Chapter 451: The Promise to Run Together

Chapter 451: Chapter 451: The Promise to Run Together

Chapter 451: The Promise to Run Together

The next morning, inside Year 1 Class A at Shuchiin Private Academy.

"Have you heard? A massive online game called SAO is launching tomorrow!"

"An online game? What’s so special about that?"

"This one’s completely different! Apparently, if you wear this brain computer device called NERvGear, it feels like you’ve actually entered the game world!"

"Seriously? Even if that’s true, NERvGear must be incredibly expensive. My parents would never let me spend that much just to play a game."

"That’s the best part. NERvGear is being distributed for free, with no limit on the number of units!"

"What? Free?"

"Distribution starts today at five in the afternoon. You just have to go pick one up."

"That sounds suspicious. Are there really no risks?"

"The official announcement says both NERvGear and SAO have already passed all safety inspections. They guarantee there won’t be any danger."

"In that case... maybe it’s worth trying."

...

Listening to the students excitedly discussing the upcoming launch of SAO, Iwanaga Kotoko turned toward Asagiri beside her.

A smile curved across her lips.

"It looks like the first stage of our plan is going very smoothly."

"Indeed."

Asagiri took several books from his schoolbag and placed them on his desk.

"Considering how much money and manpower we’ve poured into this, I’d be disappointed if it wasn’t."

The manufacturing cost of NERvGear was extremely high.

Even after Kayaba Akihiko did everything possible to reduce expenses, producing a single unit still cost more than five hundred thousand yen.

Considering the technological sophistication of NERvGear itself, that price was already absurdly low.

But for an ordinary family, spending half a million yen on what appeared to be a gaming device was still difficult to justify.

Fortunately, Asagiri and the others had never intended to make money from it.

Their objective was simple.

Get as many people as possible inside SAO.

Let them personally experience extraordinary power.

Then let them challenge the group serving as the game’s bosses and understand, firsthand, just how overwhelming those bosses truly were.

Because of that, they chose to distribute NERvGear completely free of charge.

Naturally, the cost was astronomical.

But for enormous financial and political forces such as the Ashikaga Budo Association, the Shinomiya Family, the Shijo Family, and Dai Sakura Bank, even that amount could still be absorbed.

"The will of the world..."

Asagiri watched the excited students around him.

Slowly, he clenched his right hand.

"Entrust the will of this world to us."

"Vice President, showing off this early in the morning?"

Hearing the familiar voice beside him, Asagiri turned.

Kaguya Shinomiya stood there.

Her beautiful face still carried its usual cool elegance, but a faint smile could be seen in both her lips and her crimson eyes.

Asagiri shrugged.

"This isn’t showing off."

"I’m a great savior carrying the will of the entire world. This level of presence is simply natural."

"Stop talking nonsense."

Kaguya reached out and casually ruffled Asagiri’s hair.

"It should be ’we,’ shouldn’t it?"

"Everyone is fighting alongside you."

"And especially as President, I have no intention of letting my Vice President carry the entire burden of saving the world alone."

Her smile softened.

"If you want to show off, then wait until everything is over."

"At that point, we’ll all smile and watch you do as much of it as you want."

"I want to mess up his hair too!"

Iwanaga Kotoko immediately leaned over from the other side.

The surrounding students were already stunned by Kaguya Shinomiya casually ruffling Asagiri’s hair.

When Iwanaga Kotoko joined in from the opposite side, their expressions became even more vacant.

"You two, that’s enough."

Asagiri sat trapped between Kaguya Shinomiya and Iwanaga Kotoko as the two girls thoroughly ruined his hairstyle.

Despite the suspiciously intimate positioning, nothing particularly dramatic happened.

After all...

They were Kaguya Shinomiya and Iwanaga Kotoko.

"How strange..."

Kaguya crouched beside Asagiri’s desk.

Resting her chin lightly against the edge, she looked up at his face with an unusually soft expression and tilted her head.

"We messed your hair up this badly..."

"Why do you still look good?"

"Kaguya Shinomiya, mind your image."

Seeing the dumbfounded expressions around them, Asagiri chuckled.

"Have you been having so much fun lately that you’ve forgotten who you are?"

"The Student Council President of Shuchiin can’t act this much like someone’s girlfriend in front of the entire class."

"The new Student Council election is approaching."

Kaguya slowly stood.

She ignored the astonished gazes surrounding them and looked directly into Asagiri’s eyes.

There was a faint smile in her crimson gaze.

But underneath it lingered something more complicated.

Something almost sad.

"You’ll still be my Vice President, right?"

Asagiri nodded.

"Of course."

"You definitely will?"

"Of course."

Only after hearing his answer a second time did Kaguya seem to relax.

Then she raised her right hand and curled her little finger.

"Then pinky swear with me."

"If we pinky swear, you can’t break your promise."

"You have to do what you said."

"Okay."

