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Chapter 33: Yokohama eSports tournament Shiori’s POV Uh, my head hurts. I opened my eyes, and it was already morning. It’s already 6 AM, huh... wait. Why am I on the sofa? And... is this Haru-kun’s jacket covering me? I glanced around my apartment and saw Marika and Haru-kun sleeping on my bed. And then it hit me... my memories from last night came flooding back. I OPENLY ASSAULTED HARU-KUN! 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂 And his aunt stopped it, thankfully. I sat up, feeling a mixture of shame and relief. My body still felt sluggish, probably from the alcohol. I needed to wake them up. As I looked at Haru-kun’s sleeping face, the embarrassment of last night came back in full force. Why the hell did I do that? "Uhm, Haru-kun, Aunt Marika?" Haru-kun didn’t budge. What time did he even sleep? I was about to lean in to give him a morning kiss on the cheek when... "Damn it! What do you think you’re doing, you horny woman?!" Marika’s voice startled me. "No, Auntie! It’s just a morning kiss!" Marika squinted at me suspiciously before sighing. "Tsk. Fine, as long as you still remember what we talked about last night." Eh? Honestly, that part was kind of hazy for me. Kissing Haru-kun in front of his aunt felt way too embarrassing, so I sat beside him and decided to talk to Aunt Marika instead. "Of course, Auntie. And again, I’m sorry for last night... I was just drunk, that’s all." "They say when you’re drunk, you act on your true desires without restraint." She had a point, so I didn’t respond. "Sigh... fine, fine. But hold back, will you? Also... I’m sorry I pushed you last night when you were on top of Haru. I panicked, but I didn’t mean it." "It’s okay, Auntie. In fact, I’m glad you stopped me." "Well, what I did was really bad. I even entered without permission. Take the day off, Shiori. Let’s go to the salon my agency owns!" Uh, should I accept that? Well, I couldn’t bring myself to face Haru-kun right now, so... "Okay, Auntie. I’ll just inform the school that I have some business to attend to." "Stop calling me Aunt, will you?" Then, because of our loud conversation, the one situation I was avoiding happened. "Uh, Shiori-san? Good morn—AH, YOUR DRESS! BUTTON IT PROPERLY!" Haru-kun sat up, his face bright red as he averted his gaze. --- Shino’s POV Ah, damn school again. My mood wasn’t great. I don’t know why, but my current rank dropped to overall No. 36. This school sucks! You’re ruining my gaming time! Since it was still early, I stopped by the convenience store to buy some snacks. As I was browsing, my eyes landed on an intriguing poster. Yokohama SFO eSports Tournament Wow. Cash Prize - 500,000 YEN! (Approximately 3200 dollars) 500,000 yen?! That’s like... I could buy so many gacha pulls with that! This was fate! I quickly pulled out my phone and checked the details. It was a team-based SFO tournament. The only requirement? A squad of five players. Huh. This could work. I immediately thought of Haru. Not only is he a great gamer, but he’s actually one of the top players in SFO. And if we’re talking about top players... Shiori is a beast too. With those two, we already had a serious chance of winning. Now, we just needed three more people. Time to recruit Haru first! --- At School I arrived earlier than usual and waited near the school gate, watching every student pass by. Where is that guy? Haru should’ve arrived by now. Did he sleep in? Finally, I spotted him walking toward the school with a sluggish expression, like he barely got any rest. Huh, weird. Maybe Shiori-sensei sucked him dry? "Oi, Haru!" I called out, waving my hand. Haru blinked in confusion. "Oh, Shino? What’s up?" I smirked. "I’ve got something big. Something that could change our lives." "...You found a way to get unlimited gacha rolls?" "No, idiot! This is even better! Look at this!" I shoved my phone in his face, showing him the tournament details. Haru’s eyes widened. "An eSports tournament? 500,000 yen prize pool?!" "Yeah! And we only need a five-man squad. Join me, Haru, and your girlfriend, Let’s win this!" (A/N: hold up! Shino’s always joking about Haru and Shiori being girlfriend/boyfriend. At this time, she isn’t informed about they’re official relationship.) He scratched his head. "Well... I mean, Shiori and I are already ranked players, but do we have enough teammates?" I grinned. "That’s where recruitment comes in. We need three more people. I was thinking of asking Marika first." "Marika? My aunt?" Haru raised an eyebrow. "Hey, don’t underestimate her! She’s sharp, and her reaction speed is insane. She might actually be good at this." Haru hesitated. "Well, it’s worth a try. But we still need two more." I sighed. "I was gonna invite Nishi, but... she’s too young to qualify." Haru nodded. "Yeah, makes sense. That means we need another player. Someone reliable." A thought crossed my mind, and I grinned. "How about your mom?" Haru nearly choked. "H-Huh? My mom? Are you serious?" "Come on, man! Your mom’s a hardcore programmer, right? She used to be in the field of gaming naturally, and already knows how RNG and game physics work! If she has those skills, we’re golden!" Haru groaned. "I don’t know if she’d even agree... but fine, I’ll ask her." I finalized the list. "Alright, here’s the squad: Me, you, Shiori, Marika, and your mom. We’ll do some test games tomorrow after school." Haru leaned back and sighed. "I still can’t believe I’m doing this." I smirked. "Believe it, Haru. Soon, we’ll be rolling in prize money. Get ready to be a champion." This was going to be fun. Haru’s POV This girl, I don’t know but is she planning something? Recruiting my whole family, really? Anyways this will be a perfect opportunity to earn money so I can buy Shiori-san a Christmas gift!