Asuna glanced at the door one more time, and then pressed the button that had changed once again into «Unequip all underwear».
With just these three operations, her avatar became unequipped of everything, and a virtual sense of cold brushed across her bare skin. In the oddly named castle known as Aincrad, the four seasons were tentatively synchronized with reality, and because the real world was currently in early December, the room temperature was fairly low.
She hurriedly rushed across the bathroom, and the instant she straddled over the edge of the ceramic-looking bathtub and submerged her left leg into the hot water, the complicated sensory signals that were generated from it directly hit the top of her head.
Withstanding the urge to plunge her whole body into the water, she first put her head under the shower of water from the mouth of the water faucet. As the feeling of warmth enveloped the surface of her entire body, the difference in temperature from the surrounding air faded away— Splash.
She lowered herself down into the hot water from behind.
"……Uaaa……"
Asuna couldn't help but let out another low moan.
Indeed, just as the black-haired swordsman had said, the sensation of bathing in the real world could not be reproduced.
The feeling of hot water on the skin, the pressure of the water against the body, and the light reflecting off the water's wavering surface; they all left a subtle sense of incongruity.
But, the «sensation of taking a bath», which was pre-set to a certain extent like eating, seemed to be sent to her brain, and when she closed eyes and stretched her arms and legs out, the difference was so trivial that she didn’t care anymore. This was a bath. Moreover, it was a deluxe version two meter-long bathtub with the luxurious hot water freely flowing within it.
While sinking into the hot water up to her mouth with her eyes closed and completely relaxing her whole body, she started to think.
——Right now, it's fine even if I die. I have nothing more to regret.
Since she had left the Starting City two weeks ago, there was a thought she had constantly dwelled on. Clearing this death game was an impossible task; thus, all of the ten thousand people imprisoned would eventually die. It was just a matter of sooner or later, so everything in this false virtual world was meaningless. In that case, it would be better to just continue forward and forward recklessly, until one collapses after no longer being able to move, and then die.
Looking back on the «strategy meeting» that was held yesterday and today, Asuna was fairly indifferent in her heart. She didn't care who the beta testers (which she still didn't know the exact meaning of) were or how the items were to be distributed. What they were going to try challenging tomorrow on Sunday was the greatest and final barrier on Aincrad's First Floor which had so far swallowed two thousand people. It wasn’t possible to clear something like that with a mere forty-odd people, and moreover on only the first battle.
There was a high chance of total annihilation, and even if it did not go that far, a routing defeat was inevitable.
Wanting to take a bath to the point that Asuna greatly deviated from daily behavioral had, in other words, a wish that she wanted to accomplish «at least once before dying». Now that it had come true, she felt no more regrets about disappearing from this world in the boss battle tomorrow……
————That cream-covered black bread.
————Before I die, I want to eat it once again……
This desire that suddenly welled up from within her chest confused Asuna. She opened her eyes, and raised her body slightly in the hot water.
The taste was indeed not bad. But, it was completely an imitation.
Her eyes saw only polygons, and the taste signals were pre-set.
For that matter, even this bath was the same. What looked like hot water was no more than a mathematical boundary surface that created its seeming permeability and reflectance. The warmth enveloping her entire body was also in reality merely the enumeration of electronic signals emitted from the Nerve Gear.
But……But.
In the real world that she had lived in until one month ago, had she ever wished to eat something as much as this? Had she ever wished to take a bath as strongly as this?
The course menu of organic ingredients that she had mechanically moved to her mouth while talking to her parents even though she didn’t want to eat, and the virtual cream-covered bread that her body had wished for so much that her mouth salivated. Which one should be considered more «Real»……?
Asuna was struck with wonder by the feeling that she now somehow considered this a very, very important matter, and she quietly held her breath.
8
To think I would be forced to use such a high Will Saving Throw9
just in order to withstand the urge to look at the bathroom door.
As my body sank deep into the sofa in the living room, I exerted all my mental energy and tried to stay focused on «Argo's Strategy Guide: First Floor Boss Edition» which I had obtained today.
However, despite following several times the lines of simple Japanese font that was my priority to read, the content still failed to reach my brain.
—But well, at least this proves this place isn’t in the real world.
For example, suppose that this was in my home in Kawagoe, Saitama Prefecture, that my mother and younger were absent, and there was a female classmate taking a bath in my bathroom for some reason. In those circumstances, what would I do? It’s obvious. I would go out from the front door with silent footsteps, get on my beloved MTB10, and then ride at full speed towards the prefectural road No. 51 in the Arakawa district.
But fortunately, this was the second floor of a large farmhouse built on the outskirts of Tolbana on the first floor of the floating castle Aincrad, and I was not a net game maniac male high school student, but instead the swordsman Kirito. Since my body was just an avatar in a virtual world, nothing would happen even after the female fencer called Asuna walks out of the bathroom. No, well, the possibility wasn’t zero that this might be an elaborate trap and that when I took my turn to take a bath she would disappear along with the contents of my chest in the living room, but the box held only several low level raw material items that I got from small fry monsters.
