The room was bright, illuminated by the peak of the afternoon sun, and spreading a warmth throughout. From the large balcony, and through the opened double doors, came a soft, gentle breeze that rolled and caressed, rustling the curtains and the canopies of the beds. The furniture inside of the room had been seemingly pushed off to one side, leaving an open area centered around a low round-table. The occupants of the room were settled into various cushions and pillows that surrounded the table, contributing to the unique afternoon scene of relaxation.
On the table, were various trays filled with snacks; cookies, cakes, and pastries stacked to form considerable mounds. In the center was a large white teapot, having been recently filled and appeared to be steaming.
The occupants of the room—five girls of similar age—all appeared to be sipping at their tea cups, sighing in contentment at its taste and flavor.
"Ah… I just love afternoon green tea," Asuna said, her eyes closed in happiness as she savored their newest blend.
"Mmm, agreed, this is just amazing." Lisbeth nodded, eyeing her own teacup with appreciation. "This has to be our best attempt yet."
The rest of the girls in the room all nodded in agreement.
"Honey and mint… and something else," Sinon thought aloud, a contemplative expression on her face. "Is there some Crystal Fruit in here?"
Asuna and Lisbeth nodded in unison. "Dried Crystal Fruit in fact, courtesy of Rosy-chan," Asuna explained. "Turns out that the maxed out herbology skill is quite useful when it comes to tea making."
"Interesting, I've always wondered if it had any uses outside of medicine making."
"Lots actually," Lisbeth added, a fond look sent to the brown-haired girl beside her. "With the mixing skill, Asuna-chan can actually mix herbs into her cooking!"
Silica let out a noise of surprise. "Does that mean we can get bonus effects from eating?"
"Hmm, in some ways yes," Asuna began, "but mostly limited, there are some effects such as 'feel warmer in cold weather' or 'see better at night'—nothing such as increase agility or strength."
Argo nodded, sipping at her own tea in a very prim manner. "Aye, the game is quite reluctant to give us actual buffs." She thought of the many different ways in which the game provided status effects, and could only count on one hand the number of ways that were consistent and permanent. "If only we all had a Pina or two to provide us with heals and status effects."
The lone «Feathery Dragon» atop of Silica's head let out a cute noise as it noticed the stares around the room.
"Hah, that would be useful, but we still don't really know how taming works in this game." Lisbeth let out a sign as she thought back to her own attempt at taming a monster to no avail. It appeared that it would take an extremely rare set of circumstances for taming to be possible, and even now there were only a couple of other «Beast Tamers» aside from Silica.
Asuna looked envious as Silica took her familiar into her arms and hugged it close. A hesitant hand reached over to attempt to pet the creature, but her attempt was resisted as the dragon nestled deeper into its owner. "No fair…"
Sinon smiled at the scene, and was almost tempted to reach out for the same thing, but did not want to cause Asuna more grief. Pina was apparently tolerant of Sinon petting it for a short while. "By the way… you girls never did tell me what this gathering was for," she said curiously.
"Oh right!" Argo shot her a smile, before suddenly clearing her throat. "Ahem, welcome, welcome, to the legendary, the only… Royal Harem Pajama and Tea Party!"
Three sets of sighs echoed through the room, while the white-haired Sinon could only blink at her words.
"Stop replacing 'swords' with 'harem', Argo-chan," Lisbeth muttered.
"A-anyway, as Argo-chan said, this is basically just a slumber party for us girls."
Sinon shot Asuna a grateful look. "Makes sense." Looking downwards at her white and blue one-piece pajamas that had snowflakes all around, she finally understood why she had been forced into the admittedly comfortable sleeping wear. "So that's why we're all in our pajamas… in the middle of the day."
Argo snickered as Sinon fiddled with the hood of her pajamas, where two long ears could be seen jutting out. They all thought that the whole white rabbit motif suited her rather well. The resident information broker herself had a mouse motif set, complete with mouse ears and tail.
"It is," Asuna said with a smile, raising her own hood, covering her long hair. Her pajamas were orange and black, with tuffs forming a pair of fuzzy ears, and complete with a long striped tail. She was a tiger.
Lisbeth was dressed in black and white with very tell-tale round ears atop her hood. She had pouted when they had given her the panda motif as she felt that it did not suit her that well. Her complaints were pushed to the side when Kirito had told her she looked rather cute in it.
Silica simply nodded happily, as she rather enjoyed their slumber parties—afternoon or night. Her pajamas had a white center and a reddish-brown outer coat. The ears on her hood were pointed in a very familiar shape, such that it was obvious from a glance that she was a very specific type of dog.
The youngest member of their party was a perfect fit for the Shiba Inu pajama set. At the unveiling of her costume, Silica was subjected to an uncountable number of hugs and pets—even from Kirito—resulting in her locking herself in a room for a few hours, until lured out with the promise of cookies.
"Ashley-dono has simply outdone herself," Argo said with a large grin.
The girls nodded in agreement, having been asked to trial the pajamas by Ashley herself before she put them up on her famed store.
"It is quite soft," Sinon admitted, almost reluctantly. She had never been so embarrassed when she had first worn the piece, especially as Kirito had given her an approving thumbs-up. But despite the embarrassment, it was ridiculously soft, having been made with luxury materials, and did not suffer from being too hot or stuffy—a great benefit to being in a virtual world.
Argo eyed Sinon knowingly. "I'll let her know of our feedback. She'll definitely want it before the next trials begin."
"Next trials?" The tiger-themed brunette beside her gave her a look.
"Fufufu~ you'll have to wait, Asuna-chi."
Shaking their heads, the girls went back to their tea and deserts, content to lounge in their comfortable pillows, warmed by the afternoon sunlight streaming in, and relaxed by the gentle rolling breeze filtering through.
"By the way, why doesn't Kirito want to join us?" Sinon asked, causing the girls to stop in their conversations.
Sharing a look around them, they began to giggle.
"Because he's as stubborn as a goat," Lisbeth explained.
"Well that's true, but I can't see him turning down this amazing food and tea—not to mention the fact that Asuna made them."
Asuna sent Sinon a smile, enjoying the reminder of how much Kirito loved her cooking. "We did invite him, back when we first started having these parties," she explained, seeing the confusion in Sinon's expression.
"But he rejected us, and said that it was too girly to have a slumber party at his age." Lisbeth smirked as she thought back to the scene that had occurred shortly after.
Sinon grinned. "Ah, I see… and now?" She thought his boyish opinion was understandable, given the nature of most slumber parties.
"He definitely wants to join us—did you all see that pout he gave us as he left this morning?"
They all shared a laugh once more, thinking back to the morning where Kirito had all but run out of the house, accompanied by Rosy and Lily under the pretext of 'doing some guild business'. Although they knew that he did have some business to take care of, he did not, in fact, need to get out of the house for that.
"Silly Ki-bou, all he needs to do is ask and we'll happily let him in." Argo smiled fondly. She knew he had a stubborn streak to him, but to her, it was endearing in a way. "Anyway, let's get back on track!" Her eyes were gleaming as she thought about what was in store for the rest of the day. "Our dresses will be ready later in the afternoon, we'll have to drop by Ashley's shop to get fitted. Aside from that appointment, we have the rest of the day free—Kiri-bou has… volunteered to cover any guild work for us."
Asuna smiled at that. "How nice of our leader to finally do some paperwork," she quipped, causing giggles all around. Their most esteemed leader had the tendency to fall asleep instead of doing any paperwork, much to some of the occupants' secret delight. Kirito's sleeping face was a sight to see.
