I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

Asuna took a deep breath, seemingly trying to maintain a light tone, but her voice trembled and choked with emotion: "I... I kept thinking, what if he hadn't attacked us, hadn't changed his target out of his twisted sense of humor, but instead followed Sugo's orders and attacked you as he passed you by..."

"If I never see you again..."

A missing piece in the heart feels like an empty void; a missing corner in the sky feels like the end of the world.

That feeling seemed to be wrapped in words, penetrating deep into the heart of Yuuki Tenkuji through her ears.

He lay frozen on the bed, his mouth slightly agape, seemingly forgetting even to blink.

"...Sorry, I was supposed to be saying something good." Sensing the heavy atmosphere, Asuna quickly sniffed and made her tone more cheerful. "Yeah, Yuu-kun will definitely be fine! I was able to block the attack, so Yuu-kun will definitely have it even easier, right?"

"After all, Yu-kun is my hero!"

She said this with a smile, full of dependence, affection, and trust.

Suppressing the inexplicable emotions swirling in her heart, Tenkuji Yu lowered her eyes and said in a helpless tone, "Yes, I'm Yuuki Asuna's boyfriend. How can I be worthy of you if I'm not a superhero?"

"Oh, that's really going too far!" Asuna exclaimed in dissatisfaction.

She then mentioned that the fugitive had been sent back to prison, while Sugo had been put in a detention center—Sugo's past dark history had been dug up, and Kyoko Yuuki was preparing to hire the best lawyer to ensure that he would be imprisoned for at least ten years. Even if he couldn't be imprisoned for that long, she would definitely not let him get a suspended sentence or bail so easily.

However, for some reason, listening to her voice and looking at the deepening moonlight outside the window, Tenkuji Yu no longer cared about these things.

He simply smiled and enjoyed every minute of chatting with her.

"And then, the most important good thing!" Asuna's mood suddenly brightened, and she chuckled through her small nose like a host preparing to announce a big prize.

Tenkuuji Yu readily agreed: "What good news is it?"

Without keeping her in suspense, she excitedly revealed the answer: "That stubborn and strict mother actually—allowed me to play 'Swordsman Online'! After so many days, I can finally log in!"

Yuu Tenkuji exclaimed in surprise, "My God, is the internet-addicted girl finally able to alleviate her symptoms?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Asuna's tone instantly turned dangerous.

"It's nothing, congratulations," Tenkuji Yu said with a smile. "You've spread your wings and soared towards a brighter future, Asuna."

"Hmm..." she was probably pouting, "Even though it was a nice thing to say, I inexplicably felt a bit uncomfortable being spoken to in a sarcastic way..."

"You're overthinking it. And then?" Yuu Tenkuji quickly changed the subject. "Should we log on now and check? I haven't logged on since then, so I don't know if the quest disappeared or if it's still in the Land of Love."

"Of course! The mission deadline has passed, I wonder if Granny Ma is alright..." After sighing with worry, Asuna chuckled, seemingly feeling a little embarrassed.

"Also, fighting that fugitive wasn't satisfying at all... I also want to find a worthy opponent to have a good fight, just like you, Yu-kun."

Of course, the kind where you wouldn't get hurt in real life.

"In short, you just had an itch to do it, right?" Tenkuji Yu chuckled.

Even if she received an elite education from a young age, possessed a gentle and beautiful appearance, and had the air of a well-bred young lady who rarely left her home—

But his girlfriend is a rapier wielder who can swing her rapier in a swift and brilliant arc like a shooting star, and who can fearlessly attack even the fiercest enemies. Her strength is beyond words.

Therefore, the violent tendencies lurking within that slender and supple body might be more numerous than imagined...

"That's right, that's exactly it!" Giving up on arguing, Asuna stated bluntly, "Yu-kun, don't forget, you still owe me a battle! I might not be able to beat you in real life, but that might not be the case in the game, you know?"

"Do you really want to ride on your boyfriend's head that badly...?" Yuu Tenkuji said helplessly.

"It's not about riding or not riding, I hate the feeling of losing and not being able to win back!" Asuna, who was naturally competitive, said this with an unusually firm tone. "It's settled then. After everything is settled, let's have a fight on the grassland!"

"I just can't do anything with you."

We agreed to meet online, and the call ended there.

Tenkuji Yu put down his phone, and the doting smile on his face gradually faded.

He turned his head away, expressionless, and silently gazed at the empty night sky outside the window.

After a while, the aria of the starless night quietly began.

"This should be the last time..."

There is no evidence, but it seems intuitive.

On the day he went on a date with Yukino Yukinoshita at the amusement park, he felt the same way, the same frustration.

Rationally, one should know to let go, but even so, there is still a big difference between knowing and doing.

For now, all I can do is wallow in my gloom and unhappiness to vent all my negative emotions; when we meet again later, I'll give her my best smile.

Because she's his girlfriend.

“Nana, start.”

After closing her eyes and calming her emotions, Yuu Tenkuji let out a heavy sigh.

He took out the gaming helmet that had been gathering dust for two weeks, thought for a moment, then put the glasses that Asuna had given him, which he had only worn when attending cram school, on the headboard of his bed. He then turned off the light and lay down on the bed.

