“Phew—”
Inside the uniquely atmospheric restaurant of Jeilreum, Klein scratched his head, gulped down a mouthful of alcohol, and wore the look of a man who’d just survived a brush with death.
“…Tsk.” Akimi leaned back in his chair, speaking in a teasing tone.
“Klein, with you looking like that—plus the way this place is decorated—it’s hard not to imagine some less-than-pleasant scene:
A middle-aged guy who committed a crime, spent years locked up in prison, finally released after serving his sentence, drowning his sorrows in a tavern while wondering how to continue his utterly rotten life.”
That line froze Klein on the spot.
He turned to stare at Akimi and snapped furiously: “Hey, hey, could you not kill the mood like that?!”
Then, rubbing his face with some frustration, he muttered, “But seriously, do I really look like some old man?! I’m only twenty-four, you know!”
“Haha, but Boss, you don’t look twenty-four at all—more like, flip it around—forty-two. That sounds way more believable.”
Klein’s chubby greatsword-wielding companion, Karl, punched him in the shoulder while suppressing his laughter.
Klein’s face instantly darkened, blacker than coal.
His facial muscles twitched slightly as he elbowed Karl in the stomach in retaliation, then ground his teeth and said:
“Even if I do look like an old man, I’m still a stylish and handsome one… Besides, Karl! You’re no better yourself! Wide as a barrel, but not tall enough—your whole body’s just butt and waist.”
Faced with his guild leader’s flustered counterattack, Karl only shrugged, snatched a drumstick off Klein’s plate, and stuffed it into his mouth.
Klein wasn’t about to back down either, grabbing a handful of fries from Karl’s dish.
“Heh, Boss, could you stop acting like a little kid already?” Karl said as he tossed the chicken bone into the trash.
“So childish.”
That remark broke Klein’s defenses instantly.
His hand holding the fries froze in midair, completely at a loss.
“Pfft—”
Klein stiffly turned toward the source of the laugh: Akimi, who was pretending to chat with Asuna with his back turned.
Unfortunately, the slight shake of his shoulders betrayed the truth.
Compared to Akimi’s stifled chuckles, the rest of Fuurinkazan’s members were far less restrained—each one pointing at Klein and cackling loudly.
It took quite a while, and a good portion of the meal being eaten, before Klein’s expression finally relaxed.
At that point, Akimi turned back around and got down to business—
“I already confirmed with Argo earlier: the boss quest was completed the day before yesterday.
Which means the boss’s public information is limited to what we have right now.
The boss raid meeting is set for tomorrow morning at 10 a.m., at Jeilreum’s central plaza.”
Akimi’s fingers tapped lightly on the table as he continued speaking:
“Judging from today’s fight with the BOSS, the first phase basically isn’t any pressure at all. Just depends on whether there’ll be any special changes later.”
“Yeah, true——its execution move can even be forcibly interrupted,” Klein said, scratching his head.
“So, looking at it that way, it’s actually not all that troublesome, huh.”
Seeing Klein’s completely unconcerned expression, Akimi’s mouth twitched twice, leaving him rather speechless——You really are carefree, aren’t you?
You’ve already taken a loss once, and you’re still acting so casual?
But he didn’t say anything more——after all, it was still necessary to give this “uncle” a little bit of confidence. (laugh)
…
Looking at the now-empty dessert bowl in front of Asuna, Akimi propped his chin with one hand and pushed his own portion over to her with the other.
Asuna blinked in surprise for a moment, then broke into a smile:
“Thanks.”
Seeing her so cheerful, Akimi couldn’t help but chuckle a little, which reminded him of something——
So, covering his mouth with a half-clenched fist, he imitated Asuna’s voice and softly said:
“Ahem, I didn’t come here just to eat tasty food…”
The moment Akimi finished speaking, Asuna hadn’t reacted yet, her delicate face showing a trace of confusion, but that didn’t stop her from scooping another spoonful of dessert into her mouth.
But only a few seconds later, she suddenly remembered.
Her eyes widened as she looked at Akimi, letting out a flustered “Ee—mmph” sound, her face flushing red.
“You… I, mmph—”
Recalling how righteous and determined she had looked back then, Asuna felt like she was going to die of embarrassment.
But time couldn’t be reversed, and embarrassing pasts couldn’t just vanish——so Asuna could only decide to erase it manually——
She pinched the soft flesh at Akimi’s waist, gritting her teeth as she said:
“Quick-ly-for-get-it-now!”
“Ah, I get it already——don’t pinch me.” Akimi’s mouth twitched slightly.
SAO really didn’t have pain settings——but what was this weird phantom pain supposed to be, seriously!
After glaring at him one last time, Asuna finally loosened her fingers.
With a sulky expression, Akimi rubbed his nose, then stretched out his right hand to swipe lightly in the air, summoning the system panel before entering the message interface.
“Mm—what’s this kid Kirito messaging me for?” Akimi muttered as he looked at the red dot next to “Kirito” on his display panel, then tapped it open——
Kirito: You guys already went into the BOSS room? Did you find anything unusual?
Tomioka: Nope. Pretty much the same as the intel Argo got… But on the way back, PoH’s bunch ambushed us. Luckily, nothing happened.
Kirito: Hah? Were they trying to test the power of that cursed sword?
Tomioka: Tch… If only they were that straightforward… But PoH never even showed himself. First, he somehow lured a horde of monsters to block off the labyrinth’s exit, then sent one of his underlings to pull some dirty tricks. I took care of him.
Kirito: Lured a horde of monsters? Hm… I think I might have an idea about that—let’s talk more after the BOSS raid meeting tomorrow.
Tomioka: Fine… You and the Black Cats should be careful these days. A couple of days ago, I did a quest and got some special intel—PoH’s cursed sword can increase its base stats by killing players.
Kirito: ?—! Are you kidding me? That kind of weapon is just ridiculous!
Tomioka: Either way, better to stay cautious.
Kirito: …Okay, got it. You and Asuna be careful too.
— The end of the Chapter–
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