Fujiwara Chika was willing to flash her thighs, but now she wanted him to pull a gacha?
Impossible. Not a chance!
Fujiwara Chika: [...] [Can you not keep bringing that up?] [(＃￣～￣＃)]
She was annoyed. Really annoyed.
This again? Really?
Takumi: [You won't even let me see your thigh-highs, and you want me to draw gacha?~?]
You give nothing, yet you ask for everything?
Chika was curled up under the covers and seething with rage. Shaking. Cold.
When would she ever recover from this humiliation?
Fujiwara Chika: [Why don't you ask someone else?] [Why not Mei? Why not Bronya? Why not Miori??] [(?へ?╬)]
This imouto was truly furious.
Takumi: [When Bronya's here next time, I can just look then. Mei always wears thigh-highs anyway. As for Miori, she lives nearby. I can just look when I want.] [But you? You're far away. I can't see them.] [The desire for the unattainable never stops stirring.] [So... thigh-high peek?]
Takumi was grinning ear to ear.
If he really wanted to see Bronya's, he could just wait until their next crossover mission. Same for Mei. And even Kiana too. What's the big deal?
As for Miori? She's practically next door.
He could see all of them soon.
Only Chika was out of reach, and Takumi had no interest in wasting points to visit her world. Total waste.
So... could she give him a peek?
Bronya: [No thigh-highs!!]
Raiden Mei: [Please stop this!!]
Miori Shiba: [I barely wear those either. What are you thinking? Go ogle Kisara!]
They all shut him down immediately.
Seriously, what was Takumi on about?
Even Miori was speechless. She wasn't exactly into fashion like that.
Bronya was downright disgusted.
She was even starting to reconsider joining future missions with Takumi.
His tastes were... peculiar.
All the girls in the chat were giving him weird looks now.
Fujiwara Chika: [Pervert!!]
Takumi: [I like girls. Looking at girls makes me happy. Being happy helps me live longer.] [So I'm not a pervert—I'm just honest with my desires!] [Why don't we have anyone fun in this chat group?!]
Takumi sighed. Why was everyone here so serious?
If only Kasumigaoka Utaha or Kurumi Tokisaki were in this group.
The girls fell silent, unimpressed.
Zhongli: [According to general principles, emotional well-being does indeed contribute to longevity.] [Everyone has different tastes. Takumi's... are just peculiar.]
Zhongli suddenly thought—Takumi must love Keqing.
If Takumi knew what Zhongli was thinking, he'd give the old man a big thumbs-up.
Absolutely. He loved Keqing.
Strong, beautiful, and those gorgeous thigh-highs.
He adored her.
Ningguang too. Absolutely.
Seeing Zhongli speak up for Takumi, the others went silent again.
Old man, why are you enabling him?
The chat became chaotic.
Meanwhile, Lilia—who was nearby—noticed Takumi chuckling.
Curious, she tilted her head.
She knew he had a device to talk to other worlds.
What was making him laugh so much?
Still, she didn't pry.
Takumi, on the other hand, noticed her curiosity.
"Too bad the chat group can't invite new members yet." "If I could, I'd invite you."
He ruffled her hair as he spoke.
Lilia smiled softly.
"No rush." "If the time comes, we'll talk about it."
They had long lifespans anyway. No pressure.
Takumi glanced at the time—it was getting late.
He pulled Lilia along to freshen up.
After signing in right at midnight, he didn't bother chatting again.
Time to sleep.
He had to visit Asuna tomorrow.
The night passed peacefully. When morning came, Takumi got moving.
He first tagged Asuna in the chat.
Takumi: [@Yuuki Asuna, I'm heading out now.] [You ready?]
Asuna had been waiting.
Seeing his message, her heart jumped.
Finally.
Yuuki Asuna: [Come on over.] [Just appear directly—it's fine.]
Right after replying, she suddenly became curious.
Was Takumi going to appear in-game?
Or would he manifest in the real world?
Before her question even took form, Takumi replied again.
Takumi: [OK. I'm on my way. I'll meet you at the hospital.]
Message sent, Takumi began moving.
He purchased a traversal token and stepped through.
In the blink of an eye, he arrived in a quiet alley of a city.
No cameras. No people.
Perfect.
The chat group always placed new arrivals in unmonitored areas.
Just like that, he blended into this world.
Walking out of the alley, Takumi strolled through the streets.
Every screen was playing news about SAO.
The death game had trapped thousands.
A global scandal.
Reports were everywhere.
How many died today. How many yesterday.
Wall-to-wall coverage.
The public was terrified.
No one had ever seen a crisis quite like this.
A video game that could kill.
The first full-dive VR game had become a disaster.
Takumi watched with interest.
He glanced at the phones people were using.
Pulling out a similar device from his pocket, he connected to the network.
Time to gather intel.
As he skimmed through data, he began pulling deeper layers from this world.
Anything useful—he absorbed.
Once he'd collected enough, he began heading toward the hospital where Asuna was located.
It wasn't far.
Just a few blocks away.
A short walk was all it took.