Chapter Summaries

Masuzu Natsukawa revived her old grudge against Sogo Doma and argued that his online-game divorce from Ako Tamaki proved he was gay. The group questioned the divorce, while Ako’s relationship with Doma remained under scrutiny.

• Masuzu Natsukawa recalled how Sogo Doma had once used Ryunosuke Akasaka’s fear of girls to trick her out of money, leading her to suspect they were gay.
• Masuzu insisted that Sogo was gay, and Yukino Yukinoshita asked how that fit with his relationship with Ako Tamaki.
• Masuzu questioned Ako about meeting Sogo offline after they married in an online game and learned that he divorced her after they met.
• Eriri said that divorcing a beautiful girl after meeting her offline was unusual, while Yukino struggled to understand the implications of in-game marriage.

Ako Tamaki defended her marriage to U, M, R in the game, citing his gifts and valuable virtual items, while Masuzu Natsukawa exposed Sawamura Eriri’s gaming knowledge. Sogo Doma argued that the Celestial Empire respected skilled otaku, leaving Eriri angry at the suggestion that she would be celebrated there.

• Ako Tamaki said her guild leader had claimed U, M, R divorced her out of shyness and pointed to the valuable items he let her choose in dungeons.
• Yukino Yukinoshita and Sawamura Eriri were shocked when Ako revealed that one virtual item could sell for one million yen in cash.
• Masuzu Natsukawa suggested the items might have been compensation and questioned whether Ako truly believed Doma had divorced her because he was shy.
• Masuzu Natsukawa teased Sawamura Eriri about knowing the story of someone discovering their in-game spouse was a man, and Eriri denied being familiar with games.
• Masuzu Natsukawa said foreign countries were more accepting of otaku, and Sogo Doma described how the Celestial Empire respected people with exceptional skills.
• Sogo Doma said Eriri would be considered a big shot in the Celestial Empire, prompting her to angrily challenge what he meant.

Sogo Doma and Keiryu Doma reflected on the Celestial Empire’s freedom, safety, and economic potential, which had convinced the Doma Family to shift much of its business there. Keiryu ended by recalling how his own experience contradicted Japanese media portrayals, while Sogo listened in silence.

• Sogo Doma had long urged Keiryu Doma to recognize the Celestial Empire’s potential and joked that the family should change its surname to Long and move there.
• Keiryu Doma had kept the family in Japan out of loyalty to its name and connections, but redirected much of its resources toward the Celestial Empire.
• The Doma Family’s TFQS motorcycles and MMSG cars had become major successes in the Celestial Empire, with the car business earning far more there than in Japan.
• Keiryu Doma had watched players spend heavily on the online game Dungeon and realized its profits dwarfed what he had expected from games.
• Keiryu Doma praised the Celestial Empire’s safety and criticized Japanese media for portraying it as dangerous, leaving Sogo Doma speechless.

Keiryu Doma and Sogo Doma discussed how the Celestial Empire differed from other countries in safety, gun control, and its treatment of Black people. The chapter ended by explaining why Japan feared confronting the Kondo Group, which was backed by the powerful Doma Family.

• Keiryu Doma complained that Black people faced less discrimination in the Celestial Empire than elsewhere.
• Sogo Doma considered the reasons people viewed Black people and other groups differently, recalling that the Celestial Empire's culture welcomed foreigners.
• Sogo Doma contrasted the Celestial Empire's genuine gun ban with Japan, where criminal organizations carried firearms while police were poorly armed.
• The Japanese government feared challenging the Kondo Group because the Doma Family backed it and controlled important parts of Japan's economy.

Keiryu Doma reflected on the Doma Family’s deep ties to the Celestial Empire, where its fair business practices and generous technology transfers had earned it influence and favorable policies. He contrasted the Celestial Empire’s openness and adoption of smartphones with Japan’s conservatism, leaving him convinced that the Celestial Empire deserved to rise as the world’s center.

• Keiryu Doma considered how the Doma Family’s economic importance and ties to the Celestial Empire constrained the Japanese government.
• Keiryu Doma endured Sogo Doma’s boastful presentation of Wuyi Mountain Big Red Robe despite having asked for green tea.
• The Doma Family brought advanced engine and lithography technology to the Celestial Empire, earning officials’ praise and preferential policies.
• Keiryu Doma compared the Celestial Empire’s confident, technology-friendly people with Japan’s conservative youth and older generations.
• Keiryu Doma lamented Japan’s resistance to smartphones and concluded that the Celestial Empire deserved to become the center of the world.

