"Ah, that was good." Liz leaned back in her chair, legs stretched forward as she reached her arms overhead, eyes closed as she yawned, before slumping back down to rest her arms on the table.
"It was." Asuna agreed from next to her, patting her lips with her napkin before folding it and placing it on the table next to her plate.
Silica finished drinking, before putting the glass down next to her plate. "Thank you for inviting me to dinner." She politely said, bowing in place towards the girl sitting across from her.
"Oh, it was no big deal." Liz said with a casual laugh, waving a hand at her wrist. "I just needed to get away from the store, was all."
"I thank you, as well." Itagaki said, sitting as formally as Asuna was.
"No problem." Liz breezily said. "To be honest, I was a little surprised that Front-Line Scouts like you guys even accepted." Liz leaned back, nodding in place.
"It was an unexpected setback, but not anything more than that." Asuna said in a calm voice.
"Oh ho?" Liz said, leaning forward with a knowing leer. "So the game pulled a cheap trick and you're annoyed after all." Liz leaned back then, arms crossed as she nodded with a knowing expression. "After all, Asuna is the sort of girl that is more frustrated by lies than anything else, right?"
"It just means we have to find the real floor boss, is all." Itagaki added her own opinion, although the slightly fatalist sigh of her own gave away her frustration.
[Kari-Ya the Fettered]. That was the name of the Boss they had defeated. Only, rather than being the [Floor Boss] that opened the way to the next Floor, he was merely the [Field Boss] that opened the way to the [Floor Boss]. So because there was no clear [Floor Dungeon] to explore, the Scouting to find the [Floor Boss] had stalled.
"Speaking of people that work too hard." Asuna primly used a segue as an attack. "I was just as surprised that you invited me in the first place, Liz."
Liz opened her mouth to rebut, but then slumped in place and sighed. "Yeah, you've got me there."
"Oh?" Silica said, tilting her head to the side. "Is Liz-san also a Front Liner who Scouts the floor?" She asked her question with an uncertain tone of voice.
"Me?" Liz answered the question with a chuckling question of her own before answering it. "No, no! Just a [Blacksmith] who makes equipment." But after saying it humbly, she puffed up in pride a little bit. "Of course, one of the best blacksmiths in the game right now!"
"Oh?" Asuna said with a raised eyebrow. "So no longer [The Best], but instead, just [One of the Best], is that it, now?"
Liz deflated with a sigh. "Yeah… well, it's more like, even if he only makes swords and looked completely confused when I suggested trying armor, compared to that guy, aiming to be [The Best] seems flatly unrealistic."
"Oh?" Asuna leaned forward. She thought about saying something like 'Has Nezuha surpassed you then' to rile Liz up about a guy she didn't like, but Asuna decided not to because Liz didn't look like she would appreciate getting teased right now. "Someone we know?"
Liz turned, her wistful and uncertain smile fading away into a look of pure incredulity as she examined Asuna's face. "…You're really asking me that?"
Asuna frowned. "Yes. There's no need to be rude."
Liz leaned back, shaking her head with an amazed expression. "It's [SHIROU], that's who."
"Ah!" Silica said, hands coming up to her face. "So [The Sixth Ranger] is an amazing swordsmith on top of everything else?"
"Oh…" Liz leaned forward with an expression like she smelled blood. "Does someone have a one-sided love?"
Asuna noticed that Itagaki had a surprisingly sour expression, but Liz didn't notice because Silica was shaking her head. The youngest girl was shaking her head, hands up as she waved them in front of her. "No, no! He's just someone I admire as a senpai, after all!" Silica lowered her eyes, placing her hands on her knees as her voice softened. "I mean, it was the [Sixth Ranger] that inspired me not to give up, and then he helped me run an important quest, so I'm very grateful to him."
"An important quest, huh?" Liz said with a suggestive tone.
"That's right." Saying something that could deliberately misconstrued as also suggestive, Asuna waited until Liz turned to her before blandly answering, "Since they're both [Protagonists] after all, they ran the same quest to identify their [Rare Elements] together."
"Oh!" Liz said, turning to look at Silica with an impressed expression instead of a teasing one. "Someone with a [Rare Element], then?"
"Yes." Silica said, peeking up at Liz. "Um, my element is [Beast]."
"Huh." Liz said. Asuna understood what Liz wasn't quite saying; looking at the blushing girl that was uncertain and unconfident around older girls, it was hard to imagine that Silica's element was so savage. But, since Liz was a good person, rather than keep pushing, she knew when to change the subject.
"So if your element is [Beast], then what is Shirou's?" Liz asked with a curious voice.
"[Sword]." Asuna simply replied.
Liz sighed deeply. "Yeah, if I think about his [Blacksmithing], then that totally matches."
"Excuse me for asking, but there's something I don't understand." Itagaki said, reentering the conversation. "If Shirou is an excellent blacksmith, why haven't we heard about it? I mean, if the [Sixth Ranger] also made swords, even if they weren't anything special, there would already be rumors."
Liz sighed, leaning back and shaking her head in aggravation. "Because according to him, he's only completed one sword."
"If he's only completed one sword, how can he be so good, then?" Asuna said, asking the question that Liz was obvious setting up.
"Because that's just what he says!" Liz said, angrily pounding her fist on the table. "Every time he finishes something, he just looks dissatisfied and immediately breaks it back down into materials!" She shook her head, working herself up as she talked. "He never rolls a failure on the skill, but he always has a reason it's no good, and the reason is always dumb! 'The image wasn't good enough.' 'The result didn't match the image.' 'I made a mistake during the manufacturing.' That one is my favorite because they turn out great!" She shook her head. "He's such a perfectionist. He's even worse than Asuna! When I told him that they were just fine, he gave me a look like I was being absurd and said 'If I can do it without compromising, I will' like it was obvious. Like he was being the reasonable one!" Liz sighed, drained of energy as she slumped over her chair. "I wanted to punch him."
"You said something interesting in there, Liz." Asuna replied with a slightly cool voice.
Liz rolled her eyes, unintimidated. "Oh, please. You know it's true, you honor student."
