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Page 212
Kasumigaoka Utaha, her expression slightly unsettling, twitched her leg. "I think the assistant will definitely be a cute girl, and the kind that's really pretty..."
"Oh! Kasumigaoka is absolutely right!"
Hiratsuka Shizuka looked at Kasumigaoka with slight surprise, as if she suspected that Shizuka had investigated Kiritani-kun's matter. Originally, only she, Sushi, and the two parties involved should have known about it...
"Kirigaya's assistant is a girl, very pretty, and with a surprisingly good figure... although she doesn't seem to care much about dressing up?"
"So, we know each other?"
Asuna squinted slightly, not looking at Kiritani-kun, but instead asking Hiratsuka Shizuka.
"You should know her. To make things easier for her work, Akane specifically selected a top-tier illustrator from Chiba, and then..."
The female teacher scratched her head, her expression slightly strange. "To be honest, I didn't know our school had so many illustrators, especially doujinshi artists!"
She glanced at the expressionless Kiritani-kun. "The assistant is Asuna's classmate, Asada Shino."
"Shina-san is very good!"
Shiina Mashiro glanced at everyone present and muttered, "You guys are all just a bunch of lovey-dovey couples, all you do is show off your love and flaunt your relationship!"
"Yes, I've decided!" XN
At that moment, everyone except the female teacher, including Komachi, silently decided to kill the other person after seeing them.
"Although I don't really want to say it."
Shiina Mashiro remained expressionless. "Shino-san told me to wish Kazuto a happy birthday and, incidentally, show off our love so we'll cool off quickly."
"Shiina-kun, you can't say things like that to other people!"
With her tone still calm and composed, Kato Megumi said lightly, "Besides, Asada-san might not be as good as you think~!"
Alas!
I said, "Sage Hui, do you perhaps know something inside?"
Besides having all-powerful relatives, do you also possess methods similar to those of Alessita, who is a stalker and always observes the big picture?
With an incredulous expression, Kiritani-kun was instantly astonished as he looked at Kato Megumi, who was tilting her head slightly.
"I don't know any inside information, I only know what I know!"
As if possessed by a certain Hanekawa deity, Kato Megumi puffed out her cheeks, looking somewhat dissatisfied. "It's not some kind of superpower, it's just that I'm too clear about people's expressions, like Eriri-san's textbook-perfect emoji, I can completely interpret it just by looking at it."
"Hey! What do you mean by 'textbook meme'?"
Eriri immediately objected, "I...I call this honesty, being true to myself!"
...So, does that mean I can only maintain a blank expression in front of Kato Megumi from now on?
P.S.: Although it's supposed to be a birthday story, I've never celebrated one, so how am I supposed to write it? It'll be a very everyday one—I'll feed you a piece of glass later (just kidding).
446
[NO.441 A problem was discovered]
In short, it was probably because there were too many people that the conversation kept going off-topic. Even with so few people, the conversation was split into two topics. I have to say, the way people's thoughts wandered was quite terrifying, even though it was just a simple matter of talking about the assistant.
Of course, at least Asuna and Alice are happy that Kirito has found an assistant, since this will make things much easier for him.
But Alice's subsequent suggestion was a little perplexing.
"Well, the assistant that Xiaotongtong found is mainly responsible for the new work. But even so, Xiaotongtong is already very busy on top of what she used to be. Even with an assistant... it may not be much easier."
She put down her chopsticks at some point, cupped her cheeks in her hands, and looked at Kirito with a slightly intoxicated expression, saying, "Although I can't compare to Kirito, who has been neglecting his art style for a long time and not only doesn't regress but even improves, I can still help out, like becoming the only assistant in the Sword Art Online series."
She stared intently at Kiritani-kun, her eyes slightly brightening—in which Kiritani-kun saw the look that threatened to provoke him if he didn't agree.
By the way, how exactly did you know that Sword Art Online is a series?
Kiritani was slightly stunned. Logically speaking, the scripts for the Sword Art Online series were handwritten. Apart from Sushi, no one, not even Yui, who was wandering the internet, knew about the later chapters. — I mean, could Alice have gotten in touch with Sushi at some point?
So you guys know me to this extent?
"Don't make that face, Little Tongtong. Just think about the initial introduction of Sword Art Online and you'll know that this is just the first game. According to the laws of shonen manga, the protagonist will eventually be able to log out of the game. And the protagonist, Kurogiri Shido, is a game otaku, or to be precise, a good-for-nothing who can't do anything except play games and build a harem!"
Especially when talking about building a harem, Alice emphasized her words and directed everyone's menacing gazes at Kirito. She continued, "So, after the first game ends, since the protagonist is the protagonist, he'll definitely be the No. 1 in the game. Whether the protagonist wants to participate in other games, the game developers, or even players who are unhappy with the protagonist's No. 1 title, they'll definitely cause trouble—most importantly, since he's the guild's mainstay, it'll definitely be a super long story!"
"Hey! Don't be so sure!"
Kiritani rolled his eyes. "How about I give you the sketchbook and you draw it?"
