Chapter 310: Winning a War Called “Love”

"Hello, Makishima-san."

"H-hello."

"Kuroneko often mentioned you in her stories."

"She did?"

"H-hey! Let's stop there."

Kuroneko could feel the smile beneath the white mask.

"Alright."

Shiro spared her of the embarrassment she was about to receive. With Saori's addition, the three headed to the booth.

"What nice cosplays..."

"Isn't it?"

Kuroneko felt 'proud' when she heard praises of their outfits.

"It's... You two are fitting on a relationship goal. cosplaying as the characters both of you like, or something like that."

"So that's how it is..."

She saw a message from the chat group.

[Private] Shiro: "Do you want to do it?"

[Private] Shiro: "Your signature book of curses."

[Private] Shiro: "Hehe~"

"Shiro..."

For a moment, Kuroneko glanced away. The amount of times her heart fluttered today far surpassed anything within the past few months. The time when she boldly announced she wanted to sleep on the same room as him is included. Those were the times Kuroneko became 'hysterical' for some reason.

[Private] Kuroneko: "Alright! Let's do it!"

[Private] Kuroneko: "Prepare to fall deeper into my curse!"

Saori saw the couple silently looking at each other. She felt as if they were communicating mentally.

'So he's not a fake boyfriend... They could even communicate through eye contact alone..!'

Then it hit her. All this time, she had been the third wheel. People who haven't experienced it wouldn't know, but it could get awkward if you are alone with a couple. It would feel as if you are getting between their alone time.

The above is what Saori feels right now.

"O-oh?! Kazuma-sensei is here! I'll be off!"

Saori did not elaborate further and left the two of them alone.

"Your friend is very perceptive."

"That's right. Back then, she had been the one who shifted the awkward atmosphere of the group."

Their friendship began on an online group. When they met for the first time, Kuroneko and Kirino already had their altercations. They did not like the taste of the other, which led to a debate-slash-quarrel. Saori was the one who removes that atmosphere. It led to them slowly being friends.

"Oh? She knows those interesting moments of my Kuroneko?"

"W-wha—" Kuroneko was visibly flustered. "Y-you shall stop there, Shiro!"

Their conversation led into a 'teasing (?)' competition. It felt very natural for Shiro, but it wans't for Kuroneko. She had to slowly adapt to it until she wasn't visibly fazed anymore. By the time they arrived into the booth, the staff saw a sweet atmosphere between the two of them.

"That was a good work."

"Anything for my mistress."

Shiro slightly pinched her cheeks.

"Kugh... Ahem! You shall be rewarded."

"Hum..? A reward~?"

Shiro took off his mask. It did not make much noise since it is on the backstage, but few people could still see them. At that moment, he gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"That would suffice."

"W-w-what..."

Unfortunately for her, she was still inexperienced enough.

'Wu..! Why am I like this?! My heart...'

Even when she received her first kiss, she wasn't as flustered as today. She did not expect that falling in love for a second time hits harder.

While she stood still, Shiro held her hand and led her away. She did not notice the slight commotion they had caused.

"So cute..!"

"They match together perfectly."

"Just this once, I will not be bitter to those lovebirds."

Before she reverted to her current appearance, Kuroneko's beauty already shot through the ceiling. Despite her appearance returning, her beauty did not disappear. When someone looks closer, they would be mesmerized by her. It's just that her friends did not fully notice it yet.

The two strolled the center to find a good restaurant. Unexpectedly, they came across an acquaintance.

"Ruri..?"

Kousaka Kyousuke.

Kuroneko's ex-boyfriend.

*****

A crossroad.

That was what Kyousuke faced at that time.

Should he remain true to his heart?

Or should he retain his current love?

In the end, he chose the former. He broke up with Ruri and decided to be with his step-sister, Kirino. His relationship with Ruri was put to an end with a series of curses and a broken notebook. Fortunately for him, she understood the situation and chose to silently support them.

It was the conclusion to their romantic ties.

"Kyousuke? I thought you'll come at 1?"

