"Hello, brave adventurers. You may call me Juro. Congratulations on defeating the powerful lord. You're here for the old Muxin Mine, aren't you?"
"Yes, Juro. We received this hidden quest from the blacksmith in the Town of Beginnings. We traveled here with determination, and finally, we've defeated the lord."
"Ah, so the old blacksmith still hasn't given up. When he was young, he once saw my Muxin ore in the mining valley and claimed he would use it to forge the most peerless weapon in all of Aincrad."
Asuna, standing behind Ryuto, tugged at his sleeve.
"Ryuto-kun… are all SAO's NPCs this intelligent?"
Juro noticed her whispering and smiled warmly.
"I am one of Aincrad's Intelligent NPCs—programmed with high-level interactive AI. I can respond dynamically to your words. Most NPCs who give hidden quests are designed with this level of intelligence."
Asuna blinked in amazement.
"Impressive…"
Juro then turned his attention back to Ryuto.
"Adventurer, I have a small request. The strange bird you defeated earlier belongs to a race born from the environment I created. They are called the Starnight race—males are called Starnight Hawk, females Starnight Swan. But now, they are on the brink of extinction. Once you take away the Muxin Mine, I will disappear. I ask that you care for the last spark of their lineage in my stead."
With those words, a pure white egg floated in the dark void. Silver strands formed delicate patterns around its base, while golden dots speckled its upper half. Even in the gloom, it emitted a faint glow. Ryuto carefully extended his hands to catch the egg and said solemnly:
"Don't worry, Elder Tree. I'll take good care of it."
"Good. The Starnight race makes the perfect companion. Loyal, capable of granting powerful buffs, and ever grateful to those who raise them."
As Juro spoke, his features began to fade. The massive trunk turned translucent, revealing a piece of black metal at its core. Slowly, the metal passed through the fading trunk and hovered before Ryuto.
It was a strange sight—black metal traced with golden veins, green energy flowing through emerald lines, and at the tips of each vein, pale pink blossoms bloomed. Ryuto had never seen such a material before. A system prompt appeared in front of his eyes:
[Do you accept the gift of the Tree of the Night Sky?]
Ryuto pressed Confirm. Juro's almost invisible face broke into a joyful smile before the massive tree dissolved into motes of light, rising into the heavens.
Outside, night had fallen. The starlight from the Tree of the Night Sky climbed higher and higher until it became the brightest star above.
Ryuto placed the Muxin Mine into his inventory and cradled the egg in both hands. Asuna, now gazing at the open sky free from the tree's shadow, no longer felt the heavy gloom of their earlier arrival. Fireflies drifted into the valley, dancing among flowers and branches.
"Ryuto-kun, look! A shooting star—make a wish!"
She closed her eyes, clasped her hands, and moved her lips silently. Ryuto smiled as he watched her.
"Hey, Asuna."
"Hmm?" She opened her eyes and turned to him.
"When I was a kid, I used to watch this anime about a robot cat from the future. He'd use all sorts of magical gadgets to help the main character with his problems and always stayed by his side to protect him. It was called Doraemon."
"I remember one afternoon, my father saw me watching it so intently that he came over and sat beside me."
'Ryuto, who would you want to be in this story?'
"When I was a kid, I answered without thinking—Nobita, of course! He had Doraemon to protect him and could have any wish fulfilled. But then I turned and asked my dad—"
'Who would you want to be, Dad?'
He smiled, glanced at my mother as she was getting ready, and said softly—
'Me? I'd want to be Doraemon.'
"Why? Nobita was clumsy, always crying, with so many flaws… yet Doraemon gave so much for him."
My father patted my head, his voice warm like winter sunlight.
'You'll understand when you grow up.'"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Ryuto's mother, already dressed and ready, slipped on her shoes and called for his father at the door. His father's hand shifted from gently stroking the back of Ryuto's head to giving him a light pat. Slowly, he stood.
"Be good at home and wait for us to come back."
With that, he walked to the door, changed his shoes, and left with her. That day was the last time Ryuto ever saw them.
The afterglow of the setting sun bathed the living room in warm light as the young Ryuto anxiously waited for his parents to return. But instead of the sound of the door opening, the sharp, urgent ringing of the phone filled the air.
When he answered, the words on the other end hit him like a blade. There had been a car accident—a drunk driver had mistaken the accelerator for the brake. In his final moments, Ryuto's father had shielded his mother with his body. Even so, she only managed to cling to life for a short time in the hospital before slipping away.
"No… to be precise, she never truly had a chance. I can still recall my father's words."
For as long as Ryuto could remember, whenever his mother paused to admire some little trinket on the street, some casual, offhand wish in daily life, it wasn't long before his father would surprise her with it.
"Now… I finally understand. When my father said he liked Doraemon, it was because he had always been my mother's Doraemon. He didn't have a hundred amazing gadgets, couldn't grant every wish—but he worked tirelessly to make her dreams come true, to protect her from harm. And in the final second of his life, he fulfilled that role, still loving his duty, still being her Doraemon."
That was the life Ryuto had before he crossed into this world—his real life. In this one, too, his parents had died in a car accident. But this time, the grief wasn't as overwhelming; he could control it. After steadying his emotions, Ryuto dropped to one knee and pulled out a ring woven from flowers and vines.
"Asuna—form our own family with me! As long as you're here, no challenge is too great. Without you, that would be the true end. From this moment, I swear to protect you—no more wounds, no more enduring pain alone. No matter how cruel this world becomes, I'll build us a home. No matter how powerful the boss, I'll stand before it. No matter how much time is left, I want to spend the rest of my life with you in this world. Let me be your Doraemon."
Tears welled in Asuna's eyes as she listened to his story. When Ryuto confessed, she could no longer hold back. Covering her mouth with one trembling hand, she let the tears flow as a wave of happiness crashed over her.
Asuna took a deep breath and said softly,
"I don't want to."
"Eh…?"
In an instant, Ryuto felt the sky crumble. The light seemed to fade from his bright red eyes, and the flower ring he held high began to slip from his grasp—until Asuna caught it.
"I don't want you to stand in front of everything. I want to build our home with you. When danger comes, I want to stand in front of you too."
"Without me… would you still succeed?"
Joy surged through Ryuto, dragging him from hell to heaven in an instant. His ears rang with the sound of his own pounding heartbeat. He leapt to his feet, turned away, and shouted at the top of his lungs—
"Ahhhhhhh~~~ Yeah!"
Then, spinning back, he clasped Asuna's hands. Above them, the night sky shimmered with countless stars, weaving a breathtaking tapestry.
This moment felt like eternity.