You've already said everything, what's the point of me drawing anything?
"No, I'll only be an assistant!"
Alice suddenly stood up, leaning over Asuna and pressing herself against Kirito with overwhelming force. "In short, I want to be an assistant, and I want to draw swords!"
Hmm hmm hmm!
Since the heroine Asuna and her sister Yoko Kurogiri appear in Sword Art Online, there must also be Alice Aobelk!
Haha! Then I can focus more on my role and become the most prominent character in the comic! — I am the heroine of the new world!
Asuna leaned back in her chair, looking at the chest that was almost squeezing into her face, and fell silent. Although she didn't really want to say anything, Alice, the corners of your mouth are curving at more than 45 degrees. Try to tone it down a bit. Do you really think others can't tell what you're thinking?
...It seems that if I refuse, the consequences will be quite dire?
Kiritani's expression was almost blank. He didn't ask anyone for help, or rather, he couldn't see anyone to ask for help at all; his vision was completely blocked by Alice.
He remained silent for a few seconds, finally realizing that the reason why the so-called "battleground" never happened to him was largely because someone would try to gain something from it. And once the plan was accomplished, the atmosphere of the so-called "battleground" would dissipate. "Damn it, no wonder I felt like I owed more and more!"
I still owe Shizuka and Eriri one time each, and Haruno two times...
...It seems that a slightly calm personality isn't a good thing either. Maybe I should continue in the past, where I would occasionally blurt out dirty jokes.
I'll count to three. If you remain silent, I'll take that as a yes!
Alice smiled, her mouth slightly open...
"Okay, I promise, I promise."
Kiritani-kun calmly agreed, "Having another assistant is a good thing, since you've joined the club anyway..."
I really don't understand! Why do you act like you'd be at a disadvantage if you agreed to my request? Something's definitely wrong with your thought process.
"Hey! That's a bit too straightforward!"
Alice looked completely bewildered. She had prepared a lot to say, but now... she skipped it?
"Hashibean Sack!!"
Eriri gasped, as if suddenly remembering something, her voice rising considerably. "Alice joined the club, and then your assistant... which means your other assistant, Asada Shino, will also join the club?"
Having finally found a chance to interject, Hiratsuka Shizuka waved her hand dismissively, "Ah! This? No problem, teacher, I approve!"
"Teacher, shut up! Our club already has enough members!"
"There are no more than seven. It's just your small team of five plus Kirigaya's two assistants."
"It's not a small amount at all! A group of seven people, each contributing a sentence, and they finished a chapter. Do you even want any more plot?"
"...Does such a thing even exist?"
Hiratsuka Shizuka blinked. "Well, it's fine for Asada to join the club anyway. Tomorrow happens to be Friday, so you can discuss it at school... Oh right, I almost forgot you're going on a trip this weekend—well, if Asada joins the club too, you can bring him along?"
Should we just take him along and then beat him to a pulp on the train?
Judging from your determined expressions just now, Shino-san will probably be beaten to a pulp, right? If that's the case, then who will be my assistant? My Christina!
"It's not out of the question, after all, the prize money is substantial, and the event budget is quite generous."
"What I'm more concerned about is why, even though we've decided to go on the weekend, we still have to go to class on Friday?"
"The reason is quite simple: after the club activities are over, we have to come back to participate in the sports festival."
"What the hell is this sports festival?!"
Kiritani stared wide-eyed. "Why do I feel like Japanese high school students' school activities are limited to school events? Don't they have any classes to attend?"
—No! In any sense!
P.S.: I'll try to write fewer scenes with large groups of people in the future; it's really hard to cover everything equally...
Moreover, my control over the character will gradually decrease.
447
【NO.442 Broken glass? Dog food?】
As night falls in Tokyo, neon lights flicker.
It was 9 p.m., and the lights on the fourth floor of Rouge en rouge's headquarters building were almost all off. Since the progress had not fallen behind at all, there was no situation where members were asked to work overtime. Although the lights were still on in Kiritani's private office.
There are currently two people in the office: Akane Kosaka and her assistant, Ichigo.
Although the workload within the club is not very heavy, Akane Kosaka often prefers to do things herself. She will handle any slightly important matters personally unless she has something urgent to do—such as the arrival of Kirito-kun or Kirito-kun extending an invitation—in which case she will delegate the handling of matters to her two assistants, Ichigo or Ayane.
However, Akane Kosaka spends most of her time in the club, and the affairs of the Akasaka Group are also sent here. Just an hour ago, some documents were sent over, which Akane Kosaka needs to review and make resource allocations, so she has been busy until now and has not yet left work.
Suddenly, she glanced at the time, yawned lazily, closed the document she hadn't finished reading, and gently rubbed her forehead. Although she had gone to bed early last night, she woke up unexpectedly early this morning, even before five o'clock. After that... she just lay in bed watching Kiritani-kun sleep peacefully.
If Kirito was quiet when he was little, the only time you can see him quiet now is when he's asleep. And coincidentally, Akane Kousaka really likes to watch Kirito sleep, probably... well, it's become a habit.
