The outcome of the final exchange was probably not particularly pleasant.
In the end, Maki still held herself back, maintaining a calm and restrained demeanor as she participated in the post-instance discussion, no longer arguing with Chika.
That said, throughout the entire conversation, the resentment-filled looks she cast at Takumi from time to time were impossible to conceal, leaving Takumi feeling an overwhelming sense of pressure.
As for the matters discussed, they were mainly divided into three topics.
The first concerned Takumi's wristwatch. After clearing the Red Nut Grey Cave instance, this external aid—which had seemingly granted Takumi many powerful abilities—finally began to reveal another side of itself. It forced Takumi to clear instances using a perfect-clear method, requiring him to resolve the core Obsession Item so that the watch could then devour the instance. Moreover, based on the utterly abnormal difficulty of both the Apartments Shirakawa instance and the Red Nut Grey Cave instance, the group inferred that the difficulty of the instances Takumi would participate in next was bound to escalate toward increasingly terrifying levels. Even attempting to exploit tickets for other instances through tricks would, in all likelihood, be useless. Just like this time with the Red Nut Grey Cave—a Dusk-level instance classified as tourist-level that transformed into a Dark Night-level, maximum-difficulty dual-core instance—this alone already explained many problems.
The conclusion of this discussion was to attempt to obtain three already-fixed Dark Night-level instance tickets, with Takumi, Kaguya, and Maki entering them together. Although among the few already-fixed Dark Night-level instances still circulating on the player market, there were hardly any that could be cleared easily, after having confirmed the lethal nature of that aberrant wristwatch, this was, for the moment, the only potentially feasible course of action.
Chika had no way to take part in this topic. Although her very first instance experience in her life had been a dual-core, top-tier Dark Night-level run, under the judgment rules of the Sacrifice Game, Chika was still merely a newcomer who had cleared a Dusk-level game once, and thus did not qualify to participate in Dark Night-level games. Because of this, Chika was extremely troubled and remained unhappy off to the side for quite a while.
The second topic concerned the Black Blood Bullet. The time at which players around the world entered the game was basically within the same single-day window, so it could be considered that each opening of the Sacrifice Game occurred at a unified time. As a result, when American players were inside instances, they were still able to use Black Blood Bullets normally. However, once they returned to the real world, they discovered that all of the Black Blood Bullets they possessed had completely lost their effect. Player factions that controlled the production channels for Black Blood Bullets also stated that the raw materials for Black Blood Bullets had already become invalid, leading to suspicions that an instance had been cracked.
Completing a core Obsession Item's final wish and cracking or destroying an instance was, to begin with, an extremely difficult undertaking. Because Dusk-level instances were in high demand among players, very few veteran players dared to take the risk of destroying such instances, unless they were the kind of unpopular types no one cared about. Even then, players of that sort usually could only operate solo, and there was no guarantee they could successfully crack a Dusk-level core Obsession Item. As for Dark Night-level and Red Moon-level instances, even among veteran players, there were very few who possessed such capabilities.
As a result of continued investigation, the Red Nut Grey Cave instance was eventually identified by players, and American players also came to realize that the source of the Black Blood Bullets was very likely located within that instance.
Online discussions became sharply polarized. American players were furious beyond measure; many wanted to find the person who had cleared the Red Nut Grey Cave instance and brutally kill them to vent their anger. For those who had lost a major life-saving item, the player who destroyed the instance had already become their mortal enemy. Players outside the Americas, however, were mostly just watching the spectacle unfold, eager for things to become even more chaotic. After all, Black Blood Bullets had previously been strictly controlled and prevented from circulating. For players who had been unable to obtain such items, the angrier those American players became, the happier they were. There were even hotheaded American players who went so far as to arrange offline fights with other players—and cases actually occurred where they boarded planes and traveled hundreds or even thousands of kilometers to wipe out the other party's entire family.
They had to act with a low profile and conceal themselves.
This was the shared consensus of the four of them, Takumi included.
Although the four players present had only just cleared one or two instances so far, the boosts from A-rank and S-rank enhancements had already given all four of them considerable strength. Coupled with the Obsession Items and blessings they had obtained from other players, they truly possessed more than enough power to protect themselves. Even when compared to those unfathomable veteran players, they were not at a disadvantage; Takumi's individual strength, in particular, was already fully comparable to that of some weaker veterans. Still, unnecessary flamboyance was best avoided.
Just like the previous encounter with the Women-Face Gang—although they had successfully wiped them out, the fact that the other side had brazenly stormed straight into Maki's home was deeply unsettling. Takumi himself stood alone, but both Maki and Chika had family and friends—clear vulnerabilities. As for Kaguya, even if she felt no attachment to her family, there were still people around her whom she trusted deeply and absolutely could not afford to lose. Once entangled with those deranged and extremist players, the potential trouble they might face was enough to cause a headache just thinking about it.
