I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

Can a game played by only one person really carry this much weight?

Is the feeling of loneliness, as if someone is missing from my life, just an illusion?

My phone suddenly lit up.

He put down his helmet and opened the app. It was something he had asked his brother to investigate, and now he received a message that the investigation was complete.

That was a comparison of two sets of data.

As she swiped her fingers across the screen, seemingly forgetting even to breathe, Yuuki Asuna focused intently on reading the records from August 26th until one of the records on September 21st was interrupted. Only then did she slowly exhale and collapse onto the bed, feeling somewhat exhausted.

Her chestnut hair was disheveled, and the hem of her clothes was lifted up to reveal her flat stomach. But she seemed to have finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel, and couldn't help but giggle a few times.

"Hahaha... I knew it wasn't my imagination after all..."

I remember him saying that he hadn't logged in for so long that he had almost forgotten his own game name.

Indeed, there were no login records from September to November, which is quite a long time—but before he quit the game, he logged in almost every day.

Just like myself.

Most people log in after 8 PM and log off around 10 PM, though it might be longer on holidays.

Just like myself.

He was absent for eleven days after September 10th, until the evening of September 21st.

Just like myself.

The "Mech Login Record" form that my brother sent me has so many overlapping times and so many synchronized periods. It can't all be just a coincidence, right?

If you were ever married in the game and agreed to team up to complete Sister Martha's quest, you should have agreed on when to log on and acted together until the quest was completed.

But in my memory, I have always been a lone wolf, and I have never had any contact with other players since I entered the game.

No friends, no teammates, and no online game husband—even so, the system's answer still denied this memory.

A broken ring, a login record.

The clues of time allowed her to grasp the hem of the truth, bringing her one step closer to the naked truth.

"As expected, Tenkuji-kun... all of this is related to you."

With a smile on her lips, she murmured with a sense of relief and ease.

For some reason, a sentence suddenly popped into Asuna Yuuki's mind.

'I will never forget your voice, from the past to the present, and into the distant future.'

Even if I forget, no matter how much time it takes, I will remember.

I think of all the little things we went through together.

That's my most precious treasure, so I will never give it up!

With a determined look in her eyes, Asuna Yuuki suddenly stood up, opened the friends list on her phone's messaging app, opened the chat window with only a few messages, and pressed her finger on the call button icon.

Then she hesitated: "Would calling him now bother him?"

But I want to hear his voice. I don't know why, but I really want to; I absolutely can't sleep if I don't hear it.

Without further hesitation, Asuna Yuuki pressed the call button. When the busy signal sounded, she climbed to the head of the bed, half-sitting with her back against the wall, holding a Squirtle plushie in her free hand, and gently kicking the bed with her long, fair legs under her pajama pants.

Beep, beep—it's connected.

"Hello? Tenkuji-kun? I'm so sorry to call you so late..."

Her voice was gentle and reserved, but her pretty face, flushed with a faint blush, revealed a happy smile like that of a little girl.

"Well, it's nothing. I just wanted to say..."

To find the truth about the world, to recover everything that has been lost.

I'll be seeing you soon.

……

"I'm sorry, I want to stay in Japan and cannot return to Sweden with you for the time being."

"Why... because there are things that haven't been found yet."

"It has nothing to do with my mother, although I did come to Japan for her sake... You wouldn't understand even if I explained, so let's leave it at that. I'll go to the party, and I'll try my best to take care of Mana after she transfers here."

He ended the call in a flat and indifferent tone.

Natsukawa Masaki put down her phone and slowly raised her dim, lifeless eyes.

I don't know how many times I've stared blankly and calmly at the things in front of me.

Under the harsh fluorescent lights, countless photos covered the walls as far as the eye could see, and many pieces of paper with messy handwriting were pinned up with thumbtacks, making the whole room look like a police intelligence room.

It is chaotic, yet in some respects it is incredibly unified.

—Because all the photos and writings on the wall are related to a certain person.

His name is Yuu Tenkuji.

"Could you be the culprit who broke me?"

Chapter 49 My Cat

I've become different from how I used to be.

That's all Natsukawa Masamichi knows.

As for why they are different or where exactly they are different, she couldn't answer any of them. Trying to think about it would make her head ache as if it were being pricked by needles, so she could only give up helplessly in the end.

But if you don't think, it's like losing the meaning and purpose of life, losing all your strength, and living like a walking corpse in this world.

I have no appetite and can't sleep at night. I'm hopeless...