"Um, I think it's admirable that he's doing his best." Silica piped up.
Itagaki hummed. "I agree." She nodded, and in the same affirmative tone continued to speak. "However, if you start calling him onii-sama, then that will cause problems with someone."
"Gah!" Liz leaned back, rubbing her hair in frustration. "I came out tonight to get away from that crazy little gremlin, I don't want to hear about her out here too."
"Ilya causes you trouble?" Asuna said. Distantly, she realized she sounded like a teacher that was disappointed in a student that wasn't present, and felt uncertain about that.
Liz sighed. "If it was intentional, I could just kick her out." Liz shook her head, leaning forward. That honest and fair nature was why Asuna was proud to be friends with Lisbeth.
"Oh?" Asuna said. "I know she can be abrasive, but she has a good heart." Seeing the uncertainty on Silica's face and the frankly skeptical look on Itagaki's, Asuna amended her words. "Deep down." Of course, their incredulity had made her consider her words, and as a result, a second amendment was introduced. "Very deep down."
"Oh that's not a problem." Liz said with a breezy wave. "She thinks she's all that, but she's not." Liz chuckled. "Especially when Shirou and I gang up on her, she just can't win." Her laughing expression didn't express anything approaching remorse at all.
"If that's not it, then what is it?" Itagaki asked with a thoughtful expression.
Liz leaned forward and spoke with a slightly haunted look. "She gets bored." There weren't many of them, but those words were weighed down with heavy meaning. "Shirou is single-minded and I have my own projects to focus on, so she starts screwing around because we're not paying attention to her." Liz's eyes went distant. "I need quiet when I work, and the ridiculous things she gets up to is no good." The distance became greater. "When did rules for house fires get introduced, anyway?"
After a long moment Liz shook her head and snapped back into the present. "Right!" She said, clapping her hands as she forcibly changed the subject. "For now, I'm ready for another round of drinks!"
"Sounds good." Asuna agreed, taking the initiative to reach over and tap the air over the table, activating the menu dialogue to call over a waiter. Opening a holographic interface to call over an NPC to verbally give an order to rather than just using drop-downs in the holograph, or ideally, saying the order aloud and having it materialize in front of her. Maybe it didn't match the fantasy-like setting of SAO, but that was something she secretly wanted from the game.
She focused back on what was in front of her when the waiter walked over.
The NPC that was attending them in the shop was tall and thin wearing unmatched clothing with patches over the elbows and knees under a beaten old apron. His hair was uncut, with an unkempt and slightly grubby haphazardness to it, and pulled back and tied off in a ponytail at the back of his head. That kind of vaguely fallen-on-hard-times sort of appearance was extremely common among the NPCs of the [Fifth Floor].
"What can I get for you?" He politely asked.
"Another round of tea, please." Asuna asked, glancing around the table and receiving nods of confirmation from the other three girls that it was the correct order.
"Each of you is having one more of the same?" The NPC responded with a question to confirm. Since [Launch] the language context engine had improved. But, it still asked to confirm for responses that fell below a certain confidence threshold.
"That's correct." Asuna replied, and the NPC nodded and turned, walking back behind the counter.
As soon as he stepped behind the counter, the NPC turned back around and immediately walked back out with four cups of hot tea.
"I wonder if he's supposed to have a kettle of tea going all the time." Liz mused idly as the NPC mechanically placed the cups on the table in front of them one after another.
"If so there'd be an animation for it." Itagaki replied. "Like he'd bring out the tea kettle and be pouring the drinks right in front of us, for example."
"That's true." Liz replied. "It's probably balancing the realism against the convenience."
The last cup of tea was placed on the table in front of them, and the waiter NPC stepped back and walked back behind the counter.
Asuna leaned forward, picking up her cup and sipping, almost in synchronization with the other four girls. It was hot enough that in the real world it might have burned her tongue, but that wasn't a problem here. It had a spicy flavor like ginger, but with a crackling hint like mint, and somehow it had a bitter aftertaste even though the primary taste wasn't bitter at all. Sometimes the taste engine ran away with itself and got too complicated.
Liz smacked her lips as she set her cup down. "So where do we go after this?" She said, addressing the group. "I'm not going back until bedtime, so let's do something."
"Such a delinquent child." Asuna dryly said.
Liz rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Takachan can deal with it. If he's angling to lock in the [Brotherhood of Saint Mark] as some kind of exclusive, he should put in the effort of dealing with your weird guild leadership instead of me for once."
"There are still NPCs in town that haven't been interviewed." Asuna volunteered. "We might be able to get some hints about the [Floor Boss] that way."
"There's no need." Itagaki replied. "Diabel-sama has asked Thinker to arrange a group of [Retired Players] to systemically canvass NPCs in town."
"Retired Players?" Silica asked with a quizzical tilt of her head.
"Front Liner slang." Liz began her explanation with the etymology rather than the definition. "The meaning is, Players that have retired from playing the game. People who don't leave the Starting City."
That was probably the nicest way of putting it, Asuna thought. They were also called [Old Farts] or [Codgers], or at the other extreme, spoken of with such elaborate respect for elders, regardless of their actual age, that it came off as sarcastic. Depending on who you asked, it was because they were cowards who aspired to old age, or they gave up because they were as bad at playing as old people. Asuna remembered that when the term was introduced it was supposed to be neutral, but it had picked up connotations anyway.
"Since they can move between City [Safe Zones] using the Floor Gates," Itagaki explained, "there's no reason they can't collect information in the Cities themselves." Seeing the look on Asuna's face, she added, "Diabel will place an official announcement in the next edition of [Argo's Guide] once the pilot test is complete. If players volunteer for it, he wants to be able to coordinate them."
Asuna grunted. The [Aincrad Liberation Force] gathered funds from their guild membership and redistributed them as a living stipend to any player.
Compared to the Front Liners who challenged the top Floor and the Mid Liners who completed the exploration of Floors below the top Floor, then the [ALF] could be called Rear Liners who only performed quests and farmed mobs on Floors that were completely mapped without any surprises or unknown enemies.