Keiryu Doma reflected on how the Celestial Empire’s strength and generous policies had made the Doma Family wealthy, while Sogo Doma remained silent as Keiryu took pride in his success. The chapter then contrasted Keiryu’s changed view with the false impressions young Japanese people, including Eriri, had about the Celestial Empire.

• Keiryu Doma recognized the Celestial Empire’s united power and praised its favorable policies, while keeping its prosperity secret from Japanese companies.
• The Doma Family profited enormously from low-cost MMSG technology, though outsiders believed the company was selling cars at a loss.
• Keiryu Doma boasted that his leadership had made the Doma Family successful in the Celestial Empire, and Sogo Doma silently recalled that he had first urged Keiryu to invest there.
• Keiryu Doma’s experience had changed his opinion of the Celestial Empire, while Eriri and other young Japanese people still believed media portrayals of it.

Keiryu Doma reflected on the Celestial Empire’s advantages and worried about sending Sogo there, while wishing Umaru could thrive without Japan’s conservative gender expectations. Sogo challenged Eriri and Utaha to consider whether playing games could earn money.

• Keiryu Doma feared Sogo’s weapons and plans would get him arrested in the Celestial Empire, though he had considered sending Sogo and Umaru there to study.
• Keiryu Doma believed Umaru deserved the freedom to become a successful woman, but he thought Japan’s conservative culture would force him to pave her way.
• Sogo Doma asked the skeptical Eriri whether it was possible to make money by playing games.
• Eriri mistook Sogo’s question for a reference to pachinko, and Utaha Kasumigaoka wondered if he meant selling equipment earned in online-game dungeons.

Sogo Doma explained how professional gamers and valuable virtual items could generate fortunes, surprising Yukino Yukinoshita, Eriri Sawamura, and Utaha Kasumigaoka. Utaha reflected on why she felt secure staying with Sogo, whose family expected him and Umaru to inherit its business despite both siblings refusing.

• Sogo Doma told Yukino Yukinoshita, Eriri Sawamura, and Utaha Kasumigaoka that professional gamers in the Celestial Empire could earn enormous sums.
• Sogo described in-game currency and rare items worth millions of yen or even enough to buy a house, leaving Yukino, Eriri, and Utaha stunned.
• Utaha remembered choosing to stay at the Doma Residence for its comfortable bathtub, Sogo's breakfasts, and her relationship with him.
• Utaha recalled overhearing Sogo and Umaru reject the Doma Family's plans for them to inherit the business.
• Sogo said he had refused the inheritance and thought his younger brother Taihei should take over instead.

Keiryu Doma asked Sogo Doma to bring Umaru back and discussed preparing her to inherit the Doma Family. He reflected on Sogo’s formidable private forces and influence, ending with confidence that the Celestial Empire would rise and that the Doma Family had secured powerful backing.

• Keiryu Doma asked Sogo Doma to visit with Umaru, explaining that he missed his daughter and wanted her involved in company affairs.
• Sogo questioned Keiryu’s plans for Umaru, and Keiryu said she could inherit the Doma Family and use its resources as her backing.
• Keiryu considered Sogo’s influence, including the Kondo Group and the Sala Twin Trees, which Sogo had equipped and used in the Middle East.
• Keiryu recalled stopping Sogo from escalating the Middle East conflict by pretending to suffer a heart attack.
• Keiryu reflected that the United States was being weakened while the Celestial Empire caught up, and felt reassured that he had secured powerful backing.

Sogo Doma and Umaru rejected returning to the Doma Family and joked about relying on their housemates for money. Utaha Kasumigaoka overheard them and became confident she could support Sogo, though she recognized how attractive and indulgent he could be.

• Sogo refused the idea of Umaru taking over the Doma Family, and Umaru agreed that Taihei should inherit it instead.
• Sogo and Umaru decided they would not return to the Doma Family until Taihei inherited it.
• Umaru worried about how they would earn money, so Sogo suggested charging Mashiro and Utaha rent.
• Sogo discouraged Umaru from trying to make money by gaming, and she agreed that gaming for work would ruin the fun.
• Utaha overheard the siblings and decided she could support them, while privately appreciating Sogo's charms.

Utaha Kasumigaoka reflected on why Sogo Doma’s restraint and accommodating nature made him different from the Japanese men she distrusted. When Sogo mentioned making money through games, Utaha and Yukino Yukinoshita realized he meant selling valuable equipment drops.

