Chapter 453: A Night Spent Together by Three People

Chapter 453: Chapter 453: A Night Spent Together by Three People

Chapter 453: A Night Spent Together by Three People

"What victory speech? Aren’t we already past that stage?"

Yuuki Asuna smiled gently before continuing in a softer voice.

"I heard Kotoko mention that you promised Kaguya today that you’d stay as her Vice President for the next Student Council election."

"Yeah."

Asagiri nodded, then half jokingly asked,

"What? Do you want to become Vice President too?"

"You want me, Utsunomiya Asagiri, serving beneath both you and Kaguya at the same time?"

He smiled meaningfully.

"Then the two of you will have to return the favor sometime."

"No crude jokes."

Yuuki Asuna immediately understood what he was implying.

She shot him an exasperated look before murmuring,

"The one who made that kind of promise with you should’ve been me."

"Kaguya really is cunning. She got there first..."

"A promise doesn’t have to be exclusive."

Asagiri shrugged.

"You can make one too."

"Is that so...?"

Yuuki Asuna fell into thought.

She considered the things she wanted to do with Asagiri but had never gotten the chance to.

A few seconds later, an idea seemed to occur to her.

"Your birthday is April 1st, right?"

"Then let’s celebrate it together."

"And that day..."

A gentle smile appeared on her face.

"Let’s go see the cherry blossoms together."

"Cherry blossoms, huh..."

Asagiri repeated softly.

Then he chuckled.

"If you’re willing to be especially nice to me tonight, I might consider it."

"You... How can you say something like that?"

Yuuki Asuna’s cheeks immediately turned red.

She pushed his shoulder in embarrassment.

"You didn’t set any conditions when you promised Kaguya something."

"Why do I get conditions?"

"Can the situations really be compared?"

"How are they different?"

Asagiri answered righteously.

"Kaguya asked me in the morning."

"It’s nighttime now, and my thoughts are obviously less pure."

Yuuki Asuna stared at him.

At this point, she felt more helpless than embarrassed.

"You’re way too blunt."

Asagiri’s expression immediately became solemn.

"Speaking my mind directly."

"That is my ninja way!"

"What are you even getting fired up about...?"

Yuuki Asuna sighed.

"I really don’t understand you sometimes."

Then her eyes accidentally met his.

Seeing the familiar smile on Asagiri’s face, a faint blush spread across her cheeks again.

The irritation in her expression gradually softened.

She rose onto her toes, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed him.

The kiss lingered for several moments before they finally separated.

Yuuki Asuna’s cheeks remained flushed, and her breathing was slightly uneven.

Just as she was about to speak, a familiar voice came from the kitchen doorway.

"You two are really getting into the mood."

"Megumi..."

Yuuki Asuna stiffened.

Seeing her embarrassed, caught in the act expression, Kato Megumi smiled gently.

Then she raised her index finger to her lips.

"Shh."

"Kotoko and Yamauchi Sakura fell asleep in the living room."

Hearing that, Asagiri and Yuuki Asuna walked toward the doorway and looked into the living room.

Iwanaga Kotoko was asleep with her head resting on Yamauchi Sakura’s lap.

Her small body had curled into itself, her hands resting over her chest like some tiny sleeping animal.

Yamauchi Sakura, meanwhile, was leaning against the back of the sofa.

Her sleeping posture was every bit as carefree as her personality.

"How peaceful..."

Yuuki Asuna smiled gently.

"Just watching them sleep makes me feel strangely at ease."

Kato Megumi nodded.

"That’s exactly why we have to win."

"So we can keep having moments like this."

At such a warm moment, Asagiri naturally refused to let the atmosphere remain serious for too long.

"Ah."

"Sleeping Kotoko and Sakura, the defenseless me, and Megumi and Asuna standing guard."

"What an unexpected development."

Yuuki Asuna looked confused.

"What are you talking about?"

"You’re not defenseless at all."

"And Megumi and I aren’t guarding anything, are we?"

"Asuna."

Kato Megumi gently placed a hand on Yuuki Asuna’s shoulder.

Her voice remained soft.

"We’ve known him for this long and you still haven’t learned?"

"Don’t try too hard to understand some of the things he says."

"Although I don’t fully understand this one either..."

She glanced toward Asagiri.

"I have a feeling he’s talking about something inappropriate."

"Listen to yourself."

Asagiri chuckled.

"What do you mean, ’a feeling’?"

"Where’s your trust in me?"

"Of course I’m talking about something inappropriate."

Yuuki Asuna sighed helplessly.

"You sound strangely proud of that..."

Kato Megumi leaned slightly closer to Asagiri.

