Asuna and I focused on running towards the safe zone in the middle of the maze. Although we felt that we were being targeted by monsters several times along the way, we really didn't have the time to care about them.
After rushing into the room designated as a safe area, the two of us leaned against the wall and sat down slowly. They let out a deep breath and looked at each other's faces.
[Puff…]
Then, the two of them laughed at the same time. If he calmly called out the map to confirm, he would immediately know that the huge demon had not left the room, but no matter what, he could not stop his footsteps.
[Ahaha, you escaped so quickly!]
Asuna sat on the ground and smiled happily.
"It's been a long time since I ran away like this. But Kirito, you escaped even more exaggeratedly than I did!」
「…………」
There was no way to deny it. Asuna looked at my angry expression and snickered sarcastically. After a while, he finally stopped smiling and said seriously,
[... That guy seems to be quite troublesome...]
"That's true. With a quick glance, he saw that its weapon seemed to only be a large sword, but it should have some special attack.」
"We can only arrange for many people with high defense in the vanguard and then switch constantly.」
[I hope there are ten guys equipped with shields... but when the time comes, we can only attack it bit by bit and then find out its habits before deciding on a countermeasure.]」
[Equipment Shield?]
Asuna gave me a meaningful look.
[W-what?]
You must be hiding something from me, right?」
[What are you suddenly saying…]
" Because it's really strange. Generally speaking, the biggest advantage of a one-handed sword was that the other hand could hold a shield. But I've never seen Kirito hold a shield. I did it because it would reduce the speed of the rapier, and there are also people who don't use shields because they want to look good. Your words shouldn't be related to the above reasons. This is really suspicious…"
She was right. I do have a hidden skill. But up until now, I haven't used it in front of anyone.
This was because Skill Information could be said to be related to a player's life and death. And I think that if this skill is known by others, it will create a deeper gap with the people around it.
However, if this woman knew about it, it shouldn't matter…
When I thought of this and was about to speak, she smiled and said,
[Forget it, it's okay. It was impolite to probe other people's skills.」
Having lost the opportunity to speak, I could only shut my mouth again. Asuna glanced at the clock to confirm the time, and her eyes widened."
[Wow, it's already three o'clock. Although it was already a little late, he still came for lunch.」
[What…]
I suddenly became excited.
"You, did you make it yourself?"
Asuna smiled silently to express her affirmation, then quickly started to manipulate the menu. She removed the white leather gloves and took out a small basket. At least this is the benefit of teaming up with this woman. When I thought of this rude idea, she suddenly glared at me.
"... What bad idea are you having?」
[Where, where is it?] Hurry up and give it to me."
Although Asuna was so angry that she pouted, she still took out two large bags of things wrapped in paper from the basket and handed one of them to me. He hurriedly opened it and found that it was a sandwich made of thin-cut round bread and a large amount of roasted meat and vegetables. At this moment, a pepper-like fragrance began to waft in the air. I suddenly felt a strong hunger and opened my mouth to bite without saying anything.
[It's…It's delicious…]
After taking two or three bites and swallowing the food, he couldn't help but blurt out his thoughts. Although it looked similar to the unknown exotic cuisine sold in the Ain Grand NPC Restaurant, the taste was completely different. This strong sweet and spicy taste was exactly the same as the taste in the Japanese fast food restaurant I frequented two years ago. I held back the tears that were about to fall because of the nostalgic taste and focused on eating the big sandwich.
After swallowing the last piece, I took the iced tea from Asuna and drank it in one gulp. Only then did I finally catch my breath.
[How did you make this taste…]
[This is the result of a year of cultivation and research. It was a complete analysis of the 100 or so seasonings in Aingrunt, and what kind of values they would produce for the taste regeneration engine. Only then did it complete this taste. This was the result of combining the seeds of the Glockawa tree, the leaves of the Shuble tree, and the water of Kalim.」
Asuna said as she took out two small bottles from the basket. She uncapped one of them and put her index finger into it. When she pulled her finger out, it was already stained with an indescribable purple sticky substance. She continued,
[Open your mouth.]
Although he was puzzled, he still opened his mouth reflexively. Asuna aimed at my mouth and snapped her fingers. The taste of the sticky liquid that popped into my mouth really gave me a fright from the bottom of my heart.
[... It's mayonnaise!]
"And then here are Apilucroton and Saguye, plus the bones of Uraha fish.」
Although I noticed that the last item was the raw material for the antidote, before I could confirm it, the liquid bounced into my mouth again. This time, the taste made me feel an even stronger impact than before. It was undoubtedly the taste of soy sauce. As I was too touched, I grabbed Asuna's hand without thinking and sucked on her finger.
