“…Alright! This should do it.”

I surveyed the room, which was now clean (by my standards, at least), and nodded in satisfaction.

It had been two days since I ran into Asahi Hikari, the light-element boss, on the bus. 

And today, the promised day of battle has finally arrived.

I wiped the sweat from my forehead and opened the messaging app “PINE” on my smartphone.

[I’ll come over around 1 PM after lunch!]

The sender of the displayed message was “Asahi Hikari.” 

Among my contacts, which consisted only of my parents, cousins, and a few friends, her icon of a beautiful girl in tennis wear now shone brightly.

“She really is coming… Asahi Hikari is coming to my house…”

I kept thinking it was a dream, but every time I looked at the same message, I knew it was real.

The clock already showed 12:50.

Ten minutes until the arrival of the raid boss.

No, she could arrive right now, at this very moment.

++Ding-dong.++

And there she was! My body froze in tension, as if I had been hit by a hard CC (Crowd Control) effect.

First, I took a deep breath and calmed down. 

The doorbell rang, but I didn’t open it right away.

If I opened it right away, it might seem like I was waiting for her.

Like in a tactical shooter, I waited for a fake defuse…

++Ding-dong.++

++Be normal! ++

The second doorbell rang, and I moved to the entrance. 

++What should I say first?++

++No, don’t think too deeply about it.++

++Be normal.++

++Act normal, like “It’s normal for me to invite girls over, you know?”++

With the mental simulation done, I turned the doorknob and opened the door—

“Hey there. Got a delivery from Amazon for you.”

A deliveryman stood there holding a cardboard box.

“Ah, thanks…”

“Sign here, please,” he said, tapping the spot for my signature with his finger.

“Sure… Thanks for your hard work.”

“Thank you! Have a good day!”

I stamped the paper, received the cardboard box, and he quickly left.

“I see…”

I muttered to myself and placed the box on the table, and sat down on a chair.

++This is so embarrassing.++

I waited for the doorbell to ring twice and even did a mental simulation.

“What was I so excited about…”

I realized that I had completely become “the guy who’s been waiting,” and it made me even more embarrassed.

“Come to think of it, what did I order…”

I was about to reach for the box to calm myself down when…

++Ding-dong.++

The doorbell rang again.

“Alright, alright, I’m coming…”

I decided not to overthink it and opened the door—

“Hello! I’m here!”

This time, Asahi Hikari stood there with a big smile.

Of course, it wasn’t strange for her to be here since she said she’d come at 1 PM. But still…

It took me some time to process the situation of Asahi Hikari in casual clothes standing in front of me.

“Hmm… maybe you’re not done cleaning up yet? Should I help?”

“It’s fine! It’s all cleaned up!”

“Really…? You didn’t forget to hide anything embarrassing, right?”

“No! I don’t have anything like that in the first place!”

I hurriedly explained as she smiled mischievously.

“Can I come in, then?”

“O-of course…”

I stepped aside, holding the door open for her to enter.

Asahi Hikari, in her private, casual clothes, walked into my room. 

Her lively and casual outfit suited her well, though I didn’t understand much about fashion.

“Excuse me! Wow, this really feels like a boy’s apartment!”

She entered without hesitation.

What was a major event for me, a gloomy guy, was probably normal for a popular girl.

She must visit guys’ rooms three times a week.

She might even order Uber Eats when she’s at home.

++Stay calm… stay calm…++

I didn’t want to make her feel weird by overthinking it…

“Come to think of it, this might be the first time I’ve been in a boy’s room.”

“F-first time…!?”

My voice rose in surprise at the fact that she suddenly dropped on me.

++Was she really using her first time in my room? ++

++You’re using a Master Ball on the wrong opponent!++

“Yep. Though if you count my brother’s room, it’s not really the first time.”

“Oh, I see… You have a brother…”

“Yep, he’s three years older than me and a sophomore in college. The games were originally his, and he took them all with him when he moved out this month.”

“Ah, so that’s why…”

In just a few exchanges, several mysteries were solved. 

++But for her to raid the house of a classmate she barely knows, just because she wants to game…++

She might be a more hardcore gamer than I thought.

“So, it’s a small room, but make yourself comfortable…”

“Okay, then I’ll take you up on that offer…here we go.”

Why sit on the bed immediately upon entering a guy’s room for the first time? 

I shuddered as she sat down on my bed without hesitation.

Was this normal behavior for an extrovert?

++Is it just me being too conscious with my natural-born gloomy mind…?++

Even though sitting on the gaming chair at the PC desk might feel awkward, normally she would sit on the cushion, right?

Wait, my TV stand is set a bit higher to match the gaming chair. 

Sitting on the floor would make the screen hard to see. 

On the other hand, the bed was just the right height and distance. 

In other words, as soon as she entered the room, she figured out the best place for gaming.

Impressive, Asahi Hikari.

“You really have a lot of games…”

She gazed at the consoles lined up under the TV, unaware of my internal monologue.

“Yeah, I’ve got all the current major consoles.”

“Wow… We used to have them all too, until my brother took them…”

“Well, feel free to enjoy them today.”

“Really!?”

“Yeah, since you came all this way…”

“Yay! What should I play first?”

Asahi-san was staring intently at the software lined up on the shelf.

“There are so many I haven’t played yet… I can’t decide…”

She looked at the games on the shelf like a regular high school girl contemplating which donut to pick.

“I also have digital games not on the shelf.”

“Oh wow… That makes it even harder to choose. So many options…”

When I displayed the library screen on the TV, she looked even more conflicted.

Including the digital versions, my collection tripled in size. 

What game would Asahi Hikari pick from such a vast selection? 

She was agonizing over it, unaware that she was being tested by me.

“Ah! This one! I’ll play this one!”

She pointed to a title in the library.

“SEKIHYO: Shadows Die Twice.”

It was a hardcore action game, commonly known as a “souls-like” game.

!next

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