After talking to him from behind, the bald man turned around and grinned at me.
"Yo, it's Kirito. Buying cheap and selling cheap has always been the principle of this shop's business.」
This guy didn't even feel embarrassed when he lied.
"Selling it cheaply is quite questionable. Forget it, I have something to sell you too.」
[Kirito is a regular customer. I won't have any bad intentions. Let me see..."
Aguirre said as he stretched out his thick neck and looked at the trading window I showed him.
The SAO player's character was able to accurately display the appearance of the real world through the scanning function of the NERvGear and the adjustment of the initial body measurement device. However, every time I saw this Egil, I couldn't help but sigh at the fact that there was such a suitable appearance in the real world for the online game of fantasy.
Its body was 180 centimeters tall, and it was made up of strong muscles and fat. The rough face above its neck looked like it was carved out of a rock. It looked like a bad guy in professional wrestling. In addition, the only hairstyle that could be customized was a big bald head. Its appearance was not inferior to that of a barbarian monster.
However, despite his appearance, his unique face was quite likable when he smiled. He looked to be less than 30 years old, but it was really hard to imagine what kind of profession he was in the real world. It was an unwritten rule in this world not to ask about the other side.
The pair of eyes under the thick and protruding brow ridge widened when they saw the trading window.
"Hey, isn't this an S-rank rare item,'Rabbit Meat Cuttle'? This is the first time I've seen it in stock…Kirito, you don't lack money, do you?" Didn't you think of staying and eating by yourself?」
"Of course. I probably won't have the chance to get it again…However, not many people have such high cooking skills to deal with this kind of prop."
At this moment, someone poked me in the back.
[Kirito...]
It was a girl's voice. There aren't many female players who would call me by my name. It should be said that there was only one female player who would call out to me in such a situation, so I already knew who she was before I turned my head. I quickly grabbed his hand that was still on my left shoulder and turned around.
[We caught the chef.]
[Wha…what?]
With my hand in his grasp, a surprised expression appeared on his face as he retreated.
At this moment, I could see her small oval-shaped face and her large light brown pupils that were emitting a dazzling light under her long chestnut-colored straight hair that was parted in the middle. Below her small and straight nose, her cherry blossom lips added a little more elegance to her beauty. Its slender body was wrapped in a white and red knight-style battle suit, and an elegant silver sword hung on the white leather sword belt.
Her name was Asuna. He was a well-known figure in SAO.
There was a reason why she was so famous. First of all, she was an overwhelming minority of female players in the game, and she was a beautiful woman with impeccable looks.
In this SAO world, where players 'physical bodies, especially their appearances, could almost be completely displayed, beautiful female players could be said to be rare existences beyond S-class, even though they were reluctant to say so. Beauties like Asuna could be counted on two hands.
Another reason why she became famous was her pure white and bright red knight's uniform, which was the uniform of the Blood Alliance Knights. The guild name was " Knight of the Blood ", which was also known as " KO B ". Amongst the many guilds in Ain Grand, it was publicly acknowledged as the strongest player guild.
Although it was a medium-sized organization with only about 30 people, they were all high-level powerful swordsmen. Moreover, their leader was the legendary strongest man in SAO. Although Asuna looked like a weak woman on the outside, she was actually the deputy leader of this knight group. Of course, her swordsmanship was no joke. Her fine swordsmanship earned her the nickname " Flash."
In short, whether it was her appearance or her sword skills, she stood at the top of the 6,000 players. It would be strange if she did not become famous. Of course, there were many players who were her fans, and there were also some fanatical fans and stalkers. In addition, there were also people who hated her very much, so she heard that she had actually suffered a lot.
However, no one would dare to cause trouble for Asuna, who was one of the strongest swordsmen. However, in order to ensure her safety, the guild would still send a few guards to follow her. Right now, there were two male members of the KO B standing a few steps behind her, wearing white capes and heavy armor. The thin man on the right, who had his long hair tied behind his back, noticed that I was still holding Asuna's hand, and his gaze was filled with killing intent.
I let go of her hand and shook my finger gently at the man. I replied,
"That's rare, Asuna. It actually appeared in this kind of garbage dump.」
The long-haired man and the owner of the shop froze when they heard me call Asuna by her name. But when the shopkeeper heard Asuna say," Long time no see, Aguirre," his face relaxed again.
Asuna turned to face me and pouted with dissatisfaction."
[What? I'm just here to make sure that you're still alive because the boss battle is about to begin.」
"Don't you have a friend list? You should know about such a small matter. Speaking of which, you probably used the friend tracking function on the map to find this place, right?」
After being refuted by me, she immediately turned her face away in anger.
Other than being the deputy leader, she was also the person in charge of the guild's strategy games. This job did include gathering willful solo players like me to form a team to deal with the boss monster, but personally coming to confirm this was too much.
After Asuna received my exaggerated yet admirable gaze, she placed her hands on her hips and lifted her chin.
