"Welcome home, Hachiman-kun."
"Yeah, I'm home, Asuna."
Having resolved all the issues, Hachiman dragged his exhausted body home, where Asuna was waiting to welcome him. Asuna had completely settled into the Hikigaya household. In fact, Komachi and Hachiman's mother were often told by the neighbors:
"Komachi-chan, it's wonderful that you have such a lovely big sister now."
"Hikigaya-san, aren't you just dying to see your grandchild's face? I'm so envious."
Confident that the operation had been a success, Asuna asked him:
"So, how did it go?"
"All clear. There's nothing left to worry about."
"I see. Well, I knew it would be fine."
After answering her, Hachiman sat down heavily on the sofa, his face etched with fatigue. Since the reunion, he had only intended to secure Elsa's independence. But from Nagano to Kyoto, things had spiraled in unexpectedly wild directions. Now that every pending issue was finally resolved, the relief seemed to unleash a tidal wave of exhaustion all at once.
Asuna sat down right next to him, pressing close as if it were the most natural thing in the world. However, for some reason, Hachiman pushed her away.
"Sorry, Asuna. Could you sit about two steps further over?"
"Eh? Ah, okay..."
At his unexpected words, Asuna's vision went dark for a moment—Did he hate me? But in the next instant, Hachiman collapsed toward her, resting his head on her lap and nuzzling against her stomach like a spoiled child.
Asuna was startled, but she immediately began stroking his head with a gentle touch.
"Are you that tired?"
"Yeah... pretty much."
"Is it Kuradeel's fault after all? How was he? Was he the same as before?"
At that question, Hachiman twitched for a second before wrapping his arms around Asuna's waist and burying his face deeper into her stomach.
"Jeez, what's gotten into you all of a sudden?" Asuna asked, her voice filled with maternal affection at his display of vulnerability.
Hachiman's muffled answer was simple.
"He was disgusting..."
"Eh?"
"That guy... he was exactly the same as before. No, he was even more disgusting..."
"I-Is that so..."
Asuna tried to imagine something more than what she remembered, felt a wave of nausea, and immediately stopped thinking about it.
"I was right not to bring you along."
"Y-Yeah. If it was that bad, I think I was better off not going."
Hearing Hachiman speak with such distaste, Asuna agreed, realizing it must have been truly awful.
"So, in the end, it was settled peacefully with him studying abroad?"
"Yeah, about that..."
Hachiman started to sit up, but perhaps reluctant to separate from Asuna, he kept his right hand around her waist. With his left arm, he scooped under her knees and lifted her body up entirely.
"Hup."
"Kyaa!"
Hachiman sat back on the sofa, settling into a position where Asuna was now sitting sideways on his lap, cradled in his arms.
"W-What is this, all of a sudden?" Asuna asked, her heart pounding at Hachiman's unusually aggressive behavior.
"Actually, that idiot Kuradeel almost killed me again today."
"Ehh!?"
Hachiman explained the sequence of events to her.
"That man really doesn't change, does he..."
"Yeah. A complete difference from the Little Cat."
"Or Minami."
"Oh, that's true."
Hachiman recalled that Asuna had met with Minami yesterday and decided to ask about it.
"How was Minami doing?"
"She seems great. Maybe because she has a clear goal now, every day seems exciting and fulfilling for her."
"I see."
Hearing that, Hachiman nodded with satisfaction.
"She really has changed. But, well, there are some things that don't need to change, right?"
Saying that, Hachiman pulled Asuna closer.
"Ah..."
"No matter how many years pass, you and I will be together like this. That will never change."
"Y-Yeah. That's right."
"Basically, I just wanted to say that. Doing this... was just a whim to get the point across."
As Hachiman explained himself, Asuna squirmed happily.
"I-I wouldn't mind if you did this every day... or rather, I'd prefer it..."
Hearing her cute request, Hachiman turned red and spoke quickly to cover his embarrassment.
"W-Well, every now and then."
"Y-Yeah, okay. Every now and then."
The two shared a light kiss. Hachiman, trying to hide his blushing face, held Asuna's head against his chest as he continued his explanation.
"So, President Kura said he wanted to call the police, but I felt a bit guilty since I was the one who cornered the guy. In the end, we didn't file a report. instead, I decided to dump the problem on the old man."
"Eh? By 'old man,' you mean Great Uncle? Wait, you don't mean... the Yuki Institute?"
"Yep, exactly that. When I talked to the geezer, he started talking about a 'Special Course.' Apparently, Kuradeel is going to be attending the Yuki Institute for three years."
