Chapter - 023: Starless Sky

The two were guided to the camp and were immediately taken to the commander.

The command tent was enveloped in a solemn atmosphere, and in front of it,

The Dark Elf guards stood in line with their naginatas raised.

"Hachiman. You're not going to get attacked, are you?"

「Well, honestly, that's fine.

More importantly, this is an instance map, I think, but it's really spacious."

"Ins? Dresser?"

"Ah, it's a temporary map created for events like this.

In short, it feels like we were forcibly moved to an independent area."

"So, this place we're in now isn't exactly the third floor."

"Yeah, the other players definitely won't join in either."

The two were then led into the command tent.

"Thank you very much for helping my brethren, children of the human race. I am grateful to you."

The Commander spoke sternly and offered several items as a reward.

Though they were unsure, the two chose light armor, which had been overdue for an update.

"And this too. Anyone who bears this ring may enter and leave this camp freely."

As he said this, the Commander presented me with two rings bearing the Dark Elf crest.

Hachiman, without thinking, tried to put the ring on the ring finger of his left hand.

He was flustered when he noticed Asuna, who was also struggling to decide where to put the ring.

(What am I doing trying to put a matching ring on my ring finger...

The safest thing to do is put it on your index finger...no, it's no big deal.

This is a matching item, but it's just an event item. Any embarrassment or embarrassment is strictly prohibited.)

Thinking this, Hachiman put the ring on the index finger of his left hand.

I don't know if Asuna followed her example or if it was just a coincidence, but

In the same way, she placed the ring on the index finger of her left hand.

Hachiman was relieved to see that Asuna didn't seem particularly bothered by it.

I decided to listen to the rest of the commander's story. A question mark was displayed above the commander's head.

It seems like the continuation of the quest has begun.

"Well then, please use this tent today. It may be a little small though."

Apparently the quest starts tomorrow.

The two of them considered going back to the city, but decided to follow Kizmel's advice.

Today we decided to stay at the campsite.

It seems that what was decisive was when Kizmel mentioned that there was a bath.

(The same tent... Maybe I should borrow a screen.)

The tent we were shown to was said to be small, but it was actually quite spacious.

Asuna seems to want to talk to Kizmel, so she tells Hachiman to take a bath first.

Hachiman obediently followed the advice and decided to take a bath first.

For Hachiman, it had been a while since he last took a bath.

Even if you don't need to take a bath, you still want to soak in hot water every now and then.

Hachiman enjoyed his first bath in a long time and felt very relaxed.

When he got out of the bath, he was in a good mood, took out the drink and started drinking it.

Asuna, who was talking to Kizmel, noticed it and wanted it, so

Hachiman took out another one and offered it to Asuna.

"You've become good friends with Kizmel."

"Yeah!"

"Well then, I'll go and sleep in the corner over there, so Asuna, you can go and sleep wherever you like after you take a bath."

"Okay! Well then, good night, Hachiman."

"Oh, good night."

Hachiman put up a partition next to his bed,

As I lay there I began to think about the events of the day.

(I don't know if this is a normal quest route or not...

That might be a very unique situation. It could be a hidden scenario.

I'll check it out next time I see Kirito and the others, who are probably ahead of us.)

While he was thinking about such things, Hachiman seemed to have fallen asleep without realizing it.

Asuna came out of the bath without noticing that she had already covered her with a futon.

Hachiman fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, Kizmel came to wake them up.

Hachiman thought to himself, this is the first time he's seen Kizmel in a bright place.

He just stared at Kizmel without really thinking about what to do.

I also noticed once again that Kizmel is very beautiful and has a great figure.

"Hachiman, what are you staring at?"

"Oh, yeah...good morning."

"Hmm."

Maybe because they were able to relax, they both woke up in a great mood.

I immediately set out on a quest.

Apparently there is a tree called the Sacred Tree in the west, and at its roots there is another secret key.

Along the way, Kizmel continues to slay enemies with a single slash.

Each time, I automatically gained experience points and items.

"It's easy, but it's cheating..."

"Well, that's true, but... I guess it's a reward for working hard yesterday."

"Well, that's true."

In the distance, I could see what appeared to be my destination, a sacred tree.

At the same time, Hachiman spotted a figure that looked like a forest elf approaching.

"Kizmel, isn't that an enemy?"

"Yeah, that's bad. We can't let the enemy take that. Let's run."

The three of them started running as fast as they could. As if they had noticed, the enemy also started running at full speed.

"I'll hold them back and slowly retreat. You two, I want you to get the key first."

"Okay, leave it to me."

"Don't push yourself, Hachiman."

Hachiman didn't realize that he was naturally talking to Kizmel.

In fact, Kizmel has never done this before.

He didn't show any behavior that would lead people to think he was an NPC.

At that moment, neither of them were aware that Kizmel was an NPC.

"Hachiman, I found you!"

Was it because Asuna had confirmed that she had obtained the key, or was it because a flag had been raised in the system?

The enemy simply retreated.

"Phew, I'm glad it didn't turn into a fight."

"That's right, I don't know if I can do the same thing as yesterday again."

"Hmm, there's something lying around where that enemy was."