____________________________________________________________________________
9 A Dungeons and Dragons Tabletop RPG term, for example if someone cast a death spell on you, and your dice roll is sufficient, you won't die.
10 Mountain bike
Or rather, I have no reason to go to the bathroom anyway. When she comes out, I’ll say "Well then, let's work hard tomorrow", show her out of the room, and end it there. That's all.
Shaking my head, I returned my attention to the guidebook on the low table, but at that moment.
From the door—not the bathroom one, but the one leading to the hallway outside—came a tap, tap-tap-tap noise.
The sound of knocking. But the one who knocked would not be this house’s landlady. This rhythm was a signal that had been agreed upon between me and a certain someone.
Surprised, my whole body trembled, and I timidly turned around to face the thick oak door—to look at Argo the Rat, who should be standing on the other side of the door.
—I could escape out of the south window to the front yard, jump astride the donkey tied to the stable, and gallop full speed straight down the path through the forest in order to reach the dungeon area.
I couldn’t deny that I didn’t momentarily consider this option.
However, riding any of the various mounts in SAO was unusually difficult. I’ve heard that the horse-riding skill can be trained and leveled up gradually, but I don’t have the space on my skill slots to add such a hobby-like skill right now.
Therefore, while getting up off the sofa, I first took a glance at the bathroom to check the situation. Currently, on the other side of that door, the rapier user Asuna-san was in the highly praised bath. If
Argo learned of that, she would definitely write words like «Kirito is the type of man who would bring a woman he met for the first time into his room» in her notebook. If this information were distributed around, my reputation as a solo player and the like would be completely ruined.
But fortunately—it could be said, all doors in this world have perfect soundproofing performance under certain conditions.
As far as I know, the only three sounds that could be transmitted through the door were ① a shout, ② knocking, and ③ the sound of combat. The sounds of normal speech or the splashing of the bath couldn't be heard even if you pressed your ear against the door.
Therefore, even if I let her in, she shouldn't notice that a player was here using the bathroom in the next room. If, by any chance, the rapier user comes out while Argo is here—I will definitely jump out of the window, and leave on a donkey.
Deciding on that with the speed I normally used in battle, I stepped up to the hallway door and, with my mind made up, opened it. On seeing the face of the person on the other side, I exclaimed,
"How rare, for you to come all the way to visit my room."
The phrase I had earlier prepared in my mind came out from my mouth. The face of the informant «Argo the Rat» with her trademark whiskers twitched in a suspicious manner for a moment, but she immediately shrugged and replied, "Yes. The client wants to hear your reply today no matter what."
Just like that, Argo walked into the room nonchalantly and sat down with a thump on the sofa I had just left. I shut the door, walked to the wagon in a corner of the room while seriously resisting the urge to look at the bathroom, and poured out two cups of fresh milk from a large-sized pitcher. I brought them over to the sofa set, placing them on the low table. The «Rat» raised an eyebrow and laughed.
"For Ki-bou, that sure is considerate. By any chance, did you put some sleeping drugs in it?"
"…That kind of thing would have fundamentally no effect on players. Besides, I couldn't do anything while you are asleep within the town boundary anyway."
At this, Argo clapped her hands and said "Well, that's true" while nodding. Lifting the glass, she drained its contents in one gulp.
"Thanks for the drink. This unlimited drink sure has a very good taste. How about bottling it up and selling it to other players?"
"Unfortunately, when you remove it from the farmhouse, its endurance level will completely drop after five minutes.
Moreover, the remaining liquid becomes a gunky mess instead of disappearing…"
"Ho, I didn't know that. Looks like there's nothing scarier than free things."
…As she spoke, my heart was filled with the single thought of 'Hurry up and get to the point!', but if she discovers that I was thinking this, who knows what she would do. With an innocent expression, I picked up the «Argo's Strategy Guide: First Floor Boss Edition» I had left on the table, and lightly tapped it.
"Speaking of free things, what’s this about? Although I’m indebted to you for it every time I buy it, I've always bought this book for five hundred col…yet at yesterday's meeting, that axe user Agil said that these books are distributed for free, didn’t he?"
Hearing my slightly resentful tone, the Rat laughed with a "nishishi".
"That’s because, with the sales from the first edition that Ki-bou and all the other front runners bought, I released a second free edition. But don't worry, only the first edition has Argo-sama's autograph printed on it."
"……I see, then in the future I won't buy it anymore."
—In other words, the free edition is Argo's way of taking responsibility as an original beta tester. Although I wanted to plunge in and ask about it more deeply, there was an atmosphere of taboo between me and the Rat about voicing the word beta.
No, since I didn’t do anything to contribute earlier as an original tester, I might have no right to ask about it.
The atmosphere became momentarily heavy. Argo swung her golden brown curly hair and changed the subject.
"Well then, I guess it's time to get to the main topic."
While silently shouting 'Go ahead, go ahead, go ahead!', I nodded gently.
