AHHHHHHH DANG IT THEY MADE US WAIT ANOTHER EPISODE!!! WHAT A TEASE!
But oh my gosh, Moriko looks so lovely! She was super stressed out about her appearance so she went all out in tidying herself up to appear presentable. Her new cut really suits her too! Not too short and not too long, making it easier to maintain! Although she wished she could have used that money she had spent on her new clothes on loot boxes, it was certainly worth every penny, especially when you are guaranteed your item! (Also note: Moriko’s hairstyle in the ED Changed <3)
It’s a bit difficult to pin-point right now whether or not Koiwai had deliberately set up the date when he was out of town so Sakurai has no choice but to go in his steed, or Moriko was so stressed out about it, that she mixed up the days.
This week’s theme focused on players meeting each other in real life. It starts off with our cashier Kazuomi, who unlike Moriko is open to sharing who is in-game character is. It turns out to be a small world after all since he happens to be her guild-master, Kanbe. Kazuomi is a chill guy, and although he is younger than both Moriko and Sakurai, he now knows they are opposite genders of the characters they are, and can’t help but tease about it. He also gave Moriko sound advice that she should limit or refrain from asking Lily for real-world advice, especially if she wishes to keep it a secret that she’s a woman playing as guy. Ironically, Sakurai has the same concerns, fearful of how he would be judged as a man playing as a female character.
However unlike Kazuomi, Sakurai found himself to be reluctant, even facing denial by trying to convince himself there’s no way Moriko = Hayashi. However as the days went on, knowing his conversation with Hayashi and his guild-mates informing him how he is not online because of a date, Sakurai could not bear the idea of Moriko waiting for Koiwai (who was out of town that day) and decides to spring into action.
But what strikes me the most is how he was not only terrified of verifying Moriko and Hayashi are one and the same, but he was also incredibly reluctant of doing so. I presume it’s because he is fearful of how this will change the way he interacts with Hayashi, especially when he happens to have a bit of a crush on Moriko. So in a sense, like Moriko, Sakurai has line drawn between real life and the online world, this was it… But he was willing to cross it, fearing Moriko would be hurt if nobody showed up.
Fortunately for him though, I don’t think he will have to worry about explaining how he knew she was there, since all he has to do is explain something came up on Koiwai’s end and he couldn’t reach her, so he came in his place. Then he could decide whether or not he wants to indulge further of addressing the online world stuff – which he will probably avoid altogether since Moriko has no clue that he is Lily. It will be very interesting to see how the two will open up to each other about their MMO profile, and whether this will happen in the real world, or in-game.
