Chapter 25 – Meeting Again
The next day, in the tavern of the Dark Elf city— The four decided to spend a day finishing other quests first, as triggering the continuation of the main campaign might require completing these as prerequisites.
"So we have to clear the side quests to trigger the campaign quest? What a cliché RPG setup." Hachiman muttered while biting a honey bun, watching as Asuna slapped a list of quests onto the oak table.
The black-haired swordsman slid through his semi-transparent menu: "Well, the programming logic of this level is—"
"Stop, stop!" Asuna suddenly peeked out from the kitchen, balancing a tray of four cups of pumpkin juice that swayed dangerously. "Can the two of you tech geeks speak in a language humans can understand?"
By the time the four of them finished sweeping through seventeen side quests, the sunset had dyed the docks the color of orange soda.
They had nearly completed all available tasks in the city in one day.
Toward evening, word came that a field boss had been discovered—seems a battle meeting would be held early the next morning to organize a raid.
The next day, the battle with the field boss began. The most eye-catching duo was Kirito and Nezha.
The fight turned out more thrilling than expected: every time Kirito piloted the warship through crashing waves, Nezha's chakrams slashed through the air like rainbows, precisely severing tentacles attempting to coil around the mast.
"Is this what they call 'a couple united in heart can cut through steel'?" Hachiman joked while steering, only to get jabbed in the waist by Asuna with her sword's sheath: "Focus on piloting! Where's your knightly spirit?"
The salty sea breeze swept past Asuna's neck, damp with sweat.
She crouched in the mast's shadow to regulate her breathing.
Through her soaked white combat uniform, her shoulder blades—like fluttering butterfly wings—rose and fell under the moonlight in sync with her breath.
"Hachiman-kun?" A voice with a hint of rose fragrance whispered by his ear.
The veins on his hand popped as he barely managed to keep his grip on the oar.
Asuna, leaning on the boat's edge and bending over to check the instrument panel, had her curves outlined by the wet cloth, lit by moonlight. "Course is off by five degrees."
They continued the battle in a stable formation—nothing especially noteworthy happened, and the field boss was soon successfully defeated.
Afterward, they resumed their exploration.
Based on Kirito's memory, an event had been triggered on the southern side of the Dark Elf city before.
Upon arriving there, they were teleported via a ring.
Asuna had just finished speaking when their vision suddenly widened—the structure of a castle-like pier appeared before them.
There seemed to be someone standing on the pier.
Upon closer approach, they saw it was Kizmel, whom they had parted ways with on the third floor days ago.
"Kizmel~"
Asuna cheerfully waved. As the boat docked, she leapt ashore without hesitation and hugged Kizmel.
Hachiman tied the ship securely to a mooring post on the pier and then stepped off to join them.
"You've finally arrived. I've been waiting for you two for so long."
"Sorry, we didn't realize we had to wear the ring to come here."
"I should've mentioned it earlier—my bad. Um, Asuna, could you please let go a bit? I'm having trouble breathing."
Kizmel bowed slightly in apology, moving with such natural grace that she didn't seem like a typical NPC.
"Yo."
"It's good to see you in high spirits, Hachiman. Something has come up rather suddenly…"
As she spoke, a [!] mark appeared above Kizmel's head.
Looks like the campaign quest was ready to advance again.
She led them to the elder of the castle.
Hachiman followed while silently speculating.
"So you are the ones gathering the secret keys? I apologize for the trouble you've gone through."
"You're too kind. May I ask what's happened?"
"Well, actually…"
According to the elder, the Human Maritime Guild was plotting some kind of action against the Dark Elf city.
Hachiman and Asuna teamed up with Kizmel once more to investigate.
"Covering the ship with this cloth will render it invisible for a while. Please, I'm counting on you."
'A timed infiltration mission, huh.'
Asuna suddenly yanked Hachiman's ear: "Hachiman-kun, you were totally thinking something lewd just now, weren't you? Your face is red!"
When night fell, the three waited until a scheduled ship from the Maritime Guild departed with cargo, and then stealthily followed.
The target ship arrived at a well-camouflaged island outpost. After unloading its cargo, it immediately returned.
They discreetly docked at the pier, covered the ship with the invisibility cloth, and, under Kizmel's cover, infiltrated the outpost.
"First, confirm the cargo."
The three cautiously approached a suspected warehouse. Inside were crates filled with ship parts and many sturdy, but empty, ordinary wooden boxes.
"Has the cargo already been moved? But it doesn't look like it."
"What now?"
"There's a large building over there that looks like a workshop. Let's check it out."
"Got it."
There were guards at the front gate. The trio climbed a big tree next to the warehouse and peeked through a high window. Inside were a few hooded men.
"How many ships are finished?"
"We're about to complete the tenth one. The remaining two should be done by the day after tomorrow."
It seemed they were secretly building ships.
"If not for the prohibitions, we wouldn't need to rely on the Humans to complete all the ships."
"We could've sent warships to the Forest Elves via the underground waterway, letting them attack the Dark Elf city sooner…"
The man who removed his hood turned out to be one of the Fallen Elves they'd seen before.
"What's the prohibition?"
"We're not allowed to cut down trees ourselves. I can't believe the Fallen Elves are behind this…"
While Kizmel whispered, the icon above her changed to a [?]—it seemed they had acquired the necessary intel.
"Alright, we've got what we came for. Let's retreat."
Following Hachiman's lead, the three rushed back to the Shibarly. Near the docking area, a new shipment blocked their path.
"Asuna, Kizmel, get on the ship and prepare to set sail. I'll hold them off and jump aboard last."
"Understood. Be careful."
The two leapt over the cargo toward the Shibarly. The noise revealed their location.
"Intruders! Catch them!"
Hachiman knocked a sailor back from behind, only to notice a Fallen Elf among the enemy ranks.
With his back to the ship, Hachiman judged that turning to flee would get him caught—so he struck forward with his sword instead.
After a few clashes, he parried and countered, kicking an enemy away. But another sailor charged in from the side. Just in time, Kizmel returned under invisibility and knocked the foe out.
"Thanks, Kizmel."
"Get on the ship, quick!"
As Asuna called out, the two sprinted at full speed and leapt onto the accelerating Shibarly, escaping from the island.
The trio safely returned to the Dark Elf city with the intel and reported everything to the elder.
"The Forest Elves will attack the day after tomorrow?"
"Yes, that seems to be the plan."
Asuna stepped forward to explain on behalf of the team.
"But theoretically, their city isn't connected to us by water…"
"They mentioned an underground waterway."
"To think something like that exists…"
A [!] mark appeared over the elder's head instantly.
"Please head to the Sanctuary Labyrinth tomorrow. Escort the lord, who is currently praying, back to the city. A ship has been prepared nearby to support you."
"Leave it to us."
'Asuna really fits this kind of situation... If it were me, I'd probably sound too casual.'
Moonlight spilled through Gothic stained glass windows, turning the stone path into a silver stream.
Hachiman gazed at the chestnut-haired swordswoman ahead of him—her hair shimmered more brilliantly than any system effect.
Maybe, in this death game, only when fighting alongside her could he momentarily forget the anxiety of reality—
"Hachiman!" Asuna suddenly turned around, holding a honey cake. "Want to recharge your energy?"
"...Please share half with me."