Why did Hikigaya save the anime girls in Sword Story?

"I feel bad about this. I answered the phone and told Sister Yang Nao not to bully you. This is for the safety of Asuna and me, not for yours. Don't get me wrong. Do you understand? No misunderstandings allowed!"

"Ah... um... thank you..."

Hachiman rudely took the phone and answered the call.

"Ah~ I forgot to tell you, bullying this guy is forbidden. Why? Because his information concerns the peace of Asuna and me."

Haruno's shouting was heard from the other end of the phone, and Hachiman hung up immediately.

"How dare you treat the boss like that?"

"Well, I'm used to it."

“Can you get used to this?”

"As long as there's no actual problem, please let me know if you have any information."

"That's right!"

"Ok?"

Rose suddenly cried out, remembering something. Under Hachiman's puzzled gaze, she began to explain:

"Actually, I asked you to pass on the secret code because I wanted to pass on the information I obtained as quickly as possible."

"Hey, isn't this the most important thing?! Why didn't you say it earlier?!"

"I'm sorry, I don't have many friends. It's rare to have someone I can chat with easily, so I'm really happy."

"I know, I know. Let's get to the point."

Hachiman, who couldn't bear to watch any longer, urged.

"I don't know if it's important information, but I'll leave it to you to judge. I've had almost no contact with Laughing Coffin anymore, but yesterday I was on the phone with the former members of the Titan's Hand (I still have some contact with them) and heard a rumor—of course, they're definitely not involved in any bad things, don't worry—that someone among the Laughing Coffin executives is about to start playing the new game, GGO."

ALO: Chapter 16: Er Yi Umbrella Wu (〥~七) 93?2〝Chapter 4 GGO

"GGO?"

Yawata chewed over the unfamiliar abbreviation, having no impression of the name at all, and asked Qiangwei for a more detailed explanation.

"I've never heard of it. What kind of game is it?"

Qiangwei took out her phone and turned it towards him. On the screen was the dark blue interface of the "The Seed" forum. "I saw a hot post in the developer discussion area yesterday. It's said that this is the first FPS game to be released based on the "The Seed" specifications."

Her slender fingers slid across the touchpad, calling up a concept image - an avatar wearing tactical goggles and holding an avant-garde gun, with a cyberpunk-style neon billboard floating in the background.

"FPS..." Hachiman's Adam's apple rolled up and down, his right index finger unconsciously rubbing the tabletop to simulate pulling the trigger. "In a VR environment, it will indeed become a first-person perspective game. But how far can the recoil feedback system go when using the neural link device for somatosensory shooting? Any other information on this game?"

Hearing Hachiman's question, Rose pondered for a moment and then replied:

"I'm sorry, I'm not very familiar with this kind of information, but Mr. Zaimokuza might know more details."

"Is that so? I'll try to talk to him later. By the way, is Zaimokuza adapting well here?"

Seeing Hachiman's slightly worried expression, Rose smiled and replied:

"At least I've never heard anyone say anything bad about him."

"is it?"

Seeing Hachiman's obvious relief, Rose asked with a smile:

"So you're so worried about Zaimokuza-san?"

"Stupid, idiot! How could I possibly worry about that guy! He just wasn't good at socializing before, so I was a little concerned, that's all."

"You were so panicked that you blurted it out. You even admitted you were worried just now."

"You're hallucinating."

Hachiman turned his face away and denied it bluntly. Rose suppressed a laugh and continued:

"Zaimokuza-san looks older than his years and is usually taciturn, but he always answers questions seriously, and everyone has a good opinion of him."

"That's it"

(Doesn't looking mature just mean he looks older? Being taciturn is just the same as always, and his so-called serious answers are just nervous, long-winded explanations. Is this just the disguise of a working person?)

Hachiman nodded in agreement, but inwardly he was grumbling. However, when he saw Yoshiki, surrounded by his "natural enemies," and responding fluently without flinching when approached, he was secretly impressed.

"That guy has really grown a lot compared to before."

"Although I don't know what he was like in the past, he's completely fine now. You can rest assured."

"I wasn't worried in the first place."

"You've been full of contradictions since just now."

After the two of them observed Yoshiki silently for a moment, Hachiman stood up and said goodbye:

"It's almost time to go back. Thanks for the important information."

Qiangwei nodded in response, and finally couldn't help asking:

"You don't want to play GGO, do you?"

"Who knows? We can't completely rule out the possibility, but it's more interesting to hear about it, isn't it?"

"Although there shouldn't be any danger, the opponent is that person after all, so we still have to be careful."

Hachiman suddenly burst out laughing.

"what's so funny!"

"Sorry, sorry. I didn't expect you to worry about me. It feels a little funny."

"I, I also worry about other people's well-being!"

"I see. Thank you. See you later, Rose."

"Um...bye, Hachiman."

After watching Qiangwei leave, Hachiman walked towards Yoshiki and silently said "Come on" in his heart.

"It's a lively conversation."

"Hachiman-kun!"

"Hachiman! Why did you abandon me?!"