[Wow!]
As she screamed, Asuna pulled her finger back and glared at me. However, when she saw my dazed face, she couldn't help but laugh.
[The sandwich sauce was made with this.」
[…That's amazing!] It was impeccable! If you sell this, you'll definitely make a lot of money!」
To be honest, compared to yesterday's rabbit stew, I think today's sandwich is even more delicious.
"Is, is it?"
Asuna smiled embarrassedly.
[No, it's better not to sell it. What if I can't eat it?"
[You're very petty!] I'll cook for you when I want to.」
After saying that in a low voice, Asuna, who was sitting next to me, touched my shoulder slightly. A silence that almost made people forget that we were on the battlefield enveloped the surroundings.
If I could eat such dishes every day, I could move to Selmbrook…next to Asuna's house…I couldn't help but think of this and almost said it out loud.
Suddenly, a group of players walked in from the entrance below with the sound of armor clashing. The two of us immediately separated and sat apart.
When I saw the leader of this six-man team, my shoulders immediately relaxed. Because that man was the sword user I had known for the longest time in this floating castle.
[Oh, Kirito. Long time no see."
When the tall man noticed that it was me, he walked over with a smile. I stood up and greeted him.
[You're still alive, Klein.]
[You still have such a bad mouth.] It's rare that you actually have a…companion…"
Seeing Asuna quickly packing up her things, the swordsman with a low-level pattern bandana on his forehead widened his eyes.
"Ah... well, you should have met each other during the boss battle, but let's introduce each other. This guy was Klein from the guild Wind Forest Volcano. This was Asuna of the Blood Alliance Knights.」
Asuna nodded slightly when I introduced her, but Klein's eyes and mouth remained open.
[Hey, say something. Are you a lag?"
Klein elbowed him in the stomach before he finally shut his mouth. He then lowered his head and saluted at an exaggerated speed.
[You, hello! I-I-I'm Klein. I'm twenty-four years old and single!」
Seeing this sword user who was so flustered that he couldn't speak, I used more strength this time and punched his abdomen. However, before Klein could finish his sentence, the other five members behind him rushed forward and all of them rushed to introduce themselves.
All the members of " Wind Forest Volcano " had known each other before they started playing SAO. Klein protected all his companions by himself and guided them to grow to become members of the strategy team. Two years ago, on the day that the game of death began, he carried the burden that made me so afraid that I refused to bear it alone.
I swallowed the self-loathing that seeped into the depths of my heart and turned to Asuna.
"Hmm... Although the leader looks like a bad guy, they are all good people.」
This time, Klein stomped on my foot. When Asuna saw us like this, she couldn't help but bend over and laugh. Klein, who had a shy and twisted smile on his face, suddenly grabbed my arm as if he had come back to his senses. He asked in a suppressed but murderous voice,
"What's going on, Kirito?」
Asuna walked over to me, who was too busy answering, and said in a clear voice,"
[Hello. I will be teaming up with this person for a while. Please give me your advice.」
When I heard her say this, I was shocked and thought,"Aren't we only teaming up today?"」，Klein and the others immediately looked disappointed and angry.
Not long after, Klein looked at me with a murderous gaze and roared through gritted teeth,
[Kirito, you…]
When I thought that it wouldn't be easy to get out of this situation, I felt rather helpless…
Footsteps and metallic sounds came from the direction where the group of people had just come from, informing us that another group of people had arrived. Asuna touched my wrist nervously and whispered,"
[Kirito, it's the army!]
I immediately looked towards the entrance. Indeed, it was the heavy armored troops that I had seen in the forest. Klein raised his hand and asked his five companions to retreat to the wall. The army still marched into the room in two columns, but they were no longer as orderly as they were in the forest. Their footsteps were heavy, and from the expressions under their helmets, one could tell that they were quite tired.
The troops stopped at the other end of the safe zone. As soon as the man standing in front said " rest," the remaining eleven people made loud noises and fell to the ground or sat on the ground. The man didn't even look at his companion and walked towards us.
Upon closer inspection, one could see that the man's equipment was slightly different from the other eleven. Other than the high-grade metal armor, the chest area was also painted with a badge that no one else had. It was designed with the panoramic view of Ain Grand.