• Utaha Kasumigaoka contrasted Sogo Doma’s considerate behavior with what she saw as Japanese men’s hidden cruelty and infidelity.
• Utaha recalled how Sogo had exposed Tomoya Aki’s motives and erased Eriri’s lingering guilt toward her childhood friend.
• Utaha felt secure in her relationship with Sogo because his laziness and sharp tongue seemed unlikely to attract rivals.
• Utaha connected Sogo’s plan to make money through games with farming monsters for valuable equipment drops.
• Yukino Yukinoshita remembered Ako saying that equipment Sogo and Ako obtained was worth one million yen.

Sogo Doma explained to Yukino Yukinoshita and the others how gaming could earn real money, despite Japan’s limited opportunities and skepticism toward new professions. He distinguished professional gamers who sold in-game goods from professional players, leaving the group stunned by the possibility of making a living through esports.

• Yukino dismissed Ako Tamaki’s million-yen equipment as an exceptionally rare drop, comparing the chance of getting it to winning the lottery.
• Ako explained that only three such items had dropped in the game and that U, M, and R had given her one without hesitation.
• Sogo told the group that professional gamers in the Celestial Empire earned money by selling in-game gold and equipment, and that some ran profitable studios.
• Eriri and Yukino were astonished that people could make a living by grinding in games, and Sogo clarified that professional players were even more impressive.
• Sogo described how the Celestial Empire supported talented esports players, while Japan struggled to recognize gaming as a profession.

Sogo Doma defended gaming and esports as legitimate pursuits, prompting Yukino Yukinoshita and Eriri Sawamura to reconsider their assumptions. Masuzu Natsukawa then exposed how many Service Club members were otaku, and the chapter ended with her pointing out that Ako Tamaki and Doma divorced in their game after meeting offline.

• Sogo Doma argued that esports and gaming could be professions, comparing them to shogi and other traditional games, and Yukino Yukinoshita fell silent.
• Sogo told Eriri Sawamura that her art skills could earn her fans in the Celestial Empire, while Ako Tamaki mentioned that U, M, R called himself a god-tier player.
• Masuzu Natsukawa described the Service Club as a gathering place for otaku and singled out Sakura Yamauchi as a non-otaku who had learned their secrets.
• Sakura Yamauchi promised not to tell anyone, then nearly revealed rumors about Doma being gay before he stopped her.
• Ako Tamaki said she and Doma had been married in a game, and Masuzu pointed out that they divorced after meeting offline, leaving Ako stunned.

Masuzu Natsukawa argued that Sogo Doma was gay and proposed pretending to be his girlfriend, while the others misread his denials as further evidence. The chapter left Doma surrounded by people who believed he hated girls and pitied him for it.

• Masuzu Natsukawa reasoned that Doma must be gay because he had divorced Ako Tamaki after meeting her offline, and she said she wanted him to pretend to be her boyfriend.
• Masuzu blamed Utaha Kasumigaoka’s writing for making girls confess to her, prompting the others to realize Utaha was the infamous Utako Kasumi.
• Masuzu warned Doma that pretending to be a couple with her would be better than covering for Utaha, and Yukino Yukinoshita agreed the plan could work.
• Doma objected to being labeled gay, but Masuzu used his rejection of girls and his divorce from Tamaki as further evidence.
• Masuzu concluded that Doma hated girls and was miserable around them, and Yukino forgave him.

Sogo Doma tried to refute Masuzu Natsukawa’s claim that he was gay, but their argument drew several girls into a dispute over their feelings for him. The chapter ended with Sakura Yamauchi revealing that Doma was her hero.

• Sogo Doma challenged Masuzu Natsukawa’s reasoning for asking him to pretend to be her boyfriend, while she continued to insist he was gay.
• Sogo Doma defended his claim that girls could be interested in him, and Utaha Kasumigaoka said she liked him before Masuzu questioned her credibility and brought up Ako Tamaki.
• Sakura Yamauchi admitted she had a favorable impression of Sogo Doma and said she had transferred because of him.
• Sakura Yamauchi told Masuzu Natsukawa she would not hand Sogo Doma over to her.
• Yukino Yukinoshita asked whether Sakura had always liked Doma because he encouraged her, and Sakura called him her hero.

Sakura Yamauchi decided to pursue Sogo Doma after learning that the other girls around him did not return his affection, even though she mistakenly believed he might be gay. When Utaha Kasumigaoka questioned Sakura about how Doma had encouraged her, Sakura struggled to explain the demon reference.