It was impossible that a Rear Line guild would be able to gather enough funds to support ten times as many people as their membership. However, considering the economics of an MMO, it was completely possible if someone like the [Paladins] were to subsidize them. That had been something Diabel had unexpectedly announced during that super-long, hastily-called meeting after the Fifth Floor Boss turned out to be a fake.
The Paladins were topping up the funds of the ALF. And Diabel asked the ALF to organize data collection for him. Put those two facts next to each other like that, hadn't Diabel casually made himself Thinker's boss?
Asuna sighed. Ilya would be unbearable when she found out.
"Besides that," Liz broke into the discussion with a casual wave of her hand, "This is supposed to be a night out to relax from work. That's the opposite of running more Scouting quests to find the Boss."
"So just party up and run a random quest together?" Asuna said with a raised eyebrow.
Liz sighed heavily. "If unstructured fun is too strange for you to imagine, then yes, I'd settle for that."
Asuna regarded Liz with a sour expression, before sighing. "Very well, that's what we'll do then."
"Great!" Liz said, leaning back to clap her hands. "Random quest, here we come!"
Asuna nodded confidently, and reached out to tap the menu.
The NPC immediately walked out from behind the counter area and came over.
"You have an order?" The NPC asked.
"Do you know where we could find an easy quest for a party?" Asuna directly asked without any preface, looking straight up at the cursor floating over the NPC's head.
"What a straight-forward approach." Liz muttered.
"Um, I think that might be too vague for the Cardinal system to handle." Silica whispered to Asuna.
However, after standing motionless for a minute like he was actually thinking about it, the language engine had the NPC respond to Asuna before Asuna could think of a response for Silica.
A bright exclamation point popped into existence over the NPC's head, indicating that there actually was a quest available.
"How about that." Liz said with a wry voice.
The NPC launched into a canned speech. "If it's not too much trouble," beginning with words that guaranteed trouble, the speech continued, "our wedding anniversary is tomorrow, but I still haven't gotten the present I commissioned. Since she works hard as a gardener every day, I really want to have it on time for her. If you could go it from the smith for me, I would really appreciate it."
"A fetch quest." Asuna said with a heavy sigh.
"It was your idea." Liz shot back.
"Well, since it's just walking around, isn't that perfect for what we wanted?" Itagaki pointed out in a reasonable tone. She was already operating the holographic menu.
"That's true." Liz admitted, clicking accept on the party invite that Itagaki had sent out just like Asuna was.
"Where is the quest item?" Silica piped up as she looked up from clicking her own acceptance to the NPC.
The NPC turned to her and spoke. "The hairpin was made by the armorer [Klinto] on the Third Floor. It was so expensive I had to sell him my watch to get it commissioned, so you should understand why I'm nervous."
"Ah, I know where that is." Silica replied.
"So, you'll do it?" The NPC asked with a hopeful voice.
"We accept." Asuna replied.
The quest marker over his head vanished and a similar exclamation point appeared in the [Quest Log] in their menu.
"Well, let's get going." Liz said, pushing back from the table.
The group of girls walked out the front of the shop, ducking around the tent-like curtain pulled out to create a triangle-shaped foyer area and stepping out into town.
[Gelbrock], the main city of the Fifth Floor, was an empty and dilapidated place, where ragged-looking NPCs clustered in the Safe Zone marked by a wall piled up with improvised materials, in the center of what was once a much larger metropolis. The building they had just eaten in was seven stories tall, but only the first three were occupied by the restaurant and inn. The top stories were abandoned and increasingly ruined the higher up you went.
"Silica." Itagaki began. "Inside, you mentioned the [Cardinal System]. Isn't that the system that adjusts monster levels to match the Player Base? That's what Hexi-senpai said."
Silica glanced up at the older girl, nodding. "That's true, but that's almost a side effect. Really it's an engine to procedurally generate content. It builds quests, dialogue, and enemy mobs automatically out of basic blocks. Since it works essentially at random, it was designed to keep track of what was popular and unpopular and adjust the next floor accordingly to make the developers' jobs easier. The [Level Balance] is part of that response system."
"You know quite a lot." Liz said in a complementary tone.
Silica looked down, blushing slightly. "Well, [SAO] wasn't my first MMO. The [Cardinal] is a more advanced version of a similar system from another game I played, called [Land of Bronze]."
"I see." Liz nodded, turning as they entered the main plaza at the center of town and walking towards the [Transit Gate].
"[Land of Bronze]…" Asuna said, frowning to herself. "That one set in ancient Egypt?"
"Oh, you've heard of it?" Silica asked eagerly.
"Kirito's mentioned it." Asuna replied simply. "In the same context, as a matter of fact."
"I see." Silica said, nodding eagerly.
Liz cut into the conversation. "Third floor, right Silica?" She had her hand up in front of the menu for the Gate, and was looking back over her shoulder with her finger hovering tentatively as she double-checked.
"Right!" Silica agreed.
Liz nodded, and vanished in a swirl of light.
"After you." Itagaki said with a polite gesture, and Asuna nodded in response, stepping forward to enter the Gate next.
When she re-appeared, she walked over to where Liz was waiting off to the side with her hands casually folded.
"So." Liz said with a studiously casual voice. "Kirito mentioned it, huh?"
Asuna sniffed. "I have no idea what you're getting at."
"Come on, don't be shy." Liz said with a cajoling voice, winking at Silica as the younger girl walked over to join them. "Just what's going on between you and the Black Swordsman anyway, huh?"
"Oh, so you know his nickname now, do you?" Asuna counter-attacked.
However, her counter-attack was counter-counter-attacked when Liz easily knocked it aside and came in with a blow. "You're the one that told me in the first place. Since you talk about him so much."
"Ah!" Silica brought her hands up to her mouth, leaning in. "Does that mean that Asuna and Kirito are dating!?" She asked, eyes darting back and forth with excitement as she leaned in.
Asuna involuntarily stepped back from those flashing eyes. "No." She denied with conviction. "Not at all."
"Excuse me." Itagaki said, as she walked over to join them. "I didn't miss anything, did I?"