"About time actually—he has been slacking on those guild sheets I sent him," Argo added, before chomping down on a rather large chocolate chip cookie. "Sooo good~" She sent Asuna a grateful look before looking back at the rest of the group. "So what's the activity for today's party? Card games? Truth or dare?"—Sinon coughed at the suggestion, eyes wide—"Kirito talk? Gossiping?"
"Really, Argo? Can't we leave the gossiping until later in the day?"
"Now now, Lis-chi, what if I told you I heard the most hilarious rumour about Kiri-bou?"
Four sets of curious eyes suddenly settled onto her person, tea and desserts suddenly forgotten.
Argo smirked.
※※※
"I am not upset."
The taller dark-skinned man at the bar gave the only person on his barstools a deadpan look. "I never said you were."
"But you were implying it," the black-haired teen replied, eyeing the drink in front of him warily. "And what is this anyway?"
"I simply pointed out that you looked rather disappointed that you were not invited to another slumber party. Also, that's whiskey—served on the rocks."
Kirito frowned, looking down at the amber-colored drink in front of him, lifting the shot glass up and hearing the ice cubes clink against the glass. Though he knew that there was absolutely no alcohol content in the game, he was still hesitant to try anything served in a shot glass. "Finally managed to get your hands on some bulk whiskey? How did you manage that? The dwarves don't sell to anyone outside of their race."
It was a fact that had irked the player base immensely, knowing how many materials and other goods were restricted by the haughty dwarf NPCs. Access to their limited selection of materials were usually only retrieved through quests.
"That's a secret," Agil said simply, still in the process of organizing the shelves behind his person.
"Hmm, that's awfully suspicious Agil, you know how much Argo would pay for that information—Uhg!" Kirito suddenly spat out the liquid in his mouth, eyeing the shot glass in his hand with horror. "How on earth do you drink that?"
Agil laughed heartily, even though his counters—and Kirito's clothing—were now drenched with whiskey. With a practiced motion, he began to wipe down his counters with a cloth. "I honestly forget you're a kid sometimes, Kirito."
Behind the barstools, several roars of laughter could be heard as the individuals seated at the table behind Kirito looked at his drenched person.
"Hahaha, Kirito can't hold his liquor!"
"Oi…" Kirito deadpanned as he scanned the laughing faces of the «Fuurinkazan» members. "I can't believe you guys drink this stuff."
The young adults seated around the table all had a large mug of Aincrad Ale in their hands, well on their way towards a second or third refill, judging by the empty containers on the table. Though there were no ways in which the virtual alcohol could affect the players' chemical composition, alcoholic drinks still remained popular amongst the older population. It was proven—by the developers of the game, and by various health organizations—that there could be no side effects in the realm of chemical changes caused by the Nerve Gear.
That fact however, did not stop the fact that the effects of alcohol still appeared to influence a portion of the population. Judging by the flushed faces on a few of the members seated next to Klein, it seemed that the placebo effect remained strong.
"I mean, you can't even get drunk off it… normally anyways," Kirito pointed out. "The fact that you guys drink this willingly despite that is just insane."
Klein shook his head, a large grin on his face. "You just don't appreciate it man. You'll see, alcohol is how we live!"
Several roars of agreement echoed from his raucous friends.
Kirito rolled his eyes, then blinked as a figure came up from his right with a white towel in her hands. "Ah, thank you Lily," he said with a smile at the blue-haired member of his guild.
"Of course, Kirito-sama," she replied softly, and demurely. Her attire—not quite the full maid attire seen at their house—was the typical «Royal Swords» attire consisting of white and black, trimmed with gold. Yet her demeanor and the way she acted, along with her twin, did not change while they were in public.
Several glares were sent his way, as Kirito wiped the remaining spilled liquid from his person. If he thought he was done, he would be wrong, as Lily took the towel from his hands and began to carefully dab at spots that he missed on his chest.
"It's an acquired taste," Agil said, watching the scene with bemusement. The jealous looks from the other males in the room could kill. "You'll probably get used to it once you get older—though if you'd like I could make you something with a fruiter flavour, maybe a whiskey sour?"
Before Kirito could answer, Lily stood straight and tapped him on the shoulder. "I must remind you, Kirito-sama, that Asuna-sama has asked us to inform her of any questionable activities involving you." Her tone was still soft, and she had a small smile on her round face despite the caution in her tone.
"Ah right…" Kirito muttered, a shudder suddenly coming to him. Asuna had been less than pleased with him the last time he had been caught up in a small betting pool started by Klein.
"Meh, there's nothing questionable about some shots!" A voice shouted beside Klein. The owner of the voice, Dale, quickly paled as the full force of a glare from the blue-haired girl shut him up immediately. He could have sworn he felt murderous intent.
"Underage drinking is very questionable," Lily stated firmly, seeing her twin across the room and sharing a nod with the redhead. They were not about to directly stop their leader from any of his activities, but that did not mean they could not influence him in other ways.
"She is right you know… sorry about that, although the only reason I served Kirito is because everything is non-alcoholic… really though, Kirito, are you sure you're only fifteen? I always think you're older than you look." Agil was contemplative as he looked at the effeminate leader before him.
"Yea, unfortunately," Kirito answered with a sigh, his young looks would always be a curse—or a blessing, depending on how he looked at it. "Still got quite a while before October."
The twins in the room quietly filed that piece of information down… subtly.
"Anyways, thanks for the drink, Agil." He did not mention the fact that he spat out more than he drank.
"No problem, it was worth the hundreds of errands I had to run for that Dwarf NPC."
Kirito whistled. "You did all of those fetch-type quests yourself?" He could hardly imagine the tediousness of doing a hundred quests consisting of bringing a dozen items across the city over and over again with zero combat or variety.
"Had to, in order to build reputation with that Dwarf, Bofah." Agil grimaced as he thought back to the hairy, bearded merchant on the Dwarven level. If he saw another barrel of Dwarvish Ale to be carried, it would be too soon.
"Interesting." Kirito pressed his hands together in thought. "Did you have any indication that the quests were actually building your reputation up?"
Agil shook his head. "Nope… well, sometimes his dialogue changed—but I mean he was generally snarky… and I mean really snarky." Frowning, the bartender thought back to the last few months when he had finally unlocked the ability to purchase Whiskey from the Dwarves. "Some of the dialogue seemed to imply a greater reward if I kept up with the fetch quests, though they were mostly laced with insults so I wasn't too sure. Sorry."
"Don't be, that's really helpful, Agil," Kirito said with a grin. "Not to worry, I'm sure Argo will pay you accordingly for the information."
"Hmm, and why can't you pay me right here and now?" Agil raised an eyebrow.
Kirito smirked. "I'm broke."
"A lie," the bartender instantly replied. "You probably make more Col in a week than I do all month." Agil narrowed his eyes.
"Okay maybe I'm not broke." Kirito shrugged. "But Argo will want to talk to you after anyways with her own set of questions, I'm sure you guys can work something out." He knew that the two merchant types liked to barter and it was true that Argo often had very specific questions that only she knew to ask.
Klein, having watched the exchange with a puzzled expression, finally interjected. "What's the big deal with having access to whiskey anyways? You could always buy it from the Dwarves themselves—although their prices are such a rip off."
Agil shook his head, before bringing up a few more bottles of alcohol from behind the counters. "Wasn't just the whiskey—I got access to their entire offering. The prices were very fair as well."
Several whistles rang out in the background as the men recognized the specialty alcohol that only the Dwarves were known to sell.
"It's not about the whiskey exactly—not to take from Agil's achievement—but more about the fact that he got access to restricted Dwarven items," Kirito explained. "You know how there are certain materials and weapons that are only available on the Dwarven level?"
Klein nodded. "Yea, they don't appear on any other level, and they rarely appear in shops as well." The bandana-wearing leader remembered the unique mithril items that were unique to that level, as they were always extremely well-made, almost on the verge of being boss-tier. They could only be received from quests normally, and from boss drops.
