I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

"First, the player's intuition."

"Here we go again... Yes, yes, I know you're a gaming pro."

Asuna looked helpless. Seeing that he had finished his teacup, she picked up the teapot and poured him another cup.

"Ah, thanks."

He pressed his lips to the rim of the cup, and amidst the rising steam, Tenkuji Yu raised an eyebrow, revealing a restrained yet confident smile.

"Secondly, as long as we pass all the tests, we won't have to worry about what will happen if we fail. Intelligence gathering is inherently limited, and in the end, the key factors are still the ability to adapt and respond quickly."

"..."

Asuna looked over in surprise, her expression suggesting she wanted to say something to question him.

But in the end, she simply smiled wryly, leaned back lazily in her chair, and hummed softly twice:

"Okay, then let's do it your way~"

Tenkuji Yu frowned immediately: "What, do you have any objections? You can say them and we can discuss them."

"No, I didn't!"

She drew out the words slowly, concealing her slightly curved pink lips with her teacup, and then, as if reciting an advertisement, began to sing with cheerful intonation:

"You handle the tasks, and I'll take care of the housework—a perfect division of labor between husband and wife! So of course, we'll do as you say."

“…Um, Asuna.”

Kara.

The teacup was placed on the table, and Tenkuji Yu looked at her strangely, finally asking the question that had been bothering her since earlier.

"You seemed so unwilling to accept it yesterday, how come you're so accepting of our marriage today?"

"This..."

Asuna gently stroked the handle of the teacup, her gaze lowered slightly, then rose again to meet his eyes.

"Of course it's for the mission! Anyway, it's only for a few days, you won't take the opportunity to do anything to me or misunderstand anything. I haven't played house with anyone in a long time..."

She casually shrugged her shoulders, a gesture reminiscent of Yuu Tenkuji.

"In that case, why not fully immerse yourself in the scene and try things you've never thought of before? That'll make the game more fun!"

Scratching her cheeks, which were getting redder and redder as she spoke, Asuna couldn't help but chuckle awkwardly twice.

"Today I'm going to put myself in the position of 'wife' and try to complete the test with this identity... Well, if you don't like it, I won't do it."

"..."

Speechless, Tenkuji stared at her for a few seconds before pressing his temples and sighing:

"Since you've put it that way, how can I possibly say I don't like it?"

"...Oh, I didn't force you to say anything."

Asuna hid her face behind the teacup, trying hard not to smile, but her eyes darted around.

She would sometimes glance at the swaying curtains, and sometimes secretly observe his expression.

The air suddenly fell silent.

The lights inside were softer than in the night, and the room was so quiet it was as if it were draped in gauze, making the sounds of their breathing and heartbeats even clearer.

They looked at each other across a table, their eyes occasionally meeting, as if testing each other's thoughts, or as if unsure how to break the silence, simply using each other to pass the time.

Finally, it was Tenkuji Yu who spoke first:

"Let's go. I have a general idea of ​​what to do for the first 'test,' so it's okay if I don't prepare. Let's see how many we can finish before logging off today."

He stood up after speaking, the teacup and the plate of cookies already empty.

"Ah, wait a minute!"

Without lingering in a daze, Asuna quickly tidied up the table, rushed into the kitchen and then into the upstairs room. After about a minute of frantic activity, she returned to Yuu Tenkuji in the entryway.

She had changed into that dashing yet innocent female swordsman outfit, with long hair, a slender waist, and a pair of long, white legs encased in high stockings peeking out from under her skirt, perfectly showcasing the youthful charm of a young girl.

"Alright, where to go? Or should we tear this scroll open right here?"

As I followed him out of the house, I habitually checked to make sure the door was locked.

Holding the 'Test Scroll' in her hand, Asuna tilted her head slightly and stared at him, asking in a serious tone.

Tenkuji Yu thought for a moment, then suddenly took a step back and stood beside her, gazing at the tranquil scenery of the streets shrouded in night and adorned with streetlights.

The two were very close, and the backs of their hands inevitably brushed against each other.

The warm touch felt like an electric shock, and Asuna shuddered involuntarily, instinctively trying to pull her hand back.

Yuu Tenkuji grabbed it directly, his ten fingers expertly interlocking, giving the little white rabbit no chance to escape.

He said at the same time, "Use the scroll, Asuna."

"Huh?! But, but, your hand..."

Asuna bit her lip lightly, a blush spreading across her fair, snow-white cheeks, and she stammered nervously as she spoke; but despite her expression of disbelief, it was almost the same as the time she held his hand as they stepped through the door. After only a symbolic struggle, she obediently let him hold her tightly.

"Your acting skills are still far from good enough, 'wife'."

When Tenkuji Yu said this, her tone was gentle, her lips were smiling, and her eyes were full of tenderness: "For a couple, holding hands is just the first step, you know? Calm down a bit."

"...I...I know! You don't need to tell me!"

Her heart skipped a beat, and Asuna quickly overcame her shyness, shouting loudly to cover it up:

Use the item in your hand!

