Chapter 471: The Beautiful Daily Life Continues
"Don't worry."
Asagiri gently caressed Yuuki Asuna's fair cheek.
There was a soft smile in his eyes.
"The moment I obtained The Universe and completely eliminated Nyx, the journey of 'Shadow' came to an end."
He looked at her quietly.
"What begins now is the life of Utsunomiya Asagiri."
"Mm..."
Yuuki Asuna placed her hand over his, holding it against her cheek.
A tender smile appeared on her face.
"The Death Game is over."
"But our future has only just begun."
"Hey, hey, hey!"
Seeing Asuna and Asagiri acting like a newlywed couple right in front of everyone, Shuchiin Academy's number one Vinegar Queen, Iwanaga Kotoko, immediately puffed out her cheeks.
"Didn't we agree that no one was allowed to secretly get affectionate with him on the way!?"
She pointed accusingly.
"If you keep doing this, I'm making him carry me on his back!"
"Hmm..."
Yamauchi Sakura looked at the tall Asagiri and Asuna, then at Kotoko, whose puffed cheeks resembled little steamed buns.
A mischievous smile appeared on her face.
"If Asagiri carries you while Asuna walks beside him..."
"Wouldn't the three of you look like a family?"
"Papa and Mama taking their daughter to the shrine for New Year's."
"Yamauchi Sakura, you..."
"Eh? Eh? Why are you getting angry?"
The two immediately started bickering.
Their voices quickly drew curious glances from passing shrine visitors.
Yuuki Asuna watched them with the helpless expression of a mother taking two troublesome daughters shopping.
She walked over and placed one hand on each girl's shoulder.
Her lips were smiling.
Her eyes were not.
"Kotoko."
"Sakura."
"Mind your behavior."
The pressure behind that gentle smile was overwhelming.
Iwanaga Kotoko and Yamauchi Sakura instantly fell silent.
They became as obedient as children caught skipping class.
"Yes..."
"Understood..."
Asuna took one of them on each side and led them toward the shrine.
Watching the three walk ahead, Kato Megumi moved beside Asagiri.
Her short black hair had been cut back into the same style she wore when she first met him.
A white beret rested neatly atop her head.
She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
"It really was a fulfilling year."
Asagiri noticed the faint emotion in her voice.
He smiled.
"Why do you sound reluctant?"
"You're not secretly the kind of person who enjoys danger and misses fighting, are you?"
"Danger and fighting..."
Megumi shook her head.
"I really don't want to experience either of those again."
She turned toward him.
A gentle smile appeared.
Then, very quietly, she hooked her pinky around Asagiri's index finger.
With her free hand, she raised one finger to her lips.
Shh.
Don't let the Vinegar Queen ahead notice.
Asagiri smiled.
Megumi whispered,
"If I ever had to experience another situation where I might lose you..."
"I think I might actually break down."
"Yeah."
Asagiri nodded.
"I know."
"I know you know."
Tenderness appeared in Megumi's eyes.
Her hooked pinky gently squeezed his finger.
"I'm not someone who shows much on my face."
"Some people would probably call me expressionless."
"Too calm."
"Hard to read."
She looked at Asagiri.
"But somehow, you always notice what I'm feeling."
"You understand what I'm thinking even when I don't say anything."
Her smile softened.
"That's one of the reasons I fell in love with you."
After saying those unusually direct words, Megumi continued before he could tease her.
"I don't think I'm reluctant because I miss being a Player."
"It's just..."
"For the first time in my life, being a Player made me feel like I wasn't ordinary."
The winter breeze gently stirred her short black hair.
Together with the white beret and her calm profile, the moment seemed almost like a photograph.
"But now that I think about it..."
Megumi looked ahead.
"As long as I can keep living happily with you, the person I love, and with everyone else..."
Her lips curved into a faint smile.
"Being a background character doesn't sound so bad after all."
...
Several months later.
April 1st.
The Utsunomiya residence.
Bang!
"Happy Birthday!"
