"I—I finally completed the mission…"
The bespectacled girl looked excited, almost bursting into tears of joy.
She had originally thought she would fail the mission and be trapped in the instance forever, but she didn't expect to successfully clear it at the last moment… though she hadn't really helped at all throughout the process.
Natsuki mused, "There should be other ways to complete the mission; it's not necessarily required for two people to cooperate to clear it."
"Whatever method works to complete the mission is a good method," Haruno said with a joyful smile, pressing her hands together. "Witnessing Natsuki-kun and Yukino's wedding in person made me extremely satisfied."
Yukino had already removed her [Pure White Bride] Skin Card, and with her arms crossed, she said indifferently, "It was merely to complete the mission."
"Tsk~"
Haruno tilted her head and smiled, "Yukino, honestly, besides completing the mission, did you not feel anything else at all?"
"…"
Yukino slightly averted her pretty face and whispered, "Since the mission is completed, Haruno-nee, you can clear and leave."
Haruno said with a playful smile, "No rush, there are still a few minutes left. I want to hear Yukino's wedding remarks."
Yukino:
"Sorry, Haruno-nee, you won't have the chance to hear that."
"…"
While the two sisters bickered, Yasui was expressing her gratitude to Natsuki and Tsubame, and at the same time, she very 'properly' offered compensation.
After some polite exchanges, the bespectacled girl chose to clear the instance directly. Her figure gradually blurred and quietly disappeared.
"Oh, my stay time is also up."
Haruno clenched her fists, stretched her arms above her head, and said lazily, "Natsuki-kun, Tsubame-senpai, Yukino~ I'm leaving the instance first. See you in reality."
Natsuki nodded, "Haruno-nee, go ahead and leave."
Tsubame waved softly, "Haruno-nee, see you later."
"…"
As Haruno and the bespectacled girl left, only Natsuki, Yukino, and Tsubame remained in the unfinished building, and the atmosphere instantly became quiet.
Witnessing her boyfriend marry another girl, even if it was just to complete a mission, Tsubame was still unhappy and naturally had no desire to speak.
Yukino's lips moved slightly; she also didn't know what to say, so she remained silent.
Finally, it was Natsuki who stepped forward, holding Tsubame's hand with one hand and reaching for Yukino's with the other, saying without changing his expression, "Since the mission is completed, we can now return to the community to rest."
Yukino took half a step back, not allowing him to hold her hand, and said coolly, "I can walk by myself."
"…"
The journey back was silent.
The missions for Natsuki and Tsubame were not yet completed, but they were both time-limited missions. As long as they survived for the required duration, they could leave, so there was no difficulty.
"I'm back."
Tsubame took out her key, opened the door, and entered the house.
Looking at the quiet house, she couldn't help but let out a soft sigh.
The originally lively and cozy house, which felt like her own home, became quiet again as everyone cleared and left, feeling quite lonely.
"Yukino-chan, you go take a shower first," Tsubame said softly. "I'll clean up a bit. Now that it's just the three of us, we can each have our own room tonight."
"Okay."
Yukino nodded gently in agreement and stepped into the bathroom.
"Tsubame-senpai, I'll help."
Natsuki reached out and took the broom, preparing to help clean.
Tsubame's pretty face slightly hardened, "I'm enough by myself. Junior, go sit and rest."
"I just want to clean right now; I can't stop," Natsuki said while cleaning. "Tsubame, are you angry?"
Tsubame bit her lip lightly, "I'm not."
She said she wasn't!
She was usually such a cheerful girl, but she hadn't smiled once since they came back. It was almost as if 'unhappy' was written all over her face!
However, Natsuki understood completely.
It was normal to be unhappy.
If their roles were reversed, and he watched Tsubame marry another boy, even if it was just to complete a mission, he would still be so depressed he'd spit blood!
The current priority was to make Tsubame happy as soon as possible.
Girls, these creatures, are usually good at overthinking and sulking. If he ignored Tsubame tonight and slept soundly himself, when he woke up tomorrow morning, Tsubame would most likely not have resolved her feelings and would become even angrier the more she thought about it.
'Enduring for a moment brings calm, stepping back opens up the world' was actually nonsense. Most people couldn't do it.
The normal psychology was 'enduring for a moment makes you angrier the more you think about it, stepping back makes you feel more cheated the more you think about it.'