Putting on her helmet and relaxing completely, Tenkuji Yu softly recited:

"The final...Link Start!"

This is the last time I'm logging into this game, for her.

For the last time, I crossed the boundary between reality and virtuality just to see her...

Say goodbye to her, and to the self that fell in love with her.

—The next moment, the world was illuminated by white light.

Chapter 112 The Streets Are So Quiet (Part 2)

The scene before my eyes gradually became clear.

Yuu Tenkuji sat up in bed and looked around. It was indeed their house in the "Land of Love," the master bedroom that Asuna occupied.

—So, the mission isn't over yet?

Thinking this, and sensing that someone was watching her, Tenkuji Yu turned her head to look.

A chestnut-haired girl in pajamas lay on the edge of the bed, propping her cheeks up with her hands and staring at herself with a smile.

Those eyes curved into bright crescent moons, both gentle and lovely.

Good morning, darling.

When their eyes met, she spoke in a light and cheerful voice, as if she had been prepared.

"...Why did you suddenly change how you address me?" Tenkuji Yu was speechless for a moment, then patted her head and stepped off the bed from the other side.

Asuna... Yuuki Asuna also stood up, stretching and revealing the beautiful curves of her delicate body.

"Hmm~ Because in this world, our marital status hasn't disappeared yet~"

So, it's okay to experience what marriage feels like early, right? She smiled shyly and happily, raising her left hand high and looking up at the ring on her ring finger, her eyes filled with nostalgia and a tenderness different from before.

Tenkuji Yu swiped through the menu and quickly figured out what was going on.

During the period when the two were not online, the task did indeed fail because it was not completed within the deadline; but whether it was because someone patched the game or it was designed that way, a new "remedial task" appeared in the task bar, maintaining their "temporary married status" and "house usage rights".

"Going to the Civil Affairs Bureau to get the 'flower of love' before midnight... that's much simpler."

As she murmured to herself, a warm weight suddenly appeared on her shoulder.

Asuna placed her hand on his shoulder, leaned closer, and curiously examined the task bar that was originally only visible to her but that the couple could share.

"So, we don't need to incubate the eggs anymore? That's a bit of a shame..."

Soft strands of hair brushed against my ears, warm breath teased my senses, and there was the soft, elastic touch on my back...

The rapid heartbeats seemed to overlap for a moment.

Yuu Tenkuji stood motionless, his expression unchanged, and said, "Maybe it's a humane consideration from the game developers? Or maybe your brother knew you couldn't log in, so he secretly adjusted your game data and changed the quests for us."

"Really?" She tilted her head in confusion, and he could almost feel the heat on her cheek. "Brother, he's not that kind, is he? I think it was our love that moved the system, which is why it gave us a chance to make amends!"

Hearing Asuna's serious tone, Tenkuji Yu couldn't help but laugh, then casually walked forward, breaking away from her embrace.

"Then get ready, let's go and complete this task now."

"So urgent?"

She sat back on the bed, her face slightly flushed for some reason, her hazel eyes watery, as if she were gazing at him with a seductive expression after a passionate kiss.

The bed was spacious, the girl was slender, and every smile and frown was alluring.

Yuu Tenkuji admitted that, for a fleeting moment, his pants moved—

After all, thanks to the system's manipulation, this imaginary world was no different from the real world to him.

It has all the expected reactions, and it can get hard when it needs to, but I don't know if it's due to genetic factors...

Ahem, let's not continue.

Unfortunately, even in the hypothetical world, he didn't want to have a breakup sex session, leaving himself with the terrible memory of having sex with his girlfriend, having his fun, and then leaving.

Once he enters a state of clarity, this memory will definitely make him depressed for a long time, or even make him hate himself.

Yuu Tenkuji may not become a hero, but he has his own moral bottom line.

In particular, when he thought of Yukino Yukinoshita's actions of controlling his gun and not completing anything before settling the mission, the excited blood slowly flowed back to his heart, and a strange sadness filled his chest.

In some ways he softened, but in his heart he hardened.

"Asuna, the imaginary world really is a place where you can do whatever you want."

Tenkuji Yu walked up to her, placed his hand on her burning cheek, gently ran his fingertips through her soft hair, and said softly, "So, don't give me that 'I can do anything' look on your face, it'll make me lose control."

Asuna placed her hand on the back of his hand, gazing at him with straightforward tenderness, her voice seeming to melt his heart and bones.

"We are husband and wife, I love you—so it's okay not to hold back."

"But what if everything we do in the virtual world is recorded in the game's backend monitoring system?"

"Huh?!" Asuna's eyes widened, and she stood there stunned, as if she was only just realizing this.

As he said this, Tenkuji Yuu also asked the system in his heart: 'System, will this kind of thing happen?'

The system's cold, girlish voice sounded surprisingly pleasant and reliable at that moment.

"Please rest assured, host. Under certain special circumstances, any images related to the host or the target will be blocked, filtered, and modified by the system. This will create a state of 'justice being executed,' ensuring that no matter what you do, it will not be accurately observed by others."

In other words, it completely avoids all possibilities that might make some sensitive people uncomfortable, right?

Yuuki Tenkuji nodded in satisfaction.