"Hmmm." Liz said, leaning in to study Asuna's face as the other girl looked away. "Maybe you did. Asuna was just explaining about how Kirito and her don't have anything going on at all."
"Let's just go." Asuna replied, turning in place and marching away.
"Asuna-senpai!" Silica said, rushing over to catch up with her, before leaning over to point to the side with a conspiratorial gesture. "Um, the place we're going is that way."
Hearing the laughter behind her made Asuna certain that Liz had definitely heard that. With as much dignity as she could muster, she turned and walked in the indicated direction.
"So, is it one-sided on your part?" Liz asked an outrageous question in a casual tone.
"I see." Itagaki said in a serious tone. "Good luck."
"You!" Asuna whirled in place, hands clenched at her sides as she glared at Liz. "Right now, we're just focused on clearing the game!"
"Is that a yes or a no?" Liz immediately replied.
Asuna studied her friends face. The other girl was standing casually, with her arms folded and a grin on her face, but her eyes were a little serious. Maybe there was a sparkle of mischief, but there was a serious question in there.
"It's no, I'm not." Asuna replied, before turning and walking forward. "And before you ask about could-be's… maybe. In the future, who knows."
"Ah, there it is!" Silica said, pointing down the road and rushing forward in a hurry.
"I'll drop it." Liz said casually as they walked towards the shop.
"Thank you." Asuna said with a sincere tone, but without surrendering, either.
The place they were headed was one of the open-air shops lining the bazaar-like Second Street that branched off the main road that wound down the mountain that [Danzac] was built on. Lining the sides were tables covered in goods under tents, with NPCs standing behind the tables ready to open a trade window.
Silica was standing in front of a table laden with jewelry. Necklaces, rings, earrings, and pins of various kinds, an accessory shop that specialized in [Jewelry]-type equipment. Standing behind the counter was a dark-skinned man wearing flowing robes. His muscular arms were crossed over his chest and gold earrings glinted from under his turban.
Silica had already struck up a conversation, and the NPC named [Klinto] was talking.
"Ah!" Silica shouted, interrupting the NPC who carried on without responding, and they rushed over.
"What is it?" Liz asked, frowning.
"And so, please get me a [Jade Button] from the commodity dealer [Loretta] so that I can complete the hairpin." The NPC concluded his speech with a solemn nod.
"Oh no." Liz groaned, trading aggravated looks with Silica.
Asuna glanced at Itagaki, who shrugged her own puzzlement.
"A [Chain of Deals], huh." Liz muttered rebelliously. "Maybe we should just abandon the quest." Even as she said it, she turned and started walking further down the bazaar street."
"You already know where we're going?" Itagaki asked, voice polite as she fell in behind Liz while Silica and Asuna also followed.
"Yeah we buy raw materials from there all the time." Liz casually answered the question. "This is gonna be the start of a long hike, though."
"But the next place is still on the third floor." Silica pointed out hopefully.
"We've already changed floors once." Liz disagreed. "We're almost certainly going to do it again."
"Excuse me." Asuna interjected, stepping forward to walk shoulder-to-shoulder with Liz. "But, what exactly is a [Chain of Deals]?"
"Exactly what it sounds like." Liz irritably replied. "Some guy sends you on a quest for spark plugs to fix his car."
"The guy with spark plugs will only trade them for a widget." Silica replied, quickly taking up the thread of the conversation.
"The widget-stamping-machine broke down so the factory needs a dingus." Liz added.
"The guy that sells dinguses has the flu and can't work." Silica continued.
"But the doctor is out of flu medicine." Liz dramatically added. "Oh nooo!"
"So you need to go buy some from the next town over." Silica groaned.
"Worst case is you need to hitch a ride off the only guy with a car, who as you may recall needs spark plugs." Liz said. "In which case TIME PARADOX." She finished by throwing her hands up in the air, shouting dramatically in a harassed tone.
"So we have to do several steps forward, and then follow them backwards again, huh." Asuna said, beginning to understand their annoyance.
"That time paradox thing, is it likely?" Itagaki asked her own question with a frown on her face.
"It's usually just the writers messing with you, so there's generally a solution." Liz said. "And it usually doesn't involve time travel."
"When it does it usually results in you accidently breaking the spark plugs in the past though." Silica said.
"Isn't [Time Travel] listed as one of those things that can only be achieved with [True Magic]?" Asuna replied with a frown. The Player Base was divided on what [True Magic] was supposed to be. Kirito hoped it was story-breaker powers from the end-game getting foreshadowing from the NPCs. Asuna fell into the camp that assumed it was the game hinting "these are impossible, so don't bother trying."
"Well we might as well go get the dingus." Liz grunted.
"Widget." Asuna corrected as she follower her friend.
Liz turned to her with a completely confused expression, so Asuna explained. "[Dingus] was the third key item in the chain. You said the second was a [Widget], so we're looking for a Widget."
"You know that was just an example, right?" Liz asked, with the tone of someone who didn't know what was true anymore.
Asuna simply met the incredulous gaze with her own steady one. It was actually quite hard to keep her face straight.
Liz sighed, turning in place as she continued going forward. "You got me." She admitted complete defeat.
Silica was giggling, which made Asuna feel better.
"Ah, we're here." Liz said.
They rounded a corner of an increasingly twisty road, and around the corner was a building without a front wall. Coal was piled in long bins inside, and there was a coal-smeared woman with a hard hat and dirty overalls standing with her arms crossed inspecting it all. The cursor floating over her head indicated she was an NPC labeled [Loretta].
"And this person sells gems?" Asuna said in a doubtful voice.
"Well really it's more like [Mined Materials]." Liz added. "Mostly we get coal, but I hear there's a whole spell-system based on using gems."
"That sounds really expensive." Itagaki mused with an amazed voice.
"I know, right?" Liz agreed in a friendly tone. "Well, let's see how the widget-stamping machine broke down." She stepped forward to strike up a conversation with the NPC, explaining their predicament.
"Of course I'd be willing to help you." The NPC agreed. "However, this is my last [Jade Button] until the next shipment from the mine, so I really should hold on to it for someone that needs it."
