Chapter 24 - Obligatory Hot Spring Episode

October 24, 2024

"Ahhh…" Kirito, Sefton, and I sighed as we submerged their bodies in the steaming water.

Kirito turned to look at me. "Thanks for inviting us, Riwet. Asuna and I love hot springs."

"Fuu...don't mention it." I'm not particularly fond of hot springs, but they're nice once in awhile. "Think of it as my wedding gift for you two."

"If that's the case, then why am I here?" Sefton chimed in.

I smirked. "It's my gift in advance. You're gonna propose sooner or later right?"

"Hey, hey." Sefton retorted. "You're one to talk, you know."

"First off, you're welcome, and second, shut up, okay?"

"Yeah, whatever you say, dude."

I scowled at him before we both chuckled. We were too comfortable to keep on arguing.

We were at an onsen on the 40th Floor. The hot spring was outdoors, and it was fairly large. A wall made of bamboo standing atop a mound of rocks separated the men's side from the women's side. As for the rooms, there were a total of three rooms big enough to accommodate three people. The resort as a whole was small, but the rent dented my wallet. But the spacious rooms and the great food coupled with the hot spring made it all worth it.

Yesterday, Kirito and Asuna were caught in an unfortunate incident resulting in a KoB officer's death at the hands of Asuna's former bodyguard - a bag of meat named Kuradeel. Said bag of meat was secretly an LC member harboring an intense obsession towards Asuna. Good thing that he died. At the very least, they got out unscathed and were allowed to have a vacation.

I shook my head to clear my mind. The reason why I booked this place to begin with was to get out of thinking about these things. We're celebrating both my 16th birthday and Kirito and Asuna's wedding. There's no place for worrying.

Though, I owe Klein a drink for this. He went to the wedding but elected to stay working at the front lines. I'll be sure to invite him in the future.

We heard a door opening from the other side of the wall. "Wah! It's huge!" I heard Silica's voice.

"I know, right?" That was Asuna.

"Well, what're we waiting for? Let's dive in!" That was Lizbeth.

"Wait, they're all there? What should we do?" Sefton asked in a hushed voice.

"Why are you asking me? I don't know what to do!" Kirito replied.

"Are...are you guys serious?" I sighed and called out to the girls on the other side of the springs. "Hey! Full disclosure, we're all here as well. No peeping, alright?!"

"Hey! That's our line, Riwet!" Lizbeth retorted.

I turned towards the other boys. "There. Problem solved. Unless you two were planning to peek, in which case I'd have to gouge your eyes out, simply telling them that you're on the other side is your best bet."

"I didn't think about that. Nice work." Kirito admitted.

"Hey, Sefton! How's the water on your side?" Lizbeth called out.

"It's perfect! What about yours?" Sefton replied.

"Same!"

"Ah! Pina!" Silica gasped.

"Kyururu!" Pina exclaimed. I looked up and saw that she flew over to our side of the wall.

"Whoa, hey!" I got caught off guard since she landed right in front of my head. "What are you doing?"

"Ah, Riwet! Can you try and clean Pina for me?" Silica shouted.

"I'll try!...Okay, Pina, can you, you know…" I scooped up a handful of water and brought it upwards.

"Kyururu! Kyururu!" Pina jumped up and landed in front of me!

"Gah! Dammit!" I sputtered when I got hit with a faceful of water.

"Haha!" Sefton and Kirito laughed at me.

"Oh, yeah? Eat this!" I flung my arm towards the two, splashing them with the warm water.

"Oh, it's on now! Sefton, back me up!" Kirito roared.

"Right behind you!"

"Hey, what are you three doing out there!?" Asuna said.

"Not now, Asuna! I'm about to have the most important battle of my li-Guh!" Kirito went down as I nailed him with a Critical Hit.

"Get wrecked, nerd!"

"KIRITOOOO! RIWET, YOU BASTARD!"

"Hahahaha! Pina! Unleash your fury on this unruly heathen!"

