Chapter 49: The Princess in the White Castle
After a while, Asuna finally snapped back to her senses, suddenly realizing how rude it was to stare like that. She cleared her throat twice and spoke with forced casualness.
"Ahem. Kotoko just emailed me. Turns out she lives in Tokyo too. She sent her address and said if we're free tonight, we can go to her place and meet."
"Go to her place…" Asagiri's tone turned thoughtful. "That's sincerity."
Asuna nodded. Asagiri had already said it before. For Players, an absolutely safe, hidden location was essential, a base they could rely on between Dungeons.
Kotoko hadn't offered to come to them. She'd sent her own home address first. That alone was a statement.
"Also…" Asuna walked to the sofa, hesitated, then sat beside him. She tucked her hair behind her ear and lowered her voice. "Kotoko should be trustworthy, right? Her talent makes her unsuitable for solo play, and… didn't she say she fell in love with you at first sight?"
"I already told you." Asagiri waved it off. "That doesn't work on me."
He lifted the can of Coca Cola from the table and drained it in one go, then glanced at her with a faint smile.
"Asuna, what do you think liking someone actually looks like?"
"This…" Asuna hesitated. The question landed right on a blind spot. She'd never dated anyone either.
"If I believed she truly liked me just because she said so, I'd be an idiot."
"That's true." Asuna nodded slowly. "You're not the type to get moved just because a cute girl approaches you."
"Obviously." Asagiri said it like basic arithmetic. "If someone likes you, it shows through actions, not just words, right?"
Asuna nodded again. "Right."
"For example, when everyone else keeps their distance, you're the one who approaches."
"Yes. If you like someone, you'll approach."
"Another example." Asagiri continued smoothly. "You gather the courage to ask for their contact info."
Asuna blinked, slightly impressed despite herself. "Huh? You know a lot. Have you… been in love before?"
Asagiri waved his hand, neatly dodging the question.
"Don't interrupt. Another example is going to their house and cooking for them. That's definitely liking someone, right?"
Asuna answered without thinking. "Definitely. If you run to someone's house and cook for them, what else could that be besides liking… huh?"
She finally realized what he was doing.
Asagiri was watching her like a cat watching a mouse step onto the trap.
Her face turned bright red. She grabbed the sofa cushion beside her and lightly smacked him with it, half furious, half mortified.
"You… you… you set me up!"
"I didn't, did I?" Asagiri looked completely innocent. "You agreed with everything on your own."
"You…" Asuna choked, words failing her. Her embarrassment almost made steam come out of her ears.
Because if she thought about it, it really was exactly what she'd done.
Approaching him when others kept their distance. Asking for contact information. Cooking.
It was all her.
"I… I'm going to sleep!"
She couldn't look at him anymore. She jumped up, hurried into the guest room, and locked the door from the inside.
Then she leaned back against it, pressed a hand to her chest, felt that wild flutter under her fingertips, and whispered to herself.
"So… it's not that I dislike Kotoko… so that feeling… is that what people call jealousy…?"
...…
That evening, Tokyo.
"No… this… this is Kotoko's house?"
Asuna and Asagiri stepped out of the taxi together and stared at the mansion in front of them, both momentarily speechless.
A castle.
Not "castle like." An actual white castle, standing proudly in the middle of Tokyo like it had misplaced the rest of Europe.
Asuna's family was wealthy too. The villa she'd lived in with her parents was already a mansion by normal standards.
But compared to this… it suddenly felt modest.
And this was still inside Tokyo's city limits.
To have a private estate like this, with no other buildings for kilometers, the scale of Kotoko's family wealth was almost unreal.
"This way, please." A young woman in a maid outfit greeted them with a practiced bow. "The young lady is waiting inside."
Following her lead, Asuna and Asagiri walked toward the white castle.
"Kotoko's family…" Asuna whispered, still dazed. "This is absurd."
Asagiri's expression didn't change.
"If I didn't have that item, I wouldn't be meeting her here."
Asuna froze, then understood immediately.
That item meant the Hourglass of Reversal.
"You think she might've prepared an ambush here?" Asuna's voice tightened.
"The chance is low." Asagiri kept his tone calm. "But it isn't zero. I don't trust her yet."
He continued quietly.
"If she knows the hidden rule, that killing other Players and taking their phones can trigger a random draw of their equipment or items, she could've set this meeting up after we cleared the Dungeon, hired people, and tried to end us here. If that happened, it'd be over."
Asuna's gaze sharpened, unease creeping in.
Then Asagiri added, just as quietly.
"Still, Kotoko has a powerful exclusive talent. Her mindset, intelligence, judgment, and overall ability fit what we need in a teammate."
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"Using that item as insurance to confirm whether she's trustworthy is a risk I'm willing to take."
Asuna let out a small breath. "You're really cautious."
"It's necessary." Asagiri didn't deny it.
Asuna's expression turned complicated. "It feels like the only person you can fully trust is yourself."
"No." Asagiri cut in, and for once his smile softened.
"Two."
Asuna blinked.
"I trust myself," Asagiri said, voice steady. "And I trust you, Asuna, the same way I trust myself."
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