"Oh?" Asuna's words piqued Yusei's interest, and he looked at her curiously.
"Besides not gaining weight, what other things make you feel happy here? For some people, this world is hell, you know."
"Hell? That's a bit of an exaggeration. Although I was indeed terrified of this place at the very beginning, it's much better now. I still get scared, but I can face it."
"As for things that make me happy..." Asuna pretended to think, and after a long moment, she looked at Yusei with a sly smile.
"I'm not telling you."
The news of the 32nd floor being cleared quickly spread among SAO's players.
Kaguya, who was handling affairs at the Knights of the Blood Oath's Headquarters, naturally received the news. But before she could ask her friend about the details, she saw a new email from her friend.
[Kaguya, I won't be back for dinner tonight. Find a restaurant for yourself, sorry~!]
The sender was naturally Asuna, and the recipient was Kaguya.
Kaguya stared blankly at the email, then slumped onto the desk with a heavy sigh.
She looked listlessly at the thick stack of documents on the nearby desk, but what troubled her wasn't the work… it was that Asuna wouldn't be back to cook dinner.
As the eldest daughter of the Shinomiya Family, her daily diet was naturally very high-end.
While she could eat the black bread in SAO, if there was delicious food available that didn't cost a lot of Col, of course she wanted to eat well.
Her daily meals, or rather, hers and Asuna's, were usually prepared by Asuna.
'If Asuna wasn't cooking today, didn't that mean I wouldn't get to eat Asuna's delicious cooking?'
"Sigh... I should just finish dealing with this stuff."
After feeling dejected for a while, Kaguya pulled herself together again and focused on her work.
As for why Asuna wasn't coming back for dinner, she didn't think too much about it, guessing she was probably leveling on the 32nd floor.
The reason Asuna maintained her powerful strength naturally included the fact that she was a leveling maniac.
It made sense for her to go level in the newly cleared floor first.
After a moment's thought, Kaguya replied to Asuna.
[Okay. Also, be careful...]
However, Kaguya would never have imagined that her friend wasn't on the 32nd floor at all, but rather on the 22nd floor.
"Huh? Why would I need to be careful?"
Asuna stood in front of the kitchen, looking at the message her friend sent back and muttering in confusion.
Yusei was organizing the ingredients in his inventory. Hearing Asuna's muttering, he looked up at her.
"What's wrong, Asuna?"
"Ah, it's nothing." Asuna quickly waved her hand. Actually, a different version of events popped into her mind: her staying at Yusei's house, and Kaguya telling her to be careful. That would...
'No. That's too impure.'
Asuna shook her head, trying to forget the 'dirty thoughts' in her head. She looked at the [Kazami Residence] nestled among the mountains and waters and couldn't help but admire it.
"Yusei-kun, just how much Col did you spend?"
"Not that much, really. The land plot was the expensive part. The house itself, the system can build it according to your design."
"I rarely see such traditional Japanese-style houses." Asuna's beautiful eyes curiously scanned various parts of the estate, and she was very satisfied with what she saw.
The gently babbling stream, the lush bamboo grove, the garden where you could see the mountains and water from the veranda... she imagined lying on the corridor enjoying the sun during the day.
Even though she lived in a Western-style detached villa in reality, that didn't stop her from preferring this style of residence.
The spacious house only had Yusei, Shiro, and Kanna living in it, so it felt rather empty.
With Asuna here now, it gained a bit more liveliness.
Yusei handed all the sorted ingredients to Asuna.
"These are all the ingredients I've collected."
Asuna took them and, upon looking, was instantly dumbfounded.
"You... you actually have this many S-grade ingredients?!"
Ice Dragon Tail Meat, Ice Dragon Tenderloin, Earth Tiger Tail, Jewel Green Apples...
In short, just from a quick glance, Asuna saw at least ten different types of S-grade ingredients.
"Having them is useless if you can't cook them. They require a very high Cooking skill. Do Shiro and I look like people who cook?" Yusei spread his hands innocently.
Asuna put her hands on her hips and took a deep breath.
"I really can't believe you two siblings. You could have asked someone else to process them."
"Who would level their Cooking skill that high? Everyone's busy leveling up."
Seeing Asuna's eyebrows start to furrow, Yusei smiled and added, "Except for our Vice-Leader of the Knights of the Blood Oath, the Flash Asuna, Leader of the Capture Group..."
"Alright, just use my name. