Asuna said that while she was waiting in Grantham, she was checking my location on the map screen.
When she saw Godfrey's reaction disappear, she rushed out of the town. In other words, we walked for an hour, about five kilometers, but she only took about five minutes to arrive. This speed could be said to have exceeded the limit of the agility adjustment. When I pointed this out, she only smiled and said,"This is the power of love."
After we returned to the guild headquarters, we reported the entire matter to Heavencliff and immediately applied to leave the guild temporarily. When Asuna explained that she was leaving the party because she didn't trust the guild, Heathcliffe considered it silently for a moment before agreeing to Asuna's request. But in the end, he revealed a mysterious smile and said to us," But you will return to the battlefield soon."
It was already evening when they left the headquarters and arrived on the streets. We held hands and walked towards the transfer gate square.
The two of them did not speak along the way.
With the orange light rays from the outside as the background, we strolled through the black silhouettes drawn by the iron towers. At this moment, my mind began to wander aimlessly. Where did the dead man's malice come from?
There were indeed many people who liked to commit crimes in this world. From thieves and robbers to cold-blooded murderers like Kradil and the previous " Smiling Coffin," it was said that there were more than a thousand players. In everyone's minds, they were like monsters that would appear naturally.
But thinking about it carefully, they were a very strange group of people. This was because everyone knew that harming other players as a criminal was harmful to the ultimate goal of the game. And by doing so, it meant that they did not want to leave this world.
However, when I saw this man, Krattier, I felt that he wasn't like that. He did not want to support or stop others from escaping from the game. It could be said that he was in a state of complete silence. It was because he did not want to look back at the past or predict the future. He only allowed his desire to grow endlessly, and in the end, it blossomed into a flower full of malice.
But then again, what about me? I can't confidently say that I'm serious about making a complete strategy for the game. It was more like he was just habitually sneaking into the maze to earn experience points. If fighting is just to strengthen myself and gain the pleasure of being stronger than others, then I don't really want this world to end, right?
Suddenly, I felt the metal plate beneath my feet become unstable and even began to sink. I had no choice but to stop. Then, as if I was begging Asuna to hold my hand, I clenched my right hand tightly.
「…………?」
Asuna tilted her head and looked at me. After glancing at her, I quickly lowered my head and muttered to myself,
"... No matter what happens... I will let you... return to that world..."
「…………」
This time, it was Asuna's turn to hold my hand tightly.
"When we go back, we have to go back together.」
After saying that, he smiled.
Before we knew it, we had already arrived in front of the portal. In the cold wind that made people feel like winter was coming, only a few players were walking on the road with their bodies curled up.
I turned straight to Asuna.
I thought that the warm light emanating from her strong soul was the only light that could guide me in the right direction.
" Asuna... tonight... I want to be with you..."
I said this unconsciously.
I don't want to leave her. I had never felt such a close fear of death before. Even now, I still couldn't shake it off easily.
If she slept alone tonight, she would definitely have nightmares. I was sure that I would dream of that crazy man, the sword coming down, and the feeling of my right hand stabbing into flesh.
Although Asuna stared at me with widened eyes, she should be able to understand the meaning behind my words.
Not long after, she blushed and nodded her head.
The second time I visited Asuna's room in Selmbrook, I found that it was still decorated luxuriously, as well as a comfortable warmth. The owner's taste could be seen from the decorative items around the room. Although she thought so, Asuna said,"
" Wow, wow--the room is very messy because nothing has been coming back recently..."
Then, he chuckled and quickly cleaned up those things.
[Dinner is about to start. Kirito, read the newspaper first and wait for me.」
[Okay.]
I sat down on the soft sofa as I watched Asuna disappear into the kitchen in her apron. Then, he picked up the large piece of paper on the table.
Although it was called a newspaper, it was actually just a substitute for the players who sold information. They would casually collect gossip and sell it under the name of a newspaper. However, this was already a rather important media outlet in Ain Grand, which didn't have much entertainment. There were even many players who had long-term readers. I casually read one of the four pages of news, but immediately threw it back on the table weakly. The headline was about my duel with Heavenscliffe.
Under the title of " New Skill: Second Sword Style User Defeated by Holy Sword ", there was a photo of me lying in front of Heavenscliffe. In the game, you can take a photo with the Record Crystal. In other words, he had added a new page to the legend of Heathcliff's invincibility.
However, this way, people's evaluation of me will drop, and the commotion will also calm down…I helped myself find a more acceptable reason. When I started to look at the price list of rare items, a rich fragrance wafted out from the kitchen.
