In the Ordinary Streets of Tokyo, I Awakened as a Player

Chapter 312 312: Our Time Is Running Out

"Are you crazy?"

The moment Kaguya Shinomiya heard Asagiri say he would participate as a team by himself, her brows immediately furrowed.

"Although this is a competition arranged to showcase strength, this is not a game. What if another faction tries to use the opportunity to eliminate you during the match? No, absolutely not."

"I don't think there's any problem."

Iwanaga Kotoko, who had already known about Asagiri's plan, merely shrugged. She moved her legs off the table, picked up the white porcelain teacup on the coffee table, elegantly took a sip of the steaming black tea, and spoke in a casual, indifferent tone.

"He is the strongest Player. No Player can beat him. Even if this competition is team based, I don't think any Player team has the ability to defeat him, much less kill him. There's no need to frighten yourself over baseless worries."

"Are you serious?"

Kaguya's frown deepened, and displeasure entered her voice.

"Although it is a team based competition, there are no restrictions on how many Players can form a team, right? If one faction sends dozens of Players as a single team..."

Halfway through her sentence, Kaguya noticed Fujiwara Chika looking at her with a slightly complicated expression.

"What is it? Is there a problem with what I said?"

"Er..."

Chika gave a sheepish smile and cautiously replied.

"Kaguya, no matter what, the participants are all major figures with status in the real world. Forcibly shoving dozens of Players into one team would only expose their lack of high end Players. Besides, if Players without synergy are forced to fight together, they'll only get in each other's way... You should have been able to think of that..."

Kaguya did not know how to respond.

Indeed, something that simple and obvious should have occurred to her.

But she had not thought of it.

Whenever Asagiri was involved, Kaguya Shinomiya, who could usually maintain absolute rationality and even ruthless calculation, would lose her composure and enter a low IQ state, as if she had caught a fever.

To put it plainly, she was love brained.

"Ahem."

Kaguya coughed lightly twice, turned her gaze toward Asagiri, who was sitting there, and changed the subject.

"Putting aside what I just said, if you, Yuuki-san, Iwanaga Kotoko, and Kato Megumi use your original Dungeon clearing party, meaning you participate as a four Player team, I believe you will definitely achieve final victory. But if you split into two teams, with those three on one side and you alone on the other, it is possible that neither side will win the championship. Is taking such a risk truly worth it?"

"It's worth it."

Asagiri gave a definite answer without the slightest hesitation.

"Our time, and the time of this world, is already running out."

Kaguya and Chika were both taken aback.

"What do you mean?"

Asagiri stood up from the sofa, walked to the wall of the Student Council room, and leaned lightly against it before speaking slowly.

"In the first stage of the game, Black Watch was just a military organization made up of elite soldiers. By the second stage, they had already mastered the means to inject a certain viral agent and enhance their members' physical abilities beyond human limits. And in the most recent third stage Dungeon, they had already used some kind of technology to modify Special Infected, granting powerful Special Infected like Tanks and Hunters resistance to fire."

"For us, we can only obtain significant increases in power after going through Dungeons. But now, Black Watch has not only sent a large number of members into the game to become Players, but also mastered various methods such as dealing with anomalies, targeted modification of Special Infected, and strengthening individual combat power. Furthermore, it is foreseeable that they won't stop there."

At this point, Asagiri paused slightly. Then he looked at Kaguya, who sat behind the desk with a grave expression, and smiled.

"Not to mention, besides Black Watch, there are other worlds. The enemies in those worlds are constantly becoming stronger. Now, the first incident of Players from another world invading our world has already occurred. So what about the fourth stage? The fifth stage? We must complete the integration of Player factions as soon as possible to prepare for the next war that will come."

"Hmm... I see."

Kaguya nodded. Then she took a deep breath, looked into Asagiri's eyes, and said softly,

"Okay. I agree."

Asagiri revealed a faint smile and shrugged.

"Actually, I didn't really need to ask for your consent, did I?"

The corners of Kaguya's lips curved slightly upward, and a trace of softness appeared in her beautiful red eyes.

"But you still explained your reasons to me, didn't you?"

"Eh, eh, eh, you two."

Seeing the way Kaguya and Asagiri were talking, Iwanaga Kotoko immediately started hissing.

"The atmosphere is getting a little too ambiguous, isn't it? We're discussing serious matters here. Do you think you're filming a campus romantic comedy?"

Asagiri smiled when he heard this. He sat back down beside Iwanaga Kotoko and gently patted her head, stopping his petite, cute, bratty girlfriend from continuing her food guarding hiss.

