Player Town.
Dawn had just broken, and the entire town was already bustling with activity.
Countless new players from the second beta logged in early. Having shaken off their initial confusion from the first day, they were now bursting with energy on day two. They rushed out of the town in groups, heading to various parts of the forest to grind monsters, level up, and explore the newly unlocked fifty-kilometer map. The air was filled with the lively clamor of players shouting for party members.
At this moment, around the Temple Square.
“Little Chinatsu, over here, over here!”
Energetic Foxfox stood on her tiptoes, waving her arms toward the crowd. Her voice was full of excitement, and her pink hair swayed with her movements.
In the crowd, a young girl was looking around curiously.
She had soft, neat, short purple hair with a fluffy ahoge sticking up on top. Her orange eyes were large and bright, and her delicate, small face featured meticulously adjusted soft, cute features that made her look pure and adorable.
Her game ID was Chinatsu's Song.
Hearing the shout, she looked over and blanked for a moment. After squinting to confirm the ID above the other girl's head, her eyes curved into crescents, and she let out a sweet, soft smile. “Sister Foxfox!”
“You're finally here! I was worried sick!”
Energetic Foxfox quickly jogged over, puffing out her cheeks in a mock pout. “Speak! Why did you only log into the game just now? I didn't see you all day yesterday!”
“Ara ara~ I'm sorry.” Chinatsu's Song stuck out her pink tongue and lightly poked her own cheek with her fingertip, attempting to act cute to get off the hook.
“You know how it is. I'm still a student, and my gaming pod is just the basic model. It's totally normal for it to lag occasionally.”
“Is that so?” Energetic Foxfox narrowed her eyes at her, her face full of suspicion. “Lagging for an entire day? I don't buy it.”
“Uh... Actually, I forgot yesterday, and I overslept...”
Chinatsu's Song scratched her head sheepishly, her ahoge swaying along with her head.
Her face was already customized to look soft and adorable, and with this blank expression, she looked exactly like a kitten that had made a mistake, making it impossible for anyone to stay mad at her.
How could Energetic Foxfox resist this? She immediately surrendered on the spot.
She reached out and pulled the girl into her arms, using her other hand to ruffle the soft purple hair until it was slightly messy.
“Fine, fine, I'll forgive you this time. But... you have to make it up to me~”
“Hahaha, even messy hair looks good on you! My Little Chinatsu is cute no matter what!”
Energetic Foxfox's eyes curved with laughter as she rubbed even harder, thoroughly enjoying petting the little head in her arms. Only after she had played enough did she release her grip. Staring at Chinatsu's flushed little face, her eyes suddenly lit up with excitement.
“By the way, Little Chinatsu, your face customization is just too perfect! So pure and soft! Quick, quick, strike a magical girl transformation pose! I want to take a picture of you as a keepsake!”
“Ah?! No, no, no!”
Chinatsu's Song instantly bristled. Her small face flushed completely red in a second as she frantically waved her hands and shook her head, too embarrassed to look up. “That's too embarrassing! I'm not doing that in public!”
A magical girl transformation pose was both chuunibyou and cute. Doing it in a plaza full of players would result in instant, maximum social death!
Besides... even if she were to take a picture, they had to find a place with no one around!
“Oh—I get it!”
Energetic Foxfox instantly looked enlightened. She raised an eyebrow with a mischievous grin, her expression saying 'I see right through you.'
“You're shy, aren't you? It's fine, it's fine. You're just embarrassed because there are too many people in the plaza, right? Let's go, let's go! To my house! No one is there, so we can take as many pictures as you want!”
“Eh? That's not what I meant!”
Chinatsu's Song hurriedly tried to defend herself, getting more flustered the more she explained.
“Oh, I get it, I get it. No need to be stubborn!”
Energetic Foxfox gave her no chance to argue. She grabbed her small hand and dragged her forward, her tone full of teasing.