For dinner, they had beef from the cow-type monster and steak with Asuna's special soy sauce. Although the level of the ingredients was not very high, the seasoning was too perfect. Asuna looked at me with a smile as I munched on the meat.
After dinner, when we sat on the sofa facing each other and drank tea leisurely, Asuna became a little talkative for some reason. They kept talking about their favorite weapon brands or the sightseeing spots on which floor.
I was a little surprised to hear what she said, but Asuna suddenly stopped and fell silent. This made me a little worried. She stared into the teacup as if she was looking for something. His expression was as serious as before the battle.
"... Hey, hey, what's wrong with you..."
But before I could finish, Asuna placed the teacup in her right hand on the table and quickly stood up while encouraging herself.
[... Alright!]
Then, he walked straight to the window and knocked on the wall to call out the room menu. Suddenly, he turned off all the lights in the four corners. Darkness immediately surrounded the room. My [Enemy Search] skill automatically activated, switching my vision to night vision mode.
In the room that was dyed in light blue, the faint light from the street lamp shining in through the window fell on Asuna, making her glow with a pure white light. Although I wasn't sure of the current situation, I still held my breath because of her beauty.
Her dark blue long hair and her slender and snow-white hands and feet that stretched out from her short robe reflected the light back faintly, as if she was glowing.
Asuna stood by the window, speechless. Her head was lowered so that I couldn't see her expression clearly. I could only see her placing her left hand in front of her chest as if she was hesitating about something.
Just as I was about to talk to her, Asuna's left hand started moving. She waved her left ring finger in the air. The menu window appeared at the same time as the sound effect.
Amidst the blue darkness, Asuna's finger slowly moved on the window that was emitting purple system colors. It looked like he was operating the left side, which was the equipment puppet.
Just as I was thinking about this, Asuna's knee-length stockings silently disappeared. A foot with perfect curves appeared in front of me. Then, she moved her fingers again. This time, he changed it to the equipment that removed the short robe. I couldn't help but open my mouth and widen my eyes, and my thoughts stopped.
Asuna was only wearing her underwear. The small white cloth only covered her chest and waist.
" No, don't... look here..."
she whispered in a trembling voice. But even though she said that, I still couldn't move my gaze.
Asuna's hands were originally crossed in front of her chest, but soon she raised her head and looked straight at me, then put her hands down.
I endured the impact of my soul almost leaving my body as I stared at her blankly.
The woman in front of him could no longer be described as beautiful. She had smooth skin wrapped in blue light and long hair comparable to the highest grade silk. As for the two bulges that were more significant than he had imagined, although it was a little contradictory, it felt like no drawing engine could produce such a perfect curve. From her slender waist to her feet, it was wrapped by the elastic muscles that made people think of wild animals.
He couldn't believe that she was just a 3D object. To make an analogy, it should be said that it was a statue that was infused with a soul using exquisite technology.
The first time a SAO player logged in, the player's body would be semi-automatically generated according to the rough file obtained when adjusting the NERvGear tester. Thinking about it this way, the perfect body in front of him could be said to be a miracle.
I could only stare at the half-naked Asuna. If it wasn't for her being so embarrassed that she couldn't take it anymore and covered her body with her hands to speak, even after an hour, I would still be in the same state.
Asuna's face was so red that it could be seen even in the dark blue room. She lowered her head and said,
" Kiri-Ren, hurry up and take off your clothes too... I'm the only one who's like this. It's so embarrassing..."
After hearing this, I finally understood why Asuna would do such a thing.
In other words, she gave a deeper explanation than I did when I said that I wanted to be with you tonight.
While I understood this, I also fell into a deeper state of panic. In the end, it made me make the biggest mistake of my life.
" Ah... no, that... I would say that... I just want to... stay in the same room with you tonight..."
[Eh...?]
After I, the idiot, told her what I was thinking, it was Asuna who froze on the spot with a dull expression. However, not long after, an expression of extreme shame and anger appeared on her face.
[Stupid…stupid…]
Her clenched right fist emitted a murderous aura that could be seen with her eyes.
[Idiot!]
Asuna unleashed her full agility and quickly swung her fist at me. Just as it was about to hit my cheek, it was stopped by the crime prevention rules, and purple sparks burst out with a loud sound.
"Wow, wow-wait! I'm sorry, it's my fault! Pretend I didn't say anything just now!"
I waved my hand vigorously and tried my best to explain to Asuna, who was about to throw a second punch.
"It's my fault, I'm not good! But…but, then again…could that be done…? In SAO…?"
[You, you don't know...?]