This game can be played manually, and some operations can also be performed using voice control.

As the words fell, the scroll in Asuna's hand quickly turned to ashes, and a clock that looked like a duel timer but was much larger appeared above their heads.

"Mission: Speed ​​and Love"

"Note: If you can reach the Civil Affairs Bureau within five minutes while maintaining contact, you will pass the test."

"Hint: The player's estimated arrival time is currently 4 minutes and 55 seconds."

I've decided to take leave and return to the mortal realm.

Group 4⑧8 7④97⑨9

My physical condition is a factor, but the most important thing is that I'm not satisfied with what I wrote today.

Staying up late not only affects your physical health, but also your writing state and the content you produce. You're always thinking about how to improve, so you end up revising and editing to make it better, only to finish writing in the early hours of the morning. This vicious cycle continues until you can't even add extra chapters anymore.

However, I will definitely pay back all the rewards I offered. I will absolutely not cheat you out of your reward money. If we count the word count on the last book, I will have paid back almost all the rewards. Don't worry, I'm an old author.

As for the second volume, few people read it, and many disliked it. Some even said that my writing about games was a failure, dull and unreadable.

I took note of all these criticisms, because they were true, and even I thought so myself. The obvious decline in subscriptions also told me the truth: I simply couldn't write a book.

Even so, I still miss those readers who left comments, left their footprints, and urged me to hurry up.

How to keep raising their expectations for the second volume and ensure they don't regret finishing it is what I'm currently pondering.

Although the results are not great, we are making an effort nonetheless.

After all, this is only halfway through the second volume, it's too early to give up now, right?

I'm working on improving the quality of this book, albeit with some stumbles and setbacks. This is something I've been doing even while on leave, so please be patient and wait.

I've seen all the comments you left in the book review section and the side posts, so don't worry about me not knowing where I went wrong. If I haven't improved it by chapter 70 or 80, then please go back to the book review section and leave your thoughts... This isn't crowdfunding for writing a book, you know (puffs out chest).

See you tomorrow.

I'll try to update in the afternoon, or before 8 PM if that's not possible, and I should still update twice.

I will resume extra updates when I start going to bed at midnight.

In order to survive until the moment when Tenkuji Yu is divided into five, six, seven, and eight equal parts... cough cough, until he finishes writing this book, he gets up and starts working hard!

(This leave request chapter will be deleted during the update)

Chapter Fifty-Six: The First Trial Completed (Part Two)

"As expected..."

The moment the words "Mission Start" flashed before their eyes, the clock started ticking, giving them no time to hesitate.

Tenkuji Yu murmured, then gripped Asuna's hand tightly and suddenly exerted force with the soles of his feet.

"No time to explain, let's run!"

"Eh? Eh!? Ehhhhh!" Asuna only managed to utter a panicked sound before being dragged straight into the street like a passenger forcibly pushed into a taxi.

The two were in a residential area. The inky black night stretched to the endless horizon. The ground was quiet, and the streetlights, as precise as the hour, illuminated the streets.

The Civil Affairs Bureau is some distance from the residential area, requiring traversing numerous stairs and ramps. In the mornings, one can see housewives, couples, and children playing and chatting nearby. However, once night falls, these lively daily scenes transform into the warm, bright light inside, allowing the entire city to drift off to sleep peacefully in a cozy atmosphere.

The chaotic footsteps disrupted the tranquility of the street, but the lagging group quickly regained their composure and gradually caught up with the other group's rhythm, their footsteps echoing uniformly on the stone pavement.

"Following the route given in the mission and maintaining the same speed, we should be able to pass this test in less than five minutes."

Tenkuji Yu pulled up a map, her steps unwavering, her finger tracing the glowing lines of the route: "But this is too easy, there's not a single difficulty. It's just running hand in hand, and the timing is even calculated almost perfectly for us. We can finish it by simply running there easily—what kind of challenge is this considerate?"

Her chestnut-brown hair flowed freely, and her legs, beneath her short skirt, caught up with him at a speed no less than his. Asuna frowned as well: "Was this on purpose? To let us familiarize ourselves with the process, so you designed the first test to be relatively simple..."

Yuu Tenkuji shook his head: "Things are probably not that simple. If this is really a test, there should be monsters or obstacles along the way to slow us down as much as possible."

"But this is a safe zone..." With a hint of uncertainty, Asuna turned her gaze back to the front. The peaceful and serene street was bathed in a warm glow, and the stone steps stretched upwards into the distance. It didn't look like a place where monsters would invade or buildings would collapse.

In the blink of an eye, a figure suddenly appeared in front of the previously empty stone steps.

With its back to the two people, its hunched figure was blurred by the streetlights, swaying and trembling, as if it might at any moment merge into the bottomless darkness, turning into a ghost and staring coldly at all the passersby.

Asuna's face instantly turned green.

"babble--"

A muffled groan escaped her throat, her pupils contracted sharply in alarm, and she reflexively stopped herself with her foot before quickly hiding behind Yuu Tenkuji, her whole body beginning to tremble slightly.