I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

"Don't worry, he's just covering for you by portraying you as an utterly wicked player," Yuu Tenkuji said with a chuckle. "That's why I was a beat slow to react when your voice startled me... Yuuki-kun, you didn't really beat a bunch of challengers to a pulp like they said, did you?"

This time, however, he waited for a long time but did not receive a reply from her.

However, before he could look down at her expression, a ghostly, ethereal voice, carried by the wind, reached his ears, bringing a chill.

"Calling me 'Yuki-kun, Yuki-kun' is really unpleasant... I've been waiting for you for so long, it seems you really don't intend to explain yourself, Tenkuji-kun."

"..."

Tenkuji Yuu froze, as if someone were pointing a gun at his head, maintaining his initial posture and not daring to move.

Looking at him like this, Asuna Yuuki couldn't help but chuckle softly, but it felt as light and delicate as a hair falling onto a blade and being easily cut in two.

"A standard violent maniac? Extremely belligerent? Doesn't resemble a girl at all? She's practically a tigress? Hmm? Tell me, who is this?"

"..."

Yuu Tenkuji maintained his right to remain silent, but Asuna Yuuki clearly had no intention of letting him off so easily.

"Terrifying and troublesome? It's best to avoid it when you see it? Did your brother tell you this, or is this your assessment of me? Tell me, I won't get angry, why don't you explain properly?"

Her questioning tone was very gentle, but it was precisely because of this that the coldness and anger in her voice were even more obvious, as if she would suddenly change her expression and rip open her own chest at any moment.

"..."

Yuu Tenkuji gazed at the white clouds, a thoughtful look in his eyes, and remained silent.

"It's too late to play dumb now."

His voice suddenly calmed down, without any inflection.

Standing two meters in front of him, Asuna Yuuki spoke softly, "Tenkuji-kun, could you please answer a few questions for me?"

"Why do you know so much about me when I've never seen you in the game?"

"……Ugh."

Like a prisoner who has reached a dead end, Tenkuji Yu lowered his head, suddenly sighed, picked up his sword and stood up.

Asuna Yuuki's gaze followed his upward movement, never leaving his expression.

"Why do you say I've never beaten you, and that you're so familiar with my moves, when we've never even fought before?"

This time, he answered casually:

There's no reason why, it's just like this.

In fact, Yuu Tenkuji didn't know how to deal with her.

Should I be honest about the past, or try to deceive her?

Asuna Yuuki's appearance was too sudden, especially in this special situation where the two of them were alone. Even with Yuu Tenkuji's wit, he couldn't figure out which way to go for a moment.

He didn't know her purpose, nor did he know if she had recalled something. How was he supposed to react in time?

Honesty about the past would drag Asuna down with him, but now, having made the foolish mistake of saying those things to a "stranger," he's essentially driven himself into a corner with little room for maneuver...

It's better to keep fighting.

Fighting is the most fun. You don't need to say anything, just use your fists to communicate, and it doesn't matter if you don't communicate.

For now, let's deal with this through a duel. Once we're back in reality, I'll confess my relationship with Yukino to Asuna, and then we can discuss how to deal with this third girlfriend.

Although according to the order of arrival, Asuna Yuuki is Natsukawa Masuzu's senior and should be ranked second.

However, compared to his ex-girlfriend, his current girlfriend is much more important, and the order of importance cannot be reversed—so it's best to take Yukino's feelings into account and not make any rash decisions on your own.

Having made up his mind, Tenkuji Yu suddenly raised his one-handed sword and pointed it at the bearded man standing in front of him.

"Alright, the countdown isn't over yet, let's continue the duel!"

But the rapier wielder opposite him showed no appreciation, and his eyes gradually turned cold, like two sharp ice blades.

Aren't you going to answer the questions?

Like the calm before a storm, Tenkuji Yu could no longer discern any emotion in her voice.

Slightly moved, he subconsciously lowered his posture and his tone became sincere:

"It's not that I won't answer. It's just that even if I did answer, it wouldn't be a good thing for you."

Their eyes met, creating an invisible vortex in the air; their hair began to flutter, and the grass roots on the ground gradually bent over.

Tenkuji Yu did not back down. As if trying to move her with his sincere attitude, he slowly said, word by word:

"Yuki-kun, whatever you've guessed, I sincerely advise you not to dwell on it anymore."

"..."

The other person's pupils suddenly contracted, but Yuu Tenkuji seemed not to notice and continued, "Just pretend nothing happened, ignore that feeling of forgetting something and having to remember it... That's definitely the right choice for you."

Although this statement contradicts the promise he made to her during his injury layoff.

However, there is still hope for Asuna Yuuki.

