Kaguya Shinomiya let out a soft breath, removed the yellow-and-white striped uniform she was wearing, and put on the white coat of a Researcher.
Maki was already waiting for her outside the Personnel Lounge. The two girls quickly exchanged intelligence in the corridor. From this, Kaguya learned from Maki that this was now the second loop, along with various details about the previous loop.
"Fujiwara-san... she has become a player too?"
Regarding the fact that Chika Fujiwara—arguably her only friend growing up—had become a player, Kaguya Shinomiya felt somewhat conflicted. On one hand, the other party had joined the Sacrificial Game, this terrifying and bizarre game of death, and Kaguya did not wish for this always carefree girl to encounter such terrible things; but on the other hand, for Kaguya, who was trapped deep within the instance game, having someone she knew well become her companion sparked a bit of happiness in her heart that she couldn't suppress, even though she knew it was somewhat despicable to feel happy about such a thing.
"I remember that you and this Fujiwara-san are on very good terms, Great-Aunt. Will she be okay following Hai-kun?"
Maki's point of focus was quite different from Kaguya's. She was now more concerned that a strange woman was following by Gao Hai's side. Although she knew Gao Hai was relatively serious during missions, the moment she thought of that guy's perverted nature, she couldn't help but start worrying if some kind of 'fan service' scenario would occur.
Forget it, worrying about this kind of problem is meaningless.
It's better to focus on doing my own part well first.
Now that Hai-kun has become stronger and grown, he is already much stronger than in the previous instance. Yet even so, he could not avoid the fate of dying and restarting. Therefore, I must do everything I can to alleviate his pressure and do the things I can do well.
After all, that guy said that the reason I can establish this telepathy-like communication with him is because he and I trust each other absolutely...
To be honest, when she first heard this reason from Gao Hai, Maki's first reaction was to want to deny it. Because "trusting each other absolutely" or whatever sounded almost like a confession to become a couple, which was hard for her to accept.
But, the girl had to admit, this feeling was truly very good.
This feeling of mutual understanding that belonged only to her and him, this heart-racing feeling she had never experienced before, was truly wonderful.
So she had to work hard.
She had to do her best and give her all to share his burdens and solve his problems. After all, he was currently working hard somewhere else, struggling to survive, and was also caring about the situation on her side.
Maki secretly cheered herself on in her heart.
Beside her, Kaguya, with knitted brows, looked slightly unusual.
What she was concerned about was the unique connection Maki had just mentioned establishing with Gao Hai.
Being able to establish a mental link with each other, speaking words one wants to tell the other without being heard by anyone else—this ability was simply too important in this dangerous and terrifying place, the Sacrificial Game. Kaguya could be certain that this ability could play a significant role in various situations; it could be said to be an advantage of a dimensional-strike level compared to other players, something that even ten Obsession Items added together could not make up for.
But the ones who had established this link were only Gao Hai and Maki Shijo.
According to Maki, to complete the establishment of this link required two people to trust each other or something. Hmph, although she said that verbally, judging from that bashful attitude, Kaguya had no doubt that the level required to establish this psychic link was definitely not something as simple as "trusting each other" could achieve. I'm afraid it requires a further step of mutual understanding, perhaps even a level of favorability that could be called "mutual love," to realize the establishment of this link, right?
After deducing this point, Kaguya couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy.
Regarding Maki Shijo, who came from a wealthy financial clique like herself but was different—more like a healthy and happy girl—Kaguya had to admit that she had never envied the other party so much. This act of entrusting one's inner heart to someone like a fool, and to a man known for only a month at that, was something Kaguya Shinomiya could never do no matter what. Even knowing that doing so would bring benefits to herself and increase her survival probability, she still found it equally difficult to do such a thing. In the end, for Kaguya Shinomiya, "trusting others" was already an incredibly difficult thing, let alone this level of "trust."
It's just that she couldn't help but think of her maid, the person she trusted most, Hayasaka, and the things she had said to her, intentionally or unintentionally, in the past.
"If it's Kaguya-sama, perhaps it would be good to fall in love once."
Although it was just like a joke at the time, recalling it suddenly now made the girl increasingly unsettled.
I really can't do this kind of thing after all.
Even if Hai-kun were truly a significant other who satisfied me, it would be impossible for me to close the distance with him to that extent in such a short time. What's more, for me, that guy simply has too many unqualified areas; at most, he can only be viewed as a comrade-in-arms. Moving to a closer relationship holds no feasibility whatsoever.
It's better to cast aside such childish thoughts.
Maki and Kaguya, harboring different thoughts and ideas, stepped into the Analysis Workshop together. They cautiously completed the work required as "Researchers" and waited for the arrival of the free exploration time.
Meanwhile, the same man towards whom the two girls' complex emotions were directed—the man who was currently making both Maki and Kaguya feel unsettled—was reaching out his hand and solemnly making a gentle squeezing motion at something.
I really want to do it again—that soft and warm sensation I just felt.
Gao Hai lamented in his heart over the soft and squishy sensation he had previously felt from the doll, then quickly gathered his mind and focused his attention on the matter before him.
This Training Area that had appeared inexplicably in the underground cavern currently contained only him and Chika Fujiwara. Those bizarre entities had temporarily left, so it could be said that this place had temporarily become a safety zone.
It was just that this safety was inevitably temporary. If they didn't find the path to leave here and head to the Great Slide quickly, it would be hard to deal with those things when they returned later.
"There's even specialized rock climbing training equipment. This is the first time I've seen one this high and big."
Standing to the side, the pink-haired girl stared at a man-made cliff by the wall at this moment and spoke with emotion.
"Don't worry about that kind of stuff for now. Think of a way to look around and see if there are any useful clues here first."
Gao Hai spoke casually, reached out and patted Chika on the head, then began to step forward.
Caught off guard by the head-pat, Chika let out an "Ehehe" laugh, then followed by Gao Hai's side and seriously said, "Private First Class Fujiwara awaits the Commander's orders," followed by deliberately marching a few goose steps. It had to be said that this quirky girl did a good job of diluting Gao Hai's tense mood, causing him to laugh involuntarily. Then, both of them entered a serious state and began to speed up their exploration of this place.
Consequently, first of all, an inconspicuous small room located in a corner of the Training Area, mostly blocked by a climbing facility, attracted Gao Hai and Chika's attention at this moment.
From the door of that room, Gao Hai perceived a not-so-obvious eerie aura.
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