The man stopped in front of us and took off his helmet. He was a rather tall man in his early thirties. He had a square face and short hair. His small eyes under his thick eyebrows were shining sharply, and his mouth was tightly shut. He glanced at us and said to me, who was standing at the front,
[I am Lieutenant Colonel Kobards of the Ain Grand Liberation Army.」
It was really unexpected. Originally,'army' was just a nickname given by people outside the group to mock them, but it had become their official name. He even called himself a "lieutenant colonel". Although I felt a little annoyed, I still briefly introduced myself." Kirito, a solo player."
The man nodded slightly and asked in an arrogant tone,
[Have you already conquered the area ahead?」
[Hmm... the map has already recorded the front of the leader's room.]」
[Mmm. Then I hope you can provide me with the map file.」
Seeing the man's matter-of-fact attitude, even I was a little shocked. Klein, who was standing behind me, was different from me. He shouted in a rough voice,
"What do you mean…you want us to provide it? Do you know how much effort it takes to record a map? How dare you say such a thing!"
The map files of the unconquered areas could be said to be very important information. It could be sold for a very high price among treasure hunters who targeted treasure chests.
Upon hearing Klein's voice, the man immediately raised an eyebrow, raised his chin, and replied loudly,"
[We are fighting to free you ordinary players!」
Then, he said,
[Helping us is also your duty!」
The so-called arrogant and rude attitude should be referring to this kind of attitude. It was obvious that the army had not actively participated in the floor raiding for the past year.
[Wait a minute, why are you…]
[You…]
Asuna and Klein, who were standing on the left and right, were about to explode in anger, but I stopped them with my hands.
"Anyway, I was going to make it public when I returned to town. It doesn't matter if I give it to him.」
"Hey, hey, Kirito, you're too nice.」
"I don't intend to sell the map file for money.」
As I spoke, I called out to the trading window and sent the files of the maze area to the man who called himself Lieutenant Colonel Kobarts. The man received the file expressionlessly and said," Thank you for your cooperation " in a voice that didn't contain any gratitude at all. Then, he turned around. I said to his back,
[I advise you not to casually attack the leader.」
Kobazi turned around slightly.
" It's up to me to judge..."
"We just went to the leader's room. That's not an enemy that can be dealt with by just a few people. And your companions look quite tired.」
[... My subordinates are not weaklings who only know how to moan!」
Although Kobarts emphasized the word " subordinates " with a bit of indignation, the " subordinates " sitting on the ground didn't seem to agree with what he said.
[You guys, stand up immediately!」
At Kobazi's words, they slowly stood up and lined up in two rows. Without even looking at them, Kobazi stood in front of the group, raised a hand, and then quickly waved it down. The twelve men raised their weapons in unison. The heavy equipment made a sound as they began to march again.
Although their HP seemed to be full, the intense battle inside the SAO would bring about invisible fatigue. Although the real body left in the other world did not move, the fatigue could only be eliminated by sleeping and resting here. In my opinion, the players in the army have already exhausted their stamina because they are not used to fighting at the frontlines.
[... Are those guys okay...]
Klein said in a worried voice after the military troops disappeared at the exit leading to the upper level and their regular footsteps could not be heard. This guy was really a good person.
[No matter how stupid he is, he wouldn't immediately attack the leader...]
It seemed that Asuna was also a little worried. The tone of that Lieutenant Colonel Kobazi indeed gave people the feeling that he would act rashly.
[... It's better to go and take a look...?]」
After I finished speaking, Klein and Asuna, as well as the other five, agreed.
Although I smiled bitterly and thought," Why is everyone so nice?", I still made up my mind to follow them and take a look. If I leave the maze now and find out that those people haven't returned, I won't be able to sleep well at night.
I quickly confirmed my equipment and was about to walk forward when I suddenly heard a voice.
Klein could be heard whispering to Asuna from behind. Just as I was thinking that this fellow really couldn't learn his lesson and was smiling bitterly, the content of their conversation was far beyond my expectations.
" Ah-that, Miss Asuna. How should I put it…I'll have to ask you to take care of that fellow and Kirito. Although he's a stupid battle maniac who doesn't know how to speak and doesn't know how to behave…"
I immediately rushed back and tugged at Klein's scarf.
"What…what nonsense are you talking about!」
[Because, because…]
The sword messenger tilted his head and rubbed his beard. He continued,
[It's rare for you to team up with others. Even if he had fallen for the honey trap, he had made great progress. That's why I..."
[I-I didn't fall for any honey trap!」
Even though I retorted, Klein and his five companions, and even Asuna, were smiling at me for some reason. I had no choice but to turn around with a crooked mouth.
Then, he heard Asuna say to Klein," Leave it to me."
I used my boots to make a crisp sound as I escaped towards the passage leading to the upper level.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]