Sword Art Online – Progressive - Volume 1 - Chapter 1.07

7 
AS SHE’D MENTIONED EARLIER, IT WAS ASUNA’S BELIEF that out of all the actions possible in this virtual world, the only real one was sleep. 
Everything else was a sham. Walking, running, talking, eating, and fighting. All of these things were simple digital codes sent to and from the Sword Art Online server. Nothing the in-game avatar did caused a single twitch of a finger on the real-life body, reclining in bed. The only exception occurred when the avatar lay down for the night, and the real brain engaged in what must be sleep. So, above anything else, she wanted to make sure she got a good night’s sleep at the inns in town. It proved to be harder than it seemed. 
The constant stress and rhythm of battle in the wilderness and dungeons left no time for reflection, but when she returned to town and lay down in bed, she fell into an endless replay of her actions from a month before. Why had she indulged such a strange whim that day? Why wasn’t she satisfied just by touching the NerveGear? Why did she put the formidable headgear on and say “link start”? 
Whenever she fell into a light sleep reflecting on that particular regret, she had nightmares. It was a crucial time for her—the winter of her third and final year of middle school—and because of this stupid game, Asuna’s classmates were no doubt laughing at her failure. Her relatives were pitying her for falling off the career path that had years left to play out. But worst of all, her parents, staring down at her comatose body in some hospital room, their faces hidden… 
She’d twitch and wake up with a jolt, then check the clock in the lower left corner of her vision to find that at best, she’d only been asleep for three hours. After that, no amount of lying in bed with her eyes closed would bring sleep back. In a way, if she’d just been able to get a good night’s sleep, Asuna wouldn’t have driven herself to punishing dungeon crawls for three or four days at a time. 
So as the col piled up in her purse, Asuna wished more and more for a nice room and bed to spend it on. The inns in this world were cramped and dim, and whatever material the beds were made from, they were noisy and tough. She didn’t need Italian-made high-resistance polyurethane foam… but maybe simple latex would at least lengthen her rest from three hours to four. And beyond that, a bathtub, or at least a shower, would be nice. As far as bathing went, her real-life body was almost certainly being regularly cleaned at the hospital, but this was an issue of comfort. She was ready to die alone in a dungeon if that’s what it came to, but if she could just have the chance, just once, to stretch out her legs and soak in a nice, hot bath… 
This fervent wish shot to the forefront of her mind at the black-haired swordsman’s words. 
“…… What did you just say?” Asuna repeated, not realizing she’d grabbed him by the collar. Unless she’d just suffered some hallucination, she could have sworn he’d just said… 
“A-all the milk you can drink …?” 
“After that.” 
“C-comfy, spacious bed and a nice view…?” 
“After that.” 
“W-with a bath…?” 
So she hadn’t misheard. Asuna let go of his coat and continued, flustered. 
“You said this room was eighty col a night?” 
“I … I did.” 
“How many extra rooms does this inn have? Where is it? I’ll take a room, just show me the way.” 
Finally he seemed to understand the situation. He coughed and solemnly stated, “Um, well, I told you I was renting out the second floor, right?” 
“… You did.” 
“What I meant was, I’m renting out the entire second floor. There are no open rooms. And they didn’t have any to rent on the first floor.” 
“Wha…?” She had to hold her feet firm to keep from slumping to her knees. “Then … the room’s all …” 
He seemed to understand what she was trying to ask, and responded regretfully, his eyes wandering. “Well, I’ve gotten a good week’s worth of enjoyment out of the place, so I’d love to switch with you … but I actually bought the maximum length of stay in advance—ten days. And the transaction can’t be canceled.” 
“Wha…?” Again, she nearly flopped over but held her ground. Asuna was terribly conflicted. He’d just told her there were places to stay aside from the inns, and some were much nicer. Therefore, if she just searched around Tolbana, perhaps there would be another spot with a bath. On the other hand, there were currently several dozen players around town for the purpose of beating the floor boss. Most likely, any nicer room would already be taken, which was no doubt the reason he’d reserved his for such a lengthy stay. 
