Yuu 581-585

Title: Its Name, The Final Exam Mission

「Because the system’s energy is being consumed very rapidly, it is recommended that the Host immediately begin the Final Exam. If this choice is missed, the Fifth Mission will become more difficult than the Host imagines.」

“Oh?”

Hearing something else that surprised him, Yuu asked the system in his mind while calling Masuzu:

(Why are you suddenly in a state of very rapid consumption? Are you preparing to stab me in the back again?)

The system replied this time: 「The recovery of the target’s memories will continue to affect the current Worldline. If the system does not actively control and rectify it, subjects relatively close to Yukinoshita Haruno will gradually recall all events from the previous four Worldlines, making the current Worldline extremely unstable, and simultaneously posing a danger.」

“Subjects relatively close... besides Yukino, that means Yukinoshita’s Mother?”

Thinking about this, Yuu felt as if he had been doused with cold water; not a hint of joy appeared.

How could it not, if Yukinoshita Saori remembered that at their first meeting, he immediately snatched her eldest daughter; and at their second meeting, he said in front of her that he would give happiness to her youngest daughter and another girl, openly two-timing...

Yuu wouldn’t be surprised if one day Haruno and Yukino were secretly taken away by Saori to America for an arranged marriage.

It wasn’t that Saori shouldn’t recover her memories, but at least, she should wait until Yuu was ready to face her and help her accept the reality that her two beloved white cabbages had been taken by the same pig.

“Alright, it seems I should thank you for your hard work cleaning up my mess.” Yuu sighed, “Then, the second question... oh, wait a moment.”

The phone rang busy for over ten seconds before being picked up. Then, the girl’s voice, made calm but sounding nervous, came from the handset.

“Hello? What is it?”

Yuu asked in a normal tone: “Natsukawa, are you home now?”

“Yes.”

“There’s something I want to talk to you about. I’m in front of your apartment, can you come down for a bit?”

“Okay.”

Even without asking what the matter was, Masuzu’s answer was very direct, even seeming a little impatient.

From this alone, Yuu could already confirm that Masuzu also retained memories from the previous mission.

Of course, the exact details would have to be confirmed after meeting her directly.

The call ended, Yuu put down his phone, walked to the intercom of the luxury apartment, and pressed the eleventh-floor bell.

The bell chimed melodiously. While waiting for Yukino to answer the bell, he continued his question to the system:

“If I miss this choice, wouldn’t you, who is running out of energy, just disappear? Why is there still a Fifth Mission with an increased difficulty level?”

「When energy is depleted, the system will retract all skills and statuses from the Host, convert them into energy to begin the Fifth Mission, and then enter a long-term sleep mode.」

“??? You really have your ways of playing!”

Yuu’s eyes were full of contempt: “Even if I only return to the starting point, and my physical condition shouldn’t weaken, I believe I can still complete your bad mission well... But can you be this despicable? Retracting rewards that have already been given, even using them to trouble the person who received the reward. Who do you think created a shameless trash system like you?”

The system continued its sentence in its own way: 「The system will awaken after the Host completes the mission and obtains energy, and will return all retracted rewards.」

“Understood, understood. This is again the usual scenario where I’m forced to act out of line.” Yuu rolled his eyes, saying irritably, “Good grief, this is the last time, can’t you just let me complete the mission smoothly according to the rules? Why do you have to suddenly create this surprise, it feels like forcing me to choose the worst option.”

After all, the so-called Final Exam Mission had appeared in a previous mission, also used to threaten him to quickly make a choice he didn’t want—if not for Yukino’s willingness to sacrifice for him, this Final Exam Mission might have already been forced upon him by the system.

Yuu still remembered how the system warned him:

「Hint: The Final Exam Mission will cause irreversible impact on this world, and all beings within it. The Host is requested to choose carefully!」

But now, the system didn’t mention the dangers of the Final Exam Mission at all, like a salesman betting that the person who came to the door was a housewife who didn’t know how to refuse and also didn’t know the product’s side effects, hoping she would nod foolishly until she only realized something was wrong later.

How could Yuu be that foolish?

Although he didn’t know exactly what was happening, from the system’s strange attitude and sudden policy change, he roughly understood that the losses for agreeing would definitely outweigh the benefits.

“I’d rather complete the Fifth Mission without any equipment.”

Yuu sneered with disdain, while looking at the unanswered doorbell with puzzled eyes.

“What’s the loss if the difficulty level increases? That’s better than a Final Exam with no information at all. I’m most afraid of dangerous things like that.”

System: 「...」

“But, considering that if I don’t give you energy, you’ll force me to fight my mother-in-law earlier, while I have to deal with memory and emotional issues, having no extra energy to flirt with my mother-in-law...”

As if teasing the system, Yuu extended his sentence slowly.

The doorbell remained unanswered, he took out his phone again, ready to call Yukino—the reason he hadn’t called from the start was because he was afraid Yukino would reject the call; it was better to come directly to show sincerity, and also to prevent Yukino from cutting off contact to avoid him.

