Chapter 233: The Fairy Princess

Hearing Asagiri’s words, a trace of shyness appeared in Yuuki Asuna’s eyes as she asked in a voice as soft as a mosquito’s hum,

"It’s not... one of those especially strange outfits, is it?"

Asagiri did not answer directly. Instead, he asked with curiosity,

"What kind of outfit do you consider strange?"

"This..."

Yuuki Asuna sat upright, picked up her phone from the coffee table, opened the custom "cosplay costume" website Asagiri had sent her, and swiped through it a few times with her fair, slender fingers. Then she opened a design sketch, handed the phone to him, and said with a blush,

"This one feels pretty strange..."

Asagiri glanced at the image on the screen and replied calmly,

"Oh. Reverse Bunny Girl."

"No, I’m not talking about the outfit itself. I mean this thing."

Yuuki Asuna raised a fair finger and pointed at the strange accessory displayed beside the outfit, something that looked like a bunny tail, her expression full of confusion.

"I searched online for normal bunny girl outfits. Accessories like bunny ears are usually attached to the outfit, right? So why is this one separate? And why does it have this little cone shaped metal thing in front? Wouldn’t it be really inconvenient to wear? And if there’s a bulge inside the outfit, wouldn’t that be uncomfortable too?"

"Pfft..."

Seeing Asagiri burst out laughing as if he had just heard something hilarious, Yuuki Asuna puffed up her cheeks and complained,

"What are you laughing at? Everyone has things they don’t understand, right? Making fun of me like that is too much."

"I just really couldn’t hold it in."

Asagiri waved a hand, still smiling, then explained in a soft voice,

"That thing isn’t separate. It’s more like an earring. It’s connected."

Yuuki Asuna stared blankly for a moment, still puzzled.

"Connected? How would something like that even..."

She stopped halfway through the sentence.

In the next instant, realization hit her. A deep blush spread across her face, and she didn’t even dare look at the image on her phone anymore. She sprang to her feet, ran over to the door of the guest room beside the master bedroom, leaned against the frame, glanced reproachfully at Asagiri on the living room sofa, and whispered indignantly,

"Per... pervert!"

...

Although she called him a pervert, about fifteen minutes later Yuuki Asuna still stepped out of the guest room after changing into the outfit Asagiri had specially prepared for her.

"Do I... look good?"

Yuuki Asuna covered her chest with both hands, looking more than a little embarrassed.

The outfit Asagiri had prepared was made of soft, pure white fabric, like the ceremonial dress of a princess from a fantasy tale.

The lower half was a pure white skirt that fell to her knees, with delicate ribbon accents added to it. White ribbons were also tied around Yuuki Asuna’s fair feet, making the whole look even more enchanting.

The upper half, however, was a rather short sleeveless white top that left her fair, well proportioned waist exposed. Around her graceful neck was a pure white lace choker, and above her arms were white lace bands. Together with the red ribbon at her chest and her smooth flaxen hair falling over the white fabric like a final embellishment, she looked like an untouchable elven princess, pure, elegant, and noble.

"Stunningly beautiful."

Hearing Asagiri’s direct praise, Yuuki Asuna could not help smiling.

"It’s not that exaggerated..."

After saying that, she gently tucked her long flaxen hair behind her ear and added shyly,

"A work of art and all that..."

Still smiling, Asagiri asked,

"The site I sent you didn’t have a design like this, did it?"

Yuuki Asuna’s eyes flickered with emotion.

"So it really was..."

Asagiri nodded without hiding it.

"Yeah. I drew the design myself, then searched for the right materials online and had it custom made."

Hearing that, Yuuki Asuna looked deeply moved. She walked to the refrigerator in the living room, took out the cola flavored ice cream they had brought back, then sat down beside Asagiri and said in a soft, gentle voice,

"If it’s an outfit you specially designed for me, then I really have to treasure it."

"No need. I ordered several sets in this style."

Asagiri leaned in and gently kissed Yuuki Asuna on the forehead. Looking at her shy expression, both flustered and adorable, he smiled.

"It’s only clothes. However many you want, I’ll design them for you."

Yuuki Asuna lowered her head shyly, scooped a spoonful of ice cream into her rosy lips, then leaned forward and kissed Asagiri.

Her kiss carried the sweet chill of the ice cream.