Should she try checking at the last town before this? But the fields around there were full of dangerous beasts after sundown, and they were meeting at the fountain at ten the next morning. She wasn’t all that jazzed about this group effort to fight the boss, but now that she was participating—however marginally—she was not going to show up late or skip it entirely. 
That left only one option. 
For several seconds, Asuna’s body and soul were a battleground of conflicting desires. She would never in a million years consider this option in the real world. But everything here was only digital data, not real, including her own avatar. And this was no longer a total stranger. They’d shared bread with cream, they were taking on the same role in the boss battle, and, hang on, hadn’t he just said he was going to explain something to her earlier? That explanation would serve as a good excuse … right? Of course. 
The swordsman was still studiously looking everywhere but at Asuna when she lowered her head and said in a voice barely loud enough to reach his ears, “…Let me use your bath.” 
The farm at which the swordsman was staying was at the edge of a small field to the east of Tolbana. The building was much larger than she expected; the combined size of the stable and the house itself might even be as large as Asuna’s house in real life. 
A pristine stream ran through a corner of the plot of land, pushing a small waterwheel with pleasant creaks. The two-story house was occupied on the first floor by an NPC farming family. When Asuna stepped through the front door, the farmer’s wife flashed her a beaming smile. She couldn’t help but notice the grandmother snoozing in a rocking chair next the fire had a golden ! over her head—the sign of a quest—but decided to let it pass for now. 
The swordsman led her up a set of heavy stairs to a short hallway with a single door at the end. He touched the knob and it opened automatically with the clicking sound effect of a lock unlatching. If Asuna had touched it, nothing would have happened. Even lockpicking skills had no effect on the door to a room rented by a player. 
“Um…well, come on in.” 
He pushed the door open and gestured her in awkwardly. 
“…Thanks,” she said quietly and took a step inside—then screamed. “What the—? It’s so big! And … and this is only thirty col more expensive than the place I’m renting? It’s so cheap…” 

“Being able to find spots like this is a special skill—it’s just not on your character sheet. Of course, in my case…” 
He stopped mid-sentence. She looked at him curiously, but he merely shook his head. Asuna gave the room another once-over and sighed. 
The room they were standing in now had to be at least three hundred square feet. If the door on the east wall led to the bedroom, it must be about the same size. On the west wall was another door with a placard reading BATHROOM over it. The oddly decorative script seemed to have a sorcerous suction to it, drawing Asuna closer. While the design of the place was rustic, it was very comfortable and homey. The swordsman removed his sword and boots and sank into the cushy sofa. 
After a luxurious stretch, he looked up as though just remembering Asuna was there, and coughed awkwardly. 
“Um, well, as you can see, the bathroom is that way, so … b-be my guest.” 
“Ah … th-thanks.” 
It felt a bit rude to visit someone’s room and plunge right into the bath, but it was far too late to observe restraint now. She accepted his offer and was heading for the door when his voice drifted over her shoulder. 
“Oh, just so you’re aware, bathing isn’t quite the same as in real life. The NerveGear doesn’t handle liquid sensations all that well … so just don’t expect too much.” 
“As long as there’s plenty of hot water, I’m not asking for anything more,” she said in all honesty, and opened the bathroom door. She slid inside and pulled the knob shut behind her. 
Except for maybe a lock, she thought. Alas, when she turned around to check, her wish was unfulfilled. There were no buttons or latches around the door. She tried tapping the door just in case, but as she wasn’t the current owner of the room, Asuna could not call up a menu. 
On the other hand, at this point the presence or absence of a lock was largely irrelevant. She was already in the bathroom of a boy she’d met just yesterday, about to use his tub. The black-haired swordsman—whose name she still didn’t know—was hard to gauge in terms of personality and age, but he was not the kind of person to barge into a bathroom without warning … she thought. And if he did try it, they were within the safe limits of town, which meant the anti-crime code was in effect. 
Asuna tore her gaze away from the door and looked to the south. 
“…Wow …” she murmured. 
Even the bathroom was large. The northern half was the changing area, complete with a thick, soft carpet and shelves of untreated wood on the walls. The southern half was polished stone tile, most of which was covered by a large white bathtub in the shape of a boat. 
