Chapter 14 ~ Back to the game but..
The warm scent of freshly brewed tea and delicate sweets lingered in the air of the staff lounge.
Hikari sat between two remarkable figures—Professor Kusanagi, his former teacher and persistent mentor, and Professor Fushihora Kina, a renowned specialist in Life Sciences and human sensation.
He stared quietly into the cup between his hands, watching his faint reflection shimmer on the tea's surface.
The room was still, humming softly with distant conversations.
Then, suddenly—
Professor Kusanagi jumped to his feet and threw his fists into the air.
"Oh YES!"
The sudden outburst broke the calm like a cracked teacup.
Every professor in the room turned and stared.
Some blinked, some frowned.
It was the kind of scene that absolutely did not belong in a place meant for mature, academic conversation.
But Kusanagi didn't seem to care in the slightest.
He sat back down with a casual grin, ignoring the gazes, and began patting Hikari's shoulder repeatedly in celebration.
"I knew you'd convince her," he beamed.
Hikari's deep blue eyes narrowed slightly, visibly irritated.
"I just said what I thought," he replied flatly.
Fushihora chuckled gently, brushing a strand of black hair from her face.
"Well then," she said smoothly, "where do we begin?"
Kusanagi crossed his legs, all confidence.
"Hikari already gave us the blueprint—three core domains.
We need a director for Sensory Engineering, one for World Engineering, and one for AI Engineering.
Each will oversee a team specialized in that field."
Hikari sighed deeply.
"Can't you just... find someone else for mine?"
Kusanagi raised an eyebrow.
"What are you saying?
You'll be the director of the hardest branch—World Engineering.
You know exactly how complex it is, and you've got the brain and leadership for it."
Fushihora nodded thoughtfully.
"I'll handle Sensory Engineering then. That part fits me.
But... where are you going to find a reliable staff?"
Hikari sipped the last of his tea and said dryly,
"He's already got the worst developers in the country working with him."
Kusanagi scratched his golden-blond hair awkwardly.
"That was just an experimental phase...
I'll recruit new people.
We'll build the greatest game ever made.
I'll handle the AI Engineering myself."
With that, Hikari stood from the soft gray sofa, placing his half-empty teacup on the wooden table.
He turned toward the door.
"Annoying as this is," he said while walking, "the project has about... a 0.7% chance of success."
His hand touched the doorknob.
Fushihora raised her eyebrows slightly.
"Don't you think that's incredibly low?"
Hikari glanced back over his shoulder.
"The number doesn't matter," he said calmly.
"All we have to do is fail... and try again...
Until we reach that 0.7."
He opened the door and stepped out.
The door clicked shut behind him.
Kusanagi still sat there, grinning like a madman.
Fushihora watched him from the corner of her eye.
"And you?" she asked quietly.
"What do you think the success rate is?"
Kusanagi's amber eyes sparkled with confidence.
"With Hikari on board—someone who won't say no to the offer—
the chance of success is 97%."
Fushihora smirked softly.
"What a wild contradiction between the two of you."
Then her expression softened, her voice light and warm.
"But...
I get it now.
You've got the two most important people to make this work."
The ticking of the wall clock blended with the quiet hum of lectures filling the university.
Outside the windows, soft sunlight warmed the stone buildings, but inside Lecture Hall C-105, stillness reigned—except for the calm voice of Professor Kusanagi delivering his explanations with practiced precision.
At the front rows, as always, sat Hikari.
His head leaned slightly into his palm, eyes half-lidded with the weight of mild exhaustion. He yawned silently, lips barely parting, his body present but his spirit somewhere between interest and indifference.
Around him, the other students were focused—jotting notes, nodding to key points.
Kusanagi's lecture, despite the subject's complexity, held the room in calm concentration.
Then the door at the back opened with a soft click.
A girl entered quietly from behind the seating tiers, her steps delicate, almost hesitant.
She moved with a kind of lightness that didn't disturb the atmosphere, and only those seated at the edges took notice of her passage.
Long black hair.
Light blue eyes.
Short in stature.
A modest white dress trimmed with pale blue embroidery.
A brown leather satchel rested gently against her back, while she held a stack of papers with both hands.
She made her way toward the front.
Professor Kusanagi looked up, pausing mid-sentence. His face broke into a soft smile as she approached.
"Ah, thank you, Shiroha-chan. Sorry to trouble you again."
She bowed her head slightly, her voice soft and polite.
"It's no trouble at all. Goodbye."
She turned gracefully and made her way back up the stairs.
Murmurs stirred in her wake.
