Chapter 388: The Joint Squad of the Fifth Stage Dungeon
Kaguya Shinomiya certainly knew that the intimate way she and Asagiri greeted each other by their first names would arouse curiosity and discussion among their classmates, but...
She no longer cared about such things.
Nor did she care so much about whether her words and actions were worthy of the title of eldest daughter of the Shinomiya Family.
That suffocating cage was something Kaguya Shinomiya had long wanted to break free from.
"Bang!"
Just as the students were whispering among themselves, a loud sound suddenly rang out in the classroom.
Everyone's gazes subconsciously turned toward the source of the noise.
They saw Iwanaga Kotoko slam her cane heavily onto the thick wooden surface of her desk. Her dark purple eyes swept across the students of Class A, and she spoke in an unfriendly tone.
"It's just calling each other by their names. What's there to be surprised about? You've all been buzzing over there nonstop. It's annoying as hell!"
Hearing Iwanaga Kotoko's scolding words, the classroom instantly fell silent.
After all, although Iwanaga Kotoko was not from a pure Shuchiin background, her parents were members of the Shuchiin Board of Directors.
Like Kaguya Shinomiya and Shijo Maki, she was a student standing at the top of Shuchiin's hierarchy.
If Shuchiin were compared to a pyramid, then she would be someone standing at the very top.
And further above that...
Would be Asagiri, the very tip of the pyramid.
"Thank you, Iwanaga."
Hearing Kaguya Shinomiya's words, Iwanaga Kotoko could not help frowning slightly.
"What are you thanking me for?"
Seeing Kaguya Shinomiya's somewhat surprised expression, Asagiri chuckled and explained,
"You don't think she was standing up for you, do you? She just heard those discussions and got jealous."
"Oh, so that's how it is..."
Kaguya Shinomiya felt a little embarrassed.
This could not be helped. She had been with Asagiri and Yuuki Asuna, whose emotional intelligence was outrageously high, for too long, so she had subconsciously assumed Iwanaga Kotoko was helping her out.
She had not expected it to be simple jealousy.
This was a case of her reaching the third floor, only to look back and realize Shuchiin's Vinegar Queen was still on the first floor.
Not playing the game at all was also a kind of game.
Just as the atmosphere settled down, the front door of the classroom was pulled open.
Miwa Ashikaga, wearing a professional suit and gold rimmed glasses, having already become the Chairwoman of Shuchiin, walked in and stood directly behind the podium.
"Summer vacation is over. Everyone, pull yourselves together. Next is the second semester. My requirements for you in the second semester remain the same as in the first. Class A must be the strongest class, so do not slack off in any aspect. Do you understand?"
"Understood."
After the students nodded and answered, Miwa Ashikaga began explaining the curriculum for the second semester.
...
After a boring and uninteresting morning of classes, Asagiri, Yuuki Asuna, Iwanaga Kotoko, Kaguya Shinomiya, Fujiwara Chika, and Hayasaka Ai gathered in Miwa Ashikaga's office with tacit understanding.
There was only one purpose.
To discuss their plan after entering the fifth stage.
"There was no so-called test when crossing from the fourth stage to the fifth stage."
Hearing Iwanaga Kotoko's words, Miwa Ashikaga, who was sitting behind the desk, raised her hand to push up her glasses and spoke lightly.
"Either it's because the Players in this world performed very well in the last test, so they were given a privilege like an exemption, or it's because the casualties last time were too heavy, so the system let it slide to maintain the survival of this world."
"If we could communicate with Players from other worlds and confirm the situations in those worlds, we could draw a reliable conclusion."
"It's very strange that Players from different worlds cannot add each other as friends."
Asagiri recalled the situation when he last saw Shinichi Izumi and spoke thoughtfully.
"Kotoko and I initially thought this was some kind of restriction set by the system so information wouldn't be easily exposed, but analyzing it based on the situation of those three Blackwatch members in the last Dungeon..."
He paused briefly.
"Perhaps it's possible that this is a protective measure for the Players."
"Protection?"
"Yes."
Seeing the confusion on the faces of Yuuki Asuna and the others, Iwanaga Kotoko took the initiative to explain.
"The Cursed entities in other worlds are more dangerous than we imagined. Gods that can change phenomena within an area, I have never seen such a weird existence before."
"And the three Blackwatch members Asagiri saw suddenly melted when mentioning certain things in their world. I think that might be a supernatural power similar to a curse."
"'Connection' is equivalent to a passage. And with a passage, some terrifying Cursed existences might be able to break through the system's obstacles and forcibly descend into our world."
"Therefore, cutting off the connection between Players of different worlds might be a measure to protect the world."
"But these are not important now."
After briefly analyzing the current situation, Asagiri brought the topic back to the most critical issue.
"The people here, plus Sakurakawa Rikka, Kato Megumi, and Yamauchi Sakura, will all enter the same Dungeon this time. This means..."
Miwa Ashikaga nodded knowingly.
"Depending on how long you spend in the Dungeon, the Ashikaga Budo Association's power in the real world will enter a period of vacancy, right?"
