“I’m also very disappointed!”

The girl sat cross-legged on the bed, her face full of dissatisfaction: “You’re not as cold, cruel, and evil as I imagined.”

“So my character drawing gives off that kind of impression?” Asho looked shocked, scratching his head. “Um… Nice to meet you, I’m Asho, the Observer of the End.”

“I’m the Black and White Witch.” She swayed on the bed. “Just call me Witch.”

“Good evening, Witch. Have you eaten?”

“Stop, there’s no need for unnecessary pleasantries.” She raised three fingers. “I came here this time to establish three principles with you.”

“Hmm?”

“First, if I don’t bring it up, you’re not allowed to ask about my life.”

“Second, if I don’t ask, you’re not allowed to reveal anything about your life.”

“Third,” the Witch raised her third finger, “whatever treatment Sword Girl receives, I should receive the same treatment.”

Asho thought for a moment and asked, “Is it because of the Silver Blessing?”

The Witch neither confirmed nor denied it. “You can think of it that way.”

It was only natural for the Black and White Witch to request privacy in order to enhance her abilities through concealing her information. However, it was unclear why Asho was not allowed to disclose his own information. But Asho couldn’t reveal much anyway—Annan had just ordered them not to leak any information to non-agency personnel. Even if Asho wanted to complain about his new boss during idle chat in the Virtual Realm, the contract would silence him.

As for Sword Girl’s treatment, Asho carefully considered it: endless training, being the vanguard in Virtual Realm exploration, and being a test subject for various event cards…

“No problem!” Asho clapped his hands. “I will do my best to fulfill your wishes!”

“Now that we’ve established communication principles, if there’s nothing else, I’ll—”

“Wait, do you know Sword Girl?” Asho stopped her. “I haven’t seen her in days… um… is she very busy over there, unable to spare any time to see me?”

The Witch looked at him with interest. “Are you talking about the Sword Girl who is a bit cunning but cute, says one thing but means another, and is kind-hearted, always admiring herself in the mirror?”

“…Probably?”

“Sorry, I don’t know that kind of Sword Girl.” The Witch shrugged. “I only know that there is a teammate named Sword Girl besides you.”

“Then how do you know so much about her?”

“I can tell from the character drawing.”

Asho had many question marks floating above his head. Could a character drawing really reveal so much information?

Damn it, if it weren’t for the loss of the high-definition screen, he would definitely use a magnifying glass to examine every detail of the Witch and Sword Girl’s character drawings that were worth studying day and night.

“I’m curious why you think Sword Girl would come to see you.”

The Witch dragged her chin and smiled. “If it weren’t for establishing rules with you before the official exploration, I wouldn’t bother meeting you. After all, our only intersection is in the Virtual Realm. Besides that, we are strangers who never interfere with each other, which is the most reasonable relationship.”

“What is the relationship between you and Sword Girl? Why does she care about you?”

Without hesitation, Asho replied, “Because we are not strangers, but companions with bonds. I know she definitely cares about me, just as I care about her.”

The Black and White Witch looked at Asho silently, and for a moment, there was a hint of change in her attitude. Although the Witch appeared natural and lively from the moment she appeared, she had been sitting on the bed, maintaining a distance from Asho, and her politeness carried a sense of alienation.

But now, although she was still sitting on the bed, her body leaned forward slightly, showing curiosity, and her attitude became softer.

“Whether we can appear in front of you like this is not determined by us, but by the bonds between us,” the Witch suddenly explained. “The deeper the bond, the harder it is for us to appear in front of you. If Sword Girl really cares about you, then you will probably find it difficult to see her longing for you in the future.”

“So Sword Girl doesn’t come to see you, it’s not her fault. In fact, she is also waiting for you to appear in front of her, perhaps in the Virtual Realm, or maybe…”

The Witch paused. “In short, if you want to see Sword Girl often, you might as well hope that you and Sword Girl can stay in the Virtual Realm forever.”

“What a strange setting.” Asho frowned. “Shouldn’t it be easier to meet the deeper the bond?”

“Distance creates beauty, and our current state is not physical, but longing.” The Witch shrugged. “Longing is when you don’t cherish something when it exists, but you desperately desire it when you want it.”

“But it’s only been a few days since we last met, and you miss Sword Girl so much…”

The Witch’s eyes sparkled with curiosity.

“o(*≧▽≦)ツ Are you in love with her?”

“Yes, I am.”

Upon hearing this straightforward declaration of love, the Witch’s eyes widened. She lightly slapped her face and asked, “Can you say that again?”

“I love Sword Girl.” Asho said matter-of-factly. “She’s so powerful, so cute, so beautiful. Of course, I love her.”

Wow!

Wow!

Wow!

The Witch couldn’t wait to go back and make this news public, but she suddenly noticed that Asho was looking directly at her black and white stockings as he spoke.

She hesitated for a moment, straightened her legs, and lifted her skirt above her knees. “Then do you love me?”

“If you were to wear a super short skirt like your character drawing, and if you were strong enough in the Virtual Realm exploration, and your usual growth rate wasn’t low, I think I would like you,” Asho scrutinized the beauty of her black and white silk, and commented seriously.

“…That’s a cheap kind of liking.”

Asho was puzzled, “Then how expensive of a liking do you want? Should I write your name as the beneficiary of my insurance?”

Right, the witch thought. After all, in Asho’s view, they were not entirely real. Just like no one would fall in love with a piece of paper, Asho’s feelings for them naturally stopped at ‘cheap liking’.

“But I think it would be hard for you to surpass Sword Girl’s position in my heart, unless you are really strong.”

“Oh?” The witch raised her eyebrows, “Why? Do you think Sword Girl is prettier than me?”

“It’s not just about the character drawing,” Asho said, “Mainly because Sword Girl was the first companion I could trust when I came to this world, the first comrade-in-arms who fought alongside me. We explored the Sea of Knowledge together, entered the vortex together, read the Sorcerer’s Manual together, participated in the Fate Quiz together… My life in this world started with Sword Girl.”

“To me, she is like the sun rising from the graveyard.”

“Just this shared experience of adversity, I don’t think anyone can shake her position in my heart.”

He added another sentence: “Unless you are really strong.”