"Kyrururu!"

"No! Stay back, you foul beast! Mmfff!" Pina landed in front of his face, robbing him of his sight.

"Take this! Demon Water Blast!" I let loose my finishing move, obliterating him in one fell swoop.

"Raaagh! I...have failed…!"

"Muhahaha! I have triumphed!"

"...what a bunch of idiots…" I could hear Lizbeth mutter.

"Yeah…" Asuna sighed.

"It's like they're kids…" Silica sighed with her.

The best part about all of that was that I could totally picture Silica, Asuna and Lizbeth getting second-hand embarrassment just looking at us.

And just like that, all my worries were gone.

This is gonna be a good one.

***
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I kept my eyes closed, steadying my breath. I was standing in a spacious clearing outside the building but inside the resort's fencing.

My body felt light. Too light. I didn't equip my usual loadout - just Caerulus and a bathrobe. I imagined a monster in front of me. Humanoid in shape, and about as close as my size. I imagined it slowly creeping towards me.

As soon as it entered my range, I opened my eyes and drew out my glaive, swinging it at the imaginary monster. I darted and twisted my body, evading the quick strikes from my opponent. While this battle only existed inside my mind, It was not an excuse to half-ass it.

After a few minutes, I finally swung my glaive to deal the finishing blow. The monster disappeared, and I opened my eyes. I sighed and pondered as I sheathed my glaive.

I had to be honest...it felt kind of off. Nothing major, but it was notable. I felt like my movements were too aggressive. I didn't expect how much I'm raring for combat after four days of being under the weather. Still, I should reign this in sooner than later.

I felt a presence behind me, and I turned around to face it. "Oh, hey." I greeted Asuna. "How long have you been standing there?"

"Not for very long." She replied. "Are you training right now?"

"Yeah. It's the first time I've felt good these past few days, so I figured I'd start getting back into it." And considering that I hadn't noticed her sooner, I really need to shake the rust off. "So, you need anything?"

She shook her head. "Nothing in particular...I just want to have a chat…"

"Sure…" I stored my weapons back in my inventory and sat in the space near her.

"You're out here all alone. Did you at least tell Silica-chan what you were doing?" Asuna asked.

"I feel a bit bad about it, but Silica's used to me slipping away to be alone. I don't know. I can be surrounded by my closest friends, but I really need some alone time."

"I see...still doesn't answer that question, though." Damn. Busted. "Does Silica-chan know that you're here straining yourself?"

"Weeeeellllll…."

"You're gonna get in trouble~"

"Oh, come on. I feel fine enough to celebrate my birthday, so I'm fine enough to train!"

"If you say so, Riwet-kun." She teased. "Well, since it's your birthday, I won't tell on you, so don't worry."

"Thanks, Asuna."

"You're welcome...say..."

"Yeah?"

"I noticed that you almost called me 'nee-chan' a few days back."

"...yup. Sorry."

"Don't apologize. Honestly, it makes me...pretty happy."

"Why?"

"You're one of the first players I interacted with. Even after all our struggles and disagreements, it's nice that you can refer to me as 'nee-chan'."

"Well, it's because of our struggles and disagreements that we've become good friends. You and Kirito are basically family now."

She nodded and smiled. "So, what's your sister like?...if you don't mind me asking."

"I don't mind...hmm...she's lively and outgoing. Most of the time, she's childish, but she could be quite stern, too. She likes to cuddle me and annoy me, but she gets mad easily when I try to tease her back. She's basically a complete opposite of me in terms of personality." I paused, chuckling as I recalled a few of the funny moments I had with her. "...I think that the only similar thing about you two is that, in spite of your personalities and quirks, I can rely on you when it matters."

"I didn't realize that you thought of me that way." She chuckled mirthlessly. "But you're wrong. You shouldn't rely on me...not after I failed Kirito-kun. I should have been the one to finish off Kuradeel. Instead, I let my guard down and Kirito-kun had to protect me."

I shook my head. "The way I see it, it's not your fault. The fault lies with Kuradeel who didn't know when to quit, and that damn Kayaba Akihiko who built this death game in the first place. Besides, Kirito wouldn't have wanted you to experience the stress of taking a life."

"And that makes it okay?" She snapped. "What makes you think that I wanted Kirito-kun to experience that?"

I raised my hand in a placating manner. "It doesn't make it okay, and I'm sorry if I have offended you. I'm just saying that I would rather do the dirty work myself if it meant that Silica doesn't have to." I sighed. "But if you still see it as a mistake, then you know what to do next time. I'm sorry that I can't offer more helpful advice."

She shook her head. "No. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, and I'm sorry for my outburst. It's just so frustrating…"

I looked up at the night sky. "While I can't offer you solid advice, or completely relate to what you're feeling right now, I'm right here. Silica, Lizbeth, Kirito...a lot of people are here for you, too. You don't have to go at it alone."

She flashed a warm smile towards me. "Thank you, Riwet-kun." Then, her smile turned into a teasing smirk. "You know, that's funny coming from you, "I'll do the dirty work myself." -san."

"Right back atcha, you...big, stupid, doo doo head." I scoffed and stuck my tongue out.

"...pff...hehe…" Asuna started giggling. I chuckled along with her for a bit.

And with that, we spent a few minutes in silence. I bent my arm and grasped the pendant that was hanging on my neck beneath my clothes. It was Silica's birthday present to me. The design was identical to the one I gave her on her birthday, except for the pendant's color. Instead of the dark blue color that was made from the same ore as Caerulus, it was a vibrant light blue, reminiscent of Pina's color.

Finally, she grunted and stood up. "We've been here for quite a bit. Let's go back and meet up with the others."

I nodded and stood up. "Lead the way, nee-chan."

***
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"King's game!" Lizbeth declared, taking out a tissue box-sized box with a hole and a couple of sticks.

King's game - A staple in the multitudes of anime and manga that I know. People would draw one stick - about the side of a chopstick - and that stick would either be numbered or marked red on the top. The person who got the red marked straw is declared the 'King', and can order the other players to do what they want. However, the King can't order the players by name. They can only order by choosing a number.

And most importantly, the King's orders are absolute.

We were grouped up in Kirito and Asuna's room, sitting at the center of the room where a table was present. Us three guys occupied one side of the table while the girls sat opposite us. Pina was sleeping back in our room.

When we were deciding on who occupies what room, they all decided that the couples would share rooms. Despite what happened in the past, I was a bit shy and self-conscious about sharing a room with someone, let alone my girlfriend, but since Silica didn't raise a fuss, I guess I shouldn't, either.

Though…I did get quite a few stares when Silica let slip that she was 'used to it.'

"Here's a box filled with 20 pieces of paper. It also said that when all the orders are completed, the box rewards the players with a super-rare item." Lizbeth explained. "I don't know how this item considers an order as 'completed', so I'm not too keen on cheating. Let's just complete the orders as best as we can."

"Ooh, sounds fun. Let's do it." I nodded. An interesting variation of the game. I can't wait to get started.

"Alright!" Lizbeth shouted, holding the stack of sticks. We reached in and picked up a stick. Who's the king~!?"

Silica raised her stick. "It's me!"

"Alright, pick up your order and let's get started."

Silica reached inside the box and took a piece of paper out. "Hmm...number 2 will shake hands with number 4!" Asuna and Kirito shrugged and shook hands

"Wait, that's it?" Lizbeth remarked, underwhelmed by the order.

"Be careful what you wish for." I warned her.

The game continues. "I'm King!" I exclaimed, showing everyone my marked stick. "Hmmm…number 10 will give the King a...piggyback ride?"

"Alright! piggyback ride it is!" Sefton quickly went over to Lizbeth and kneeled.

"Oi, oi. Aren't you too hyped up about this?" Lizbeth asked.

"I told you to be careful what you wish for." I chimed in.

