Chapter 464: Hayasaka Ai’s New Home

Chapter 464: Chapter 464: Hayasaka Ai’s New Home

Chapter 464: Hayasaka Ai’s New Home

Hearing Eriri’s sincere request, Asagiri nodded in satisfaction.

"Exactly. You understand the greatness of this project too, don’t you?"

He smiled approvingly.

"As expected of Kashiwagi Eri, the artist I once held such high hopes for."

At the far end of the table, Kasumigaoka Utaha quietly stirred her instant noodles with a fork.

Her expression remained completely neutral, and she did not even glance toward Asagiri and Eriri.

But as she listened to their conversation, an unexpected sense of anticipation gradually rose within her.

She wanted to join too.

Kasumigaoka Utaha was not nearly as immersed in otaku culture as Eriri, but while working with Asagiri on the previous romance game, exchanging scripts, discussing plot developments, and debating character direction...

She had genuinely enjoyed herself.

More importantly, Asagiri treated her differently from the people in the school literature club.

Those people often praised everything she wrote without hesitation.

Asagiri did the opposite.

Whenever they disagreed, he said so directly.

They had argued over scenes and story ideas more than once.

Yet precisely because of that, Kasumigaoka Utaha had found their collaboration meaningful.

However...

Asagiri had already begun chatting cheerfully with the others.

Kasumigaoka Utaha lowered her gaze toward the instant noodles in front of her.

A faint trace of disappointment appeared in her eyes.

After taking a quiet breath, she stood.

"Then I’ll be leaving fir..."

"Oh, right."

Before she could finish, Asagiri suddenly looked toward her.

"Kasumigaoka."

He smiled.

"You’ll help us too, right?"

"We can negotiate the compensation."

"Eh...?"

Kasumigaoka Utaha froze.

Then she quickly recovered her composure.

"Well, since you’re asking so sincerely..."

She brushed a strand of black hair aside and replied indifferently,

"I suppose I can reluctantly assist you."

"There’s no need to pay me."

"That makes sense."

Asagiri nodded as though her answer were completely obvious.

"Getting the opportunity to collaborate with a top class producer like me is already more than enough compensation."

"Tsk."

Kasumigaoka Utaha narrowed her eyes.

"Stop being so narcissistic."

"So..."

Asagiri rested his cheek against one hand and looked at her curiously.

"Why did you suddenly stand up?"

"Uh..."

Kasumigaoka Utaha stiffened.

Everyone’s attention immediately shifted toward her.

She parted her lips.

Then said nothing.

She obviously couldn’t admit the truth.

That she had felt uncomfortable because Asagiri invited Eriri but not her, and had decided to leave...

Only to immediately change her mind the moment he asked her to join.

If she said something like that, wouldn’t she sound like a sulking girlfriend who had been pacified by a single sentence?

"I understand!"

Iwanaga Kotoko suddenly slapped both hands against the table.

Kasumigaoka Utaha’s heart skipped.

Those violet eyes were staring directly at her.

No way...

Did she figure it out?

Thinking about it, her reaction had been rather obvious.

And this girl possessed a distinctly mysterious aura.

Her violet eyes sometimes gave the impression that she could see straight through someone.

Perhaps she really had noticed.

Kasumigaoka Utaha was already considering how to explain herself when Iwanaga Kotoko abruptly pointed at her.

"You stood up because you wanted to show off and seduce Asagiri with your unfairly mature figure, didn’t you!?"

"..."

Kasumigaoka Utaha stared at her.

Her expression became extremely complicated.

For several seconds, she genuinely did not know how to respond.

"Alright, sit down."

Asagiri stood and placed one hand on Iwanaga Kotoko’s head, gently pushing the pouting girl back into her seat.

"I have no idea what Kasumigaoka was thinking."

He chuckled.

"But I’m almost certain it wasn’t that."

"That’s enough, God of Wisdom."

"Hmph..."

Iwanaga Kotoko puffed out her cheeks.

Kasumigaoka Utaha secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

After sitting back down, however, she found herself unconsciously observing Asagiri again.

He had already returned to casually chatting with the others as though nothing had happened.

A thought quietly appeared in her mind.

During their discussions about the romance game, she had gained a fairly good understanding of the male protagonist, Utsunomiya Asagiri.

Two traits had stood out most clearly.

First, he was unusually direct.

Unlike the dense protagonists common in school romance stories, he almost always took the initiative.

Second...

Despite his bizarre jokes and unpredictable behavior, he was extremely perceptive when it came to other people’s emotions.

Someone like that...

Would he really have failed to notice what she had been thinking?