No! To be more precise, it's the feeling of having someone with you...that's wonderful!
"Captain, would you like me to rub it for you?"
Strawberry put down her work, half-closed her eyes, and reached out to pinch him in the air in a rather lewd way. "I've been practicing on Lingyin a lot lately, so I'm pretty good at it now!"
Akane Kosaka closed her eyes, not even bothering to look at her. "Mind your own business."
"So you still want Fujiwara-senpai to help you massage, huh? But it's a pity, Fujiwara-senpai is celebrating his birthday with who knows how many girls right now."
"eventful!"
With displeasure in her open eyes, Akane Kosaka squinted and began tidying the table. "It's getting late, let's go eat. You can take me back to my apartment later."
"What a pity, Commander!"
Strawberry shook her head with a faint, almost smug smile—a smile she'd picked up from a certain Fujiwara-senpai who wished to remain anonymous. She took out her car keys. "Taking the leader home is no problem, but forget about dinner. I have plans today..."
"...Whatever, just take me back."
Thinking that there should still be instant noodles or other ingredients in the apartment, Akane Kosaka put the documents into her bag, got up and walked outside.
If I'm too lazy to cook, I can always order takeout... It shouldn't be a problem if I don't go to bed early tonight, since I'm celebrating my birthday with He Ren and Bian Tou, there's no reason for that AI to keep staring at me like this... Besides, He Ren has the right to comment on other people's lifestyles.
"Ah! I've lost hope in life... Suddenly I don't want to work anymore."
Feeling the cold night wind blowing, Akane Kosaka rubbed her arms, her expression filled with laziness. "I want to slack off too. I want to be an art teacher or a Japanese language teacher or something..."
Yeah, I'll become a teacher at Chiba Soubu High School.
The blinding headlights shone down as Strawberry drove from the parking lot. Akane Kosaka, her face listless, got into the car and slumped in the back seat. She was more than just lazy; she looked like a hopeless salted fish.
Strawberry looked at Akane Kosaka with a blank expression through the rearview mirror, her eyes twitching slightly. She had something on her mind but didn't know whether she should tell Akane Kosaka. However, she felt that saying it wouldn't make much of a difference.
There was no chatting or joking along the way, and they quickly returned to the apartment. As Akane Kosaka got out of the car with her bag, Ichigo thoughtfully reminded her, "Even though I'm not with you, please eat more, leader."
Akane Kosaka waved her hand with her back turned. "Takeout, or even instant noodles, don't look like something you'd eat more of, right?"
Strawberry switched to a deadpan expression, her face full of sorrow. "Oh my god, my heart aches so much! The leader was supposed to treat me to dinner, but I pretended to accept... I regret it so much, even though no one asked me out..."
However, Akane Kosaka was unaware of Ichigo's situation. She returned to her apartment, looked at the empty house, casually tossed aside her bag, and lazily lay down on the sofa. She reached out and touched under the sofa, then pulled out the legendary hidden compartment, which contained several bottles of strong liquor—hidden here, it wouldn't be discovered by Kirito-kun. After all, Kirito-kun couldn't drink, and Akane Kosaka was also prohibited from drinking by default.
She uncorked the bottle and gulped down a third of it, her cheeks instantly flushing. She casually turned on the large TV, which she rarely used, and seeing images of romantic scenes playing on screen, she rolled her eyes. "I should just throw this TV away..."
She stood up, swaying slightly as she pulled the wine bottle towards the kitchen. She opened the refrigerator in the dark and saw the only remaining cup of instant noodles. She immediately felt a pang of sadness. That Strawberry guy hadn't even given me any more ingredients!
As Xigua reached for the cup noodles, she immediately sensed something was wrong; the noodles were surprisingly light…
"Hey! It's empty! Who's so cheeky?!"
Aside from the people who come to the apartment, the strawberry is Lingyin, so is it said to be made of strawberry?
Suppressing the urge to call her over and beat her up, she tossed the empty instant noodle cup into the trash can, pulled out her phone to order takeout, but before she could dial, her expression suddenly froze. She quickly turned on the kitchen light, rushed to the trash can, and, without a care for the dirt, picked up the empty instant noodle cup, staring at the words written on it—
Your family and friends are in a good mood today, so you can turn your head and look at the dining table now—
So, Akane Kosaka turned to look at the dining table, where there were dishes sealed with plastic wrap, and the quantity and amount were quite large. Her expression was slightly bewildered, as if she had seen something unbelievable. She could tell that this was not takeout...
[Is it a feast? You asked me the other day when I was going to cook for you... Hmm, it's right now! (I think it's my birthday today?)]
After taking only two steps forward, she saw the sticky notes stuck on the plastic wrap. Watermelon looked at the sticky notes and the food and grinned foolishly. About a minute later, Akane Kosaka finally realized what was happening and hurriedly threw the bottle, which still had at least two-thirds left, into the trash can.
Well, I don't really mind, but drinking is going too far. Did you think I didn't see you throw the bottle? (Seriously) If you drink any more, I'll ruin you... and I won't support you for life!