"She's cute…"
"So beautiful."
"Which year is she in?"
"Bro, I need her number."
Hikari's blue eyes followed her, calm and quiet.
So… her name is Shiroha.
That shy girl from yesterday.
How am I supposed to talk to her now after saying I don't play that kind of game? She was so excited about it…
Kusanagi resumed his lecture, and Hikari blinked, dragging his gaze forward again.
His eyes dulled once more with that subtle boredom, and he leaned slightly back in his seat.
Evening.
The wooden door of his house clicked shut behind him.
Hikari stepped out of his shoes and slipped into soft, woolen slippers by the entryway. He moved through the house with the quiet of habit.
In the living room, the television was playing softly.
From a distance, it looked like no one was there. But as he stepped in closer, he spotted someone sleeping on the long couch.
His sister.
Still in her school uniform, arms curled near her chest.
He sighed gently, one brow twitching as he adjusted the bag hanging from his shoulder.
He stepped closer.
"This isn't the place to sleep, you know…"
Her eyelids fluttered. Her breathing was soft.
From this angle, the gentle fall of her blonde hair framed her neck—
And then he noticed it.
A faint bruise—small, but distinct—just beneath the neckline.
Hikari's expression shifted.
His eyes narrowed.
What is that…? A mark?
Suddenly, her pale blue eyes flew open.
Her vision was greeted by his face—too close.
Her brain caught up in an instant.
"WH-WHAT?! I have a perverted brother now?!"
Her fist launched toward him instinctively.
Hikari leaned his head casually to the side, dodging it without effort.
"I told you—this isn't a place to sleep."
He turned and began walking away.
Behind him, she fumed.
"Trying to justify it, huh?! You creep! I mean, I'm flattered you love me, but not like that, geez!"
He sighed deeply, halfway up the stairs.
"This is exactly why I keep telling you to stop watching romantic anime and reading those weird novels."
But in his mind, his thoughts were anything but light.
That bruise… Something's not right.
He reached the second floor and entered his room, the soft click of the door closing behind him.
His bag dropped beside the chair.
He looked at the clock on his desk—6:30 PM.
He groaned.
"I hate university days when my schedule's packed all the way through…"
He laid back on the bed, arms outstretched, eyes to the ceiling.
Golden hair splayed around his head like sunlight. His deep blue eyes stared up in silence, then—
A deep sigh.
"What a long and dull day…
Well—except for some... unusual things."
His mind drifted to the girl again—Shiroha.
Handing those papers so delicately.
I wonder if she's close to Kusanagi-sensei.
His gaze moved to the cardboard box beside his bed—a simple wooden shelf holding the Wystoria headset.
He stared for a second.
Then reached for it.
Time for a little fun.
Just then, his phone buzzed.
He slid it from his pocket.
A message from Professor Kusanagi:
"Make sure to play again tonight. The more time you spend inside, the better the project will do."
Hikari set the phone aside and slipped on the soft electronic gloves.
"I don't need you to tell me that."
He pulled the matching socks over his feet.
"And besides…
I'm not doing this just for the project."
He pressed the activation button on the crystalline eye-band.
Blue circuits lit up across the gloves, the socks, and finally the visor.
As he lay down, a small smile crept onto his lips.
"I'm doing it…
because this game feels like pure fantasy."
Login Interface:
In an endless space of stars, blue letters glowed around him:
LOGIN SUCCESSFUL
Welcome back, Rising Star.
The stars pulsed gently, and the void began to shift—colors bleeding into form.
The wind hit him at once—cool, wild, brushing his golden hair and causing his eyes to close momentarily.
He stood now in the game.
Same brown adventurer's outfit.
Same rough leather boots.
But everything felt different.
The wind howled.
The scent of rain and distant sorrow hung in the air.
The sky above was cloudy, dim, heavy with a gloom not suited for morning.
The grass at his feet waved in uneven rhythm.
The dark clouds blocked the sun.
Hikari stood in silence, staring across the long field of grass, breathing the air in deeply.
This is where I logged out...
But the atmosphere changed so much, it feels like an entirely new place.
He turned, casually.
"Well then… is that kid still—"
His voice caught.
His eyes widened in shock.
A bead of sweat rolled down his cheek.
His pupils trembled.
There, against the stone…
Blood.
A smear of dark red streaked across the grey surface of the human-sized boulder.
Before it lay a small blue cap—stained.
A torn red shirt.
Shredded blue shorts.
Grass flattened, soaked.
A metallic scent reached his nose—raw, coppery.
He stood frozen.
Silent.