• Sakura Yamauchi resolved to seize her chance with Sogo Doma, whom she regarded as her hero for saving her twice.
• Masuzu Natsukawa suspected Yukino Yukinoshita had once had eighth-grader syndrome, while Sakura asked whether it was a serious illness.
• Yukino changed the subject by asking why Sakura had called Doma a hero when he had described himself as a demon.
• Utaha Kasumigaoka asked Sakura how Doma had encouraged her to undergo surgery, leaving Sakura flustered and unable to explain.
• Utaha reflected that childhood memories could be distorted by nostalgia, prompting Eriri Sawamura to recall her past games with Tomoya Aki.

Sogo Doma’s old teasing of Eriri made her question whether Sakura Yamauchi’s memories of him as a savior might also have unpleasant sides. The conversation ended with Yamauchi calling Sogo her HERO and refusing to give him up, while Sogo begged her to tell everyone he was not gay.

• Eriri recalled how Sogo encouraged her doujinshi work by praising blonde twin-tailed heroines, then embarrassed her by comparing her growth to her mother’s.
• Eriri suggested that Yamauchi might have forgotten unpleasant experiences with Sogo, but Sogo asked what she thought he would do to a sick little girl.
• Utaha argued that people who dwelled on the past could not see the future and urged Yamauchi to reconsider whether Sogo deserved to be called a HERO.
• Yamauchi declared that Sogo was her HERO and that she would not hand him over to Natsukawa.
• Natsukawa interrupted to say that Sogo was gay, and Sogo pleaded with Yamauchi to tell everyone he was not.

Sogo Doma argued with Masuzu Natsukawa over whether boys and girls could be friends, while others misunderstood his relationships and sexuality. Masuzu then questioned whether Sakura Yamauchi had mistaken Doma for the person she was looking for, and Utaha Kasumigaoka voiced the same suspicion.

• Sogo Doma and Masuzu Natsukawa traded barbs about his supposed homosexuality and whether he had a girlfriend.
• Sogo argued that boys and girls could have friendships without romance, prompting Yukino Yukinoshita and Eriri to react to his insult about their looks.
• Sogo clarified that Ako Tamaki had mistaken him for U,M,R, and Utaha Kasumigaoka confirmed he was not U,M,R.
• Yukino expressed relief that Ako had avoided a disaster, while Utaha quietly offered Ako the final volume of Love Metronome as consolation.
• Masuzu asked whether Sakura Yamauchi was sure she had found the right person, and Utaha said she also suspected Sakura had gotten it wrong.

Utaha Kasumigaoka questioned Sakura Yamauchi’s memories of Sogo Doma’s encouragement and tried to uncover Sogo’s childhood admiration for a hero. Her teasing revealed that Sogo had once described being bullied and rescued by a golden-haired figure, leaving him to suspect his sister had misled Utaha.

• Utaha Kasumigaoka asked Sakura Yamauchi whether time had made her memories of Sogo Doma’s encouragement seem more wonderful, but Sakura insisted they were accurate.
• Utaha Kasumigaoka asked Yukino Yukinoshita about childhood admiration, then claimed Sogo had admired a hero and been violently bullied.
• Eriri interrupted Utaha Kasumigaoka’s story with a reference to a beating from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure, and Masuzu Natsukawa identified Star Platinum.
• Utaha Kasumigaoka described a long orange-haired figure with golden hair in the setting sun standing before Sogo Doma as he was beaten.
• Sogo Doma guessed the rescuer was a golden hero, suspected his orange-haired sister had fooled Utaha Kasumigaoka, and Eriri complained that he still did not go easy on her.

Utaha Kasumigaoka told the Service Club how Sogo Doma’s childhood admiration shifted from a mysterious golden hero to Lu Xun after he heard a familiar harmonica melody. Her story made Yukino Yukinoshita and Eriri consider whether they had once admired Sogo for helping them, even though they now found him infuriating.

• Utaha Kasumigaoka explained that a golden hero had rescued Sogo Doma from bullies and inspired him to become strong.
• Utaha said Sogo later heard the hero’s harmonica again, discovered who the person was, and began admiring Lu Xun instead.
• Eriri interrupted Utaha to demand the identity of the golden hero, and Utaha revealed that Sogo had drawn the incident as a manga.
• Utaha asked Yukino Yukinoshita and Eriri whether they would admire a hero who had once saved them.
• Yukino and Eriri recalled how Sogo had helped them, but both concluded that his irritating behavior made it difficult to admire him.