For Kirigaya Sugaha, it had been nothing more than an ordinary day.
She got up in the morning, ate breakfast, went to the dojo to practice, then headed to school. There, she laughed and played with the friends she had recently made, spending a pleasant day together.
If there was anything different, it was that she had lost her brother—Kirigaya Kazuto.
In fact, the moment Sugaha opened her eyes, she had more or less guessed it. After her crying parents told her that her brother had died, she accepted the fact even faster than she had expected. After all, she had already suspected in the game that her brother might have died. Now, her parents had merely confirmed it for her.
Thinking about it, Sugaha could not help finding it ironic. She knew nothing about games and hardly ever played video games, yet she had survived. Meanwhile, her brother, who always shut himself up at home and could talk endlessly about games, had died in the Game World...
"Sugaha, how about we check out the shops around the plaza today? I heard a new pastry shop opened over there."
Walking beside Sugaha, the brown-haired girl with an adorable ponytail made the suggestion with a grin. Sugaha nodded as well.
"Sure. I want to take a look too."
The girl beside Sugaha was her classmate, Ayano Keiko, and one of the members of the Darkmoon Blade guild. Her in-game ID was "Silica," and she had been part of the combat group. Sugaha had known her for some time now, and she was one of Sugaha's closest friends.
Of course, speaking of close friends...
"You're still going to eat? Aren't you afraid of getting fat?"
Shinon, walking beside them, pushed up her glasses and sighed helplessly. Silica froze for a moment, then