But it turned out, he was overthinking things. Yukino had no intention of avoiding him at all.

“Tenkuji-kun?”

The phone was picked up immediately. Although her tone was somewhat complicated, her emotions were calmer than he expected.

Yuu smiled, with a very familiar demeanor: “Long time no see, I’ve come to see you again.”

“...”

Yukino was silent for a while, and finally, thousands of words turned into a resigned sigh.

“I’m at the supermarket, I’ll be back soon.”

“I also called Natsukawa, we—“

The sound of soft breathing suddenly stopped. Yukino immediately hung up the phone.

“At least listen to me finish...”

Putting down his phone resignedly, Yuu couldn’t help but let out a bitter smile, and then vented all his annoyance on the system.

“Stupid system, if you want me to agree to that Final Exam Mission, you’d better tell me all the pros and cons, specific details, and things that will be affected. Otherwise, I’d rather add a BIG! BURDEN! MYSELF!”

System: 「... Only by choosing to accept, can the Host obtain Final Exam information.」

“Then go to sleep, I’ll fight.” Yuu replied without hesitation.

Some systems think that the Host will be its tool, obeying it.

But for Yuu, even though he was sometimes stabbed in the back and targeted by this system, he never had, and never would, forcefully do something he didn’t want to do just because the system asked him to.

System settings, system missions, system rewards, and system punishments—all of these had no right or power for him to interfere with.

After all, after receiving benefits from the system, he couldn’t ask it to eliminate its drawbacks—there was no such good thing in this world, and he also didn’t dare to accept gifts that fell from the sky.

However, in return, Yuu’s will would also not be bent by the system. If he didn’t want to do it, he wouldn’t do it, even if it added unnecessary trouble.

Like when he voluntarily asked for his memories to be taken, like when he refused to make Yuigahama a mission target—

In Yuu’s view, from beginning to now, this system was his tool, a super ATM that gave him various rewards.

So this time, he flatly and casually rejected the system’s request, not at all worried if the system would make things difficult for him.

Difficulty level increased, well, let it increase. As if the previous four missions felt easy... In fact, Yuu was even a little looking forward to it. He wanted to know what other tricks the system would pull in the Fifth Mission to prevent him from regaining everyone’s memories and feelings, and together create a happy future that no one would regret.

After a few seconds of silence, the system emitted a surprisingly flat voice:

「Do you confirm rejection of the Final Exam Mission?」

“Confirm, just go to sleep.” Yuu replied with a confident smile. His gaze met the silver-haired girl who was jogging out of the elevator. He smiled and waved at her.

“Anyway, whether it’s a girlfriend or a mother-in-law, after you wake up, I’ll conquer them all and show them to you!”

「Host’s rejection of Final Exam Mission confirmed.」

Hearing this sentence, Yuu’s last faint worry finally subsided. He turned with a surprised feeling, and saw Yukino staring at him around the corner of the street, her expression subtle, her steps somewhat hesitant, as if she really didn’t want to face him.

Before approaching the two girls, he casually asked: “When does the Fifth Mission start? What are the details? You can tell me this, right?”

The system replied:

「Host confirmed acceptance of mission, mission content has been updated.」

「Fifth Mission begins.」

「Its name, The Final Exam Mission.」

Yuu: “Exam... Hmm???”

-

Title: Calm Down You Two, Listen to My Explanation First

(Are you playing with me?)

(So, everything you said earlier was just to tease me, and no matter what, you’ll force me to do whatever this so-called Final Exam Mission is?)

Yuu’s eyes widened in disbelief, but instead of anger, he was more filled with curiosity and confusion.

“System, you weren’t this sharp-tongued before. Should I say your trap-setting technique has improved or what... is this an evolved function after the Fourth Mission?”

Every time a mission was completed, the system would evolve or add some new functions.

For example, after the first mission, text prompts evolved into voice prompts; then, the electronic voice was optimized, changing the cold and lifeless prompt voice into a soft female voice voiced by a professional seiyuu, and even appearing with a chibi Hatsune Miku avatar in the World.

All of this was optional, but most importantly, the system was indeed becoming smarter and more human-like day by day—although it gave rewards without hesitation and never lied about missions, it increasingly toyed with him with words, stabbed him in the back in unexpected places, and consciously chose not to answer questions that could reveal its weaknesses.

Thinking about it, the system’s response style felt very familiar, very similar to someone extremely cunning and thick-skinned...

“Don’t tell me, you’re a system that learned from me?”

Yuu suddenly realized this.

So, actually, it wasn’t because the system’s nature was evil, but because of living with him, like a fledgling imitating its parent’s flight, it gradually learned his strengths and then used them back on him?

Truly filial.

“Definitely impossible.” The system didn’t answer, and Yuu immediately rejected the guess, “When it comes to the level of disgust, I’m still far behind this dog system. After all, I’m the one learning from it, not it learning from me, right?”