Lizbeth cleared her throat and clambered onto Sefton's shoulders. I could tell how embarrassed she was.

"Yoisho! Yoisho!" Sefton hurriedly grabbed her legs and stood up. "Haha! Witness me, the Four-Armed Asura! Yoisho! Yoisho!"

"Oi! Idiot! Stop!"

"Yoisho! Yoisho!" Sefton flung her around.

"Gyaaa! Stop iiiiiiit!" Liz shouted, grabbing the top of Sefton's head.

This continued on for a few minutes before Sefton laid her down. "Ah...hah...that was tiring…"

"Haaah...you idiot…"

I clapped my hands. "Alright let's move on."

The game continued. "Alright! I'm King!" Silica exclaimed, drawing out another piece of paper. "Number 4 will blow on number 2's ear...eh?"

"Wait, seriously?" Kirito sighed, showing everyone that he got number 4.

"Yeah, seriously." I replied, showing my stick with a '2' on it.

"Okay. Well, at least it's you, so it's not that awkward." He stood up and started walking towards me. I noticed that the girls were watching with bated breath. Wait, they're into that? Huh…

Well, if it's a show they want, I guess I'll give it to them.

Kirito blew on my ear. "Ahhn~" I moaned, putting as much effort to sound as erotic as possible.

I visibly saw that everyone inside shiver, like they were hit by a Freezing debuff.

I chuckled and gave a thumbs up. "My job here is done, let's move on."

"I'm the King!" Asuna exclaimed. "Let's see...Number 5 will kiss the king!...eh? E-e-e-ehh?!" Asuna's eyes darted around the room, frantically trying to figure out who number 5 was.

I cleared my throat. "I'm number 5."

"Eh? R-Riwet-kun?"

"Yeah."

"Hohoo~" Lizbeth cooed.

"Oya, oya~" Sefton added.

"Oi." Kirito looked towards me and scowled.

"*staaaaaaaaaare*" Silica was gazing intently at me.

"Alright, alright. Hold your horses." I turned my attention back to Asuna. "Hand."

"Wh-what?"

"Hand." I repeated.

"Oh, yeah. Hand." Asuna held her hand out. I took her hand and kissed her.

In normal circumstances, I would've been more than glad to be able to kiss the hand of an attractive lady. But given our current relationship..."...it feels...weird…" I muttered.

"I'm with you on that…" Asuna replied.

I turned my head to face the others. "Where did you guys expect me to kiss her?" I sighed and approached Silica. "Hand." She nodded and lifted her hand up, which I then kissed. "Right. Let's get a move on."

The game continued without incident. "Number 2 will say something in a deep voice." Asuna ordered.

"Hmm, what should I say...ah! I got it! Fu...alright, here goes." Silica took a deep breath and posed, then she held her hand out towards me. "If you'd like...I'll take you to a special place. A place ...where wishes come true…"

I was, quite frankly, utterly entranced. The only reason why I was able to compose myself and not just stare like an idiot was because the others applauded her.

The otherworldly angel in front me slowly dissipated into the cheerful, but easily-embarrassed girl that I came to love. "H-how did I do?" Silica asked meekly.

"...you were amazing." I replied as I patted her head.

"Ehehe~"

"Alright, that one's done. Let's continue."

After half an hour of fun, we whittled the list down to just one. "Alright! I'm the King!" Kirito exclaimed. "Alright, for our final order...the King, Number 4, and Number 5 will tell short stories."

"Ooh, scary stories! I'm excited!" Sefton exclaimed, showing that he got number 4.

I showed my stick, which was marked with a number 5. "I'm pretty meh on them…" I recalled something, and I smiled. "Though...I've got good a one ready to go."

Asuna turned towards Silica. "A-are you scared, Silica-chan?"

"Just a bit...how about you, Asuna-san?"

"Totally...not! A-ahaha!" Her shaking tone was anything but convincing.

Lizbeth sighed. "Alright. Let's do this. The sooner we get this done, the better." It was clear in her tone that she doesn't particularly like scary stories.

"Okay. Who wants to go first?" Kirito looked at the two of us. Sefton raised his hands. "Alright...but before you start…" Kirito opened his Player Menu and started manipulating some options. After a few moments, he closed his Menu and snapped his fingers.

Almost immediately, three red, ominous-looking candles appeared, and the candle lit up with an eerie orange light. Then, the room's ambient lighting slowly darkened, leaving only the candles as the sole sources of light.

"Kirito-kun? Is this really necessary?" Asuna complained.

"Oh, but it is…also, in order for us to clear this one, everyone should listen to every single detail. Okay?"

"~~~" The girls nodded. They looked like they were one jumpscare away from losing it.

"That said...Sefton, take it away."

"Okay...this actually happened to me… five years ago, I was helping my mother in shopping for groceries. It was on a late winter night. All seemed fine and well. I even convinced my mother to buy me my favorite snack while I go grab some stuff that she needed."

"However, I accidentally wandered off to the seafood department. What I saw there changed me…" He shuddered.

Asuna covered her mouth. "No...was it…"

"Oh, it was just fish. Just a piece of a cod head. But, I swear to God, when I looked at that fish's eyes, it...turned to look at me as well."

"And suddenly, it started moving...it started…breathing. Haaah...haaah...it didn't have a body, but it was breathing. Blood was spurting from its neck. Haaah...haaah…

"Then, it spat something out something...it spat out…" Sefton muttered, his voice barely audible.

"S-so...what did it-" Asuna started to ask.

"IT WAS A HUMAN EYE!" Sefton screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Kyaaaaa!" "Waah!" The girls screamed and held each other for comfort. I noticed Kirito also wince back a bit.

It didn't really have much of an effect for me. My dad's a big fan of western slasher films and I watch it with him. That, and my love for Resident Evil and Dead Space, made me adequately desensitized to most horror stories involving gore. "Seriously? That happened?" I asked.

Sefton must've felt bad for scaring the girls, because he immediately shook his head. "Well, aside from the eye spitting, it really happened."

"Ugh, gross." I turned towards Kirito. "Well, you're up."

"Alright." Kirito nodded before facing the girls. "You know, I heard some rumors recently. In a certain forest...in a certain floor...a ghost seems to appear."

Oh shit. "You mean...like Astral-type monsters?" Asuna asked meekly.

Kirito slowly shook his head. "Oh, no...it was a ghost...a human girl...or what was once a human girl…"

Fucking shit.

Now that...that's my kryptonite.

"The rumor came from a player - a merchant specializing in woodworking. The lumber from the trees in that forest are of excellent quality, so he got to work cutting them down. He was so focused on work that he forgot to keep track of time. By the time he was done, it was already night. As he was walking away towards the exit, he caught a glimpse of something white beneath a nearby tree…"

"..." Part of my body wanted to cover my ears, but I took a deep breath and managed to resist the urge. The room was dead silent. Beads of sweat covered Asuna's forehead, and even Sefton was breathing anxiously.

Kirito took a deep breath and continued "The player got flustered thinking that it was a monster, but when he looked closer, it was a little girl. She had long, black hair on white garments and she was slowly walking towards a grove of trees. 'If it wasn't a monster, it could only be a player.' The player thought, gazing at her."

"—There wasn't a cursor."

"...hn…" A soft cry unintentionally leaked out from one of the girls.

"'There's no way that's possible.' Thought the player as he got closer to the girl. He even called out to her. Doing so, the girl suddenly stopped moving and gradually turned around towards him...it was at this moment that the player finally noticed something unusual. The girl, as the moonlight shone down onto her white clothes, the trees next to her...could be seen right through her."

"—!" I managed to stifle a scream. I gritted my teeth and clenched my hands tight.

"Fearing for his life, he ran as fast as his legs could handle. Finally getting away far enough to spot the light from the village, he figured that he was safe and stopped... wheezing,

he turned to look behind..."