Then, in a soft voice meant only for the three of them, she asked,

"So what happens now?"

Asagiri smiled.

"We figure it out together."

Yuuki Asuna’s face instantly grew even redder.

She glanced toward Kato Megumi beside her.

After a moment of hesitation, she quietly said,

"If Megumi doesn’t mind..."

Kato Megumi smiled.

"I don’t."

...

A little later, the three entered the master bedroom together.

Yuuki Asuna had changed into her familiar elven princess outfit.

Despite her attempts to appear composed, the slight stiffness in her movements betrayed her nervousness.

Kato Megumi looked calmer, but her tightly clasped hands revealed that she was not entirely unaffected either.

Yuuki Asuna glanced between the two of them.

"So..."

"What exactly are we supposed to do?"

"Is it time for another Eroge Shooter educational lecture?"

Asagiri looked thoroughly prepared.

The moment he reached toward the tablet beside the bed, however, Yuuki Asuna immediately stopped him.

"No."

"Absolutely not."

"I haven’t even opened anything yet."

"That’s precisely why I’m stopping you now."

Kato Megumi quietly laughed.

Yuuki Asuna exchanged a glance with her.

After a brief silence, the awkwardness between them slowly eased.

"Let’s..."

Yuuki Asuna murmured.

"Just stay together tonight."

Kato Megumi nodded.

"That sounds better."

The rest of the night passed in quiet intimacy between the three of them.

...

A week later, at Asagiri’s home.

"Haa..."

Sitting in front of a computer with drawing software open, Eriri removed her thick rimmed glasses and stretched.

She was wearing a loose green tracksuit, looking completely different from her usual carefully maintained appearance.

Then she rotated her chair toward Kasumigaoka Utaha, who was still typing away, and yawned.

"At this pace..."

"With thirteen days left, we’ll definitely finish."

"Mm."

Kasumigaoka Utaha briefly stopped typing.

"My progress is about the same."

"If I maintain this pace, I should finish in another week."

"That’ll leave several days for revisions and checking."

Then she glanced toward the closed door.

Because they needed to coordinate constantly, Asagiri was currently working in the living room just outside.

"But don’t you think..."

Kasumigaoka Utaha lowered her voice.

"The male protagonist’s appearance and character design are basically Utsunomiya-san himself."

"And that naturally clumsy pink haired heroine strongly resembles your friend Fujiwara Chika."

"Meanwhile, the cute but somewhat tsundere young lady..."

"She’s practically Maki, isn’t she?"

Eriri answered casually.

"That’s normal."

"Creators take inspiration from their own experiences all the time."

"Directly copying someone isn’t exactly common, but Chika and Maki are both attractive and distinctive girls."

"Using traits inspired by them for romance game heroines isn’t a problem."

"As for Utsunomiya-san..."

Eriri thought briefly.

"His personality definitely isn’t like most male leads in school romance stories."

"But a handsome protagonist who’s direct, unpredictable, and has a distinctive personality would probably be popular with players."

"He’d stand out."

"Is that so...?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha nodded noncommittally.

But doubts still lingered in her mind.

Because she was responsible for writing much of the script, she knew the general direction of the story.

However...

The final portion of the scenario she had been assigned felt unusual.

How should she describe it?

It did not feel like an actual ending.

It felt more like the story simply stopped.

Was Utsunomiya Asagiri planning to write everything after that point himself?

Just as Kasumigaoka Utaha was thinking about it, both her phone and Eriri’s chimed simultaneously.

The girls picked them up.

Only then did they realize that midnight had already passed.

A new month had begun.

Which meant...

The seventh phase of the Game had arrived.

However, the notification displayed by the Eye Icon APP was completely different from what either of them expected.

[Phase Seven has begun.]

[This is the final phase of the Game.]

[No Player in this world may voluntarily register for a Dungeon during this phase.]

[When "The End" is activated, all Players will enter the same Dungeon world simultaneously.]

[This is the End.]

"The End..."

Kasumigaoka Utaha quietly repeated the words.

She exchanged a glance with Eriri.

Both girls looked confused.

Did the System mean...

This would be the final Dungeon of the entire Death Game?

Eriri did not think nearly that far.

The instant she saw the notification, she had already risen from her chair.

She opened the door and hurried into the living room.

"Utsunomiya-san!"

"Did you see the new System notification?"

Asagiri, who was sitting on the sofa with his laptop open, calmly closed the screen.

"I saw it."

Then he smiled at Eriri.

"But normally, seeing an announcement like that should make someone nervous."

"Maybe even a little afraid."

He tilted his head.

"So why do you look excited?"

....

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