"We really need it." Liz replied in a robotic voice.
"Well…" The NPC said with eyes narrowed as she rubbed her dirty chin with a coal-stained glove. "I might be willing to trade it for a [Fancy Tea Set] like [Bigsby] has."
"I guess even a girl like this can enjoy tea parties." Itagaki said with a slightly amused voice.
"And creepy glove merchants who teach magic." Liz said with a sigh. "I guess it's off to the [Starting City] then."
"Let's go." Asuna agreed with her own sigh.
Silica nodded, scampering forward.
"So we already teased Asuna." Liz said with a leering tone, glancing over at Itagaki with an expectant expression.
Itagaki looked to Asuna for help, but rather than reach out to the extended hand, Asuna batted it away, and then leaned over to kick her too. "Yes, have you confessed yet?"
"Ah." Itagaki said, blushing slightly as she glanced to the side. "That is… was it really that obvious?"
"Yes." Asuna gave her reply at the same time as Liz.
"That Hexadecimal guy, right?" Silica said with an eager expression, startling Asuna slightly. She hadn't heard Silica approach. The younger girl had snuck up like a blood hound following only the slightest, most trace scent of prey, only instead of a smell, it was love-love gossip.
"I see." Itagaki nodded, eyes closed as she contemplated something.
After a moment, Asuna realized that Itagaki had successfully managed to deflect the question, and judging from Liz's face, she had realized it at the same time, too.
"So have you confessed?" Liz repeated.
"No." Itagaki admitted. "I… I don't want to jeopardize the friendship we have."
"Boring." Liz said in a critical tone.
"You should go for it!" Silica said, hands clenched at her sides.
"He's certainly not going to take the initiative." Asuna weighed in with her own opinion. His shy personality and uncertainty around others was a complete contrast to his confidence during battle. When he had received that breathing curse… Asuna wasn't sure she could have remained that calm.
"Hexi-senpai is just…" Itagaki trailed off as she realized that it was absolutely true. "Well, yes. But he has plenty of cool points."
"How did you meet him?" Silica eagerly asked for a story.
Itagaki smiled at her. "Well… from before, I have some skill with the naginata, so improving that was my reason for wanting to play [SAO] in particular." She smiled in memory. "The very first player I ran into, I asked him where I could get one, and he explained that they weren't available on the first floor. I suppose I looked disappointed, so even though he seemed like he was on an errand, he still took the time and explained that they branched off the [Spear] or [Polearm] skills so I should start with those." Itagaki nodded. "That was the first time I encountered the player, [Hexadecimal]."
Liz nodded, and then looked slightly surprised when the pause stretched out. "And that's it?" She prompted the next question.
"Ah, we're at the [Gates]." Itagaki said.
"That's right." Asuna replied.
"Seriously, that's it?" Liz repeated herself, walking forward.
"First floor, right?" Itagaki responded, walking into the temple at the top of the mountain, the tallest point in [Danzac], and striding up to the gate.
"That's right." Asuna repeated.
Itagaki vanished.
Liz turned to Asuna. "Hey." She said in a demanding tone. "You don't seriously think that's it, right?"
Asuna sighed. "If you're going to wind people up, Lisbeth, you should at least be prepared for when you run into people who can do the same thing to you."
"You ojou-sama-types exist in a different world." Liz muttered rebelliously.
"Shouldn't you go through the [Gate]?" Asuna dryly rebutted, pointing to where Silica had already disappeared.
"Yeah, yeah." Liz said, rolling her eyes as she walked forward.
Asuna followed after her.
The huge plaza at the center of the [Starting City] was lit up from the lights in the houses all around. It was a clear contrast with the dimly-lit city they had come from, and a complete contrast with the apocalypse-like Fifth Floor. Here, it was impossible to see the sky because the buildings blocked all views except the plate of the floor above.
When the group had exited the plaza and started walking down a street, Itagaki spoke again.
"I remembered thinking his name was strange." She said like she was admitting something slightly shameful. "And after the [Official Launch], even if I was surrounded by people, I felt crushed by my isolation, by not having any friends. But because it was strange, there was only one person I could think of, to reach out to. The only person whose name I remembered." She shook her head slightly, a warm smile crossing her face as she continued to speak. "In that crushing uncertainty, all I could think to do was ask a stranger what I should do. I remember I had a hard time writing the PM because my hands were shaking."
They walked in silence for a minute. Asuna remembered what that had been like. Crushed by that same isolation and uncertainty, she had locked herself away.
"He replied four minutes and twenty seconds later." Itagaki picked her story back up. "His response was simple. I had to choose between two options: run quests in the city [Safe Zone] to earn room and board, or upgrade my equipment and enter the field to clear the game."
Itagaki nodded. "When he pointed out there were still things I could do, that I could still make choices. A feeling like warmth settled over me, wrapping around me and protecting me from the sensation of getting crushed."
The story was concluded. Liz had a satisfied expression as she slowly nodded, and Asuna agreed. Yes, like that. Not just receiving concrete advice, but being trusted to choose for your own self.
"That's so romantic." Silica said, smiling with a starry expression as she clasped her hands under her chin. "That's so cool!"
"I'm glad you think so." Itagaki murmured. "But for now, we should go inside."
"This is the place, huh?" Liz said, walking forward to push the door open. Asuna thought the glove nailed to it was extremely creepy.
A little bell on the door rang as the stepped inside, and a clean-shaven NPC with a long goatee looked up when they walked inside. "Hello." He said in a quiet voice. "Is it instruction in mysteries you seek? Or equipment perhaps?" As emphasis, he reached up and slowly stroked the goatee hanging from his face with a hand clad in a perfectly white glove.
Liz stepped up and opened her mouth, but then faltered, before turning to the rest of the group. "What were we here for, again?"
"A tea set." Silica stage-whispered. "We came for a tea set."
"Ah, the porcelain tea set, is it?" The NPC replied. "Yes, I can understand why [Loretta] would desire that. However, I would trade that only for a cake knife of finest silver made by [Helmut] in exchange."
