After spending a peaceful night at the inn, Akimi and Asuna didn't bother to get up early—in fact, they even set the alarm back to nine o'clock.
Although they didn't personally know any carpenter players, Argo did.
So, after paying a 50 Col consultation fee, they were introduced to a carpenter whom Argo claimed was very reliable.
Originally, Argo had asked for 100 Cor, but a strangely spirited Akimi spent nearly ten minutes haggling until Argo dropped the fee to 50 Col.
It wasn't that he actually cared about the money—he simply enjoyed the process of bargaining.
That, at least, was his own explanation… though who knows if he had awakened some odd personality trait.
The carpenter's name was Noch, a man nearing seventy years old—why someone his age was still interested in SAO was a mystery.
He was an eccentric character.
Instead of staying in the lower floors waiting for customers, he would trail behind the clearing group, hunting for new types of wood—sometimes risking his life for it.
When people ordered furniture from him, he would only accept the job if he was in the mood.
If he didn't feel like it, no amount of Col or materials could sway him.
However, for members of the clearing group, he would only charge for materials, waiving any additional fees.
Initially, Noch didn't want to take Akimi's order either, but for some reason—likely something Argo said—he eventually agreed.
When the two arrived at Noch's workshop in Lombal, the main town on the 27th floor, the old man had already been waiting for some time.
From the look on his face, he wasn't happy, and he muttered under his breath, "If it weren't for that girl Argo pestering me, I wouldn't have agreed to make anything for you… Young people these days, making an old man wait… Honestly, I need to have a word with that girl next time."
He wasn't speaking quietly, so Akimi and Asuna heard every word.
This left Akimi wearing a slightly awkward expression, opening his mouth as if to speak, then thinking better of it, then trying again—only to hesitate once more.
In the end, it was Asuna who gave him a gentle push, then pulled him forward and said to the old man, "I'm sorry, Grandpa… we didn't mean to be late."
"Hmph!" Noch snorted, folding his arms and giving Akimi a sidelong glare.
"The young lady knows to apologize, but you, a grown man, can't say a word? The morals of the world are in decline… people aren't what they used to be…"
Akimi's mouth twitched slightly, and just as he was about to argue back, the old man turned his head away in open disdain, not giving him the chance.
The words stuck in Akimi's throat once again.
"All right, tell me what you need. And I'll warn you now—be clear about it here and now. If you're not satisfied later, I don't do refunds," the old man said, while walking toward a nearby log.
Not bothered by the slightly biting tone, the two took out a prepared list and handed it to him.
The old man stared at the list — about the size of an A4 sheet — and was momentarily stunned.
Instinctively, he took it, but the moment he glanced over it, the veins on his forehead popped out—
"Two sets of black rockwood coffee tables, and the largest ones?! Two sets of ice pine wardrobes, two red osmanthus wood beds, four oil pine bedside tables, two white tea wood tables, eight huanghuali chairs… Are you trying to work me to death?!"
Faced with the old man's questioning, Akimi fiddled with his fingers and pretended to be nonchalant as he said, "Th-these are all reasonable needs, right…"
The old man took a few deep breaths, then jabbed a finger at the very bottom of the list, his tone growing irritable.
"Fine, the earlier ones are still acceptable… but what is the meaning of this?!"
Yes — at the very bottom, it read: Two magnolia wood deck chairs.
Akimi replied a little guiltily, "Deck chairs are so comfortable to lie on… Just imagine — on a sunny afternoon, you set one up on the balcony and take a nap… how blissful is that…"
The old man's fists clenched silently.
He looked between Akimi and Asuna, gritting his teeth as he said,
"That girl Argo kept insisting you two are top members of the clearing party, so I decided to make an exception for you… but I didn't expect this, didn't expect this at all…"
Swallowing lightly, Akimi subtly turned his head, already searching for an escape route — why did this old man have such an overwhelming presence…?
The air froze for a moment before the old man's expression slowly eased.
He scratched the thinning hair on top of his head and spoke in a gentler voice,
"Forget it… you've probably been exhausted at the front lines for a long time, and now you just want to rest. That's understandable, understandable."
But his tone sharpened again as he continued,
"Proper rest is fine, but you mustn't get complacent — never let your guard down too easily…"
The two of them were a bit puzzled, not sure what the old man meant, but they still nodded seriously.
On the way to buy the other items, Asuna gently twirled a strand of hair beside her cheek and said, "I can't help but feel… this old man seemed to be implying something."
Akimi nodded as well. "I feel the same."
But for now, they didn't know this strange man named Noch very well, nor could they guess what kind of riddle he was playing at.
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Tomioka Kiyoshi looked at Akimi's new medical report, and an expression of astonishment appeared on her face — fourteen hours after taking the wisteria flower tea, the cellular activity in Akimi's body first decreased, but not long after, it began to rise again, and had now far exceeded the level of a normal person.
Logically speaking, this was not a normal reaction, and there might be other complications.
However, apart from an accelerated metabolism, Akimi seemed to have no other symptoms.
Moreover, his body temperature had gradually dropped to 37.7°C, which counted as a mild fever — it seemed the wisteria flower tea was indeed having an effect.
Faced with this situation, Hashibira Aoba could only raise his hands helplessly toward the staring Kiyoshi and say,
"D-Don't look at me… I have no idea what's going on either. Back when I ran mouse experiments in the lab, this wasn't the case."
Kiyoshi didn't say much.
She simply removed the glasses from her nose and gently massaged the acupoints at the inner ends of her eyebrows.
"…Keep observing for now… Using wisteria flowers should be fine."
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