Chapter 165
As dusk settled, the small table was laden with food—simple dishes, yet Yuki ate with great pleasure.
It feels so good to come back from a business trip to find someone has already prepared dinner for you, especially since it was made by two beautiful girls working together.
He looked around. Shiina Hiyori and repeatedly thanked the senior who served her food. She also whispered to Kaguya from time to time, discussing the novels they had both read.
Great, she's integrated smoothly. Kaguya Shinomiya is a top student, and she gets along quite well with Hiyori.
Everyone has a different personality. Hayasaka is very quiet and a good listener. The senior is poised and generous, which makes people like her.
Why did Kaguya Shinomiya look at me like I was a pervert just now?
Yuki took a sip of soup, not understanding what she had done wrong, but too lazy to argue with her, since she and Hayasaka Ai were practically inseparable.
He put down his chopsticks and was about to take the bowl to the kitchen to wash it when Hayasaka Ai grabbed his hand.
"I'll do it later, I'm afraid you won't get it clean enough."
"You underestimate me?"
"You're really incapable of managing a household, and I might have to go back to work later," Hayasaka Ai said casually, then pointed to the sofa. "I brought you a few clothes from my trip; try them on when you have time."
Yuki then noticed the cardboard box on the sofa, and a lot of other things piled up on the floor.
"You guys went on a big shopping spree?"
"Kaguya-chan has already rented the room next door. You don't think all of us are going to be crammed into such a small room like yours, do you?" Mai Sakurajima interjected, her eyes full of teasing. "I also bought some plates and bowls. There are more and more people coming; your little bit of stuff won't be enough."
Fine, you dare ruin my plans.
Yuki frowned as he looked at Kaguya Shinomiya, who was discussing the matter earnestly, but he wasn't really angry.
His room is less than 20 square meters in total, with only one bed. Five people can't possibly squeeze in, so it's very inconvenient even if someone comes to stay occasionally.
"Alright, it's just a wall between us anyway. Besides, it's pretty cramped for the four of you to share one room. Do you want two more people to come over?"
"You idiot, dream on! If you keep talking nonsense, I'll kick you out of the hotel."
Yuki immediately shut up, realizing something was wrong—this was my house!
Well, at least we've won one point.
Kaguya appeared to be chatting with Hiyori, but she was actually keeping an eye on Yuki. Seeing him suffer in silence gave her a strange sense of satisfaction.
You deserve it for trying to steal Hayasaka from me and making her so shameless.
Kaguya dumped the blame on Yuki's head, then glanced at the slightly embarrassed Shiina Hiyori, deciding that this frivolous girl was the easiest to deal with, and slowly got up.
"I'll wash them; that's fairer."
"You can even wash dishes?" Yuki looked at him with some surprise.
The girl remained as still as an ice sculpture, coldly replying, "My home economics grades are excellent, it's just that I don't usually need to do it, but that doesn't mean I'm incapable of taking care of myself."
With a hint of irony and smugness, Kaguya, her hair tied with a white ribbon, bent down to collect the bowls, arranging them with an almost obsessive-compulsive neatness.
"What exactly did you two say to her?" Yuki wasn't stupid; she immediately sensed something was wrong.
"No, Kaguya- san is naturally very competitive, she probably doesn't want to lose to you," Hayasaka, seeing everyone looking at her, added with a forced smile, "Also, she just joined the team, she probably doesn't want to owe anyone a favor."
The explanation was weak, and the tone was more like that of a robot; Yuki didn't believe a word of it.
"You two have settled your conversation like this?"
"Yes, Kaguya and I have agreed that everything will remain unchanged, at least in reality."
"So what did you guys talk about me about? I have a feeling she misunderstands me."
It was indeed a misunderstanding; she mistook you for a pervert, but you brought it on yourself.
Hayasaka answered in his heart, but stood up expressionlessly.
"I'll go help."
Something must be wrong; Hayasaka is actually adopting a serious gamer's mode.
Yuki looked around suspiciously, Mai Sakurajima waved her hand gently to indicate that it was none of her business, Hiyori was even more confused. She had high emotional intelligence and wouldn't use her special abilities to read other people's private affairs.
"Do you want to set off fireworks on the beach later?"
"Fireworks, is that what you brought back?" The senior was taken aback, remembering how mysterious Yuki when he returned, carrying a large box.
