That slightly mocking question clearly showed that she had no trust in Masuzu.
"What a pity." Masuzu let out a feigned sigh, speaking with full disappointment, "I can't find anything here that's enough to prove our bond. Should I just give up here..."
As if unable to tolerate this cheap act, Haruno mercilessly exposed it: "Not here, so it must be at home, right?"
Masuzu quickly retracted her expression, calmly flicked her long hair, and folded her arms: "Correct, so I have to go home to get something... Although I can't guarantee it's definitely the right one, there's no harm in trying my best."
"In that case, please go and come back quickly. Safe travels~" Taking on the role of hostess, Haruno, lounging on the sofa, smiled and waved, but her eyes clearly urged her to leave immediately.
"Tch." Masuzu clicked her tongue in displeasure. She was too lazy to argue with this person who had just gained a little power. She turned and went to the entrance to put on her jacket and prepare to leave for a while.
Hearing the sound of the door closing, Yukino secretly sighed after witnessing the confrontation between the two.
(How long has it been, and they're still competing for attention?)
(The person in question is in a coma; what's the point of competing anymore...?)
She glanced at the sleeping Yuu with a bit of worry, then shifted her gaze to Asuna.
With her hands clasped on her knees, Yukino said with a calm expression and serious tone: "Yuuki-san, he must have talked to you about being his girlfriend at the cafe before coming to our apartment, right? May I ask how you felt at that time, when you learned that you were actually his girlfriend?"
"Feelings?" Asuna blinked in surprise. Then she held her chin and thought for a moment. After realizing she was under everyone's gaze, she scratched her cheek shyly, "Well... it was a feeling of relief after realizing everything, feeling happy, and wanting to recover my memories as soon as possible."
"My situation is quite special. I wasn't deceived for long by the false memories and recovered with the power of Willpower, and through various clues, I knew early on that my relationship with Tenkuji-kun was very close... So, after learning that I had dated him, instead of being shocked, I felt more like 'Ah, so that's how it is.'"
Seeing Yukino's wise eyes, Asuna seemed to suddenly understand something and smiled friendly.
"But the most important thing is to acknowledge my feelings that I like him, right? Because he's so important to me, before everything is settled, I have to work hard to be able to stand by his side without any hesitation!"
"Yuuki-san..."
As if her heart was shaken, Yukino stared at her in surprise for a few seconds, then lowered her head, smiling helplessly.
"Just because of the feeling of liking, you can take action... If it were me, maybe I couldn't be like you..."
(Even so.)
(As long as I know where I should stand and what goal I should pursue—I also have unique things I can do!)
Clenching both hands as if cheering herself on, Yukino lifted her eyes again, smiling at Asuna with confidence and pride.
However, at this moment, Haruno spoke without regard for the atmosphere.
"Oh, such touching feelings~ Then, how did you feel when you learned that Yuu-chan has many girlfriends everywhere, but you ended up liking this scumbag who seems to be planning a harem?"
"Nee-san..." Yukino looked at her with a reproachful tone.
Haruno blinked innocently: "What's wrong? You were the first to change the topic; can't I ask too?"
"It's not that you can't..."
Too lazy to deal with her foolish little sister who had become a double standard after interacting with Yuu, Haruno shifted her attention back to Asuna, staring at her slightly troubled expression with great interest.
"Honestly, when I first found out, I really wanted to call him a playboy..."
After hesitating for a moment, Asuna let out a helpless sigh: "But now I know he has unspeakable difficulties, and the situation he's facing is very abnormal. Overall, it can even be said that he's actually very responsible and values feelings..."
Yukino nodded in agreement, while Haruno pouted, noncommittal.
"Even if I blame him for being flirtatious, I can't guarantee that a non-flirtatious him would choose me..." Asuna pressed her temple with her hand, speaking as if surrendering, "Ah, I don't even know what to say now. I can only leave it to my future self after my memories fully recover. I can't hate him just because of this, right?"
"Indeed, a very good mentality."
Uttering that evaluation casually, Haruno smiled and glanced at the two girls, saying cheerfully: "Come to think of it, I'm really looking forward to the situation after your memories fully recover... Do you know? Remembering every detail you experienced with him, but realizing that you can never go back to the past where you monopolized all his love, and can only reluctantly acknowledge that you're one of the people he likes—"
Her voice suddenly dimmed. Her curved eyes turned cold, and her friendly smile formed a mocking and piercing arc, as if freezing the air into ice, she said slowly with clear words:
"That pain is so severe that it almost makes me want to lock him in the basement so he can't see anyone else again."
"..."
As if their throats were dry, Yukino and Asuna unconsciously swallowed. They stared in horror at the college student in front of them with a cold face, as if a thick black aura hovered around her.
The living room lights flickered twice as if there was a bad connection. In the brief darkness, their lightless eyes were like two pools of blood, where disturbing cruelty and savagery rippled amid the thick redness.
From tone to expression, nothing was not serious—that's what made it terrifying.
Sora, who was cradling Yuu's head, firmly took out her phone and quickly pressed the three digits 110. She stared at Haruno fearlessly, her eyes as sharp as a knife.
"For Yuu's safety, it seems best to get rid of you first."
"—Wait, I was just joking!"
Changing her expression as quickly as changing faces in Beijing opera, Haruno hurriedly eased the atmosphere, trying to prove she wasn't dangerous with a forced cute tone.
"I've passed the age where I'm crazy in love and don't care about committing crimes. How could I do something impulsive like that~"
"Most criminals are adults, you know..." Sora's vigilance hadn't faded. It seemed she would call the police immediately if there was any discrepancy.
