Chapter 467: The Golden Haired Loser Dog’s Date Invitation

Chapter 467: Chapter 467: The Golden Haired Loser Dog’s Date Invitation

Chapter 467: The Golden Haired Loser Dog’s Date Invitation

"Huh...?"

Only after Asagiri pointed it out did Eriri realize that she had been holding the menu upside down.

Her face immediately turned red.

She hurriedly rotated it, pretended nothing had happened, and carefully studied the drinks before politely addressing the waiting server.

"I’ll have a sugar free lime sparkling water, please."

"Of course."

After the server left, Eriri rested her chin in her hands and sighed.

"I’ve been staying home way too much lately."

"I think I’ve gained weight, so I need to watch what I eat."

"Have you?"

Asagiri chuckled.

"That shouldn’t really be possible."

"You’re a former Player with supernatural physical abilities. Your metabolism is far beyond that of an ordinary person."

He looked at her thoughtfully.

"If your weight changed, you’re probably just still developing rather than getting fat."

"Eh?"

Eriri blinked.

She seriously considered it.

"Now that you mention it..."

"Some of my clothes have felt tighter lately."

"I thought I was imagining it, but maybe..."

Halfway through her sentence, Eriri suddenly realized exactly what she was discussing with a boy.

Her cheeks instantly reddened.

"Haha..."

She hurriedly changed the subject.

"Anyway!"

"Winter break is coming soon."

"Do you have any plans for New Year’s?"

"New Year’s, huh..."

Asagiri picked up his glass of iced cola and took a sip.

Then his expression suddenly changed.

He frowned.

Seriously.

More seriously than Eriri had ever seen him look during this entire meeting.

Eriri immediately became nervous.

"What’s wrong?"

"Is there an enemy?"

"There is."

Asagiri slowly placed the glass back on the table.

His right hand clenched into a fist.

An expression of profound unwillingness crossed his face, as though he had failed to save the world itself.

"They changed the cola in this café."

Eriri blinked.

"What?"

"This is Pepsi."

Asagiri gritted his teeth.

"I never expected to walk straight into a trap like this..."

"Damn it."

"..."

Eriri stared at him.

She couldn’t understand his thought process at all.

She preferred Coca Cola too, but as long as Pepsi was cold, she could drink it without much complaint.

More importantly...

How sensitive were Asagiri’s taste buds?

The drink had already been mixed and served with ice, yet he had still noticed immediately.

In a bizarre way, that was actually impressive.

"Oh, right."

Eriri suddenly remembered why she had asked him to meet in the first place.

She straightened slightly.

"There’s something I wanted to ask you."

"Why did you design the new adult game using the SAO engine so that Players control the protagonist from a third person perspective?"

"Wouldn’t it be more immersive if the Player directly became the male protagonist?"

She hesitated.

"Then they could personally experience the game’s events instead of only watching them."

Asagiri sighed.

"Kashiwagi Eri."

He shook his head solemnly.

"As a creator, your realm is still too low."

Eriri instinctively straightened her posture.

Asagiri continued,

"Let me ask you something."

"Old generation adult games couldn’t physically reproduce what happened inside them."

"So why did the genre remain popular for so many years?"

"What makes an adult game genuinely memorable?"

"And what does it take to create a masterpiece that remains in Players’ memories long after they finish it?"

"Hmm..."

Eriri actually thought about the question seriously.

After a while, she answered carefully, like a student responding to a teacher.

"First, the game itself has to be fun."

"Whether it’s the gameplay or the story, it still needs to work as an actual game."

"From what I’ve researched lately, a lot of famous adult games have surprisingly strong gameplay, sometimes even better than ordinary games."

She paused.

"And then there’s the appeal of the adult content itself?"

"Correct."

Asagiri nodded.

"Both are important."

"But you’re missing something."

"What?"

"The right distance from reality."

Eriri blinked.

Asagiri patiently explained.

"Kayaba Akihiko’s technology can reproduce a world so realistically that the Player feels as though they’ve physically entered it."

"But greater realism doesn’t always mean greater immersion."

"If everything becomes completely first person, the Player can actually lose the awareness that they’re experiencing a carefully designed game."

He tapped the table lightly.

"They stop observing the composition of scenes, the pacing, the character performances, and the details deliberately placed by the creator."

"They only see what’s directly in front of them."

"As the saying goes, one leaf can block your entire view."

Eriri’s eyes gradually lit up.

"So that’s why..."

She nodded with genuine admiration.

"I understand."

"That said..."

Asagiri continued,

"After one hundred percent completion, we can unlock a full immersion mode."

"The entire point of the SAO engine is realistic simulation."

"It would be wasteful not to use that capability at all."

Then his expression suddenly became serious.

"But you have another problem."

"Huh?"

Eriri became nervous.

"What problem?"

