?"
"Yes!"
Chika displayed it ostentatiously, holding it in her hands like a treasure.
"It's my avatar in the game; I specially found someone to custom make it~
This is just the free gift. The one-tenth scale figure cost me half a month's allowance!"
"It is indeed very detailed," Ruri commented casually, then looked at Asuna. "By the way, Yuuki-san's family is the operator of ALO, right? Speaking of which, this is a joint project between Kuse and Yuuki."
"Really?!" Chika turned her head in surprise. "Asuna-chan's 'Yuuki' is the one from the operator [Rect]?"
"Ah, this... I don't understand business matters too well, and my family never lets me participate."
Asuna waved her hands, her gaze wandering. "But this game is indeed operated by my family; they've mentioned it more than once during meals."
Actually, she knew quite a bit. For instance, the operator of ALO was a new joint venture between [Rect] and [Kuse Media & Entertainment], but the Kuse side always held the authority, while the Yuuki family was just hitching a ride to make money.
"Amazing~"
Chika blinked her eyes: "Your internet speed must be really fast, right!"
"..."
Asuna bit her lip, tightened her expression, and nodded seriously.
"Uh, I guess it's okay."
"So nice~"
Chika pouted melancholically: "I want to play ALO with max settings too, but Dad always says my grades need to improve first... that kind of thing isn't something that can just improve on command~"
"You truly are only improving and working hard with your mouth... Oh right!"
Ryu recalled something. Seeing Chika in this state, he couldn't help but say, "ALO's '2022 Fairy Dance Extravaganza'—the large-scale event plan is currently warming up. When the time comes, there will be COSER performances and lottery events. It's expected to give away a thousand sets of equipment and small-scale servers.
If you win but don't need it, you can also cash it out... interested?"
"I am, I am!"
Chika instantly got excited: "That's great! I was just worrying about not having enough pocket money!"
"Don't talk as if you'll definitely win; there will be a lot of people then."
"Okay, I'll bring Mieruko-chan and Kei-chan along too; they are also loyal fans of ALO!"
Chika put her arm around Asuna's shoulder: "We four should form a group and do a COS together then~"
"Eh? Me?" The chestnut-haired girl looked stunned.
"Ryu-chan, what role are you planning to play?"
"...Hmm?"
Ryu lifted his head:
Not even sparing me?
Dragging the organizer BOSS to participate in the lottery... Chika, the current you is truly despicable!
________________________________________
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