When Hachiman woke up, the sun was already high in the sky.

I analyzed myself and realized that maybe I was more tired than I thought because there were too many things going on yesterday.

Hachiman quietly sat on the sofa, careful not to wake Asuna, and began thinking about his future plans.

(First, I need to get a new weapon. After that, I'll teach Asuna the basics of combat,

You'll want to collect strengthening materials and keep various potions on hand at all times.

All that's left now is to find a new place to stay. It's not good to stay here like this.

Even among friends, there should be courtesy.)

As I was lost in these thoughts, there was a knock on the door.

Since it was the same as yesterday, I guessed it was an Argo.

Hachiman called out from outside the door.

"Argo?"

"Oh, Haru-bou. I have something to tell you. Can I come in?"

"Oh, I'll open it now."

Hachiman let Argo in and asked him to sit on the sofa.

I went to the kitchen and got two glasses of milk.

"It's nothing special."

"Oh, you're very thoughtful, Ha-bou. Have you fallen in love with me?"

"That's not true."

"Immediate answer..."

Argo said, looking a little dejected.

"So, what do you want?"

"That being said, I'd like Ah-chan to listen to it with me, if possible."

"Asuna too. It's a good hour so I should wake you up. Hey Asuna, it's time to wake up."

Hachiman called out to Asuna, who was sleeping on the other side of the screen.

Asuna seemed to have woken up as well, as she replied while rubbing her sleepy eyes.

"Yay... I'm awake now."

(What is this cute and cunning creature...?)

Hachiman told the sleepy Asuna his business.

"Argo is here, so can you come over here and get changed? He says he has something to tell us."

"Is Argo here? Wait a minute."

Seeing that the reply was more solid than he had expected, Hachiman naturally prepared another glass of milk.

Seeing the two of them like that, Argo thought that they were a little different from yesterday and decided to put his scythe on Hachiman.

"By the way, Ha-bo. Who do you actually like better, Ah-chan or me?"

"It's Asuna."

"Answer immediately?!"

Argo was so surprised by Hachiman's quick response that he couldn't help but react.

As if to add insult to injury, Hachiman continued.

"Asuna is a friend, but Argo is an acquaintance. It goes without saying which one I like better."

Argo was quite surprised by Hachiman's attitude, which was completely different from yesterday.

(Friends? So you became friends? I understand that, but does that alone really change things that much?

There's something different about the way your eyes shine, what on earth happened between the two of you?

Despite Argo's agitation, a voice came from the other side of the screen.

"Hachiman, can you hear me? T-that's, thank you. But it's embarrassing so stop it, okay?"

"S-sorry. I've never had a female friend before... I'll be careful."

After a while, Asuna came out from behind the screen, but Argo was still shaken up.

Hachiman called out, slapping Argo on the cheek.

"Hey Argo, we need to talk, right? Come on, wake up."

Argo came back to his senses, cleared his throat, then pulled himself together and got straight to the point.

"So, I'd like to ask for your advice. I'm thinking of creating a guidebook for beginners and distributing it for free."

"Isn't that a good idea? If things continue like this, there will likely be a lot of casualties."

The moment he said the word "dead", Hachiman sensed Asuna tense up,

He called out to the two of them while patting Asuna on the shoulder.

"We'll do our best to help so that doesn't happen. Is that okay? That's what we're talking about, right?"

"As expected of Ha-bou, you're quick with your words."

"I don't know what I can do, but I'll help however I can."

Hachiman then gave Asuna his own opinion.

"What Asuna is looking for is, well, a beginner's perspective.

Things you wish were in the guidebook, or something like that."

"Yeah, I think that would be helpful."

(That's the philosophy of the Service Club. Instead of giving people fish, we teach them how to fish.)

Afterwards, the three of them discussed their future plans.

The minimum items that must be included and a schedule for production as quickly as possible.

What are the plans for the two of them from now on? What they need to do from now on?

It all came together surprisingly smoothly.

"It may be rude to ask about real life, but are you two high school students? You seem to be used to meetings,

Did you participate in student council activities?」

Argo suddenly heard that. Hachiman had no intention of hiding anything from the two of them.

I naturally ended up talking about myself.

"I'm a second-year high school student. A while ago, I was forced to attend so many meetings during an exchange event with another school…"

"I was in my second year of high school too. I wasn't on the student council, but I was made to be a class representative many times."

"I see. Both of them are really good from an older sister's point of view."

"That's something that doesn't get many points from Onii-chan though..."

The two were taken aback when Hachiman suddenly started saying something incomprehensible.

Hachiman realized that he had spoken the words reflexively and explained.

"I see, it just so happens to be the same catchphrase as your sister."

"Oh, I'm glad it was me who was sent here. I shudder to think what would have happened if it had been Komachi."

"That must have been bad. Especially for a newbie."

In the middle of this conversation, Hachiman suddenly seemed to have realized something and began to think deeply.

The two of them looked around, wondering what was going on. Hachiman was muttering something to himself,

He seemed to gather his thoughts and looked up towards Argo.

"Hey Argo, I need a favor."

