I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

"Without evidence, we can only say that it's possible."

Yang shrugged, though his tone betrayed his unwavering conviction in his conclusion.

"What Sister-chan and Shiyu have in common is that they are not girlfriends, but what they are different is whether they have the key to open the door... So I think if Sister-chan could also have a gadget like Shiyu's notebook, she could probably go straight into the trial."

Everyone couldn't help but look at Kasumigaoka Utaha's flat stomach.

The black-covered notebook, imbued with mysterious power, lay there quietly.

"Wait, if that's the case..."

Suddenly realizing something was amiss, Yukino Yukinoshita asked, somewhat puzzled, "To enter the trial, we need the administrator's permission... so why are we being asked to find the 'key' and the 'gate'?"

"Even if we meet all the requirements, if the administrator refuses to let us in, it's all for nothing—"

"NONONO~ Yukino, your thinking is still not comprehensive enough, and your vision is too narrow."

With an exaggerated sigh and a shake of her head, under Yukino's glare that made her eyes twitch slightly, Haruno leaned back slightly and said in a lecturing tone, "Think about it from another angle, 'administrator's approval' and 'opening the door with a key' are not mutually exclusive options, are they?"

"Is the login method for a game something that only the company's programmers can control?"

Touched by something she knew well, Asuna Yuuki paused for a moment before instinctively replying, "So, a background program? Like a hacker breaking into a game from another connection port, bypassing the administrator to perform operations..."

“That’s right, exactly!” Yang Nai snapped his fingers casually, his expression gradually becoming serious. He glanced at his younger sister, then swept his gaze across the others, and spoke slowly and calmly:

"The following is my irresponsible speculation, without any evidence. You can only believe my observations and analysis."

"First of all, it's very likely that the notebook isn't affiliated with the deity on Xiaoyouyou's side."

As if she didn't want her older sister to steal the spotlight, or as if she was provoked by that disdainful look, Yukino Yukinoshita retorted without backing down: "Because what it wants to do is change fate, and Tenkuji-kun is currently under the control of the God's fate—it must have foreseen some bad outcome, which is why it asked us to find a way to intervene in the trial."

Without looking at her younger sister or denying her words, Yukinoshita Haruno continued, "We are now on the same side as the Notebook, so we can't really be sure whether the administrator is hostile to us or the Notebook that wants to interfere with the trial... But in any case, it is impossible to enter the trial in the normal way, so the Notebook asked us to find the 'key and the door'."

"So it's a background program, right? It bypasses the administrator and performs an intrusion," Yuuki Asuna summarized simply.

At this point, Natsukawa Masuzu raised a question: "Then why was Kasumigaoka Utaha able to get in smoothly? She didn't have a key, and she was the owner of the notebook. Logically speaking, she shouldn't have been able to get in from either the front or the back."

“There are many possibilities, but I’m more inclined to a conspiracy theory.” Yang raised a finger, his eyes narrowing again. “We are bait. The key and all that doesn’t actually have the ability to enter the trial. It’s just a decoy to attract the administrator’s attention… Once it kicks us out, the notebook will use the real ‘background program’ to send Kasumigaoka Utaha in, so that she can change her fate on her own.”

"..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the sheer volume of information left everyone speechless.

After a long pause, Natsukawa Masuzu lowered her head and said softly, "So, all our efforts to help Yuu were just used as stepping stones for Kasumigaoka Utaha...?"

Yukino Yukinoshita spread her hands, her face full of indifference: "I guess that's how it is? Although I'm thinking of the worst-case scenario, there's also the possibility that we just haven't found the right method. But whether I'm right or not, we're already at a loss."

After all, without Kasumigaoka Utaha, who guided them forward with her notebook, the "key and door" seemed like a useless deception. As just a group of ordinary female students, where would they get the power to intervene in the trials given by the gods?

The air in the living room suddenly became extremely humid.

"Are we just going to give up like this...?"

Involuntarily, Asuna Yuuki glanced at Yuu Tenkuji on the sofa, her eyes trembling slightly, her hand gripping her exclusive AmuSphere tighter and tighter, a sense of powerlessness and resentment welling up in her heart, yet she was unwilling to just succumb to reality.