Haruno could only spread her hands and began explaining with a helpless face: "I'm not stupid. I just need to imagine a little, right?"
"The possibility of Yuu-chan escaping from the basement is too high. Rather than venting my possessiveness in a way that's easy to fail and irreversible, it's better to accept reality calmly and find ways for him to spend more time with me, causing his other girlfriends to feel neglected and leave sadly. Achieving my goal with the strategy of retreating to advance."
"You're really seriously considering possibilities like that..." Yukino groaned, holding her forehead.
If her mother knew about this, she would definitely send her to a psychiatrist...
"And you just stated your plan outright. I feel like you're underestimating others a lot."
Asuna also shook her head, glancing at Yuu with a subtle gaze.
(How could he like a wicked woman like this? Is it just because she has a better figure and a more mature aura...?)
Although she didn't agree with Haruno's view, after thinking calmly, Asuna had to admit that if she could really do something like that, then the final winner would definitely be this mature older sister.
Those who can't sacrifice anything will ultimately get nothing—if she couldn't make such a determination, couldn't share Yuu-kun with others, it seemed there was no other outcome but to leave sadly.
So, could she just accept reality for now, just like Haruno...?
Thinking like this, Asuna lowered her head, re-examining her feelings, whether they were truly strong and persistent to that point.
"I say, why are you also starting to stray from the main topic?"
Feeling bored with this dry and dull emotional drama of the girlfriends, Utaha couldn't help but slap her notebook: "Isn't the most important thing now to let Yuuki Asuna find an item that can be the key and find a way to start the next mission phase?"
Asuna looked confused: "Key? What is that?"
After explanations from the others, she understood that it was a precious item related to Yuu, enough to prove their bond. Asuna reflexively shifted her gaze to the square box she brought.
"If I have to say, only this..."
"What is it?" Sora put down her phone and asked curiously.
Asuna smiled friendly at her, then opened the box and took out a crown-shaped device with two parallel rings, which looked more like a high-tech silver-white eyepatch.
"This is an improved version of the virtual reality diving device NerveGear—AmuSphere. Not yet released to the market, and it only contains the game Sword Art Online. This is my special unit."
After placing it down, she took out a second machine from the box, the same model but in dark blue.
"This is the special unit that Nii-san originally planned to give to Yuu-kun, the same model as mine, and also custom-designed for him. Since I had business and wanted to look for it, I brought it along."
"Business?"
"Yes, I want to play the game with him to see if I can find the lost data."
Asuna didn't explain too much to them. After placing the dark blue machine beside it, she lifted her own AmuSphere, her attentive gaze gradually showing a nostalgic expression, and she murmured softly:
"I've already tried searching; nothing remains in the real world. Everything has been swept clean by the God... Since then, our past, our memories, can probably only be found as beautiful fragments in that virtual world, right?"
It was a sigh of regret that only she could understand, because she felt the loss of the remaining past.
Shaking her head, Asuna quickly regained her spirits. She stared at Utaha with firm eyes, saying definitively without hesitation:
"The key to finding Yuu-kun must be inside this machine!"
The reason was that because of that game, she decided to transfer from Kuroyuri Academy to Sobu High School.
Because of that game, she was able to break through the system limits in the Virtual Research club and momentarily find proof that she had been with Yuu.
Because of that game, she was able to cross the boundary between virtual and reality and stay by his side until now, learning various things about him.
That game was now inside the AmuSphere, housing a vast boundless virtual world, and also containing every detail of the time they had spent together—so nothing was more fitting to be the key connecting the two of them.
"In that case, try attaching the notebook to it." Utaha didn't care and tossed the notebook to her.
After doing so, as expected, the words "Yuuki Asuna: Key Obtained" successfully appeared in the notebook.
After looking at a few lines of words on the inner page several times, Asuna returned the notebook to Utaha.
"Good that it worked, but there's still no next step..." Utaha shook her heel a little annoyedly. She bit her thumb, mumbling to herself, "Now only Natsukawa-san is left. I hope the item she brings is the key. I don't like stalled plots... Just like writer's block."
"Isn't there Yuigahama-san?" Asuna suddenly asked.
"What?" The others looked at her in surprise.
"I mean, Yuigahama-san should also be Yuu-kun's girlfriend, right?" At this point, Asuna was already used to calling her name directly. "Why didn't she come? Her name isn't in the notebook either..."
"Because she's not like us. She's a normal person who escaped the God's grasp." Haruno answered casually while examining her neatly trimmed nails. "Don't mind her. Let's just do what we have to do."
"How can we not mind Yui—"
"Then let me ask you, do we have time to explain the situation to her? What can she do if she comes? Massage him together with Sora-chan and cradle his head, then feel sad about her helplessness?"
"This..."
The pressing question that left no room to breathe choked her throat. Yukino opened her small mouth, unable to speak. She wanted to defend her best friend, but couldn't say anything.
"Haaah!" Haruno let out a deep sigh, narrowing her eyes at her sister, feeling disappointed.
"Quickly recover your memories. The you back then and the you now are really two different people. I really can't stand seeing you... Yuu-chan has given you such a big change; I even want to thank him."
"..."
Yukino slowly lowered her head, her long hair covering her expression. All that was visible was her fists clenched so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
After a moment, she squeezed out her hoarse voice: "I don't need you to say that."
What she was like when she was in love with Yuu, Yukino became more and more curious, feeling helplessness and struggle in her heart.
The living room fell silent.
Only when Masuzu returned, panting, did the frozen and stiff air finally thaw.