Some Things Are Always Influenced by Those Around Them

I'm never getting blackout drunk again. Never!

Just as Sogo Doma was making that solemn vow, the scene on the screen shifted, and a familiar figure appeared.

It was you! Ryunosuke Akasaka. Long time no see. This guy's gotten pretty bold, hasn't he? After leaving his laptop riddled with holes, he had the nerve to show up again as if nothing had happened. Had he forgotten the terror of being under Sogo's control?

Sure, it had only been an obsolete model, but couldn't an obsolete model still be fixed up and used? At the very least, it could be sold secondhand, couldn't it?

Sure, Sogo Doma had been the one to mention the vulnerabilities while drunk, but he'd only been talking. Did Akasaka really have to attack him?

And just who had this guy been learning from? He'd given Shaqiang all sorts of inexplicable, idiotic functions. Sogo Doma had to say, Shaqiang used to be such a simple AI, and now he'd even learned to haggle. This definitely wasn't his fault.

But come to think of it, after all this time, Akasaka seemed even more girly. Thankfully, Sogo was a straight man who knew the truth!

"Hey, Sogo-san. Long time no see," said the long-haired, black-haired Akasaka on the screen.

"Long time no see. Now you can talk to people normally." Sogo Doma waved, about to say something more. "But..."

Ryunosuke Akasaka cut him off. "I heard you moved out of the Doma Main Family?"

"By the way, you're pretty well informed, aren't you?" Sogo Doma frowned. It wasn't that there was a problem; it was just that someone seemed to be keeping very close tabs on him.

First Hijikata, and now Akasaka. It wasn't that he was worried about anything. It just seemed like a huge hassle.

"Did you forget, Sogo-san? The groups I work with all have Doma Family shares behind them. Besides, I don't think you could hide something this minor from me online." Ryunosuke Akasaka looked confident.

"Ah..." Sogo Doma sighed before replying, "True. The information age is a golden era for someone like you."

"Heh!" At this rare bit of praise, the grown-up Ryunosuke Akasaka turned his head away. The Smart Maid appeared once more. "Lord Ryunosuke says, 'He won't deny it.'" Nanako thought so too.

Sogo Doma: "..."

Had this guy's personality changed at all?

"Hey, Akasaka, you didn't hack my laptop just to make small talk, did you?"

"Ahem!" After clearing his throat twice, Ryunosuke Akasaka got serious. "I have three questions. And, of course, I also have some news for you."

"Go on, what's the news?" Sogo Doma asked, having missed everything before the word "news."

"First, how did you find Akasaka Fireworks after testing it?"

Sogo Doma: "..."

If he was so eager to hear the answer, he shouldn't have mailed the package to the Doma Main Family without saying a word. What if Sogo hadn't had time to check it?

"Haha, I haven't tried it yet..." Sogo Doma thought he ought to teach Akasaka a lesson. You want an answer? Then I won't give you one.

Ryunosuke Akasaka: "Your IP address showed up on my terminal yesterday."

Sogo Doma: "..."

So how many safeguards had this guy put in place? No, after this call, he absolutely had to raise his security level again. Damn it, so what if intelligent life might emerge? He'd take the risk!

Pointing his index finger toward the sky again, Sogo Doma praised it generously. "The ballistics are steady, the combat flows smoothly, the character models are perfect, the enemies are tough, and the game is fun..."

He hadn't even finished when Ryunosuke Akasaka on the screen was already wearing a dark expression.

"Sogo-san, that's my review of Anti-Explosion Elite from last year. You couldn't even be bothered to change a single word?"

"Huh?" Sogo Doma froze. He'd plagiarized the original creator. "Then how about adding, 'This review came from the internet'?"

"Sogo-san's personality really hasn't changed..." Ryunosuke Akasaka gritted his teeth.

Sogo Doma: "Isn't that what you call being loyal?"

Ryunosuke Akasaka: "..."

Couldn't he have a little self-awareness?

Sogo Doma: "But I really do think the enemies are tough, and the game is fun..."

Ryunosuke Akasaka glanced at the server he'd set up. "When you say they're tough, do you mean a flawless victory with twenty-nine kills?"

"I'm an exception."

That was the truth. He was a cheater. If the game were designed to meet his standards, no one would play it.

"Then what about U.M.R.'s twenty-three kills?"

Sogo Doma: "..."

"That guy can be treated as an exception too."

Why did Akasaka always insist on comparing cheaters to ordinary players? They weren't even in the same league.

"..."

Ryunosuke Akasaka thought it over and realized he'd been fixating on the wrong thing. Apart from him, there weren't many normal people around Sogo.

"Wait, why do I have to answer your questions?" Sogo Doma suddenly realized, a little belatedly. They hadn't seen each other in ages, yet somehow he'd fallen for Akasaka's tricks without even noticing. That face really was too deceptive.

Ryunosuke Akasaka took a bite of a tomato. "..."

After a long silence, the maid Nanako finally popped out. "Lord Sogo, Lord Ryunosuke says he has information that's very important to you. This is just a basic exchange of information!"

"Information that's important to me?" Sogo Doma blinked.

Ryunosuke Akasaka nodded. "I heard that after Sogo-san moved out of the Doma Main Family, a certain young lady was looking forward to seeing him again."

"Who?" Sogo Doma's mouth twitched. He'd offended quite a few people in the past. Was someone planning to kick him while he was down?

Ryunosuke Akasaka: "For example, the young lady of the Shinomiya Family, Kaguya Shinomiya..."

"Heh..." Sogo Doma gave an awkward laugh. "No way. I haven't seen her in ages..."

"But I heard Sogo-san was the first boy to spray liquid on Lady Kaguya's face. Girls always care a lot about their first time!"

"Ryunosuke, that's enough. Don't put it so horribly. Besides, wasn't it Kaguya Shinomiya who sprayed it herself? I only suggested that cola tasted better if you shook it up and opened it suddenly. How is that my fault? Wait, come to think of it, Akasaka, you seem introverted, but you're actually the secretly lecherous type, aren't you?"

"Sogo-san, I suppose this is what that old saying from the Celestial Empire means: 'He who stays near vermilion turns red; he who stays near ink turns black.'"

Sogo Doma: "..."

So all of this was his fault? What an ungrateful guy. He should've known better than to take him out having fun all those times.

But was that girl, Kaguya Shinomiya, really looking for him? So what if he'd tricked her once when they were kids and gotten her soaked in cola?

There had been a lot of people around at the time, and Kaguya Shinomiya had tears in her eyes. It had looked hilarious, but he'd been in worse shape. Sogo Doma clearly remembered being unable to get out of bed for a whole week.

No wonder the great philosopher Nagren had said, "People remember only their own sorrow, yet unconsciously forget the suffering of others."