The two of them each had one enhancement point left. They planned to use it later to enhance something, or simply make a random draw.
The Reincarnation Game's point-allocation system was brutally simple. By the time Yuki had taken a sip of tea, the two of them were already done.
Maybe it was just his imagination, but Yuki felt that they had both gotten stronger. Hayasaka Ai especially seemed to have immense strength packed into her petite frame.
Neither of them wasted time. They brought up their simplified player panels, and among the not-so-complicated information, Yuki focused on the Ego Trait section.
[Adolescence Syndrome (LV2): Maintains an "invisibility" effect for thirty minutes. Traces of your existence become faint and indistinct. Cooldown: two hours.]
[Fool's Mask (LV2): Disguise effect lasts for two hours. Has two personality masks. Before activation, slightly disrupts perception (permanent effect). Cooldown: six hours.]
The duration had increased, but the cooldown hadn't changed. The descriptive wording had changed, too. If he remembered correctly, Mai-senpai's trait had previously been described as "slight."
That had been tested in battle. Back then, Thomas had gone berserk and deliberately ignored "Hayasaka Ai" beside Yuki, so he thought Yuki was alone. But once he regained some clarity, he realized something was off.
A divine skill with a flaw.
Yuki nodded to himself. Then, when he looked at Hayasaka Ai's trait, his expression turned strange. Its effect itself hadn't improved; the key was the permanent effect.
I was just worrying about how to hide my player identity. I could only have Hayasaka Ai gamble one of her precious specialization points on it.
Talk about a perfect solution arriving just when you needed one.
Yuki glanced at his upgraded panel, focusing on the trait section as well.
Wait, I didn't draw a luck-related Vestment, either.
Chapter 9: Good Night, Senpai (Revised)
Player: Yuki (Simplified Template)
Completed Instance: Bloodthirsty Red Moon
Physical Strength: Human (Limit)
Storage Space: 0.5 square meters
Ego Trait: Vestment of the Unknown (LV.2), one specialization: randomly draw a Vestment. Cooldown: one day. Memory Slot: Backview Assassin (Character Vestment)
Equipment: Chainsaw Sword +1 (Chaos Grade); Reinforced Long Blade (Alienated Grade)
Items: Distortion Kaleidoscope (Chaos Grade); Soil-Offering Contract (Chaos Grade)
Transcendental Skills: Reinforcement Magecraft (Proficient → Skilled), Vitality Shift (Proficient)
Main Skills: Firearms Proficiency (Proficient), Hand-to-Hand Combat (Proficient), Bladed Weapon Proficiency (Skilled), Self-Hypnosis (Proficient), Biological First Aid (Proficient)
Enhancement Uses: 1
Specialization Uses: 0
Yuki looked over his latest panel. He'd already leveled up before giving Hayasaka Ai and Mai Sakurajima their lesson, and, as before, he'd split his specialization points between two things to improve his adaptability to different environments as much as possible.
The biggest change was still his trait. In a sense, it had even undergone a qualitative transformation.
When he'd first unlocked it, Yuki hadn't been able to save any Vestments. It had all come down to luck. For example, he'd drawn a Vestment during the final battle, but it had been useless, so he'd acted as though nothing had happened.
Now, though, he had a memory slot. If a Vestment proved useful, he could save it and use it as a trump card, building a plan around it.
"Your Ego Trait is pretty weird. You draw Vestments? Isn't that basically like having an extra enhancement point on hand?"
It was the first time Hayasaka Ai and Mai Sakurajima had seen Yuki's player panel. It wasn't as impressive as they'd imagined. He didn't even have a single Excellent-grade skill.
"Hardly. The Vestments I draw are one-use, and they're not necessarily beneficial." Yuki spread his hands. "Besides, my main skills aren't fully reflected here. My strongest abilities are probably information analysis, or the foresight that comes with being a reincarnator."
Mai Sakurajima had seen Yuki turn the tables with his trait, so she examined it more closely. The more she read, the more confused she became. "What does 'Backview Assassin' mean? 'Some people inspire fear with nothing but their backs. In this state, simply turning your back to others lets you command everyone's attention...'"
"Okay, okay, stop reading. This is embarrassing."
Yuki hurriedly put away his player panel. This was the most useful Vestment he'd picked up lately.
"What does 'command everyone's attention' mean? Care to explain?"
"Oh, don't worry about the minor details. I haven't figured out how to use it yet. I'll just hold on to it for now." Yuki waved her off, ending the topic.
He hadn't figured out how to use it yet. You needed strength to back up an impressive image. If he tried acting cool in an instance and ran into someone stubborn enough to challenge him, wouldn't that make him an idiot?