Yukino Yukinoshita was still thinking. Although it seemed like she had reached a dead end, she believed that it was just that she had not yet discovered the most crucial information, and it was not yet time to "surrender" as her sister had said.

Many runners fail because they fall short in the last few steps.

Tagore once said that mistakes cannot withstand failure, but truth is not afraid of failure. For Yukino Yukinoshita, who is always perfect, being able to overcome problems is a very pleasant thing.

Of course, she wasn't thinking that complicatedly right now; she just wouldn't stop wanting to save Yuu Tenkuji herself until he woke up.

This is also a responsibility of a girlfriend.

Yukino watched their different expressions. She seemed to have already lay down and was too lazy to think about anything, but her eyes occasionally flashed with a thoughtful look, like a glacier reflecting a cold and clear light under the sun.

After all, she was a woman who had once snatched her memories back from the "gods," so how could she so easily give up on the current situation?

As long as she's given an opportunity, the black-stockinged woman who suddenly appeared out of nowhere can go as far away as possible. Little Youyou can be saved by herself!

As for Natsukawa Masaki...

"In that case, there's no need to keep this notebook, right?"

She suddenly sneered, stood up indifferently, and walked towards Kasumigaoka Utaha.

The group of people, who were deep in thought, were brought to their senses by her words. They watched in surprise as she picked up the black-covered notebook, unsure whether to stop her.

"Natsukawa-kun, you wouldn't... "

"I'll just tear it up. Anyway, this stuff is like QB, it can regenerate infinitely, right?" Natsukawa Masaki said casually, swiping open the notebook and pinching the left and right sides with his fingers, ready to vent his dissatisfaction and frustration.

Yukino Yukinoshita offered a word of advice: "Just because Kasumigaoka-senpai tore it up and it's okay doesn't mean we're safe... After all, it's something related to supernatural powers, so it's better not to act rashly."

If some kind of curse were torn out, even if it wouldn't affect her, Yukino didn't want to see that happen.

Knowing she was concerned about him, Natsukawa Masui's tone softened, and she chuckled, a slight smile playing on her lips: "Let's think about it optimistically. What if there's a clue that can only be revealed by tearing up this notebook? To find a breakthrough in this 'helpless' situation, being a little risky shouldn't be a problem, right? After all, risk and opportunity go hand in hand~"

"Risks and opportunities..." Yukino Yukinoshita rested her chin on her hand thoughtfully, and after a long while, she reluctantly nodded. "As long as it's not just a simple act of venting, go ahead and tear it... But please stop immediately if anything goes wrong. We're on the same side now, so I hope you'll have some consideration."

"Don't worry, Ayou will save us if anything happens."

Sanfen jokingly said this, just as Natsukawa Masuzu was about to tear the notebook that had been used against them and was now of little use in order to ease her mood.

Yukinoshita Haruno, with her sharp eyes, noticed something between the swaying white papers and immediately stood up to stop her.

"Wait a minute, let me take a look."

"what?"

Before Natsukawa Masuzu could react, Yukinoshita Haruno snatched the notebook from her hands and held it in her palms, examining it carefully.

The more I looked at her, the stranger her expression became, as if she didn't know where to begin her吐槽 (tu cao, a Chinese internet slang term for sarcastic or critical comments).

"Is this a coincidence or... never mind, you guys come and take a look too."

Not long after, Yang Nai scratched his head in a bit of a predicament, and finally, as if giving up, waved to the curious girls.

He sighed and sat back down on the sofa, handing the notebook to Yukino.

"Judging from your expression, has something new come up?"

"No way? Tearing up books actually works?"

"Could it be that this notebook itself is sentient and doesn't want anyone other than Kasumigaoka-senpai to tear it up?"

Amidst the various opinions, three other girls also gathered around, their eyes fixed on the open pages of the notebook.

That was the place that everyone had just confirmed, and it hadn't changed since Kasumigaoka Utaha "entered the trial".

However, the unexpected words that came into view left them speechless, their mouths agape in astonishment, unsure of how to respond.

