I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

Yuu Tenkuji, who had been estimating the bra size of the goddess statue above the auditorium, suddenly withdrew her serious gaze and looked towards the dark alley to her right.

A soft, light, seemingly very pleasant humming sound was getting closer and closer.

"On this ordinary night, I wielded an ordinary rapier and slaughtered a bunch of ordinary wild boars... Though I have no friends, I'm just strolling through the ordinary streets."

With his back to the darkness, the rapier wielder stepped into the light-lit path, humming a little tune as he walked towards the Great Hall.

She made no attempt to conceal her beautiful, flowing chestnut hair, and her graceful figure was clad in a more protective cloth armor bought from a store, while the rapier hanging at her waist gleamed with an even more expensive light.

Her steps were light, her short skirt fluttered, and her whole being, like her expression, radiated a fresh and vibrant energy.

"Du la la la~ I play ordinary games in a normal way~"

A clear, melodious voice, like a mischievous child disturbing the night, was trying to pull off that tranquil nightgown.

As she walked into the square, the chestnut-haired girl looked up, and the cheerful music suddenly stopped. She blinked in surprise at the towering and solemn auditorium.

"Was this modeled after Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, or Milan Cathedral?"

She muttered to herself, put her hands behind her back, and admired the view for a few seconds before lowering her head.

Just as she was about to continue singing the impromptu little tune, she met the gaze of Tenkuji Yu, who had been waiting for her for a long time.

"..."

"..."

Chapter Twenty-Six, "Ethical Restrictions," has been automatically lifted.

The night seemed to strangle a naughty child, then hugged its nightgown and fell asleep again.

As the two locked eyes, the entire world seemed to fall into a deathly silence; even the background music suddenly went silent, freezing along with the air.

Faced with Asuna's petrified expression, Yuu Tenkuji thought for a moment and then took the initiative to break the awkward silence.

"The song is pretty good, why don't you keep singing? Just pretend you didn't see me."

"..."

After standing there motionless for several seconds, as if time had stood still, Asuna finally came to her senses.

Then, she slowly raised her trembling hand and gripped the hilt of the sword at her waist.

A ferocious, ghostly aura erupted from her, her eyes devoid of light.

"Ha, ahahahaha... Looks like I'll have to beat you until you lose your memory first, then smash your game helmet, before I can sleep peacefully tonight."

The broken laughter made the darkness even colder. As the rapier was drawn, the cold light on the blade reflected the warm yellow street scene and the girl's flushed face, which was flushed with shame and had begun to go berserk.

"Eavesdropping on a young girl's singing is a very serious crime. Please don't resist, just let me take your memories!"

The arrogant and self-destructive shouts completely shattered the tranquility.

Before he could finish speaking, a shooting star streaked across the street, illuminating the night for a moment, its trajectory as fleeting as fireworks.

Tenkuji Yu didn't even flinch, letting the rapier pierce his forehead, looking at her with a helpless expression.

"The city is a safe zone, you can't attack people here... Even if you could, this is a virtual world, how are you going to beat me until I lose my memory?"

"Waaah..."

Her expression stiffened, and she bit down hard on her pink lips.

Asuna stared at him with tears in her eyes, the rapier in her hand resting on the center of his brow, trembling slightly.

Finally, the rapier clattered and fell from his hand.

She collapsed to her knees, burying her face in them, as if unable to bear the pain any longer, letting out a small, shy cry: "Ahhhhh, kill me~~"

Tenkuji Yu couldn't help but rub his forehead.

"Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration? All you heard was singing, you're not some kind of female knight..."

However, he didn't say the last sentence aloud, lest the other party accuse him of sexual harassment.

Thinking this, he took a moment to open the system and glance at it, only to find that this guy had secretly changed the mission description.

Alright, let me see what we're going to do this time...

"Note: The mission has been initiated."

"Become Asuna Yuuki's online boyfriend and fulfill her wishes. Rewards will be given based on the host's performance in the process."

Mission end time: Unknown.

Task prompt:

1. During this mission, the host's gaming experience will be completely synchronized with reality.

Second, the wounds and death of the virtual body will not be reflected in the real body, but the pain will still remain in the consciousness. It is recommended that the host try to avoid dying in the game.

III. The game's "ethical restrictions" have been automatically lifted. Enjoy the game!

Yuu Tenkuji: "..."

More than surprise and confusion, an indescribable, dark emotion surged forth and filled his chest.

If the system had a physical form, Yuu Tenkuji would definitely throw it to the ground, stomp on it twice, and then curse it out loud:

"System, I want to play with Muddy Bully!"

△

"Oh well, I didn't sing anything wrong anyway, so if people hear it, they hear it."