"What is this? A key, maybe?"

The moment they picked it up, Kizmel spoke to the two of them.

"Wait a moment, you two. I can sense the presence of our comrades over there."

Suddenly, I noticed a [!] mark appearing above Kizmel's head.

Apparently this key is an item that triggers a spin-off quest.

The two were guided by Kizmel and headed in that direction.

At first glance there seemed to be nothing there, but upon investigation they discovered a small keyhole in the tree.

"It looks like this is the key."

When he inserted the key into the keyhole, a hole appeared and he could see a figure at the back.

Apparently it was someone Kizmel knew.

Kizmel rescued the person, and this spin-off event came to an end.

While wondering what the meaning of this quest was,

Thus, I was able to complete the second event more easily than I had expected.

"Looks like there'll be a bit of time before the next quest begins.

Should we check out the stalls? There seems to be a weapon shop as well."

"Well, I hope I find something good."

The two spent their free time exploring the campsite.

There, the two of them found some strange equipment that seemed out of place in the situation.

"Hey... isn't this a swimsuit?"

"Yeah. What can I say... this is the only thing floating around here."

"That's obviously suspicious."

"Maybe there's something I need to do in the water. Should I buy some just in case?"

"That's right... it's better to be prepared for anything."

As the two of them were buying swimsuits, Kizmel approached them.

Looks like the next quest is about to begin.

The next quest appears to be an infiltration quest into the enemy base near the Eastern Tree.

Apparently, dark elves have equipment that allows them to hide their appearance for a certain period of time.

It seems that some kind of power possessed by the Dark Elves is required to activate it,

It seems that players who borrow it temporarily cannot misuse it in town.

After infiltrating the base, before the invisibility effect wears off,

It seems the mission will be cleared if we find and take the next secret key.

In the end, this quest turned out to be Hachiman's showpiece.

Hachiman, with his excellent powers of observation, easily found the key he was looking for.

Kizmel praised Hachman.

"Hachiman, despite being human, has incredible abilities."

"O-okay... I won't get anything out of you even if you praise me."

"Hachiman, I don't think you'll understand that..."

However, to Hachiman's surprise, Kizmel responded appropriately to his words.

"Haha, there's no need to be modest. I'm genuinely interested, Hachiman."

"Seriously? Asuna, I can't believe Kizmel is an NPC anymore."

"Yeah, I've decided to just think of Kizmel as a normal friend from now on..."

Thus, the three of them easily completed the third quest.

I met with the commander again and received a large amount of materials and cols as a reward.

Separately, we received permission to use the open-air bath reserved for executives.

Apparently there are three secret keys in total, so now we have all of them.

The next quest will start tomorrow morning.

"Permission to use the open-air bath, huh? I'm sure Asuna will be happy about that."

"Yeah. I'm honestly happy."

At that moment, Kizmel said something unbelievable.

"Since I have permission, why don't the three of you go in together?"

The two of them froze. I thought I would refuse, but...

"I'm so happy. I'm joining hands with these two humans.

And together they managed to save their comrades and obtain the three secret keys.

I would really like to deepen my relationship with the two of you even more than before, what do you think?"

The two were hesitant to refuse Kizmel's pure wish, which clearly had no ulterior motives,

While racking her brains trying to think of what to do, Asuna suddenly remembered what had happened that afternoon.

"That's right! Hachiman, it's a swimsuit!

If we get Kizmel to wear a swimsuit too, I don't think there will be any problems."

"A swimsuit... I'm sure there was one... I guess that's the only option left."

(But it's still too difficult for me...)

"Yeah, it's embarrassing so don't look at me too much."

"Yes, of course."

The open-air bath was not as large as I expected.

Hachiman went in first, turning his back to the other two.

Hachiman stiffened as he sensed the two of them coming in.

"Bathing in a swimsuit is a strange human custom."

"That's right. It's a human custom."

Asuna was desperately trying to cover it up.

Hachiman pretended not to notice, never looking in their direction.

"By the way, this is my first time wearing a swimsuit. Do you think it suits me, Hachiman?"

"Really?"

Hachiman reflexively turned around in response to Kizmel's question,

The two of them came in wearing swimsuits.

Kizmel was wearing a purple bikini, and Asuna was wearing a white one-piece swimsuit.

Hachiman answered, his eyes wandering.

"Yo... it suits you well."

After managing to say that much, Hachiman turned his eyes away from the two again.

Asuna's face was bright red when she caught a glimpse of him.

Hachiman felt sorry for what he had done and called out to Asuna.

"Asuna, I just turned around reflexively... sorry."

"Uh, yeah. I guess there's nothing we can do about it. So, um... do you think it suits me?"

"S-so it looked great on you."

"Thank you."

Although he couldn't see Asuna's expression, she didn't seem angry, to Hachiman's relief.

When I looked up, the sky was pitch black.

(Come to think of it, there are no stars in the sky of Aincrad.)

Apparently Asuna was thinking the same thing, as she could see a slightly disappointed look on her face.

"Hachiman, it'd be great if we could all look at the stars together someday."

"ah"

Time flows peacefully for the three of us,

And so the night of the second day of the campaign quest quietly passed.