Chapter 422: Berserk Cleric
"Huh?"
Hat Mita tilted her head, a look of confusion appearing on her cute face.
"Night? Spending the night? That just means sleeping, of course. Though, staying up late occasionally to play video games all night is also pretty nice~"
"That's not what I meant!"
Seeing that Hat Mita seemed to have misunderstood her, Yamauchi Sakura's face flushed red with anxiety as she stammered, trying to explain.
"It's just that... you know, the things lovers do together..."
"A date? There aren't many good places to go at night, though a park at night isn't bad."
Hat Mita smiled softly, as if lost in imagination.
"Sitting in a quiet park under the night sky with your favorite person beside you, a cool breeze brushing against your cheeks..."
"It's not a date either. It's just that, you know..."
Seeing Yamauchi Sakura's cute, flustered expression as she struggled to explain, Hat Mita could not hold it in anymore and burst out laughing. Then she reached out and patted Sakura on the shoulder.
"I know, I know. I knew what you wanted to ask from the start. I was just teasing you."
"You..."
Yamauchi Sakura bit her lip, glaring at the mischievous, devilish looking Hat Mita.
She clenched her fists, then silently unclenched them and sighed softly.
"So... what exactly should I do?"
"Hehe."
Hat Mita wore a meaningful smile.
She gently draped her arm around Yamauchi Sakura's shoulder, lowered her voice, and spoke in a suggestive tone.
"Have you ever eaten an ice cream cone?"
"An ice cream cone?"
Yamauchi Sakura did not understand why Hat Mita suddenly asked this, but she still answered truthfully.
"Of course I have."
"Then that makes things easy."
Hat Mita leaned close to Yamauchi Sakura's ear and whispered a few words.
Yamauchi Sakura's expression froze at first.
Then a shy flush instantly flooded her face, and even her voice trembled slightly.
"You mean... that kind of thing? Isn't that a bit... too much? Wouldn't just kissing and touching be enough..."
"Bang!"
As soon as Yamauchi Sakura finished speaking, Hat Mita suddenly slammed her hand onto the floor.
The cute face that usually wore a playful smile now showed a gravity and seriousness that Yamauchi Sakura had never seen before.
"Do you think it will be that simple?"
"Don't forget, the enemy you're facing this time is the Player! And you..."
Hat Mita paused here, looked Yamauchi Sakura up and down, then said earnestly,
"Your physical fitness is the worst among everyone. Even the Warlock class Iwanaga Kotoko is much stronger than you."
"Do you know how terrifying the Player's strength is?"
"Even Yuuki Asuna can't hold out and has to pitifully beg him for mercy."
"Asuna... begs for mercy?"
Yamauchi Sakura could not help looking incredulous upon hearing this.
After all, the Yuuki Asuna she knew was a warrior with an incredibly strong competitive spirit, someone who would never admit defeat no matter what difficulties she faced, always moving forward.
Such a Yuuki Asuna would actually beg for mercy with tears in her eyes?
"Do you understand now?"
Hat Mita advised her earnestly.
"If you don't weaken the Player first and just go head to head, it'll be hard to satisfy him."
"Besides, it's the first time, so you want to leave good memories, right?"
"That's right..."
Yamauchi Sakura nodded, but then suddenly realized a very serious problem she had not thought of just now.
"Wait a minute... You are Utsunomiya Asagiri's Persona."
"I remember him saying that when he summons a Persona, your thoughts are connected..."
"Eh? Did you forget?"
Hearing Yamauchi Sakura's words, Hat Mita could not help freezing, her tone hesitant.
"I thought you were too embarrassed to say it in front of the Player, so you asked me to be the intermediary and tell him about tonight's plan..."
"So you actually forgot!?"
Yamauchi Sakura was blushing furiously, feeling as if steam was about to come out of her head.
Even with her carefree personality, encountering such an embarrassing situation, basically letting Utsunomiya Asagiri know she had asked for that kind of advice, made her want to find a hole to crawl into.
Embarrassing.
It was just too embarrassing.
"Um..."
Hearing footsteps coming from outside the room, Hat Mita stuck out her tongue and spoke playfully.
"I just remembered I have something to do... Oh, right, Crazy Mita and Kind Mita are looking for me to play games."
"I'll head back first. You and the Player can chat slowly. Bye!"
With that, Hat Mita vanished instantly, as if running away.
Seeing Utsunomiya Asagiri walk into the room carrying iced barley tea and two paper cups, Yamauchi Sakura's face flushed even more.
She bit her lower lip and finally decided to play dumb, forcing a graceful smile.
"Thanks for bringing the drinks over..."
"Don't stand on ceremony with me."
Utsunomiya Asagiri replied in a flat tone, then teased with a smile,
"It's a pity I didn't find any ice cream cones in the fridge. Otherwise, you could have practiced in advance."
"You!"
Yamauchi Sakura was blushing furiously.
Her gaze involuntarily shifted downward, then quickly snapped back.
However, in front of the observation skills of Tokyo's number one Eroge Shooter, her subconscious reaction was fully exposed.
Utsunomiya Asagiri broke her defenses with just three words.
"There's a pervert."
"You..."
