Huh?
So you don't have a boyfriend now,
Ms. Kinoshita?
Uh, no.
Then how about me?
I'm kind of a catch, you know!
What?
Hey, is that right? That's funny!
Huh?
I set up this group date for you,
remember?
Sorry. Turns out I'm not ready.
I'd like to go home.
Ms. Kinoshita, you're hooked
on some game now, huh?
What's it called?
I'm into mobile gaming too,
so why don't we play together?
Um, it's not for smartphones.
It's a computer game
called Forest of Savior.
Oh.
I, uh...
might have seen the commercial for it.
Yeah.
Uh... yeah.
I saw the commercial!
Sorry about that.
Hey, no wait.
Oh, that one?
Forest, right? Saber, huh? Yeah.
Come on! Are you even trying?
You let a great group date go to waste.
All you did was play with your smartphone!
Are you motivated or not?
Sorry! I got a text from Ruri,
and I couldn't help myself.
Ruri?
Yeah, a friend from FOS.
She's this girl
with the most adorable avatar.
A girl?
What? Yes.
What if it's actually some creepy old guy?
Don't you think it's risky
giving out your number?
I'm pretty sure... she's a girl.
Well, whatever.
I'm heading this way, so see you!
Come to think of it...
I'm picturing her
as a girl in high school.
I wonder what kind of girl she is?
Huh?
Wow. Gothic Lolita?
No, wait. Yumekawa?
You know...
that girl was like Rurihime.
All right! Tomorrow my classes
are in the afternoon,
so I can play
to my heart's content tonight!
Huh?
Oh, well, whatever!
I'm just not ready
for another romance now.
Huh?
There's no one in the guild hall.
It's Rurihime and Yamada!
Wonder what they're up to?
I'd like for the three of us
to go hunting!
Let's see.
Huh?
I wonder if they
don't realize that I'm here?
Doesn't this remind you of when we
first started this guild?
Yeah, I guess.
Back then, it was just
you and me every day, right?
There are so many more members now.
But...
it's nice to be alone once in a while.
Having more time
to live it up with everyone
means there's less time
to be alone with you.
Ruri's kind of missed that, see.
Well, it was easier to get things done
when it was just the two of us.
These...
These two...
they're an item!
Here's the item.
Thank you!
Alchemy skills, so convenient!
Maybe Ruri will try for some too?
By the way...
speaking of other members,
there's one here, you know.
What?
Hey! It's Akanecchi!
I totally missed your login alert!
Sorry, Akanecchi!
What? Of course you're not!
Okay, I need to be somewhere,
so I'm logging out.
Okay! I'll call you later, all right?
Call?
Right.
Call?
Right.
Bye-bye!
Come to think of it...
Yamada never has much to do
with anyone else,
but he's always talking to Rurihime.
Could those two possibly be...
boyfriend and girlfriend?
Just like Takuma and I
started playing together...
maybe Yamada and Rurihime...
Akanecchi?
What?
Are you feeling down?
No, I'm not!
Why am I...
a little depressed?
Why can't I get those two out of my mind?
Social media,
with its power to connect people,
played a role in the movement
known as the Arab Spring,
which started in North Africa.
As you can see from this example,
social media always had this feature,
creating new connections...
Yamada's account...
I want to take a look at it.
But...
that would be like spying on him.
Ms. Kinoshita!
Hey!
Oh, it's that guy from the group date.
What was his name again?
So you were in that class too, huh?
I could see you fiddling
with your smartphone from behind!
No way!
I had no idea!
Your name... Your name...
No good. I can't remember.
By the way, after that group date,
I checked out Forest of Saber.
It's a pretty popular game, huh?
I guess so.
Reading up on it
made me want to try it out!
I mean, I like games and all.
So many guys are into gaming.
Hey, do you play FPS games too?
F?
Do you know the pro gamer, Yamada?
Oh, yeah. Yamada, right?
I might have seen him in a commercial!
Never mind. Sorry.
You really like games, huh, Ms. Kinoshita?
I don't know why...
but for some reason
I've been feeling so rattled.
So listen, the guys in my club are talking
about going to Okinawa this summer.
Really? Sounds fun!
It'll be fun, all right! Because we all
know how to have a good time!
If you want,
you can come with us, Ms. Kinoshita!
Huh?
If you want,
you can come with us, Ms. Kinoshita!
Huh?
That girl, I'm pretty sure...
that I've seen her before.
Thanks for waiting.
Let's go.
The hotel we always stay at
has ocean-view rooms!
I've never had a girlfriend, either.
Well, Yamada's good-looking.
Why wouldn't he
have a girlfriend or two, right?