High on the brick wall was a faucet in the shape of a monstrous face, and clear liquid was shooting out of it with terrific force. The hot water and its thick white steam filled the bathtub up to the very lip and cascaded onto the tile floor, where it ran down into a drain in the corner. 
Common sense said there was no way the medieval European manors this building was modeled after contained such deluxe hot-water plumbing. Asuna was not going to fault the design inaccuracies of this virtual world, however. Weak-kneed, she opened her menu window and hit the equipment removal button on the mannequin that took up the right half of the screen. 
All the things she’d been wearing for days and weeks—the hooded cape, the bronze armor that covered her chest, the long gloves and boots, and the rapier at her waist—disappeared instantly, and her long chestnut hair fell across her back. All that remained were a woolen three-quarter-sleeve tunic and tight leather pants. The equipment button now read REMOVE ALL CLOTHES, so she pressed it again. The top and bottom disappeared, leaving only two pieces of simple underwear. 
Asuna gave the door another quick glance, then pressed the button one last time, which now read REMOVE ALL UNDERWEAR. With just three button presses, her virtual avatar was completely unequipped, and she felt a chill on her virtual skin. The floating castle with the odd name of Aincrad did seem to follow the concept of seasons, and the room was quite chilly, in keeping with the early December date. 
She quickly crossed the room and straddled the ceramic tub. When her left foot sank into the water, the sensory signals hit her brain like a wall. She stuck her head into the flow of water from the faucet, resisting the urge to slide entirely under the surface just yet. Only when the warmth covered her entire body and took the chill of the air off did she slip down into the hot water on her back with a splash. 
“… Aaaaahh…” 
There was no holding in that sigh of contentment. 
As the black-haired swordsman had warned her, it wasn’t a perfect representation of a bath. Most of the details were just slightly off—the connection between skin and water, the pressure on the body, the glimmering reflection of light on the underside of the face. 
But as with eating, there was enough preset “bathing sensation” programmed into the system for her to be able to close her eyes, stretch her limbs, and relax. It was a bath. And not just any bath, but a deluxe one nearly six feet long and full to the brim. 
She sank up to her lips, eyes closed, letting every muscle relax, and thought, I can die happy now. I have no regrets left. 

 

Ever since she had left the Town of Beginnings two weeks earlier, Asuna’s thoughts had followed one stark philosophy: As long as this deadly game was effectively impossible to beat, all ten thousand players would eventually die. In a world where everything was false, dying sooner or later made no difference, in which case she’d rather keep moving forward as fast as she could, until she could no longer go on. 
At the strategy meetings the last two days, Asuna had observed the scene with cold disinterest. Who was a former beta tester (whatever that was), how the loot would be distributed—these things didn’t matter. Tomorrow morning, they would attempt the greatest challenge of the first floor of Aincrad, which had already claimed two thousand victims. A mere forty-something people would never overcome such a hurdle on the first try. There was a very high possibility that they would all die, if they didn’t retreat in ignoble defeat first. 
The reason Asuna was so willing to go out of her normal comfort zone for this bath was because she just wanted one more before she died. Now that her wish had been fulfilled, she was completely prepared to disappear from this world forever at tomorrow’s boss battle … 
That black bread with cream on top. 
What I wouldn’t give for one more of those before I die … 
Asuna was disturbed by the desire that suddenly rose within her. She opened her eyes and sat up slightly. 
That flavor wasn’t bad. But it was an absolute fake. It was a polygonal model attached to some simple variables that dictated its taste. But then, the same could be said of this bath. What looked like hot water was simply an in-game boundary with transparency and refraction numbers calculated to look real. The warmth that enveloped her body was just a string of numbers being sent to her brain by the NerveGear. 
But …but. 
Even back in the real world, the world in which she’d lived her entire life up to a month before, had she ever wanted to eat something as badly as she did now? Had she ever wanted to take a bath as badly as she did before this very moment? 
The full-course menus of organic food that she’d dutifully but mechanically eaten as her parents commanded, or the virtual roll of bread her body craved so much it made her drool: Which was the “real” thing? 
Sensing that she was considering something very, very important, Asuna held her breath.