Liz frowned. "That name..." she turned to look at Asuna with a pained expression.
Asuna nodded, not bothering to keep her own annoyance off her face. "Right, on the Fourth Floor."
"Let's go." Liz said with a sigh, turning and walking back out the door.
"Come again." The NPC called after them as the door closed shut with a tinkle of the door bell.
"Fourth Floor, huh?" Itagaki said with a roll of her eyes, turning and setting off towards the gate. "This is painful with less than 5% of the game cleared."
"Yeah with the [Transit Gates] it doesn't really matter how many floors there are, only how many times we have to go through them." Liz pointed out with her own annoyance. "So these shouldn't be getting any worse, at least."
"And this one is right in the same plaza as the [Gate], so it will be quick." Asuna added, looking for a bright spot.
"Right, let's go get our dingus." Liz agreed.
"Flu medicine." Asuna corrected her.
"No, I'm pretty sure it's the dingus." Liz shot back.
"Um." Itagaki said, frowning. "Wasn't the last thing the dingus?"
Silica shook her head. "It's a cake knife."
"No, no, we mean in the original version." Liz corrected the younger girl.
Silica sighed. "Then it should be the medicine, right?"
"No, because the last thing was just the widget." Liz argued.
"That's wrong." Asuna flatly denied her. "The thing before that was the widget, so the last thing was the dingus, now the thing we're looking for is the medicine."
"Wait," Silica said with a frown. "Is the hair pin the spark plugs or the widget?"
"It's the spark plugs, and the thing after it is the widget." Liz explained.
"Ah, Silica is right." Itagaki said, slapping her fist into her palm. "Because the guy that wanted the hair pin is the guy who needs spark plugs to fix his car."
"No, the spark plugs are the part the car needs to be complete," Liz argued back, "so that makes this the widget."
"Wait, is this the gem or the cake knife?" Asuna asked, beginning to lose track.
"Neither, the thing in between." Liz denied.
Silica opened her mouth, but then frowned as she started counting on her fingers. "So the gem is the spark plugs, that makes the last one the widget, and then this one is the dingus… like that?" She asked with a frown on her face.
"Definitely!" Liz said with a confident expression as she planted her hands on her hips, before the confidence factor in her expression dropped from above 95 percent to less than 60 percent and she added, "probably?" as a question.
"So what's the medicine going to be?" Itagaki said with a frown.
"Maybe a shrubbery?" Silica said as she tilted her head to the side.
Liz snorted, but Asuna rode over them. "Look, there's the [Gate]."
"Let's go." Liz said.
They marched through the Gate, and Asuna led the way to the weapon shop that sat adjacent to the main city on the Fourth Floor. The air was thick with mist, so she shivered slightly because of the cold as she stepped under an awning and walked up half a flight of stairs to the counter of the shop.
Hanging on the walls were dozens of different weapons, lit by candles.
"Pretty." Silica whispered, looking around.
"Yeah, but they're not very good." Liz replied. "Even if they all have good-looking scrollwork and that silver filigree, all the weapons for sale on the Fourth Floor have worse stats than stuff from the Third Floor."
"Why would that be?" Silica asked with a frown.
"Because weapons might as well be ornaments against [Slimes]." Itagaki said. "That's the gist of what the NPCs say, at any rate."
"Right." Asuna said, stepping forward to the counter. Behind it, the square-faced NPC with thick lips that manned the counter looked up, blinking. Floating over his head was the label [Helmut]. "We didn't come to buy anything, but to trade for a dingus."
There was a pause.
"A cake knife." Silica stage-whispered.
"Right, right." Asuna nodded, even as Liz started laughing out loud behind her. "What I meant to say was," Asuna was quite proud that she could deliver it in such a dignified manner, "we would like a [Silver Cake Knife] and will trade something for it."
"One of my silver cake knives, hmmm?" The NPC said, leaning back with hands crossed casually, with biceps as big around as Silica's waist and a barrel-chest to match. "Bigsby-chan isn't giving up, is he?" The NPC leaned forward. "Well I have a special one just for him, but I'll only trade it for beautiful hair."
Asuna opened her mouth and closed it. "Beautiful… hair." She said, making sure that she understood. It was definitely the kind of thing that could be misunderstood.
The NPC [Helmut] laughed coquettishly. "Of course! You need beautiful hair to make a beautiful wig, after all." Those eyelashes like scraggly bushes growing out beside eyes like caverns gouged in a cliff face, they fluttered.
"Well." Liz said, slowly. "So, Asuna, you willing to take one for the team?"
"I'm not cutting off my hair for an NPC!" Asuna snapped, whipping her head around and throwing her hands up protectively.
"Ah!" The NPC interjected. "No no no, hair from you savage [Players] is no good!"
Even though it would be a violation of the ethics code that would make her an [Orange Player], and even though it would accomplish nothing because it wasn't like an NPC could feel pain, Asuna still desperately wanted to punch that broad, flat nose.
"Right." Itagaki said, stepping forward and bowing. "Then, we will go to get the… beautiful hair."
Asuna breathed in slowly, and let it out slowly. "Right." She said, relaxing her clenched teeth. "Let's go."
She walked out the door, marching towards the [Gate] in the central plaza, before faltering, turning to face the other three girls. "Hey, this just occurred to me." Asuna said. "Where are we supposed to get [Hair] as a key item?"
"It has to be [Beautiful Hair]." Itagaki primly corrected her, although the smile threatening to break out across her face undercut her coolness.
"Right." Asuna tightly allowed.
"Probably the [Barber Shop] in the [Starting City]." Liz casually answered the question. "It's a little pricey, but there's a place you can get your hair style and color changed." She reached up, patting the pink locks that hung from her head to explain why she knew.
"To the [Starting City] we go." Asuna grimly announced, marching towards the gate.
As they returned to the warmer, dryer night and brighter lights of the [Starting City], Itagaki asked a question.
"So you adjusted your appearance parameters, Lisbeth?" Itagaki had a curious look on her face.
"Yeah." Liz agreed. "I didn't really change the style, I just made the color into something a little more feminine." Her eyes slid over to Asuna.
