Yuka picked up the opticomputer on the table, ready to leave for her match.
She heard the butler on the bed hum and whine, "You're not taking me again! You didn't take me all day yesterday. Don't you love me anymore? Are you seeing some butler else?"
Thinking about her conversation with Kenji yesterday, Yuka felt a bit guilty and responded evasively, "No, of course not. How could that be? I like you the best."
"I'm not taking you because I have a match, and the result will affect my scores at UUA," Yuka patted the butler's round head and said. "Once I'm done today, I'll be free and will always carry you with me. Bye-bye."
The butler exclaimed, "Yay!"
…
Yuka and Ayoi walked up to the fourth floor and entered the match room.
They lay down in the holographic pod, returning to the familiar pre-match virtual room, waiting for Kenji to announce the rules for the second round of the competition.