"And there wasn't anyone there. And he lived happily ever after."

"...Ki-Ki-Kirito-kun, you idiot—!" Asuna finally screamed.

"Hahaha!" Kirito laughed out loud.

Everyone besides Kirito breathed a steady sigh of relief. Truth be told, I was glad that the story ended the way it did. Yes, it was anticlimactic, but I don't know how much more I could take.

"Alright. Last but not the least, Riwet. Take it away." Kirito said, and all eyes were on me.

Even though I hate these kinds of supernatural stories, I don't mind telling them. It's my way to cope with hearing these stories. And seeing other people be equally frightened as I was reassured me that it was okay to be scared.

"My story is kinda like Kirito's, but also a bit different. I heard a couple of rumors from some of the Clearers that I knew. Apparently...they would hear a slight knocking on their bedroom doors in the dead of the night."

"A lot of them chalk it up to mental fatigue...or at least...that's what they wish the case was. However...some had other theories. They believed that the system governing SAO was starting to fall apart. The millions of monsters killed and the extreme emotions the players experienced all culminated into a physical glitch - a vengeful ghost…" I looked straight at the girls "...and they have their sights on Clearers…"

The girls were speechless. "Wh-why would they be targeting Clearers?" Silica whimpered.

"Like I said, the spirit was made out of extreme emotions. Anger at being trapped in this death game and blaming the Clearers for not clearing the game already...being jealous at the Clearer's items and equipment...as for the monsters, which type of player do you think has killed the most amount of monsters?

"Clearers…" Silica muttered.

I took a deep breath. "They say that, at the dead of night, you could hear a slight knocking on your door...of course, you could choose to ignore it, but dare I say...ignore it at your own peril…"

The whole room was quiet for a moment. As if on cue, two soft knocks were heard from the door.

"Wh-what the hell was that?" Sefton squealed.

"What noise? I didn't hear anything." I dismissed. Truth be told, I almost shat my pants when I heard that, but fortunately, I had a good idea as to what sound that was so I decided to seize the opportunity.

The knocks persisted. "H-hey? Surely, you can hear that, right?" Kirito asked me.

I nodded "Yeah. Someone's knocking on your door...you should go see who's knocking."

"Y-you've gotta be kidding me."

Kirito slowly stood up and approached the door. He slowly turned the handle and pulled.

At this point, all hell broke loose.

"Kyurururuuru!" My partner in crime roared excitedly and quickly into the room.

'Waah!" "GYAAAAH! "KYAAAAAA!" Everyone was screaming bloody murder.

I already knew that Pina was the one knocking since she did that same thing earlier in the day, so I just went with it. Silica was too distracted by the story to even consider Pina.

Also, the story? Complete hogwash.

"Pina, geez!" Silica puffed her cheeks.

"Nice job, Pina." I threw her a piece of peanut.

"Kyurururu!" She caught the peanut and flew towards me, perching on my shoulder.

"Who's a good girl? Yes, you are. Yes, you are." I nuzzled her cheek with my fingers.

As soon as they got a clear look at what entered the room, they all quickly calmed down. Well...everyone except for Asuna. "I didn't see anything, I didn't hear anything, I didn't see anything, I didn't hear anything, I didn't see anything, I didn't hear anything…" She was curled up facing the corner. It took a couple of minutes for Kirito to finally calm her down.

After that final order, the box spat out a sphere of light. The sphere landed in front of the box and formed into a chest. We opened the chest.

"...sake buns." Lizbeth finally said.

"All that work for a bunch of sake buns?" Kirito sighed. "This better be the most delicious sake buns that ever existed."

"Wait, sake? Is it alcoholic?" I asked.

"I dunno. Let's try one each." Lizbeth suggested. "One little thing can't possibly make us drunk, right?"

As we took one piece of bun each, I was dumbfounded by the events that unfolded.

Lizbeth just made the biggest understatement of the year.

