I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

The curtains were drawn tightly, and the cool air from the air conditioner dispelled the stuffiness and heat of May.

A deep darkness enveloped his body. He lay in bed, his mind blank, staring at the stains on the ceiling, waiting for sleep to close his eyes.

For some reason, a sense of déjà vu welled up from the bottom of my heart, as if I had repeated this time countless times.

Faced with an uncertain future, all I can do is close my eyes anxiously and wait for tomorrow to make the choice that leads to a perfect ending...

How many nights like this have I experienced, having this "girlfriend system"?

"No matter which world I'm in, it's never easy..."

With a soft sigh, Tenkuji slowly closed his eyes, letting his consciousness sink into the pitch-black darkness, and thus drifted off to sleep.

……

reality.

The people in the living room were gathered around Kasumigaoka Utaha with solemn expressions, like detectives investigating a crime scene; while the black-haired girl on the sofa, unconscious and asleep with an eye mask on, was the victim of this accident.

The air seemed to freeze for a moment before Yukinoshita Haruno propped her cheek up with one hand and murmured thoughtfully:

"Why is she the only one who can go in... Could it be that Xiaoyouyou is really going to make a move on this black-stockinged giant cat girl? She has no taste at all."

"..." Yukino Yukinoshita glanced at her older sister with a speechless expression.

Was she deliberately using this sarcastic remark to cover up her resentment at not being selected?

As her younger sister, Yukino could only sigh without offering any comment.

"Calm down and analyze the current situation."

Her dark blue eyes swept sharply across the surroundings. The pretty and dignified girl rested her left hand on her right elbow, her slender white fingers gently touching her chin. Her voice was as melodious as a clear spring: "First, we need to confirm whether Kasumigaoka-senpai really entered Tenkuji-kun's 'trial' or simply logged into the game and accidentally forgot the promise to 'come out in thirty seconds'."

"I'll go check."

Without hesitation, Asuna Yuuki put on her infiltration device again and called out the communication code.

Thirty seconds later, she took off the device and shook her head at Yukino Yukinoshita, while picking up the phone on her lap so they could see the conversation on it.

"It's still the same maintenance space, and I'm still being forcibly kicked offline when the time is up... Also, I just asked my brother, and he said the game is not undergoing any temporary maintenance, and other accounts can log in to 'Swordsman World' smoothly."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone's expressions changed slightly.

In other words, this is yet another "uncommon event".

Then, quite coincidentally, they excluded their group of girlfriends.

Yukino Yukinoshita took a deep breath, suppressing her agitation and displeasure, and made a cool conclusion:

"It can be basically confirmed."

"Unlike us, Kasumigaoka-senpai successfully entered the 'Trial' and probably won't wake up for the time being."

Natsukawa Masuzu immediately chimed in, "Should we try cutting off the power and forcibly removing the machine to see if she wakes up immediately?"

Just like what she did at the cultural festival?

Recalling the terrible feeling of having her efforts thwarted by someone's interference just as she was about to regain her memories, Asuna Yuuki couldn't help but purse her lips, her eyes subtly fixed on Kasumigaoka Utaha's lying body.

'Natsukawa-kun probably didn't have good intentions when she made that suggestion; she probably felt it was unfair... But even so, you can't harm people.'

With a helpless sigh, Asuna Yuuki chose to put aside her resentment and advised, "It's best not to do that. Even though our machines have forced disconnection protection, in this situation, common sense and logic obviously can't be used. If something goes wrong... like never waking up again, that would be terrible."

"Mmm, you're right~"

As if it were just a joke, Natsukawa Masami didn't insist at all and simply shut her mouth, looking at the casual and free smile on her face, as if she didn't feel that it was a pity that her opinion was rejected.

"Yuki-kun, you don't need to listen to her seriously; it's basically all nonsense."

Glancing at the innocent-looking Natsukawa Masuzu, Yukino Yukinoshita continued, "On the other hand, we should be happy—since Kasumigaoka-senpai successfully got in, it means our efforts weren't in vain. The finish line is there; we just didn't find the right method."

"With pioneers paving the way, are those who follow more likely to avoid failure?" Yang Nai nodded in agreement, her tone quite moved. "Truly, my sister speaks such profound wisdom!"

Yukino Yukinoshita had no intention of paying attention to her at all, and earnestly explained her thoughts to the others:

"So the question now is, what exactly is the difference between Kasumigaoka-senpai and us? What differences have emerged in their behavior? We need to find the key to entering the trial from these differences."

Natsukawa Masuzu eagerly joined the discussion: "First of all, isn't she Yu's girlfriend?"

"Only Xiaoyouyou's girlfriend will be excluded?" Raising an eyebrow, Yang Nai interjected with interest, "Could it be that the trial administrator is a jealous little girl who doesn't want to see us bad women even dreaming about being with him?"

Upon hearing this, everyone's gazes instinctively turned to Kasugano Sora, who was giving Tenkuji Yu a lap pillow.

No matter how you look at it, the only person who would do something like this is this brother-obsessed younger sister...

"Why are you looking at me like that? Do you suspect I'm the mastermind behind this?"

Kasugano Sora glared back defiantly, her cute little face filled with displeasure, and she gave a sneer: "That's right, if I were the administrator of that trial, the first thing I would do would be to erase all of you from his memory, then blacklist you all and keep you as far away from him as possible! I wouldn't even let this woman in black stockings go!"

