The Strongest Eriri in History

"Well, pretty much. After all, everyone likes Onee-chan," Reina nodded confidently after a brief moment of thought.

In truth, Reina wasn't entirely sure who Eriri had officially paired up with, but in her mind, all of these sisters in the house—even if they hadn't yet confirmed things with Eriri—were bound to be with her someday.

Over the next little while, Haguro Kosaka and her friends explored the grounds with Reina and the others, treating it like an adventure as they roamed the manor, their laughter echoing from every scenic spot.

...

Around seven in the evening, after finishing dinner with Eriri and the others, Haguro Kosaka and her friends returned to their homes.

When Haguro Kosaka got home, she was surprised to find her sister, Akane Kosaka, neither at the office nor holed up in her room working as usual. Instead, Akane was sitting primly on the living room sofa, as though she had been waiting for Haguro's return.

Seeing this made Haguro Kosaka very happy. She dashed into the room and ran toward Akane the moment she entered.

"Onee-chan, I'm back!"

"Welcome home," Akane Kosaka smiled, opening her arms to catch Haguro as she flew over. "Did you have fun today, little Hane?"

"I did!" Haguro Kosaka snuggled into Akane's arms, her voice brimming with excitement. "Reina-chan's house is huge! There's so much fun stuff, the food was amazing, and Reina-chan's sister is super, super, super… pretty."

Hearing her little sister's words, Akane's expression shifted slightly. "Really? What do you think of Eriri-san?"

Though she was deeply focused on her work, Akane Kosaka cared greatly for her little sister. In her spare moments, she often chatted with her about school life and was well aware of the connection between Reina and Eriri.

Thus, she also understood that when Haguro Kosaka mentioned Reina's sister, she was referring to Eriri.

"She's great! And we even got to take pictures with Eriri-nee!"

With that, Haguro Kosaka took three photos of herself with Eriri out of her pocket and held them up like prized treasures for Akane Kosaka to see.

"Here are my pictures with Eriri-nee."

As Akane Kosaka looked down at the photos, Eriri's familiar face—engraved deeply in her heart—appeared before her eyes, with her own sister seated beside Eriri, brimming with excitement.

Akane Kosaka's face showed a mix of emotions. Being able to sit next to Eriri for a photo was something she herself had always longed to do, but had never had the chance.

Yet now, her little sister had managed it so easily.

Just as she was swept up in her feelings, Haguro Kosaka spoke up again from within her arms.

"Onee-chan, listen to this! Reina-chan's house has so many pretty big sisters, and Reina-chan said that they're all Eriri-nee's girlfriends! Isn't that amazing?"

At this, Akane Kosaka was stunned.

...

Meanwhile, at the Kuki family estate.

As one of Japan's prominent financial families, the Kuki family's residence was naturally extraordinary. While it couldn't compare to Eriri's in terms of luxury, it was still a vast estate.

To the average elite, living on such an estate would already be the pinnacle of luxury.

Mei Kuki burst into her castle-like home, heading straight for her sister's room.

"Onee-chan, Onee-chan! I've got something awesome to show you!" she called out loudly the moment she pushed open her sister's door.

"Mei-chan, welcome back. What do you want to show me?"

Inside the room was a beautiful young woman who looked remarkably like Mei Kuki , only older. She turned around with a gentle smile, looking at her rather excited little sister.

The girl wore a white dress, her long white hair falling neatly down her back in the same hime cut as her sister's, with an impeccable figure, accentuated in all the right places.

A typical highborn young lady, she appeared to be around high school age.

"Ta-da!"

Mei Kuki approached her sister, Inoue Kuki, and dramatically pulled out a photo of herself with Eriri from her pocket.

"Onee-chan, guess who's in this photo?"

"Who's in it? Why so secretive?" Inoue Kuki gave her sister a playful look, not hiding her curiosity.

She reached out her right hand to take the photo from Mei Kuki to see who was in it.

But just as she was about to touch it, Mei Kuki quickly pulled it back, taking two steps backward.

"Onee-chan, you haven't guessed who's in the picture yet. No cheating!"

"You went to your friend's house today, right? So is this a picture of you all together?"

Since Mei Kuki often went to the homes of Haguro Kosaka and Shio Misaki, and had only mentioned going to a friend's house that day without further details, Inoue Kuki didn't know that Mei Kuki had actually gone to Eriri's home, the place she had been longing to visit.

"You're half right! It is a picture of me with someone, but it's not with Reina-chan and the others," Mei Kuki replied mysteriously. "And today, I didn't go to Hane-chan or Shio-chan's houses."

Inoue Kuki froze at her words. "Wait—don't tell me you went to Eriri-sama's… uh, I mean, Reina's house?"

Inoue Kuki was also aware of the relationship between Reina and Eriri, and the thought of this thrilled her. But before she could speak further, Mei Kuki revealed the answer herself.

"Alright, Onee-chan, no more pretending! Hane-chan, Shio-chan, and I really did go to Eriri-nee's house—also Reina's house—today. And this photo is one I took with Eriri-nee!"

Thinking about something and then knowing for sure are two different things.

The moment Inoue Kuki realized that Eriri was in the photo, her eyes sparkled as she stared at it, practically wishing to claim it for herself.

Although Eriri had posted some pictures on her Twitter account a while back, it was only to show them to Utaha Kasumigaoka.