Facing Kaguya’s almost childish request, Asagiri said nothing more.

He raised his hand and hooked his little finger around hers.

Then their thumbs pressed together, sealing the promise.

Once it was done, Kaguya revealed a genuinely pleased smile.

Satisfied, she returned to her seat.

"That felt... a little heavy."

Iwanaga Kotoko, who had watched the entire sweet interaction and would normally have been the first to complain, showed no jealousy this time.

After sitting back down, she merely spoke softly.

"Yes."

Asagiri nodded.

Nothing more needed to be said.

Both he and Iwanaga Kotoko understood what Kaguya’s request had truly meant.

She had not asked him to run alongside her in the next Student Council election simply because she wanted him to remain Vice President.

What she really wanted was much simpler.

She wanted him to still be here when that day arrived.

Yuuki Asuna.

Fujiwara Chika.

Iwanaga Kotoko.

Kato Megumi.

Hayasaka Ai.

Yamauchi Sakura.

In truth, all of them carried the same fear.

But as Fujiwara Chika had once said, beneath Kaguya Shinomiya’s seemingly flawless and unyielding exterior was an unexpectedly sensitive heart.

She could not accept the possibility of losing Asagiri.

She did not even want to imagine a world in which he was no longer there.

"But..."

Iwanaga Kotoko pursed her lips.

Her violet eyes turned toward Asagiri beside her.

His slightly disheveled black hair swayed gently in the breeze flowing through the partially opened window.

"You’ll keep your promise, right?"

"Of course."

Asagiri withdrew his gaze from outside.

He smiled.

"Definitely."

...

That afternoon, at Toyosaki Private Academy.

"He’s so handsome..."

"That’s a Shuchiin uniform, isn’t it? Why is a Shuchiin student here?"

"Maybe he’s waiting for someone?"

"Should we try talking to him?"

"Wait, isn’t that Utsunomiya-san, Shuchiin’s Vice President?"

"I remember him. He ranked first in the joint examination last semester."

"Who is he here for? Kasumigaoka?"

Eriri had been ignoring the conversations drifting through the hallway.

But the moment she heard the name Utsunomiya, her head shot up.

At the back door of her classroom stood Asagiri.

The moment their eyes met, he smiled and casually waved.

"Sawamura, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you."

"Eh?"

"O-okay!"

Eriri immediately stuffed her books into her schoolbag.

Under the curious gazes of her classmates, she hurried toward him, trying desperately not to look too excited.

"Let’s go."

The moment they started walking, Eriri noticed the curious glances following them.

The smile on her face became nearly impossible to suppress.

The boy she liked had suddenly come all the way to her school.

He had waited outside her classroom specifically for her.

And now, every girl around them was clearly wondering what kind of relationship the two of them had, with more than a few casting Eriri openly envious looks.

It felt amazing.

Eriri knew it was a little childish to feel so pleased by something like that.

But she couldn’t help it.

However...

"Ah, I also need to find Kasumigaoka."

"Kasumigaoka?"

Eriri’s smile froze.

"Utaha?"

It wasn’t that she disliked Kasumigaoka Utaha.

The two of them were teammates, after all.

Their relationship was somewhat similar to Iwanaga Kotoko and Yuuki Asuna’s.

They constantly argued, insulted each other, and acted annoyed whenever they were together.

But in reality, they were very close.

Still...

Eriri had been hoping to spend some time alone with Asagiri.

Unfortunately, now that he had already said he needed Utaha too, there was no way Eriri could admit what she had really wanted.

That would be far too embarrassing.

She could only force herself to nod.

"Then... let’s go."

"Her classroom is on the second floor."

...

Ten minutes later, inside the Toyosaki Private Academy library.

Kasumigaoka Utaha and Eriri sat side by side.

Asagiri sat across from them.

Both girls looked slightly confused about why he had called them here.

If this was about the Death Game, shouldn’t Shijo Maki have been invited too?

"I’ll get straight to the point."

Asagiri looked at the two girls and smiled.

"I want you both to help me create a game."

"A game?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha frowned.

Then she immediately shook her head.

"I’m not interested in making eroge."

"Not eroge."

Asagiri replied calmly.

"A normal romance game."

"A visual novel."

"Visual novel?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha was familiar with otaku culture, but the term itself was not something she knew well.

Eriri immediately explained.

"It’s a type of game built around large amounts of text, character interactions, and branching story routes."

"Compared to gameplay mechanics, it focuses more heavily on narrative and immersion."

"Mm."

Asagiri nodded.

"That’s basically it."

"I could normally make it by myself, but this time we’re short on time."

"So I need both of you."

"Short on time?"

Eriri looked curious.

"How short?"

Asagiri did not answer immediately.

He turned his head toward the library window.

Outside, the enormous black crack dividing the sky had grown even wider.

His gaze rested upon it for several seconds.

Then he spoke softly.

"Twenty days."

....

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