9 “SO, I WAS THINKING,” ASUNA BEGAN TO MUMBLE as we climbed the spiral staircase to the fifth floor, “Kizmel and the viscount took that black gondola back to the castle, right? And we left the Tilnel moored at the castle pier. So how will we return to the castle?” “Hmmm…” I considered several options. “Once we activate the fifth-floor teleport gate, we can use that to return to Rovia and then travel to Yofel Castle again…I guess…” “But we don’t have a boat in town. Are you suggesting we swim with the inner tubes all the way there?” “No, we can make another one. It’ll be a snap, as long as we don’t focus on high-quality materials this time.” “Well, sure…but you’re naming the next one.” Whatever I was going to say got stuck in my throat. I was well aware of my own inability to come up with a good name. I hemmed and hawed as I trotted up the steps, my arms crossed. Meanwhile, Asuna spoke up again. “…So, are you just going to keep using that sword?” “Eh? Uh, no…” I undid my arms and brushed the hilt extending over my right shoulder. Its leather grip was well used, it stayed true during the battle with the floor boss, and its stats were not far off from my Anneal Blade +8, but it was still someone else’s sword. Some other NPC’s sword. Perhaps I might one day again fight that Forest Elven inferior knight. It wasn’t impossible, but I couldn’t escape the thought. “When we get back to Yofel Castle, I’ll take a one-handed sword with my quest rewards and use that for my next main weapon. You should think hard about what you’ll pick, Asuna. We get two, remember.” “Were you that excited about getting two items?” she asked, groaning. “That lord was a very strange person, wasn’t he? Spending years of his life locked into a pitch-black room, even pretending that he was sick…” “Yeah, it’s odd. I wonder if Kizmel will tell us how he got that scar, if we ask…” “No, don’t go prying into that.” “H-hey, you were the one who started wondering about him.”
We kept climbing the dim stairway, chattering all the while. Upon further reflection, this was the third time I’d climbed these stairs from the boss chamber to the next floor with Asuna—fourth, if you counted the first time when she was just a few minutes behind. Each time, we were the first up because the two guilds were busy squabbling over their rewards after beating the boss and demanded that we do the busy work of activating the gate. It couldn’t be easy to make everyone satisfied with their share between so many people. Technically, Asuna and I had the right to participate in their dice-rolling tournament, but we’d refused every time. For one, it was a long, boring slog. For another… “No matter how he got his scar, the viscount is a very nice person,” Asuna muttered, reading my thoughts perfectly. “Of course he is. He helped us beat the boss.” “Not just that. I think he eased up on his final attack so that you could get the Last Attack bonus, Kirito.” “…M-maybe he did,” I mumbled, coughing uncomfortably. I looked up to see that beyond the gloom, the double doors that were at the end of our climb were in sight. But would the relief carved into them be the same scene from the beta or different? Suddenly I realized the footsteps to the right and behind me had stopped. I turned around and saw the hooded fencer looking up at me like she had something to say. “…Wh-what? Did you want the LA bonus that bad?” “No!” She puffed her cheeks out for a moment, then took on a serious, hesitant look. The question she eventually came out with had to do with the future she’d been trying so hard not to think about, in a way. “…Hey. How long are you planning to work with me?” “…” I stared back into the unblinking, hazel-brown eyes. “Until you’re strong enough that you don’t need me.” “…Hmm,” Asuna muttered, putting on a smile as brief and fragile as tiny bubbles rising from deep water. She hopped up to the next step. I quickly turned, looking up at the doors leading to the fifth floor of Aincrad, and resumed racing up the steps.
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