"The fact that Agil has managed to unlock permanent access should mean that it could be possible to gain access to the other materials," Kirito finished, receiving some looks of understanding in return. "Of course, this could just be a one-time thing that Agil stumbled upon, but it might be worth looking into."
"Heh, well I'll leave it to you, Kirito, let me know if you guys find anything. Sounds like a great opportunity to upgrade our gear some more." Several of his guild mates nodded, all of them knowing exactly which respective piece of equipment they needed the most.
Upgrades were the life and blood of this game after all.
"Will do," Kirito answered, before getting off the bar stool. He smiled at Lily beside him who was finishing a draft of something—her deft fingers tapping the virtual screen with swiftness that always surprised him. As if sensing his intentions, she quickly closed the windows before falling into step behind him. "Have fun drinking guys, we're off to take care of some business. We'll see you later tonight." His parting was said as he made for the door, sending a quick wave of his hand behind him.
Rosy waited patiently before joining them, standing beside her twin and slightly behind Kirito as well. Kirito gave them both a wry look, still surprised at how in tune they were with his actions and with each other.
The occupants of the bar, its owner and the guild members of «Furinkazan», waved goodbye as the three left the building.
"Man… that Kirito guy…" Dale said with a sigh, the mug of beer in his hands suddenly looking more appetizing.
"I know…" Another sigh joined from beside him.
"Oi, what are you two sighing about," Klein asked with a raised eyebrow. His two friends—Dale and Kunimittz—sent him a rather morose look.
"Look, it's just hard on us when we're getting beat in every way by a teenage boy," Kunimittz explained, leading to several nods around the table. "I mean, it's just not fair… I can't even hate the guy—he's too nice!"
"Here here!" Dynamm cried out, his cheeks marred with red despite the nature of their current reality.
Klein scratched his cheeks, a smile forming on his face. "True that… I've told him before that his kindness will be taken advantage of."
"He took advice from you?" Several incredulous looks were sent his way.
"Oi!"
Agil's laughter echoed the loudest, even from behind the bar. "I do agree with you there, Klein. But in any case, I doubt that could happen with Argo and Asuna beside him."
Klein suddenly shivered as he thought of the two aforementioned girls, and at what they might do if some person should ever take advantage of Kirito. "Y-yea…"
Suddenly all of them no longer envied the leader of the «Royal Swords» quite as much. They all remembered the last time Asuna had unleashed her anger out in public. The poor guy—an ambitious member of the Blood Knights who had stepped out of line—was now afraid to even be on the same floor as her. Argo on the other hand… the last person to earn her ire no longer showed up on the frontlines anymore, and the scary part was that nobody knew what she had done to scare him off.
"You guys need to stop comparing yourselves to Kirito," Agil said, a serious expression on his face that was betrayed by a slight smirk. "It'll just bring you misery."
They all grumbled in response, but none could really refute that statement. Several copies of «The World»—Aincrad's most popular newspaper—could be seen around the table. On the front page, was a cover of Kirito in action with both swords in his hand. The image was not recent, as it was of the duel that had occurred between Heathcliff and Kirito, where any member of the public could attend. It was likely the only publicly available image of Kirito with both swords in hand, a fact that was unlikely to remain for long.
The Prince of Swords.
That was the title of the current newspaper article that was now circulating like wildfire throughout Aincrad. Everyone knew about it, talked about it, and raved about it. If Kirito had lamented his popularity before, being the leader of the strongest guild in the game, then he had never known what true sensationalism was. The article went into detail about his actions on the 50th floor, his abilities as a leader, and of course, the unveiling of «Dual Blades» as a confirmed «Unique Skill». All in all, the article painted Kirito as a hero, one who they could all put their hopes into.
Everyone in the bar had been at that fateful battle. All of them had watched with awe as Kirito leaped at the boss, finishing it off with not a second to spare. All of them had seen him risk everything for them.
There was no longer any question that Kirito was a great leader.
"To Kirito!" Dale suddenly shouted, bringing back the liveliness that had gone out in the past minute.
Several cheers echoed his cry, and all of them went back to drinking with a renewed vigour.
※※※
The world vanished in a flash of light, a myriad of colours flew past almost too fast to notice before he gathered himself and stepped out of the teleport gate in a well-practiced motion. He was joined quickly by two more individuals, their steps falling in line with his own, almost before they had finished materializing.
Quick were their steps as they hastily shuffled past the crowd of people gathered at the gates. It was only a few steps however, before they were noticed, as somebody pointed an excited finger at his person and began to whisper. The action spread like wildfire, and Kirito could only sigh as he lead them past the crowd.
The «Town of Beginnings» was busy as always. Even though the front lines were now on the 52nd floor, the population of any floor—even the popular merchant ones—could never compare to the first floor. It was as if the people in the town had never quite left.
In a lot of cases it was true.
Though there were many that ventured into the other levels and towns through the relative safety of teleport gates, there were also those who never took a step outside of town. It was not an insignificant number of players who refused to even look at the teleport gate, their fear immensely strong even a year into the game.
To those players, the first floor would always remain their refuge… and their prison.
Kirito looked straight ahead, a bored expression on his face as whispers surrounded the three of them. Lily and Rosy, were just a step behind him, their cold expressions crafted so that anybody approaching should be sent scurrying. They were experienced enough with crowds by now that they could handle them with ease. In the beginning, they had been a flustered mess, to the amusement of the Swords.
At times, Kirito liked to come to the town in disguise, but recently he had gotten tired of walking through alleys with a hood up as if he were a criminal. They would stare and talk regardless of what he did, thus he chose to do his business without a care. In lieu of real entertainment, the denizens of Aincrad had apparently turned to gossip and stories—mostly involving the top players of the game.
On this day, the mood was currently cheerful, and a sense of excitement could be felt stirring underneath. That excitement had nothing to do with the sight of the «Royal Swords», although they were related in a way, but rather with the much-talked about event that was going to occur later in the evening.
Kirito paid them no mind as he lead the twins towards the south east quadrant of the town. Their hurried steps allowed them to push through the crowd and into the alleyways, where foot traffic was light. Soon, they were clear of the crowds, and back onto the less trafficked side streets of the town. There were still stares and excited murmurs from the few players who saw them, but it was manageable.
He thought to pay Sasha and the kids a visit, but knew that it would be cutting it close with his schedule today. Still, he made a mental note to visit them in the near future, and at the event tonight if possible.
Not before long, their destination was ahead of them: a large estate seemingly cut off from the rest of the road, complete with iron-wrought gates and guarded by plated NPCs with spears. The NPC guards greeted them with a stiff nod, allowing them passage through the gates and into the estate.
It opened up into a large open area of green, with the footpath decorated by pristine shrubbery and bright flowers. Lush green could be seen around the building in the middle, only interrupted by the tall trees that scattered throughout. The manor in the middle, a mansion by any standards, had at least five stories, and had windows to spare. It was a design similar to the rest of the «Town of Beginnings» but with an elegance that made it appear as if it were a noble's estate.
Many eyebrows had been raised when the «Royal Swords» had chosen to rent an estate on the first floor of Aincrad, what with their considerable reach, and the number of choices available to them. But Kirito rather liked the Ashton Estate: a rare rental opportunity only offered to those who managed to complete all the quests offered by the Mayor NPC of the town. The rental price had always been outrageous compared to the other houses in the town, but when compared to a property of similar size on, say, the fiftieth floor, it proved to be a great deal.