"Being a scumbag is actually very hard."
Natsuki sighed silently in his heart.
To be a scumbag, the most important thing was to treat everyone equally and not show favoritism to any one person, otherwise, a love triangle would quickly erupt, or he might even be invited to the rooftop to become sworn brothers with Makoto Itou!
"Tsubame-senpai, look at this?"
Natsuki took out a mirror and handed it to Tsubame.
"Eh?" Tsubame blinked, "Truth Mirror?"
"Exactly, it's this."
Natsuki cleared his throat, turned the Truth Mirror towards himself, and then, under Tsubame's gaze, said seriously, "I like Tsubame."
"…"
Natsuki's actions in the Truth Mirror were completely synchronized and did not trigger the truth attribute, which clearly indicated that Natsuki was speaking the truth.
Natsuki continued, "I like Tsubame-senpai very much."
"…"
Judgment passed.
Still the truth.
Natsuki said seriously again, "I like Tsubame-senpai so much that I want to marry her."
"…"
Judgment passed.
Still the truth.
A blush involuntarily spread across Tsubame's pretty face. She turned her head away and said shyly, "Y-why are you suddenly saying all this for no reason?"
Why?
Of course, it's to make you happy!
As a scumbag, I certainly won't let you sulk until tomorrow!
Natsuki held up the Truth Mirror and continued, "I'm already thinking about how to hold Tsubame's wedding…"
"T-that's enough!"
Tsubame's pretty face was crimson. She really couldn't bear to listen anymore. Even though no one else was around, it was still too embarrassing. "Junior, quickly put the mirror away!"
"Alright then." Natsuki reluctantly put away the Truth Mirror. "Actually, there are still many heartfelt words I haven't told Tsubame."
Tsubame gave him an annoyed glare, her voice gradually returning to its usual brightness:
"I still have to clean. I don't want to hear it at all."
Natsuki helped out while saying, "Tsubame-senpai, have you considered our future wedding?"
Tsubame quickly denied, "Not at all!"
Natsuki said softly, "I have considered it."
"Tsubame-senpai's favorite flower is the tulip. At that time, we'll have a sea of tulips."
"Ryuju Momo will be your bridesmaid, and Aoi-chan will bring you flowers."
"And all of Tsubame-senpai's club members will come to give Tsubame their blessings…"
Listening to Natsuki's description, Tsubame's eyes became a little dazed.
Could such a wedding… truly be realized?
Not to mention the strange looks from ordinary people, as players, we have no idea what the world will become. The parallel world next door has already been destroyed, and our world might also repeat the same mistake…
Natsuki whispered, "Tsubame-senpai, don't lock your room door tonight."
"Eh?" Tsubame was startled, quickly snapping out of her dazed state, and said with a flushed face, "Yukino-chan is still here!"
You actually told me not to lock the door tonight. What do you want to do?!
Natsuki raised his right hand and promised, "Tsubame-senpai, don't worry, I'll only hug Tsubame-senpai and do nothing else."
"Pfft~"
Tsubame couldn't help but let out a soft snort.
Liar!
You said that before, and then after hugging, you wanted to do other things!
After finishing the cleaning.
Natsuki and Tsubame went out together, continuing to hire the internet-addicted kids to clean up the community's trash, and both parties were very happy.
Following that, Natsuki went to the security booth to be a slacker for a while, then returned home with Tsubame, and they each washed up.
"Good night, Yukino, good night, Senpai." Natsuki had already finished washing up and said casually, "It was quite tiring today, I'm going back to my room to rest first."
As he passed Tsubame, Natsuki quietly winked.
"I'm going back to rest too." Tsubame's pretty face was slightly red, and she tried her best not to show any unusual expression. "Yukino-chan, good night."
"Good night, Senpai."
Yukino nodded lightly and also got up to return to her room.
As the others had left the instance first, the remaining rooms were already sufficient, and there was no need to sleep in the living room anymore.
Bang.
The door gently closed.
Tsubame stood behind the door, one hand on the doorknob, the other covering her chest, her pretty face flushed, her eyes hesitant:
"Should I… lock the door?"
After hesitating for a while, Tsubame finally made a decision.
"Lock it!"
"Of course, I have to lock it!"