"Serious? Discussing serious matters? I really didn't expect to hear those words from you one day."

"Hmph. I have always been a person who can be serious when it's time to be serious."

Iwanaga Kotoko grabbed Asagiri's palm and rubbed it against her fair, delicate cheek, acting like a cat coquettishly rubbing against its owner. At the same time, she stared triumphantly at Kaguya with her violet eyes, as if declaring sovereignty.

Seeing this, Asagiri chuckled.

"This isn't called being serious. This is called food guarding."

"Whether it's food guarding or acting spoiled, in any case..."

Iwanaga Kotoko stood up, hugged Asagiri's arm, and raised her chin toward Kaguya in the posture of a victor.

"Madam President, if there's nothing else, I'm going on a date with my handsome boyfriend now."

"Suit yourselves. But..."

Kaguya moved her gaze away from Iwanaga Kotoko's triumphant face and looked at Asagiri, speaking in a flat tone.

"While you take her out for a cozy parent child activity, don't forget that the joint final exam will be held next Monday. Although I know your thoughts, I still have to remind you. We must win."

"Parent child activity!? Kaguya Shinomiya, you..."

Asagiri covered Iwanaga Kotoko's mouth and replied to Kaguya, who sat behind the desk, in a flat yet firm tone.

"We will win."

...

A little later, on the streets of Shinjuku, Tokyo.

"Doo doo doo."

Iwanaga Kotoko was on Asagiri's back. Even though she felt the curious gazes of passersby, she showed no shyness or awkwardness at all. She simply raised her cane, pointed forward, and smiled sweetly.

"Forward! Target, that newly opened afternoon tea shop!"

Asagiri carried Iwanaga Kotoko on his back. Hearing her cheerful voice, he could not help but chuckle and tease her.

"It's just an afternoon tea shop, isn't it? There's one next to the school, one next to my house, and your house even has a dedicated pastry chef. Is there really a need to come all the way to Shinjuku?"

"Of course there is."

Iwanaga Kotoko nodded very seriously and said solemnly,

"This newly opened afternoon tea shop has eel flavored cake! Eating it must be very nourishing!"

"Eel flavored cake?"

Asagiri imagined it and could not help showing a complicated expression.

"How disgusting must that thing be? And more importantly, eel doesn't actually have anything to do with nourishment. It comes from some ancient superstition and worship. You should know that, right?"

"Of course I know. I am the God of Wisdom."

Iwanaga Kotoko replied with a smile first, then changed the subject.

"But in my opinion, if people believe in something, then even if that thing was originally false or nonexistent, it will become real because of the power of belief. Therefore, eel must be nourishing."

"Then let me ask you, is there eel in the eel flavored cake?"

"No, but I believe there is."

"You're just arguing for the sake of arguing."

Just as Iwanaga Kotoko was about to say more, she suddenly seemed to sense something.

The sweet smile on her face gradually disappeared. She leaned close to Asagiri's ear and lowered her voice.

"Something isn't quite right. There is a very strong yokaibaura nearby."

"A yokai aura?"

Asagiri calmly glanced around.

The street was bustling with people. It was the peak time for students leaving school and workers getting off work. All he saw was a hurried, endless stream of pedestrians. On the surface, everything looked normal.

But he immediately noticed something off.

There was absolutely no sign of any yokai in his field of vision, yet Iwanaga Kotoko had sensed a strong aura.

That was clearly abnormal.

"It seems we're being watched. I'm not completely sure, but I have this vague feeling."

Hearing Iwanaga Kotoko's words, Asagiri was just about to reply when an intense sense of danger suddenly surged in his heart.

The very next instant, he summoned the Human Asura without hesitation.

Several elongated, pitch black ghostly shadows suddenly appeared on the street. They held rusty short blades in their hands and thrust toward him, or more accurately, toward Iwanaga Kotoko's neck.

"Bang!"

The Human Asura acted after them but arrived first. With a single palm strike, it directly shattered the pitch black ghostly shadow.

The sudden loud noise also drew the attention of every pedestrian on the street.

"What happened?"

When the pedestrians looked over, they saw that Asagiri and Iwanaga Kotoko had already changed into their Dungeon gear.

Their unique yet inexplicably handsome outfits, combined with the towering Human Asura, instantly seized everyone's attention.

"An enemy attack..."

Asagiri swept his gaze over the congested crowd, golden light flickering in his black eyes.

"Truly seeking death."

.....

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