A newbie's anime life diary

"OK, good night."

After watching Hikigaya go upstairs, Yukiteru let out a breath. He first picked up Ruri and Mina, who were lying dead, and carried them back to a room upstairs to settle them in. Then he put on a coat and went to the woods in front of the villa, where there was already some snow.

Half an hour later, Xuehui, who was waiting, finally heard footsteps approaching.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, Yukiteru-kun."

"It's nothing, it's just a rare treat to enjoy the snow like this, it's quite nice." Turning around, Yukiteru looked at Saeko Busujima, dressed in a purple kimono and holding a Muramasa sword, and said with a somewhat helpless expression, "Does Christmas Eve always have to be like this?"

"This is something I've been looking forward to for a long time. I don't think Yukiteru-kun will refuse."

As she spoke, Saeko Busujima slowly drew her Muramasa sword from its sheath, straightened her posture, and pointed the blade at Yukiteru.

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Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Crab is so delicious, burp~~~~~~~

Chapter 261 Night Raid?

Saeko Busujima went to the hot spring with the girls, but she came out a little early.

The others, still soaking in the hot spring, simply assumed that Saeko Busujima didn't like crowds. After all, she was usually quite polite and mostly just watched quietly with a smile.

However, at this moment, Yukino had a bad feeling in her heart.

Turning her head to look at Isayama Yomi, who was closing her eyes on the other side, Yukino thought for a moment and then asked, "Isayama-senpai, does Busujima-senpai not like soaking in hot springs?"

Upon hearing Yukino's question, Yomi Isayama sighed inwardly. She knew that Yukino had already sensed something.

Opening her eyes and smoothing her slightly damp long hair, she replied, "No, it's just that I have something to do. Although I don't think it makes any sense, Saeko-nee's possessiveness is very strong, and that alone is enough to seal the deal."

“…I understand.” Yukino nodded, ending the conversation with a series of short sentences, and calmed down again.

Yuihama and Komachi didn't quite understand the conversation, but Utaha and the others did. Even Eriri and Haruno guessed something, and their expressions were a little strange.

Is this guy really that popular?

It's not so much about whether she's popular or not, but mostly due to Saeko Busujima's personality. As the daughter of a samurai family, she learned swordsmanship from a young age and grew up under the tutelage of the great master Ryougi Shiki, so she has extremely high standards.

In recent years, she has reached the age where she needs to choose a partner, but because her standards are so high, she looks down on men of her own generation who are far less capable than herself, and as for those much older than her...

With Ryougi Shiki around, they wouldn't stoop to such a level.

So Saeko Busujima remained single until Yukiteru appeared.

To be honest, at the beginning, Saeko Busujima didn't think much of Yukiteru's strength; he was just a bit talented. As for the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception, Saeko Busujima had trained under Ryougi Shiki's guidance for 10 years and already knew them very well, so she had no fear of them.

However, what happened next surprised Saeko Busujima; Yukiteru's growth rate was simply too fast. In September, when Yukiteru returned, she learned from Ryougi Shiki that Yukiteru's strength had increased dramatically, even surpassing Saeko Busujima's.

Hearing such words from her boss didn't make her feel particularly disappointed; instead, she felt excited.

After waiting for so long, a male peer who is capable of being defeated and is also good in all aspects has finally appeared.

Unfortunately, Yukiteru confessed his feelings to Yukino first.

Then, step by step, Yukiteru's relationships with the girls around him changed, and they became closer. This made Saeko Busujima very unhappy, after all, she was very possessive. Not to mention Yukino and the others, even when Ryougi Mina said she wanted to marry Yukiteru in the future, she had thought about not letting her succeed.

However, it was obviously unrealistic to try to snatch Yukiteru away from Yukino and the others. Saeko Busujima's pride also prevented her from doing anything excessive, so she kept putting off her plans and reduced the frequency with which she appeared in front of Yukiteru.

Today, she knows this is one of her few remaining opportunities.

About 15 minutes after Saeko Busujima left, everyone else finished their baths, changed into yukatas, and came out, ready to go upstairs to their rooms to chat and then rest.

As they walked from the back of the villa into the living room and prepared to go upstairs, they saw Xuehui standing alone by the window, holding a teacup.

After looking around, Yukino didn't go over. Instead, she led Utaha and the others upstairs, leaving Yomi Isayama alone, and walked towards Yukiteru.

"it's over?"

Xuehui nodded and replied, "Yeah, it's over. Saeko-nee almost got her way."

"...Can't you give her a chance?" Isayama Yomi was clearly feeling sorry for her best friend.

“Some things can’t be forced, Huangquan-jie, you understand that, right?” With a sigh, Xuehui turned to look at her and said, “Saeko-jie is indeed a very good girl, very suitable to marry as a wife, but there’s nothing I can do. I already have too many ties around me, and this is an irreconcilable conflict with Saeko-jie’s possessiveness.”

"Ha... I understand, but I don't want your relationship with Saeko-nee to become strained like this."

"Don't worry, this is something that she and I agreed on a long time ago."

"Where is she?"

Looking upstairs, Xuehui replied, "He's in his room."

"Then I'll go keep her company. You should get some rest too."

"I know, goodnight."

After Isayama Yomi left, Yukiteru stayed alone for a while, then turned off the living room light and went upstairs to his room. When he arrived at the second-floor hallway, he saw that there was still light coming out of the room diagonally opposite, and he could faintly hear conversations.