A few days later, Eriri removed all her photos from the internet, even those downloaded to third-party devices.

Moreover, Inoue Kuki wasn't part of the otaku scene, so she didn't know that Eriri had an identity as Eiri Kashiwagi, nor that her photos had once been publicly available.

To Inoue Kuki, then, photos of Eriri were still rare treasures.

However, she also knew that taking her little sister's belongings would be highly unethical, so she had to suppress her desires.

"Mei-chan, could you give this photo to me? I'd grant you any request if you do."

Inoue Kuki looked at Mei Kuki with a mischievous smile, offering to exchange a favor for the picture of Eriri. As far as she was concerned, the fact that there was another person in the photo was simply irrelevant.

"No way! I got this picture with Eriri-nee after a lot of effort. It's my treasure, and there's no way I'm giving it to you!" Mei Kuki hugged the photo close, decisively refusing her sister's request.

Then, her tone changed. "If you give me that picture you've been refusing to let me see, maybe I'd consider letting you have this one."

Without a second thought, Inoue Kuki rejected the offer. She had gone through great lengths to wrest a photo of Eriri in a gown from their older brother and wasn't about to give it up now.

Seeing her refusal, Mei Kuki didn't push further. Instead, she proudly pulled out three more photos from her pocket, flashing each one in front of Inoue Kuki, leaving her feeling incredibly envious.

Still, even as she looked longingly at the photos, Inoue Kuki never considered trading her Eriri picture to get one from Mei Kuki .

The two sisters ended up in a silent staring contest.

Compared to Haguro Kosaka and Mei Kuki , things were much quieter on Shio Misaki's end. Her family wasn't as well-off as the Kosakas, and certainly couldn't compare to the Kuki financial conglomerate.

Under normal circumstances, the Misaki family would never have had contact with someone of Eriri's stature.

...

The next day quickly arrived. At ten in the morning, it was time for Lala's newly upgraded Sword Art Online to launch.

Gamers around the world were incredibly excited, with nearly everyone awaiting Sword Art Online's opening, each hoping to be the first to clear the game.

Gabriel returned to the Saekano world early that morning, and other group members arrived shortly after.

This gathering was Eriri's second group event, which quickly received official approval from Little Skirt-chan.

So, just like with Sakura's birthday, every group member could open a world portal for free, traveling freely between the two worlds.

After sharing breakfast together, the clock struck ten.

Lala handed each group member a device she had prepared in advance, which resembled a pair of glasses. They just had to put it on and press the button on the right side of the frame to enter the new Sword Art Online game world.

This time, it wasn't only the group members logging in; every resident of the villa joined in as well.

After making their initial profession choices, everyone appeared together in the plaza of the starting town in the Asian region.

Since the game was meant to feel like another world, each person's in-game appearance data was identical to their real-world selves.

The surrounding architecture, the intricacy of the scenery, and even the sensations felt identical to the real world.

The game encompassed all countries worldwide, with each region reflecting the unique language, architecture, and cultural style of real-world locations. This created a richly immersive environment, allowing players to experience a sense of global diversity.

The plaza was already filled with players, with new figures appearing by the second. Most players were eagerly heading toward the trading areas or venturing out of town to explore the game's content.

A variety of languages filled the plaza. With no translation functions, communication here was just as it was in the real world; if someone didn't understand another Asian language, they couldn't communicate with players from other countries.

The arrival of Eriri and the others brought the entire plaza to a standstill.

One or two beautiful girls had appeared over the past few seconds, but now more than thirty stunning girls were arriving at once, exuding an aura that outshone everyone around them.

"Wow, is this really a game world? It's incredible! Lala, you're amazing!" Chika Fujiwara marveled, looking around excitedly and moving her body to feel any difference from reality—only to find none at all.

If it weren't for the accessory in her hand, she might have truly believed she'd stepped into a new world rather than a game.

"Eh-heh-heh, it's nothing! I just added a few things to the original game," Lala said, a bit bashful.

Momo and Nana, standing beside her, looked at their sister with faces full of admiration.

Meanwhile, Asuna, overhearing their conversation, couldn't help but comment.

"A few things? You basically made a whole new game…"

Gabriel, who had previously played Sword Art Online in Asuna's world, was even more impressed.

Her wide eyes scanned her surroundings, seemingly tempted to dash out like others who'd left the plaza and head for the wilderness.

Since Eriri and the others had arrived in the plaza, no one else had voluntarily left. Soon, the plaza became packed with players, though the area around Eriri and her friends remained like a vacuum.

Some players attempted to strike up conversations with them, only to be ignored by Eriri and the others.

Some persistent players tried to approach them, but before they could reach Eriri and her group, they were abruptly forced offline. None were seen logging back in afterward.

They hadn't simply disconnected temporarily but were banned from Sword Art Online forever—their accounts deleted outright.

This was, of course, Lala's handiwork. For the game's developer, banning a player or two was effortless.

Plenty of people knew that Eriri was the eldest daughter of the Sawamura family, at least at Yumenosaki Academy.

And since Sword Art Online was operated by a company under the Sawamura family, anyone aware of these facts could guess the fate of those players.

After this, no one dared to intrude upon the area where Eriri and her group stood.

Because the game simultaneously hosted all Asian players, each level's map was enormous.

The starting plaza in the starting town was similarly vast, more than capable of accommodating all Asian players, with no need for any segmentation.

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