"It depends on the content, but I'll give you a waiver on the request fee as a thank you for your help. So, what's it?"

"I think there are probably a lot of adults in the city who don't have the courage to go outside.

Please tell those adults about the church in a subtle way.

There should be facilities there that can accommodate a large number of people.

Then, if you ask them to gather children wandering the city, a community will be created.

If we can create a community for people who are not suited to fighting, they can live safely.

After that, I'll put in a guidebook or whatever it is, ways to earn col within the city."

The two were impressed by the proposal.

This is because it seems to me to be an important way of thinking as a human being, something that tends to be forgotten in situations like these.

And the exchange up to this point seemed to match the philosophy of the Service Club that Hachiman had mentioned.

"It's honestly amazing. I'm getting even more interested in Ha-bou now."

"I never thought of it that far either. Hachiman, you're amazing!"

Hachiman was not used to being praised, so he blushed and looked down.

"Well, I have a mountain of work to do so I'll be off soon.

Also, Ha-bou, if you don't mind, please call me when you're ready for combat training. I'm interested."

"Oh, I see."

"I feel like if I act together with the two of you, I'll be able to return to reality too.

See you later, you two. Don't ever die."

After seeing Argo off and leaving with those words, the two began preparing to go out.

Leaving the inn, Hachiman asked Asuna to extend her stay and went to another inn nearby.

Asuna was a little hesitant at first, but I convinced her that it's not good for a boy and a girl to be together, even as friends.

"For now, if I can get new weapons today, I'll be going on a little trip from tomorrow.

I'd better earn some col today and extend my stay at that inn until the end."

"why?"

"There's no inn with better facilities than that one. Whether or not there's a bath is important to girls, right?"

"I feel bad for the other people, but yeah, to be honest, I guess that's true..."

"I don't think I'll get punished for something like this. Besides... how should I put it...

There are certainly fewer female players, but that doesn't mean there aren't any.

It's a tough environment for female players, and the community may already be established there."

"Yeah, that's right."

"And now let's say Asuna makes a friend who's a female player.

If that happens, there might even be a sleepover, right?

In that case, wouldn't it be great if that room had a bathroom?

That kind of break is definitely necessary in situations like this.

I've never had a female friend, so this might just be my own fantasy.

And there's one more thing I want you to promise me: this is not a world full of good people.

So make sure you only do that with people you can trust."

Asuna looked at Hachiman in shock.

Hachiman seemed a little embarrassed and looked away.

Asuna walked around to face Hachiman, looked into his face, and said with a big smile.

"Hachiman is really kind after all. Yes, I promise!"

"You idiot, this isn't about me being nice or anything.

This level of consideration is an essential skill for us.

Wouldn't I feel bad if I talked to someone and people around me thought I was friends with them?

So it's the same as never talking to other people first."

"Hmm..."

Asuna peered even closer at Hachiman's face as he spoke rapidly.

(So close! Can you stop that, I might get the wrong idea? I might accidentally fall in love with you!

After that, he confesses his feelings and gets rejected, so does that mean he gets rejected?

"I'm not alone anymore, so I don't care about the bath or anything.

The skills I just mentioned are no longer necessary."

"Ah, yes."

"Well then, let's go and get our hands on some dropped weapons!"

Hachiman, knowing that he is no match for Asuna, leads the way to the hunting grounds.

When the two arrived at the hunting grounds, they began hunting with great enthusiasm.

The dagger dropped soon after I started hunting, but the rapier took a while to drop.

A slight sense of impatience began to grow within Asuna, wanting to finish it today if possible.

That impatience created a bit of a pinch.

Normally, Asuna would frequently use her Linear piercing technique, leaving little room for error when finishing off an enemy, but

Perhaps due to impatience, he used the unnecessary "Linear" on a dying enemy, causing him to freeze up after the technique.

As if they had been aiming for that exact moment, the enemy charged in from the side.

Asuna prepared for the impact, but there was just a "Clang!" and no matter how long it took, the impact never came.

Asuna, no longer paralyzed, looked over in a panic and saw Hachiman's back.

Hachiman seemed to have deflected the enemy's attack, and then he decapitated the enemy, who was still standing there.

"Sorry, support is late"

"Well, thank you Hachiman. What was that technique just now?"

"Oh, it's called a parry. Usually it's a counter attack to deflect the enemy's weapon and paralyze them.

If you do that, your next attack will usually land a critical hit. Oh, I'll have Asuna learn this, too."

"Yeah, I'll do my best!"

"Oh, looks like it finally dropped, look."

It seems the rapier I was looking for had dropped in Hachiman's item storage.

Asuna received the item from Hachiman and materialized it.

"That's Asuna's new weapon, Wind Fleuret."

"beautiful………"

"It was worth the trouble, right?"

Asuna was speechless, mesmerized by the shine of her new weapon.

(I'm glad that you liked it.)

"Then tomorrow we will set off on an expedition to gather materials to strengthen that weapon and to train."

"Yeah, let's do our best!"

"Well then, shall we go home?"

Thus ended the two's second day in Aincrad.