"Now, we just need to get you some armor," Sinon said. Kirito nodded and followed her obediently.
"Hic!"
"Hmm?"
"No, it's nothing!" Sinon squeaked.
She scanned the armor display, picked out a specific set, and held it out to him.
"I... I think this would be perfect."
"This?"
"Yes. I have the same set. It has incredibly high defensive stats."
"I see."
To any observer, it was clearly a piece of Juro-exclusive equipment. Normally, it featured a wolf emblem in profile on the chest, but that detail had been meticulously scrubbed away.
(Basically, I'm supposed to trick him into buying this, right?) Sinon thought.
"I'll show you how to equip it. Let's go to the dressing room over there."
Hearing this, Shana's face went pale. She began frantically signaling "X" with her arms, but Sinon didn't notice.
"This is bad, this is really bad," Shana hissed.
"What's wrong, Shana-san?" Ikoma asked.
"Sinon thinks Kirito is a girl... If she's just going to show him how to use the menu, she doesn't need a dressing room. She's probably going to try and be helpful by showing him how to physically change clothes!"
"Wait, that's definitely bad!"
"Dammit, no choice!"
Shana sprinted toward the dressing room and threw the door open without warning. Inside, Sinon was just reaching for her own clothes to begin undressing. Shana let out a silent sigh of relief; she had made it just in time.
"Eek!"
Shana marched up to Sinon, grabbed her arm firmly, and whispered into her ear.
"Don't strip. In a second, I'm going to fly backward."
"W-what are you talking about?"
"After that, just scream at me. Call me a pervert, a harasser—whatever you want. Just make it loud."
"Eh? Eh??"
Suddenly, Shana threw herself backward, making it look as though Sinon had shoved her with immense force.
"Whoa! Talk about cold, gorgeous! And here I thought we had a moment when I saw you and followed you in here!"
"Shut up! Get out of here, you idiot! Pervert!" Sinon yelled, catching on.
"Hey, what about that one?" Shana pointed at Kirito. "I just realized, that avatar is an M9000 series. That means this 'girl' is a guy, too!"
At those words, Sinon looked at Kirito, who was staring at the floor with an incredibly awkward expression. Then, realizing she had already partially unzipped her top, Sinon let out a blood-curdling shriek and kicked them both out.
"KYAAAAAAH!"
Ejected from the room, Shana and Kirito sat back-to-back on the floor, letting out simultaneous sighs.
"Haaa..."
"Fuuu..."
Realizing they were sitting right next to each other, they scrambled to their feet and began glaring at one another.
"You again? Have you been tailing us this whole time? You stalker!" Kirito barked.
"You're the one pretending to be a girl to peep on her while she changes! I ought to deck you!" Shana countered.
"Like you have any room to talk, you creep!"
"Who are you calling a creep, you 'trap'!"
Their confrontation was cut short as Sinon emerged from the dressing room and delivered a sharp knuckle-sandwich to both their heads. In an instant, the two "warriors" were sitting in perfect seiza (kneeling) on the floor before her.
"Are you two ready for what's coming?" Sinon asked, her voice dangerously low.
"Ugh..."
"Ah, well..."
Suddenly, Sinon switched gears and introduced herself. It seemed she realized she hadn't given Kirito her name yet.
"My name is Sinon. And you two?"
She watched Shana's reaction closely. In truth, Sinon wasn't actually angry about Shana seeing her—in fact, she almost welcomed it—and she knew Kirito had looked away. She was simply playing along with the mood.
"Uh, I'm Kirito."
"I'm Shana."
"So, Kirito-kun, you really were a boy. But 'Kirito'... I feel like I've heard that name somewhere before."
"I-I'm sorry. I thought if you knew I was a guy, you wouldn't help me, so I missed my chance to tell you..."
"Well, you might be right about that, so I'll let it slide. As for you, 'Shana'..."
Since Shana hadn't used a pseudonym, Sinon figured it was safe to use her real name. Just then, Sinon caught sight of the clock on the shop wall and gasped.
"What is it?"
"Oh no! The registration for the BoB... it's almost over!"
"What?!"
Sinon bolted out of the shop, with Shana and Kirito hot on her heels.
(She hadn't registered yet?) Shana thought. (Can we make it if I call in the Humvee?)
Then, Shana's eyes landed on a rental buggy parked by the roadside. It was a three-wheeler, but the controls were identical to the vintage motorcycles Kirito was used to.
(That's it. Kirito can drive that.)
"Hey, Kirito! Can you handle that thing?"
"That? Yeah, I can manage that."
"Good. Consider this my apology—I'm paying. Sinon, get on with Kirito and head for the Governor's Office!"
"But no one can drive those things! They've been sitting there forever!" Sinon cried.
"Kirito says he can! Now go! Move it!"
"O-okay!"
"Right!"
Pushed by Shana's urgency, the two of them leaped onto the rental buggy and tore off into the distance.
-------------------------
If you enjoy this story, you can read 70+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
Webnovel will keep getting 1 new chapter every day but Patreon readers can stay far ahead.
Maybe it's not a big deal now… maybe it will be later.
[email protected]/Greyhounds
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"