Hearing the girl in the dress's analysis, Asagiri's expression remained unchanged; he simply kept smiling and said,
"Since you could figure that out, then you should also understand why I'd suspect you're an Evil Spirit in disguise."
"True, I am indeed the most suspicious one."
The girl in the dress wasn't angered by Asagiri's suspicion; rather, she spoke with a beaming smile.
"You and the Player next to you must be a team that added each other as friends. The man in the suit and the woman with makeup also claim to be a team. If an Evil Spirit were really capable of disguising itself as a Player, having two Evil Spirits out of five Players would make the difficulty far too high. Furthermore, a Player like me, with no teammates, alone, yet daring to voluntarily sign up for the Instance, if not an Evil Spirit in disguise, leaves only two possibilities."
"The first is that I'm foolish but think I'm clever, just like that man in the suit—believing I can easily clear the Instance and reap the rewards. And the second is..."
Before the girl in the dress could finish, Asagiri directly interrupted her, completing her thought.
"You achieved an extremely high clear rating in the Rookie Instance, along with generous rewards, including this cane and the mask you're wearing, giving you the confidence to clear the Instance even alone."
"Your deduction is completely correct."
Hearing the girl in the dress still speaking to Asagiri with a smile in her voice, combined with her earlier strange behavior of proactively asking to team up with him, Yuuki Asuna suddenly felt a surge of displeasure. She immediately stepped forward two paces, positioning herself in front of Asagiri, staring into the girl's eyes, and speaking in a cold tone.
"So, even if you have the strength to clear the Instance solo, you still proactively asked to move with the two of us, doing something so suspicious. You clearly harbor ill intentions, don't you?"
"You misunderstand."
The girl in the dress shook her head, then said something that completely took Yuuki Asuna by surprise.
"I didn't know you two were teammates before this. I have zero interest in you. The only person I'm interested in is him. It has nothing to do with you."
"You bastard..."
Yuuki Asuna gritted her teeth, forcefully restraining the urge to summon her rapier and stab the girl. She turned to Asagiri and said,
"This person definitely has a hidden agenda. I suggest we just leave her behind."
Hearing this, the girl in the dress remained unperturbed. She immediately removed her mask, revealing a fair-skinned, delicate, and charming face that was as beautiful as an angel and naturally evoked goodwill in others. She then adopted a pitiable, deer-in-the-headlights expression, staring at Asagiri with her deep violet eyes, her soft voice trembling slightly.
"Surely, you wouldn't be heartless enough to abandon a cute girl like me all alone in this Evil Spirit-infested hotel, would you? If I were to encounter an Evil Spirit..."
To the girl in the dress's surprise, Asagiri interrupted her before she could finish.
"Don't care, not interested. If you die, you die. What's it to me? Goodbye."
Then, as the girl in the dress stared in slight confusion, Asagiri spoke directly to Yuuki Asuna.
"Let's go."
"Oh, okay."
Watching their backs as they left, the girl in the dress couldn't help but stomp her foot once, muttering angrily to herself.
"What the heck, they actually abandoned me and just left? How... No, wait."
Mid-mutter, the girl changed her mind. Instead of getting angry, she nodded as if highly satisfied.
"He didn't hesitate at all and immediately turned to leave despite a cute girl's plea. It seems he isn't the type with indecisive, savior complex tendencies. He's a truly excellent Player... Hmm... I need to find a way to demonstrate my value as a Player during this Instance and then approach him again to team up."
Meanwhile, walking down the stairs through the fire escape—the stairwell—with Asagiri, Yuuki Asuna suddenly stopped. She pursed her lips, her eyes showing concern.
"Is it really okay for us to leave her there alone? I don't really like her, but ultimately, she didn't do anything hostile to us, and she even willingly took off her mask. With Evil Spirits potentially showing up at any moment, can she really survive and make it back to the room for the meeting...?"
"You talk tough, but you have a soft heart."
Asagiri said this first, but before Yuuki Asuna could refute him, he countered with a question.
"Don't you recognize her?"
"Huh? No, why the sudden question?"
"Here's a hint: she has a prosthetic right eye and a prosthetic left leg."
"Right eye... left leg..."
Yuuki Asuna muttered to herself, then suddenly realized something, her pupils widening in shock.
"That girl... could she be that young lady?"
"Mm, that's right."
Yuuki Asuna remembered.
Five years ago, there was a case that received widespread social attention, suspected to be a kidnapping, and the main figure was the then eleven-year-old young lady of the Iwanaga family, Iwanaga Kotoko.
Iwanaga Kotoko's family was incredibly wealthy; even within Shuchiin Academy, they were one of the foremost noble families.
When Iwanaga Kotoko was eleven, she suddenly went missing from her home. Her parents immediately reported it to the police, but despite the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's best efforts, they found no clues. Just when the police were at a loss, Iwanaga Kotoko suddenly reappeared on a park bench.
It had been two weeks since her disappearance, and when she was found, she had lost her right eye and left leg.
Even more bizarrely, when Iwanaga Kotoko woke up, she claimed she couldn't remember anything.
As a rich young lady herself, Yuuki Asuna hadn't met Iwanaga Kotoko in person but had heard about the incident. She never expected to meet her in this Instance.
"If that's the case... then we absolutely have to go back and protect her!"
Yuuki Asuna thought: How can Iwanaga Kotoko, a disabled girl who needs a cane to walk and struggles to move, survive in such a dangerous Instance?
"I know you're in a hurry, but don't rush."
Asagiri used just one sentence to restore Yuuki Asuna's rationality.
"Think carefully. A small, physically disabled girl who volunteers to sign up for the Instance—what does that indicate? It means she's confident. As a Player, Iwanaga Kotoko either gained a special class or unlocked a powerful exclusive talent, or maybe, like me, she has both."