“Little Sky…” Yukino Yukinoshita hesitated before speaking.

But before she could say anything, Kasugano Sora paused, her expression returning to calm, and said coldly, "But unfortunately, if I do this, Yu will definitely not be happy."

"So, stop looking for reasons in me, it's just a waste of your time." Kasugano Sora's gaze shifted to the NervGear in Natsukawa Masuzu's hand, and she reached out to her expressionlessly, "Give me the thing, I'll be your control group."

"Sora, you even know the term 'control group'?" While looking curiously at this shut-in who doesn't go to school, Natsukawa Masu handed over the helmet, smiling like a gentle older sister, and asked, "Where did you see it in a book?"

"textbook."

With no intention of getting close to her, Kasugano Sora gave her a contemptuous look as if she were an idiot as she took the helmet.

"I'm neither stupid nor crazy. Even if I didn't go to school, I have more common sense than some people. You can rest assured about that."

"Is that so..." With a slight twitch at the corner of her mouth, after Kasugano Sora lost interest and looked away, Natsukawa Masuzu clutched her heart and started drawing circles in the corner.

The feeling of being relentlessly mocked by one's future sister-in-law is truly heartbreaking...

"Lincoln is such a big jerk!"

Without hesitation, Kasugano Sora put on the motorcycle helmet-shaped NervGear and, before shouting the login password, instinctively grasped Tenkuji Yu's hand, wanting to gain some sense of security from him.

She didn't want to end up like Kasumigaoka Utaha, never waking up.

Because protecting this home and everything that belongs to the two of them is something only they can do and are qualified to do.

'So, Yu... let me wait for you to come back in reality.'

Kasugano Sora prayed in this way.

The next moment, consciousness was swallowed up by the surging stream of data light.

……

Trial Dream.

Suddenly sensing something, the silver-haired girl, who had grown considerably, frowned slightly, pulled out a chair, sat down in front of the computer, and typed a few keys at lightning speed.

"Tsk, it's 'me' this time... You lucky little thing, why aren't you staying in reality taking care of Yu's body? What are you doing running in here..."

Muttering these complaints, Kasugano Sora temporarily stopped typing and lowered her head in deep thought.

Should we let our counterparts in that timeline know the whole truth?

Invite her in for a while, then throw her back in after we've finished talking...

After thinking for a while, Kasugano Sora finally shook her head, typed a few keys, and rejected the newly appeared login permission.

"If it were me, rather than recklessly coming to find You, I would rather stay at home and wait for him to wake up, take good care of his body in reality, and not worry about him worrying about my safety... Anyway, with those cannon fodder doing their best, there is really no need to risk my life."

So, this login was probably just to serve as a control group for them?

Kasugano Qiong couldn't help but sneer.

...What a pity! No matter how hard you try or how much effort you put into finding a way, you will never be able to enter this trial space unless I allow it!

I'm putting my words here: there will only be one accident like Kasumigaoka Utaha's. From now on, no one will be able to break through my tight blockade!

I said it!

"Hmph, including my other self, you're all caught in a vortex of ignorance, making futile struggles..."

"..."

Sitting on the bed, Kasumigaoka Utaha was typing out the plot of the sixth volume of "Love Metronome" in the notebook she had given her.

She glanced at the silver-haired woman who was chuckling like a villain. Using the screen as cover, she casually took out a black laptop from under her clothes and tentatively wrote a few words on it with a pen she had secretly put away earlier.

Chapter 59 Could it be that he is the one who supervises Senior Kasumigaoka?

Taking off her helmet and looking at her brother's perfectly intact head on her lap, Kasugano Sora couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

"How about it?"

Although the answer was already obvious, Yukino Yukinoshita still asked, "Were you kicked out of that maintenance space?"

"Hmm, but from logging in to logging out, it must have taken more than thirty seconds, right?"

As she tidied her disheveled long hair, Kasugano Sora casually replied, "It's not like what you guys said, where I was locked in the maintenance space as soon as I logged in. I spent some time in a brightly lit passage before entering that pitch-black place."

Because she was stuck for a while, she almost thought she was going to follow in Kasumigaoka Utaha's footsteps.

Fortunately, they came out safely in the end, without encountering anything strange, and their experience was basically the same as that of others.

Recalling the brief experience just now, Kasugano Sora let out a sigh of relief, still feeling lingering fear.

"Is that so..."

After listening to her explanation, Yukino Yukinoshita lowered her head and pondered for a long time before tentatively concluding: "It seems that whether or not someone is a girlfriend does not affect their eligibility to enter the trial."

No, quite the opposite.

Yukino suddenly spoke up, decisively and cleanly rejecting her idea.

Yukino frowned and looked over: "What do you mean?"

"This means that my girlfriend's identity not only has a decisive impact, but it also confirms to me that there really is an 'administrator' in Xiaoyouyou's head, controlling this trial—"

Yang narrowed his eyes, like a leopard that had found its prey. A smile played on his lips, and a dangerous glint flashed in his cold, slightly mocking eyes.

"And this guy probably really hates us."

"You mean..."

After only a moment's hesitation, Yukino quickly grasped the situation and followed her sister's train of thought to provide the answer: "The reason why Sora stayed inside longer than us is because the administrator was hesitant about letting her in? And since we were not welcome, he deliberately made us wait inside for thirty seconds before kicking us out?"

This also confirms that the conjecture that "the 30-second maintenance time was intentionally caused by someone" is not a misconception.