Removing the helmet, Sora felt relieved seeing her brother's head still intact on her lap.
"How was it?"
Although the answer was already quite clear, Yukino still asked, "Were you ejected by that maintenance room?"
"Yes, but from when I entered until exiting, it should have been more than thirty seconds, right?"
While tidying her slightly messy long hair, Sora answered casually, "Also, unlike what you all said, I wasn't immediately confined in the maintenance room upon entering. I was in a corridor full of light for a while, then entered that pitch-dark place."
"...I see..."
After listening to her explanation, Yukino lowered her head and thought for a moment, then concluded, "It seems the status of being a girlfriend or not doesn't affect eligibility to enter the trial."
"No, quite the opposite."
However, Haruno suddenly spoke up and directly rejected her sister's idea.
Yukino furrowed her brow and looked toward her sister, "What do you mean?"
"I mean, girlfriend status not only has a decisive influence, but also makes me certain there really is an administrator in Yuu-chan's head, controlling this trial—"
Haruno narrowed her eyes, like a leopard finding its prey, the corner of her mouth lifted while smiling. A dangerous gleam passed through her cold and slightly playful eyes.
"And this person seems to really hate us."
"You mean..."
Only stunned for a moment, Yukino quickly reacted and continued her sister's line of thinking, "The reason Sora-chan stayed inside longer than us is because that administrator was uncertain whether to let her in? And we are people unwelcome to them, so they deliberately made us wait inside for thirty seconds, then ejected us?"
"There's no proof, so can only say it might be so~"
Haruno shrugged. Although she said this, her tone was very confident in her own conclusion.
"The similarity between Sora-chan and Utaha-chan is not being girlfriends, the difference is whether they have a door-opening key... So, I think, if Sora-chan also had a tool like Utaha-chan's notebook, she might be able to directly enter the trial."
"Wait, if that's the case..."
Suddenly realizing something was wrong, Yukino asked somewhat confusedly, "To enter the trial, we must get approval from the administrator... Then why do we need to find keys and gates?"
"NONONO~ Yukino, your thinking still isn't thorough, your perspective is too narrow."
Sighing and shaking her head excessively, under Yukino's slightly twitching gaze, Haruno leaned back slightly and said in a lecturing tone, "Try thinking from another perspective, the administrator's approval and opening the gate through a key, these two options don't contradict each other, right?"
"Is the way to enter a game only controlled by that company's programmers?"
Regarding the field she mastered, Asuna answered unconsciously after being shocked for a moment, "You mean back-end programs? Like hackers infiltrating games from other ports, operating without going through the administrator..."
"Exactly, that's right!" Haruno snapped her fingers gracefully, her expression gradually becoming serious. She glanced at her sister, then swept her gaze to the others, and spoke slowly in a calm tone:
"Here is my irresponsible guess, there's no proof. What you can trust is only my observation and analysis."
"First, it's very likely that notebook isn't allied with the God on Yuu-chan's side."
As if not wanting her sister to dominate or stimulated by that contemptuous glance, Yukino continued unwilling to lose, "Because its purpose is changing fate, while Tenkuji-kun is now under the control of fate arranged by God—that book may have predicted bad results, that's why the book asked us to find ways to intervene in the trial."
Without looking at her sister or denying her words, Haruno continued, "We're now in the same camp as that notebook, so we actually can't confirm whether that administrator is hostile to us or the notebook wanting to interfere with the trial... But anyway, it's impossible to enter the trial normally, that's why the notebook asked us to find keys and gates."
"Meaning back-end programs? Infiltrating by bypassing the administrator." Asuna made a simple conclusion.
Masuzu then raised a question, "Then why did Kasumigaoka successfully enter smoothly? She doesn't have a key, and she's the owner of that notebook. Logically, she shouldn't be able to enter either directly or indirectly."
"There are many possibilities, but I lean more toward conspiracy theory." Haruno raised one finger, her eyes narrowed again, "We are bait. Keys and such don't have the ability to enter the trial at all, it's just a diversion to attract the administrator's attention... After they kicked us out, that notebook then used the real back-end program to send Utaha-chan in, letting her change fate alone."
"..."
"Will we just give up like this..."
Unconsciously, Asuna stared at Yuu on the sofa, her eyes trembling slightly, and the special AmuSphere in her hand gripped tighter. Reluctance from helplessness flooded her heart, but she didn't want to just give up on reality.
Yukino was still thinking...
Haruno observed their different expressions...
As for Masuzu...
"If that's the case, this notebook also doesn't need to be kept anymore, right?"
She suddenly sneered, stood with an indifferent expression, and walked toward Utaha.
"Masuzu, don't tell me you're..."
"Just tear it up, anyway this thing can regenerate infinitely like QB." Masuzu said lightly...
Yukino advised, "Kasumigaoka-senpai tore it and was fine, doesn't mean we'll be safe... Anyway, this is something related to abnormal power, better not act rashly."
Knowing Yukino was worried about her, Masuzu's tone softened slightly, she pulled the corner of her mouth as if laughing, "Think positively. What if there are clues that can only appear after this notebook is torn? To find a breakthrough point from this helplessness, acting a bit rashly should be fine, right? As the saying goes, risk and opportunity always go hand in hand~"
"Risk and opportunity..." Yukino touched her chin while thinking. After a while, she finally nodded, "As long as it's not just venting, if you want to tear it, go ahead... But if something's wrong, stop immediately. We're now in the same camp, I hope you'll be a bit careful."
"Rest assured, if something happens, Yuu will save us."
Saying that somewhat jokingly, Masuzu was about to tear the notebook...
Before Masuzu could react, the notebook in her hand had already been snatched by Haruno...
"Is this coincidence or... Never mind, you all look too."
Not long after, Haruno scratched her head irritably, then gave up and waved toward them who looked curious.
She herself sighed and sat back on the sofa, handing that notebook to Yukino.
"Seeing your expression, could there be new content that appeared?"
"What the heck is this..."
Seeing this shocking content, Yukino muttered with an empty gaze, not yet fully aware.
Masuzu as if suddenly discovering a shocking fact, she jerked in surprise, her voice dry and disbelieving:
"Wait, if everything written here is true—"
"Could it be that in the dream, Yuu is confining Kasumigaoka, and deliberately not letting her go?!"
"So, the victim isn't Yuu, but Kasumigaoka?"
Haruno: "???"
Yukino: "???"
Asuna: "???"
Sora: "???"