Yuki picked up his teacup. In theory, that should have been the end of their offline meeting, but something unexpected had happened, hadn't it?
They were people, but they were players, too. They'd stumbled into a whole new order without understanding it. The value of sticking together had instantly grown, and the game and reality could no longer keep them apart.
Tick, tick.
No one spoke. They just listened to the clock and stared into space with their teacups in hand. They didn't mind the quiet. At least in this apartment, they felt completely safe.
They'd supported one another through Bloodthirsty Red Moon, and they knew each other's secrets. Li Dan had left them all with a deep psychological scar. Even the word "player" made them think of someone they couldn't trust.
"Relax. The more you get back to normal life and act like an ordinary person, the less likely anyone is to suspect you." Yuki broke the silence with an awkward laugh, then glanced at the time. "Hayasaka, aren't you going back to Tokyo?"
Was that his way of hinting that it was time for her to leave?
Hayasaka Ai glanced at the young man. She didn't want to go back; she had no idea how to handle the situation there. But she had no choice. That was where her reason for living lay.
"Something's happened at home, so I'm taking a temporary leave from school."
"Then why not stay here with me?" Mai immediately offered.
"No. There are more important things at home that I have to deal with." Hayasaka Ai slowly rose to her feet. She glanced at Yuki's impassive face and, matching her outfit, put on a mature smile worthy of a sophisticated older woman. "But if I have time, I'll come see you. My trait is perfect for getting around, after all."
With her hacking skills and Fool's Mask, she could come and go as she pleased as long as people took even the slightest precautions. But did worrying about Kaguya-sama really make it so hard for her to be free?
Yuki could tell what Hayasaka Ai was thinking. He also knew she'd hidden some information while they were examining the scene.
"By the way, there's something I want to ask you. You have to be honest."
The girl, whom Mai Sakurajima had walked to the door, turned around. After hesitating for a long moment, she finally asked, as if she'd made up her mind:
"With your abilities, you'd be better off joining one of those big groups, right? They have resources and information, while we can't offer you much. We might even have to rely on you to get those things over time."
That was the difference between being the strong one and relying on someone strong. Mai Sakurajima turned to look at him, too. Clearly, she'd had the same question for a while.
If the game and reality were completely separate, that would be one thing. But a new order was plainly taking shape, and this man could reap enormous benefits from the storm that would eventually sweep across the world.
That wasn't an easy question to answer.
Yuki lounged on the sofa like a lazy fish, staring at the ceiling. This question had more to do with him than anything else.
"Rationally speaking, I like keeping the initiative in my own hands instead of letting other people use me. Something like what happened with Li Dan is enough once. I'm not sure I could see through someone even more capable than him."
"Besides, you two know my secret. I'd feel safer keeping you close."
That made sense.
Mai and Hayasaka Ai nodded together. Yuki didn't seem like the kind of person who'd stop at nothing to climb to the top. And the Reincarnation Game could decide whether you lived or died in an instant. Li Dan and Thomas had needed to sign a contract before they could trust each other.
None of the high-level players who made it out of the game alive were simple. Once they realized an item couldn't be controlled, the best solution was to destroy it.
"What about emotionally?"
"That's even simpler. Compared to power and strength—" Yuki, who'd been lounging lazily just moments ago, sprang up. He clenched his right hand into a fist and looked Hayasaka Ai up and down.
A full chest, sheer black stockings and high heels, and a slender waist you could encircle with your hands.
"I listen to my desires."
Just as Mai had said, Yuki Sorajima really was a pigheaded boy.
Hayasaka Ai clenched both fists and hurried down the stairs. She didn't stop until she reached the apartment entrance, where she glanced back at the lights behind her.
Oh no. I think I've let my true nature show. There's no way those two didn't notice.
This is bad. This is really bad.
The girl spun around in place. Since the Crimson Moon, she'd used two personas: an over-the-top party girl and a cold, detached player. She was almost used to the latter by now.
Calm, rational, sharp-tongued. She'd let those key traits slip just now. But when she thought about it, this mask had been in trouble for a while.
Back in the tunnel, when the Living Corpses had almost caught up, she'd nearly cried.
"Forget it. There's no need to be on guard around them anyway. If anything, I was the one who chose to show my weaknesses."
Yuki's answer had satisfied her. It was as if the support at her back had grown sturdier, and her goal now seemed possible. On the other hand—
She glanced at the empty street in the dead of night and walked on in silence, soon swallowed by the darkness.
The game is despair, reality is pain. I want friends, too.
"Serves you right."