If it were him, unless he planned to use an overt strategy on the Host from the beginning, he wouldn’t use such crude methods to bait the other party.

That meant, as the missions gradually completed, the system’s intelligence also gradually evolved, growing independently into the cunning form it was now.

Seeing the two girls getting closer to him, he temporarily set aside the system issue. He first looked towards Yukino, pointed to the sofa in the apartment lobby, and gestured for her to talk together there.

Yukino let out another silent sigh, but her eyes showed no rejection.

Yuu then shifted his gaze back to Masuzu, who was preparing to open the door for him in the lobby. Just as he was about to say something, the corner of his eye suddenly caught a figure behind Yukino.

A woman with ample assets was running quickly towards them.

Yuu’s eyes immediately locked onto those two bouncing rabbits, his pupils shrinking sharply in shock.

As she ran, they swayed violently. Even with the coat as a buffer, the front of her clothes was still pulled taut, forming various wave-like curves, producing a huge visual impact—instinctively, no man could ignore such a sight.

Almost at the moment his expression froze, Yukino turned around, following Yuu’s gaze in confusion.

Once again, the stormy wave scene was reflected in her deep blue pupils that suddenly shrank.

“Ah—!”

As if struck by lightning, Yukino jolted, staggering back two steps, letting the person pass her by.

Then she quickly turned her head, glaring at Yuu with cold and fierce eyes, like a girlfriend angry because her boyfriend dared to whistle at another woman’s sexy back while they were out walking.

However, seeing Yuu’s quickly changing shocked expression, Yukino snapped out of her anger, and quickly realized something was wrong.

“Wait, that person...”

Long black hair spilling from her hat, black stockings under a knee-length skirt, and a mature body shape unlike a high school student.

Even without looking at her breasts, Yukino could recognize from her face that the woman running towards the man she liked was her third-year senpai, the Literature Witch Kasumigaoka Utaha, who had already been accepted into Waseda University’s Faculty of Letters.

Although both had long straight black hair, both were top of their class, and both were school goddesses in others’ eyes, why did this senpai’s breasts feel larger than hers after more than a year...

No, that wasn’t the point.

“Why is senpai here?”

(Does she live in this apartment too? Did she move like Natsukawa-san?)

(And why is she running so hurriedly, perhaps she has urgent business that needs to be handled immediately upstairs...)

(Then, why doesn’t she look at the gate at all, but instead charges straight towards Tenkuji-kun?)

Various questions flashed through her mind, Yukino reacted half a second slower, and instinctively reached out to stop the other party.

Masuzu, blocked by the apartment’s glass door, also stood in place.

From her perspective, she couldn’t see clearly what was happening. She only knew someone was running towards her while shaking something naughty. Just as a confused thought arose in her mind.

The next second, the black-haired girl directly crashed into Yuu, as if a long-distance couple finally meeting, the two of them fell to the floor.

In front of the apartment door equipped with surveillance cameras, they held each other tightly, their hair intertwined, their bodies entangled, as if no one else was around.

Witnessing this scene unfold before their eyes, both Yukino and Masuzu were equally shocked with wide eyes like stone statues, their expressions frozen on their faces.

“...”

“...”

Ignoring the two statues inside and outside the door, the black-haired girl sat astride Yuu like riding a horse. Not only did she not get up immediately, she instead pressed Yuu’s head firmly against her breasts, her face flushed, panting (from running), looking up to the sky, shouting desperately:

“Right on time! This should be enough, right!”

No one answered her. After regulating her breathing, she pulled out a black notebook from her bag. After flipping through a few pages with an annoyed face, she finally let out a relieved sigh. Her tense expression gradually calmed.

“Success, I thought I wouldn’t make it... But this guy, he even remembered to catch me before falling asleep. Truly a gentleman.”

Lifting Yuu’s head from her breasts, the black-haired girl looked down, pinching his cheek hard in revenge, and gave a thin smile: “Hmph, no wonder so many girls like you. Too bad, you’re on my blacklist... Hmm?”

In the midst of her mutterings, Utaha suddenly felt the air around her become hot, as if she had shifted from a snowy winter to a scorching summer.

Her body, already hot from intense physical activity, now felt stuffy for an unknown reason. Instantly, sweat flowed from the corner of her smooth and white forehead, as if her entire body was in hell.

“What’s wrong?”

Utaha slowly raised her head, blinking a little in confusion. After looking left and right, she finally clearly saw her current situation.

To her right was a slender girl whose shopping bag had somehow fallen to the ground, with an expression slowly darkening.

To her left was a silver-haired girl standing in front of the slowly opening glass door, staring at her unblinkingly and expressionlessly.

Neither of them spoke, but those two pairs of cold and apathetic eyes, like laser beams capable of cutting steel, pierced every part of her body that was touching Yuu.

Utaha had no doubt. If they were holding knives right now, she would definitely be beheaded on the spot like a vixen, and her body would be displayed.