"Yeah, it'll be too late if we don't plant them now, Hiyori. Go buy a watermelon with your senior later, and bring back a few bottles of beer for me while you're at it."
"Okay, no need for money, I brought my own pocket money." Hiyori waved her hand repeatedly as Yuki handed her the wallet.
"That's exactly what I've been waiting for." Yuki shamelessly freeloaded, ignoring his senior's disdainful look, and then beckoned to Hayasaka in the kitchen, "Don't help, this is a rare opportunity. Come with me to say hello to the neighbors, and also give the Fool's Mask to your senior and Kaguya to avoid trouble."
Hayasaka Ai became slightly more serious; she certainly knew who the neighbor was—there was a powerful player in this apartment building.
"Then what should I do?"
Just as the group was about to carry out the order, Kaguya came out of the kitchen wiping her hands, thinking to herself, "Is this man targeting me again?"
Great, I no longer like eating and drinking for free.
Yuki looked at her, thought for a moment, and then smiled slightly, as if he had planned it all along.
"Young lady, you can be my refrigerator from now on."
Chapter Twenty-Five: That's the taste!
The opportunity was rare; everyone had finally managed to get together, and just when 'Zhou' was too busy to attend to anything else, reality finally returned to peace.
Of course, Yuki's main idea was to make amends, since the senior students were about to go through a very difficult time. The Reincarnation Game could repair their bodies, but it could not erase their mental fatigue.
In addition, he had done so much since his return—saving people, killing people, gathering intelligence—that he had traveled all over Japan. Yuki himself wanted to relax.
I changed into the floral shirt I bought in Hayasaka, lay on the beach chair, held a beer in my hand, listened to the tides of the sea, and looked ahead to see a few sparklers flashing.
The light illuminated several beautiful faces.
Kaguya face frozen like an ice sculpture, was filled with nostalgia, desperately suppressing her excitement.
Hiyori held a sparkler, her eyes bright as stars, as if she had seen something incredibly romantic.
Hayasaka stood to the side, also staring intently at the fireworks, seemingly lost in thought. He simply continued to work like a slave until the fireworks burned out and he was urged, "Hayasaka, one more!"
Yuki took a sip of beer, glanced to the side, and saw his senior cutting a watermelon, chatting quietly with Chisa, who had Chisa hair. Then he turned his head and saw a resentful face.
"I have a feeling you're showing off on purpose." Iori Kitahara looked around, trying to find a hole to bury this beast.
"No, I told you we should all try to build good relationships with our neighbors." Yuki tossed him a can of beer, and seeing him catch it obediently, she said, "You just got back, right? It's good for you to relax a bit."
Kitahara was taken aback, not expecting that he had been exposed. He had indeed just participated in a dungeon mission, but Yuki's next words made his lazy eyes sharpen instantly.
"Aren't you afraid of dragging Chisa down with you? Don't you know about the clustering effect among players?"
His muscles tensed. He knew the topic was a sensitive one, but hearing it from another player made him uneasy.
After a moment of stiffness, he snorted irritably and chugged his beer.
"I know, but some things can't be avoided. Things have already turned out this way, so let's look forward."
"You really are an optimist." Yuki grinned. He was more than just an optimist, but he didn't delve into it further.
"Hmph, I'm not like you. I don't think about all that. As long as I have a breath left, I have to protect what's precious." Iori Kitahara grinned, appearing quite frank. "I don't want to participate in the Reincarnation Game and get dragged into it for no reason. I can only try to hold on until the end. Thinking too much will only make me unhappy."
Yuki was somewhat envious of this inexplicable optimism; just as he remembered, she was an oddball, and he himself couldn't be so open-minded.
"No wonder he came from the set of facial expression films."
What are you muttering about?
"Nothing much. Just want to know why we hit it off so well even though we've never worked together before?"
What do you mean by instant connection? It's clearly a cursed fate. I keep running into you, it's driving me crazy.
Kitahara grinned and downed his beer in one gulp, then pointed ahead.
"Of course it's them. We both have people on our minds, so it's hard for us to become dangerous. Besides, you bastard, you've investigated me thoroughly."
Yuki's cautious nature, he must have secretly investigated. Iori Kitahara's routine every time he returned was unusually normal: his rented apartment, school, and Diving Club.
He doesn't interact with other players, and he's too lazy to train his skills or anything like that. If you didn't know who he was, you'd think he was just giving up and waiting to die.