While thinking about this, Natsukawa Masuzu accidentally discovered that the presence of a certain person could alleviate this symptom.

Even though he was just a male classmate I'd barely spoken to, his image kept popping into my mind; even though it was just a bowl of plain porridge with no flavor, the warmth it brought spread from my esophagus all the way into my heart.

As long as you focus wholeheartedly on your work, the powerlessness and emptiness will recede like the tide, as if you have found a new pillar to support your empty shell.

An unknown, strange disease might require such a mysterious antidote.

So, Natsukawa Masuzu began collecting information about him, writing things about him in her notebook, and buying a bunch of his photos from the news department—because they seemed to be selling well, the supply was plentiful, and new stock was constantly being added.

It was almost like being a fangirl; she even forgot about her daily studies and just looked at JOJO's photos every day, imagining herself talking to him and spending time with him.

Of course, I've used it quite a few times in that area as well.

If she didn't cry for no apparent reason after using it, she might have become addicted, using it three or four times a day to fill the emptiness in her heart with this self-comforting method.

That's why I said that Natsukawa Masaki is already broken.

This is a result-oriented approach.

As for the reason, you'd probably have to ask the only man who could fill that void within her.

Her gaze slowly moved downwards, and Natsukawa Masaki looked at the phone lying on the cover, with a large photo sticker on the phone case.

There were no extra special effects added; it was just her, staring blankly at the camera.

"Just how stupid do you have to be to go and take a photo booth picture by yourself?"

With a mocking coldness, she tore the photo booth picture off, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it into the trash can.

Then, he took a picture of himself walking on the playground from the wall and lay down on the bed.

Her silver hair was disheveled, but Natsukawa Masaki didn't care. She just stared blankly at the photo with her small face upturned. As she stared, her thoughts began to wander and her breathing became more and more rapid.

Holding the photo in one hand, her fingers moved across the paper, her eyes gradually becoming unfocused...

"Ha...woo..."

The breaths, a mixture of sadness and contentment, pain and despair, formed a melody as gentle as a stream.

The once dazzling gemstone is now stained with dull grime and has forgotten its bright color.

△

A book makes a long story; a bookless story makes a short story.

Sunday arrived in a flash, and as promised, the Sky Temple house would be very lively today.

Around 8 a.m., Yuu Tenkuji had already laid out all the ingredients and seasonings needed for the day on the kitchen counter and even bought a small folding table to make it easier for multiple people to work together.

After the event, everyone who used the ingredients or ate the artwork would have to share the cost – it wasn't that he was stingy and unwilling to pay, but rather that two girls in the group refused to take advantage of him no matter what.

Needless to say, Yukino Yukinoshita insisted on paying the "tuition fee" as a token of gratitude.

As for Isshiki and Yuihama, the former acted recklessly, considering herself the most valued junior of his senior, while the latter believed that there was no need to be so calculating between the two of them and that she could repay him in other ways.

For example, making him a bento box or something.

Although he knew that Yui had studied cooking skills diligently for him, Yuu Tenkuji readily accepted Yukino Yukinoshita's suggestion to split the cost of the "Tenkuji Cooking Class" since he could probably cook better even if he used his feet.

"Okay, that's about right."

Clapping her hands in satisfaction, Yuu Tenkuji left the kitchen, glanced at the time on her phone, and headed towards the entrance.

He turned his head and saw the silver-haired girl hiding at the top of the stairs on the second floor, hugging a rabbit doll and spying on the girl downstairs.

"Qiong, are you just going to stand there and watch?"

Kasugano Sora glanced at him with a smile on her face and said expressionlessly, "I'll go back to my room after I've seen what your so-called 'junior' and 'friend' look like."

"Why don't you come down and greet them with me?"

"No, saying hello is too much trouble."

After speaking in a calm tone, Kasugano Sora suddenly waved her arm, and a kitten slowly emerged from the shadows behind her.

With upright steps and a proud, dignified bearing, he possessed the air of a knight.

Patting its head, Kasugano Sora commanded earnestly, "Yukino, guard the area below. If anyone tries to come up, unleash your Noble Phantasm and wipe them out."

The cat's tail was held high: "Meow! (Yes, master! But where can I get the treasure?)"

"Very good, go ahead." Kasugano Sora nodded in satisfaction, naturally unable to understand what the cat was saying.

Xue Nong then lightly jumped down and sat upright at the top of the stairs like a statue of Anubis.