The moment Asagiri stepped out of his bedroom, party poppers exploded in front of him.
Colorful paper streamers scattered through the air.
Yuuki Asuna and the others stood throughout the living room, smiling brightly.
Before Asagiri could react, Iwanaga Kotoko hurried over.
She stood on her toes with visible effort and placed a paper birthday crown on his head.
"Happy birthday, my dear boyfriend!"
Then she pulled an exquisite jewelry box from behind her back.
Kotoko opened it and presented it to him.
Inside lay a black men's ring.
At first glance, its design was simple.
But Asagiri could immediately sense something extraordinary from it.
Faint supernatural fluctuations radiated from the material.
"This is a gift all of us prepared together."
Kaguya Shinomiya stepped forward.
"Asuna, Kotoko, Megumi, Yamauchi Sakura, Chika, Ai, Maki, Utaha, Eriri, and I each took a small fragment from one of our weapons or pieces of equipment."
"We tried to fuse them together into this ring."
She looked toward the black band.
"It doesn't have any special abilities."
"And now that the Death Game is over, we don't exactly need supernatural equipment for combat anymore."
"But..."
"I love it."
Asagiri answered immediately.
Kaguya paused.
Then a gentle smile appeared on her face.
Asagiri removed the ring from the box.
But instead of putting it on his finger, he raised one hand.
The black gun shaped summoner he had not used in a long time appeared.
He pressed the ring against its surface.
A faint light flashed.
The ring slowly fused into the summoner.
Asagiri looked toward everyone.
"This way, I can never lose it."
"It's connected to my soul, so whenever I want to see it, I can just summon it."
Seeing how genuinely pleased he was, Iwanaga Kotoko immediately turned toward the others and raised both fingers in a triumphant V sign.
Clearly, the ring had been her idea.
At that moment, Miwa Ashikaga approached from farther back.
She adjusted her gold rimmed glasses and smiled.
"I didn't participate in the ring."
"Something that symbolic really shouldn't have an old teacher mixed into it."
"But as your teacher and elder, naturally I prepared my own gift."
Miwa reached into her pocket.
Then she placed a key in Asagiri's palm.
"I bought you a villa in Tokyo."
Asagiri blinked.
Miwa glanced around the living room.
Despite the size of the Utsunomiya residence, the gathering of more than a dozen people had made the room noticeably crowded.
"Your home is already fairly spacious."
She paused deliberately.
"But for any future large group activities..."
"A larger villa would be much more convenient."
Silence.
Then several girls' faces turned red at once.
"Ashikaga-sensei..."
Yuuki Asuna stared at her.
"Have you been corrupted by him too?"
Even Sakurakawa Rikka, Iwanaga Kotoko, and Kasumigaoka Utaha, normally among the boldest members of the group, looked slightly embarrassed.
Anything involving everyone together...
Was still far too much to imagine casually.
"Alright, alright."
Asuna quickly changed the subject.
"It's time for the candles."
She moved toward the coffee table.
There sat a massive white cake, nearly half a meter tall.
Its size made it resemble a small wedding cake more than a normal birthday cake.
Together, they carefully moved it onto the dining table.
Once the covering was removed, Asagiri noticed that the cake was covered in individual birthday messages.
Each one had been written in a different style.
Iwanaga Kotoko immediately grinned.
"Guess who wrote each one."
Asagiri looked over the cake.
Then he pointed toward the first message.
[Happy birthday to my dear boyfriend~ I hope you eat lots of unagi don and properly nourish your body from now on~]
He didn't hesitate.
"Yours."
Kotoko froze.
"That fast?"
"No one else would somehow turn a birthday message into propaganda for eel."
Then Asagiri pointed toward the message directly beneath it.
[Happy birthday to my boyfriend, Utsunomiya Asagiri. P.S. The person above is forbidden from making dirty jokes.]
"That serious tone is obviously Asuna."
Yuuki Asuna smiled helplessly.
Asagiri continued.
