"See it now?"
"Mm-hm, I see it… It's a girl singing—oh, and next to her is a boy in the Knights of the Blood Oath uniform."
"By the way… Asuna, don't you think we look a little out of place like this?"
Hearing Akimi's words, Asuna froze for a moment, then instinctively glanced around—
Oh… maybe a little?
Uh… maybe more than a little?
Quite a few people around them were staring, and even the girl who was singing kept sneaking glances their way.
Snapping back to her senses, Asuna's face instantly flushed red as she smacked Akimi on the head.
Thud!
Asuna blinked—huh, the feeling wasn't right.
Oh, right—they were still outside the city, not in a safe zone, so there was no system protection.
But by the time she realized, Akimi had already dropped to his knees in an exaggerated orz pose, while Asuna was still firmly perched on his back.
That was when a random passerby muttered—
"Hiss… Could it be we're part of their… private roleplay plan?"
"I wouldn't say it's impossible," another shrugged in reply.
The commotion drew even more eyes their way, until even the girl's singing faltered to a stop.
Asuna's face turned so red it looked like it might start dripping blood, and she hurriedly grabbed Akimi's arm, dragging him toward the city gates.
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By this time it was already past eleven at noon, and the sunlight streaming down from above made the jet-black paving stones of Jeilreum look as glossy as lacquer.
Although, saying the sunlight came "from above" wasn't quite accurate—after all, above them was only the underside of the 41st floor, not an actual sun.
Akimi and Asuna picked a random restaurant, planning to have lunch first.
Truth be told, with Asuna's cooking skill proficiency, most NPC-run restaurants probably couldn't compare to her cooking.
But Asuna herself rarely cooked.
In her words: "Since we're stuck in SAO for now, I want to savor flavors that are different from real life. As for the foods I love in the real world—I'll save them for when I return."
That was what Asuna said, but her actions didn't quite match her words—she had been experimenting with SAO's ingredients to recreate real-world flavors, and had even succeeded somewhat.
Using Apiruba beans, Sagu leaves, and Ula fish bones, she managed to recreate soy sauce.
Honestly, Akimi had been stunned at the time.
Currently, there are hundreds of ingredients in SAO that can be used for food and seasonings, and counting those not directly usable, the total probably reached six or seven hundred.
And from all those materials, Asuna had managed to pick out and combine just the right ones to produce something almost identical to soy sauce.
That went far beyond "just being lucky."
----------------
In truth, Akimi wasn't too keen on dining in Jeilreum.
Because of the town's special atmosphere and the restaurants' peculiar interior designs and plating styles, eating there always felt like eating prison food.
I mean, what kind of "fine restaurant" uses the English version of "Prisoner's Tears" as its BGM?
But since the entire 40th floor looked like this, Akimi couldn't really complain.
Just as they had finished ordering and were chatting while waiting, two more people walked into the restaurant.
"How was it, Eiji? My singing just now wasn't bad, right? Everyone clapped for me."
"Yeah, I know… No matter what song it is, if Yuna sings it, it'll always sound beautiful."
The voices belonged to a girl with flax-colored hair dressed in an outfit resembling that of a bard, and a boy with brown hair wearing the uniform of the Knights of the Blood Oath.
The girl, called Yuna, took off her feather-adorned hat and puffed her cheeks at the boy.
"Geez, Eiji, can't you say it differently? Every time I ask, you give me the same exact answer, not even a single word changes."
The boy, addressed as Eiji but whose ID displayed as Nautilus, frowned slightly in distress at her words.
Finally, he tried a different approach: "Then how about this? Yuna's singing—no matter what—is always the best."
That successfully made Yuna laugh.
"Hah? And how is that any different from before?"
Still, she didn't press him any further.
Instead, she patted his arm and smiled.
"Oh well, praise is praise—say it however you like, Eiji. For now, let's find a seat and order something, I'm starving."
Nautilus scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
From not far away, Akimi and Asuna had already noticed them the moment they walked in.
Looking in Yuna's direction, Asuna quietly said to Akimi:
"They're the players who were singing at the city gates just now."
Akimi froze for a moment, then replied, "Well, that's quite the coincidence—though we were pretty far away earlier, so I didn't hear clearly. But that female player did seem to sing quite well."
"Mhm, I also thought her singing was pretty good."
Asuna nodded.
"But what's with that Knights of the Blood Oath member next to her? If I'm not mistaken, these past few days all of their forces should've been focused on the frontlines, right?"
Leaning back in his chair, Akimi tapped his fork lightly against the table as he spoke, his tone carrying a trace of puzzlement.
"That's true…"
It might've been because PoH stole the boss that was about to be theirs, but recently the members of the Knights of the Blood Oath had all been pushing on the frontlines, hoping to secure the Last Attack on the 40th Floor Boss.
Because of that, Akimi and Asuna hadn't seen any of them around town for several days.
Still, they didn't bother to dig into what was going on with this Nautilus from the Knights of the Blood Oath.
After all, it had nothing to do with them.
Maybe he was just taking a lunch break in town with a friend.
Just then, the restaurant's NPC waiter came over carrying the dishes they had ordered.
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