Watching Kiriko leave, Yusei withdrew his gaze, took Shiro's hand, and looked towards the girl standing helplessly in a corner.
"Let's go, Shiro. Looks like we'll have to take a newbie leveling with us."
Shiro lifted her head to look at Yusei, somewhat puzzled.
"Nii, is it necessary to bring her? Shiro wants to have a two-person world with Nii..."
"Can't be helped. I've received a lot of care from her grandfather too," Yusei said, ruffling Shiro's hair.
"If that's the case, then there's no helping it."
...
Kaguya was feeling terrible right now. She felt like a year's worth of bad luck had been concentrated into the recent period.
First, her defeat in the Kendo Tournament. This loss wasn't just to her rival, Okita Souji, but also to her own... junior?
That's right, you could call that guy her junior, one who hadn't even been training for a month.
This sense of defeat had been depressing her lately. Finally, she entered SAO, recommended by Hayasaka, hoping to relax by playing a game.
And then she encountered this strange situation. Something about clearing 100 floors to get back, something about dying if your character disappears? This was just terrible!
Unlucky, so unlucky!
Regarding the fear of death, having trained in swordsmanship since childhood, Kaguya's mental state had long been tempered to be very strong.
About this matter, she simply felt very unlucky, not reacting with the same panic as other players or passively waiting for external rescue.
Kaguya's intelligence was higher than average. After hearing Kayaba's speech, she quickly figured out many things.
First, relying on the outside world was definitely not a way out!
The reason was simple. Since the other party had such a plan, their preparations must be very thorough. Trying to rely on external means to escape was impossible.
'So, the only option left was to clear the game, right?'
A flicker of interest appeared in Kaguya's crimson eyes, and the corner of her mouth lifted slightly.
'Wasn't this just what I wanted? Training my sword skills and tempering my mind in this world was a rare opportunity.'
'This is a golden opportunity. That guy definitely doesn't play games, right? Once I clear the game and get out, I'll definitely be able to surpass that guy.'
However, just as Kaguya was thinking this, someone suddenly tapped her on the shoulder.
"Yo, Shinomiya Ojou-sama. Fancy meeting you here."
Kaguya was startled and quickly pushed Yusei's hand away. But when she saw who it was, she froze.
"You... you play this game too?!"
"Is that strange? Didn't I tell you? My number one hobby is playing games. There's no way I'd miss a game like SAO," Yusei said with a laugh.
"Number one hobby? Isn't it Kendo?"
Kaguya reflexively retorted, but after asking, she remembered what her grandfather had told her last time.
This guy Yusei's setup was... talented in kendo, but very lazy.
'This guy...'
More than that, what frustrated Kaguya the most right now was that he was in the game too, 'Did that mean my plan to train in the game and overtake him was doomed to fail?'
"Of course I like Kendo too, but I prefer playing games. Anyway, let's get going quickly."
"Going? Where to?" Kaguya asked, confused.
"To the grinding spots, of course. This place is about to get crowded. Do you really want to be squeezed in with all these people?"
"And..." Before Yusei could finish, someone nearby shouted.
"Ah! That guy is the Kendo Tournament Champion, right? The real-world Kendo Champion. Wouldn't he have some talent in the game too?!"
"It's really him! He looks exactly the same. I thought he just made his avatar look like that on purpose."
"I want to party with him! This game is too dangerous."
"A Kendo Champion should be much stronger than the average player. Partying with him would at least be safer."
"Eh? Isn't that Shinomiya Kaguya next to him? The young lady from the Shinomiya Family?"
"I think she was the third place in the Kendo Tournament, right? So... having two kendo experts leading the party would be so safe!"
Starting from the first person who recognized Yusei, the area of the square near them erupted like a boiling pot.
Under the fear of death, they were clutching at straws, completely failing to consider that the game and reality were two different things.
In their panicked state, they subconsciously believed that someone strong in real-world Kendo would naturally be competent in this world of swords.
Normally, this was completely wrong.
However, they happened to be right this time, because Yusei was a 'Cheater', and his Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu could be used.
So, for Yusei, real-world sword skills could indeed be used in the game.