"It's only 30 minutes before 1."

"Right..."

Kuroneko did not notice the passing of time due to her company.

"Nice to meet you."

"Me too."

Shiro asked for a handshake, which baffled Kyousuke, but received it. He then thought of the cliches where someone pressures the other character's hand during a handshake.

'Wouldn't he..?'

However, his worries were all for naught. Shiro made a normal handshake. He did not even use his powers to 'punish' him.

"I've heard a lot from you." Shiro said. "Thanks for being Ruri's friend."

"N-no, that's not a big deal. She's also helped us many times."

Ruri is already on her last year of senior high school. She is a reliable senior for many of them, considering Kyousuke and Kirino are in thier 2nd year.

"I remember a nice place!"

"Let's go then."

"Alright. See you later, Kyousuke."

"Uh... Alright."

When the two left, only a mix of complicated feeling and sense of gratitude remained.

*****

"I'm glad..."

"What is it, Shiro?"

"It's nothing."

Seeing her smile, Shiro felt everything is alright.

'She didn't mind it.'

Perhaps due to her happiness, she never had any negative thoughts when meeting Kyousuke. Shiro only cared for Kuroneko. He did not care for Kyousuke's reactions. As long as Kuroneko fully "accepted" her past and moved to the present, she would be happy. Hence, he did not plan to send any kind of punishment to him.

In the first place, he is irrelevant to his eyes.

"This is where you ate with your family?"

"That's right. Tamaki liked their Hamburg steak while Hinata loved their omurice."

"Speaking of them... we need to take them home by 4."

"There's still a lot of time... It's already 1:30?!"

"Time flew fast."

"It did... when I was with you."

Ruri unknowingly let out a smile.

'Beautiful...'

This time, Shiro was the one who got attacked.

It was very effective.

"Where do you want to go next?"

"...The photo booth."

There are many types of booths in a convention. It ranges from merchandise booths, manga booths, and many more. There are also programs to be held in the afternoon, but it is only on select conventions.

"Just like in Aincrad."

"Exactly."

Back in Aincrad, they took many pictures together, be it when they are on a random quest or a scenic view. Other than that, there are also more pictures on Shiro's album.

"Come to think of it, I haven't seen those pictures yet."

"Here it is."

Shiro unlocked his smartphone and clicked on the album app.

"Hm... These ones..!"

There are several pictures in which she posed in a strange manner. It is during her first few months in Aincrad—the time when she lived her life as a fantasy character. She was living the life of her chuunibyou persona at that time.

"Please delete them..!"

"Nope~!" Shiro happily denied with a smile. "Don't worry, you are also cute in those pictures."

"That's not the problem!"

She stood up from her seat. A blush could be seen in her face as she tried to reach for the phone. When she couldn't, she left her seat and targeted it.

"Here, here."

Shiro conceded it to her after a close contact. He doesn't want her to feel more embarrassed than she is. It is real life; the things in dramas doesn't happen often.

"!!!"

"This..." Kuroneko looked at a certain picture. "It's taken during the date quest."

"Yeah. We needed to date on specific places to receive that special ring."

"Our... marriage ring."

One of Aincrad's functions was the [Couple] system. After two players decide to [Marry], they will unlock many functions such as shared storage, priority panel, and so on. To be honest, the two did not expect the reward to be like that. It was completely unknown.

By the time they finished the quest, they are already recognized as a [Couple]. <Cardinal> placed the quest for those who wanted to complete it. Her understanding was that only a couple with feelings toward each other are the ones who will complete that quest. It will definitely be embarrassing for most players, plus the fact that it is a random quest.

"Shiro..."

"Yes?"

Ruri steeled herself. She wanted this happy day to last forever. Her intuition also told her to do this, lest she will regret it later. It stemmed from the feelings of her future self.

"What if... in reality too... Kuh..!" She cut off her intermittent words. "I love you, Shiro. Not as a friend, but as a girl!"

She then calmly followed up:

"Will you take me as your lover?"