"The unlockable scenes you’ve designed aren’t compelling enough."

Asagiri answered bluntly.

"Kasumigaoka has the same issue."

"Some of her character writing and romantic routes are still too stiff."

"This..."

Eriri pressed her lips together.

As a creator, she already knew where her weaknesses were.

She had noticed them even while drawing doujinshi.

Her art was strong.

Her panel composition was good.

But when it came to the emotional core, character interactions, and the moments that were supposed to feel intimate or unforgettable...

Something was missing.

Soul.

Eriri gathered her courage.

She secretly glanced toward Asagiri.

Her fingers nervously intertwined beneath the table.

"Maybe..."

"It’s because I don’t have much experience with romance."

Her voice became quieter.

"I don’t really know many boys besides you."

"So if you were willing to..."

She hesitated.

"Do some normal couple things with me..."

"Maybe I’d understand those emotions better."

"Hoh."

Asagiri chuckled.

"So that’s your strategy."

Eriri blinked.

"You really are dedicated to improving your craft."

She hurriedly nodded.

"Yes, Utsunomiya-san..."

"Stop."

Asagiri raised one hand.

"When receiving instruction, use the proper title."

"Call me Teacher."

Eriri’s face turned slightly red.

She hesitated.

Then quietly tried,

"Utsunomiya... Teacher?"

"Very good."

Asagiri nodded with satisfaction.

Then he immediately said something Eriri had not expected.

"But I refuse."

Eriri froze.

"...Eh?"

If someone else had said that to her, she probably would have immediately snapped back.

But facing Asagiri, all that came out was an anxious question.

"Why?"

"Because your starting point is wrong."

Asagiri looked directly at her.

"If you’re only going on a date because you want to research what dating feels like, then the experience itself won’t teach you much."

"What matters isn’t the activity."

"It’s the person."

Eriri’s expression changed slightly.

Asagiri continued,

"The important feeling is, ’I want to do this specifically with this person.’"

"That’s what gives the experience meaning."

"Only with..."

"This person..."

Eriri murmured.

She looked as though she wanted to say something, but couldn’t quite bring herself to.

Asagiri seemed to understand anyway.

"This is exactly why I’m so great."

Eriri looked up.

"Asuna, Kotoko, Megumi, Chika..."

"Every one of them is important to me in her own way."

Asagiri nodded solemnly.

"That is true pure love."

"Is... is that really how pure love works...?"

"Exactly."

Asagiri gave her no time to question the logic.

"So if you’re asking me out purely because you want to collect reference material, then it doesn’t mean anything."

"The important question is who you want to spend that time with."

"Not what you’re doing."

With that, Asagiri stood.

"Anyway, that’s all."

"I’ve got other things to do, so I’m heading out."

"W-wait!"

Seeing him actually prepare to leave, Eriri panicked.

Before she could stop herself, she reached out and grabbed his sleeve.

All of her earlier excuses disappeared.

Her face turned crimson.

"What research and learning..."

She lowered her eyes.

"That was just an excuse."

Her voice became almost inaudible.

"I just..."

"Wanted to spend time with you."

Asagiri immediately stopped.

"Then why didn’t you say that from the beginning?"

Eriri looked up.

His attitude had changed so quickly that her mind stalled.

Then she saw the smile on his face.

Realization struck.

Her entire face turned bright red.

She released his sleeve.

"You..."

"You were teasing me on purpose!"

Eriri finally understood.

In certain ways, Asagiri was frighteningly similar to Kasumigaoka Utaha.

Both enjoyed teasing people.

There was only one major difference.

When Kasumigaoka Utaha teased her, Eriri wanted to hiss at her.

When Asagiri did it...

She only became embarrassed.

That definitely wasn’t Eriri’s fault.

Obviously.

It had to be Kasumigaoka Utaha’s fault somehow.

...

A little later, inside a maid café in Akihabara.

"Master! Young Lady! Welcome home!"

Hearing the cheerful greeting from the maid uniformed employee, Eriri couldn’t help but smile.

She looked across the table at Asagiri.

"I’ve wanted to visit a place like this for ages."

"But coming alone as a girl feels a little awkward."

"And there’s absolutely no way I could let my school friends know I’m interested in maid cafés."

"I see."

Asagiri nodded.

He wasn’t particularly surprised.

A maid café was admittedly an unusual choice for a first date.

But Eriri herself wasn’t exactly an ordinary girl.

For someone so thoroughly immersed in otaku culture, choosing Akihabara and a maid café made perfect sense.

"Hmm..."

Eriri stared at the menu.

"There’s too much stuff I want to try."

Noticing her hesitation, the maid standing nearby smiled brightly.

"Young Lady, we also have a special heart shaped omurice for two."

She clasped her hands together cheerfully.

"It’s prepared especially for couples!"

....

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