It was here that the majority of the «Royal Swords» lived and trained. A guild headquarters to be proud of… or so many players thought. Kirito knew Argo was just waiting for the right opportunity to purchase a permanent headquarters for their use. She had been rather incensed when the DDA had 'stolen' the best piece of property on the fiftieth floor following their victory over the floor boss, as she had been eyeing that one in particular.
"Kirito-sama!" A bright voice suddenly called out from his left, causing the three of them to stop.
The occupants of the headquarters were the members of his guild. Players who he had seen, first-hand, throwing everything they had into training and working. He could freely admit now that Argo—and the rest of the girls—had an amazing eye for people. The girl that was coming up to him now, followed by five other members of her party, was one such individual that continued to surprise him.
Kirito waved a greeting, a smile on his face as the party of six approached him excitedly. "I've told you to stop adding the honourific…"
"You have." The girl before him agreed happily, her short light-brown hair framed a round, expressive face, and a wide smile.
Turning towards the rest of the newcomers, he shot them a look. "Please keep your squad leader in line, Elm, Sousuke."
Elm, a taller girl with bright green hair done in pigtails shot him a look that said it all. "You know that's impossible, Leader-sama."
"You know how she is, Leader-sama, nobody can control her, she's a beast," added the brown-haired boy, Sousuke. He was leaning haphazardly against his spear, and had a wide grin on his face. "Ain't that right guys?" he asked, receiving noises of agreement from the rest of the squad.
Kirito shot them all a look, not even mentioning their use of honourifics as well. He supposed that Lily and Rosy had already made him used to it.
"You guys are mean," the squad leader said with a pout on her decidedly cute face. "I am not a beast!"
"Sure, Yuna-chan, whatever you say—Ow!"
Lily and Rosy giggled behind him.
"Training going well?" Kirito asked, looking around at the training grounds. In the distance he could see another congregation going at it, a small ring of players watching two players duel one another. They were all working hard it seemed, not that he had expected any less.
"Yes! We have just cleared a field dungeon on the fourtieth floor—yesterday in fact," she answered excitedly. "Everything went perfectly"—she jabbed an elbow into Elm's side before the girl could interject, receiving a glare in return—"according to plan."
Kirito raised an eyebrow. "The Feral Warder Chief one?" he asked, receiving several nods in return. "Impressive, that one is quite tricky with its phase changes." It was a troublesome boss with many tricks up its sleeves, including being able to summon elite minions when low on health. It was not a field dungeon worth farming due to the difficulty, but for training your combat skills, it was invaluable.
"It was tricky," Elm quickly added before her squad leader could continue, "several of the phases surprised us. But we followed the advice on the strategy guide, and pulled through." Looking at the pouting form of Yuna, she added, "Yuna-chan kept us all calm through it…. which helped a lot."
Yuna beamed at them.
He smiled at them. "That's great, keep up the good work." Kirito's words made them stand up just a little bit straighter. He was impressed with their progress, especially Yuna's squad in particular. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that her enthusiasm and growth was unprecedented. Her leadership skills were something else too, as Asuna and Argo have noted. She would be a formidable player to have on the frontlines, once she managed to catch up in levels and combat experience.
She reminded him of Sachi and Asuna combined… though she definitely had more energy than the two put together.
"Anyways, Kirito-sama… we were wondering…" Yuna looked at her squad members, who all urged her on quietly. "Um… just wondering, you know..." Her hands were pressed together shyly and her brown orbs looked at her feet.
Kirito looked around in confusion, not quite understanding why Yuna's squad looked hesitant.
"J-just wondered if we could maybe—possibility—come to the festival tonight!"
He blinked, looking at Yuna with an odd look. "Of course, why would you need to ask?"
"W-well…" Yuna looked to the side.
"Yuna-dono is still on probation after disobeying Argo-sama." The answer came from Lily behind him, who shot the brunette a stern look. "She attempted the field boss without getting permission."
Kirito scratched his cheeks, somewhat amused at the crestfallen expressions on the rest of their faces. Yuna's squad had always been their most enthusiastic, seemingly soaking up everything like a sponge. Yet, they were held to a very strict standard with regards to training and leveling. Argo and Asuna could be incredibly strict, but he knew that they just wanted to ensure everyone's safety.
He could hardly blame Argo for chewing them out. Newcomers to the frontlines had died from the tiniest of stumbles.
"Too scared to ask Argo huh?" He grinned, not blaming them for their hesitance. Their mousy vice leader had a way of tearing into a person with just words alone. "Alright, you guys can go," he said, to some loud cheers and relieved expressions. "The festival tonight is important after all… but Yuna Squad," he continued, immediately grabbing their attention with his serious tone. "Don't do that again. Seriously, do not risk yourselves needlessly."
They all nodded, several ashamed individuals shifted nervously.
Seeing their crestfallen expressions, his tone softened. "I know how much you want to prove yourselves—I really do. But do so carefully okay? We expect a lot of you, but we want you to be safe most of all."
"Yes!"
"Yes, Kirito-sama!"
"We will, Leader-sama."
Yuna gave him a short bow, and a brilliant smile before leading the rest of her squad members back onto the field. Her shouts of enthusiasm and laughter could be heard echoing all throughout.
He smiled wryly, giving them one last look before leading the way into the manor. The large mahogany doors opened into a vast lobby. Velvet could be seen throughout, mingling with the occasional gold and marble furnishings. In the middle of the lobby, taking up much of the space, was an exceptionally grand marble staircase. It was a place that screamed of a royal opulence.
Traversing up the large steps of the central staircase, he made for the second floor, leading the twins towards the end of the wide halls. At the end of the hall, a set of doors opened into the offices of their guild. The office itself was large, complete with a wall of bookcases, already adorned with books. A long table was set in the middle of the room, while facing it was an ornate desk made of luxurious mahogany. Behind that desk, was not a wall, but rather, an opening that led to a wide balcony, offering a view of the entire estate.
It was tranquil in the afternoon, with the sun bringing warmth and a surprisingly cool breeze.
"Greetings, Kirito-sama," a voice called out from his left. The owner of the voice was a taller woman, young but unmistakably older than the rest of them, with her black hair tussled into a neat bun and stern red eyes. She was the refined image of a woman who could easily be mistaken as some executive of a company. Even her attire, the standard white royal outfit of the Swords, suited her in a special way.
"Chisa," he greeted back, idly watching as the twins moved up to greet the older girl.
"Chisaki-dono."
"Chisaki-san."
The woman smiled warmly at the two, returning their greetings. She straightened a few invisible crinkles that only she could see on Lily and Rosys' attire, much to their chagrin. "Keeping our leader company, yes? I hope you two are not working too hard now."
Kirito almost rolled his eyes, slightly affronted at the notion that keeping up with him would be a handful. "You're one to talk, Chisa, look at all of that paper on the desk." He gestured to the ornate desk, where various stacks of paper could be seen neatly organized into piles.
"Half of those are for you, Kirito-sama." Chisaki's eyes were filled with mirth as Kirito's jaw dropped. "I've done all I can with the rest, but you'll need to go over and give the final approval for the remainder."
"But…" Kirito eyed the stacks of paper warily. "Can't I just approve all of them in one go?"
"Now now, Kirito-sama," the young woman began, a finger raised in the air in a manner that reminded him eerily of Asuna's 'lecturing position: number seven'. "That's no good, you need to be aware of all of the ongoing operations of the guild, not to mention you're the only person that can veto Argo-chan—aside from Asuna-chan of course."
"But…"
"No buts, now we should get started, it shouldn't take too long to finish." Before he could protest further, he was slowly pushed towards the desk and onto the admittedly comfy leather chair. Chisaki took half of the stacks of paper before taking a seat at the end of the long table nearest to his desk.