[Male protagonist, happy birthday. May you continue living an ordinary but happy life.]
"Megumi."
Kato Megumi gave him a small smile.
Next.
[Why doesn't birthday cake taste like barbecue? Oh well, as long as there's food, I don't mind sweets either. Happy birthday~]
"Yamauchi Sakura."
"Correct!"
Sakura raised both hands cheerfully.
Asagiri barely needed to think.
[Vice President, happy birthday.]
"Kaguya."
Kaguya nodded.
[Love Detective wishes my lover a happy birthday!]
"Chika."
"Eh!? That obvious!?"
Fujiwara Chika looked devastated.
Asagiri ignored her.
[Happy birthday. I hope you'll spend more time staying home with me and enjoying the wonderful life of a NEET.]
"Ai."
Hayasaka Ai smiled faintly.
"Obviously."
Then Asagiri found the shortest message on the entire cake.
Only two simple words, written in elegant, gentle handwriting.
[Happy Birthday.]
"Rikka."
Sakurakawa Rikka smiled.
"As expected."
Finally, three messages remained.
Asagiri looked toward Shijo Maki, Eriri, and Kasumigaoka Utaha.
Then he chuckled.
[May we always be together.]
"The handwriting starts neat, then gets slightly shaky toward the end."
"You were embarrassed while writing it."
"Maki."
Shijo Maki's face immediately turned red.
"H-how can you tell something like that!?"
Asagiri pointed toward the next message.
[Happy birthday to you, my favorite boyfriend!]
"The handwriting looks less like writing and more like someone tried to paint the words."
He looked toward Eriri.
"Obviously Kashiwagi Eri, our resident professional artist."
Eriri proudly raised her chin.
"Of course."
Then came the last one.
[Happy birthday to my lover, Utsunomiya Asagiri. Continue being my producer from now on.]
Asagiri smiled.
"Kasumigaoka Utaha."
Utaha crossed her arms.
"I would have been offended if you got mine wrong."
"Tsk..."
Iwanaga Kotoko puffed out her cheeks.
She looked genuinely defeated.
"What the heck?"
"You got every single one right."
Fujiwara Chika immediately clenched her fists.
"Next year!"
She pointed dramatically toward Asagiri.
"On your birthday next year, we'll learn from this failure!"
"We'll all imitate each other's handwriting and writing styles."
"We won't leave a single clue!"
"Next year, we'll definitely beat you!"
"You want to beat me?"
Asagiri reached out and patted Chika's head.
He smiled.
"I've never lost."
"Alright, enough."
Yuuki Asuna picked up the DSLR camera resting on the table.
It was the same kind Kaguya had begun using months ago.
She handed it to Miwa Ashikaga.
"Ashikaga-sensei, could you take the picture?"
"Of course."
Miwa accepted the camera.
"Leave it to me."
Asuna immediately took Asagiri by the arm and pulled him toward the center of the living room.
Iwanaga Kotoko followed.
Then Kato Megumi.
Yamauchi Sakura.
Kaguya Shinomiya.
Fujiwara Chika.
Hayasaka Ai.
Kasumigaoka Utaha.
Eriri.
Shijo Maki.
One after another, everyone gathered around Asagiri.
Some stood behind him.
Others crowded beside him.
Their shoulders touched.
Their laughter overlapped.
The living room became even more cramped than before.
But no one cared.
Miwa Ashikaga raised the camera.
Through the lens, she looked at the group before her.
Young faces.
Bright smiles.
People who had once fought through Dungeons, crossed worlds, faced death, and stood against the end itself.
Now there were no weapons in their hands.
No System messages.
No countdown.
No Nyx.
No world waiting to be saved.
Only friends gathered around a birthday cake.
Only ordinary happiness.
Miwa's expression softened.
"Everyone ready?"
"Ready!"
She placed her finger over the shutter.
"Then..."
"Three."
"Two."
"One."
The camera flashed.
"Happy Birthday!"
And their beautiful daily life continued.
The End.
....
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