Asuna felt a little guilty about that. "It was just a suggestion, you didn't have to go that far."
"No, no." Liz denied. "It's not really that big of a deal, honestly. I mean, I wasn't really happy with the starting equipment, so I did want something a little cuter, and your advice was pretty much spot-on."
"Oh, so even Liz is a girl, huh?" Silica said with a warm smile.
"Hey." Liz darkly replied, stopping in place to glare down her nose at the younger girl. "What's this [Even Liz] thing about, huh?"
"Ah, I'm sorry!" Silica said, waving her hands. "I didn't really mean anything by it!"
Liz frowned down at her, before turning and marching away with a sigh. "Whatever. I don't even care."
Asuna and Itagaki traded glances, and Asuna was about to say something, when Liz spoke up again.
"Right!" Liz said, clapping her hands and pointing. "This is the place, so let's go in!"
She pushed open the door, and the other three followed her in, blinking at the surprisingly bright lights.
White-and-pink patterned tile with upright mirrors over basin sinks and anachronistic modern barber chairs were lined up in neat rows. A tall girl NPC wearing a simple dress looked up as they entered, and popped some bubblegum as the start of dialogue. "Hey." The NPC greeted. "Welcome to the [Beauty Parlor]. What can I do for you?"
Itagaki stepped forward, glancing at the other girls. "We would like to purchase some [Beautiful Hair], if you have any."
After hearing someone say something appropriate for a serial killer, the NPC just popped another gum bubble, before answering in a casual way. "Sorry, fresh out. There's a gardener on the East End of [Malgerry] that I hear is selling some to buy a watch chain, though."
"Alright, let's go." Liz said with a long-suffering sigh, as they went for the exit. It was fortunate that the [Gate] in Malgerry had already been found. Compared to the [Gates] in the main cities of each floor that were automatically activated when the Floor was opened, the [Gates] in secondary cities had to be hunted down and activated.
After they had walked single-file through the door and started walking back towards the gate, Asuna decided it was worth speaking. "Hey, maybe it's just me, but this next one is probably the end of the circle, right?"
Liz frowned. "Why would you say that…oh!" Her eyes widened, as she put it together. "Oh man, is it really closing the loop?"
Asuna sighed. "Yes…the [Gift of the Magi], is it."
"I don't understand." Itagaki confessed, looking lost.
"The guy on the fifth floor sold his watch to buy a hairpin, and this next link in the [Chain of Deals] is a lady on the fifth floor that's selling her hair to buy a watch chain." Liz explained. "If you compare them, you can already see the ending, right?"
"I get it." Silica said with a rueful smile.
After they passed through the gate and set off towards the east end of [Malgerry], picking through the simultaneously overgrown and broken-down buildings, Liz started the conversation back up.
"Well, I guess we know what kind of heart-warming ending this is going to have." Liz muttered. "But before we finish up, there's still one more to go…." She turned, and smirked down Silica.
"Yes, that's correct." Itagaki said, nodding at Silica, before turning to face Liz. "Is there anyone that stokes the fires of your forge, so to speak?"
"Eh?" Liz asked, stepping away in surprise.
"That's right." Asuna said. "Frankly speaking, with the amount of time you spend with Shirou, maybe Ilya is right to be jealous, is that it?"
"Eh!?" Liz said, putting her hands up. "Shirou? With me?" However, rather than deny it any further, she just started laughing. "Oh man, that wouldn't work out at all. I admit he's easy on the eyes, but I'd probably end up strangling him to death inside three days." She sighed, shaking her head. "He can have a really aggravating personality." She narrowed her eyes as she contemplated her friend. "Well, maybe you wouldn't notice that though, Asuna."
"Oh?" Itagaki said. "So who, then?"
"Ah, there really isn't anyone." Liz said with a slightly embarrassed laugh. "I just don't have the time to go looking, you know? Well, if the right guy waltzed into my life, I wouldn't say no, either."
"I see." Itagaki nodded. "Well, if Liz is no good and Silica isn't interested, then does that mean that Lind won't have any competitors?" Her wry tone indicated how unlikely she thought that was.
"That's just a rumor." Asuna dismissed it out of hand.
"Oh ho, what's this?" Liz said, leaning in with a hopeful smile. "Is the [Lady in Steel] carrying a torch for the [Sixth Ranger]?"
"I doubt it." Asuna said with a doubtful voice.
"They've barely even talked." Itagaki pointed out.
"That's no fun." Liz said, before turning to Silica. "What do you think? Who's a good match for Shirou?"
Silica opened her mouth, blushed, and mumbled something.
"What was that?" Liz said, leaning in with an eager ear.
"Diabel-sama!?" Itagaki sputtered. Since she was standing closer, she had heard better and recognized the name.
"No!" Liz said with an excited shriek. "Really? You think so?"
"Well, it's just… an idea." Silica said with a mutter. " I mean, they're both strong and cool, and they protect everyone from the Front Line, right? That much power and responsibility…. They can understand each other better than anyone."
"No." Asuna said, breathing out, shaking her head slowly. Still, a smile snuck across her lips. "Can you even imagine what Ilya would do?"
"She'd totally freak." Liz said with a delicious smile.
"Diabel-sama… and Shirou?" Itagaki said, lips pursed.
"Actually… I think it would be Shirou and Diabel." Silica whispered, pushing her fingers together.
"I don't understand the difference." Asuna said.
"First one is the pitcher, second is the catcher." Itagaki explained absently, before addressing Silica. "And why Shi/Dia instead of Dia/Shi? Since Diabel-sama is everyone's leader, doesn't he have that alpha-male kind of parameter working for him?"
"You're over-estimating the effect of that." Liz instantly dismissed. "After all, wasn't Diabel famously the damsel-in-distress that was rescued by the shining prince right during the First Boss fight?" Liz nodded with certainty, eyes closed. "Everyone's heard about that."
"Plus…" Silica said, hesitating. "Well, you know, Diabel is a little more… girlish. I mean, since that hairstyle would have required a trip to the [Beauty Parlor]."