"Th-Three years of that..."
Asuna shuddered, recalling the curriculum list she had been shown on the bullet train home.
"Well, it's his last chance to become a decent human being."
"Do you think even he will change after this?"
"Surprisingly, in a few years, he might be a monk or something."
"Ehhh? I can't imagine that at all."
"Haha, well, me neither."
Just as the two were about to kiss again, a door slammed upstairs, and Komachi came thundering down the stairs in a panic.
"O-Oni-chan! You're back! It's a disaster... big... ah."
Komachi noticed Asuna, who had been hidden behind Hachiman's head. Grasping the situation instantly, she grinned.
"Oh my, oh my. Excuse me! Komachi is going to be an auntie soon, huh? Well then, take your time~!"
Realizing the implication of her words, Asuna hurriedly scrambled off Hachiman, leaned over the back of the sofa, and reached out toward Komachi.
"W-Wait, Komachi-chan! We aren't doing that right now!"
"Right now?"
"Ah."
Komachi smirked triumphantly, and Asuna's face turned bright red. Watching the two of them, Hachiman spoke with a perfectly calm expression.
"Don't tease your sister-in-law too much, Komachi. So, did something happen?"
Komachi looked frustrated at his reaction.
"Ugh, seeing Oni-chan completely unfazed is kinda frustrating..."
In reality, Hachiman was simply utilizing the "Mental Reinforced Exoskeleton" he had recently equipped. Internally, he was incredibly embarrassed, but fortunately, Komachi didn't notice.
Komachi then reported to Hachiman that the second "Bullet of Bullets" (BoB) would be held in one month.
"I see. Finally, huh?"
"Yeah, it looks like it was just announced. Well then, I've kept Sino-non waiting, so I'm heading back over there!"
"Hmm. Shall we log in for a bit too?"
"Yeah, let's do that."
The three of them went to their respective rooms and logged into GGO.
As expected, Pitohui was nowhere to be seen. Shana (Hachiman's avatar) felt relieved and headed to their base as previously discussed.
"Shana!"
"Hey, Sinon. Are you entering the BoB after all?"
"Yeah, it was my goal. Wait, based on how you said that... are you not entering, Shana?"
"Yeah... actually, there's something I want to do during the tournament."
"Heeeh? What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to run surveillance around the monitors in the tavern."
"Surveillance?"
Shana was internally disappointed that they hadn't gained any information on Laughing Coffin from the Kuradeel incident. Therefore, he decided to monitor the in-game tavern where the BoB broadcast would be shown, looking for anyone suspicious who might be connected to them.
"I see. That's a shame, but I guess it can't be helped."
"If Satellizer were entering, I might have felt like joining, but she probably won't show up. So I thought I'd return to my original objective. I don't know if I'll find anything, but I don't have any other leads."
"Then I'll help you out. The only other people who know about Laughing Coffin are me and Rosalia-san, anyway."
Hearing Shizuka's (Asuna's avatar) offer, Shana remembered Rosalia and decided to call her. Fortunately, Rosalia was online and immediately showed up at the base upon receiving the summons.
However, for some reason, Pitohui was standing next to the arriving Rosalia.
"What the... Pito, you came too?"
"Yep! I caught Shana's scent, so I headed this way and ran into Rosalia-chan by coincidence."
"You really are a monster, as always... Seriously, that's too much praise."
"I said that's too much pr—wait, you anticipated my retort!?"
"You're one-pattern. Use some ingenuity. Ingenuity."
"Ugh... somehow that's frustrating..."
Shana then asked Rosalia to help with the surveillance.
"Understood, I will assist. Also, I have something to report..."
"I told you, when you're in this base, you can speak normally."
"Alright then. So, the report: ever since the second BoB was announced, the ZeXceed faction has been spreading strange rumors."
"Rumors? Like what?"
"Well, apparently they're going around telling everyone that 'AGI-specialized builds are the strongest.'"
"Huh?"
Shana couldn't immediately grasp the intention behind it. Is there something to it? The answer didn't come right away. Seeing him think, Benkei (Komachi's avatar) asked:
"Oni-chan, is that actually true?"
"Let's see..."
After thinking for a moment, Shana answered.
"For example, Shizu and Kay (Benkei) are STR-AGI types that boast stable speed, right?"
"Yeah."
"In contrast, me, Sinon, and Pito are pure STR types. Our combat speed depends on our personal reflexes. Both Shizuka and I went almost full AGI in SAO, but in GGO, neither of us specialized in AGI. Why is that?"
"Why indeed! It's obviously because of that!" Pitohui interjected.