***
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Changing Perspective: Third Person
***

The first thing Silica felt was lingering pain. This was different from the loud pounding that accompanied a thrilling battle. This sensation was like a vice pressing against her temples.

"Ughhhh…" She groaned as she got up. She heard voices from outside her room, and she went outside to check.

She found Sefton, Lizbeth, Kirito, and Asuna outside. Like her, they had marks of exhaustion on their faces, but unlike her, the four were flustered for some reason.

Riwet was nowhere to be seen.

"Good morning…" Silica muttered.

"G-good morning, Silica-chan!" Asuna replied. The others greeted her in turn.

"...what happened yesterday night?" She asked.

Lizbeth shook her head. "We can't remember anything from yesterday night...only...this morning..." She muttered, almost inaudibly.

"Oh! O-oh yeah. Silica-san, have you seen Riwet? He might remember something…" Sefton changed the subject before Silica could ask further.

"No...hm?" As if on cue, Silica Received a message from Riwet. "...he said he's at the dining area…"

"Well...let's go."

The five of them found Riwet in the dining area. "Good morning, everyone. I assume you had an interesting morning?"

Four of the five players facing him stiffened up.

Kirito sheepishly rubbed the back of his head and looked away. Asuna looked down as she scratched her cheek. Sefton blushed from ear to ear. Lizbeth tried to play it off.

Silica tilted her head to the side. What's going on? She thought. Other than having no memory of the night before, and that terrible headache, her waking moments were totally normal.

Riwet just flashed a knowing smile. "Here." He took out five glass cups filled with tea. "Drink up."

They took a cup each and started sipping. Silica's headache immediately started to clear up. "So...what happened yesterday?" Silica asked.

"Hmm...first off, what do you guys remember last night?" Riwet asked.

Kirito's brows furrowed. "I remember...us playing the King's game and doing some orders…"

"Yeah…" Asuna added.

"But other than that…" Lizbeth trailed off.

Riwet nodded. "I see, I see...then, does sake bun ring a bell?"

"...!" This time, all of them went rigid.

"Yeah. You guys got drunk off of eating just one sake bun. I ate two and I didn't feel anything, but I stopped before I got wasted.

"Then...you remember what happened?"

"Yup. I remember everything that happened." Riwet's smile widened. "In fact, I recorded it to catch every single detail." He took out a Record Crystal. "I know I'm being 'that guy' who records others being drunk without their consent, but I can assure you that this is something that can't be described by words. I'll delete it later, I promise. So, are you ready?"

They all nodded.

"Alright, let's fire it up." He pressed a button on the crystal, and it projected a 16:9 screen.

Almost immediately after the recording started, the five players were greeted by Kirito. His hair and clothes were disheveled, and he had a slack-jawed, unfocused stare.

"Kirito, cut it out. You've eaten too much." Riwet said from behind the frame. They observed that the frame was following Riwet's point of view.

Record Crystals have two configurations. The first configuration is that it follows where the user is facing, similar to holding a video cam in front of the face. The second configuration is static, much like placing a video cam on a tripod.

"What are you *hic* saying, Riwet?! *hic*...we're not dun yet!" Kirito shouted, trying to eat another sake bun. Riwet reached out and took the sake bun from Kirito. "What're you doing? *Hic* Give it back!"

"No. You've had enough."

"Give it back! Give it baack…" Kirito whimpered like a child.

"...I feel like I've done something really terrible. What about you Sefton? Got anything to add?"

"Heh…" The view shifted to the side, and Sefton greeted the frame with a dopey smile and a thumbs up. "Hehe...hehehe…*hic*" He paused before he started laughing again.

"...alright. I'll leave you to it then."

"..." Kirito was stunned speechless at what he was watching.

"Oh man...Oh man…" Sefton had his head on his hands, repeating the same phrase over and over.

"Don't worry. The best is yet to come. Oh, there it is." Riwet stated.