Is anyone outside?

"The notebook shouldn't have come in with me, right? Or did it disappear along with my consciousness?"

"TEST 12, this is Kasumigaoka Utaha. I'm testing whether I can connect the two worlds using my laptop. I'd like to request help from outside."

"I hope someone sees this, and I hope that whoever sees it will reply as soon as possible... Honestly, I don't want to be imprisoned here typing anymore! The key is that not being able to go to the toilet or eat is so uncomfortable, I feel like I'm getting further and further away from being human."

"There aren't many opportunities to take out the notebook, after all, that damn ○○○, I'm under her surveillance every day..."

"Fine, I'll just consider this a failed experiment. Writing it as a diary entry isn't so bad either."

"I don't know which year, month, or day, but I was imprisoned in room ○○○○, living a life where I could do nothing but write and play games."

"If I hadn't gone mad before seeing that guy from Tenkuuji, I would have definitely kicked his golden jewel hard!"

"Good evening. I don't know how many days it's been since I arrived in the trial world. Shiyu-chan is still normal, but I'm a little homesick, sob sob~"

"..."

"Can I swear? Will anyone notice? I've been researching the swear words of a certain major country lately, and I've found them to be incredibly profound and complex. The parts with swear words are perfect for venting stress..."

"So, Tenkuji Yu, I'll f*** your sister! If I don't write an R18G story about you being gender-swapped, imprisoned, and harassed and post it on Pixiv for everyone to see, I'm not Kasumi Utako! You forced me to do this!"

"If you release me now, I can be magnanimous and forgive you, and not hold your imprisonment against you..."

At first, it was just a sentence or two.

But as they turned the pages, they saw more and more similar handwriting, with ink rising up like special effects subtitles, filling the entire page and profoundly expressing the girl's gradual loss of reason and despair.

Not only did her words become increasingly harsh, but seven out of ten sentences were blocked by a mysterious force. She also gave up all hope of communicating with the real world and vented her anger and anxiety about not being able to go home to Tenkuji Yu.

Later on, it basically became a book titled "A Complete Guide to How to Curse Someone in Japanese Without Repeating Themselves".

"What exactly is going on..."

Looking at these astonishing contents, Yukino Yukinoshita murmured in a daze, still not having recovered.

As if she had suddenly discovered something astonishing, Natsukawa Masaki gasped sharply, her voice hoarse with disbelief:

"Wait, what if everything written here is true—"

"Could it be that in the dream, Ayu imprisoned Kasumigaoka Utaha and deliberately prevented her from leaving?!"

"So the victim isn't Yuu, but actually Kasumigaoka Utaha?"

Yukinoshita Yono: "???"

Yukinoshita Yukino: "???"

Yuki Asuna: "???"

Kasugano Qiong: "???"

Chapter Sixty was truly a time of dire straits.

The living room fell silent, but no one stared at the boy lying on the sofa with a piercing gaze, as Natsukawa Masuzu had expected.

As if she could see through her thoughts and acting in an instant, Yukino Yukinoshita regained her composure and said softly, "It's written in the notebook, 'If I haven't gone crazy before meeting Tenkuji,' and she kept complaining about Tenkuji-kun to herself afterward, which means that the two of them haven't met yet. How could it be him?"

Words that can be easily found to be flawed upon careful consideration have no power in front of her.

Furthermore, assuming there's even a one in ten thousand chance that Yuu Tenkuji really did secretly lock Kasumigaoka Utaha, who was in the trial, in a certain room...

Yukino Yukinoshita also believed that there was a reason for it, and that it was not because of the ridiculous reason of "being attracted to her beauty".

After all, there are so many beautiful young women waiting for him to come back in reality, including himself... Why would he bother with an older woman who only has a good figure but no feelings?

Nodding as if she had found the truth, Yukino Yukinoshita didn't hesitate to throw out a sharp question: "Are you underestimating our intelligence, or are you still trying to sow discord even now?"

"No, it's not that. I just wanted to lighten the mood. Why are you all so serious?"

Natsukawa Masaki answered quickly, but everyone knew it was just a ridiculously weak lie.