Regardless of his ex-girlfriends Yukinoshita and Natsukawa Masuzu, who actively approached him and were very close to his social circle; Yuuki Asuna not only studied in the next city, but also had no chance to contact him on a regular basis. She could easily start a new life and leave him to find happiness that could last forever.

Who hasn't been in two or three relationships? It's just a first love, let's just forget about it.

—This is what he wants to say to Yukinoshita and Masuzu Natsukawa right now.

You're in a trap yourself; once you've finally escaped, don't come back—if there's still time, Yuu Tenkuji really doesn't want this netizen to fall into the same situation as them.

Even Yukino Yukinoshita, who was waiting outside, probably wouldn't want her to recall the past after this mission is over, right?

It has nothing to do with the system's misdeeds.

Because he knows that the happier he is now, the more painful it will be when he is torn apart by memories and emotions in the end.

Although he couldn't control that kind of pain, he still hoped that as few people as possible would experience it, and that every person less would be spared.

So now, seeing that she hadn't listened to a word he said, Tenkuji slowly exhaled, composed himself, and calmly picked up his one-handed sword.

"How about this then? There's just a little bit of time left in the duel."

"If you beat me, I'll tell you everything I have to say. If I beat you, just pretend nothing happened, let go of the past, look to the future, and stop causing yourself unnecessary trouble."

In order to prevent another victim from becoming a victim.

From this moment on, he will use all his strength to defeat Asuna Yuuki.

Chapter 164 I will never forgive you

"..."

As soon as the words were spoken, it was as if the entire imaginary world had been put on pause.

The wind subsided, the clouds stood still, and the air began to condense around Asuna Yuuki.

Time accompanied the silence for less than five seconds.

"The most correct choice? Stop talking nonsense!"

The girl's voice, filled with suppressed anger, seemed to ignite the entire grassland, echoing even in the clearing sky after the dark clouds had dispersed.

Do you think I'll listen to you without question?

"!?"

Tenkuji Yu unconsciously rattled his throat, trying hard to suppress the change in his expression.

...These were the words that Asuna Yuuki had said to him before their farewell during the injury break.

It must be a coincidence, right?

"Tenkuji-kun, I've never been this angry before. I can't even understand why you can say such things so matter-of-factly..."

She kept her head down, each word spoken with force, as if bursting from between her teeth, yet tinged with sadness and confusion.

"Do you know how I felt when I came to find you? Do you know how happy I was when we dueled just now?"

The questioning continued, and the rapier was slowly raised.

Instead of remaining steadily suspended in mid-air as before, his voice trembled even more as it gradually lowered in pitch.

"It's like being trapped in a game for ages and finally finding the logout button. Do you know how long I was troubled by that vague, unreal feeling?"

"Do you know that when I heard you say those things about the 'Mother Tyrannosaurus Rex', although I was so annoyed that I wanted to punch you right away, I was also relieved to finally discover the truth?"

The veins on the back of her hand bulged out, and Asuna Yuuki's tone became increasingly intense and urgent.

"You have no idea how scared I was during this time, you have no idea how uneasy I felt about your inexplicable feelings for me, and you have no idea how much effort and sacrifice I made to see you and unravel all these mysteries..."

"You know nothing, and just because you think it's the 'right choice,' you want me to pretend none of this ever happened, and just throw all my efforts, your affairs, and everything that happened in our past into the trash can?!"

It felt as if a storm had swept across his face; the heavy and sharp questioning made Yuu's eardrums ache.

"I don't know, and I don't think I need to know." Yuuto shook his head, shaking off his initial hesitation, and assumed a sword-fighting stance. "Anyway, as long as I beat you, this matter will be over—"

"Your rambling ends here!" Asuna Yuuki interrupted him.

Then, taking a deep breath, a sigh lighter than a feather fell to the ground.

"Our ring is still here."

"Huh?! How is that possible?!"

Her attempt to rush forward froze in place, and Tenkuji Yu stared at her wide-eyed in disbelief.

"I've confirmed it, that guy destroyed the ring a long time ago..."

Seeing the cold smile slowly spreading across Yuuki Asuna's face, he was stunned for a moment, then realized that the ring thing wasn't true, and he had been tricked into saying something!

But then how did she know about the ring...?

"I'll ask you who that guy is later."

The rapier regained its stability, and Asuna Yuuki stared at him intently, her eyes resolute and filled with killing intent.

"If Sister Mary hadn't reminded me, I wouldn't have known that her missions always required two people to work together."

"I would never have known that there was a destroyed ring deep in my inventory, which proved that I was once married to a male player."

"I certainly wouldn't spend several days comparing the login records of each helmet... In the end, I found you, the one who once said he had never seen me, but who logged in and out at the same time as me many times."

"After something like this happened and we've done so much investigation, do you expect me to pretend nothing happened?"