One of Kanzaki Saku's hands was still skillfully operating the game controller, while the other began to operate a different controller, focusing on optimizing Yumiko's gaming experience.
Even with such complex dual-wielding, Miura Yumiko remained composed. If it weren't for the slight redness at the tips of her ears, Kanzaki Saku would have thought she had no interest in the game at all.
This gaming session had just been a whim on Kanzaki Saku's part, but now Yumiko's indifference had sparked his competitive spirit.
`[Reversal]` activated!
Veteran players know that when a game character's energy builds to its limit, the special effects will trigger automatically; that explosive power cannot be suppressed.
While there's talk of pausing, that's before the true limit is reached.
But with Kanzaki Saku's [Reversal] superpower, not only could he stop it at the limit, but even if you had already released it, he could make it flow back.
By repeating this process, the energy bar was continuously charged like a fully drawn bowstring, so that when it was finally released, it would bring about unprecedented special effects.
At this moment, Miura Yumiko, who believed she had seen through the 'truth,' was still deluding herself.
In her scenario, the Service Club had just suffered a defeat, a time when morale was low and drastic changes could happen at any moment. During such a sensitive period, what Boss Yukino worried about most was whether her subordinates were still loyal to her.
Therefore, she had gone so far as to send her own man to test her, Miura Yumiko's, loy-al-ty-! in this extreme manner.
As for the timing, it must have been decided back in the infirmary.
Thinking this, Yumiko's admiration for Boss Yukinoshita surged.
'As expected of Boss Yukino, willing to use her own man as bait. Truly ruthless!'
But Boss Yukino still underestimated my resolve. A sister's husband is off-limits.
When you're in this business, you have to have principles!
Miura Yumiko tensed her body, staring straight ahead with a blank expression, ignoring all the sensations coming from various places. She used all the willpower she had in her life to maintain a calm exterior, with only one belief burning in her heart.
Loy-al-ty-!
She had to pass this grueling test to prove to Boss Yukino that she, Miura Yumiko, was an absolutely reliable subordinate! Even if it meant enduring such torment!
And then Kanzaki Saku unleashed his invincible [Reversal]!
Miura Yumiko felt as if she were in a high-difficulty game with extremely harsh clear conditions. Just when she thought she was about to fail, when her energy bar was almost empty.
Her game progress was suddenly reset to a save point from a few minutes ago. All her accumulated challenge points vanished in an instant, and she was sent right back to her state several minutes prior. Everything that just happened felt like a fantasy.
But before she could even catch her breath, Kanzaki Saku had already begun the second round. The difficulty was noticeably higher this time, and the clear conditions had become even stricter.
"Mm..."
A soft moan almost escaped from between Yumiko's clenched teeth. She tried to adjust her operations to respond, but it caused her to lose her balance and fall directly into Kanzaki Saku's embrace.
The surrounding passengers seemed completely unaware of their abnormal situation. This was a unique space created by Kanzaki Saku using his ability, like activating the game's privacy mode, leaving only the two of them in this special 'dungeon'.
This time, the challenge points accumulated far faster than before. Like the difficulty curve in a game, each reset made the next round even harder.
The third round.
This time, the game demanded even higher difficulty. Fine beads of sweat formed on Yumiko's forehead, and her breathing became erratic. She had to part her lips slightly to get enough oxygen, and her eyes began to lose focus.
'I... I can still hold on...' she chanted in her mind as if reciting a mantra, 'Loy... loyalty...'
The fourth round.
"Ugh...!"
A short, sharp gasp finally broke through her defenses. Yumiko's game character was KO'd by the opponent's combo.
Fifth restart...
Sixth restart...
When the seventh round began, Miura Yumiko's mind was on the verge of collapse. Her thoughts were a blank slate, leaving only the instinctive reaction to counter the opponent's attacks.
Just then, Kanzaki Saku leaned in close to her ear and whispered in a breathy tone only they could hear.
"Yumiko, you're trying so hard."
That sentence was the last straw that broke the camel's back.
"I can't... I really can't operate anymore!"
The moment her concentration broke past its limit, Miura Yumiko's mind went blank. She bit down hard on her lower lip, so hard she could taste the faint tang of blood, but none of it could stop the game's judgment.
The long-accumulated ultimate move bar finally erupted. Her game character violently unleashed its ultimate skill, and splendid special effects filled the entire screen. If Kanzaki Saku hadn't been there to support her shoulders, she probably would have collapsed limply to the floor.
At that moment, any thoughts of loyalty tests or club rules were thrown to the wind. All she could remember was the shock this match had given her.
As her state gradually calmed, Miura Yumiko leaned weakly against Kanzaki Saku.
Then, rationality returned to Yumiko's consciousness.
I... I was on the train, in Boss Yukino's man's arms, and during a loyalty test... I failed.
It's over! It's all over! Boss Yukino will definitely kick me out of the Service Club.
In a normal world, this would be like a subordinate, while escorting the boss's woman, letting the boss's woman help him play a game.
Even if the boss's woman initiated it, the boss wouldn't see it that way.
Kanzaki Saku looked at the girl in his arms, her eyes vacant but her face flushed, and satisfactorily withdrew his hand, gently tidying her messy collar.
"Test complete," he whispered in her ear. "I have certainly received your loyalty."
That sentence made Miura Yumiko's whole body tremble. She looked up and met Kanzaki Saku's smiling gaze, unable to tell for a moment whether this was salvation or the beginning of a nightmare.
The train's arrival announcement sounded at just the right time.
"Time to get off, Yumiko." Kanzaki Saku stood up first and extended a hand to her, as if nothing had happened.
Miura Yumiko stared blankly at that hand, then at her own still-trembling legs. Finally, she gritted her teeth and used his help to stand up.
Only this time, her loyal heart had, without her realizing it, shifted its direction.
There was no helping it; her fate was now entirely in Kanzaki Saku's hands.
Of course, putting that aside, Kanzaki Saku had also given her a pleasure she had never experienced before.
There aren't two suns in the sky, and in Miura Yumiko's heart, there is only one sun: Kanzaki Saku!
_____
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