Chapter 24: Asuna, Overflowing with Wifelike Qualities
After he said that, before Asagiri could continue, Asuna seemed to have already anticipated it. She let out a small sigh.
"Ah, I know, I know. You already searched it up and found everything, right?"
"Yes."
Asagiri nodded, then suddenly straightened up with a righteous look on his face.
"Asuna Yuuki, I am training your ability as a Player to analyze information independently. This is all for your growth. The painstaking effort I, the Emperor, have put in."
"He actually calls himself the Emperor…" Asuna muttered, sounding equal parts exasperated and amused. "Are you treating yourself like some kind of emperor?"
She brushed her long hair behind her ear, then continued more quietly, as if confirming her own thoughts.
"Still, based on what I found online, the truth in that game is actually about experiments on mental patients, and the final big boss is a cutting edge nanotech robot. It's not a horror game with a banshee or ghosts, and there's no blood faced orderly that's nearly three meters tall, either. So the dungeon arranged by that app is similar to the game in reality, but it isn't a complete one to one replica."
"Right," Asagiri said. "So not being overly clever, thinking you have all the information and letting your guard down, is also a necessary quality for a Player."
"Oh, right… about that…"
Asuna's hands, resting on her legs, tensed without her noticing. She gathered her courage and spoke carefully.
"That app with the glasses icon… it doesn't seem to have any function to send messages to other Players."
Asagiri nodded. "Yeah. It's ridiculously inconvenient."
Asuna paused. Then she coughed lightly twice, like she was trying to hide the fact that she was hinting at something.
"Um… have you heard of LINE?"
"I know it."
Asagiri smiled, completely straightforward.
"That day, a few girls from our grade came over during lunch break and asked for my contact info."
Asuna blinked. "Then why didn't you give it? Were they not good looking?"
"That's not it. They were pretty, actually, but…"
Asagiri's expression turned serious again, as if he were about to deliver a sacred principle.
"As a Player, how could I use my phone in front of other people? What if the other person is also a Player and sees the glasses icon app on my screen? I refused them on the spot."
Asuna nodded at first, like that made sense. Then her brain caught up.
"Huh? Wait, that's not right. Couldn't you just give them your email or your phone number?"
Asagiri shook his head and tapped his temple.
"I have a bad memory. I can't remember my email address or phone number at all."
Asuna stared at him in silence for a few seconds.
"…That excuse is painfully lame."
"Oh? You saw through it?"
"Who wouldn't?" Asuna said flatly. "So you rejected them with that excuse?"
"No." Asagiri said it like he was offended by the accusation. "I'm always honest and blunt. I just told them I didn't want to give it."
"So that's how it is…"
For some reason, hearing that he hadn't bothered making up a sweet excuse, and had instead refused firmly, made Asuna feel oddly pleased. The corners of her lips lifted on their own.
"Then…" She hesitated, but her eyes stayed on him. "Do you have a type of girl you like?"
"Of course."
"What kind?"
Asuna's gaze was earnest, curious, and a little too expectant. Asagiri met it without flinching.
"She has to have her own shining points," he said seriously. "And there has to be a connection between our souls."
Asuna was just about to think, Oh, that's unexpectedly normal, when he continued without pausing.
"And then she has to have a great figure, a cute and delicate face, and be able to change into different sexy outfits every night so we can spend happy times together. Black stockings on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. White stockings on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Fishnets on Sunday. Preferably a themed cosplay activity every week too, like being a gentle maid waiting for her master to return today, a cold office lady wearing glasses tomorrow, a shy shrine maiden who can barely accept it the day after, and then a sexy, charming bunny girl after that, and so on…"
"Stop. Stop. Stop," Asuna cut in immediately, cheeks warming as her patience snapped. "Please stop for a moment."
She glared at him, flustered and angry in the exact way that proved his teasing was working.
"I asked what type of girl you like. I didn't ask you to… to go completely crazy."
"Oh, so that's what you meant."
Asagiri nodded as if enlightened, then said something that made her face go even hotter.
"Then work hard and try your best to meet my standards. Oh, right. The black and white stockings should be the sheer kind that show skin. Not those thick pantyhose. That's not sexy at all."
"Who would wear that kind of thing for you!"
Asuna was practically on the verge of exploding when Asagiri's next action yanked her back to reality.
He pulled out his phone, gave it a light shake, and smiled at her.
"Let's exchange LINE, email addresses, and phone numbers."
"Huh? Oh… okay."
The irritation she'd built up from his teasing vanished instantly, as if it had never existed. She took out her phone, and the two of them exchanged numbers and LINE contact details.
"Alright." Asagiri put his phone away. "Since we've come this far, let's eat first. You eating?"
He reached into the cardboard box beside the refrigerator and took out two buckets of instant noodles. Asuna frowned on instinct.
"You usually eat that at home?"
"No. I usually eat bento or order takeout," Asagiri said with a casual smile. "But once it's past midnight tonight, we could enter a dungeon at any time. If I eat bento or order delivery, there's a chance the ingredients aren't fresh, or I get food poisoning. That would mess with my condition when we go in. Instant noodles are safer."
"You can't live on instant noodles either…"
Asuna said it softly, then stood up and walked to the door. She slipped her small leather shoes back on, tapped the floor lightly with her toes to settle them, and turned back with a gentle smile that felt almost out of place in such a tense situation.
"How about this," she said. "What dishes do you like? I'll go out and buy ingredients. Then I'll cook for you. That way you won't have to worry about stale food."
<><><><><>
[Check Out My Patreon For +40 Advance Chapters On All My Fanfics!]
[[email protected]/FanficLord03]
[Join Our Discord Community For Updates & Events]
[https://discord.gg/MntqcdpRZ9]