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ArabicAnime Crossover: Tokyo Reincarnation Game — Chapter 49
Chapter 49: The Princess in the White Castle
After a long, quiet moment, Yuuki Asuna finally snapped back to reality. A sudden flush warmed her cheeks as she realized just how intensely she had been staring at him. Peeking at a guy like that was terribly improper. She quickly cleared her throat twice, forcing a mask of casual nonchalance onto her face.
“Ahem. Iwanaga Kotoko just emailed me,” she announced, her voice a pitch higher than usual. “It turns out she lives right here in Tokyo. She sent over her address and said that if we’re free tonight, we can head over to her place to meet.”
“Her place…” Asagiri leaned back, digesting the information. “She’s showing her sincerity.”
Asuna nodded in agreement. Asagiri had previously established a core rule for Players: surviving the Infinite Flow system required an absolutely secure, hidden location to serve as an anchor point before diving into dungeons. Kotoko hadn’t offered to come find them; instead, she had proactively handed over the coordinates to her own home. In this deadly game, that gesture alone carried immense weight.
“Um…” Asuna drifted toward the sofa. She hesitated for a fraction of a second before taking a seat right next to him. Raising a slender hand, she tucked a stray lock of chestnut hair behind her ear, her tone softening. “This Iwanaga Kotoko… she should be trustworthy, right? Her talent makes it practically impossible for her to survive as a lone wolf. And… didn’t she mention it herself? She claimed she fell in love with you at first sight.”
“I already told you, that kind of nonsense doesn’t work on me.”
Asagiri picked up a chilled can of Coca-Cola from the glass coffee table. He popped the tab, downed a long gulp, and then turned his gaze toward her, a faint, dangerous smile playing on his lips.
“Yuuki-san. Tell me, what do you think the actual behavior of liking someone looks like?”
“This…” Asuna faltered. The question struck a massive blind spot in her knowledge. She was the pristine, untouchable heiress of the Yuuki family; she had never actually been in love.
“If I were naive enough to believe a girl truly liked me just because she spouted a few pretty words, I’d be dead by now,” Asagiri stated dryly.
“That’s true. You really aren’t the type to lose your head just because a cute girl throws herself at you.”
“Naturally.” Asagiri’s tone was matter-of-fact. “True affection always manifests in actions, not just cheap talk. Wouldn’t you agree?”
Asuna nodded. “Right.”
“For example,” Asagiri began, his dark eyes locking onto hers, “when every single person in the room is terrified and staying as far away from a certain guy as possible, you actively choose to approach him.”
Asuna nodded obediently, completely missing the snare. “Yes. If you like someone, you’d definitely want to close the distance.”
“Another example. Summoning the courage to actively ask for his contact information.”
Asuna blinked, slightly surprised by his specific examples. “Huh? You sure know a lot about this. Could it be… you’ve actually been in a relationship before?”
Asagiri merely waved a hand, brushing past her question. His amused smile only deepened. “Hold your questions. Let’s look at another example. Going straight to that person’s house and actively cooking meals for him. That is definitely a sign of liking him, right?”
“Definitely,” Asuna replied on pure instinct. “If a girl is running over to a guy’s house just to cook for him, what else could it possibly be besides liking—”
She froze. The words died in her throat.
Asuna looked up and saw Asagiri staring at her, his eyes brimming with wicked interest. The realization hit her like a freight train. Her pristine, pretty face instantly ignited into a brilliant, burning crimson.
Grabbing the nearest throw pillow from the sofa, she smacked it lightly against Asagiri’s shoulder.
“You… you… you set me up!” she stammered, caught somewhere between overwhelming shyness and sheer embarrassment.
“Did I?” Asagiri didn’t even flinch, his smirk unyielding. “Weren’t you the one who just agreed with my entire premise?”
“You…!”
Asuna was completely speechless. She felt like a steam engine on the verge of a catastrophic meltdown.
But as her mind raced, she couldn’t deny the logic. Wasn’t that exactly what had happened? Approaching him when the rest of the school treated him like a plague. Asking for his number. Standing in his kitchen, cooking his meals.
Were those really the actions of a girl in love?
“I… I’m going to sleep!”
Unable to meet his gaze for even a second longer, Asuna shot up from the sofa. She bolted straight for the guest room, slamming the door shut and twisting the lock with a sharp click.
Leaning her back against the cool wood of the door, she slowly raised a trembling hand to her chest. Beneath her fingertips, her heart was hammering a frantic, violent rhythm against her ribs.
“I…” she murmured into the empty room, her voice barely a whisper. “So I don’t actually dislike Iwanaga Kotoko… So… this tight, awful feeling… is this what they call jealousy…?”
Later that evening, the neon glow of Tokyo painted the night sky.
“No way… this… this is Iwanaga Kotoko’s house?”
Stepping out of the taxi, both Asuna and Asagiri stood on the pavement, staring up at the sprawling, fortress-like mansion looming before them. Even Asagiri looked momentarily taken aback.
Asuna came from a world of extreme wealth. The sprawling villa she shared with her parents was a veritable palace in the eyes of any ordinary citizen. Yet, standing in the shadow of this pristine white castle, her own home suddenly felt quaint.
And this was situated directly within the Tokyo metropolitan area.
To construct a luxurious, independent, European-style castle right in the heart of the city, buying out the land so that no other buildings stood within a multi-kilometer radius… the sheer scale of the Iwanaga family’s financial empire was genuinely terrifying.
“Please come in. The young lady is waiting for you inside.”
A young woman dressed in a careful, traditional maid uniform bowed gracefully, gesturing toward the heavy iron gates. Following her lead, Asagiri and Asuna began the long walk up the manicured estate grounds toward the white castle.
“Iwanaga’s house… is ridiculously huge…” Asuna whispered, leaning slightly closer to Asagiri.
“If I hadn’t obtained that specific item, I wouldn’t have agreed to meet her here,” Asagiri replied, his voice dropping to a cool, measured murmur.
Asuna blinked, confused for a split second before the realization dawned on her. That item. He was talking about the Hourglass of Reversal.
“You… you think Iwanaga might have set up an ambush for us here?”
“The probability is low, but it’s never zero,” Asagiri stated flatly, his eyes scanning the perimeter with predatory focus. “I can’t fully trust her yet. What if she already knows the hidden rule? The one where killing other Players and taking their phones grants you a random draw of their items or equipment. She could have deliberately arranged this meeting right after we cleared the dungeon, hired a hit squad, and wiped us out. If that happened, it would all be over.”
He paused, his tone shifting slightly as he analyzed the variables.
“However, Iwanaga Kotoko possesses a highly potent exclusive talent. More than that, her mindset, her intellect, her judgment—every metric meets my exact standards for a teammate. Taking the calculated risk of burning that item just to verify if she is truly trustworthy… I consider that an acceptable trade.”
Asuna looked at his sharp profile, a complex mixture of awe and melancholy swirling in her chest. She let out a soft, quiet sigh.
“You really are cautious to a fault. It seems the only person in this world you will ever absolutely trust is yourself…”
“No. Two.”
Asagiri cut her off smoothly. He turned his head, a faint, genuine smile breaking through his usual cold exterior.
“I trust myself. And I trust Yuuki Asuna exactly as much as I trust myself.”