Singing is nothing, but if a boy sees you splashing and dancing in the artificial lake, that would be a truly serious situation that you can't resolve without dragging him down with you!

Having found a reason to comfort herself, Asuna fanned her still flushed and hot face in the imaginary world, quickly perked up, and returned to her radiant and relaxed state.

She looked at Tenkuji Yu, intending to skip the topic and change the subject, but her expression suddenly turned strange: "Um, Yu-kun, what's wrong? Why do you look like you want to take a sword and chop this game down?"

"Because I really want to shut down this game, and the system too."

I didn't get warned for saying it out loud, so I guess I took it as a system from "Swordsman Online".

Yuu Tenkuji sighed heavily, rubbing his displeased expression, which even his perfect acting skills couldn't control. He found that the touch felt more real, and even the original sense of incongruity had completely disappeared.

He tried his best not to make his mood worse, and said helplessly to Asuna, who seemed to be wondering if she had accidentally upset him, "What a coincidence that we would run into each other here."

"Ah...that's true." Asuna paused for a moment, then nodded in agreement. "The friend list shows whether friends are online, right? When I logged on, you weren't there, and I was wondering how I would find you if we both missed logging in..."

She paused halfway through her sentence, scratching her cheek somewhat awkwardly, and chuckled, "Then I got so engrossed in hunting wild boars that I completely forgot about it, and that's how we've been playing until now..."

"Not bad, it seems you've gotten used to this game."

She casually replied, then Tenkuji Yura brought up the menu, adjusted the friends window to be visible to others, and waved to her.

"Didn't I send you a guide on how to exploit a bug with sword skills before? Just use the same method... Look, this is the function to send private messages to friends. If you need to contact someone but they're not online, just send them a private message..."

Asuna moved closer to him and listened attentively to his explanation.

Her clear, bright eyes gazed out the window, and the delicate fragrance of her hair and the softness of a young girl wafted towards her.

"Hey... Oh, I see. Hmm, I think I understand now."

She nodded thoughtfully, opened her own menu, tapped a few times quickly, and then turned to look at him.

Ding Dong!

Almost simultaneously, Yuu Tenkuji received a notification about receiving a message. Upon opening the message, he saw the words, "What rank are you now?"

“Still fifth rank.” He closed the window, turned to Asuna who was staring in surprise, and smiled. “I only played this game once, the day I met you. I was busy with other things after that, so I haven’t touched it since.”

"I was bored today so I went online to check things out. I didn't expect to run into you after only a few minutes of wandering around town... That's why I said it was a real coincidence."

Not only did the location of their meeting coincide, but even their online dates were perfectly aligned—if Asuna hadn't logged on about an hour earlier than him, he would probably be even more surprised now.

"...Well, I see. We're at about the same level now."

As she murmured this, a warlike glint slowly appeared in her beautiful orange eyes.

Ka!

With one hand resting on the hilt of her sword, Asuna straightened up, tilted her small head, and gave him a raised eyebrow and a smile.

"How about we do it again?"

"This time, I'm confident I can beat you!"

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Since We're Already Here (September 27)

After an hour of hunting wild boars, we happened to defeat a particularly large and fat wild boar king, which gave us a lot of experience points.

Now, Asuna has also reached level five, and the difference in equipment and sword skill proficiency is comparable to his. She also knows how to use higher-level sword skills earlier.

Therefore, this time, it will truly test the combat experience and reaction ability of both of them. No matter who wins or loses, there will be no complaints. It will be a truly fair duel.

Asuna, who lost last time due to her lack of familiarity and whose skills were far inferior to those of this "veteran player," naturally wouldn't let go of this good opportunity for revenge.

Yuu Tenkuji waved his hand, seemingly ignoring her: "Forget it, I don't want to fight right now."

"Huh? Why?" Asuna blinked, puzzled.

Because from now on, I'll be the only one in pain... he couldn't say that, so he just made up an excuse to brush it off.

"Let's play later. Today I just want to enjoy the scenery."

"……All right."

His little hand left the sword hilt. Although he was a little disappointed, he couldn't very well drag him out to fight, could he?

Not to mention, even in a hypothetical world made up of data, as a girl whose talent skill is "shopping" but who rarely has the opportunity to go out, Asuna certainly doesn't dislike aimlessly wandering through the scenery—which is exactly what she was just doing.

But wandering around such a big town by myself can be quite lonely.

It's like wandering alone at night in an empty scenic area. I had to sing to bolster my courage when I was walking through the alley just now. If I continue, I might get so scared that I'll have to go back to sleep...

'No way! I can't let this rare opportunity to 'get some fresh air' slip by!'

After her eyes darted around, Asuna suddenly reached out her hand to him, who seemed listless, and a bright smile appeared on her face.

"In that case, let's go together!"

"Walk?"