Hearing the White dress girl's words, Asagiri's expression didn't change at all; he just maintained his smile and said.
"Since you can think of these things, you should understand why I suspected you were a Banshee in disguise."
"That's true, I am indeed the most suspicious one."
The White dress girl wasn't angry because Asagiri suspected her; instead, she said with a smile.
"You and the Player next to you should be a team who added each other as friends, and the Suit Man and the woman wearing makeup also claimed to be Players teaming up together. Assuming there really is such a thing as a Banshee disguised as a Player, having two Banshees among five Players would be a bit too difficult. Moreover, a Player like me, who has no teammates, is alone, yet still dares to voluntarily sign up for a dungeon, if there aren't Banshees pretending to be Players, then there are only two possibilities left."
"The first kind is that I'm very foolish, yet I think I'm very smart, just like that Suit Man, who thinks he can easily clear the dungeon and easily get the dungeon rewards. And the second kind..."
When the White dress girl was halfway through her sentence, Asagiri directly interrupted, saying the rest of her words.
"You received a very high clear evaluation in the novice dungeon, as well as generous rewards including this staff and the mask you're wearing, giving you the confidence to clear the dungeon even by yourself."
"Your deduction is completely correct."
Hearing that the White dress girl was still talking to Asagiri in a smiling voice even at this point, combined with her previous strange behavior of voluntarily asking to team up with Asagiri, Asuna suddenly felt a bit displeased. She stepped forward two steps, blocking in front of Asagiri, looking directly into the White dress girl's eyes, and said coldly.
"So, even though you have the strength to clear it alone, you still voluntarily asked to act together with the two of us, doing such a suspicious thing. You must have malicious intentions, right?"
"You misunderstood."
The White dress girl shook her head and then said something that Asuna hadn't expected.
"I didn't know you two were teammates before. I have no interest in you; the only person I'm interested in is him. It has nothing to do with you."
"You..."
Asuna lightly bit her silver teeth, forcefully restraining her urge to summon that Western sword and stab this White dress girl with a single thrust, then turned to look at Asagiri and said.
"She definitely has a scheme. I say we just leave her behind."
As those words fell, the girl in the white dress slowly removed her mask. Beneath it was a face almost too perfect—fair skin, delicate features, angelic beauty that seemed crafted to inspire sympathy. Her large navy-purple eyes shimmered with vulnerability as she looked up at Asagiri, lips trembling slightly.
She wore an expression like a wounded fawn, helpless and pleading.
"I'm sure... you wouldn't have the heart to abandon a cute girl like me, all alone in this hotel crawling with Banshees... would you? If I were to run into one, all by myself..."
Her voice was soft, trembling, almost musical in its sweetness.
But before she could finish playing her role, Asagiri cut in, his tone flat and unamused.
"Don't care. Not interested. If you die, you die—what's it to me? Farewell."
With that, and under the slightly stunned gaze of the girl in the white dress, Asagiri turned to Asuna and spoke flatly.
"Let's go."
"Oh—okay."
The two walked off without a backward glance. Left standing alone, the masked girl in white first stomped her foot in frustration, muttering to herself in disbelief.
"What the heck? Did they really just abandon me and leave like that? This is... No, wait."
Her train of thought abruptly shifted. The irritation on her face faded, replaced by a thoughtful, almost admiring expression. She even gave a small nod, as though confirming something important.
"For someone to reject the request of a cute girl like me without hesitation... He's not some indecisive, soft-hearted saint. He's sharp. Disciplined. An excellent Player."
A playful smile curled at the corners of her lips.
"Alright, then. I'll just have to prove my worth in this dungeon... and once I do, I'll go find him again."
........
On the other side, Asuna, who was walking downstairs in the Hotel with Asagiri through the fire escape, which was the stairwell, suddenly stopped, pursing her lips, her eyes showing worry.
"We... left her there alone, is that really okay? Although I don't really like her, in the end, she didn't do anything hostile towards us, and she even voluntarily took off her mask. In a situation where she could encounter a Banshee at any time, can she really get back to the room and regroup alive...?"
"You're just tough on the outside but soft on the inside."
Asagiri said this first, and without waiting for Asuna to retort, he asked in return.
"Don't you know her?"
"Huh? No, I don't know her. Why are you suddenly asking this?"
"Here's a hint: her right eye is a prosthetic eye, and her left leg is a prosthetic limb."
"Right eye... left leg..."
Asuna muttered to herself, suddenly as if she had thought of something, her pupils widened in surprise.
"That girl... could she be that young lady?"
"Yes, that's right."
Asuna had already remembered.
Five years ago, there was a widely publicized case suspected to be a kidnapping, and the protagonist was the then eleven-year-old young lady of the Iwanaga family, Kotoko Iwanaga.
Kotoko Iwanaga's family was very wealthy; even within Shuchiin Academy, they were one of the top noble families.
The then eleven-year-old Kotoko suddenly disappeared from her home. Her parents immediately reported it to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. However, even with their full effort, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department couldn't find any clues. Just when the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department was at a loss and didn't know what to do, Kotoko Iwanaga suddenly appeared on a bench in a certain park.
By that time, two weeks had passed since her disappearance, and when Kotoko was found, she had lost her right eye and left leg.
Even more bizarrely, after Kotoko woke up, she claimed she didn't remember anything.
As a young lady from a wealthy family herself, although Asuna had never met Kotoko in person, she had heard about this matter. She didn't expect to actually meet her in this dungeon.
"Since that's the case... then we should protect her even more!"
Asuna thought, how could Kotoko, a disabled girl who has difficulty moving and needs to use a cane to help her walk, survive in such a dangerous dungeon?
"I know you're in a hurry, but don't be."
Asagiri used just one sentence to make Asuna regain her composure.
"Think carefully, a small girl with a disability actually dares to voluntarily sign up for an dungeon. What does this show? It shows she has nothing to fear. Kotoko Iwanaga, as a Player, has either obtained a special class or unlocked a powerful exclusive talent, or possibly both, like me."
--------------------------------------------------------------
Please support my work and gain access to 15 advanced chapters at [email protected]/Dannycifer.