—The sentence “Seize the opportunity before others” actually hid risks like this?!

She was extremely regretful now, very regretful.

Unfortunately, a major mistake had been made. Just like a little rabbit entering a cage of ferocious beasts, regret wouldn’t help her survive. She had to quickly find a way to fix it.

“Ahem, um...”

After realizing the situation, Utaha awkwardly coughed twice, breaking the frozen silence.

She instinctively avoided their gazes, trying to keep her voice steady, but her fingers trembled unconsciously.

This was the first time she felt such bone-chilling fear.

Even when the notebook suddenly appeared, she hadn’t felt fear this deep—it felt like one wrong step would lead her to an inevitable end of death.

She took a deep breath, calming her pounding heartbeat.

Then she looked towards the handsome young man sleeping soundly in her embrace. Utaha secretly gritted her teeth, glaring at the culprit several times.

(Damn you, Kouhai, I’ll note this debt again! We’ll settle it when you wake up!)

Although her heart was angry, she looked up and forced a smile at her two underclassmen, trying to show goodwill.

“Calm down you two, listen to my explanation first. I really didn’t mean to approach the man you like...”

Like a villain preparing to release her hostage, Utaha slowly placed Yuu’s head on the floor, raised both hands, and carefully backed away.

-

System Title: Clean Yourself Up and Wait for Me!

「The Final Exam will begin soon. Please prepare immediately, Host.」

Along with Utaha’s figure appearing, the system’s voice was heard.

There was no countdown, only a glowing red notification box appearing in the corner of his vision.

“Hah? Wait a moment—“

He hadn’t even had time to wonder why Utaha suddenly appeared and crashed into him when Yuu’s head felt a momentary confusion, followed by an overwhelming drowsiness. It felt like a succubus was dragging him unceremoniously into the dream world, and the scenery in front of him began to double.

(Damn you, after trapping me, you dare to force me!?)

Was this dog system ready to fight and determine who would live and die with him in this mission?

He blinked his eyes hard but couldn’t dispel the drowsiness. Yuu unhesitatingly activated Clear Heart Like a Mirror Like Water to force himself to calm down, but it felt futile. The intense drowsiness stubbornly refused to fade.

He steeled his resolve, immediately thrusting his tongue against his back molars, biting down with the force as if he wanted to commit suicide by biting his tongue.

However, the gray wave had predicted his decision, suddenly spreading from within Yuu’s body. A relaxation that could sedate ten elephants loosened all his muscles, taking away the strength to close his jaw, and at the same time blurring his vision.

“Even having to go this far, you still want me to do that Final Exam, huh...”

At this moment, as if truly understanding something, Yuu suddenly gave up resisting.

Time slowed. He could clearly see Senpai Utaha in black stockings running and crashing into him with a pained and hurried expression.

He could also see every curve of the fluctuating waves as if playing in slow motion.

However, similar to when he faced Asuna’s thin sword enveloped in the power of Heart’s Will, he could only stand in place and watch, unable to react in time.

His eyelids felt as heavy as 500 kg. Yuu helplessly closed his eyes, letting his body prepare in this brief time to mitigate the impact of the collision, ensuring that the one about to crash and himself who was about to fall asleep could land safely.

Although he didn’t understand the reason for Utaha’s sudden appearance, Yuu roughly guessed why this dog system was acting increasingly outrageous.

“Wanting to squeeze every last drop of my value, so it doesn’t disappear that quickly...”

He sneered inwardly, but he had no way to stop the system that insisted on doing so.

Like an editor and a mangaka. For popular works, for the sake of sales and future IP plans, editors usually ask the mangaka not to end it when it should, forcibly extending the work’s lifespan.

Even though this mangaka skilled in short stories could gain fame and double profits if he ended it according to his own rhythm, without forcing himself to draw a long work that could lead to failure. But in the eyes of the chief editor and senior executives, even if this work was nearing its end, what did they care? As long as it still made money, it had to be continued no matter what, keep reheating stale dishes, until its popularity declined and it didn’t make much money, only then could it end.

The mangaka had no right to refuse... unless he could find another way out.

Although he wasn’t clear about the system’s operating principles, Yuu guessed that only when he teased the girls’ hearts could the system obtain special energy like emotions or souls, like QB—or Incubator.

So, if the Fifth Mission was completed quickly after he found the key, or he reduced the frequency of teasing girls considering the feelings of his other girlfriends, thus reducing energy production; then the system would have to part with him—this rare good Host, and this energy-generating machine—without getting much energy.

But their value hadn’t been fully squeezed. How could it let go of a good horse that ate little grass but could run far, just like that?

Better to cancel the Fifth Mission, and directly spawn the Final Exam Mission to trap him, like an animal trainer whipping an old lion to jump through a fiery hoop. The system wanted him to struggle with all his might on this final stage, until the system gained enough benefits, or until Yuu fell helplessly, only then would the system be satisfied to leave this world.

