Reika-sensei and I logged into Celestia Re:code (CRC) and invited my little sister, Nishi, to join our party.
The mission was clear: grind affinity points by hunting world bosses. In CRC, you could raise "affection" with another player just by partying up—not necessarily romantic, but the game didn't care.
And since Reika-san and I were now officially in the same party again, our affinity bar would slowly climb… just like how she climbed her way into my daily life.
Having Nishi around made things feel balanced. Like a power couple dragging their overachieving child along on a date.
"Wow," Reika-san said, eyes narrowing in amazement. "To think your little sister is ranked top 21 in the entire support class in Japan. You two are seriously cracked."
"She's got insane reflexes," I said proudly. "Like, half-robot levels. Her heals basically glow."
"You're amazing too, Reika-san!" Nishi chimed in over voice chat, practically beaming through the mic. "You're still top 3 in the mage class and 9th overall! Even while working full-time!"
Reika-san gave a soft, modest laugh. "It's how I unwind after work. Some people drink. But me, I kill monsters."
And so, the most absurdly powerful party in the region was born.
We took on the world bosses—those hulking monsters tucked away in remote corners of the map that drop rare loot and affection points.. Normally they'd be trouble. But with two top-ten ranked players and one healer on the team, they were basically walking treasure chests.
🎮 Game Mechanics Explained (So You Don't Get Lost)
CRC has seven player roles: warrior, fighter, assassin, mage, marksman, tank, and support. Combine those with ten elemental attributes—fire, water, wind, earth, light, dark, lightning, wood, ice, and physical—and combat becomes a chaotic game of rock-paper-explosions.
Player rankings are separated into class-specific and overall leaderboards. Here's the squad:
Me (Ren Kisaragi): Top 1 Assassin, Top 5 Overall
Nishi: Top 21 Support, Top 98 Overall
Reika (aka Lyra in-game): Top 3 Mage, Top 9 Overall
Airi Kamisaka: Top 11 Marksman, Top 27 Overall
There's also a Duo Ranking where two players' stats combine into a superteam. Reika-san and I used to hold the top spot…
…until the affinity reset happened.
The "breakup."
The Great Divorce of Lyra and Renzu
---
About 20 minutes into our adventure, we found our first prey: the Iron Armored Colossal Golem—a.k.a. the mountain's overly dramatic bouncer.
"This is it," I said, cracking my virtual knuckles.
Reika-san nodded, already charging up spells "I'll handle offense. My light attribute should melt him. Ren, draw its attention. Nishi, prep for heals in case anything explodes."
"Oh okay!" we said in sync.
As expected of teachers.
I dashed in with rapid strikes, my assassin skills slicing across the Golem. Reika-san floated behind me, unleashing holy light that shattered the Golem's armor. Nishi's heals hovered above us, even though we're not taking damage.
The boss didn't even last two minutes.
Flawless.
Overkill, really.
"Nice as always, Reika-san," I said, giving her a cocky little salute.
She chuckled. "You're not bad yourself, Ren-kun."
Her voice was calm, but that tiny smile?
Yeah. Fatal hit, no revive.
We kept hunting world bosses until 10 PM. Seven bosses, maxed drops, rising affection.
---
"Hey, it's already ten," I said. "We should log out before my mom kills the Wi-Fi again."
"Aw," Reika-san pouted slightly. "Okay, okay."
She stood up, smoothed her skirt, and gracefully left my room like she hadn't just spent three hours gaming with her student.
Then she casually waved at my mom and said:
"Goodbye, Mom. I'll visit again soon."
...
She called my mom "Mom."
"She called me Mom! Aww, how sweet," my mom beamed.
"Bye, onee-chan!" Nishi called out. "Let's play again!"
Reika turned with a gentle smile. "Of course, Nishi-chan."
I just stood there.
Frozen.
She'd infiltrated my entire family.
How is this woman speedrunning the route to becoming my older stepsis?!
I insisted on walking her home—not just because I'm a gentleman, but because I didn't trust the the night world for being modest for a beauty like her.
As we strolled, I asked carefully, "So… what exactly did you and Nishi talk about earlier?"
She tilted her head and gave a mischievous grin.
"A lady never reveals her secrets, Ren-kun."
She's teasing me, but her almost evil smile made my heart skip a bit.
She's like an adult playing with my poor heart---
After I dropper her to her apartment, I waited until she enter safely, then hurried home
.
---
I was ready to sleep—school tomorrow, but I was surprised—when my door slammed open and Nishi stomped in.
"Onii-chan, I didn't enjoy today's game!"
"Huh? Why?"
"You two didn't even need my heals! I felt useless!"
"Well… yeah. We barely took damage."
"Tomorrow, it's just you and me! Party up again, okay?!"
"Sure, sure."
Her eyes sparkled. "Yatta~!"
...I'm seriously worried she's going to become a support-class yandere.
---
📱 The Next Morning
On the way to school, I bumped into Airi—my childhood friend, top-tier marksman, and professional chaos generator.
"Yo, Ren. Guess who's trending?"
"Please don't say it's me."
"It's you," she said, shoving her phone in my face.
The screen showed a fan forum on the official CRC site:
Renzu and Lyra's Legendary Duo... Disbanded?!
I read through it, heart sinking.
The iconic Renzu-Lyra pair has broken their in-game marriage. Affection reset. Rank erased. Is this the end of the strongest couple in CRC?
"I'm gonna die," I muttered.
Airi grinned. "Or you become a legend. Either way, juicy content."
"If people link my in-game name to my real identity, I'm done for."
"And if anyone in class know who's Renzu is?"
"...I don't know. Gotta transfer school.."