Vol. 1 Chapter 6 – Again

After that, she continued to progress smoothly through the story.

Though occasionally falling into tight spots, she utilized her inherent high human specs to overcome them.

Just when I started to think that perhaps nothing could stop her triumphant advance—

‘SKREEEEEE!!’

An enemy swooped down from the sky without warning and slammed into the protagonist, who was walking on the roof of the castle keep.

The health gauge, which had been about eighty percent full, emptied in an instant, and the character for ‘Death’ appeared on the screen.

“Eh… Eeeeeh!?” (Hikaru)

Asahi-san was thoroughly flustered by the sudden first-time killer attack from the sky.

Seeing her like that, I—

“Pfft… Ahahahaha!!” (Reiya)

—couldn’t hold it back and burst out laughing.

“What was that!? Some weird thing flew down from the sky and killed me in one hit!” (Hikaru)
“That’s a pretty common first-time killer trap everyone falls for. Th-Though I haven’t seen many people die quite so beautifully… heheh…” (Reiya)

I managed to explain while suppressing my laughter.

“Ehh~… And I made it this far without dying even once…” (Hikaru)
“No, no, this is still plenty amazing.” (Reiya)
“But it’s still frustrating… Hmm… One more time!” (Hikaru)

She pressed the button on the controller with dissatisfaction and retried.

From then on, while she didn’t manage to proceed entirely without dying, she continued to advance smoothly through the story with skill unbelievable for a first playthrough.

As for me, watching her genuinely enjoy the game, I had forgotten my initial intentions and found myself completely absorbed.

Watching her play beside me, without hiding her rich emotions, felt like having a high-quality Let’s Play all to myself.

Before I knew it, I was naturally laughing and conversing with her.

However, something finally arrived to halt her triumphant advance.

“Ah, it’s already this late…” (Hikaru)

Looking at the clock hanging above the TV, Asahi-san spoke regretfully.

The clock hands pointed exactly to 6:30 PM.

“Mmm… But I’m at a good part…” (Hikaru)

She said this while continuing to operate the controller.

Thanks to her excellent skill, the story had progressed quite smoothly, but she was still far from clearing it.

If it were me, even if class started in ten minutes, I’d choose to skip it rather than stop here.

However, being the honor student she was, she naturally didn’t choose that option.

“But, can’t be helped… I’ll stop here for today.” (Hikaru)

The game was closed, and the controller was placed on the desk.

“Ah~, that was fun~! But, sorry, somehow. With me being the only one playing the whole time.” (Hikaru)
“No, not at all… If anything, I got to see something amazing… and I genuinely had fun…” (Reiya)

I replied honestly to Asahi-san’s apologetic words.

Initially, I was supposed to enjoy watching her die repeatedly in her first playthrough.

However, before I realized it, that plan had vanished from my memory, and I was simply enjoying the situation.

“Then, can I come again?” (Hikaru)
“Again… you mean, here?” (Reiya)
“Yep! Since we’re at it, don’t you want to play some games we can play together next time?” (Hikaru)

An invitation from the Light Attribute, sparkling with a bright, innocent smile.

Playing games side-by-side with a cute girl.

A sweet situation any gamer has surely fantasized about at least once.

Even though nodding yes here would make that a reality—

“W-Well… if the opportunity arises…” (Reiya)

Being able to give only such a vague answer even then is the reason why a Gloomy Type is a Gloomy Type.

“Does that mean yes?” (Hikaru)
“P-Partially…” (Reiya)

I was so flustered that only words like those of a genie of the lamp guessing the person you’re thinking of came out.

“Then when should we do it next? Oh, but Kageyama-kun, you have your part-time job, right? If so, is it kind of difficult to match schedules now?” (Hikaru)
“No, my job is basically after school on weekdays, and I’m off on Saturdays…” (Reiya)
“Then, how about next Saturday?” (Hikaru)
“I don’t have any particular plans right now, but…” (Reiya)
“Then it’s decided for next Saturday!” (Hikaru)
“…I see.” (Reiya)

With tremendous forcefulness, I was pushed out in an instant.

I felt like a first-time boss in a Die-and-Retry Game had instantly killed me with some incomprehensible attack.

And so, bewildered by the unexpected next appointment, I saw her off to the entrance.

“Well then, see you next week… no, see you at school on Monday!” (Hikaru)
“Yeah, see you.” (Reiya)

This unfitting interaction, which I was sure would end after just today.

It felt strange to utter the word ‘again’ myself, indicating it would still continue.

“Byee~!” (Hikaru)

Watching her wave enthusiastically until she reached the end of the hallway and went down the stairs, I returned to my room.

Now alone, the room, which should have returned to normal, somehow felt strangely dark.

Sitting down in the chair, I woke the PC from sleep mode and saw a notification from the gamer communication app ‘Thiscord’.

Clicking the flashing icon on the taskbar displayed the message.

‘Yo, you there?’ (Itsuki)

The sender was ‘B.F. Itsuki’, a gaming buddy I met about a year ago.

We hit it off because our gaming tastes matched, and he’s someone I still often play multiplayer games with.

‘Just logged on now. Need something?’ (Reiya)

As soon as I sent the message back, text indicating he was typing appeared.

‘Weird for you not to be on until this hour on a Saturday.’ (Itsuki)
‘Had a visitor, was dealing with that.’ (Reiya)
‘You having a visitor is even weirder.’ (Itsuki)
‘Hey, even I get visitors sometimes…’ (Reiya)

All I know about him is his gender; I don’t know where he lives.

I use polite language because he seems older somehow, but I don’t know his age either.

The ease of this relationship, connected solely by the shared hobby of gaming, finally made me feel like my normal daily life had returned.

‘Well, whatever. Main point is, wanna go do some ranked matches?’ (Itsuki)
‘Sure, but have you settled in from your move yet?’ (Reiya)
‘Yep, hauled out the PC and all the hardware while my annoying sister wasn’t around.’ (Itsuki)
‘Itsuki-san, you have a sister?’ (Reiya)
‘One annoying one. Seriously, she nags so much you’d think she was my mom. That’s why I feel it’s my duty to teach the guys out there who fantasize about sisters what reality is like.’ (Itsuki)
‘That’s really irrelevant, so if we’re gonna play, can we just get started?’ (Reiya)

When I sent that after the long exchange, a party invitation notification popped up instead of a message.

‘Alright! Let’s do it!’ (Itsuki)
‘Am I support again?’ (Reiya)
‘Damn right! Let’s show ’em our combination!’ (Itsuki)
‘Then please stop running off to do your 1v9 standalone plays, seriously…’ (Reiya)

Grumbling, I selected my role and pressed the matchmaking start button.

Matching completed in less than a minute, and the loading screen appeared.

During that brief wait, I glanced towards the bed.

The fact that she had been sitting there just a little while ago now seemed like a dream.

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• First-time killer / Beginner trap: Refers to unexpected traps or attacks designed to kill players on their first encounter. Watched my friend a lot either instant death or skillfully avoid it.
• Let’s Play: Referring to gameplay videos with commentary. You know a playthrough in youtube.
• Thiscord: Communication app, parody of Discord.
• Support: A common role in team-based games.