Kirito shot a look of hope towards the twins. They were faithful to him, and were masters of paperwork, they would not fail him. Yet… they merely gave him a look of pity, holding in their giggles at his crestfallen expression.
"Kirito-sama, we'll be leaving now. We have to sort out some trade disputes at the Merchant's Guild." Lily bowed, her brown locks shadowing the mirth on in her eyes.
"Take care, Kirito-sama, I believe Argo-sama or Asuna-sama will drop by not before long." Rosy's expression was the same.
Together, the twins left the office, closing the door behind them with an ominous –click— as it was shut. Kirito could only sigh as he turned back towards the paperwork. He could not fault the twins for ditching him, as he knew how hard they worked in their multiple roles under Argo. How they managed to find time to still act as a maid for them still eluded him. He knew that they were one of the firsts to wake up every morning, and probably one of the lasts to sleep. Frowning, he mentally made a note to make sure they were getting enough rest.
He eyed the three stacks that were left to him with slight apprehension. The game allowed players to materialize notes into physical paper, wherein the changes could be made and digitalized. Not many players opted for that route, preferring to use the virtual touchscreen for notes. But then again, not many players had to deal with the amount of detail that Argo required. Scanning the topmost documents, he could already tell the categories from a glance. From left to right were the categories of guild personnel, treasury and items, and planning. They were meticulously sorted by order of importance and even had color highlighting on certain sections.
Chisaki was incredible as always. He had always felt her talents were being wasted in her role as their chief of operations. Yet she had always done her work without complaints, enthusiastically tackling all of the tedious organizational tasks that their guild required. Before she had come along, Argo and the twins were on the verge of collapse with the amount of work they were taking on. Of course, Asuna and Lisbeth were no slouches when it came to guild tasks, but it was the insane volume of various requests that had quickly proven to be impossible to handle by anyone except for Argo.
"How did you sort all of this so fast," Kirito asked aloud in wonder. He had already stamped three documents thus far—pertaining to equipment requests from the lower-leveled guild members—and it was only because the pertinent sections were highlighted that he could quickly process them. "And with notes too…"
Chisaki brought a hand to the bridge of her nose, halfway into the motion of pushing up her glasses before she realized that she was not wearing any. Coughing as she saw her leader giving her an amused glance, she explained, "practice, Kirito-sama, this is nothing compared to the number of notes I had when working on my thesis."
Kirito made a noise of surprise. "Thesis?" He had always thought that she was a business woman.
"Indeed." Chisaki smiled in amusement before continuing, "I was at the end of my graduate studies at the University of Tokyo before… all this."
"I see, that's impressive." He knew just how competitive those programs were, especially in Tokyo. "Let me guess… economics?"
She shook her head. "Psychology actually, to be more exact, social psychology." She held back a grin at Kirito's surprised look. "Surprised? I get that a lot in here." A lot of the players thought she had to be an executive related to Argus industries—the producers of the game. That assumption had led to tension in the past.
"It suits you," he said, to her own surprise. "You're a good judge of character." Kirito remembered the first time he met the older girl, helping Argo with some task. Despite being Argo's senior in every way, she did not talk down to the mousy girl, and instead, treated her with such respect that it had immediately garnered his trust. There were many that dismissed Argo as annoying or arrogant at first glance, but those were individuals who lacked intuition.
"T-thank you," she muttered, uncharacteristically shy. She had never met a person who had immediately said it suited her, not even her own mother had wanted her to pursue that field.
Kirito didn't pry further. Personal information was considered a dicey topic to the majority of the players. Most did not want to be reminded of what they had been forced to leave behind. He was the same way in many areas.
Together they worked in relative silence for a good while, with only the sound of ruffling papers, the stamping of his signature, and pen meeting paper filling the room. The sun and the breeze streaming through the open balconies were a welcome accompaniment to the quiet, and if not for the task at hand, Kirito would have opted for a nap.
Chisaki, having been watching her leader silently for a while, broke the silence. "You really are something else, Kirito-sama."
The dark-haired leader blinked at her. "Chisa?"
"Really, at your age, and already leading by example." She put her pen down and sighed. "You're really making us adults look bad you know?"
"I don't know what you mean, Chisa," he said, continuing his stamping. "I'm just a glorified stamper you know?"
She laughed. "Sure you are."
"Thank you anyway," Kirito said softly, not looking away from his current document.
"I'm the one who should be saying thanks," she chided, a finger raised in the air. "You're the one constantly putting your life on the line for the rest of us."
"I'm… we're not fighting for the gratitude." He brought his stamp down, and continued onto the next piece. "All of us have our own reasons."
"All the reason why it needs to be said—and continued to be said." She thought back to the beginning of the game, where she had been paralyzed with fear. It had always been a great source of shame for her as an adult... and as a person. To have to rely on teenagers, kids even, in order to have a chance at clearing the game. "What you and the rest of the clearers do for us… I really can't overstate it."
"You do plenty enough for us," Kirito pointed out, gesturing to the organized piles before him. "Honestly we would be lost without support from you and the twins."
Chisaki shook her head. "That's another thing, Kirito-sama. The fact that you manage to inspire such devotion, even with the twins."
"How do you mean?" He couldn't recall doing anything special with regards to the twins. He tried to treat them as nicely as any friend would.
"I knew of them even before they joined up with the guild, you know? And back then, they were as cold as ice to everyone." Her words caused Kirito to widen his eyes, he could hardly reconcile that fact with the usually warm twins. "Twins are rare enough in this game, I've only heard of one other pair, but female twins would of course attract an insane amount of attention. I heard that they rejected all sorts of party and guild requests before joining up with you guys."
Kirito scratched his cheeks awkwardly, not knowing what to say. "I see… so they're kind of famous huh?"
Chisaki nodded rapidly. "Really famous! I've even heard that they have ties to Argus industries as well, but of course I don't like to listen to personal rumours like that."
It would make sense, as groups of friends already found it insanely hard, if not impossible, to secure a copy of the game at release due to the one device per family policy. Being able to secure two copies for a pair of siblings spoke of some connection, monetary or otherwise.
"And you say they changed after joining us?" Kirito asked with a small smile.
"Yes, I've met them before on the tenth floor due to a chance public party, and how they are now is simply amazing. I've only ever seen them smile after joining the Swords."
"That's good to know." He truly was glad that they have had a positive effect on the twins. It must have been why Argo had uncharacteristically insisted that they be allowed into the guild immediately, not that any of them had voiced a disagreement. She must have seen something that they didn't.
Chisaki was staring at him again, giving him that calculating look that he now associated with her program of study. It was scary in a way. "Do you know what resilience means, Kirito-sama? From a psychological perspective," she asked suddenly.
He shook his head. "I only know it in the context of game terms unfortunately, such as in MMORPGS."
"That terminology may very well fit actually. Well to put it simply, it is just the ability or the process, of coping in the aftermath of a trauma, tragedy... or disaster," she explained, her pointer finger extended. "Basically it is the ability to resist and adapt in the face of adversity."
"I see, that does sound important." His mind flashed to those stricken faces of fear and anger during the first few weeks.
"The reason why I brought that up is that I believe you—and the Swords—are doing an amazing job at helping all of us with our resilience." Seeing Kirito about to shake his head, she continued, "seriously, it can't be overstated how important you all are to the rest of us."
Kirito sighed, putting the stamped document in his hands to the side. "I would disagree about our importance some more, but who am I to argue with a doctor."
"No doctorate yet, Kirito-sama," she added with a smile. "And besides, feel free to argue with me, all our studies of human behavior only show how little we truly know about the subject."
Kirito waved away her statement with a dismissive gesture. "I doubt that, Chisa, but… thank you. Really. I still don't believe we need any gratitude for what we are doing but I do appreciate it nonetheless." He met her red orbs steadily. "And, you're welcome."