"The outfits you design for me in the future... they’ll all be used at times like this, won’t they?"

Asagiri gently stroked her fair cheek and smiled. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"There’s no helping it. I’m an H game creator. After all... everyone has their own specialty."

"Mm..."

Feeling the sudden chill at her neck, Yuuki Asuna’s body shivered lightly. Then she complained with a red face,

"Why did you put ice cream on me? It’ll get on the sofa, and it’s such a waste..."

"Don’t worry. It won’t go to waste."

Asagiri lowered his head and kissed the fair skin of Yuuki Asuna’s neck.

"I’ll carefully eat it all up."

...

A few days later, Friday evening, at Asagiri’s home.

Now that the rules had changed, things were far more convenient. As high level Players, they no longer needed to register three days in advance and could choose to enter a Dungeon as late as the day before.

After reading the latest changes in the system, Yuuki Asuna could not help exclaiming,

"This really is a lot more convenient."

Iwanaga Kotoko elegantly picked up her teacup, took a small sip of hot black tea, and smiled.

"You could call it a privilege given by the system. It’s doing its best to give high level Players more convenience. Quite thoughtful of it."

"The main reason is that we don’t really have any urgent matters to deal with in the real world right now."

Asagiri held a frozen Coke and chuckled.

"I originally thought Oko Shinomiya’s death would become a major event that shook society, and that it would affect Shuchiin Academy and all of us inside it. But it seems Ashikaga Miwa’s abilities are genuinely impressive. Under her control, classes at Shuchiin Academy are continuing as usual, and the students don’t even know that Chairman Oko met with an accident. Cooperating with her really was the right choice."

Iwanaga Kotoko set down her porcelain cup and said indifferently,

"Even if nothing seems different on the surface, twenty seven new people have appeared around Shuchiin Academy recently. They aren’t teachers, and they aren’t students. I had the yokai investigate them. Those people seem able to observe anomalies. They’re probably Players specifically hired to protect the students."

Hearing that, Kato Megumi spoke softly,

"So the Game hasn’t impacted existing social order as much as we originally imagined..."

"That’s normal."

Asagiri smiled and began explaining.

"First, the overall strength of Players at this stage still isn’t overwhelming. We’re far from the point where Players can simply do whatever they want in the real world. Most Players don’t even have the means to defend themselves against modern firearms. Even I could still get injured if I faced heavy sniper rifles or grenade launchers."

"Second, any mentally sound Player with even basic rationality should understand that there is no benefit in committing crimes in the real world. There are far easier and simpler ways to gain wealth and status, so why choose a road that leads to being hunted? Once you’re wanted in the real world, you can no longer rest properly. By the time you enter the next Dungeon, you’ll be mentally and physically exhausted. Even if you don’t die in reality, you’ll die inside the Dungeon sooner or later."

"The most important point is this. The rule that lets new Players obtain registration rights by taking the phones of dead Players means that once a Player reveals their true identity in the real world, they become a target for countless enemies. No sane person wants to take that risk. So at least for now, society won’t experience any drastic upheaval."

He paused, then added calmly,

"Of course, there will definitely be a small number of Players who are mentally unstable, battle crazed, or just too stupid to resist doing reckless things in the real world. But the more power they display, the more people will covet their items and equipment. In the end, that path only leads to death."

After saying that, Asagiri tapped open the eye shaped APP, set the date for entering the next Dungeon to tomorrow, and began registering.

As usual, a few keywords representing the theme of the Dungeon gradually appeared on the screen.

[Subway] [Corridor] [Hotel]

Seeing the words appear on Asagiri’s phone, Yuuki Asuna, sitting beside him, frowned slightly and murmured,

"Subway, corridor, Hotel... With only these three keywords, it’s impossible to tell exactly what kind of Dungeon it is. At best we can infer the environment. And Hotel... could it be related to the Hotel Dungeon we entered before?"

"Choose Hotel."

After thinking for a moment, Iwanaga Kotoko directly voiced her opinion.

"Both you and Asuna fight with high mobility. Our team doesn’t have a true Main Tank who can permanently stay in front. Compared to something narrow like a subway or corridor, an environment like a Hotel suits us better."

.....

[If you don’t want to wait for the next update, read 50 Chapters ahead on P@treon.]

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