"You're right!" Liz said with a guffaw. "I think you should face accept that Diabel is the one who receives, Itagaki."
"You're all crazy." Asuna said with a sigh.
"Oh?" A grandfatherly voice rang out in the night. "And what's all this?"
Silica shrieked at the interruption, and Itagaki and Liz were both blushing.
"Don't worry." Asuna calmly said. "It's just an NPC."
"You have a hand on your sword." Liz pointed out.
Without abandoning her stern and calm expression, Asuna released the sword she was gripping, ready to whip it out and fight with.
They had already reached the end of town. Looming over them was the east edge of the town wall, and spread in front of them was a slightly-overgrown area of trees and grass that was the infamous park they had chased after so much.
The four girls walked forward.
Sitting on a bench at the edge of the park area even though it was deep into the night was an old man. Not just old, but the same weight of years you could only call [Ancient]. His head was completely bald and his features were a mass of wrinkles. His back was like a hump but he still managed to convey a sense of complete mobility even like that. His hands were gripping a walking stick upright in front of him; hands and stick were all gnarled. He was dressed in an old-fashioned kimono and coat, looking exactly the part of a country retiree.
"Welcome to my garden, children." The NPC said, his pit-like dark eyes sliding across them.
"Hello." Asuna replied, still slightly off balance. "We're looking for a gardener." She glanced over at Silica, who shakily stepped forward.
"Um, she would have beautiful hair." Silica added, somehow not quite willing to describe her hair as a [Key Item]. Asuna didn't blame her. This old man had more presence than a typical NPC.
"Ah, I see." The old man nodded slowly. "That one is gone now. You will have no luck finding her."
"A time limit?" Liz muttered with a forlorn sigh.
"Maybe only during day." Itagaki mused. "I mean, who gardens at night?"
"We didn't get a [Quest Complete] flag." Asuna pointed out.
"Maybe this is another clue." Liz said, jerking her head towards the NPC.
"Good idea." Asuna praised, turning to step forward. "Excuse me." She addressed the NPC. "Can you tell me anything else about the gardener?"
"That one is gone now." The NPC repeated the same line as before. "You will have no luck finding her."
"That's a dead end if I ever heard one." Itagaki said with a grunt. "Well, what do we do now? It is pretty late. Should we call it a night?"
"I'm kinda curious about this NPC." Liz said, gesturing again. "What's he doing out here, alone, in the dark?"
"What is your name?" Asuna asked.
"Hmph." The old man made a harrumph, but even so went on to answer the question. "My name… call me [Zolgen]."
"What are you doing out here?" Liz picked up the thread of the interrogation.
"I am merely an old man, resting while he slowly digests his repast, that's all." The NPC said with a calm smile. Somehow, it made Asuna feel deeply unsettled.
"Huh." Liz placed her hands on her hips. "So do you sell anything? Is there an extra skill you offer?" She licked her lips, before giving voice to the question that weighed heaviest on any Player that found a strange NPC with a strongly-written premise. "Do you teach any spells?"
"Oh, so you children are magic-users, are you?" The old man asked with a slightly dismissive leer. "Well, I have nothing to teach you, unless you prepare the necessary things first."
The girls traded excited grins, pleased with themselves. If it was a chance to add a completely new [Magecraft Instructor] to the known list, then something as trivial as a serial fetch quest would be cheerfully discarded without hesitation.
Asuna took the lead. "What are the [Necessary Things] we should prepare?"
"Come back with appropriate vessels, and I will teach you to insert fragments of your prana in them." The NPC spoke with his eyes closed, nodding slightly.
"Vessels with prana… like batteries or something?" Liz said with her brow furrowed, before speaking up and addressing the NPC directly. "What kind of spell is that?"
"Oh, you don't even know such a basic thing?" The NPC replied with a dry laugh, with a slow shake of the head expressing dismay at the ignorance of today's youth. "It is no mere spell I teach, but instead, the system of creating [Familiars] to assist the magus."
"This is fantastic!" Liz said, rubbing her hands together. "The pet mod!" Her eyes darted over to Silica, and she smiled again. "This is perfect for you!"
"It is." Asuna said, smiling at the slightly-dumbstruck younger girl. "With your [Beast] element, it's exactly what you wanted."
"Hmm." Itagaki nodded. "Since I wish to create Shikigami, then I think we should consider ourselves fellow students, Silica."
"Um, I'll be in your care!" Silica said, bowing to the older girl.
"And I in yours." Itagaki said, bowing back.
"It grows late." Zolgen spoke to all of them and no-one, before heaving himself forward off the bench and onto his feet. "I retire. If you seek the knowledge of familiars, then appear before me." He nodded towards the mansion that loomed over the side of the park through the darkness, before turning and shuffling towards it.
"It's true that it's getting late." Asuna said, turning to face the other girls. "And it looks like Silica and Itagaki, at least, will have a long day tomorrow." She nodded. "It's only appropriate that you two be the first to explore this new expansion, after all."
"We should tell Diabel-sama." Itagaki said slowly.
"Of course." Asuna said, frowning slightly. "But since the [Scouting] has stalled while we look for the real [Fifth Floor Boss], it's a good time for you to take a break and explore these rules."
"Oh, you're not going to try it?" Liz said, musing.
"Not right away." Asuna said, shaking her head. "And since Ilya only [Scouts] when she feels like it, and Shirou only accompanies her, someone from the [BSM] has to put in the effort there." She nodded. "Isn't it the same for you, Liz?"
Liz nodded. "Yeah, probably. A witch with a black cat isn't really something you'd expect to see working at a forge, you know?"
"Well, for now, then, let's say good night." Asuna said, nodding in conclusion. "I hope you all sleep well."
"Good night!" Silica said, even as Itagaki bowed and wished them well, before the two departed for the inns they were staying at.
"Don't let the bed-bugs bite." Liz offered with a parting laugh, waving as she set off towards the gate.
Forgotten, the [Quest Timer] in their logs crossed zero and the quest reset, awaiting the next group of players to chase the [Chain of Deals] to the ending.