They shared a smile. Then they were back to work, a comfortable silence settling between them once more. Kirito had finished with the first pile and moved onto the second pile by now, and it was the newest requisition order that caused him to pause.
"Why, on earth, does Argo need ten thousand Basic Throwing Knives?" he asked aloud with concern.
Chisaki did not comment.
※※※
The afternoon sun was just beginning to set as the two of them set out from the house, towards the path and into the town where the teleport gate awaited them. An orange glow washed the environment as far as the eyes could see, signaling the transition from day into evening.
Argo and Asuna walked together side by side in a quiet silence, only broken by Argo's occasional tapping on her screen as she rapidly went through notes and messages at a speed that nobody but her could keep up with. Her sudden question to her brown-haired companion, then, was a surprise.
"So did you kiss him?"
Asuna stopped in her tracks immediately, giving the shorter girl beside her a wide-eyed look. "W-what?"
"Ahh, I knew it!" Argo said triumphantly, waiting patiently as Asuna gathered herself before resuming their walk. "Relax Asuna-chi, it's not like I'm mad or anything." She walked with her hands gathered beneath her head, as if without a care in the world.
"You aren't?" Asuna asked quietly as she walked back next to her. She had been expecting something of this sort, but in her head, it was she herself that initiated the conversation. Argo truly was intuitive beyond belief.
"Mmmhm, I mean it was quite obvious with your behavior. You've been even more googly-eyed than normal, and your stares have increased threefold."
Asuna's jaw dropped. "I have not been googly-eyed!" she protested, yet did not bother refute the staring claim. She had been rather focused on Kirito lately.
Argo rolled her eyes. "Please, Ay-chan, you have been sighing at Kirito all week long." It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened. "But don't worry, I didn't know you kissed him until just now."
"I… what?"
"You didn't bother denying that you kissed him."
"Oh…" Asuna blushed, eyes somehow roaming everywhere except towards her mousy companion.
"Like I said though, Asuna-chi. I'm not angry or anything, just wish that I had made a move sooner." Argo smirked at the look Asuna sent him. "Of course, this does complicate things."
"Indeed it does," Asuna agreed with a sigh. Her delicate face formed a frown as she thought of what to say. In many ways it was a relief that Argo had figured it out, as the secrecy was eating at her. "It kind of just happened…" She touched a finger to her lips, unable to suppress the furious blush that formed as she thought back towards her actions.
"That good, huh?" Argo teased, laughing as Asuna uncharacteristically blushed some more. The famed «Flash» remained strict and aloof in public, and many players would kill to see her in this state.
They walked in silence for a while, the town gates already coming up in the distance.
"Argo… what do you think we should do?" Asuna asked finally, an apprehensive expression on her face. She was not simply referring to simply her relationship with Kirito. Rather, her question was loaded in many ways.
It was not a secret that there were girls in the house that harboured deep feelings for Kirito, except maybe only to the densest of individuals. But it was also not a secret that none of them wanted to make a move. Love was hard… especially first love, for the girls in the house had no experience with it. It was made harder by the fact that they were all scared of doing something that ended in disaster. They were all as aware of their own feelings for Kirito as they were of each others. At least, Argo, Lisbeth, and Asuna were.
To go forth and break the status quo was to potentially ruin the relationships that they all relied on, depended on, and loved. It would be devastating if anything should happen that pushed any one of them away from the other.
Asuna knew that. Deep in her heart, she knew that the others were in love with Kirito, just as she was. And she knew that doing anything about her feelings could potentially ruin the beautiful family structure that they currently had. She knew all of that, yet she could not stop herself from kissing Kirito on that fateful day. It had been perfect, and in her heart, she felt no regrets.
The selfish part of Asuna wanted to keep going further, no matter the consequences, to make Kirito only look at her with that fond look of his, that look that spoke of love and affection, that look that pierced right through her heart every time. It was clear to any that took a closer look, that Asuna, the famed vice-leader of the «Royal Swords», one of the top players in the game, was hopelessly and deeply in love with Kirito.
It was the other side of Asuna, the part that made her the kind, thoughtful person that she was, that screamed out in panic at her actions. Reminding her of the potential fallout and the looks on the rest of the girls' faces should they find out. The last thing that she wanted to do was to hurt those closest to her. Her family.
"You're thinking too hard, Ay-chan," Argo chided after a bit of silence. "You're probably beating yourself up over it or something like that. But I think… none of us have to give up on Kirito."
Asuna blinked in surprise at her statement. "But..."
"I've always told you, Asuna-chi…" Argo began quietly, her eyes closed despite still walking. "That I hate normal. Detest it even. I can't even tell you how much I loathe the fake normality that we're all forced into." She was oddly serious. "So if the best way for all of us to be happy, is to not be normal, and end up in a crazy web of relationships... then I think it should be fine," she said with a tinge of embarrassment.
"Argo-chan… it's not like I don't agree with you"—Asuna was fine with not normal—"but this is different, isn't it?" Asuna knew what her friend was saying, but it was such an insane concept that she could not believe it.
Argo shrugged. "Is it so complicated? We all love Kirito, and he loves all of us. As much as I half-joke about the harem situation, I honestly believe that that is the best route for all of us to take."
The mousy information dealer was actually somewhat embarrassed, to Asuna's astonishment.
"That is the only way I know of for all of us to be selfish… all of us to be happy." Argo sighed, cracking an eye open at the subdued Asuna. "Besides, the hardest part about all of this will be trying to convince Kiri-bou."
Asuna nodded, knowing just how Kirito's mind would work in a situation like this. She knew that her favourite dark-haired boy was not as dense as he sometimes acted. Yet he would never act on any of their feelings for fear of hurting any one of them. She imagined that he would have preferred to keep any of his feelings to the side, putting their wellbeing above his. Like he always did.
A way to be selfish together, Asuna thought. It was an idea that she was apprehensive about. It was not normal, to entertain the idea of all of them sharing a relationship with Kirito. Yet nothing about their situation was normal. To be put into a death game where there was no hope nor guidance… and to still be able to laugh, to smile, and to dream. She clenched one hand close to her heart. Her feelings towards Kirito would never change, that was a fact that she knew deep within her. But could she still go along with this idea, knowing the mess of emotions that lied ahead for all of them?
They reached the teleport gate before long, both waiting for a short while, lost in their own thoughts.
※※※
This is ridiculous, Kirito thought to himself, but unwilling to utter a single sound. Back at the guild headquarters on the first floor, he had somehow found himself waiting in the hallways of the third floor, just before the rooms that were occupied by the female players of the guild. Of course, they did not live in the manor, yet somehow he was still made to wait here.
Thirty minutes ago, his treasured girls had entered the room along with several other female guild mates—including the twins—and had not come back out. Of course, he knew they were in there, having heard more than his fair share of giggles and laughter. Tapping one finger with his arms crossed, Kirito tried not to look too bored. He never understood why the girls still needed time to dress and get ready in the game, considering the fact that all of their clothing could be customized with the press of a button with the user interface.
He was dressed in a simple black yukata trimmed with white and gold. It reminded him of his summers spent with his family, going to the neighborhood festivals, and sometimes to the inner-city ones. Surprisingly, formal wear was easy to acquire in the game, with multiple merchants selling all sorts of designs that were usually related to the floor's design. They were not unreasonably expensive either, compared to the price of actual equipment. It was only because the players had no reason to waste money on formal wear—until now—that they were relatively unknown.
Of course, the abundance of formal wear, was now something that worked against him, as his girls now had an insane array of options to choose from. Ashley happily provided her dyeing and patterning services to the players, even offering to make them yukatas from scratch. Kirito was glad that they had announced the festival only a week prior, knowing that the short timeline meant they couldn't do any custom designs.
