"'Hear by enshrined one of six sacred stones. Each a mark of the power bestowed by the Goddess.'" I lean back on Lisbeth's blacksmith stall, reading the message Asuna sent me. We had a group meeting yesterday after Kirito and Asuna found the second stone. With those stones and her praying at a tree, I am more sure that Premiere is indeed a priestess spoken of in Aincrad's legend of the Great Separation. It was brought up during the meeting, but the consensus is that it's still coincidental. Philia and I are the only ones truly behind the idea, and Klein...well, he believes Premiere is a goddess for a different reason.

Now the group heads for the second boss fight, but I stay behind to spend some time with Lisbeth and get my weapons maintained. Speaking of the devil, she comes from inside her shop back to the outside stall. "Here's your sword and shield, good as new," Lisbeth says as she hands me my weapons. She smiles happily as I inspect her work.

"Thanks to those rare whetstones we gathered, equipment is in prime condition. Aren't you lucky to have me?"

"I'm lucky I get the boyfriend discount." I give her the payment for the job. "Ah… You know, there's some things Origins hasn't been able to replicate. I like that you are able to set up shop here, but… It's not like the one back in SAO. Back on Lindas."

Lisbeth nods and sits beside me. "Yeah. I love smithing, it's my great passion. Back when we first met, I was running around, trying to find materials and the like, but I never had my own shop. Not until I saw the perfect spot on the 48th Floor. But it became more than that to me. It's where I first met Kirito and Asuna, it's where we fell in love… It was our home. We may not find it here, but I hope it's there, waiting for us on the 48th Floor of New Aincrad. We're saving up for it, hehe."

"Yeah… Huh?" I look over Lisbeth's head, eyeing a certain short girl with brown twin pigtails on her head staring intently at some of the shops down the street. Some of them seem to be player-owned shops. "Hey, it's Silica."

"Where? Oh." Lisbeth and I walk away from her shop and head down the street to Silica. "Hey, Sil. Whoa, why the frown?"

Silica turns to us, her frown disappearing. "Oh! Hi, Lis! Hey, Jaymes."

"You doing a little shopping, Silica?"

"Ah, n-not really. I was just inspecting some of the stalls."

Lisbeth holds her hips in confusion. "As in...the stalls themselves and not the stuff they have on sale?"

Silica smiles brightly. "Yeah. I'm actually kinda thinking of maybe starting up a place of my own...a little. Hehe."

I nod. " That sounds awesome. You totally should. Any idea of what you want to sell?"

"Mmm, well not exactly. I was hoping for a flash of inspiration by coming down here."

"If you don't have something you for sure wanna sell, why start up a shop?

Silica looks down at Lisbeth's feet shyly. "It's gonna sound silly, but whenever I see you working at your smithy, you just look so cool! You're kind of the inspiration."

"Wha? I-I was?" She looks at me, wondering what to say. I just smile back. "Um, w-well, thanks! Uh, hehe… It is pretty fun, I guess."

"I'm always in favor of going after the things you want, Silica. You should make it happen. Did you get any good ideas?"

She ponders on that for a moment. "I've been raising my cooking skill a little at a time for a while now, maybe something food-wise? But there's a lot of other issues and stuff too. Maybe it's not such a good idea."

"There's always gonna be challenges, Silica," Lisbeth says sharply. "And you're not gonna get anywhere by sitting and moping about them! You just gotta give it a shot! Like I always say, nothing ventured, nothing gained!"

"You really think it'll be all right? I mean, it's not too risky?"

I nod. "Nobody's 100% sure how thing'll turn out when they're getting started. But Lis is right. If you don't take a chance, you'll never find out."

"Exactly! I'm sure you got some business sense tucked away in those twintails."

Silica sighs, but bears a determined glare. "I guess you have a point… Where's the harm, right? I'll give it a shot!"

"Awesome! And since Lis and I are experts at building up a shop, we're gonna give you all the help you could want."

Lisbeth faces me. "Hehe. SInce when did you get so good at pushing Silica in the right direction?"

I chuckle. "What do you mean by that? I'm not pushing her anywhere. Don't get it twisted."

"Anyways! If we're gonna go with some kind of food , what in particular are you thinking? Is there anything you're good at? The Silica Special!"

"Hmmmmmm… Uh, I guess I make a decent dish of beans."

"B-Beans? Heh, I don't doubt you, but that's kinda cooking skills 1010, don'tcha think?"

Silica sighs. "Maybe a little. I can't really see anyone going out of their way to get a taste of beans. I thought about mixing juices and stuff, but those ingredients are pretty tough to gather."

