Chapter 148: Saint Megumi Renders Great Service
After Kato Megumi left, Yuuki Asuna leaned back against the trunk of a tree.
She stared up at the bright light filtering through the leaves. Her eyes were full of tangled emotions as she murmured, "In a Dungeon this complicated, with so many obstacles… and we still have to break through the research base and get the experimental data…"
Her grip tightened around her sword's hilt.
"Can we really clear it?"
"We have to."
Asagiri walked over and sat beside her. Like her, he looked up at the sky, his voice low and steady.
"If even we can't achieve the clear objective, then every Player who entered this Dungeon dies. It's not just our lives on the line. We have to succeed."
"Everyone's lives…"
Yuuki Asuna repeated the words softly, then turned her head to look at his profile. A gentle smile surfaced.
"That doesn't sound like the you I know."
Asagiri smiled back, completely unbothered.
"Because I don't care about the lives of the other Players at all. Whether they live or die has nothing to do with me."
"Huh?"
Yuuki Asuna blinked, confused. "But you just said…"
"That was to make you firm your resolve."
Asagiri lifted a hand and lightly brushed Yuuki Asuna's long hair. His smile carried quiet warmth, but his words were blunt.
"I don't care about any Player outside our team. I also have zero interest in becoming some savior who carries other people's lives on his shoulders."
He looked at her, gaze unwavering.
"But you're different."
"You're competitive and strong because you refuse to lose in this death game, but that kindness in you, the part that wants to save innocent lives, is also what will push you to fight all the way to the end."
He paused, then spoke more softly.
"In my eyes, you're a hero, like the protagonist of a classic shonen manga who saves the world."
His lips curved.
"And heroes don't run from a fight, right?"
Yuuki Asuna's eyes gradually brightened. Under his gaze, she tucked her flaxen hair behind her ear, embarrassed but moved.
"Me, a hero… that's too much."
She inhaled and wrapped her fingers tighter around the Exorcist Longsword. The hesitation in her eyes hardened into resolve.
"But… for the Players who entered this Dungeon, and more importantly, for ourselves…"
"We have to break through the research base's defenses and complete the clear objective."
Her voice turned firm.
"We absolutely cannot lose. We won't."
"What are you two whispering about?"
Iwanaga Kotoko strolled over. She looked at Yuuki Asuna, then at Asagiri, and her expression instantly twisted into shock.
"You two aren't thinking… there's no one else here, the scenery is beautiful, you just fought a battle and need to release some stress, so you want to do it here, right?!"
Kotoko's imagination sprinted off a cliff.
"How can you do that? What if Phantom comes back and sees? Do you want to invite her to join? Would she agree…"
"Stop being insane."
Yuuki Asuna cut her off immediately, voice sharp.
"You really are something. You've tasted the sweetness and now your brain is broken."
She glared at Kotoko.
"We're still in the Dungeon and you're thinking about that. You perverted little loli."
"Hehe."
Kotoko rolled her eyes and delivered a line Yuuki Asuna couldn't refute at all.
"Then when the time comes, don't beg me to take turns. Go yourself."
"This…"
Yuuki Asuna's face burned. She opened her mouth, then shut it again, completely unable to fight Kotoko on that battlefield.
"Oh, right."
Asagiri spoke up casually, as if he were commenting on the weather.
"Phantom already guessed about our relationship. You two don't need to keep acting clumsy around her."
"Huh? She already knows…?" Yuuki Asuna froze, then exhaled slowly.
"…Honestly, that makes sense. Anyone with eyes could tell. And her observation is sharp."
She lowered her gaze.
"It's kind of a relief. Even if it's private, we're teammates. Hiding it from her all the time made me feel a little guilty."
Kotoko smoothed her skirt and sat down on the grass. She propped her face in her hands and said something outrageous with a straight face.
"If you feel guilty, why not just invite her to join?"
Yuuki Asuna blanked for a second, then snapped back.
"Join what? Don't drag her into your nonsense."
"Hehe."
Kotoko didn't even blink.
"Next time he does that with you, equip Human Asura first. Then you'll be obedient."
Yuuki Asuna's expression went stiff.
"…You're hopeless."
…
An hour later, a faint commotion echoed from the distance.