"It's Christmas Eve tonight. Looks like you're still pretty excited even though you've had a few drinks."

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2 points in the early hours.

In the dimly lit room, Eriri suddenly trembled, then felt a little short of breath and opened her eyes.

After getting used to the room, she found that her face was being pressed against a soft object, and the culprit that was making it difficult for her to breathe was Kasumigaoka Utaha, who was sleeping next to her.

"Ugh... I don't want face wash!"

Although she felt some resentment towards the other person's behavior, she was glad that she didn't intend to wake them up. After gradually breaking free from Shiyu's embrace, Eriri sat up.

On the big bed, there were not only her and Shiyu, but also Sister Xiaojing and Xiaoting. The four of them were lying on the big bed, crowded together.

"No wonder I didn't sleep well at all, um... and I have a bit of a headache. I think I drank some water before bed." Eriri groggily left the room, clutching her head.

Feeling much better, Eriri left the bathroom, ready to go back to sleep. But suddenly, she saw another room—the one where Yukiteru was resting.

Eriri was immediately caught in a dilemma. In the end, after recalling the crowded bed, she decided to go check on Yukiteru first, and then sleep in another room later if necessary.

Eriri tiptoed to Yukiteru's door, slowly opened it, and poked her head inside.

Then, under the cover of night, she saw the figure sleeping in the blankets on the bed.

Swallowing hard, Eriri walked over step by step, her trembling slightly.

Chapter 262 Wow! Is that so bold?

In the dimly lit room, only Yukiteru's steady breathing and Eriri's barely audible movement in her slippers could be heard.

Finally, Eriri arrived at Yukiteru's bedside as if she had overcome countless difficulties.

The snow outside has stopped, and under the dim light of the night, Eriri can barely make out Yukiteru's face.

Hmm, vaguely.

Eriri is nearsighted. She didn't wear her glasses when she got up at night before, or rather, she didn't know where she had lost them.

'Aaaaaah! Why am I nearsighted?!'

Isn't this all because you played games excessively when you were a kid?

Ignoring the inner monologue, Eriri took a deep breath, braced herself on the edge of the bed, and slowly knelt down, her face flushed as she moved closer to the bed.

Closer, closer, closer and closer...

Ah, I can finally see it clearly!

In my sight, Xuehui was sleeping peacefully with his eyes closed, his mouth slightly open from time to time.

With her chin resting on her hands, Eriri gazed at him, muttering softly to herself, "This seems to be the first time I've seen Yukiteru-kun asleep. It's quite interesting. He's been very busy lately. The company seems to have set up its office space in the last few days and will start recruiting after the New Year. I wonder how much time he'll have left for school then? Hmm, he should come back, since Yukino is at school too... Haha..."

However, Eriri's expression turned somber when she thought of Yukiteru's several close female friends. She had finally mustered the courage to let go of her childhood friend with whom she had been entangled for many years, a relationship she should have known had no future, only to find herself trapped in another strange cycle.

"Yukiteru-kun, what do you really think of me? Do you think I'm a bad girl? I just broke things off with you, and now I'm stuck by your side, even with Yukino and the others around..."

Eriri didn't know what was wrong with her. She knew it wasn't right, but she still couldn't help wanting to get closer to him.

Was it because he saved him before?

Perhaps that's part of the reason, but more likely it's because of the long time they've spent together that Eriri has unconsciously become infatuated with it.

I enjoy drawing, and so does this guy; he even designed and illustrated his own light novels. Later, when he asked me to adapt a manga, I was surprised to find that he also knew about that, especially storyboarding, which was a huge help to me.

Later on, he even handled the animation's opening and ending themes himself. And now, he's even started working on a real virtual stealth game.

Eriri even asked him, "What else can you do?"

Of course, this was all a joke. Eriri actually knew that he had been reading books in his spare time to prepare for the game production, and he had already read almost three books in just one month.

Eriri agrees with the idea of ​​working tirelessly towards one's goals and striving to improve one's shortcomings.

And today, or rather last night, his Christmas gift to himself was actually two manga scripts and simple character designs, which really touched Eriri.

Eriri is good at drawing, but storytelling isn't her forte. What she initially thought was just something Yukiteru casually mentioned turned out to be something he'd actually remembered and completed for her—two parts, no less!

Eriri had always been worried that the Sword Art Online manga would eventually be finished, and what would she do if she couldn't come up with another great manga then?

Looking for partners? In her mind, the only people she could partner with were Xuehui and Shiyu.

However, both of them are very busy. Xuehui has a lot of things to do, and Shiyu is about to take her college entrance exams, plus she has her own new novel to write, so she may not have time.

Even so, Xuehui still remembered what happened on his side, and even said when giving him the gift that he could continue to cooperate with him if he was willing.

"Seriously, how come you're so good at flirting with girls?"

Recalling the scene when Yukiteru spoke to her earlier, Eriri's face flushed an alluring red once again.

Gradually, she became quite engrossed in watching.

As Yukiteru breathed, Eriri's eyelids began to droop.

"Ugh... Ah~~~ I'm sleepy, let's go back to sleep."

Just as Eriri was about to stand up, she suddenly realized that the bed in the room had already been occupied by three people.

Turning our attention back to Yukiteru, Eriri suddenly had a bold idea.