013 A Class's Heavy hitter
Curious as she was, Yuuki Asuna didn't ask too many questions. Although she had cleared an instance with Asagiri, they had only just met today. Asking about private matters was not appropriate.
"Then... shall we go in together?"
"Okay, let's go in together."
Asagiri didn't hesitate at all and walked into Private Shuchiin Academy with Yuuki Asuna. At the same time, he took a deep breath and said with great emotion.
"This refreshing and intoxicating scent, as expected, is the scent of youth that permeates the air when high school starts in early spring... Oh wait, it seems to be from you."
Hearing this, Yuuki Asuna, who was hesitating how to bring up the serious matter of the instance with Asagiri, was caught off guard and subconsciously let out a confused sound.
"Ah?"
Then, she finally understood the meaning of his words, and her fair cheeks instantly flushed red. However, she had to pretend to be calm and said.
"I... I took a bath after that. Didn't you?"
"Asuna Yuuki."
Asagiri glanced around, then said flatly.
"Your voice is too loud, and what you said is too easily misunderstood."
Hearing this, Yuuki Asuna realized that the students around them had all looked extremely shocked after she said that.
She immediately understood that what she had just said sounded a bit improper.
Taking a bath after that, and the key point was, in order to hide her embarrassment, she subconsciously asked Asagiri if he hadn't taken a bath either?
This made it sound like the two of them had done something... that required a bath together....
"Um... let's walk a little faster."
Yuuki Asuna's pretty face turned bright red. She said this softly with her head lowered, then quickened her pace, walking towards the Shuchiin Academy school building with Asagiri.
Along the way, the two of them didn't have a chance to talk about the instance, as there were simply too many students around.
Yuuki Asuna and Asagiri both knew very well that their identity as "Players" must never be exposed.
"Let's talk during lunch break."
Hearing Asagiri's words, Yuuki Asuna nodded, then walked into the Year 1 Class B classroom.
Asagiri's Year 1 Class A classroom was next door. He walked in confidently, ignoring the curious gazes of the students who were already in the classroom. He went directly to the window seat in the innermost corner of the classroom, commonly known as the "King's Throne", pulled out the chair, and sat down.
The attention on him didn't last long. A few minutes later, a slightly noisy commotion suddenly came from the corridor outside the classroom, followed by complete silence.
In the midst of the silence, a beautiful girl wearing the Private Shuchiin Academy uniform, black knee-high socks, exquisite leather shoes, and with long black straight hair and a beautiful face and slender figure, slowly walked into the A Class classroom.
All the students in the classroom subconsciously turned their gaze towards the girl, but after seeing her face clearly, they immediately looked away, feeling both curious and wanting to avoid her.
Noticing the reactions of these classmates, Kaguya Shinomiya's expression and eyes remained unchanged, as if she had long expected this situation.
It had been like this since she was a child.
As the eldest daughter of the Shinomiya Family, she was like an exquisite yet chilling Japanese doll that made people around her unconsciously keep their distance.
Private Xiuzhiyuan Academy had a junior high section, and Kaguya Shinomiya had moved up from there. She only needed a brief glance to see that this classroom was filled with familiar faces. There were even a few people who were in the same class as her in junior high.
But... no one came up to greet her.
Everyone's eyes avoided her.
Just like in junior high....
"Hmm?"
Just as Kaguya Shinomiya was thinking this, she noticed a boy sitting in the corner of the classroom looking at her. Unlike the other classmates, his gaze was completely undisguised. Even when she looked over and met his eyes, he didn't avoid her gaze like ordinary people would.
She had no impression of this handsome boy, which meant he hadn't come up from Shuchiin Academy junior high.
Could it be...
He didn't recognize her?
Kaguya Shinomiya thought this to herself, while on the surface, she maintained the etiquette of the eldest daughter of the Shinomiya Family, giving a slight nod to Asagiri who was sitting there. There was not a hint of the shyness or awkwardness of an ordinary girl, only the graceful demeanor that the eldest daughter of the Shinomiya Family should display.
However, that was all.
As the eldest daughter of the Shinomiya Family, Kaguya Shinomiya could not possibly take the initiative to greet a boy on the first day of school.
Seeing Kaguya Shinomiya sit down in the center of the classroom, Asagiri turned his head to look out the window, thinking about only one thing.
Is Kaguya Shinomiya a Player?
He had to consider this question, partly because Kaguya Shinomiya's various abilities and settings were simply too outrageous. Things like a genius mind, psychological suggestion for forced calm thinking, national competition champion-level archery and swordsmanship skills. Compared to most characters in slice-of-life series, she was practically a superhuman.
And the more important reason...
Kaguya Shinomiya was his classmate in the same class.
If she was also a Player, he would have to be very cautious.
After getting Noguchi and Kawa's phones in the instance and learning that new Players could be registered by having ordinary people click the icon, Asagiri had actually considered whether to pull Kaguya Shinomiya into becoming a Player. After all, with Kaguya Shinomiya's abilities, she would definitely be an excellent asset.
However, this thought was dismissed as soon as it surfaced.
Have Kaguya Shinomiya become an asset?
That was simply unrealistic.
The current Kaguya Shinomiya was in the so-called "Ice Kaguya" period, her mind full of cold, imperialistic thoughts, skilled at using others, and also possessing that kind of arrogant self-esteem that bordered on obsession, stemming from being the eldest daughter of the Shinomiya Family. Asagiri simply couldn't believe that she would obediently become his asset after becoming a Player.
Besides, there's no way he would so easily reveal his Player identity to someone he had no basis of trust with, someone he didn't even know.
So, could Kaguya Shinomiya, like him and Asuna Yuuki, have already become a chosen Player?
Asagiri wasn't sure, after all, he remembered...
Kaguya Shinomiya... doesn't have her own smartphone.