His musings were cut short as the door to the girl's dormitory opened and multiple figures stepped out. His mind promptly shut down all thought for a second as he eyed the girls coming up to him. The girls were treated to the sight of a speechless leader.
"How do we look, Kirito-kun?" Lisbeth asked with a giggle, giving a small twirl with her light-pink yukata.
Argo smirked. "Already speechless, Ki-bou?" Her own yukata was more subdued, a simple dark-blue.
He could only nod at them, receiving giggles in return.
Silica, looking adorably embarrassed, tugged at the ends of her white yukata, while holding Pina with one hand. Just behind her were Asuna and Sinon who astounded him even more than the others. If only because they were the perfect pictures of what he would describe as 'summer beauty'.
Asuna, dressed in a dark-red yukata, with flowery patterns all throughout, looked mesmerizing with her hair done in a masterful bun, complete with a jeweled hairstick. Her eyes lit up as she met his gaze, a slight dusting of her cheeks indicating her embarrassment.
Sinon was dressed in light-blue, with snowflakes strewn into the yukata that matched her white hair. She had also chosen to do a similar bun as Asuna, and it suited her well. Her refined look matched her in a way that surprised everyone. Yet she was looking beyond embarrassed—an unusual sight on the typically aloof girl—and looked as if she wanted to escape his sight at any second.
Shaking his head from his stupor, Kirito gave them all a wide smile. "You all look amazing," he complimented, making sure to include the twins—who were dressed in yukata's bearing flower designs based on their name—and the scattering of female players. It was worth the shared embarrassment, as all of the girls blushed beautifully at his compliment.
"Now, let's go to the festival."
※※※
The festival had no real name, not exactly, it was more of a spur of the moment idea that quickly took off rapidly ever since they had first suggested it. All the guilds leapt at the chance to contribute and it became an event—the event—to talk about. Surprisingly they did not even have to fund most of it, as many of the smaller guilds offered to front the costs in return for some guaranteed venue space. Much of the funds came from the «Aincrad Liberation Force», otherwise known as «The Army», to all of their surprise.
Thus, the Summer Festival was born, and planning had taken off at a rapid pace in order to meet the deadline for the current day. The Swords were thankful for Chisaki's supreme logistical prowess, as even the other guilds had all deferred to her judgement when it came to planning the festival. Food stalls—provided by players and NPCs alike—were arranged, vendors offering games and items were signed up, and they even had music arranged for the center of the town, courtesy of a few volunteer musicians.
As Kirito stepped onto the main street towards the center of the «Town of Beginnings», he was amazed at the sight that greeted him. Lights and colour were abound, surrounding them from all sides. Strings of lanterns and floating candles were just overhead, adorning the main street, casting its light onto the denizens below. Vendors were set up to the sides as usual, but they were set up to resemble the typical stalls that were often seen at a traditional outdoor festival. The sound of delight as players dug into new and exotic food, curses as their attempts at a player-made game failed, and the excited murmurs and chatters of a festive crowd were the sounds that echoed all throughout.
It was as if they had been transported back into a summer festival… in Tokyo.
Kirito heard the intakes of breath and the delight of the girls as they began to gather themselves. Before he could say a word, he was already being tugged towards a food stall, where he could see sticks of food waiting for purchase. The vendor was an NPC, but it was as if he was made for the festival as he gave them their sticks of meat. NPCs in the game were almost absurd in their ability to adapt to anything and everything. If the players were able to give them a sense that a festival was going on in the evening, then they naturally allowed themselves to stay open longer, to change up their selection, and to even move locations. All without any player involvement.
"Mmmm, zis is zho good~"
"Don't talk with your mouth full, Argo-chan," Asuna chided, nibbling on her own snack at a more subdued pace.
Argo stuck out a tongue at her before turning towards Kirito. Her eyes gleamed.
"Don't think about it," Kirito said as he hastily shoved the rest of the snack into his mouth, and discarded the stick. His mousy friend had developed a habit of stealing his food lately.
"How rude," she said with a smile, even as she took a position to his left, taking his arm and entwining it with both of hers. "Off to the next food stall!"
They all looked at her with bemusement as she dragged Kirito forward towards an area with more options to choose from. Along the way, they drew quite the number of stares from the rest of the players, but as the mood was quite festive, and everyone was dressed up, the attention was not unwelcome. It was even nice, sharing smiles and quick greetings with the rest of the players—those who took the rare opportunity to greet them given the festive context.
"This is quite nostalgic," Lisbeth said with a sigh and a smile. "Reminds me of all the summers I spent with my family."
"It does," Silica agreed, still nibbling on her stick of meat. "I've missed this!"
Asuna nodded, somewhat subdued, as she recalled the last time her family participated in something like this. It would have been a long time ago. "This is nice, I'm glad that we managed to pull this off. What do you think, Sinon-chan?"
"I like this." Sinon's reply was quiet, as she looked around her in wonder. It was hard to believe that this was the same town that she had always associated with despair. "I… only remember a little of when I used to go to festivals like these with my mom and dad, but I definitely remember it feeling like this." She sent them a hesitant smile.
All of them stopped in their tracks, looking back at her. Lisbeth teared up as she suddenly hugged Sinon tight to her.
"L-lisbeth?" Sinon was perplexed as she felt herself pulled deep into the pinkette's embrace.
"Oh Sinon-chan, you are just the best," Lisbeth murmured, not quite letting go, but relaxing her grip a bit.
Together, the six of them spent a small moment of peace within the crowds, receiving strange looks, but not caring. Sinon met Kirito's eyes and sent him a plea for help, but he only shook his head with a small smile. He was glad that she was opening up to them.
They resumed their walking soon enough, arriving at a few food stalls that had called out to them. Kirito was eyeing the large drumsticks on display while the girls gravitated towards the stall selling cotton candy. Seeing that the girls had already lined up, to his amusement, he also took a position at the line for the meat. The two players before him gave him a look of shock, almost wanting to clear the way for him, but he quickly waved a hand. "Don't mind me, guys."
He paid the excited players no mind as he kept an eye on his girls. They lined up as one, excitably chatting and gesturing to the toppings on display. He wondered why anyone would want toasted marshmallows to go with cotton candy, but figured that was a mystery for another day. His eyes narrowed as he spotted several male players hanging around the edge, while one brave player had managed to approach and start a conversation with Lisbeth. The Pinkette was unimpressed, but was friendly enough to not be discouraging. Sinon, however, was not quite as accommodating, as the glacial look she sent the taller boy quickly sent him scurrying.
Kirito smirked. He held his impractically large drumstick with one hand while he waited for the girls to finish their selection. Taking a few bites, he was impressed with the juicy flavor, and made a mental note to track down the player who was selling these after the festival. Certain meats from the edible monsters tasted better than the others, and the drumstick in his hands definitely ranked up there.
"Kirito, you're going to get sick eating all of that." Asuna gave him a knowing look, that was ruined by the equally giant cotton candy stick held in her left hand.
Swallowing the piece that was in his mouth, Kirito shrugged. "I'm hungry. Besides, look at that thing in your hand! That's like one hundred percent pure sugar you know."
"That's because you took a nap and didn't even eat the snack I made you," Asuna said with a huff.
Ah, that's what she's actually concerned about. Kirito was amused as he saw her pout adorably. "I'm saving it for later, Asuna, you know I always eat your food. No matter what."
"I-I didn't mean anything."
"Whaa~ Kirito-kun, that thing is huge!"
