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“I’m beat!!”

Kou’s voice echoed through the room right after she logged out.

The clock showed it was already 7 p.m., meaning they had been streaming for about ten hours, including the morning session in the dungeon. It was no surprise that she felt completely drained.

“Good job, everyone, especially prez and Hisui. It’s tough being on camera for the first time, huh?”
“Yeah… I still can’t believe we’re in the same class.”
“Well, you kept covering for me the whole time, so it wasn’t too bad.”

Kasumi looked utterly exhausted, while Hisui remained unfazed, as if the long stream had barely affected her.

“Still, it was my first time streaming while showing my face—even if it was just through an avatar—so it was a fun, new experience. But you’re probably used to it by now, right, Sara?”
“No comment.”

Hisui turned toward Sara, but the latter quickly brushed off the question, clearly unwilling to get into it. Seeing her reluctance, her husband, Ryunosuke, awkwardly averted his gaze.

“Haha… Anyway, everyone did great. Let’s get some rest.”

Ryunosuke, the producer behind the camera, gave the group a reassuring smile. He had avoided participating in their discussions and stayed out of the fights during the stream, but coordinating everything from behind the scenes brought its own kind of exhaustion—something everyone in the room could sense.

Not to mention, streaming for so many hours straight was mentally taxing, and the psychological toll of their intense gameplay was starting to show.

“That was way too tough for the first day of the event…”
“Yeah, calling this a ‘swimsuit’ or ‘beach’ event feels like a scam.”
“I bet the viewers expected something very different from this kind of event…”

Kou’s complaint was followed by a few grumbles from Subaru and Ryunosuke, who also voiced their frustrations.

Ryunosuke still had to edit clips and highlights from the stream, so he pulled out his tablet, connected it to his NLD, and settled on the couch to get to work. He took his role as producer seriously and focused entirely on the task.

“Eurghh… I think my nerves are finally catching up to me…”
“I think I’ll head to my room and take a shower…”
“Mm… Maybe we should all do that. I feel gross after all that.”

Kasumi’s face turned pale as she wobbled toward the door, clearly feeling unwell. Hijiri followed suit, wanting to freshen up and take care of herself.

Kou watched them leave with a small, tired smile, realizing it was probably best if everyone took time to unwind and shower, too.

◇◇◇

After everyone had showered, they gathered again in the living room connected to Kou’s room.

“By the way, have you thought about what to do for dinner?”

The girls sat together in one corner, using a blow dryer to carefully dry each other’s hair. Meanwhile, the adults were drinking, albeit moderately, sticking to canned drinks and light cocktails.

Kou was sitting off to the side, absently watching TV when Ryunosuke broke the silence with his question.

“Hmm… My parents said they’ll be doing the final system checks tonight, so we’re free to choose whatever we want.”

Resting her chin in her hand, Kou fell deep in thought, trying to decide what their best dinner option would be.

“…We have an announcement for all our esteemed guests. We’ll be conducting a fireworks festival at the AR beach as a test of the equipment. Feel free to attend if you’re available…”

Just then, the resort’s staff made an announcement about an upcoming event at the beach.

“Oh… Hey, it looks like they’re setting up food stalls on the beach too, just like an actual festival.”
“Let me see… Ah, you’re right. There’s quite a few of them.”

Subaru checked the detailed information from the announcement and brought it to everyone’s attention.

Kou took the opportunity to squeeze between Subaru and the guidebook page, using her small frame to peek at the live view of the beach displayed on it, which showed the setup already underway.

“Kou, do you… do you realize you’re a cute girl now…?”
“Hm? What’s wrong, Subaru?”
“Hahh… Never mind, forget I said anything.”

Kou turned around, still standing so close to Subaru that their bodies were almost touching, causing him to sigh in resignation.

Then, Hijiri clapped her hands loudly, drawing everyone’s attention.

“Ahaha… Should we just head down there to eat at the food stalls and watch the fireworks?”
“Yes! I’m down!”
“In… in that case, me too!”

Hinagiku responded instantly with enthusiasm, and Miyuki gave a shy nod, her eyes sparkling at the thought of the festival.

Yeah, I get it… I remember gorging myself on food from stalls when I was younger, too.

Ever since Kou had taken on cooking duties and managing the household finances, she had become painfully aware of the price difference between home-cooked meals and street food. Knowing how much food she could prepare for the cost of just one bowl of yakisoba had completely sapped the excitement out of eating at food stalls.

The group, excited to explore the festival, quickly got ready, tying their freshly dried hair.

“That reminds me, I think there’s a fireworks display in our city too, right around the time we’ll be back.”
“Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I can already picture Auntie Amari getting all excited to prep a yukata for you.”
“…Yeah, I can see that too, and I really don’t like it.”

Hijiri cheerfully mentioned it while braiding Kou’s hair, only for Kou to be hit with a sudden ominous premonition.

◇◇◇

“Doppel…gangers?”

On their way to the beach, Kou repeated the word Subaru had mentioned after browsing the forums.

“Yeah, apparently they show up on the first floor. They’re enemies that mimic players’ Skills and abilities.”
“That sounds kind of dangerous… Will the other players be okay?”
“They’re not going to hold a grudge against us, right?”

Kou furrowed her brows in concern, and Hijiri, sharing her worries, chimed in as well.

“Mm, from what I’ve read, the doppelgangers have subtle differences, so it’s possible to tell them apart from real players. Plus, if you use Examine on them, their names show up as enemies.”

Subaru continued scrolling through the information.

“Oh, and look—there’s been a hotfix. The patch notes say, ‘You will no longer drop your loot upon death to certain enemies.’ I think that’s referring to the doppelgangers.”

“I really hope so…”

Kou shivered at the thought of being blamed for other players losing their loot. Thankfully, it seemed the developers had some mercy—unlike some of their more questionable design choices.

“Still… it’d be a nightmare if someone like Sorleon got copied and we ran into that.”

She muttered it offhandedly, not seriously expecting it to happen…