Lisbeth nods. "That's a good point. Maybe we're looking at this from the wrong direction. Let's go gather some fixings!"

"But we haven't even decided what I'm gonna make yet."

"True, but if we go look around in areas that are pretty easy to get to, we can decide based on what's already there."

I agree with Lisbeth. "As the experienced gatherer for the smithy, I agree with that. It's best to decide how to work once you gain access to easy materials. Once you ste up shop, you'll have easy access to a steady supply for you."

"Let's go find us some ingredients! Silica, you take the lead, we're right behind ya."

"O-Okay! Um… Are you guys sure you wanna come? I don't wanna impose if you're on a date or something."

Lisbeth waves off that statement. "Psh! Whatever! Jaymes is not that important! I can't wait to see the birth of a brand new shop! It's exhilarating!"

"Don't worry about a thing. I'm happy to help too, Silica. Lisbeth was a boring date today anyway."

"Bah! Me, boring? Be glad we weren't on one today, mister!"

Silica chuckles at our banter. "You two are so cool… I think I got the perfect place in mind. I'm ready to go if you are!"

After a few hours of hunting, we place all the gathered ingredients on the table in Lisbeth and I's rented room. As she looks at our picking, excitement washes over Silica.

"Look at all this stuff! This place was so close, I thought for sure it'd be picked clean by now."

My mouth waters as the possible combination of ingredients runs in my head. "We got some good-quality meats, some fresh veggies, all the good stuff. Now what's the next step?"

"This one's up to Sil," Lisbeth states. "I want you to take a good look at all the food and then just...create. Whatever comes into your head."

"Just...anything?" She turns to the kitchen setup and back to the ingredients. "Um… Well, um…sure, I've got some ideas. Let's go for it."

"Sweeet! Let's make it happen! I'm actually pretty hungry so the sooner the better."

I nod my agreement with Lisbeth, so we sit down expectantly of whatever Silica creates. Joyfully she grabs a few ingredients and walks over to the kitchen. "Leave it to me and Pina!"

Lisbeth grins as Silica begins her preparations. "Ooooh! I can't wait! I wonder what little surprises she's got up her sleeve."

"Speaking of giving Silica a little push, you seem to get her all fired up pretty easy."

"Well, of course! She's my super-cute kid sister. It's part of the job! Haha! Just kidding, of course."

I shrug as I turn to the focused cook. "I dunno, I thought of Silica like a little sister, but you two are pretty close to sisters. Two peas in a pod. I mean, after all, she wanted to open a store so she could be more like you."

"Hehe… Yeah. Yeah, I guess she did. What choice do I have but to cheer her on? But that's not to say she doesn't want to be like you either. She's a great fighter because she wanted to be more like you, after all."

"Not really," I counter. "Back in SAO, it was to be more like Koharu and to be able to stand up for herself. But now, ever since we first signed on to ALO, everything she does is because of you. Ever since you two became real-life friends at school, she's always wanted to make her 'big sis' happy while modeling after her. Can't tell you how many times she pressed me to ask you out when we started school. Everyday, actually. I think...in every way, shape, and form, she wants to be like you as much as possible."

"Hmm… Guess that means I'll have to protect her from a few mistakes. Like boyfriends, for example. Especially the hero and rich types."

Eventually Silica comes back with a platter of various edible creations. "Aaand done! Hehe! Sorry to keep you guys waiting."

Lisbeth squeals happily. "What delicious delicacies do we have here?"

"I tried a few crazy recipes, so, I… I hope you like it."

I smile as I look at the various creations Silica made. "Looks great! After all, eating is one of my favorite things to do."
"This looks nice. What's this skewer thing over here?"

"I wanted to go with a classic chicken-on-a-stick kinda feel."

Lisbeth hands me one of the skewers and takes a bite of hers. Her eyes widen with glee. "Ish sho good! It's like festival food, fast, delicious, guilt-free!"

Silica beams in response to Lisbeth's praise. "Hehehe! That's kinda what I was thinking. Here, um, why don't you give this a try? It should be okay."

"Not a ringing endorsement, but I'm happy too! Now, then…" Lisbeth takes a bite of the sandwich Silica hands us, making some faces that aren't exactly pleasant or unpleasant. Intrigued, I take a bite myself, now tasting what Lisbeth is.

"Oh, I see. Well, it's such an interesting flavor. Different than, you know, the real thing."

"Still good. Just...different. Is it the sauce?"

Silica nods. "Yeah, I think. It was really hard to make. I tried it a whole bunch of ways, but nothing really sat right, y'know?"

"Yeah. Asuna said she had a really tough time making it back when we were in SAO."

