I really don't want to have a girlfriend.

As if he had anticipated her reaction, Tenkuji Yu exerted force with his right hand again, sweeping the sword upwards with the fading green light, and suddenly sent the girl flying.

"Well!"

A muffled groan escaped her lips, and her slender body rolled twice on the ground before finally regaining its balance.

Although it didn't hurt, the feeling of something crashing into her body and churning her internal organs still made Asuna Yuuki very uncomfortable.

There was no time for her to savor the feeling. The chestnut-haired rapier user simply gave up on standing up, gripped his weapon tightly, and started from a crouching position, shooting out like a spring.

"Drink it! Aa ...

As it swirled up the grass clippings and fallen leaves along the way, that dazzling, deep pink light swept in with even greater power.

The lightning-fast "Linear Thrust" once again blossomed before him.

"It was fast, as expected... However, if I'm prepared, you can't hit it."

While expressing amazement and appreciation for the attack, Tenkuji Yu seemed to have anticipated the trajectory of her thrust, nimbly dodging the ray-like sword tip, and the one-handed sword behind her lit up with a watery light.

The Vertical Slash, having chosen its exact moment, was about to strike directly at the girl's slender waist, cleaving her in two.

Just as he raised his hand, Yuuki Asuna inexplicably turned around in mid-air, her slender wrist twisting along with the sword hilt, and the pink effect light that should have dissipated flickered again.

"Don't underestimate me!"

With her face bare and her hair disheveled, she narrowed her eyes into two crescent moons, smiling with a mix of competitiveness and smugness.

Just as Tenkuji Yu was stunned by this, her petite body suddenly unleashed incredible power, stabbing out a sharp beam of light, deflecting the light blue sword light, and seizing the moment of stiffness, she swung it down fiercely.

brush!

The rapier missed its mark by a hair's breadth, slicing past his eyes. A few strands of black hair danced in the air before quietly shattering into polygonal fragments.

Subconsciously holding his breath, Yuu Tenkuji did not hesitate. Using the recoil from the sword being deflected, he leaned back and kicked the chestnut-haired rapier user away.

"Whoa! You...you actually kicked a girl?! And without even hesitation..."

"Ugh, so noisy! We're in the middle of a duel!"

After a brief argument, their swords clashed again, sparks flying as they glared at their opponent with gritted teeth and excitement.

—That's the expression of someone enjoying this 'game'.

△

In the end, Yuu Tenkuji won the duel.

"Waaaah... If only I had used my foot to twist the direction of the sword technique the instant it came down..."

"No, rather, if I had more sword techniques to follow up..."

The defeated girl sat on the grass, hugging her knees, muttering to herself with resentment and indignation, her resentful eyes occasionally glancing at Yuu Tenkuji.

He felt a chill run down his spine under her gaze. Despite being the victor, he could only say helplessly, "Alright, alright, I'll tell you how to use sword techniques without regard to proficiency. Whether you can learn it or not is none of my business."

"really?"

Asuna Yuuki's eyes lit up instantly, and the gloom that had been hanging over her vanished without a trace: "Yay! Thank you, Tenkuji-kun!"

She excitedly waved her little fist, her smile radiant.

Unaffected by her emotions, Tenkuji Yu rolled her eyes: "You're welcome. Also, just call me by my character name. It's so weird to use my real-life surname in the game."

"Then... Haru-kun?"

He tentatively uttered the name, and the chestnut-haired rapier's face, no longer bearing the fierce sharpness of his duel, was instead tinged with a faint embarrassment and shyness. He involuntarily shrugged and chuckled dryly, "Ahaha, this is the first time I've ever called a boy by his name directly..."

"Just treat it as a nickname like 'teacher' or 'principal,' and I'll call you Asuna too."

Responding casually, Yura Tenkuji pulled up the menu, quickly typed a few words, and sent out an email.

"Huh? This is..."

Upon hearing the notification tone, Asuna quickly opened the email sent by her friend.

—This is a method that bypasses the system's assessment and uses advanced sword techniques regardless of proficiency.

After quickly scanning through the code, she looked at him with astonishment: "You've only been in the game for a short time, and you've already found this kind of bug? That's amazing..."

"It's alright, I'm pretty good at playing games." Taking the system's skills as her own, Tenkuji Yu accepted the praise calmly, then earnestly advised:

"Don't tell your brother about this bug. I'll 'find an opportunity' to tell him when I see him."

Of course, this is done through teaching by example and words.

A cold smile crept across her face, and Tenkuji Yu silently added a sentence.

"Don't worry, I'm planning to use this technique to get revenge on you! Of course, I won't tell anyone."

