Asuha Tsuwabuki was a 14-year-old girl attending a middle school in Nagoya.

She didn’t yet know what she wanted to be when she grew up.

She was related by blood to the Tsuwabuki family, who had run a zaibatsu in Satsuma, Kyushu, before the war. Her family tree was full of world-renowned celebrities, but her own family life was relatively banal.

Her father was a white-collar worker in the area, and her mother was just rather good at English. They were a slightly intellectual but otherwise ordinary husband and wife.

Asuha’s own personal achievements included taking second place in her elementary school traffic safety slogan contest and maybe being the ace pitcher for her rather weak elementary and middle school softball clubs.

A week ago, she had gone to her great-grandfather Hayato Tsuwabuki’s birthday party... to invite her cousin Ichiro to play the VRMMORPG Narrow Fantasy Online.

The next day, when he had sent her an e-mail to announce that he was buying the game system and software, Asuha had nearly jumped in the air. She had wanted to log in immediately and go to meet him, but the thick wall of reality stood in her way: Term finals were coming up, and her parents had forbidden her from playing any online games.

So she sent Ichiro a tearful apology e-mail, then spent a week obsessively devoted to the pursuit of academic learning.

Ichiro responded with an e-mail asking her to meet up with him in-game the day the tests were over, and Asuha used that as fuel for her spirit, pencil gripped tightly in hand.

So tightly, in fact, that she had ruined five pencils by now. Never underestimate the grip strength of an ace pitcher.

At last, after conquering the fearsome foes known as English and math, she returned home in triumph. Her mother pulled out her Miraive Gear with a smile and a warning not to overindulge, and returned it to her.

“Asuha, I hear Ichiro’s going to play with you. Is that right?” her mother asked with a knowing smile. “The family tells me that you don’t talk about marrying him anymore, even when you go to Grandpa’s house for New Year’s.”

“Stop talking about that!” She had been expecting to be teased about it, and having that confirmed just caused Asuha to bark out in protest. “I’m not a child anymore! I’m in middle school now!”

“Really? But you wanted to play a game with Ichiro, didn’t you?”

“Yes, but... oh, never mind! I’ll be down for dinner!” Asuha huffed as she stormed out of the kitchen.

As she stomped up the stairs, her obsession was already turning from academics to something else.

Her mother didn’t understand anything. Asuha Tsuwabuki was no longer a child. She was 14 years old, after all.

It was true that a long time ago, she had earned snickers by hanging on to “Itchy” and insisting she was going to marry him. She understood that. But that was in the past.

It had been allowed while her age was in single digits, but as of her tenth birthday, she had officially abandoned those childish ideas without a single particle of regret.

It was true that “Itchy,” Ichiro Tsuwabuki, was handsome and smart and really nice to her. Girls liked him because he was so rich. He was athletic, he was talented, he painted beautiful pictures, he played instruments and sang well, and he had great taste. And when they used to go shopping together, he always picked out the best outfits for her.

He was a wonderful man. And they were only second cousins, so there was no legal reason they couldn’t be married... but she was like a little sister to Itchy, and he would never see her as a romantic partner. Besides, as her grandmother said, unrequited first love was the most beautiful love of all.

But as for her motives this time around...

Yes, the reason she had invited Ichiro to play the game with her went beyond the mere childish impulse to spend time together. She wasn’t without an ulterior motive... but that motive was, yes, something much more profound. Something her mother wouldn’t understand.

Some of this introspection was just boasting to cover up her own blossoming embarrassment, but Asuha didn’t realize that, of course.

“Whew!” Asuha strode into her room with her Miraive Gear and slammed the door with a bang.

Six months ago, she had begun begging her parents to buy it for her. Of course, half of the cost had come out of her New Year’s money.

She hadn’t wanted it because of any interest in the game. She was looking for someone. There was someone inside the game that she had to find.

Unfortunately, the game world had turned out to be much bigger than she had expected, and a character’s level and spec severely limited where you could go. A nice older lady had told her that teaming up was the fastest way to advance, but no guild or party would take on a player like Asuha who was busy with real-life club activities, and game systems were expensive, so she couldn’t just expect her friends to sign up.

That was where Ichiro came in.

Ichiro had more than enough money and time. He would probably conform to Asuha’s schedule, and he was smart, so he could probably help her. At least, that was Asuha’s thought.

Of course, Ichiro would start as a beginner, too. Asuha had been playing the game for far longer. This was, in fact, another important point for her. After all, Ichiro was the “flawless superhuman.” It wasn’t often that she’d have a chance to teach him something. Her straightforward leveling had born fruit, and Asuha’s avatar was already in the high 30s. Thus, the first thing she would do was go around with Ichiro in the field and help him level up.

She chuckled as she turned on her Miraive Gear and connected it to the internet with her LAN cable. The corners of her mouth twitched upwards.

“Itchy, I’m not going to be a child forever.”

She was going to shock him with how capable she’d become.

Although she did have to admit... Ichiro’s live-in servant, the maid Sakurako, was a concern. She also played a lot of video games. Then again, she had lots of distractions, too. She had to clean Ichiro’s big house, and prepare three meals a day. She probably hadn’t played much more than Asuha.

Asuha didn’t entirely trust Sakurako, who lived under the same roof as Ichiro. Asuha wanted Ichiro to settle down and get married already, but to nip in the bud any woman who didn’t meet her standards was part of her duty as a second cousin.

“Okay...” Asuha held her Miraive Gear in both hands, knelt down on the bed, and closed her eyes. It was a mental preparation ritual that she employed when she needed to get pumped up. She did the same thing before softball tournaments.

There’s so much I have to do in the game today. I have to meet Itchy, tell him the real reason I invited him, help him level up... And if Sakurako’s along, I need to find out what kind of weird “help” she’s been giving him, and put a stop to it... It’ll be hard having to do it all by myself, but I’ll do it.

Asuha put on her full face gear Miraive Gear X and lay down on the bed. She didn’t know exactly how it worked, but there was a sensation, like strange waves getting into her head, and before long, her consciousness was completely severed from the real world.