Shana nodded at Pitohui.
"Right. Because how much luggage—and specifically, whether you can carry high-performance guns—depends on STR. You could call this a flaw of the game. If you put all your points into one stat, you really don't have any choice other than STR. If you were to go full AGI, having reliable teammates becomes absolutely essential. Well, it's not a huge hindrance in normal play, but in a tournament like this, you can't deny the risk of being overwhelmed by opponent gear or running out of ammo."
"I see!"
"Especially for me and Sinon—if we didn't go full STR, it would be impossible to operate the M82 or the Hecate II. I don't know about Pito."
"I'm the type who likes to swap between all kinds of weapons!"
"I see, so that's it."
"Yup!"
"Then yeah, you couldn't take any other option."
Shana nodded in understanding and continued his explanation.
"In other words, trying to make people go full AGI means... Ah, I get it."
"You figured out the reason?"
"Yeah. It's his tear-jerking effort to weaken other players, even if just a little."
"Ahhh!"
"Wow, he really gives off 'small fry' energy..."
"As expected of ZeXceed, a big shot in the world of small fries!"
"Well, there will probably be some guys who get fooled by it, but it has nothing to do with us."
"I see, so that's how it is..."
Shana concluded the matter, and Rosalia accepted the explanation.
"Then, for the time being, we should just leave that rumor alone?"
"Yeah, no problem. Just keep an eye on their movements loosely, like before."
"Roger that."
Next, Pitohui asked Shana:
"By the way, Shana, you're entering the BoB, right?"
"Ah, Pito wasn't here earlier. I'm not entering."
"Ehh? Why?"
Shana gave Pitohui the same explanation he had given earlier.
"I see, I see. Then what about Shizu and Kay?"
"I guess I'll be on surveillance with Shana. Only Rosalia-san and I know those guys directly, after all."
"I'll pass. I'm not quite confident enough yet to enter a tournament like that and win alone."
"Which means..."
Pitohui faced Sinon and grinned.
"It's going to be a duel between me and Sino-non."
"I suppose so. I'll blow your head off with one shot."
"Hmm, I wonder if you can?"
"You guys... I don't mind if you go at it seriously, but don't hold a grudge."
Shana stepped between them. Pitohui seemed to ponder something for a moment, then, appearing to strike upon an idea, she nodded enthusiastically and made a proposal to Sinon.
"Then, Sino-non, let's make a bet!"
"A bet on what?"
"Hmm, Shizu, got any ideas?"
Suddenly put on the spot, Shizuka looked at their faces, thought for a brief moment, and made a suggestion.
"How about the winner gets to go on a date with Shana?"
"H-Hey, Shizu..."
"Eh?"
"I-Is that okay?"
"Well, if it motivates you two to win, why not?"
"H-Hey, what about my will..."
Ignoring Shana, Pitohui spoke happily.
"As expected of the Legal Wife, so generous! Is that okay with you too, Sino-non?"
"I-I don't really care about a date or anything..."
"Then, are you fine with giving me a win by default?"
"Ugh, that's..."
"Which is it?"
Teased by Pitohui's grinning face, Sinon glanced at Shana, then adopted a look of determination. She spoke boldly.
"Fine. Challenge accepted."
"That's our Sino-non, such a handsome woman!"
"Handsome woman...?"
"The female version of a handsome man!"
"Ah..."
Sinon looked at Pitohui with exasperation, then crossed her arms and smirked.
"Since we're doing this, I absolutely won't lose."
"Oh? Is that a declaration that the date with Shana is yours?"
"You can take it that way."
"Ooh, you talk big... But I'm taking that date with Shana."
"I wonder if it will go that smoothly."
"Right back at you."
The two glared at each other, face to face.
"Ooh! Once again, a battlefield of women fighting over Oni-chan! And approved by the sister-in-law!"
"...Shizuka, are you sure about this?"
"Yeah. Because no matter how many years pass, you and I will always be together, right?"
"...Well, I guess that's true."
"Yep!"
And thus, the curtain rose on the battle between Sinon and Pitohui for the second BoB.
Meanwhile, ZeXceed, along with Yukko and Haruka, was steadily laying the groundwork for the second BoB.
"Yukko, Haruka, how goes it?"
"ZeXceed-san, it seems the rumor we planted is spreading smoothly."
"Good, good. Keep spreading it just like that."
"Yes! With this, the tournament is yours, ZeXceed-san!"
Just how this tactic—resorting to tricks before training himself—would influence his fate, and what the result of these rumors would be... only God knew.
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