Yamauchi Sakura bit her lip, already on the verge of overheating, and then made an unexpected move.
She used all her strength to tackle Utsunomiya Asagiri onto her bed, then kissed him proactively.
Her movements were clumsy, and her teeth even bumped against his lips, but even so, she attacked with all her might.
"H-how was that!?"
Yamauchi Sakura lifted her head, a strand of her soft brown hair falling onto Utsunomiya Asagiri's face.
"I... I can be very scary when I get serious!"
Seeing Yamauchi Sakura, who was clearly incredibly shy but still trying to act tough, Utsunomiya Asagiri could not help teasing her with a smile.
"Truly scary. Like a berserk healer."
"Berserk..."
Before Yamauchi Sakura could even wonder about that, Utsunomiya Asagiri turned defense into offense, rolling over and pinning her beneath him.
"Mmph..."
Yamauchi Sakura closed her eyes subconsciously.
But then, feeling that she was being too cowardly, she summoned her courage and opened them again.
She found Utsunomiya Asagiri's face very close to hers.
Close enough that they could clearly feel each other's breath.
"Utsunomiya Asagiri..."
Hearing Yamauchi Sakura's murmuring call, Utsunomiya Asagiri said bluntly,
"Can you stop saying my name in that resentful tone? It sounds like you're calling a spirit."
"Tch, what an unromantic guy."
Although Yamauchi Sakura said that, she knew very well that Utsunomiya Asagiri was saying these abstract things on purpose to make her laugh and help her relax from her extreme nervousness.
"As expected..."
Yamauchi Sakura raised her hand and gently caressed Utsunomiya Asagiri's cheek, her eyes filled with infatuated affection.
"My lover, Utsunomiya Asagiri... is a very gentle person."
"Lover? Wrong."
Utsunomiya Asagiri spoke in a smiling tone.
"We haven't officially confessed to each other yet, have we?"
Yamauchi Sakura retorted, unwilling to lose.
"You didn't confess to me either."
"Even though you knew my feelings long ago, you deliberately dragged it out to make me speak first. Your personality is really terrible."
"Not terrible."
Caught off guard, Yamauchi Sakura was hit again by Utsunomiya Asagiri's direct attack.
"I just wanted to express my feelings to you after fulfilling my promise to you."
"Yamauchi Sakura's life will continue."
"And in that continuing future, I will be by your side."
Hearing these words from Utsunomiya Asagiri, Yamauchi Sakura's eyes could not help filling with emotion.
After sharing a very intimate kiss with him that left their breathing heavy and stirred an indescribable feeling within her body, she finally spoke softly, her arms wrapped around Utsunomiya Asagiri's neck.
"It's not you will be by my side."
"It should be you all will be by my side, right?"
"Don't forget about Asuna and the others."
"Oh?"
Utsunomiya Asagiri looked surprised.
"You're not jealous at all?"
"I told you, don't underestimate me."
Yamauchi Sakura spoke softly, her eyes filled with a smile.
"Asuna, Iwanaga Kotoko, Kato Megumi, and even Shinomiya-san, Fujiwara Chika, Hayasaka Ai, Sakurakawa Rikka... they never hesitated."
"It was as if saving my life was a matter of course, something that didn't even need to be discussed."
"Although it's not the same nature as my feelings for you, they are also very important people to me, having risked their lives to help me."
As she spoke, Yamauchi Sakura drew closer to Utsunomiya Asagiri, clinging to him with all the courage she could muster.
"Hmm? Aren't you supposed to weaken me first?"
"I can't wait."
Yamauchi Sakura leaned close to Utsunomiya Asagiri's ear and whispered softly,
"As for weakening you, let's save that for when we take a break later."
...
Meanwhile, in a massive underground metal facility nearly a hundred kilometers away from Tokyo.
"Everyone's abilities have been tested enough, right?"
Miwa Ashikaga stood in the middle of a vast, empty metal hall spanning several kilometers.
She first glanced at the metal floor, which had been designed to withstand large yield bombs but was now completely ruined, then turned her gaze toward Yuuki Asuna and the others in front of her.
"Sure enough, your power is now terrifyingly strong."
"If you were to fight an opponent of the same level within the city, all the surrounding buildings would be destroyed..."
"Ashikaga-sensei, wait a moment."
Before Miwa Ashikaga could finish speaking, Yuuki Asuna, holding the divine artifact Radiant Starlight, interrupted softly.
She then walked slowly in front of Kaguya Shinomiya and spoke softly.
"Shinomiya-san, since we have the opportunity, how about we spar?"
Hearing Yuuki Asuna's words, Kaguya Shinomiya's expression did not change.
However, the Hecatoncheir Bow and Arrow in her hand quickly transformed into the short blade called Shinso, and she spoke in a flat tone.
"Alright."
Watching the two standing in the arena, Kato Megumi, Iwanaga Kotoko, Fujiwara Chika, Hayasaka Ai, and Sakurakawa Rikka all had only one thought in their minds.
Has this day finally arrived?
The strongest Player at the current stage was undoubtedly Utsunomiya Asagiri.
So...
Between Yuuki Asuna and Kaguya Shinomiya, who was the strongest after Utsunomiya Asagiri?
.....
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