“Little Chinatsu actually gets shy. How naughty. You even lied to me about lagging just now. I'm very sad! You must take photos with me to be forgiven!”
“I didn't lie to you! And I'm not shy! Dummy Sister Foxfox!”
“You dare call me a dummy? Now I'm even sadder.”
“Eh, eh, eh? Sister Foxfox, that's not what I meant.”
“I don't care, I don't care. Little Chinatsu~ Big Sister is very unhappy right now. You must compensate me!”
“Waaaah, I was wrong!”
After a round of childish and cute tug-of-war, Chinatsu's Song was ultimately no match for the shameless Energetic Foxfox. With a face of "forced compromise," she obediently let herself be dragged toward the residential area of Player Town.
As for whether she was actually willing deep down, only she herself knew.
Soon, the two arrived in front of an exquisite two-story detached villa.
Pushing open the wooden courtyard gate, the view of the yard instantly came into sight, leaving Chinatsu's Song completely dazed.
The courtyard was clean and elegant, covered with soft green grass. Various rare flowers and plants unique to Starfall Forest were planted all around, colorful and lush. When a gentle breeze blew, waves of floral fragrance drifted through the air, feeling warm and healing. The two-story small villa was exquisitely decorated, with a warm-toned exterior paired with carved railings, maximizing the cozy atmosphere.
“Wow... what a beautiful yard!”
Chinatsu's Song's eyes sparkled with admiration. Looking around curiously, she turned to the girl beside her.
“Sister Foxfox, is this really the home you built yourself in the game? It's way too beautiful!”
“Of course~”
Energetic Foxfox raised her chin, her small face full of pride.
“I dug up all these flowers and plants after running across half the map, and it took me several days of planting for them to survive. What do you think? Isn't it super pretty? It blew you away, didn't it?”
“Mmhmm, mmhmm!” Chinatsu's Song nodded like a chick pecking at grain, her eyes filled with envy.
“It's really super pretty! You're amazing!”
Looking at the envious Chinatsu, a glint of successful mischief flashed in Energetic Foxfox's eyes. She casually asked, “Since you like it so much, how about you live here with me from now on?”
“Ah? That... wouldn't be very good, would it?” Chinatsu blanked for a moment, looking a bit hesitant.
She wasn't that she didn't want to, but she felt it would be too much of a bother.
Sister Foxfox must have put a lot of effort into such a great house.
She had specifically looked into building one's own in-game home when she browsed the player forums before. She knew that building a custom villa and cultivating courtyard plants took a massive amount of time, energy, and game coins. It felt really inappropriate to just move into the home Sister Foxfox had worked so hard to build.
“How is that a bother!”
Energetic Foxfox waved her hand dismissively. Gently patting the girl's ahoge, she coaxed,
“The house is so big, and the rooms are just sitting empty anyway. Having another person live here makes it livelier. Besides, you don't have a place to stay right now, so you can move in and keep me company. Or do you not want to live with me?”
“We-well, okay then!”
Chinatsu's Song pursed her lips and nodded earnestly.
“Thank you, Sister Foxfox. I'll take care of all the flowers and plants in the yard from now on! I'm super good at gardening!”
“Sure, I'll leave it to our little gardener then.”
Energetic Foxfox's eyes curved with laughter. She grabbed the girl's wrist and pulled her into the house.
“Alright, alright, get inside! I can't wait to see your magical girl transformation!”
“What are you even saying...” Chinatsu's Song's face flushed red again. She tried to pull away twice but failed, murmuring softly, “Sister Foxfox, you're acting like a creep.”
Energetic Foxfox paused her steps, then intentionally leaned in closer, teasing her with a laugh, “Oh? If it's Little Chinatsu, being a creep isn't out of the question~”
Chinatsu's Song: “!!!”
She took a sharp step back, crossing her arms protectively over her chest. Her eyes went wide and round, as wary as a startled little rabbit.
“Dame yo! Absolutely not!”
Rate on N.U.
