But right now, these two Vice-Leaders of the Knights of the Blood Oath had temporarily separated from their teams and come to the giant Christmas tree in the center of town, seemingly waiting for someone.
After a few minutes, a voice slowly reached their ears.
"Long time no see, Kaguya-sama, Asuna."
The newcomers were none other than Yusei and Shiro.
The people Kaguya and Asuna had arranged to meet here were precisely Yusei and Shiro.
It was Christmas Day. Although the Revival Crystal was tempting, neither Kaguya nor Yusei had much interest in it.
Only Asuna was somewhat curious about it, but she had come today primarily to lead the guild's team to compete for that crystal.
If it were for herself, perhaps she really wouldn't have come, especially since Kaguya was too lazy to bother.
But even so, meeting up with friends they hadn't seen in a while and having a meal together was still the top priority for Christmas.
As for their subordinates... they had already been deployed to the area around the wilderness church to keep watch.
After the four met up, they casually found a small restaurant and ordered some fruit wine and food.
While waiting for the food, Yusei formally looked at Asuna... Come to think of it, this was actually the first time he was truly seeing Asuna's real face.
Last time, during the first-floor Boss Raid, she was still wearing her cloak and hadn't taken it off... completely hiding her appearance.
Seeing her now, he truly felt a sense of being impressed.
"Back then, I thought anyone Kaguya-sama deemed worthy to be her teammate must be very beautiful."
"But I didn't expect... I still underestimated you. Hidden under that cloak was indeed a beautiful gem."
Asuna smiled politely, "Thank you. Yusei-kun is very handsome too."
Kaguya, who was silently drinking fruit wine nearby, felt a strange, inexplicable sensation seeing the two chatting and laughing.
She somehow felt ignored.
Unconsciously, she lightly coughed. She looked playfully at Asuna and Yusei.
"I say... have you two taken a liking to each other? Should I act as a matchmaker?"
Asuna, who had been chatting with Yusei about recently acquired game materials, immediately blushed upon hearing Kaguya's words and hurriedly waved her hands.
"No, no! We're just talking normally!"
"Right, Yusei-kun?" As she spoke, she looked at Yusei, seemingly asking for confirmation.
Yusei smiled and flicked a finger lightly in Kaguya's direction, "Don't mind Kaguya-sama. She just sees she has no place to interject and is deliberately trying to stir things up."
"I'm not that bored."
Gracefully sipping her fruit wine, Kaguya stopped looking at the two and instead turned her gaze to Shiro, who was silently drinking juice.
"Yusei-kun, are you just going to keep dragging your little sister around on adventures every day? Why not let her join the Knights of the Blood Oath? We can assign her a logistics position to keep her in the safe zones."
Kaguya finally took this opportunity to say what she had been wanting to say for a long time.
Actually, regarding this matter... she had wanted to bring it up every time they met before, but never found a good opportunity.
Kaguya was naturally aware of the intelligence labeling Shiro as the [Ice Dragon Princess], but she didn't take it seriously, simply assuming it was because Yusei was carrying his little sister, with Shiro completely being carried.
Shiro had performed well before... back when they first partied together to level up, as her coordination with Yusei was excellent.
But those were just low-level mobs with simple, straightforward attack patterns. Now, as the floors got higher-
Even Kaguya herself felt the monsters' attack methods were complex and variable. A single misstep could lead to injury. She was very worried Shiro would get hurt, or even die.
After all, she was still so young.
Therefore, as a Vice-Leader of the Knights of the Blood Oath, she wanted to place Shiro somewhere safe.
Ideally, it would be even better if Yusei would also join the Knights of the Blood Oath.
Yusei gave Kaguya a speechless look. He saw through her true intentions immediately.
It was nothing more than wanting to protect Shiro while also pulling him into the Knights of the Blood Oath, preferably as her subordinate, so she could order him around.
'This Kaguya-sama... She really doesn't know why Heathcliff suddenly invited you and Asuna, does she?'
'Wasn't it me, the final Boss, who orchestrated that from behind? I did that to protect you, young lady, to provide you with safety.'
'How come now you're trying to protect me instead?'
But despite the internal complaints, he could still feel Kaguya's sincere intention to protect him and his sister.
"No need. Shiro and I are used to being solo players. We'd rather not join a guild."
Yusei shook his head, refusing.
"You...! Even if you are strong yourself, what about Shiro? She's still so young!"
Kaguya rarely argued with Yusei.
Asuna felt somewhat awkward beside them, unsure how to intervene.
Shiro ate her dinner in small bites, showing no intention of getting involved, because she understood... her Nii would never be willing to part with her.
'Mhm, Shiro is Nii's most considerable hug pillow.'
Ding Dong!
Right at that moment, the bell in the town center suddenly chimed.
Kaguya and Yusei were simultaneously startled. Their game screens suddenly popped up with a quest notification.
Or rather, at this moment, everyone's game screen popped up with a quest.
The quest content was the same for all, as follows:
[A giant dragon from another world has intruded. It is immensely powerful and will harm the peace of beautiful Aincrad. Warriors of Aincrad, go and eliminate it!]
[Quest Target: Defeat the otherworldly dragon [Kanna] located at the Dragon's Lake on the 26th floor.]
[Quest Reward: Large amount of EXP, Col, and a mysterious item.]
[Note: The mysterious item can be anything you imagine. Even leaving SAO early is possible~]
Silence. A brief silence.
Almost everyone was looking at their quest introduction.
It seemed the entire population of Aincrad fell silent at this moment. They were all stunned, their eyes glued to the last line.
['Even leaving SAO early is possible~.']
['Leaving SAO early is possible~.']
['Is possible~!']
The next moment, the entirety of Aincrad, whether in the fields, towns, labyrinth areas, or leveling grounds, erupted into earth-shattering screams. They boiled over at this moment... making this Christmas seem incredibly lively.
Leaving SAO. Leaving SAO early. How tempting... It was simply ten thousand times better than a Revival Crystal!
It was ten thousand times better than any stupid Revival Crystal, alright? They finally had a chance to leave this damned game!