Yuuki Asuna immediately tightened her grip on the Exorcist Longsword. Her posture tensed, ready.
Then she saw Kato Megumi emerge through the trees.
Only then did Yuuki Asuna finally breathe out.
Her eyes landed on the backpack Kato carried and the two plastic bags in her hands. Yuuki Asuna hurried forward, but the first thing she asked wasn't about supplies.
"Did you run into any danger?"
"Mm. It was safe the whole way."
Kato nodded, then handed Yuuki Asuna the plastic bags with a gentle smile.
"Time was limited, so I didn't stay long. I brought bottled water, instant bento, and rice balls. If it's not enough…"
"Enough, enough. More than enough."
Yuuki Asuna opened the bags and looked inside, then laughed in relief.
"There are only four of us. This is plenty. We won't even finish it."
Asagiri and Iwanaga Kotoko walked over as well.
Asagiri's eyes flicked down to Kato Megumi's hands. She noticed and quickly hid them behind her back, but he had already seen it.
Red, swollen marks across her palms, left by the thin handles digging in under the weight of the bags.
"Thank you," Asagiri said quietly. "You worked hard."
"No."
Kato shook her head, calm as always.
"I'm part of the team. It's what I should do. It wasn't hard."
Then she unzipped her backpack.
She rummaged through it, pushing aside rice balls, bentos, and tightly packed high calorie snacks, until she pulled out a can from the bottom.
A can of Coca Cola.
Her fingers rested against the cold aluminum, and relief softened her eyes.
"Great. It's still cold."
Kato walked up to Asagiri and held it out, smiling gently.
"Here. Iced Coca Cola."
Yuuki Asuna's heart gave a small, involuntary tremor.
Who could resist that?
Kato's voice was soft, her smile warm, and the can was still chilled. And those red marks on her palms made it feel even more unfair.
"Thank you."
Asagiri took the can, opened it, and drank. Then he smiled.
"You've been a huge help. I'm fully recovered."
Kato tucked her black hair behind her ear, her expression gentle.
"Mm. Good."
…
A few minutes later.
"I've never thought a rice ball could taste this good. It's amazing."
Yuuki Asuna turned her head and saw Iwanaga Kotoko, small hands holding a rice ball as she took neat little bites. Kotoko's face was bright with happiness.
Yuuki Asuna shook her head, amused. She pulled out a tissue and wiped the grains of rice stuck at the corner of Kotoko's mouth.
"Didn't you say you were energy saving and not hungry?"
Kotoko answered while chewing, her words slightly muffled.
"I'm energy saving, yes, but as the team's strategist, my brain consumes too much energy. So it's normal to get hungry quickly."
"You just appointed yourself strategist," Yuuki Asuna said dryly. "Amazing."
Kato Megumi's lips curved faintly as she watched them bicker. Then she turned to Asagiri, who was leaning against the tree trunk and eating his bento.
"Leader. When I was collecting food, I saw a few people in suits. They looked like agents from the Anti Ajin Special Forces."
Kato's tone stayed calm.
"I overheard them talking. It seems their higher ups have ordered a temporary stop to the search and pursuit of suspected Ajin targets, meaning Players."
She continued, precise.
"They're transferring most mobile units to a certain location. I think that location is the research base."
"Huh? Stop the pursuit?" Yuuki Asuna looked surprised. "Why would they suddenly do that? Did something change that we don't know about?"
"We know," Asagiri said, smiling lightly.
He took another bite, completely composed.
"It's because of us. And because of the other Player teams."
His eyes were calm, almost cold.
"We caused heavy casualties. Their higher ups made the obvious choice."
He paused.
"In simple terms, they're scared."
"I see…"
Yuuki Asuna nodded slowly, then asked, "So what do we do now? Rest until we're ready, then attack?"
"No."
Asagiri shook his head. His gaze sharpened, and his voice flattened into something dangerous.
"There are definitely other Player teams who can find the base and reach it. But Players don't trust each other."
"They won't cooperate in any real sense. They'll guard against each other, sabotage each other, and turn into obstacles."
His tone didn't rise, but the intention behind it was unmistakable.
"So before we launch the real attack on the research base…"
"Those troublesome people who refuse to follow orders and want to fish in troubled waters…"
Asagiri paused, then finished with absolute calm.
"Kill them all."
.....
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