"If people bite into this expecting one things and you, um...surprise them, it may be tough to keep customers. Still, if you want to keep this flavor, all you have to do is change up the looks a bit."

Silica takes in Lisbeth's criticism. "Hmm… I see."

Moving on, Lisbeth points at a pair of meats. "So, what's this one? Hamburger? Steak?"

"Mmhm! I think it turned out pretty well actually. I'm just a little bit proud."

As the resident carnivore, I take my piece of me and eagerly take a bite. "Orh muh gud! This ish pretty delicioush!"

Lisbeth nods. "Mm! For sure! I could definitely see people lining up for this one!"

Silica smiles. "Hehe! Thanks. The only problem is that it's a bit harder to put together."

"I could see that. It doesn't have that 'easy to grab' snack sort of vibe either. To make any kind of profit, you'd probably have to up the price too. That may be getting in a little too deep to start."

Silica sighs, but her determination does not wither. "That's not it though! I've got some bread treats here, um...a fried something I whipped up, and some stew! Wanna try it?"

Silica's fire dise out as she sits with her head on the table. "I guess… I guess none of them seem like a perfect fit, though."

"Yeah," I say, patting my stomach, "but one thing's for sure, they were tasty!"

Lisbeth ignores my comment for more serious matters. "Running a shop all comes down to snagging customers and keeping them coming back."

"Which is why I think quick and easy is the way to go, y'know? Like fast food."

I point out the meat and the bread. "Well, you got bread and steak here. Put them together, you got a hamburger. An amazing hamburger!"

"That's sweet, but I think there's a whole ton of hamburger shops already, aren't there?"

"To really grab customers, you'd have to do something totally memorable or totally out of left field."

"Hmm… Think, Silica, think! Something fast and easy, and also new, and also delicious… Hmmmmmmm! I thought of takoyaki, but you need some special equipment on hand to make that."

"Yeah, all of that is important to keep in mind," Lisbeth advises. "What do you have on-hand? Food equipment-wise?"
Silica checks her inventory. "Let's see. Um, frying pan? Check. Saucepan? Check. Griddle? Check. Oh, I got this steamer from somewhere."

"A steamer? Interesting. You didn;t use that for any of the dishes yet, did you?"

"Nope. I think some monster dropped it. I've never really steamed anything before though."

"Well, there's a new angle for you. Steamed veggies? Steamed potatoes are always nice."

After my suggestion, Silica's head pops up as an idea pops in her head. "Ah! That's genius! Guys, what about pork buns?"

"Pork buns, huh," Lisbeth considers. "Not bad. Not bad at all."

I nod. "Yes. The ultimate impulse-buy food here in Japan!"

"Do you think you could whip some up with the ingredients you've got left?"

Silica nods. "Um, yeah. Probably."

"Easy ingredients, simple to make. Plus, you got the steamer angle, that's not so super common. All we need now is taste."

"There's a whole bunch of different types I could try! Hold on, I'll be right back!"

Lisbeth chuckles as Silica gathers the remaining ingredients. "Hahaha! Don't worry, we're not going anywhere. Not when there's tastiness on the way."

I nod. "Surprise us, Silica."

"Hehehe! Leave it to Silica!"

As Silica lifts up the lid of the steamer, Lisbeth's eyes sparkle at the sight of the buns. "Oh my gosh! This is INCREDIBLE!" Enthralled by the smell, we immediately grab one and dig in.

"Ah, hot! Sho hot! But sho gud! But sho hot!"

Silica giggles at our faces as we juggle the hot buns in our mouths. "Really? Yay! Here, try these too! I made some other flavors. This one has white herb in it and-and-and this one has that red leaf!"

I grin as I reach for the one with the red leaf inside. "Well I guess I have no choice… Oh man! Oh MAN! Silica, this one is the perfect amount of spicy!"

Lisbeth smiles like she's had a taste of heaven. "These white herb ones are great! They're delicate and robust and delicious and juicy! You've got to show me how you did this!"

Silica frowns. "No way! If you want more, there's only one place to get them, Silica's Shop!"

Lisbeth giggles. "Sign me up! I am there!"

"Only if you beat me to it," I say challengingly. Beside me, Pina chirps excitedly. "Or maybe we'll lose to Pina, she's enjoying the buns as well."

"Pina will be running the shot as mascot and manager."

"I hope you're up for it, Pina," I say while petting the Feathered Little Dragon. "There's a lot of responsibilities for a shop manager."

With a choice of food decided, I look forward to the future of Silica's endeavors as an entrepreneur in the steamed buns business...yet, deep down, if I know Silica's ability to model Lisbeth, she'll be making me gather ingredients very soon… Well, as long as there's free food coming from that... I don't mind.