[It's good that you're alive. But... but... what did you mean by catching the chef?」
[Ah, right. What's your cooking proficiency level now?」
I remember that Asuna, who was crazy about cooking, kept improving her cooking skills during the time she was training her combat skills. After hearing my question, she smiled proudly and replied,
"You'll be shocked to hear that. I've already 'learned it completely' last week.」
[What!]
Was this guy…an idiot?
Although I had this thought for a moment, I didn't say it out loud.
Every time a skill was used, the proficiency would slowly increase at an almost imperceptible speed. In the end, when the proficiency reached 1,000, it would become a complete learning. By the way, using experience points to increase levels was different from proficiency. After the level increased, it would only increase HP, strength, agility, and the number of skills that could be learned in the " skill grid."
Although I currently have twelve skill slots, the only skills that I have fully learned are the single-handed straight sword skill, the search skill, and the weapon defense skill. In other words, this woman had spent countless hours and passion on skills that had nothing to do with combat.
[…I have a favor to ask of you, master.」
I waved at her and changed the prop window to a visible mode for others to see. Asuna, who was looking over with a puzzled expression, widened her eyes when she saw the name of the item.
[Woah! This…this is an S-grade ingredient?"
[I want to make a deal with you. If you help me cook this, I'll let you have a bite.」
Before I could finish, Asuna's right hand grabbed my shirt tightly and pulled me to a spot a few centimeters away from her face.
[I want one and a half!]
I was flustered by her sudden action and reflexively nodded in agreement to her condition. By the time I came back to my senses, it was already too late. Asuna clenched her left hand in excitement. I could only think to myself that since I could look at her pitiful face at such a close distance, I would forget about such a small matter and force myself to accept the truth.
As I closed the window, I turned around and looked at Aguirre's face.
[I'm sorry, but because of this, the transaction has been terminated.]」
[That's fine…but we can be considered good friends, right?] Let me have a taste too…"
"I'll write you my thoughts within 800 words.」
[No, you don't have to be so ruthless!]
Aguirre made an expression as if it was the end of the world and began to wail. Just as I was about to turn around and leave, Asuna suddenly grabbed the sleeve of my coat and asked,
"It's fine if you want me to cook, but where do you want me to cook?」
[Woo...]
In order to use cooking skills, other than ingredients, he needed at least cooking props, stoves, or oven. Even though my room has some simple tools, how can a small and dirty place like that entertain this deputy commander of the KO's?
Asuna looked at me impatiently and said,
[I don't see any good props in your room. This time, for the sake of the ingredients, I'll make an exception and provide my room as a place to cook.」
This guy actually made such an incredible suggestion with a relaxed expression.
I still didn't understand what she was saying, and my mind temporarily froze. Asuna ignored me and turned to the two guild members who were acting as guards.
" I'm going directly from here to Selmbrook today, so you don't have to protect me. You've worked hard."
As soon as he finished speaking, the longhaired man, who seemed to have reached the limit of his patience, shouted. If SAO's expression reproduction ability was a little more precise, his anger would have caused two or three more veins to appear on his forehead.
[Lady…Lady Asuna! It's one thing for you to move to such a slum, but now you actually let this guy of unknown origin go home with you. This, this is really too wrong!」
His exaggerated words immediately made me retreat. He actually called her " Lord ". I think this guy can be considered a crazy admirer of Asuna. I thought so and looked at him. I found that the person also had a very disgusted expression.
"Let's not talk about this person's background for now, but his sword skills are indeed superb. I think he's more than ten levels higher than you, Krattier.」
[You, you must be joking! How could I be worse than this guy…!」
The man's broken voice resounded throughout the entire alley. He had originally used the three-eyed look on his face. The black pupils of the eyes were close to the top, while the left, right, and bottom of the eyes were white. In physiognomy, this is called a fierce appearance.) His eyes were sunken. He glared at me fiercely, but suddenly, as if he had remembered something, his facial expression changed.
[Oh right…you should be the 'cheater,' right?]」
The so-called cheater was a combination of " closed test participant " and " cheater ", a term exclusive to SAO. Although he was already used to hearing this vicious term, every time he heard it, his heart would still feel pain. And then the face of the first person who had told me this, the face of my friend, flashed through my mind.
[Yes, that's right.]
After I admitted it expressionlessly, the man said even more aggressively,
"Lady Asuna, this guy is a selfish person who only cares about himself! There was absolutely no benefit in getting involved with such a person!」
Asuna, who had remained calm until now, frowned as if she was unhappy. A human wall had appeared around them, and they could vaguely hear the words " KO B " and " Asuna " coming from the crowd.
Asuna glanced at the crowd around her and said to the man named Kradil who was getting more and more excited,"
[Anyway, you can go back first today. This is the deputy commander's order."
Asuna's left hand grabbed the belt on the back of my coat and pulled me back as we walked towards the portal square.
"Hey... hey, is it okay?」
[It doesn't matter!]
Since she said so, of course, I have no reason to reject her. Leaving behind the two guards and the regretful Ajir, the two of us walked through the crowd. I looked back one last time and saw that the man named Kradil was standing straight in place, staring at me with a ferocious expression on his face. And his fierce appearance was like an afterimage that lingered in my sight.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。