Is the person you sculpt as cute as me?

The same is true for Xiaolu and Yu Man.

"I've seen enough snow today. It's time to return to reality and see the flowers and the sun." It was Yu Man who spoke. "I can't let down the morning tea that your family has taken the trouble to prepare."

"Well, then... let's log off. I'm going to play Triple Crown."

Yu Man smiled and thought that it would take a while before she could pass the message to it.

……

When you take off the device, a natural waking feeling gently awakens your body and mind.

It’s like the soul has returned from a journey, and the body is full of energy.

"call……"

Yu Man heard the sound of a girl breathing beside his ear.

I didn't need to look back to know that the eldest daughter of this villa had quietly taken advantage of the offline time and sneaked into the guest room... Alas.

The reality feels no different from a game...but to the soul there is a strange sense of beauty. Is it because the days have become warmer?

No, that's just the body temperature of the girl beside me...

There are also words that are exhaled with the breath, as if they are written in reality.

"We temporarily left the same dream and met again in reality."

"Are you a poet too?" Yu Man asked with a smile.

"Not bad, although I can't reach the level of your father, I am somewhat confident in my literary talent."

"Then why is your game ID Jianduilulu..."

Her confidence was gone, and she just laughed dryly for a while before immediately using a powerful counterattack: "You are just an eel, and you still have the nerve to say that to me..."

Also.

Nothing would force them to get out of bed, but the words so close to them made them stay a little longer.

In the warmth of the quilt in reality that is worth coveting.

Well - something still forces them.

"Meow!" is the triple crown winner.

It cut in sharply, jumped off Yu Man's clothes on the bedside table, and flew to the pillows of the two of them.

The claws slapped Yu Man's forehead mercilessly, and he meowed non-stop.

"Hey, you hit me so early in the morning?"

“…Meow meow meow!”

Alas, Senior Cat, I understand what you mean.

The cat who cannot play games wants to know whether the offspring he once raised are working hard for him.

"But, let's go have breakfast first."

"......Meow~" The angry meow suddenly turned into soft and submissive.

……

After a wonderful breakfast, they did not return to the old world.

The deer is captured by a housekeeping robot, seemingly to be fed something flammable to prevent it from getting angry. Yu Man takes the opportunity to use the excuse of bathing the cat and takes the cat senior into the bathroom, a perfect place for whispering and plotting.

Of course, I took a shower by the way.

Afterwards, Yu Man soaked in the bathtub, and Senior Cat acted as recklessly as a little kid in a swimming pool.

"So, Xiaoman, how are you progressing?" she asked, slapping the water with her tail.

"How should I put it..."

Yu Man explained to Senior Cat the permafrost of Shimlabakken and her speculation about the Ice Dragon's main storyline. As a seasoned player herself, she naturally understood the key points.

"The difficulty of the main city is inconsistent... The real second round is really difficult. It seems that it was caused by your landing in Shimlabakken..." Senior Cat swam gently to Yu Man's side, "Because you are too powerful, the Old World took action to limit your development speed."

Dynamic difficulty...Isn't that what you think?

But Mr. Cat was wrong about one thing, this is not a real second round.

But - the third round.

"Xiao Man, what you mean is... you didn't complete the first round, but the second round, which has been made more difficult."

"Well, that was supposed to be prepared for you—so, now it's the third round with super-intensified difficulty... right?"

Yu Man couldn't use ice magic, but he was able to scoop up water with his hands and pounce on the thoughtful cat.

The latter looked helpless and gave up arguing with humans.

But he still cared about the game: "So, the level you passed... is much more difficult than mine..." Senior Cat was not motivated by a desire to win, but was secretly sighing.

He tricked himself into turning into a cat, lost his entry into the second round, and thus wandered around the world.

And even now he can still retain his memories, and they haven't been reset like the world... Is it because Yu Man has completed the game, or... Because his ticket was not used, so it can be retained?

Forget it. The more I think about it, the more uncomfortable I feel. I won’t think about it anymore.

Unable to play the game, she could only lick her fur helplessly, trying to calm down.

She changed the subject: "Xiao Man, I won't get involved if I can't help you with the Ice Dragon strategy... But, have you finished your soul weapon? What skills did you gain?"

Soul weapon?

Ah, there’s this one too.

Senior Cat looked at Yu Man's expression and couldn't help but ask, "Haven't you mastered the specialization yet? Didn't you just hear you say you were almost there... After a whole night, wouldn't it be easy to master it?"

"That's enough. I cleared a 5.1 raid and got a lot of specializations... but I immediately entered the Ice Sea main quest and forgot about this..." The most important thing is that I was called away by the game administrator in the middle of the process. There were really a lot of things to do.

"...Now... we can... clear the 5.1 raid?!" Senior Cat was so shocked she forgot to tread water and nearly sank into the tub. After a moment, she gurgled and surfaced, "Just go and fight the Ice Dragon alone. You can definitely do it. Forget about the plot."

