My SAO adventure is wrong, as expected

Chapter 73 – Haruno's Reality Bombshell

That day, Yumiko Miura happened to be in Hachiman's hospital room.

Most of their high school friends no longer lived nearby, but since she had entered a university close to the hospital, she often came to visit Hachiman.

Though flashy in appearance, she surprisingly had a maternal personality and was a good person — that was Miura.

"Hey, shut-in guy, listen to this..."

Every time she came to the hospital, Miura would proactively chat with Hachiman.

Though the topics were usually trivial day-to-day matters, strangely enough, compared to their school days, the two now seemed more like close friends.

Ever since she learned how much Hachiman had quietly done for their group while trapped in SAO, and how he'd tried to gather information on Hayama's future plans, Miura had sincerely come to appreciate him.

By the way, she had confessed to Hayama on the day of graduation and was flatly rejected.

Just as the mood was becoming warm and cozy, a knock came at the door. It swung open, and in walked the ever-familiar Haruno.

"My, Miura-chan, you're here again today? So diligent — don't tell me you've fallen for Hikigaya-kun?"

"Oh yes yes, totally."

"How half-hearted."

"If you keep lecturing me like this every day, anyone would..."

"We're gathering everyone today to install monitoring equipment. Miura-chan, you can keep chatting with Hikigaya-kun if you like."

Whenever Miura was present, Haruno would always conveniently show up too. Before long, it became natural for the two of them to chat with Hachiman at the same time.

"Speaking of which, who's coming to this gathering?"

"Hmm? Pretty much everyone involved. Of course, all familiar faces for Miura-chan."

"Then if I'm in the way..."

"Don't you want to know what Hikigaya-kun's current situation is?"

"Eh? We can find that out?"

"The details will be revealed when everyone arrives. If you're curious, stay."

"In that case... I guess I'll wait a bit too."

The first to arrive were Iroha and Komachi — student council partners.

"Miura-senpai! Long time no see!"

"Iroha, it's been a while."

"Yumiko-senpai, thank you for visiting my brother so often!"

"It's just because school is nearby, really."

"Yukino-senpai and Yui-senpai haven't been able to come much lately. I'm sure Onii-chan's been lonely. I'm so glad you've been coming!"

"But I'm not that close with the shut-in guy, you know."

"But my brother once said this! He said, though he initially thought you were hard to get along with, shortly before getting trapped in SAO, he said you were actually a thoughtful and kind girl!"

"The shut-in guy said that...?"

"It's super rare for senpai to praise anyone! Could it be... he likes Miura-senpai...?"

"No no, the president isn't at the level to be worth noticing yet..."

"Komachi, what are you saying?"

"Nothing~ Ah! Yukino-senpai and Yui-senpai are here too!"

Following Komachi's pointing finger, Yukino and Yui walked side by side toward them.

Upon entering the room and seeing Miura, both looked surprised.

"Yumiko, you're here too! Long time no see!"

"Miura-san? What brings you here?"

"Oh, my school's nearby, so I come often. Today I just happened to catch the summon too."

"I see... We've been so swamped lately..."

"Yeah... Everyone's been busy after all..."

"Don't worry about it. I'll keep coming to visit."

"Thank you, Miura-san."

"Thanks, Yumiko!"

After exchanging greetings, everyone began updating each other on recent events. Just then, Haruno finished configuring the equipment and gathered everyone in front of the display.

"Well then, let me explain the reason I called you all here~ Feel free to ask questions!"

Though everyone nodded, Miura — who knew nothing about SAO's inner workings — looked particularly curious.

"Let's give Miura-chan a little background first."

"No, no need to go out of your way..."

"Oh come on, you're clearly curious~"

"Well... maybe a little..."

Haruno began her explanation: "First, we can confirm that Hikigaya-kun is still fighting on the front lines, and remains in the top three of the rankings."

"Huh? That shut-in guy?" Miura's eyes widened, clearly unable to connect the Hachiman she knew with a top-tier player.

"Also, his partying with Miss Asuna has remained unchanged."