Ms. Kinoshita?
Huh?
Oh, right. I'm headed that way,
so I'll be going now, okay?
Hey, Ms. Kinoshita?
See you in class!
But why...
Why do I feel so rattled?
Guess I'll pass on logging in tonight.
Who's that?
Momo, maybe?
Rurihime!
What should I do? I'm not really
in the mood to play tonight.
FOS news?
I haven't logged in today,
so no, I haven't.
Ran into him IRL unexpectedly?
Then could it be that that girl
actually was Rurihime?
I did think she had
a real Rurihime vibe going on.
So does that mean... those two are...
All right, guess I'll get ready!
Well, it's rare that you get to meet
your fellow guild members.
It's such a great opportunity!
I'm going to enjoy myself!
Let's see.
The Murata Building,
north of the station...
will be to your left
as you go straight and cross.
And now what?
Let me check the map again.
Where is it?
Whoa!
Hey... sorry about that.
I'll get it for you.
I just hope your phone didn't cr*ck.
What?
Are you playing that game, by any chance?
Since it's pretty casual for a game,
I'd heard that there were
a lot of women playing,
but who would have thought someone
as beautiful as you was playing?
Oh, no. Please!
I'm tagging along because he said
he'd show me the way,
but what if this is a new kind of hustle?
I started playing with a friend of mine,
but we're really into it now,
and we've created our own guild together.
I thought it was just another MMO,
but the game balance
is actually well maintained!
My favorite thing about it is that there's
no inflation fueled by in-game purchases.
Well, the graphics are somewhat outdated,
but they're cute enough
that I can live with that look,
and best of all,
there isn't one dominant race.
Diversity among the races is good,
and as for Job Class discrepancy,
I don't think one Job Class
is better than others.
For now,
it's leaning to the Mage class,
but every update
brings an adjustment,
and thanks to the guild buffs,
our guild battles are meaningful,
so it's totally built
to be party-oriented.
That makes interaction worthwhile,
but by the same token, it can feel
pretty masochistic to power up,
but there's proper speedrunning
at play too.
I can tell that the devs really went
out of their way to reflect user feedback.
It's obvious that they've learned
from their past mistakes.
Thank goodness. He's just a gamer.
It's obvious that they've learned
from their past mistakes.
Thank goodness. He's just a gamer.
So that's my take on it.
- What do you think?
- Huh?
Well, uh...
I'm still just a beginner, so I don't
know as much as the rest of you.
The other day, I got yelled at
for putting trash in the guild's storage.
But the guild master's been so nice,
so I think I really like my guild now.
Oh, I think he's here.
Hey! Over here!
Over here! Over here!
It's this way!
H-Hey. That girl...
is it Rurihime?
So you play that game, Yamada?
Then let's go one-on-one sometime.
Sure.
Yamada!
Yamada! Long time no see!
It's been a while.
Things going okay?
I'd say fair.
Fair, huh?
Um, you must be Rurihime, right?
Nice to meet you!
You look just like your character,
so I knew right away that it was you!
Thanks for your text this morning!
Hold on. She seems a little different
than she is in-game.
Um... uh...
Listen, Eita... who is this?
Most likely...
Akanecchi! Right?
Huh?
Uh, everyone, why don't we
all go inside for now?
We're finally here.
Ouch.
Freaking heavy!
I'm exhausted.
Oh, crap.
You're late! Where were you?
We're all waiting on you, you know.
Sorry. The thing is,
one thing led to another...
and now there's a strange woman
sleeping in my apartment.
Huh?
A-A woman, did you say?
- Did you say, "Woman"?
- Absolutely unforgiveable...
He said, "Woman," right? Right? Woman?
I need you to explain
exactly how this strange woman
ended up asleep in your apartment.
Hey, photos! I want to see a photo!
I swear I won't post them!
I'm pretty internet-savvy, all right?
Not happening.
I'm your teammate! Trust me!
I feel sick.
Present a sketch to us.
Then thy sin shall be forgiven.
I'm stepping away for a sec.
H-Hey, Yamada! Hold up!
Now I'm pissed,
so I'm gonna trash your account.
Not happening.
Low literacy.
Uh, are you all right?
Do you want some water?
No, I don't.
You don't like me anymore, do you?
So just go away somewhere now.
Just go!
Telling me to go...
while clinging to me...
isn't that a contradiction?
Seems that way to me,
but it's probably not what I think.
I have no clue.
But if I move now...
I have a feeling
that she'll cry even harder.
She's been crying nonstop.
How miserable can she be?
I guess...
it's rough, huh?
This thing called romance.
You can sleep in peace till morning.
I'm gonna puke!