[I don't know…]
Hearing this, Asuna's expression suddenly changed from anger to shyness, and then she whispered,"
"... That... at the bottom of the options menu... there's a 'Restricted Level Norm Removal Setting...'"
This is the first time I've heard of it. There was absolutely no such thing during the closed beta, and the manual did not mention it. He didn't expect that the karma of being a solo player who had no interest in anything other than battle intelligence would appear in such a situation.
However, Asuna's words just now caused a new problem that I couldn't ignore. Before I could think properly, I accidentally blurted out another question.
"... That... Do you have any experience using it already...?"」
Asuna's iron fist exploded in front of me again.
[Of, of course not, you idiot! I heard it from a girl in the guild!」
I hurriedly lay on the ground and apologized. It took me a few minutes to calm Asuna down.
The only lit candle on the table gave off a faint light, faintly illuminating Asuna who was sleeping soundly in my arms. His fingers gently brushed across her snow-white back. Just the warm and smooth touch from his fingertips was enough to make people intoxicated.
Asuna opened her eyes slightly and looked up at me. She blinked a few times and smiled.
[Sorry, did I wake you up?]
" No…I just had a weird dream. It's about the original world..."
She kept smiling and buried her face in my chest.
" In my dream, I thought about what I would do if entering Aingrunt and meeting Kirito were all a dream. Then, I felt very afraid. Fortunately…it wasn't a dream."
[You're really strange. Don't you want to go back?"
[Of course I do. Although he wanted to go back, he didn't want to lose his memories of living here. Although…it took me a long time to understand…these two years were really important to me. I think so even more now."
She suddenly became serious. She grabbed my right hand on her shoulder and hugged it tightly in front of her chest.
"... I'm really sorry, Kirito. Originally…Originally, I should have ended it myself…"
I took a deep breath.
" No... Krattier's target is me. I'm also the one who forced him to this point. That is my battle."
I looked into Asuna's eyes and nodded slowly.
There were tears in her light brown eyes. Asuna quietly pressed her lips against my hand that she was holding tightly. The soft touch of her lips was directly transmitted to me.
" I'll also... shoulder this matter with you. I will bear the burden on your shoulders with you. I promise you. I will definitely protect you in the days to come…"
This was exactly-
It was something that I had never been able to say. But at this moment, my lips trembled, and I could hear the voice coming from my throat, or rather from my soul.
[Me too…]
An extremely soft sound quietly echoed in the air.
[I will protect you too.]
Such a simple sentence, yet I said it in such a low voice, so unreliable. I couldn't help but smile bitterly. I held Asuna's hand and murmured,
" Asuna... you're really strong. She's much stronger than me…"
Asuna blinked a few times and smiled.
"That's not true. In the real world, I'm also used to hiding behind others. I didn't buy this game myself.」
She chuckled as if she had thought of something.
[My brother bought it, but he suddenly had to go on a business trip, so he lent it to me on the day the game started operating. He looked really reluctant at the time, but I had him for two years. I think he must be very angry.」
Even though I thought that Asuna would be unlucky to become a scapegoat, I still nodded and said,"
"... Then I have to hurry back and apologize to him.」
[Hmm…I have to work harder…]
Although Asuna said that, she lowered her head and looked rather uneasy. Then, she leaned over to me and said,
[That…Kirito.] Although it contradicts what I just said…I want to leave the front line for a while, okay?"
[Eh...?]
"I feel a little scared…Now that we're finally together, I'm afraid that something bad will happen if we go to the battlefield immediately…I'm probably a little tired.」
After quietly stroking Asuna's hair, I unexpectedly nodded obediently.
[You're right…I'm tired too…]
Even if there weren't any changes to my stats, I had indeed accumulated quite a bit of invisible fatigue after fighting for so many days. There was no need to mention the extremely urgent situation today. In fact, no matter how strong the bow was, if it was constantly tightened every day, it would break one day. Therefore, he needed to rest properly.
I felt that the urge to constantly force myself to fight, which was close to a sense of danger, was leaving me. At the moment, I only wanted to deepen the bond between me and this girl.
I wrapped my arms around Asuna's body and buried my head in her silky hair.
" In the southwest region of the twenty-second level, in a place filled with forests and lakes... there is a small village. That was a good place where no monsters would appear. There were a few log houses for sale now. The two of us can move over there…and then…"
[And then…?]
I tried to move my stiff tongue to finish what I wanted to say.
"... I-Let's get married."
I don't think I'll ever forget the most beautiful smile on Asuna's face.
[Okay…]
She nodded quietly, and a bean-sized tear rolled down her cheek.
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