Of course, all this was baseless, just Yuu’s guess that he considered closest to the truth.

The only certainty was that the system was panicking, panicking like a hurried virgin, desperately trying to make its limp little brother stand up again, to fight with him once more.

(...Alright, if you want to come, come then.)

Yuu closed his eyes, his expression gradually fading from his face. He said to the system calmly:

(After all, I’ll do my best to complete your final mission, like I did last time... no, like the four times before.)

Even though every day he cursed the system as a dog, in equal exchange, no matter how many resources Yuu took from the system, he would do that much for it—no matter how bad he felt, at least in terms of responsibility, he never thought of refusing the system’s missions.

He never had the spoiled thought of not wanting to accept any difficulties but taking all the benefits and leaving. He was also confident that he could complete the mission perfectly, and finally live a perfectly happy life with the rewards.

So, whether the Fifth Mission or the Final Exam Mission—if the system insisted he do it, Yuu as the worker would choose to accept it gladly.

Like an illustrator troubled by a client, he had to treat the work given by the hated party with a professional attitude, not raging and insulting helplessly, but reluctantly accepting reality.

(But, wait for me.)

His consciousness gradually fell into nameless, lightless darkness. Even the elongated and distorted sounds in his ears began to fade, until there was nothing to see, hear, or smell.

The corner of his lips lifted slightly, unseen. Yuu continued with a calm expression:

(The next meeting will be the day we use all our cards to determine the winner... After all, I’ve already thought of a way to give you a profound, eternal, and unforgettable lesson.)

The system finally replied: 「Host, the system is an intangible entity. It has no frame, let alone eternity.」

Yuu comforted it with a soft voice: (It’s okay, just wait obediently. Let Daddy think of a way... Anyway, no matter what happens, I’ll repay all the hardships I’ve suffered so far to you. Look forward to it!)

System: 「... Host is ready, beginning Final Exam transfer.」

Seeing the system return to the main topic without a word, Yuu couldn’t hold back a triumphant laugh, then said arrogantly:

(System, clean yourself up and wait! See you when we complete the mission!)

Then, the surging drowsiness truly swallowed his last consciousness.

Before falling into deep sleep, Yuu could feel himself being hit by two extremely elastic objects on his cheeks. Then, his entire face was pressed into a suffocating embrace, like sweet marshmallow.

It felt like a giant splitting heaven and earth was burying his face between two blooming mountain peaks in spring. The layered, warm, and soft touch on his cheeks was truly beautiful and memorable.

“So... what does... this have to do... with you, Senpai...”

The unuttered question was replaced by the sound of steady breathing as he fell asleep.

Yuu fell into a deep sleep, no longer able to feel anything happening outside.

◆━⊰✧⊱━◆

Meanwhile, the defense trial in front of the apartment door lasted about five minutes.

Relying on the strongest evidence—the Notebook of Fate, and various pieces of information she knew, Utaha finally managed to escape the sudden shuraba, saving herself from the unfriendly and vigilant gazes of the two girls.

After that, Yukino called Haruno, who hurried over, asking for her help to drag that someone’s body into the van and explaining the strange situation to her.

Then, together with Masuzu who insisted on coming along, they rushed non-stop to Yuu’s house.

Inside the borrowed van.

Haruno drove, with her skillful expertise, she quickly weaved through the traffic jam, occasionally glancing at the rearview mirror to observe the situation in the back.

Holding the black notebook, Utaha was sandwiched between Yukino and Masuzu on her left and right. She looked a bit uncomfortable, touching her long hair on her chest. However, due to her pride and dignity as a senpai, she could only maintain a calm expression and say casually and elegantly:

“I’ve already said, I don’t know why this notebook chose me, I also don’t know why it told me to be the first to help Tenkuji-kouhai who was about to fall asleep, and I also don’t know the reason why he fell asleep...”

“I only know what I have to do. If you want more information, I’m sorry, I can’t fulfill that request.”

-

Title: Once Again, Yukinoshita Haruno Hypnotizes Herself with Lies

The traffic light ahead turned red. Haruno slowly pressed the brake, temporarily averting her gaze from the rearview mirror, just listening to their conversation.

At the same time, she looked down at her phone on her lap, observing various information on the screen, and quickly replying to several messages.

Regarding the high school girls in the back seat who claimed to be victims, chosen only by a mysterious existence to approach Yuu—although the notebook that couldn’t be torn, burned, or would return itself if thrown away, lent sufficient credibility to that reality-defying testimony.

Haruno kept contacting her subordinates, asking them to investigate Utaha as soon as possible. By first mastering her various pieces of information, it would be easier to gain an advantage during future interactions.

Believing her words didn’t mean believing in her.

Of course, all of that was just minor business conducted on the fly—the most important thing was still Yuu lying in the back seat, sleeping soundly like a vegetative patient.

“Tenkuji-kun, he’s really okay, right?”

Her younger sister had asked countless times in a very fragile-sounding tone.