"Didn't you investigate me too?"
"Indeed, you've been wandering around everywhere, you must be plotting something. I've been very careful." Kitahara with an air of 'being as smart as a boss'.
"Since you're already on guard, why did you still dare to drink my wine? Aren't you afraid it's been drugged?"
Uh, this is just a conditioned reflex for me.
Kitahara's eye twitched, and he seemed to give up on treatment, snatching a bottle from Yuki's hand and crossing his legs.
"Don't worry, I have intuition. I haven't sensed that you're trying to harm me."
"See, you've revealed your hand again."
"Don't take my words seriously."
Seeing his desperate attempt to cover it up, Yuki found it amusing and leaned back in his chair, gazing at the starry sky.
"I didn't have any ulterior motives for getting close to you; I just felt we were kindred spirits." Glancing at the puzzled young man, Yuki pointed to the starry sky, then to the beach. "My body is there, but my heart remains here. It's just that you did it out of habit, while I did it by chance."
How could we be the same kind of people? You're such a bastard, not only are you sinister, but you also give me the feeling of a ruthless boss. I'm a sunny, handsome young man.
But it seems there's another type of person who doesn't treat the Reincarnation Game as everything. The truly addicted players wouldn't invite a few girls to set off fireworks in the middle of the night. In their eyes, having power means having everything.
He moved his mouth, but didn't know how to answer, so he simply picked up the beer can.
Bang--
The two touched lightly, tilted their heads back, and drank the wine; everything was understood without a word.
That's enough. You don't necessarily have to cooperate in a dungeon to let your guard down. It's hard to explain why, so let's just be carefree and not think about it too much.
It's always better to have more friends than enemies.
Intrigue and bloodshed will eventually come to an end, but if one becomes obsessed with them, then one truly becomes a pervert.
"Hey, Iori, Sorashima, you're both drinking? What's the rush?"
After downing two bottles of beer, a sound came from the seawall. Yuki turned his head and saw that a bunch of people from the Diving Club had arrived.
Kohei Imamura, Aina Yoshiwara, two muscular guys Tokita and Ryujiro, and two upperclassmen, Nanaka and Hamaoka Azusa —it's the whole group!
After a moment of stunned silence, he looked at Iori Kitahara with a shocked expression.
You fucking dare sell me?
"No, the Diving Club was planning a barbecue party today. Didn't you see that the seniors all brought things?" Kitahara said innocently.
They did indeed bring a barbecue grill, and were also carrying bags full of food...
"Wait, how did they know I would come?"
No sooner had he finished speaking Yuki witnessed the power of the sea of facial expressions. Kitahara raised his head, looking sly. "Heh, who told you to show off in front of me? Don't worry, I won't embarrass you."
Yuki had deliberately avoided the Diving Club and its oddballs, but it had only been a little over a week.
"Hey, Sorashima, catching you wasn't easy! You're not getting away today." Tokita put down the grill on his shoulder, squinted at Mai Sakurajima and the others, "Huh, there are quite a few of you. Let's all go together."
He was quite generous, telling the Diving Club to put the things down. Yuki peeked out and had an "I knew it" look on his face.
With so little food and so much alcohol, what kind of barbecue party is this?
Suddenly, a large group of people arrived, causing Hayasaka Ai to frown slightly. Lacking the sense of a player, she knew these were Yuki's friends.
"What do we do?" Hayasaka quietly approached.
"Let's hang out together, what else can we do? These people are all pretty nice, let's just be ordinary people tonight." Yuki shrugged. If he hadn't joined Bloodthirsty Red Moon back then, he would be hanging out with these people now, laughing and joking every day, and would have quickly passed his university years.
"Hayasaka, how about you grab a drink?"
Yuki instinctively offered a beer, only to be pinned down by a large, muscular arm.
"Sorashima, if I'm not mistaken, these guys are still minors, right?" Tokita was tall and imposing, looking like a mountain next to Yuki.
Just kidding, his extraordinary physical abilities could knock out twenty strong men.
"A bottle or two of beer won't hurt..."
"No way, we have to follow the rules." Tokita shook his head firmly, looking like there was no room for negotiation, then looked up and called out to the others, "Everyone, behave yourselves today, there are junior girls here."
"Huh? There are female high school students?" Kohei Imamura perked up when he heard this and went to greet them one by one, only to be met with a cold shoulder.