"Miss Asuna? Yui, who's that?"

Hearing a female name she didn't recognize, Miura was shocked again.

"Uh... she's the girl who's always been teamed up with Hachiman..."

"Ehhhhhh?!"

Miura was so stunned by the fact that that shut-in guy could be with such a girl that she couldn't speak.

"Onee-chan, if you gathered everyone, that means there's big news, right?"

"Correct. But before the main topic — an announcement: I've officially joined RECT."

Applause and gasps of surprise filled the room. Though her job offer had already been decided, Haruno had chosen to announce it today.

"RECT is...?"

"The parent company managing the SAO servers. They also run ALO now."

"You guys are playing that game?"

"Want to try it too, Yumiko?"

"Hmm... If everyone else is playing..."

"You're welcome anytime, Miura-san."

"Then please take care of me, Yukinoshita-san."

Once called the "Queen of Hellfire" and the "Ice Queen," the two could now get along harmoniously.

What would Hachiman think if he saw this scene?

Haruno finally got to the main point: "The reason I gathered everyone today is because we've discovered something shocking."

The sound of gulping could be heard clearly.

"Are you mentally prepared? Especially Yukino-chan, Yui-chan, and the president."

"Calling us out like that... Could it be...?"

"..."

"We've discussed it countless times already. No problem!"

"Hurry up, sis!"

"But instead of just talking — we have video footage today."

The moment the screen lit up, a photo of Hachiman in Knights of the Blood officer attire posing with Asuna appeared.

"This... is completely different from what I imagined..."

Yukino was the first to speak: "Though it's frustrating... they really look good together. I've never seen Hikigaya-kun make that kind of face."

"Hachiman's... completely changed."

"Senpai's partner is so pretty! Is that her real appearance?"

"Yes, that's Miss Asuna Yuuki from the Yuuki family."

"So this is Komachi's new big sister! Haruno-san, can I take a picture? I need to show Mom and Dad right away!"

"If it's just for family, that's fine."

"The shut-in guy... actually looks kind of cool."

"Eh?"

Everyone turned simultaneously — Miura's face was red as she stared fixedly at the screen.

"Yumiko, what's with that reaction?!"

"Looks like all those daily jokes might become reality~ Actually, there's another photo in a different outfit."

The moment the second photo appeared — showing the two in formal attire and wedding dress — the room erupted.

"That's really Hikigaya-kun? If it is... kind of..."

Yukino blushed, unusually shy.

"Oh no! Hachiman looks like a completely different person! My heart's racing!"

"Senpai's power level is cheating!"

"Onii-chan... Komachi always believed you were a diamond in the rough!"

"This is the real shut-in guy..."

"So he really turned into that..."

"You think so too, sis?"

"It's definitely shocking~"

As Haruno tried to hide her phone, Yukino saw through her.

"Everyone, hold her down!"

"There's definitely something on her phone!"

The standby screen revealed the truth — it was Hachiman.

"Jumping the gun isn't something to be praised, sis."

"Sorry... It was just so overwhelming, I secretly set it as my wallpaper..."

"No fair! We want one too!"

"Since big sis agrees, go ahead~"

Komachi chose a full group photo, while the other four all picked Hachiman's solo shot.

"But Miura-san, why are you also...?"

"What? It's no different than setting a celeb as wallpaper!"

"Miura-san comparing Hikigaya-kun to a celebrity... really...?"

The six of them gazed at the screen, a new fire burning in their eyes.

"It's still too early to give up, Yui."

"Indeed — we've no reason to back down."

"Senpai better be ready when he comes back!"

"Maybe sis still has a shot?"

"Having the shut-in guy as a boyfriend... doesn't sound bad?"

"Another contender for sister-in-law! But seeing Onii-chan like that... what's Komachi supposed to do...?"

From that day on, the six girls, often grinning at their phones, began drawing strange looks from those around them.

And Kawasaki, who missed the whole scene, after receiving the photos from Komachi, ended up grinning at her phone so much that her little brother Taishi sent her a worried message — but that's a story for another time.