“Relax, didn’t the notebook already write it? He’ll be asleep for a while, we just need to protect his physical body in the real world, and he’ll be fine after he comes out of the exam.”

Utaha also didn’t know how many times she had answered. Although she looked a little tired, seemingly worried about family feelings, her tone tried to remain patient.

“Although this notebook is very suspicious, at least so far no mistakes have occurred. Just consider this a mission clue—like playing a game. You must have played games, right? He now has to leave the screen to do other things, and the mission the system gave us is to protect his character from getting hurt. Other than that, there’s nothing to worry about.”

“Even though you say relax, this isn’t a situation that can be explained just with the word game... Isn’t there a way to wake him up faster...”

Yukino was still very disturbed. She occasionally turned to the back seat to look at Yuu, whose hands and feet were tied to the seat. Her furrowed brows couldn’t be released, her lips almost bitten to leave marks from anxiety.

“Ah, that’s enough...”

Utaha’s expression changed slightly, as if she couldn’t take it anymore. She massaged her eyebrows. Her once polite tone gradually became direct and sharp.

“Yukinoshita-san, I was just giving an analogy, don’t you even understand this? Are you too worried to be coherent, or did your reading comprehension score never pass?”

“Kasumigaoka-senpai, of course I understand what you mean. I just wanted to discuss solutions...”

“Making me keep repeating what I’ve already said, that’s what you call discussing solutions? Haha, if this were in front of a literature teacher, they’d surely die of annoyance at the podium.”

“...”

Although Yukino glared at her unhappily, the black-stockinged girl remained indifferent, brushing her long hair over her shoulder, and sporting a mocking smile.

“Of course I know the current situation is completely different from a game—don’t you see it’s written in the notebook that if this gets messed up, not only will he be in trouble, but so will I?”

“I’ve been threatened with a death cycle and a future that will never return. The pressure I’m facing is far greater than yours as an outsider. Moreover, I don’t like your boyfriend at all, but somehow I got dragged into it and have to do so many things for him—others aren’t complaining, what right do you have to make a fuss here when you haven’t even remembered your past memories?”

Snorting coldly from her nose, Utaha spoke increasingly loudly, staring at Yukino firmly: “So, either you shut up and take care of him, or go home and cry hugging your blanket... Don’t worry, we’ll handle the rest.”

“You—!”

Yukino’s teeth unconsciously clenched tight. Her expression was cold and her gaze sharp, as if she wanted to say something in retaliation.

However, seeing Utaha’s unwavering eyes, she couldn’t utter a single word of rebuttal other than clenching her fists tightly. She lowered her head with a reluctant face, her slender shoulders trembling slightly.

(No memories means no right to speak? How pathetic...)

Haruno thought emotionlessly. The traffic light ahead turned green. She pressed the accelerator, turning onto a street she had just visited that morning, amid a brief silence in the car.

She had no intention of defending her sister now.

Although she noted this insult, if there was an opportunity in the future, of course she would retaliate against this sharp-tongued Utaha for her sister’s sake.

However, what the opponent said was not wrong. The current Yukino, who had experienced the morning’s events and been struck by this sudden shock, had become mentally very fragile, even unable to think calmly enough.

She could only indulge in useless worries, asking repeatedly like a jumping clock hand, unable to help with anything, completely helpless—this was no longer the usual Yukino. Masuzu even seemed more rational than her. Having an outsider able to awaken her with a reprimand actually saved her energy.

At the same time, Haruno could secretly gather deep information that Utaha didn’t voluntarily reveal—for example, Utaha’s situation might be very similar to Yuu’s now. These were things her subordinates couldn’t find, and it also allowed her to understand more about Yuu indirectly.

If it were Yukino before today, perhaps she could have responded more maturely and reliably than herself, right?

After all, Yukino was the one who made Yuu decide to face his feelings, doing something others couldn’t, and even facing the end of a relationship with an open heart for Yuu’s sake.

Haruno admitted that she probably wouldn’t have such courage.

Unfortunately, the current Yukino was completely helpless. As her sister, she almost couldn’t bear to see it, it’s just that she didn’t have the time and energy to give her a little love guidance, otherwise, how could an outsider be allowed to scold her sister?

(Well, even if I can understand...)

She sighed silently. Seeing the scenery outside the window receding, Haruno remembered the events from a while ago, and she couldn’t bear to blame her sister.

Because, if talking about panic, during the time she cut a half-hour journey to under ten minutes, running multiple red lights, her panic was no less than Yukino’s.

Rushing to the apartment, seeing her lover lying alone on the ground, sleeping soundly as if suddenly dead, surrounded by pale girls, Haruno also felt a devastation as if she was about to faint and die.

It’s just that she used all her strength to suppress the despair that felt like the entire world collapsing because of him, into the deepest part of her body.

And with a composure as if all emotions had been erased, she forced the words “What happened” out of her throat.

Because she knew what to do now.