"For the next month, we won't show up at any player gathering spots. If we run into players who ask questions, we'll follow Ms. Aoyama's explanation and say that we actually went to the Yamazaki Amusement Park, a Dusk-level instance. She has already coordinated this with Mr. Kogawa Shu—the relevant information about that instance will be sent to us soon. When the time comes, we'll memorize it and cross-check it among ourselves, then disguise ourselves as a temporary team that cleared the amusement park instance independently without interacting with other players."
Kaguya gave the final summary on the matter.
"Honestly, I don't want to have any contact with other players at all either. Right now, all I want is to sleep properly at home for a few days and play games at night for a few days."
Takumi yawned, wearing a completely burnt-out expression; even his voice had become weak and listless as he spoke.
"In that case, I know a hot spring hotel in the suburbs—it's a really nice place to rest, you know? And it even has dedicated e-sports rooms, all with fairly high-end setups. You might like it, Takumi. If Takumi wants to go, I can treat you, or we can all go together as a group of four."
Hearing this, Chika's eyes brightened slightly, and she raised her hand to make the suggestion.
"Oh, really? Now that I think about it, I've never soaked in a hot spring."
Takumi froze for a moment, then leaned a little closer toward Chika with clear interest. At that point, Maki quietly reached out under the table and grabbed the hem of Takumi's clothes, preventing him from moving any closer to Chika, and then shot Chika a look filled with undisguised hostility.
"There's no need for you to treat anyone. If we're going, we can just each pay our own share."
However, this kind of small, kitten-like show of aggression had absolutely no effect. Chika merely smiled faintly, and Kaguya—unwilling to let things escalate further—quickly moved on to the next topic.
The final topic was, naturally, the arrangements for the coming month.
Real life was not safe, and therefore everyone needed Obsession Items to protect themselves, making it necessary to properly allocate them here.
As for the next game, they needed to make every effort to ensure that everyone could be together. Chika's situation also required careful consideration—whether it might be necessary to find a reliable player group to take her through a clear at least once.
In addition, in order to deal with potential threats, there were many details that needed thorough discussion: how the four of them would maintain contact in their daily lives, how to notify the others in a timely manner at critical moments, and so on. Even though, at present, the two veteran players Aoyama Nanami and Kogawa Shu were showing goodwill toward them, setting aside the question of how long that goodwill might last, once they cleared a few more instances, the attention drawn by Takumi—who inevitably destroyed the instance every time he cleared one—was bound to increase. When that time came, would those two veteran players really still be willing to continue covering for them?
"Since that's the case, Takumi, come be a security guard at Shuchiin Academy."
Then, while Kaguya and Maki were still thinking over these issues, Chika—swaying slightly, looking as though she had nothing in particular to do—raised her hand and spoke in a calm, casual tone.
"A security guard?"
Takumi froze once again, not quite understanding what Chika meant by this.
"That's right. You see, Kaguya, Shijō-san, and I all attend the same school, so the three of us spend the vast majority of our time together. No matter what happens, we can basically look out for each other. But Takumi lives and goes about his life alone, which means he's disconnected from the rest of us. So it's necessary for Takumi to enter our everyday social circle."
Chika shook her finger, speaking with a very serious expression.
"Of course. Under normal circumstances, the process for applying to be a security guard at Shuchiin Academy is quite troublesome, and Takumi definitely doesn't have the relevant certifications. So I'll have my dad find a way to write Takumi a letter of recommendation—or my grandfather could write one as well. As for Kaguya, it would probably be difficult to persuade her family, but Shijō-san should be able to ask her parents for help, right? It might be a little impolite, but as long as we use that guidance necklace, tricking our way into getting a letter of recommendation shouldn't be much of a problem."
"And with a letter of recommendation in hand, the school side would naturally know that Takumi's situation is somewhat special, so they wouldn't really assign him too much work. That way, Takumi's life wouldn't gain any extra burden—he could still live leisurely and at ease every day. So, Takumi, would you be willing? If you agree, I'll handle making this happen."
As the daughter of a political family, Chika reined in her usual lively, cheerful girl persona at this moment, and quite deftly began explaining matters such as letters of recommendation to Takumi.
"Why are you suddenly making this kind of suggestion? What are you trying to do?"
Maki, who hadn't expected her to say something like this, frowned and asked.
"I just hope that we, as a team, can be more united. Of course, I also hope to be able to see Takumi more often. Don't you want to see Takumi more as well, Shijō-san?"
Chika let out a soft hehe laugh, speaking with an extremely innocent expression.
