Chapter 48 Why are the two-tone checkerboard cookies just for fun?
As soon as Miyako and Miyaji entered the room, they noticed the painting hanging on the wall and the photograph below it that they had never seen before.
"That's a picture of Mina when she was little," Miyayu thought, glancing at it.
Gong Zhi couldn't help but glance at the painting hanging on the wall again—she had actually finished painting that scene and hung it on the wall.
"Minna, is it alright for you to hang this painting in such an obvious place?" Miyaji turned around and asked.
Akina Amane shook her head: "It's okay, besides you guys, probably no one else will see it."
She put her hands on her hips, looking quite satisfied with what she had done.
So, it was hung up just to show it to them? Gong You and Gong Zhi exchanged a glance, somewhat unsure of their own thoughts.
“Of course, don’t think it’s just for you to see. I hung it on the wall because I wanted to keep it as a memento.” Akina Amaho’s eyes crinkled slightly.
Both Miyako and Miyaji stiffened for a moment.
It felt like Amaho Akina could see right through their thoughts.
"After all... these are precious memories that belong to me and my friends." As she said this, her voice became light and airy, and her head drooped slightly. It didn't seem like she was disappointed, but rather that she was simply cherishing this memory.
"In that case, it's okay if we take a picture with our phones, right?" Gong You said, waving his phone in his hand.
Akina Amaho nodded: "Of course, no problem. Take the picture if you want."
Gong You did as he was told, taking a picture with his phone. Gong Zhi didn't move, but nudged Gong You with his elbow, indicating that he should send him a copy later.
"Phew... I've already eaten breakfast. How about we play the game we couldn't beat last time?"
Akina Amane sat on the sofa in the living room and shook the controller she was holding.
The two sat down on either side of him. Gong You was the first to grab a controller, while Gong Zhi, who failed to grab one, glared at him.
"Oh dear, strictly speaking, I did win last time, right? So let me play first."
Gong You's expression was smug, even a little boastful.
"Pfft, in that case, let's play that two-player fighting game first." Akina Amaho's eyes crinkled slightly.
She brought up the game interface and then selected a character, this time one wielding a steel axe.
Gong You used the same gun-wielding character as before, since he was more familiar with that role.
Actually, after Miyaji went home last time, the two of them did look for this game together, wanting to practice in private so that Amaho Akina would be amazed when she saw them playing it.
Unfortunately, the game cartridge was released two or three years ago and is now out of print. The ones that are still on the market are very expensive, and the two of them simply couldn't afford it with their pocket money.
In the end, they had no choice but to give up.
"Minnai, this game cartridge used to be a limited edition. You actually went and bought a limited edition cartridge?"
As Miyako fiddled with the controller, familiarizing himself with the combo sequence, Miyaji spoke up.
"Well, limited editions sound more interesting." Otherwise, Akina Amaho wouldn't have bought this cartridge.
She thought for a moment and then said, "However, this game is actually a spin-off, so it's limited edition, right? The original game wasn't limited edition and you can still buy it now."
“But that game is a single-player game, and I’ve completed it, so I didn’t show it to you.” She shrugged as she spoke.
"No wonder this operation mode has such strange ability settings," Gong You muttered.
Pressing certain buttons can summon something, and each person's ability is different.
“Yes, but some characters are more powerful when you feel comfortable using them,” said Akina Amami.
Gong You has adapted to his role, and the match has begun.
In the end, Amaho Akina won—she didn't lose much health.
Miyaji mocked him: "Really, in the end you still can't beat him."
They even snatched the game controller first.
Miya Yu angrily shoved the handle into Miyaji's hand. Of course, there was Amami Akina in between, so she leaned back slightly to avoid being hit by the two of them.
"If you're so capable, Aji, then come and try!" Miya Yu said.
"Let's give it a try." Gong Zhi said, preparing to press the confirm button to start the next match.
Although he had never used this character before, it was still worth a try.
Just then, Akina Amane pressed cancel, and the match confirmation was once again left on the screen.
She turned to look at Miyaji: "In that case, let's try other roles. You must be curious about what the other roles are like, right?"
As she spoke, she returned to the character selection screen, and this time she chose the silver-haired man wielding a katana.
Gong Zhi hesitated for a moment, then scrolled down the character list and selected a woman in a blue dress.
"I don't know why, but I always feel like she's very strong." Miyaji said seriously.
Gong You frowned and stared at the character for a long time, but he couldn't figure out what made the character so powerful.
“Your intuition is pretty accurate. In the game's setting, her combat power is indeed very high, but whether you can use her to win this battle depends on how you use her.” As Akina Amami said, she thoughtfully opened the move list for Osamu Miyamoto.
Miyaji subconsciously swallowed. This person... can summon abilities at will?
Gong You swallowed hard. He hadn't realized how powerful he was at first...?
His eyes immediately widened and lit up. Perhaps due to the refraction of light, his bright eyes took on the color of amber at that moment.
"Ah Zhi, you're about to lose this round, and then I'm going to use this character in the next round," he excitedly commanded.
