After dinner, Akimi glanced at the time and found that it was only 6:30 p.m.
Going straight back to the inn to rest felt a bit too early, but he couldn't think of anything to do for the moment—after all, his sluggish reaction speed still hadn't improved much, and grinding levels was basically out of the question.
Meanwhile, as his "CPU" started to heat up, a vacant look gradually appeared on Akimi's face.
Asuna noticed this expression.
She took a small bite of the cake she'd just bought from a pastry shop, then tilted her head and asked, "What's wrong? Zoning out again?"
As expected, Akimi took about a second to respond: "Mm… nothing. Just wondering what we should do now. Feels a bit… early to rest already."
After nearly a whole day together, Asuna had more or less gotten used to Akimi's drawn-out reaction time.
She puffed her cheeks slightly as she chewed the cake, speaking in a muffled voice, "Mhm… it is early to head back… so what should we do?"
Looking at Asuna's soft cheeks puffed into almost a perfect semicircle, Akimi, for reasons unknown, suddenly reached out and poked them with his finger.
The move almost made Asuna spit out her cake.
"Wah! What are you doing?"
Asuna quickly swallowed, patted her chest twice, and shot Akimi an unhappy glare.
"Poking me out of nowhere like that… I almost choked!"
In yet another "slow on the uptake" moment, Akimi coughed awkwardly and apologized—then suddenly asked, "Come to think of it… can you really choke in SAO?"
Her fists clenched—hard.
Asuna barely restrained her urge to punch him, instead putting on a "kind" smile and saying icily, "Shouldn't you be thinking about what we're doing next?"
"Ah… oh, yeah…"
That borderline brainless reply made Asuna's expression darken even further.
She gritted her teeth and said, "Then… hurry up and think of what we're going to do right now."
"Uh… mm… okay."
After scratching his head and thinking for a while, Akimi sighed, covered his face, and said helplessly, "Ah~ nothing's coming to mind…"
Asuna stared at him speechlessly, at a loss for words—so he throws out a question only to immediately give up?
But soon, Akimi's eyes lit up, and he straightened up excitedly.
"How about this—we take a few days off starting today! Go try all the foods we've never eaten before, explore places we've never been… and then buy a house!"
Asuna blinked in surprise, then looked at him oddly. "You… serious?"
Akimi nodded solemnly.
"But… in two days we're starting the Floor 30 labyrinth raid. If we suddenly take a vacation now, our hard-earned level advantage could vanish… And as for buying a house… do we even have the money?"
Pop—somewhere, the sound of a balloon bursting could be heard.
Expressionless, Akimi began to reconsider his life choices.
Just as Asuna let out a quiet sigh and tugged on Akimi's sleeve to head back to the inn, he suddenly raised his voice and said:
"…Whatever! If I fall behind in levels, then so be it—we can always catch up later. Besides, I'm not in the right state right now, so I can't grind anyway… As for buying a house, I've already looked into it: there's a place on the fifth floor, three bedrooms and one living room, for three million Col. If I sell a few things, I'll have enough."
He rattled off that long speech without even pausing for breath.
And those words completely stunned Asuna.
She stared blankly at Akimi, feeling that his expression seemed strangely familiar—just like a kid in a supermarket who spotted a toy, got refused by their parents, and then loudly declared they'd earn their own money to buy it… exactly the same.
The corners of her lips curved up slightly, and she was about to say something when Akimi went on:
"That house is right near the 'BLINK & BRINK' restaurant, not far at all. Two of the bedrooms are right on the cliffside, and the wall facing the outside of Aincrad is made of special glass—at night you can see the entire starry sky… Asuna, you'll definitely love it!"
Mm, now Akimi had leveled up—he'd become a child with a full-fledged money-making plan.
But Asuna quickly caught the key point—
"…Wait, you mean… you want me to live with you?!"
In his muddled state, Akimi nodded without hesitation, and said in a matter-of-fact tone,
"Of course! What, you expect me to buy a house and then have you keep living in an inn? No way that's happening!"
Asuna's rosy lips trembled slightly, and the tips of her delicate ears slowly turned red.
Something was off—very off.
Nine parts out of ten, even.
Under normal circumstances, Akimi would never speak so bluntly… how was this any different from a confession?!
But Akimi seemed completely unaware of the little problem in his words, and continued casually,
"It's got three bedrooms—one for me, one for you, and the last one can be a guest room. There's a kitchen too… and a bathtub, an extra-large one at that. Usually, we can cook for ourselves, and if we don't feel like it, we'll just eat at the restaurant… it's perfect."
Even after that long speech, Akimi still didn't notice Asuna's unusual expression.
His gaze turned hazy as he added,
"We've been grinding levels for half a year… can't I enjoy myself a little? Time to play—cough, rest, I mean rest! You too, Asuna!"
Asuna kept her head lowered so her expression couldn't be seen, but it felt like steam was rising from the top of her head.
In a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz, she murmured,
"…Alright… fine…"
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