At some point, the atmosphere had grown somewhat tense.
Asuna remained silent, even holding onto Yuuki, who looked confused, without saying a word, lost in her own thoughts.
Rozen watched her like this, full of doubt and bewilderment.
This was the last world Rozen needed to check before returning.
After this, he would go back to Chaldea to face the final battle.
During this visit, Rozen had considered all sorts of scenarios — the surprise of everyone, Asuna's longing and attachment — but he never expected their meeting to go like this.
Coupled with the anomalies he had noticed, his intuition told him something was off.
"What's going on?"
Rozen took a deep breath, suppressing his mixed emotions, and looked at Asuna seriously.
Asuna raised her head to meet Rozen's gaze, immediately noticing the seriousness, confusion, and worry in his eyes.
Clearly, her unusual behavior had caught Rozen's attention, even making him worried.
Seeing such deep concern, Asuna felt a warmth in her heart and had an urge to tell him everything.
Yet her anxiety and insecurity held her back.
Before she could act, Asuna instinctively forced a smile and shook her head at Rozen.
"It's nothing. Sorry for making you worry."
In the end, she didn't reveal anything.
"Asuna?"
Yuuki, beside her, was somewhat taken aback.
Asuna ignored her and, holding Yuuki's hand, spoke to Rozen with ease.
"I'm here with Yuuki for a check-up. You know how she's been before. Even though she's better now, her recovery is unusual, so she still needs occasional check-ups, right?"
Asuna even gave Yuuki a subtle look.
Yuuki immediately understood — Asuna didn't want Rozen to know the truth.
But why?
This was something Rozen had to know.
Yuuki was puzzled and troubled.
Still, she decided to help Asuna maintain the story.
"Y-Yeah… I asked Asuna to come with me for a check-up. Sorry for borrowing your girlfriend, haha."
Yuuki laughed awkwardly.
Asuna immediately joined in with a forced, awkward laugh.
Rozen twitched at the corner of his mouth.
Now he was certain — these two girls were hiding something from him.
However, judging by their reactions, it didn't seem bad…?
Then why had their earlier behavior been so strange?
Rozen was baffled, silently staring at them, trying to read their minds.
Yuuki didn't mind much, but Asuna grew increasingly uneasy under his gaze.
She knew Rozen's mind was sharp; such a clumsy act could never fool him.
The fact that he hadn't noticed yet meant he probably hadn't suspected anything, or he would have seen through the entire situation instantly.
Even if he hadn't suspected now, if this continued, he would surely figure it out eventually.
Asuna quickly spoke.
"Why did you suddenly come back? Didn't you say you'd be gone for a few months at least?"
She tried to change the topic.
Rozen squinted, his tone full of mock annoyance: "I did say that back then, sure, but didn't someone just complain that I was gone for over a month? What if I really came back after a few months? Wouldn't you have completely lost it?"
Hearing this, Asuna felt slightly embarrassed.
She had lost control of her emotions earlier; now that she realized it and was rebuked by the person involved, she couldn't help but feel awkward.
But there was nothing she could do. From the moment she received the report, Asuna had been uneasy and anxious. Seeing Rozen just now had made her emotions overflow, and she had not only thrown a tantrum but almost cried.
Now, though still uneasy and uncertain, she didn't know how to tell Rozen about this.
Thinking of how he might react made her even more anxious.
So Asuna gritted her teeth, deciding not to tell Rozen for now and to wait and see.
"I… I just couldn't hold it in for a moment…" Asuna said nervously to Rozen. "Now that you're back, it's good — we can let everyone know and get together?"
After speaking, she glanced at Yuuki without seeking Rozen's permission.
"Y-Yeah… let's all get together, haha."
Yuuki responded with another silly laugh, her words so awkward that Rozen had no desire to comment.
"What are you two up to?" Rozen bluntly asked. "Is there something I'm not supposed to know?"
The response was perfectly synchronized.
"No! Nothing!"
Asuna and Yuuki shook their heads in unison, answering in perfect sync, their coordination uncanny.
"...Really nothing?"
Rozen twitched at the corner of his mouth again.
"Really nothing!"
Asuna and Yuuki repeated the gesture in perfect sync.
"..."
Rozen fell silent.
"..."
Asuna and Yuuki also grew silent, but their nervousness was evident.
Seeing them like this, Rozen knew that unless he forced the matter, they would continue maintaining this clumsy lie.
(Should I expose them?)
Malice filled Rozen's heart.
Finally, glancing at Asuna, who was clearly tense, Rozen sighed silently.
(Forget it, better to wait and see for now.)
Rozen decided, just like Asuna, to let things unfold naturally. No wonder they were engaged.
In this situation, Rozen said:
"Then let's get together with everyone first."
With that, he turned and walked outside.
"Phew…"
Asuna exhaled in relief.
"I mean, Asuna, what's going on?" Yuuki tugged at Asuna's clothes in dissatisfaction. "Why didn't you tell Rozen? He has the right to know, right?"
"I know," Asuna said with a bitter smile. "I wanted to tell him, but I didn't know if it would shock him. For a guy, this kind of thing would be even more impactful."
"Yeah… that's true…" Yuuki couldn't argue.
Although this involved a high school girl and was unfortunate, Rozen and Asuna were officially engaged. Rozen would take responsibility in the future. But as a high schooler suddenly faced with something so serious, it could indeed be frightening.
Even if Rozen was extraordinary and capable of handling anything, to a teenage girl, such news would be more shocking than surprising.
"Right?" Asuna said anxiously. "So please give me some time. I'll slowly tell him, so he has time to accept it. That might be better."
"Fine," Yuuki reluctantly agreed.
The two followed Rozen, whispering to each other, completely unaware that Rozen could hear everything.
"What exactly happened?"
Rozen thought, still feeling uneasy and uncertain.