Yu Man played with her hair and said cheerfully, "If you keep being so rude, I won't send you any more messages... messages from 'lies'."

Senior Cat was so scared that his ears popped out, and a combat mode naturally appeared.

Just hearing the title was enough for her to do so.

"What did he...say to you..." Senior Cat asked timidly, feeling like a parent going to a parent-teacher meeting while he was alone at home, sitting restlessly, wondering if he would be criticized by the teacher.

"One of the Three Secrets, He who controls 'lies', asks the one who has passed the level, 'Going Against All Things'... How do you wish to return to the old world?"

088·The sedimentation is over!

However, the question actually asked this way—

"Does she want to come back, or does she want to become human again?"

After Yu Man repeated the story word for word, Senior Cat floated in the bathtub and fell into a brief silence.

The cat and the girl's voices stopped temporarily, leaving only the mist rising from the warmth.

And there was also the sound of ripples on the water as Yu Man gently stirred it, or the splash of water dripping from the ends of her hair.

Senior Cat swam gently to Yu Man's hand, climbed up her arm, and stood on the edge of the bathtub with exquisite balance.

Because it requires full consideration of the problem.

This is equivalent to her life and her destiny.

But soon, the person being asked gave an answer.

"Neither."

"Don't want anything?" Yu Man asked.

"Well, judging by that guy's bad behavior, this question has a lot of pitfalls."

After saying that, Senior Cat habitually wanted to shake off the water, but stopped halfway. He was just happy that Man instinctively narrowed his eyes.

"Just shake it off if you want to... Are you kidding me?" Yu Man was not splashed with anything, but he couldn't help but complain with a half-joking smile.

"Hmm!" Senior Cat said, "I learned that from that 'Lie' guy. That big talker who always loves to create all kinds of problems with his hypocrisy—now he's definitely trying to rip me off."

Yu Man is not very clear about the stories of these "three secrets" because her method of completing them is different.

But since Senior Cat is so sure, there must be a very long and profound story.

Senior Cat leaped into the bathtub and with a "splash" sound, a lot of water splashed up.

What also surfaced again were her smiling words.

"That guy is still holding a grudge, haha, but I won't be fooled so easily."

"Then how should I answer?" Yu Man did not give any advice or help analyze the situation and details.

Because——this is Cat-senpai’s own life.

At this time, if she needs it, I will do my best to help.

But - she should... also have the ability to decide her own life and future.

"Reply like this: 'If you wish to challenge me again, I will await the invitation to a duel.'"

“…Is that all?”

"Well, that's enough."

Yu Man nodded, carefully noting Senior Cat's answer. Although she didn't know the story between Senior Cat and "lie" and couldn't make any comments, she could still pass on their message.

And, I am happy to do it.

"Then, His Excellency, 'Go Against All Things'..."

"...Alas, that guy also told you this title."

"Is this the ID you got during your second year?"

Senior Cat shook her head, licked it lightly with her little red tongue, and said with nostalgia: "No, it's just irony." After saying that, she thought of something, so she swam quickly to Yu Man and gently touched her with her paw: "Where's Xiaoman, what's the title?"

"I'm not a professional player, so I don't have such a shameful nickname..."

"There are some that aren't professional, the kind that...are spread among players, or among the residents of the Old World..."

Yu Man shook her head and said no.

But when the cat-senpai's ears drooped in disappointment, the girl's slightly nostalgic voice was heard.

"But in the end, the other party addressed me in Old World language like this—"

"The only one who doesn't embrace time"

Senior Cat was stunned.

Yu Man added, "That's how the word is written and pronounced in Old World... but its meaning is 'lonely person.' It expresses the ultimate... the highest level of loneliness."

"...Wait, Xiaoman, the last person you said to be called that...was..."

"Well, the end of the old world—that guy who existed there."

Unconsciously, Yu Man felt her skin getting slightly colder, and the temperature of the hot water in the pool had faded.

"So, I don't know how to tell you my nickname, so I'll just use 'The Lonely One (The One Who Only Doesn't Embrace Time)'. It also fits my lone wolf gameplay in the first game..."

She gently brushed away the loose hair that had blended with the water and left the warmth of the bathtub.

Walking back to the real world where the winter has not yet faded.

……

The cats and people were all clean, but the deer didn't know what he had done, so he was punished to help the housekeeping robot... He had no status as the owner of the house, but he was very harmonious.

Yu Man and Senior Cat sat in a row in the sunny courtyard, basking in the precious warm morning sun.

There are also shows to watch——

That is the scene of a deer wearing a mask and housekeeping gloves, following the housekeeping robot, catching and killing cockroaches.

"Don't complain. Kill a bunch of cockroaches at the beginning of the year, and you won't be scared all year long."