"Well, I think the client is at the point where he’s feeling considerate. The subject is about his wish to buy Ki-bou's sword…if you sell it to him today, the client will buy it for thirty-nine thousand and eight hundred col."
"……Th……"
'Three nine eight!?' I barely avoided yelling that out. After taking a deep breath, I thought hard a few seconds, and then opened my mouth.
"……I don't mean to insult you, but…isn't that some kind of scam?
No matter how you think about it, the sword is not worth forty thousand col. After all, the market price of an original «Anneal Blade» should be around fifteen thousand col, right? Add another twenty thousand col to that, and you can basically buy the materials to enhance it to +6 almost safely. Although it might take some time, I reckon that thirty five thousand can be used to make a sword comparable to mine."
"I, too, have told the client that three times already!"
Spreading out her arms, Argo had a rare "I don't get it!"
expression on her face as well.
As I crossed my arms and leaned back against the sofa, the whole ordeal with the bathroom and all that momentarily left my mind and I became troubled. In this matter, I'm absolutely against diminishing my assets.
But, to let this mystery go felt more distasteful. Having made up my mind, I spoke to Aincrad's best informant.
"…Argo, I want to know the name of your client for one thousand five hundred col. Please check with your client about whether they’ll increase the price."
"…I understand."
The Rat nodded, opened her window, and typed rapidly before sending the instant message.
After a minute, a side of her eyebrows twitched as she read the reply, and then she gave a big shrug.
"He doesn’t mind you learning his name."
"………"
While in an ‘I don’t care anymore’ state of mind, I opened my own window as well and materialized one thousand five hundred col. I piled up the six coins that represented it in front of Argo.
Pinching them casually with her fingertips, the rat playfully deposited the coins one by one into her own inventory. After nodding with an "Indeed"—she spoke.
"…Ki-bou, you already know his face and name. From when he went on a wild rampage at yesterday's meeting."
"………Could it be……Kibaou?"
Hearing my whisper, the Rat nodded clearly.
—Kibaou. The man who burned with intense hostility against original beta testers. That guy, wants to buy my sword for the large sum of forty thousand col?
Certainly, the weapon he carried on his back was the same kind of «One-Handed Longsword» as mine.
However, yesterday should have been the first time we met. Yet Argo first offered this deal one week ago…
This information that I had obtained for 1500 col merely made me more confused. Argo, sitting cross-legged on the sofa while facing the brooding me, spoke as if to remind me.
"…So I guess this means that you reject the sword purchase this time as well?"
"Yeah……"
Of course, regardless of the price, I had no intention of selling my beloved sword. I nodded half-automatically, and the Rat stood up without a sound.
"Well then, excuse me for bothering you with thiss. I hope that strategy guide will be of use to you."
"Yeah……"
"So, sorry for asking, but before I leave, I'd like to borrow the next room. I want to equip my night equipment."
"Yeah……"
—If I think back hard, I did have the feeling during yesterday's meeting that, while Kibaou was out in front of everyone, his gaze had lingered on my face for a moment. Then that gaze wasn't because he suspected I was an original beta tester, but to look at my sword…was that it? No, maybe it was because of both…
——Wait a minute.
What did Argo just say?
While eighty percent of my thoughts were preoccupied about Kibaou, I looked up blankly.
In the corner of my eyes, I saw Argo just about to turn the doorknob. The door was neither the one leading to the corridor outside, nor my bedroom door on the east wall—it was the door with a plate saying Bathroom hanging from it.
Before my eyes as I watched dumbfounded, the Rat's petite figure slipped into the bathroom and disappeared.
Three seconds later—
"Waaah!?"
A surprised voice, and,
"……Kyaaaaaaaaaaaa!!"
A terrible scream shook the entire house. Subsequently, a player who was not Argo flew out from the door.
I have no memory of what happened after that.
9
December 4th, Sunday, 10 AM.
This death game had started at one o'clock in the afternoon on a Sunday, on November 6th. In three hours, it will have been exactly four weeks since it began.
When I first noticed that the Log-Out button was missing, I believed it was a system glitch, and thought that even if it took a while, I would be able to log out in a few dozen minutes. Then, the release condition of clearing all hundred floors of Aincrad were thrust upon me by the Kayaba Akihiko who was clad as a faceless Game Master, and I had vaguely expected that we would be imprisoned for a period of a hundred days. That was the calculation based on the assumption that we could clear an average of a floor per day.
But—even after four weeks had passed, we hadn't even reached the second floor.
I could only laugh at that far too naïve estimate of mine, but depending on the results of today’s Boss Battle, we would be knocked down to a situation where we couldn’t even speak of the time until our release. The forty-four players that were now gathered at the fountain plaza in Tolbana could be considered to be the strongest fighting force we could have hoped for at this point. If by some chance this raid party is wiped out, no, if it was even partially destroyed, rumors of it would spread to the Starting City in an instant, and the resignation that «SAO is impossible to clear» would surely spread throughout the first floor.
Sword Art Online Progressive - Volume 01 Page 7
