When Yusei returned to the tavern, Kaguya had already blended back in, happily chatting with Asuna and the others.
Compared to before, Kaguya was clearly much more cheerful now, a smile on her face as she chatted happily with Asuna about something. This pleased Yusei quite a bit.
The girls chatting noticed Yusei enter and started covering their mouths, giggling. This made Yusei curious.
He went and sat down next to Shiro, patted her head, and looked at Asuna, who was laughing the most, "What are you all talking about?"
Asuna blinked, giving a rare, playful smile, "I'm not telling you."
Yusei looked at Kaguya. Kaguya blushed slightly and glared at him, seemingly still bothered by the whole 'Shinomiya Family's son-in-law' matter from outside.
"Guess for yourself."
Seeing neither girl would tell him, Yusei had no choice but to turn his gaze to Kiriko. The latter gave a somewhat awkward smile.
"Kaguya was just telling us some funny stories about you practicing swordsmanship in the real world." Yusei looked at Kaguya: "Funny stories from when I practiced? And you usually weren't even at the dojo when I practiced, were you?"
Kaguya pursed her lips slightly, smiling faintly, "Grandfather told me. He said you were a very lazy guy and told me not to learn from you."
"What does that old man know? This is called balancing work and rest."
Kaguya smiled faintly, not minding Yusei's way of addressing her grandfather.
"He specifically mentioned your favorite phrase, 'balancing work and rest', saying you only had the 'rest' part, rarely the 'work'."
Yusei rolled his eyes at her, picked up his beer, took a sip, and let out a deep breath.
"Let's not talk about that. What are the plans for your Capture Group next?" Yusei looked at Asuna.
A trace of worry appeared on Asuna's beautiful face. She sighed, propping her elbow on the table and resting her cheek on her hand. Her fair cheek puffed out slightly, looking very cute.
"Our guild leader seems to be busy with something recently and is often absent. He's left all guild matters to me and Kaguya to handle. We can't really focus on raiding for the time being."
"Oh, so the Knights of the Blood Oath aren't planning to participate in the next boss raid?" Yusei looked curiously at Asuna.
Asuna and Kaguya exchanged a glance. Asuna shook her head, "No, Kaguya and I plan to divide the work. One person handles the guild, the other goes with the Capture Group."
"And who's going with the Capture Group?" Yusei asked.
"I've been raiding constantly lately and feel tired. It would be nice to have a strong pillar to rely on so I can slack off a bit."
Asuna smiled and pointed at herself, stating as a matter of course, "I'm the Capture Group's leader, of course it's me."
"Asuna, huh. That's good." Yusei breathed a sigh of relief. His reaction made the girls present rather puzzled.
"What's wrong with me leading the raid?" Asuna looked at Yusei, not understanding.
Yusei glanced between Asuna and Kaguya, finally settling his gaze on Asuna's exquisite face, "If it were Kaguya leading the team, I'd probably end up having to carry her, which would be just as tiring for me."
"Huh?"
The girls blinked, not immediately grasping Yusei's meaning. Kaguya was the first to react. She glared at Yusei indignantly.
"I don't want to go raiding with you either! I think the one who should be troubled is Asuna!"
Asuna and Kiriko also understood what Yusei meant now.
Asuna showed an awkward smile, "It's... it's alright. Yusei-kun is very strong."
Kiriko, however, rubbed her smooth chin, her gaze shifting between Yusei and Kaguya.
"I kind of feel you two are like a bickering couple. Kaguya usually gives off a very cool and aloof feeling, but she always gets worked up around Yusei-kun."
"And Yusei-kun, I haven't seen you tease any other girl besides Kaguya."
Saying this, a mischievous smile appeared on Kiriko's cute face.
"My, my... could it be you two..."
"Of course not!" Kaguya immediately retorted, her face red, "He's just someone I need to defeat... that's all! Just that!"
Kaguya was reminded again of what happened in the alley outside the tavern, about Yusei mentioning the 'Shinomiya Family's son-in-law' thing. She felt her face grow hot.
Kaguya, who had never been in a relationship, let alone thought about marriage matters like being a son-in-law, found it all too much, too soon.
Kiriko shrugged, "I was just joking, lightening the mood."
However, her teasing smile turned towards Yusei.
"Yusei-kun, Kaguya sees you as a rival. What do you see her as?"
Yusei gave Kiriko a speechless look, complaining, "Kiriko-chan, you've changed. You've become boring."
"Uh." Kiriko brushed the long hair by her ear, smiling awkwardly, "Have I?"
"Don't change the subject! Tell us!" Asuna now seemed rather eager.
Yusei sighed helplessly, 'As expected, as long as they were girls, even beautiful ones, they had a gossipy side.'
"She's my master's granddaughter. A young lady who needs a babysitter."
Hearing Yusei's words, Asuna secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but Kaguya on the other side was not pleased.
"Hey! Who needs you to take care of me?! I am perfectly capable of surviving on my own!"
Kaguya's words were unyielding, but in her heart, she felt a bit disappointed.
'Just 'young lady' again? You don't have to call me that...'
"What you said isn't wrong... but you still need to be careful about your stubbornness... learn to rely on others a bit more."
Seeing Kaguya fall silent, Yusei clapped his hands and smiled, "Alright, that's enough for today's gathering. Let's get together again when everyone has time."
With that, Yusei turned to Asuna, "Has the Boss Room been found? I've been slacking off lately and haven't checked the labyrinth area."
Asuna nodded, her expression becoming serious, "It's been found. And a few other guilds didn't inform the Capture Group. They tried to raid it themselves, but the difficulty was too high. They were badly defeated."
At this point, Asuna couldn't help but sigh. Every crushing defeat was accompanied by the deaths of many players.
These deaths cast a shadow over the confidence needed to clear SAO.
"I see. Well, if a boss strategy meeting is called, remember to send me a message. I won't be going to the front lines for the next few days. I'm thinking about buying a house in SAO."