The veins on Miyaji's forehead bulged countless times, and his voice was somewhat gloomy: "Why do you think I'll lose this round? Just wait and see, I'll show you how to win."
As expected, Amaho Akina won, but her character lost half its health.
Gong You curled his lip: "Tch, you were so sure of winning, but you still lost. Give me the controller, I'm sure I can win!"
Miyaji slammed the handle into Miyayu's hand. He remembered that it belonged to Akina. Although his movements looked fierce, the final action was quite gentle.
Akina Amane leaned back slightly with practiced ease.
"Actually, in my opinion, none of you can beat me at your current level." Akina Amaho shrugged.
With their flawed button-pressing and combo techniques, it would be strange if they could beat me.
"Let me try." Gong You confidently picked up the controller and pressed the confirm button.
...Then he became dejected, and his whole demeanor turned gloomy.
"How come I played even worse than Aji...?"
He didn't even manage to take away much of his opponent's health before he was brutally pinned to the ground and rubbed against the ground.
Am I really that bad at this?
At that moment, Gong You began to doubt his own gaming skills.
“If you want to beat me, you’ll probably have to practice for a long time. Let’s play a different game.” As she spoke, Amamiya pulled out a game cartridge and inserted it into the game.
This game is the one that Miyako Yu and Miyako Osamu couldn't even get past the beginner chapters in the last game.
“But this isn’t a two-player cooperative game…” Miyaji hesitated a bit. Last time, because it was difficult to divide the roles, Mina let them play as a pair, and they ended up sabotaging each other.
“Yeah, but you could tell from the fighting game just now that Osamu’s movements seem a bit more cautious, so you can play first.” With that, Akina Amaho put the controller into Osamu’s hand.
Well, she's only slightly better than Gong You.
But looking at Miya Yu's level, Akina Ama sighed inwardly, really not wanting to accept it.
Miyaji paused, feeling embarrassed to tell Amaho Akina that he wasn't usually that cautious.
Miya Yu's eyes widened, and her voice grew louder, practically shouting, clearly dissatisfied with the result: "What?! I was very careful too, Mina, why did you choose Osamu?!"
"If you were really going to be cautious, you should have defended when you were attacked, instead of just attacking relentlessly, right?" Akina Amako glanced at him sideways.
Gong You opened his mouth, feeling a little guilty.
"Don't worry, if you encounter a monster you can't beat, just hide behind me." Akina Amaho then turned to look at Miyaji.
It felt like those words were meant to comfort them... but they still left a strange taste in his mouth. Miyaji pursed his lips and suddenly decided that he also needed to show his courageous side to Amaho Akina.
—As a result, because the character controlled by Miyaji was too far forward, he was slapped to death by the monster. In the end, he was able to win a thrilling victory thanks to Amaho Akina's brilliant movement, and the character was also revived.
Gong You pouted: "A-Zhi, if you don't know how to play, then let me play. You rushed to the front just now, are you an idiot?"
"Tsk." Miyaji smacked his lips, clearly not wanting to pay attention to Miyayu's level of provocation.
He wanted to try again—he was sure he'd succeed next time.
Just as he was thinking this, Amako Akina suddenly sighed and patted his shoulder: "Hmm... I didn't expect your skills to make any difference, but could you not rush so far forward next time? I still need your recovery skill."
Otherwise, the battle just now wouldn't have been so difficult.
That's right, at Mina's request, Miyaji chose the profession of therapist.
Both of them wore expressions as if the earth had collapsed.
“Minna…so to you, we’re just teammates who drag you down, right?” Miyaji said.
Akina Amako glanced at it, then rested her finger on her chin and thought for a moment: "Hmm, at least it has some healing effect, so as long as it doesn't die, that's good."
As she spoke, she even gave a smile, but the smile looked like a fake smile no matter how you looked at it.
At that moment, Miyaji and Miyayu both realized with absolute clarity that, due to their inferior skill level, they were merely companions brought in by Amaho Akina.
Although it was just playing with someone, it was clear that Mina was happy to have someone to play with.
Gong You gritted his teeth, thinking, this is good too, but I can't be satisfied so easily. I must make Tian Suiming change her mind!
For the rest of the time, Miyako and Miyaji used the controllers respectively. The three of them ate the lunch prepared by Amaho Akina together, and then continued playing games.
Their skill level has indeed steadily improved; at least now they don't have to worry about being instantly killed by the Boss, and they can still deal some damage.
“Well, this should allow you to change your professions.” Akina Amaho nodded.
"What? Are we finally going to be called into the battle too?" Gong You was very excited.
He certainly wanted to unleash dazzling combat moves like Amaho Akina. The healer also had some combat skills, but because of poor positioning, he couldn't deal as much damage as Amaho Akina.
"Well, it's getting late, let's take a break for a while." Before they knew it, it was already past four in the afternoon, and Amaho Akina was getting a little tired from playing.
"Let's watch DVDs then." Miyaji remembered that when Amaho Akina took out the game cartridges earlier, there were some DVD discs mixed in with them.
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