The timing of his invitation had been almost too perfect.

Could it be...

He had noticed everything and deliberately rescued her from the awkward situation?

Or worse...

Was he teasing her on purpose?

...

Half a month later.

Shibuya Ward, Tokyo.

Inside a small apartment.

"Done."

Hayasaka Ai wiped the sweat from her forehead with a towel.

Large cardboard boxes filled the narrow hallway and much of the room beyond it.

After inspecting everything once more, she nodded with satisfaction.

Then she turned toward Asagiri.

"Thanks for helping me move..."

Halfway through her sentence, she noticed him looking at her.

Hayasaka Ai immediately became self conscious.

A faint blush spread across her cheeks.

"You..."

She took a small step back.

"What are you looking at?"

"That’s surprisingly difficult to answer."

Asagiri considered the question seriously.

Hayasaka stared at him.

Then he smiled.

"I was looking at you."

Her expression instantly became even more guarded.

"That answer somehow sounds worse."

"Does it?"

Asagiri looked at her face again.

"Then I’ll make it simpler."

"You look good."

Hayasaka Ai paused.

Her cheeks became noticeably warmer.

She turned her face away slightly.

"You really know how to say things that make girls happy."

A small smile tugged at her lips.

"No wonder even Kaguya fell for you."

Asagiri glanced around the apartment.

"Still, isn’t this place a little small?"

The entrance opened directly into a narrow hallway.

Along one side were the bathroom, a tiny kitchen, and a storage space barely large enough to be called a room.

Beyond that was a roughly twenty square meter space serving as both bedroom and living room.

Only a single window stood at the far end.

Compared to Asagiri’s home or Iwanaga Kotoko’s residence, the difference was enormous.

Even Kato Megumi’s fairly ordinary two story house was much more spacious.

Hayasaka Ai placed both hands on her hips.

"Do you think housing in Tokyo is cheap?"

"This is Shibuya."

She mentally calculated for a moment before continuing.

"I saved almost everything I earned from working over the years, but I still have to think about university tuition, living expenses, and the money I want to use for traveling after graduation."

"So an apartment like this is already enough."

"Oh."

Asagiri casually sat down on the wooden floor and leaned against the wall.

"Then you don’t need to worry about money anymore."

Hayasaka blinked.

"What?"

"I spoke with Ashikaga-sensei."

"The revenue from SAO is going to be divided equally among the nine of us and her."

"That means ten shares."

Hayasaka Ai stared at him.

Asagiri continued,

"Even one tenth of SAO’s current revenue is an absurd amount of money."

"Didn’t you say you wanted to spend some time as a NEET?"

He smiled.

"With that income, you could probably avoid working for the rest of your life if you wanted."

"And still buy whatever electronics catch your eye."

"Seriously!?"

Hayasaka Ai’s face immediately lit up.

The thought of never being forced to work again clearly struck her harder than any supernatural reward ever could.

Without thinking, she hurried over and threw her arms around Asagiri.

"That’s amazing!"

She hugged him tightly.

"Thank you!"

Hayasaka Ai had served as Kaguya Shinomiya’s personal maid since childhood.

For years, she had woken early, slept late, and lived almost entirely around someone else’s schedule.

Even now that she was finally free, the exhaustion from those years had not simply vanished.

For a while...

She genuinely did not want to work anymore.

Unfortunately, her love of expensive electronic gadgets made that dream financially inconvenient.

She had never expected Asagiri to consider even that.

Asagiri looked at her with amusement.

"In that case, shouldn’t your boyfriend receive some kind of reward?"

Hayasaka Ai froze.

A faint blush returned to her cheeks.

"What kind of reward do you want?"

Asagiri looked directly into her eyes.

"Seeing you this happy is enough."

Hayasaka Ai fell silent.

The teasing expression she had been wearing softened.

Then she leaned closer and gently kissed his cheek.

"Thank you..."

Her voice became quieter.

After a brief hesitation, she rested her forehead against his shoulder.

"But I think I’d still like to give you a better reward than that."

"Is that so?"

Asagiri smiled.

He wrapped his arms around her.

Hayasaka Ai relaxed against him, the nervousness in her body gradually fading.

After a moment, she quietly whispered,

"I’m still getting used to all of this."

"So... don’t rush me."

Asagiri’s expression softened.

"Alright."

Hayasaka Ai looked up at him.

Then, with a small but genuine smile, she opened her arms again.

"Then hold me tighter."

Asagiri did exactly that.

And in the small apartment that marked the beginning of Hayasaka Ai’s new life, the two simply remained close for a long time.

....

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