Multiverse: The Forced Exorcist

"Is there really something this good?"

Faced with such an opportunity, Shirakawa naturally wouldn't turn it down. He looked at Asuna and Yui, whom she was holding by the hand.

It really gave off the feeling of a young couple with a daughter. The duplicated house came fully furnished—ready to move into.

"You'll be staying here from now on."

"As for your class changes, I'll bring the magic device over tomorrow. Once you've awakened your powers, get some equipment, and you'll be ready to start conquering Aincrad."

Shirakawa had no intention of interfering in Asuna and Misumi's future. As long as their souls remained intact, how strong they could become would be up to them.

"Alright."

"Oh, and... I've already added Kachi and Yuna's contacts. They still have things to take care of before coming."

When alone, Asuna wasn't particularly relaxed. Thinking about this, she decisively informed Shirakawa, mainly as a way to suggest he take a break.

She never expected him to actually agree!

"When they arrive in the subspace, if you're busy with something else, Shirakawa-kun, we can help greet them. The house is big enough."

"Even if more people stay, it won't be a problem."

"Then I'll leave that to you."

Shirakawa nodded with a smile. With veteran SAO players around, he didn't need to worry too much about subspace matters. If necessary, there was always Saeko.

After tucking Yui into bed, he turned to Asuna again. Just as he was about to say something to ease the atmosphere, he saw the girl blushing and avoiding his gaze.

"What's wrong?"

"..."

"Sh-Should we go to the room... or...?"

Asuna fidgeted with the hem of her clothes, her expression awkward. Yui probably wasn't asleep that quickly, and as for that kind of... intimate activity—

There's no way she didn't understand.

The other party was Shirakawa, and truthfully, she had no resistance to him. If anything was puzzling her, it was the fact that the game interface had disappeared.

The convenient clothing removal feature was gone...

"The room, then!"

Shirakawa naturally didn't reject the girl's invitation. He followed Asuna up to the second floor, and as soon as the door was shut—

He saw the girl already taking off her skirt.

As she turned around with trembling hands trying to undo her buttons, her entire body shook slightly. Her flushed face said more than words could, and she didn't let the full burden fall on Asuna alone.

So, Shirakawa took the initiative to walk over and nimbly undid her white blouse. Even though she was a highschool, in terms of figure, Asuna was already comparable to a certain women named Haruno.

Her lashes trembled slightly, and even her voice was shy and uncertain.

"Please take care of me, Shirakawa-kun... I don't really know how this works..."

"You make it sound like I do."

"..."

He had just realized that could be taken the wrong way.

Asuna was about to respond, but the tingling sensation spreading through her body, and Shirakawa's seamless actions, made her swallow her words.

She tried to sit on the bed—

But instead, was scooped up by secure and steady arms. The window hadn't been closed, and a cool night breeze occasionally swept in.

Feeling a chill, she instinctively tightened her arms around his neck.

The pain she was expecting didn't come. Asuna looked up, and with his warm breath brushing against her, their lips gently met.

"Be... gentle."

If possible, Shirakawa would've liked to cook dinner with Asuna. Living alone for so long had definitely made him skilled in cooking.

His culinary style was a bit different from typical Japanese fare—he specialized in dough-based dishes. For example, when making steamed buns, to get that fluffy texture—

There were techniques involved in kneading the dough. One had to knead it thoroughly and add water intermittently. Since the portions weren't large, just two dough balls were enough.

Using fresh flour—

Even during the kneading process, he could catch a whiff of the girl's unique scent. Noodles alone wouldn't suffice. The rest of the dough could be used for noodles too.

He wanted Yuuki Asuna to taste the noodles he made.

Though conditions weren't ideal right now—

They were good enough. After fully imparting his noodle-making techniques to her, and even with the physical boost from the Chosen of Pleasure —

The girl eventually fell into a deep sleep.

She had completely let go of all stress and anxiety, exposing her defenseless softness to Shirakawa. All she needed to do was enjoy the moment.

But Shirakawa had a lot more to think about.

In the Dimensional Chat Group, Esdeath's challenge still hadn't been answered. Ignoring her indefinitely wasn't really an option. As for actual combat methods—

He didn't have many he could openly use.

He couldn't just rely on divine powers to lay down various corruption traps, then wait for her to approach the Palace of Pleasure before intervening.

That could only serve as a backup plan.

"The world of Misaka Mikoto... I feel like that one's worth exploring. Now that I have the Adventurer job panel, I could learn the skills of every Level 5 esper."

"If I can just steal a few..."

"They'd make great combat tools."

Very quickly—

Shirakawa had made up his mind about the next steps. He still had enough points in the Dimensional Chat Group. Of the more powerful worlds—

Only High School DxD and A Certain Magical Index were left.

The others didn't have especially powerful combat techniques. Even in Gabriel DropOut, there wasn't much worth learning.

Thanks to the information shielding from the Dimensional Chat Group.

He'd managed to sneak into the god-filled Danmachi world unnoticed, and Index wouldn't be any different. He glanced at the now-sleeping Asuna and silently made his decision.

Just as he was about to rest, a private message alert from the Dimensional Chat Group drew his attention. At the moment, there wasn't anything else happening in the group.

Aqua was basically lying flat at this point. So the only one who would message him proactively was probably Shinobu Kocho from the Demon Slayer world.

He opened the interface and what appeared before his eyes was a message from Blue Ribbon.

Blue Ribbon: Are you resting, Shirakawa-kun?

Blue Ribbon: There's something I need to tell you. Do you still remember Liliruca, who joined your Familia? She used to be with the Soma Familia.

Blue Ribbon: They've found out she joined your Familia.

Blue Ribbon: For some reason, they've declared a War Game on your Familia. Lili wouldn't tell me at first—I had to press her before she finally admitted it...