"Sheftoonn~. Hehe, I wuv you~" Lizbeth suddenly entered the frame, glomping onto Sefton and nuzzling her head on his chest. "Hehehe *hic*...ehehehe~"

"Kirito-kun!" Asuna swooped into view and grabbed Kirito by the collar. "Why haven't you done anything to me yet?! *hic* I want you to * and * me! * my * and * it!

As the six of them watched the scene, only Riwet was smiling. The rest were pale from shock. Lizbeth acting like that was one thing, but Asuna was on another level.

And speaking of Asuna, there she was, appalled by her drunken self.

Interestingly, Silica was out of frame most of the time, and all she did was just lay down on the floor.

The disaster continued for a short time before Riwet decided that enough was enough. "Alright, alright. You guys have had your fun. Lizbeth, Sefton. I'll take you to your rooms." He went over to the couple and picked them up.

"Heheeheh *hic*" "fuhi...fuhihihi *hic*" The couple just giggled and babbled.

"Just don't drool on me, yeah?" Riwet carried them into their room and laid them on the ground. "Alright, Silica's next."

Riwet walked back to the married couple's room. "Kirito? Asuna? I'm just gonna get Silica to her room, okay. Can I come in?"

"Krioo-huun!"

"Hashuna!"

"*hic*Krioo-huun~!"

"Ha*hic*Hashu..shu…*hachoo!*"

"Oookay, them." Riwet opened the door. Kirito was lying on the ground face-up. Asuna was beside him, lying face-down. Both were screaming nonsense.

"Alright, let's get you to bed, Silica." The camera panned over to where Silica was. It was the first time in the recording that Silica was fully shown. Unlike the other four, she was silently laying down on the ground. She slowly moved her body in reaction to Riwet. "Alright. Up we go. Are you alright?" He lifted her up in a bridal carry.

"Mn…" Silica groaned and nodded.

"Okay, let's go and have a res-OH, MY GOD! OHHHKAY, time to cut the vi-" The video abruptly ended.

"Wait, what happened?" Lizbeth asked.

"I turned the video off because…" Riwet pointed at Kirito and Asuna. "These two started 'doing it.'The married couple's faces darkened. "And on top of that…" Riwet pointed towards Lizbeth and Sefton. "You two were doing it as well. I could hear the sounds from beyond your room." Sefton and Lizbeth were crestfallen. "And judging by your reactions when I asked about your mornings, you four already know that, right?'

The four remained silent.

"What about me…what did I do?" Silica asked.

"...are you sure that you wanna know?"

Silica silently nodded. She knew that she would regret this, for ignorance is bliss, but she just had to know.

"...alright, if you insist." Riwet took a deep breath. "I ran out of their room and went inside ours. I set you down the bed and...you, uh...wrapped your arms around me and switched our positions."

"!" Silica's face went pale.

"...you pinned me and started shoving your tongue down my throat."

"!" Silica's face erupted.

"And as you were reaching down and trying to undress me..."

"You kinda burped on my face."

"..." Silica was simply mortified.

"Full disclosure, I'm not into that. Are you into that?"

"NO! NONONONO! I AM NOT INTO THAT!" Silica shouted. She couldn't look him in the eyes.

Riwet cleared his throat. "Aside from that, nothing else happened. I switched our positions back and just held you down until you fell asleep.:

"Let us never speak of this again." Asuna declared before she turned to Riwet. The others nodded in unison.

"Alright. Should I delete the evidence?"

"Yes."

"Alright. If you guys say so." Riwet opened his Player Menu. All eyes were on his menu, and they confirmed that he put it in the trash.

The five breathed a sigh of relief and took a big sip of their respective tea.

"Well, I dunno about you guys, but I'll be looking forward to next year." Riwet chimed in.

"Pfff!"

The five players simultaneously did a spit take.

***
Chapter End
***

A/N: Freaking finally. That one's done. I had fun with writing this, but it felt like I was writing this chapter for a very long time.

Side note: I just realized that there's a word limit on Chapter titles.

That's all for now. Thank you very much, and have a good one.