Feeling slightly uneasy under the gaze, Asuna unconsciously hunched her shoulders and asked in confusion.
"Hmm, it might be a bit strange to ask this now…" Frowning deeply, Martha pondered for two or three seconds before speaking hesitantly.
"Miss Asuna, you've never been in a relationship with anyone, have you?"
"Eh?" Asuna blinked in surprise. "Of course not. Neither in the game nor in the real world…"
"But the mission here was given to couples or married pairs. Have you ever thought about why you were able to successfully take on the mission to heal me?"
Tilting her head slightly, Asuna asked curiously, "Wasn't it because you happened to collapse in front of me, so you gave me this mission specifically?"
As she said this with a reasonable expression, her consciousness suddenly blurred for a moment.
No.
Something was wrong. The issue wasn't that simple!
"Check your inventory. That item might be the reason."
Lowering her head slightly, Martha sighed. Her cloudy eyes glinted with an unclear light, sometimes flat, sometimes stiff, as she stared at the ground.
Snapping back to reality, ignoring the other party, Asuna quickly opened her inventory and searched through the neatly organized list.
"Nothing. Everything's normal…" After searching from top to bottom, she frowned. She also opened the item deletion history. "Grandma Martha, what was that item actually… Huh?"
In the grayed-out history, there was a name she'd never seen before.
[Broken Affection Ring (Unusable).]
"Affection…"
Asuna's mouth opened slightly. She froze in place.
Even though she was in a game, she could clearly feel her blood flowing backward. A wave of nausea gradually rose. It felt as uncomfortable as a nightmare.
"Wait, when did I discard this item… I mean, I never obtained a ring like this?"
Martha didn't answer her.
Talking to herself, Asuna unconsciously clicked the item description below. A single line appeared before her eyes.
[Description: Asuna and (data deleted)'s wedding ring, proof that they once loved each other. (This item has been permanently lost and cannot be recovered).]
Though the description was brief and nonsensical.
For some reason, an overwhelming sense of loneliness suddenly flooded her throat. The tip of her nose stung painfully, like a child feeling sad but unable to find someone to tell.
The system interface blurred. Asuna wiped the clear tears streaming down the back of her hand. Her face still showed disbelief.
"There's a bug in this game…?"
"When did I get married, and who did I love…?"
"Affection… Wait, does this mean I played this game with someone and even got married?"
The inventory screen couldn't be closed for a long time.
The mystery of her dreams remained unsolved, and a new mystery appeared before Asuna.
The entire world seemed to turn magical and confusing from this moment.
Were those dreams just her imagination, or were they facts that had once happened?
Did that person really exist in her life?
The memories she fully believed in now had more and more illogical and confusing elements…
Asuna fell into confusion.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Kyoto University Sports Hall, noon.
Outside, a cold wind blew fiercely, but inside, the atmosphere was vibrant.
The morning matches had ended. The National High School Kendo and Fencing Championship finally concluded after four days.
The last to step onto the podium were athletes from Sobu High School and Kuroyuri Girls' Academy.
Amid cheers and applause, some even egged on the star athletes from both sides to duel with bamboo swords and rapiers, to see who would be the strongest champion of the entire tournament.
After all, whether it was the kendo boy who easily defeated five opponents in just over a minute in the finals or the chestnut-haired girl whose elegant posture and rapier moved as swiftly and beautifully as a meteor, their strength made people doubt their eyes, unable to believe high school students could be this powerful.
Because of the misfortune of encountering these two Demon Kings in the tournament, all the defeated athletes, though reluctant and tearful, had to admit that among everyone present, only those two could challenge each other.
They were monstrously strong!
Of course, the organizers wouldn't approve such an unreasonable request. After handing out awards and giving routine speeches, they began preparing to disband, letting the high school students return home to their mothers.
Before heading back to the inn to pack, Asuna left the Kuroyuri Girls' Academy team and quietly sought out Tenkuji Yuu from the Sobu High School team.
"Tenkuji-kun, can I bother you for a moment?"
"Of course… What's up?"
Other kendo club members were chatting nearby. Only two girls from the volunteer club were with him.
Yuu's lips curved slightly. His eyes looked at her with curiosity. He seemed cheerful and handsome, easily closing the distance between them.
But for some reason, Asuna hated that expression. She even wanted to put her hand on his face and rub it off forcefully.
Shaking her head, she obviously wouldn't actually do it.
"I wanted to ask… Have you ever played Sword World? My brother gave it to you."
Yuu asked in confusion, "Yeah. I remember answering that question last time, didn't I?"
"Then, is your account still active?" Facing the puzzled looks from the two other girls, Asuna coughed awkwardly. Her face flushed slightly as she said, "I-It's my brother who asked me to check. Seems like there's an issue with the technical department."
Yuu nodded. "Of course it's still active."
"Your ID?"
"…" Yuu seemed to hesitate for a moment but masked it with a thoughtful expression. "It's been a while since I logged in. I kinda forgot… But it should be Yuu."
"Yuu? Got it…" Asuna muttered. Ignoring Yuigahama's wary expression and not giving Yuu a chance to ask more, she continued with a serious look:
"Then, have you ever had an online romance? Or, do you have a girlfriend?"
"…"
Yuu, Yukino, and Yuigahama stared at her in shock, as Asuna asked the question so casually.
Yuigahama was the first to react. She pulled Yuu's arm as if protecting her child, puffed out her cheeks, and stared straight at Asuna's beautiful face. She said cautiously:
"Asuna-chan, why are you asking that?"