Because she knew what she shouldn’t do.

If he wasn’t there, her fragility was meaningless, just an emotional outburst. So she had to calm down immediately, turn worry into concrete action, to be the strongest and most trusted support for him.

Then, when Yuu woke up, Haruno would make him remember all her kindness through tears and smiles, make him flustered trying to comfort her, and with this guilt and gratitude, bind him tightly to her side.

In this way, her success rate of monopolizing Yuu in the future would increase tremendously.

—Right, instead of worrying about his safety, it’s better to think about how to use this incident to create the greatest advantage after he wakes up.

This was Haruno’s maturity, this was Haruno’s cunning.

This was—

Her lie.

“What can I do, my sister is already so embarrassing, the older sister has to try harder...”

Her white-knuckled fingers slowly loosened from the steering wheel.

The corner of her lips lifted. Haruno laughed mockingly, and with slightly trembling fingertips, she adjusted the rearview mirror—that way, she wouldn’t see Yuu lying supine like a corpse in the back seat.

Then, letting out a slightly trembling breath, she forced herself to divert her thoughts, contemplating and reorganizing the information Utaha had given them.

For example, that notebook recorded various notes about their relationship with Yuu, but only Utaha could see it, having no intention of guaranteeing others’ privacy at all...

For example, they could see the missions and clues the notebook gave Utaha, but couldn’t see what was written behind the rewards, and the other party also had no intention of being honest with them...

For example, she also retained memories of the last mission, and the power outage in the building at that time was caused by her attempt to rewrite Yuu’s destiny of being stabbed in the chest...

All sorts of things. Until Haruno realized, the car was already parked in front of Tenkuji’s house.

Immediately sending the sleeping Yuu home, and informing Sora as soon as possible, was also a decision Haruno made considering Yuu’s personality, and because of the presence of outsiders beside him so she couldn’t act selfishly.

-

Title: Speaking in Riddles is Also an Art of Speaking

Haruno turned off the engine and got out of the car. She turned to look inside, where Utaha and her sister Yukino followed suit and stepped out. Meanwhile, Masuzu, facing her, raised her hand and said with an honest attitude:

“I’ll stay in the car to watch over him. I’ll leave informing Sora-chan to you all.”

Hearing this, Yukino’s steps toward Haruno halted. She turned firmly and returned to a more comfortable position to monitor Yuu.

“I’ll stay here too. Too many people might make Sora-chan uncomfortable.”

This wasn’t a lie, but besides that, she had another intention.

Masuzu knew that Yukino’s reason for staying was mostly to keep an eye on her, but she just shrugged without caring much.

Just kidding, was she the type of person who would attack the man she liked while he was unconscious?

...Even if she was, this cramped van didn’t allow it. Not to mention people passing by on the street at any time. Her courage wasn’t that great yet. At most, she would just kiss him a few times.

So Yukino’s vigilance was completely correct; she had accurately captured her small intention.

Masuzu clicked her tongue inwardly in regret—although she seemed weaker after losing her memories, the second daughter of the Yukinoshita family remained clever and hard to fool.

“In that case, I’ll leave him to you!”

Not worried that these two would team up to do something to the helpless Yuu, Haruno waved her hand casually, stood in front of the Tenkuji house, and gently pressed the doorbell.

Suddenly remembering something, she asked Utaha, who was following behind her with low spirits: “Utaha-chan... this way of addressing me shouldn’t be a problem, right? After all, I’m two years ahead of you.”

“I don’t mind, Haruno-senpai. Even though this is our first meeting, I’ve unilaterally known a lot about you already.”

With a similarly casual attitude, Utaha tucked her beautiful hair from the side of her temple behind her ear.

She glanced at Yukino returning to the car, suddenly letting out a helpless sigh, and smiled at Haruno with a hint of apology: “Sorry about earlier. Saying so many unpleasant things to your sister. I hope you don’t take it to heart.”

“Of course not? In fact, I should thank you. You’ve been indulging her all this time before finally scolding her until she came to her senses. It must have been exhausting for you to endure her stubborn attitude.”

The other party apologized insincerely, so Haruno naturally responded with a fake smile.

Although there was no hostility, there wasn’t much goodwill either. Utaha’s movements and words showed a sense of alienation, as if saying ‘I don’t want to get too involved with you all’.

Haruno could understand why the other party thought that way, but she felt that things wouldn’t go as she wished.

The ‘God’ choosing her to hold the notebook containing that fate was clearly no coincidence or accident... Perhaps Utaha was Yuu’s next mission target.

Looking at the long straight black-haired girl in front of her, who was no less than her in appearance or figure, Haruno smiled on her face, but inwardly shook her head.

Just like herself, and the other ‘girlfriends’, once some relationships were entangled, they would only become more tangled like knotted headphone cords, and increasingly difficult to untangle.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Haruno steered the conversation back on track.

“I’ll handle things here myself, you go back to the car and wait for me.”