Kirito gave Silica an incredulous look. "Oi… Silica, you're one to talk." The youngest clearer in the game was holding a rainbow cotton candy stick in her right hand that was as big as her. It looked comically huge in comparison, and Pina had to float above them in order to avoid being smothered by it.
"Isn't it?" Silica asked with a smile, taking a large chomp out of her snack. "It's so good!"
He turned to look at the rest of the girls who had shown up, and raised an eyebrow as they all had an equally large serving of cotton candy. Shaking his head, he lead the way along the main street, finishing off the rest of his drumstick.
Asuna took up a position to his left, and gave him a smile as he took a nibble from her cotton candy. "Here." She pulled off a large clump before shoving it into his mouth, giggling as he made a face at the abrupt gesture.
This is nice, he thought once more. The walk was enjoyable, even with them just taking in the scenery. Spending time with them at a festival… he had never thought it would be possible while they were still in this game. Yet, as he watched Sinon and Silica attempt a ring toss game made by a rather handy player, he felt his own resolve stronger than ever.
He wanted them all to experience this… on the other side.
"That's it?" Argo asked as Silica came back with a stuffed bear that she held to her chest. "I'm pretty sure you can buy those on the tenth floor in bulk…"
"Give the poor guy a break, Argo, he only had a week to come up with something." Kirito was rather impressed with his use of bottles and rings that were used for decoration. He suspected that most of the prizes wouldn't be anything to speak about. But for the players that had confined themselves to the first floor, it would still be exciting.
"I like it!" Silica chimed up. "Thanks, Sinon-chan~"
Sinon gave her a smile. "That was fun. Is it always free?" She was referring to the fact that nobody had asked them for any Col yet, except for the NPC that they had bought from.
Argo shook her head. "Nope, everything is covered by the other guilds. The Army surprisingly covered all of the food costs." She frowned as she saw a couple of vendors selling high-level equipment. The logo of the «Divine Dragon Alliance» was noticeable from afar. "Though, I'm sure the guilds will get their costs back in other ways."
They watched as a few excitable players were swept in by the allure of expensive equipment, and were now receiving a recruitment spiel. The DDA were not the only guild to make good use of their allotted vendor space, as most guilds had at least one stall up either selling equipment or offering freebies. It was to be expected from the opportunistic guilds.
"Yea, I mean most of the players here are pretty low-leveled, I can't imagine they'd be happy spending their little col on food." Kirito gestured to the long lines that had formed around an ice-cream stall. Though the vendor was an NPC, there was a volunteer—likely from the Army—nearby that was paying for all of the orders that came from the players lining up. "Some of them probably get by with just the most basic meals from the inns."
The girls, aside from Sinon, shuddered, remembering their past, having to subsist on only bread and water at some point in their Aincrad career. Being able to have a bed was more important than food after all.
"It's a good thing," Asuna added after a while. "I hope they all see what they're missing out on. It would be great to have a few more clearers."
Kirito nodded. "The same conclusion that the other leaders and I came to." Though the number of clearers steadily increased with each month, it was an incredibly small trickle. Additionally, clearers left and joined all the time, and there was little anyone could do to change that. More players willing to clear the game were needed more than ever.
"I wouldn't mind this every week," Lisbeth mused, enjoying the light-hearted atmosphere. "Neh, Kirito-kun?"
"…Yea." He was eyeing a stall that frying up some sort of bite-sized steak. "What?"
The girls shared amused looks. "Should I be opening up a stall here, Kirito-kun?"
He suddenly shot her a panicked look. "No way, Asuna! I forbid it! Your cooking is mine!"
Laughter rang out from all the girls except for a blushing Asuna. "I-I was just joking you… dummy."
"I'm serious," Kirito said promptly, only adding to the laughter of the others. She has a cute pout.
Together, the six of them sampled a few more stalls together, before continuing past the main street and into the center of the town. There, a large crowd was already forming, excited and restless as they gathered around a raised platform of wood that had to have been player made.
Kirito led them to side, where the pillars were, and leaned against one as they all waited for the main event to start. "I really wouldn't mind this every week, you know," he said softly in the comfortable silence that had settled around them. "Spending time with all of you… just having fun. I can't say I've ever felt this way."
Argo smiled, leaning against him from the right. "Is that your way of saying you want in on our slumber parties?"
He sputtered to their amusement, before Asuna saved him, mirroring Argo on his left. "We should do something like this every week," she said with a happy smile. "Not a giant festival like this you know… but… maybe a trip? With just the six of us?"
"I would love that," Lisbeth added with a wide grin.
"Un!"
"I would like that as well."
Argo smirked, already thinking about several locations. "That sounds like a plan."
The six of them resumed their content silence, relaxing under the moonlit skies, in the same plaza where everything had begun. The beginning of the game held different memories and emotions for all of them, most of them were not of the kind variety. But there was one thing that they could all agree on, despite never having said it aloud. They didn't need to.
They were all happy to have found each other in this death game and they were all happy to have a future to look forward to.
The crowd noise suddenly turned itself up to eleven. "Woah… wait, is that Yuna?" Kirito was wide eyed as he asked his party members.
Argo looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "You didn't know, Kiri-bou?"
"Of course he doesn't," Asuna added, knowing how often Kirito actually kept up with the rumour mill. "Plus, Yuna-chan is pretty shy despite herself you know."
"Oh I can't wait." Silica had sparkles in her eyes as she watched Yuna take the stage with a lute in her hands, dressed in their guild colours of white and black, trimmed with gold. Her musicians hat was similarly coloured, adorned with a royal purple feather.
If Yuna was shy, then she didn't show it at all, as she called out to the crowd, receiving a roar in response. The crowd was quite manic in its current state, and it was likely because all of the gathered players were ecstatic at the sight of a concert. In fact, Yuna was quickly evolving into an idol for the players in the game who had been deprived of their usual mainstream entertainment.
"Welcome everyone!" Yuna shouted into the roar of the crowd, her position atop of the platform allowing her voice to ring out in all directions. "Are you enjoying yourselves?" she shouted again, receiving another earthshattering roar in response.
They spotted her squad members guarding the area around the platform, and the figures of Lily and Rosy directing everyone with stern looks and commanding shouts. Order wouldn't be an issue with them around.
"I'm glad! Now, I have to ask everyone to keep the volume down somewhat! I'm sorry to ask, but there's no microphone in this game! And no game masters around!" Some laughter met her words, and everyone obeyed, lowering the roar of the crowd to a low dim. "I don't know how good I'll be, but I'll do my best!" There was a hint of nervousness in her voice, but Yuna quickly covered it up, closing her eyes in thought.
Everyone had quieted down, such that it was almost silent as they waited for Yuna to begin her performance. Those who had seen her brief solo performances held their breaths, while newcomers who did not know her kept in their judgement. They were more excited about the fact that there was a concert more than who was singing. That fact would soon change.
"I dedicate this song to all of the clearers… those who carry on our hope. This song is for you."
Then, she began to sing, and all of them forgot to breathe for a single moment, as her melodious voice sounded through the circular plaza. She was bathed in moonlight, and her backdrop was a starlit sky, all of which serving to enrapture all who heard her aria.
"Wow…" Kirito whispered, feeling the gentleness in her song, and the conviction in her words. Asuna leaned her head against his shoulders, and Argo did the same against his chest.
Together, the six of them watched on as Yuna sang her songs in a performance that no one would soon forget. Until the gentle, assured strumming of her lute and her melodious tone faded into the night, none of them made a move, so enraptured as they were. Each of them lost in the power of her song.
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Author's Notes
Thank you for all of the reviews and favourites everyone, I think there was something like 500-600 favs for the last two chapters, which is incredible. It's always good to see continued interest in the story =]
Hope you enjoyed reading this chapter, let me know what you think.
Discussion thread link in my profile.