One afternoon, I invited Aoi-chan to my room to see if we could play the online game we used to play back home using the console I had received from Shiro-san.
Meanwhile, Hina-chan had gone to visit Sky-san, as she had no interest in netgames.
"Let's see if it even shows up... Oh, there it is. The title’s right here... Looks like we’re in luck."
"The flow of time is supposed to be different between our worlds, so I wonder how time passes when you play an online game like this? Then again, the fact that Aoi-chan and I were even able to return to the exact moment we were summoned... Well, it's the work of an Almighty God. No amount of thinking is going to give me an answer."
"Yeah. Honestly, it's probably better not to think too deeply about it... Let's see, select the game... Oh, wow, I can choose between a keyboard or a controller. This thing is incredibly high-spec. Wait, though... we can't play together, can we? There's only one console."
The black box of a console Shiro-san had given me was an absurdly high-performance piece of hardware. Just touching it brought up a list of playable games, complete with robust search and genre-sorting functions. It even manifested the appropriate controllers for whatever game was selected.
However, regardless of whether a game supported multiplayer, I figured it would be impossible for Aoi-chan and me to play an online game—typically a single-player setup per machine—at the same time.
(That is not a problem. If you touch the main body and visualize it, the console itself will duplicate. Note that any duplicated consoles will automatically vanish after one day.)
Oh, so it had a feature like that, too? That was a lifesaver.
"...Aoi-chan, Shiro-san just let me know that while there’s a time limit, we can actually duplicate the unit. It looks like we'll be able to play together after all."
"Really?! That’s wonderful! Honestly, I thought taking turns was going to be the best we could do, so that’s a huge relief!"
I found it heartening to see Aoi-chan so visibly excited. Following Shiro-san's instructions, I focused my mind, and a second unit appeared. I handed it over to Aoi-chan.
Come to think of it, this game usually required downloading a client and applying patches before it would run. I wondered how the console was handling that.
"...I wonder if this thing even needs to install the client?"
"Wait a second... Oh, it launched normally just by entering my ID and password. It looks like it's already fully updated to the latest patch, too."
"I see. Then we should be able to jump right in... Now, my ID and password were... if I remember right..."
It had been a while, so my memory was a bit fuzzy, but I managed to get it right. My old account successfully logged in.
"Oh, this brings back memories. Hey, my character is still here."
"It really is nostalgic. Shell-san's character... I never forgot him, but seeing him again after all this time is really moving. Or rather—I guess it makes sense, but you're still a Second Class."
"Third Classes hadn't even been implemented yet when I stopped playing."
"They have Fourth Jobs now, you know."
"What? Seriously?! Wow... I'm completely in an Urashima Taro State..."
While I was feeling sentimental looking at my old character, Aoi-chan's excitement was on another level entirely.
She usually maintained a fairly cool and composed image, but right now she was beaming. Her sheer joy at the prospect of playing this game with me again was written all over her face.
Perhaps her excitement had made her lose track of her personal space, because when she leaned over to peek at my monitor, her face was so close to mine that we were practically touching. She didn't seem to notice at all.
"Kaito-san! Hurry, let's play! Hurry!"
"Ahaha, alright... Let's see, the last place I logged out was..."
"Oh, that city! I'll head there right away!"
Watching Aoi-chan smile like a child was truly adorable. In a way, it made me feel guilty all over again for having quit the game entirely.
Back then, I hadn't realized she would miss our time together so much. I found myself thinking—though it was far too late now—that I should have come back to the game once I had more free time after starting university.
Well, since we had this rare opportunity, I decided I would spend as much time as possible playing with her today.
Serious-senpai: "...She's often overlooked because her appearances are sparse, but Aoi's specs as a heroine are actually top-tier. She’s got the rare younger-member slot, the junior attribute, long black hair, and she’s kept her first love buried in her heart all this time... She's a heavy hitter."