"Right."
Asagiri spoke slowly.
"Shinomiya Unyo knows that Kaguya Shinomiya and I are Players, but it's unlikely that he will do anything hostile to us. After all, he is a smart man."
"Ah?"
Hayasaka Ai, who had no good feelings toward that group of people in the Shinomiya Family, could not help frowning upon hearing this.
"How did you come to that conclusion?"
"Your IQ is directly proportional to your level of development."
"You..."
Before Hayasaka Ai could get angry, Asagiri quickly changed the subject.
"In any case, Shinomiya Unyo is Kaguya's brother, and he doesn't have the irreconcilable conflict with Kaguya that Oko Shinomiya does. Also, he can see that the relationship between Kaguya and me is not ordinary."
"Therefore, the relationship between our Ashikaga Budo Association and the Shinomiya Family's forces is more trustworthy than ordinary cooperative forces."
"Moreover, being hostile to us not only carries huge risks, but also gives him no benefits. Shinomiya Unyo is not a fool. He won't do something as stupid as turning an ally into a mortal enemy."
"Tch, that's true."
Although Hayasaka Ai hated Shinomiya Unyo very much, she also knew that he was the most outstanding among the heirs of the Shinomiya Family.
Perhaps he was even better than Kaguya Shinomiya.
Naturally, he would not do such a stupid thing.
"However, Laughing Coffin and the Sakurakawa Family know of the existence of Iwanaga Kotoko and Sakurakawa Rikka."
Asagiri continued calmly.
"And there is also Kayaba Akihiko. If someone covets the core technology of NERvGear and wants to take advantage of this opportunity to kidnap him, we must also take precautions in advance."
Speaking of this, Asagiri looked at Miwa Ashikaga sitting behind the desk.
After thinking for a moment, he spoke.
"Notify the White Suit Team and Kuroki Gensai, who joined us some time ago, and let them stagger their entry into the Dungeon from ours. Just notifying those few is enough."
"Understood."
Miwa Ashikaga naturally understood the meaning behind Asagiri's decision.
Even Players who belonged to the Ashikaga Budo Association were not necessarily trustworthy.
A request not to enter the Dungeon during a certain period of time, as long as one thought about it a little, was enough to guess the reason behind it.
Only people like the four members of the White Suit Team, who had once been saved by Asagiri's team and had joined at the beginning of the Ashikaga Budo Association's establishment, as well as someone like Kuroki Gensai, who kept his promises and valued martial ethics, were people who would absolutely not betray them.
"Then..."
Asagiri looked at the women in the office and spoke softly.
"Let's set the time to enter the Dungeon for Saturday. Gather at Kotoko's house this Friday night."
...
A few days later, Friday afternoon, at Iwanaga Kotoko's house.
"Sigh, I lost again..."
Seeing Fujiwara Chika's annoyed look, Yuuki Asuna put down the NERvGear in her hand and smiled to comfort her.
"It can't be helped. Your combat style is countered by mine. After all, you're a mage type class that adds buffs, and I'm an agility type warrior. This is unavoidable."
Although Fujiwara Chika was annoyed, she was not the type of person with a strong desire to win.
She often cheated in board games, but that was only because she enjoyed the thrill of cheating, not because she absolutely had to win.
"Come on, what counter? You're clearly just stronger than me. So, what next..."
Fujiwara Chika scanned the people sitting in the large living room.
Her gaze first fell on Asagiri.
Seeing this, Asagiri could not help speaking in surprise.
"Oh, you want to simulate a battle with me? Interesting. You're not running away when you see me, but choosing to approach me instead? That courage is commendable, but that is the only thing worth praising..."
"Alright, alright, stop chanting over there. Who wants to fight you? Blech~"
Fujiwara Chika made a cute funny face, then continued scanning the people in the living room, carefully choosing an opponent she could win against.
Finally...
"Sakura Yamauchi, come!"
"Huh?"
Seeing Fujiwara Chika raise her fair, tender finger and point it at her, Yamauchi Sakura, who had been looking indifferent, could not help laughing softly.
"Picking me as your opponent? Chika, you're going too far."
"What? Priest versus priest. That's perfectly reasonable."
Hearing Fujiwara Chika's shameless words, Asagiri, from the side, gave a precise retort in a calm tone.
"Since you can't cheat in NERvGear's simulated training, you can only pick on a soft target? Hachika, you're quite smart, aren't you?"
Fujiwara Chika's face flushed slightly upon hearing this.
After all, she herself knew that choosing Yamauchi Sakura, a priest, for a one on one battle was a bit unreasonable.
She could only puff out her chest and stubbornly retort,
"Didn't you pick me as an opponent too? You pinched me too!"
These words were quite normal.
But because Fujiwara Chika's puffed out chest was overly exaggerated, coupled with her vague wording, this scene...
Yuuki Asuna sighed helplessly.
"Chika, how did you learn bad habits from Kotoko? Seriously, are dirty jokes contagious?"
.....
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