Still feeling resentful about the duel they had just fought, Asuna raised her eyebrows at him defiantly.

However, seeing the green health bar slowly recovering next to his head, he couldn't help but feel ashamed and lowered his head like a child who had made a mistake.

"Well... I started this conflict myself, and now I'm making you tell me such an important secret, I'm really sorry..."

“Indeed, that’s going too far!” Nodding vigorously in agreement, Tenkuji Yu stroked his chin and said seriously, “If this were in the real world, doing this would probably cause a lot of problems.”

"I...I didn't want to do this either! If it weren't for my brother..."

Before she could finish speaking, Asuna's expression suddenly changed drastically. She quickly tapped the still-open menu twice, and then the virtual body disappeared.

Before leaving, she only had time to leave this one sentence:

"I don't know when I'll be able to log in again. I'll make it up to you then. Bye!"

"..."

Tenkuji Yu opened her mouth slightly, staring in astonishment at the spot where she had disappeared.

"So urgent...did your mother gank you?"

Did she notice her mother's movements, or was she caught off guard and ambushed by the jungler?

Having finally found a strong teammate, Yuu Tenkuji, who was becoming increasingly interested in the game, did not gloat, but instead clasped his hands together in reverence.

I hope he's alright...

But the next moment, his pupils suddenly contracted, and he no longer had any leeway to worry about the other party.

"Target updated."

"Target: Asuna Yuuki."

"Note: Please enter Sword World before 8 PM on September 5th, go to the central auditorium of Beginning Town and meet the target to start the mission."

"Hint: Please explore on your own."

Yuu Tenkuji: "..."

This dog system, I can go figure it out myself!

Chapter Ten: There's Always a Scoundrel Wanting to Be My Brother-in-Law

To be honest, even the donkeys in the production team probably weren't as hardworking as Yuuki Tenkuji.

Less than twelve hours had passed, and he had just ended a love affair filled with encounters and partings when the system gave him a new goal—it was just a name, and he had to figure out the rest on his own.

"Good morning, working class!" It was as if I could hear the system's heartless voice.

I wonder if he'll be a rented boyfriend again this time; and what does Yuuki Asuna, this sheltered young lady with superb swordsmanship, want to get from him?

"Never mind, whatever."

Muttering to himself, Sky Temple casually closed the system panel and turned to walk towards the "Town of Beginnings".

The girl's virtual form had vanished, leaving no fragrance in the air. The entire grove was both quiet and somewhat eerie.

The monsters seemed to have just respawned, and faint rustling sounds of footsteps could be heard from within the layers of darkness.

However, Yuu Tenkuji lost interest in leveling up for the time being and planned to return to town to rest before logging off to do other things.

It has nothing to do with a system attack.

He just felt that it was rare to meet a companion in this world with whom he could go on adventures. It would be a bit disloyal to leave her behind and play by himself, and it wouldn't be very meaningful either.

There's nothing we can do; this game is still in closed beta.

It was so deserted, like a single-player game, that after playing for more than an hour, his initial interest was almost completely gone.

Ultimately, even with expert-level gaming skills, Yuu Tenkuji will never acquire the mindset of a professional gamer.

He's still the same person who does whatever he wants, and whose sister and feelings are the most important things to him.

—Including this 'mission'.

Tenkuji Yu would also respond with this casual attitude.

Looking back, it was because I worked too hard to farm rewards and mine those so-called "minerals" that I unknowingly developed feelings for Yukino Yukinoshita and even fell completely in love with her.

And Zho Chi-ki, in one of his books, said the following:

"Newton's Third Law also applies to relationships between people."

Newton's Third Law states that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Because he realized this, Yuu Tenkuji chose to make changes for his second mission.

The system has provided enough money for now, and he doesn't lack any status effects or rewards. He can now slow down his pace and complete the system task smoothly, with a mindset that is neither negative nor positive, just like solving a math problem in a textbook.

In short, it means turning initiative into passivity—don't invest too much emotion in either people or task rewards.

In this way, in the end, one can calmly accept the fact of separation and forgetting.

Thinking of this, Tenkuji Yu couldn't help but sigh:

"Even if emotions can be taken back, as long as memories remain, other things will inevitably be left behind..."

In the virtual world, he subconsciously touched his chest, thinking there was no heart inside, but he felt a faint heartbeat.

Okay, this is a little awkward...

He had originally intended to say that even without a heart, there was indeed some kind of weight in his chest, just like the systems in his body, which wouldn't be converted into cold data.

Withdrawing his hand, Tenkuji Yu scratched his head, finally concluding with a sigh of resignation:

"For your own good, it's best to take a more Zen-like approach."