By now, Akimi’s facial expression was already starting to get out of control.
At a glance, one would see a big exaggerated (皿) face.
“This design must’ve been thought up with someone’s ass—how could it possibly make any sense?!” Akimi muttered speechlessly.
Kirito agreed wholeheartedly, saying, “That’s just how Kayaba Akihiko is. Players only need to risk their lives clearing the game, but Kayaba Akihiko has to consider a whole lot more things…”
Asuna said with some concern, “Then that means, PoH and his people could make monsters spawn inside the boss room while we’re fighting the boss, right?”
“…Indeed. If they really did that, all they’d need to do is wait somewhere near the boss room until we start our assault.” Akimi groaned, “There’s no such thing as guarding against thieves for a thousand days—only thieves can strike a thousand times.”
Rubbing his forehead, he continued, “Anyway, let’s assume the worst for now.”
Kirito nodded slightly in agreement before asking, “Should we… tell the raiding group about this?”
Akimi let out a light sigh and replied, “Let the Knights know… as for the Divine Dragon Alliance, we can’t be sure if they’re still in cahoots with PoH’s lot or not…”
Hearing this, Asuna frowned, turned her head toward Akimi, and said, “I think their earlier cooperation with PoH was clearly just Xilocart’s personal decision. It didn’t really involve the rest of the Divine Dragon Alliance—so maybe we should let them know too.”
Her kindness ultimately made it impossible for her to just ignore others and leave them in danger.
Looking into Asuna’s eyes, Akimi gave a helpless smile and said, “Alright, alright—hey, what’s with that look? I’m not some cold-blooded guy, you know.”
“Hmph, I never said you were~ That was you saying it yourself,” Asuna pouted.
With an exasperated sigh, Akimi gave Asuna’s head a light pat, then turned to Kirito.
Just as he was about to speak, Kirito’s expression instantly twisted into something odd, and he quickly said, “I’ll notify the Knights and Klein’s side. You guys handle the Divine Dragon Alliance and Agil,” before immediately turning around and walking off.
Tch!
Who’d want to stick around like some third wheel while you two stuff my face with dog food!
—That was Kirito’s true inner thought.
Watching Kirito’s retreating figure, Asuna poked Akimi’s arm with her small finger and asked, “What was with Kirito’s expression just now?”
Akimi shrugged and said with a smile, “Beats me. I wouldn’t dare ask.”
Of course, he did know what it meant.
Back then, he’d probably worn the exact same expression when watching his mom and dad—that strange mix of helplessness and indescribable fullness that twisted your face into something hard to describe.
Seriously, what kind of parents openly flaunt their affection right in front of their child?!
And not just occasionally—every single day!
Giving Kirito a silent thumbs-up in his heart, Akimi thought: Good brother, if I ever come across any good fortune, I’ll make sure to share it with you first—well, the bad stuff too.
After all, we share blessings and hardships together.
“Ahem, let’s go. We should head over to tell Agil and the others first,” Akimi said with a smile.
—————–
After listening to Akimi’s explanation, Agil’s already dark face seemed to grow even darker.
“Mm—this really is a troublesome matter,” Agil said, rubbing his shiny bald head as he spoke.
“Alright, I got it. I’ll be prepared when the time comes.”
Akimi nodded. “Yeah, make sure to bring plenty of crystals and such. Use them when you need to—no point in trying to save them. …That’s it for now. Asuna and I still need to head over to the Divine Dragon Alliance later.”
Agil was visibly taken aback, asking with some confusion, “Huh, you’re even going to tell the Divine Dragon Alliance?”
Even someone as hearty and straightforward as Agil couldn’t help but feel a bit of resentment—after all, Xilocart’s actions before had really left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth.
Glancing at Asuna, Akimi replied, “But judging from what happened back on the 39th floor, the ordinary members of the Divine Dragon Alliance are innocent.”
Rubbing his bald head once more, Agil let out a helpless sigh—he understood the reasoning, of course, but that didn’t make it feel any less unpleasant.
Akimi could sympathize with that and said with a laugh, “Nothing to be upset about—when the time comes, we’ll just avoid telling Xilocart. We’ll only inform the others.”
Hearing that, Agil chuckled as well, then added, “Alright. Then it all depends on how popular Xilocart is within the Divine Dragon Alliance. If no one tells him, well, he can blame his own bad luck!”
— The end of the Chapter–
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