Asuna was about to run towards Hachiman, but Yoshiteru intercepted her. Seeing the two of them arm in arm, Asuna stepped back, hands behind her back, and watched the scene with a smile.

"Zaimokuza, you can actually communicate normally with girls, but..." Hachiman leaned close to Yoshiki's ear and whispered, "These are all your nemesis from high school. I didn't expect you to be able to handle them so well. You're amazing."

"I'm growing up too, Hachiman! I'm more surprised that you've gotten along so well with this group of people, especially that one..."

"Ah~ Well, you'll get used to it."

"Are you used to it? It turns out running away won't solve any problems."

“Understanding this is progress.”

"Really, really?"

"of course."

The two smiled at each other. Seeing that they had almost finished their conversation, the crowd, led by Asuna, gathered around again. Taking advantage of the good atmosphere, Hachiman pretended to casually mention GGO.

"By the way, when I was looking up information about The Seed, I saw a game called GGO. Do you know anything about it?"

Asuna froze for a moment, but immediately changed her expression to one of curiosity. She seemed to be listening intently to Yoshiki's explanation, but her heart was churning with thoughts:

(Hachiman-kun was definitely trying to deflect attention just now! He didn't seem guilty, but he definitely had a clear motive, like protecting me or something? He might be overly self-aware, but let's wait and see what happens. GGO... what secrets does this game have?)

"GGO stands for Gun Gale Online. As Hachiman mentioned, it's an FPS." Yoshiki pushed his glasses up. "It's unique in that the game currency can be exchanged for real money, there's a free PVP system, and there are various tournaments. Perhaps this sense of excitement meets the needs of today's society."

(It's hard to understand just by listening to the description, but it's definitely the type they like. It seems I need to create a character and conduct an infiltration investigation.)

Hachiman secretly made up his mind.

Asuna stared at Hachiman's profile: (I don't know what you're going to do, but please don't do anything dangerous.)

After the party, Hachiman took Asuna back to the dormitory and mentioned it when the car was parked:

"Regarding GGO..."

"Hmm?" Asuna paused as she unbuckled the seat belt, and the leather material made a slight friction sound.

"It's hard to say right now. It might just be groundless worry. If there really is a problem, I'll tell you in detail then."

"I understand." Asuna smiled, her fingers twirling the hem of her skirt. "But Hachiman actually noticed my reaction instantly." She pointed to her left eye. "Even though I'm not wearing contact lenses."

"I'm very sensitive to Asuna's gaze."

Asuna showed a complex expression of both joy and worry:

"Promise me you won't take any risks."

"I promise not to."

Seeing Hachiman nodding readily, Asuna kissed his cheek lightly:

"Good night then, and thanks for taking me back!"

"Well, see you tomorrow."

Watching Asuna walk into the dormitory, Hachiman kept thinking about the GGO on the way back. In the rearview mirror, his eyes gradually became sharper - a major decision had been made.

ALO : Chapter 165: Following Klein's Date

"Sorry for the wait~"

"I'm so sorry to bother you on my day off, Sister Yang Nai, but having said that, this car is amazing."

"It's okay, I'm quite interested too. As for the car, I chose the fastest model just like you asked!"

On this day, Hachiman specifically called Haruno to be his driver as a condition for lifting the previous order of "no contact with Asuna" that he had given her.

By the way, today's members are Hachiman, Asuna, and Yukino.

Yukino, who had been staring at the car, suddenly tugged gently at the sleeves of Hachiman and Asuna. It seemed that she had something to say to them.

"Yukino, what's wrong?"

"You two better be prepared. My sister actually brought this car out. It means she's serious this time."

"Is it really that exaggerated?"

Yukino's face turned slightly pale as she answered this question.

"This car is called a Transam, and it has a displacement of six liters. My sister will seriously race to compete with Takizawa-sensei. Can you imagine the consequences?"

"Six liters..."

"But if Yang Nai-sister is driving, it should be fine, yes, it's definitely fine."

"There's no need to worry about accidents. The problem lies in the inertia during acceleration and cornering."

“I don’t quite understand, but is it really that scary?”

"Well, so it's better to prepare yourself mentally in advance."

The two nodded repeatedly at Yukino's words. As for what was going on today—

In fact, a few days ago, it was finally Klein (Ryotaro Tsuboi) and Takizawa's turn to go on a date. Hachiman and his group, worried about them, tried to follow them in their car, but Shizuka easily outshone them. It was a complete crushing defeat.

Hachiman could only barely keep up with the other person in the city. Although he drove properly, he was still a novice after all. By the way, the date that day was a failure in a sense.

After the first meeting, it was discovered that Takizawa, who was being followed, accelerated the moment he left the city, and after a few turns, he sped away to a very far place.

But even so, Ryotaro seemed very happy. It was said that the two had a great conversation in the car, and their relationship was indeed much closer than before. Today was the second rescheduled date.

"Hmm~ I haven't driven this car in a while, but if I were to fight Ms. Takizawa, this is the only car I have at home that can handle it."

“It is true”

After Yukino nodded to Haruno, she added something shocking:

"By the way, this car is equipped with artificial intelligence and can talk."

“Hey hey!?”

"My name is KIMI"