"I—I mean, of course… but even so, given your family background and mine, with just a bit of maneuvering, wouldn't it be no problem at all to have Takumi-kun directly become a teacher? Even if he doesn't know much academically, at least being a physical education teacher should be fine, right?"
Nearly blurting out an instinctive denial after Chika's words, Maki forced herself to swallow it back, her face flushing red as she gathered her resolve and continued speaking.
"Absolutely not. That would create far more trouble, and putting the school in an awkward position isn't a good thing. Besides, if Takumi really became a teacher, Shijō-san, would your family accept something like a teacher–student relationship? In any case, my family wouldn't accept it—and neither would I."
In the next instant, Chika crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks as she shot back, instantly leaving Maki—who had been about to say something more—completely speechless.
…That did seem to be the case.
Although she very much wanted to refute the word "relationship," after thinking it over carefully, Maki ultimately gave up dwelling on that point.
After all, whether Takumi became a teacher or worked as a security guard, the purpose was never the position itself, but simply to draw him closer to the three of them, ensuring that the whole team could spend more time together in their daily lives. And even after becoming players, at the very least… she still hoped to receive her family's blessing—wait, what blessing am I even thinking about?! Blessings are something you only need when getting married, right?! That Chika fat hag—she actually jumped straight to marriage with a man she's only known for a day or two?! What kind of shameless woman does that make her?!!!
Maki finally reacted. She jerked her head up, eyes wide, about to question Chika.
However, before she could do so, the next sentence from the girl opposite her had already left her lips.
"Shijō-san, our opinions can't really be decisive here. The key issue is whether Takumi himself is willing or not. So I'm only suggesting being a security guard. Before you give your advice, why don't you first ask Takumi what he thinks?"
Chika said this with a smiling expression, then turned her head to look toward Takumi.
And Takumi, who knew full well that he was absolutely not cut out to be a teacher, scratched his head. Naturally, he expressed that "being a security guard is definitely fine, but as for being a teacher, let's forget about that," and just like that, he brought the topic to an end.
Damn it, it really feels like I'm being completely led around by the nose. What exactly is going on with this woman?
Unable to vent her frustration, Maki felt an intense sense of powerlessness.
And in fact, it wasn't just her. Kaguya beside her also felt a considerable degree of discomfort toward Chika.
Is this really the Fujiwara Chika I know? The change is way too drastic, isn't it?
Kaguya felt as though she could almost see the invisible pressure radiating outward from around Chika.
In her impression, Chika had always been a carefree, cheerful girl—there had never been anything like a sense of oppression about her. But now, the Chika standing beside Takumi was displaying a forcefulness that felt utterly unfamiliar to Kaguya, to the point that it even made Kaguya feel as though the other girl had already become a queen.
What Kaguya and Maki did not know was that this Chika possessed a full extra month of memories compared to the two of them. During that month, the girl had an exceedingly long time to sort out her own feelings and to clearly recognize the current situation. Her resolve and will were naturally not something that a defeated tsundere or a hesitant girl could compare to.
If nothing else, among the three girls present, only Chika clearly realized that the three of them had to unite around Takumi. Only by sticking together could they better face the terrifying abyss that was the Sacrifice Game. Because of this, the kind of ordinary romantic relationship between one man and one woman no longer really had anything to do with players like them. Thus, Chika's current objective was extremely clear: to ensure that, deep in Takumi's heart, she could occupy the most weighty and profound position.
Of course, her feelings of affection for this man were not something that could be faked. After coming to understand that she likely could not monopolize Takumi, nor could she simply leave his side, Chika had experienced all the inner struggle and pain that came with it.
But all of these things had already been carefully thought through during that one month that had since been rewound and erased.
After the time of the entire universe had been rolled back by that aberrant watch for a full month, and after returning once more to the start of the instance and reuniting with Takumi, Chika had already had ample time to think these matters through again.
And so she had made her decision. She would not treat this matter as a joke, nor would she play any childish game about who would confess first.
Therefore, her resolve was already on an entirely different level from Maki's, and as for Kaguya—who had not even clearly recognized her own true feelings yet—there was even less to say.
"No matter what, since we made it through that terrifying cave together, then from here on out, we also need to stay united and work hard to survive the challenges ahead."
Thus, at the end of this small team meeting, Chika smiled from the bottom of her heart and spoke to everyone present with an incomparably serious tone.
Then she reached out, hooked her arm around Takumi's arm just as he stood up and prepared to leave, and pressed her whole body against one side of him.
"Takumi, Takumi, can you come with me to buy some new tabletop board games?"
The hopeful expression on her face—like that of a small animal tentatively and hesitantly making a request—was so completely different from her serious, earnest demeanor just moments earlier that it felt as though they were not the same person at all.
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