“You’re planning to explain the reason for his fainting to his sister, right? Besides, in this situation, any lie would be futile. It’s better to be honest from the start.”

The black notebook was lightly rested against her white and beautiful chin. Utaha narrowed her eyes lazily, her lips as soft as sakura petals curving slightly: “Even though I have to repeat the same method to convince you all like earlier, I have to be present in person to avoid wasting too much time.”

“You’re right, the persuasive power of physical evidence is always better than empty words.” Haruno nodded in agreement, but quickly amended her sentence, “However, his sister also retains memories from the previous mission, so it shouldn’t be hard for her to accept an even more unreasonable situation—as long as you say this is related to the ‘girlfriend’ issue, your notebook might not even be needed.”

“Better that way... Wait, wouldn’t the way you talk make her misunderstand? Better to speak based on facts.”

Utaha frowned slightly, her tone full of displeasure. She tried to phrase her words as gently as possible: “Sorry, I don’t mean to belittle you all—but honestly, I don’t want to be seen as one of you.”

Forgetting others, being abandoned by others, and then getting hurt on the path to reclaim him—reading it in a novel might be nice, but any sane girl would stay as far away as possible from this overly rich emotional experience.

“Pffft! Hahaha, what outrageous words!”

Haruno covered her lips, laughing suppressedly, and slightly turned her face away, not letting Utaha see her eyes, which held no smile at all, gleaming with cold light.

“Goodness, it seems that notebook really writes everything that happened between us and him.”

“Just the outlines. You can think of it as plot synopsis notes or something.” Utaha shrugged. Her fingers, as white as scallions, flipped through the inner pages like counting bills, “And it only records important things or those clearly key plot points. Trivial daily life things, your intimate scenes, all of that isn’t written here. Don’t worry.”

“Oh, that’s a relief.”

Haruno replied indifferently without emotion. Suddenly, the sound of footsteps descending stairs from inside the door was heard. She pursed her lips, her face gradually becoming gloomy and serious.

It seemed someone was peeking through the peephole. After pausing briefly in front of the door, the Tenkuji house door slowly opened with the sound of a chain being unlatched.

“What’s up? Yuu’s out looking for other girls.”

Sora’s head peeked halfway from the door crack. She stared warily at the two busty women in front of the door, looking like a cute small animal whose territory was invaded by predators, as if ready to slam the door in their faces at any moment.

Haruno couldn’t help but give a bitter smile: “I know, he already told me. Thanks for the warning, Sora-chan...”

However, her words were interrupted by Utaha flipping the notebook behind her.

“The notebook says he talked to Asuna first, then went to the apartment to look for those two. Did he tell you this too?”

Sora tilted her head in confusion: “Notebook? Who are you?”

“...”

Haruno paused for a moment, then slowly turned and looked at her with a wide smile.

“Utaha-chan, don’t interrupt when senpai is speaking. Didn’t anyone teach you that? If not, I’d be happy to do it now.”

“S-Sorry.”

From those deep and cold eyes, Utaha read that the other party wasn’t joking. The dangerous aura emanating from her made her shiver and feel afraid, as if Haruno would pull a knife from under her skirt to slit her throat.

Utaha unconsciously stepped back while hugging the notebook. She felt truly intimidated by Haruno’s gentle and cheerful aura, even her response sounded obedient and submissive.

Haruno turned back satisfied, facing Sora again. The warning smile was replaced by a serious expression.

“Sora, you know, right? Unscientific things often happen around Yuu-chan?”

“Hah? What are you talking about?”

Sora opened her small mouth in confusion. Her large, bright, and clear eyes blinked, full of bewilderment.

“Alternately dating you all and trying to start a harem in modern society—isn’t that already the most unscientific thing? Are you just realizing it now?”

Haruno: “...”

She was too cautious. She should have just told her directly that her older brother had fallen into a deep sleep due to some kind of exam given by God, and didn’t know when he would wake up.

Haruno massaged her brows, silent for a moment, then recomposed herself and spoke to Sora again:

“Sora-chan, what I’m about to say next, don’t be afraid and don’t panic... Although it’s not good news, it’s also not too bad for now, really not too bad.”

Sora frowned: “Can’t you just get to the point? I don’t like riddle-makers.”

“The point?” Haruno raised her eyebrow.

“Your older brother suddenly fell into an un-wakeable sleep on the street, and now he’s lying like a vegetative patient in my car. I brought him home. The culprit might be that God again, and there’s no way to cure him. His vital signs are good, he doesn’t look injured, but according to my information, he needs to complete some kind of exam to wake up. If he fails, he might keep sleeping.”

This barrage of words without pause exploded like a bomb, sweeping the air around the silver-haired girl.

“...”

Seeing Sora’s expression slowly furrow, turning into a blank and disbelieving stare.

Haruno shrugged, saying helplessly: “Speaking in riddles is also an art of speaking. That was for your own good, but since you don’t like it, I can’t do anything about it.”