Mai Sakurajima stood with her arms folded, leaning against the doorframe as she watched Yuki press an ice pack to his head. Hayasaka Ai had flushed red with anger and thrown a teacup at him using the Limit-grade strength she'd just gained.
Come to think of it, had that been her true nature showing? It was strange. Thomas had been much more blatant, yet she'd still managed to smile and deal with him.
She realized Hayasaka Ai wasn't as hard to read as she'd thought, and chuckled.
"Hey, hey, are you enjoying watching me suffer?" Yuki tapped the table. Hayasaka Ai hadn't actually hurt him. The boost to his physical strength had been comprehensive.
"Who told you to keep making lewd remarks to Hayasaka? Did you think everyone was like me?"
"You mean I should only make lewd remarks to you?"
"I never said that!" Mai Sakurajima stamped her foot lightly. Then she saw Yuki stick out his foot, inviting her to stomp on it.
"You... Forget it. I can't be bothered to argue with you. You're sleeping on the sofa tonight. I'm going to take a shower."
She spoke rapidly, grabbed a change of clothes, and ran to the bathroom. Just after she went inside, she opened the door and poked her head back out, her eyes full of suspicion.
"Don't peek!"
"What do you take me for? I'm a gentleman. Have I ever done anything improper to you?" Yuki looked deeply hurt.
Well... he hadn't, had he?
"Sorry. I shouldn't have doubted you..."
"Don't underestimate me. Just hearing the sound, I could wolf down three bowls of rice."
Mai Sakurajima's mouth twitched halfway through her apology. She took a deep breath and slammed the door shut with a bang.
"Go sleep on the balcony instead!"
The sofa had been moved out onto the cramped balcony. With the window open, the night breeze poured in nonstop. Even with his Limit-grade physical strength, Yuki could hear the rustling of someone tossing and turning inside the bedroom.
He'd just made Mai-senpai blush with anger, but the smile never left his face. He glanced at the apartment building diagonally across from him, finding the whole thing rather amusing.
Unlike Hayasaka Ai, he had no intention of putting on a personality mask. He simply faced different people and situations with different states of mind.
It still had something to do with my first instance. Without those two, I'd definitely have gone down the lone-wolf route. That would've been a completely different story.
Cold, decisive, efficient. Being a lone-wolf player wasn't bad, but with two lovely girls beside him who could watch his back, wouldn't he have to be crazy to choose that path?
"I'm not a masochist, and I haven't forgotten what I've worked so hard for all these years." Yuki lay back, curled up on the soft sofa, and stared at the unfamiliar ceiling. Looking back, all he could think of was how strange everything was.
From Bloodthirsty Red Moon to now, it had only been three or four days. In that time, he'd gone from meeting them to getting to know them and finally becoming friends. Now he was even staying at Mai Sakurajima's place, and he'd somehow raised Hayasaka Ai's affection for him along the way.
If their relationship were purely a practical partnership, would that maid have flushed red with anger?
This is weird. Even if I had some kind of affection meter, there's no way I could have made this much progress in just a few days. And something still feels off.
Why had he met Mai Sakurajima and Hayasaka Ai in his very first instance? Why were the two of them able to make up for his weaknesses? Why had he found a way to hide his identity just when he was worrying about it?
And if I wasn't imagining it, where did that diary go? Did the person who wrote it shield me from the game's gaze?
So many mysteries swirled around in his mind. But this time, Yuki had lost interest in getting to the bottom of them. He could faintly hear a "Good night" drifting out of the bedroom.
His lips moved, and he let sleep take the place of endless speculation.
"Good night, senpai."
Chapter 10: Advanced Nurturing High School
The fire in the alley didn't cause any commotion. No one had been injured, so it wasn't even newsworthy.
Kanagawa remained peaceful. People went to school and work as usual, as if nothing had happened.
Yuki certainly had no intention of going to the scene to investigate just to kill time. For several days, he stayed cooped up in the apartment, eating instant noodles for breakfast and lunch. Every now and then, he looked up some information on his computer. Whenever he got sleepy, he napped, living a life as idle as a lazy fish.
He went out only once in those few days, to a nearby demolition site, where he took a good amount of explosives and detonators. He'd gotten a taste for them in Port District beneath the Crimson Moon. They were more useful than guns.
Time seemed to slow down with them. He didn't know what other players did after returning to reality, but he had no interest in cramming at the last minute. He'd been cramming for nearly ten years already. A few days of it would only make him nervous, without doing him much good.
Since he didn't know when the next instance would come, Yuki didn't dare wander too far. What if he triggered a random mission and couldn't team up with the others? Given how Mai Sakurajima and Hayasaka Ai were now, he really wouldn't trust them to clear an instance on their own.
Before you continue