"I just had a wedding with Yukino, and now you want to sneak attack me at night? How could I agree to that?!"
"Besides, Yukino-chan hasn't left the instance yet. If there's a little too much noise, she'll definitely hear it, right?"
"…"
Tsubame reached out and distorted the lock, securing the door, then returned to her bed, sat down, and lay down.
Then… she couldn't sleep.
There was no phone to pass the time in the instance, nor any manga or books. Plus, with something on her mind, Tsubame tossed and turned for a while but couldn't fall asleep.
"Hoo…"
Tsubame exhaled lightly, then suddenly sat up, pulled back the blanket, and got out of bed, saying:
"I need to go to the restroom."
"…"
A moment later.
Tsubame returned from the restroom, gently closed the door, then, with a flushed face, returned to her bed. For some reason, she forgot to lock the door.
Late at night, when all was quiet.
Tsubame closed her eyes, trying to fall asleep, when she suddenly heard a soft 'click' in the quiet night. Her nascent sleepiness instantly vanished.
"…Someone is opening the door!"
Tsubame opened one eye and looked towards the door.
In the dim darkness, the door was gently pushed open, and then a blurry figure, whose face could not be seen clearly, walked in.
Seeing the dark figure approaching the bed, Tsubame's eyelashes trembled slightly, and she quickly closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep.
"Senpai?"
Natsuki walked to the bed and called softly.
"…"
Tsubame kept her eyes closed, with no response, pretending to be asleep.
"It's better if you're asleep." Natsuki sat down by the bed and whispered, "Then I'll do as I please."
Hearing this, Tsubame couldn't help but open her eyes, her pretty face flushed, and she softly scolded:
"Junior, don't push your luck. Go back to sleep!"
"No." Natsuki pulled back the covers and lay directly beside Senpai. "I can't sleep at all at night without hugging Senpai."
"Bah~"
Tsubame scoffed lightly:
"Then how do you usually sleep?"
"Good question." Natsuki said shamelessly, "I suffer from insomnia every day and don't sleep well."
"Liar."
"…"
Although she knew it was flattery, Tsubame had to admit that she liked hearing it.
"It's so cold outside, Senpai, warm me up."
As Natsuki spoke, he extended his right hand, reaching under Senpai's pajamas. Wherever his fingers touched, he could clearly feel Senpai's skin trembling slightly.
"Th-that's enough!"
Tsubame quickly pressed down on the mischievous hand, her face red, and whispered:
"You said before you'd just hug me. You have to keep your word. And, and the soundproofing in the room is really bad…"
Natsuki stopped his movements and pretended to be confused:
"It's just a hug, Senpai, why do you care about the soundproofing?"
Tsubame bit her silver teeth and pinched Natsuki's waist:
"If you said it was just a hug, then take your hand out!"
Natsuki squeezed his right hand slightly harder:
"No, I can't stop now."
"Mm… Mmm—!"
The sudden attack made Tsubame involuntarily let out a soft moan. She quickly covered her cherry lips with her hand, her pretty face flushed, and said:
"D-don't attack suddenly!"
Natsuki whispered:
"Then should I ask for Senpai's opinion beforehand?"
Tsubame said:
"Even if you ask for my opinion, you still can't… Mm!"
"…"
Natsuki kept his promise, saying it was just a hug and nothing else. He indeed didn't do anything else. In the end, it was Senpai who couldn't bear it and actively kissed him.
But that was as far as it went.
The soundproofing in the room was indeed very poor. Even slightly louder movements would be heard. Kissing and hugging were barely acceptable, but other activities would definitely be heard clearly by Yukino.
"Good night, Senpai."
Natsuki said softly.
Tsubame's eyes were misty, and she was breathing lightly, her entire body nestled in Natsuki's embrace. Her voice was sweet and cloying, with a hint of coquetry:
"Junior, good night~"
Natsuki said:
"Go to sleep early and attend the wedding in your dreams."
"Eh?" Tsubame was stunned. "What do you mean?"
Natsuki said softly:
"Senpai will know soon."
"…"
Tsubame had been tossing and turning, unable to sleep, but now, tightly embracing each other, she soon felt sleepiness rapidly approaching and then fell into a peaceful sleep.
Looking at the sleeping Senpai, Natsuki silently used a skill:
"Dream Link… it's you."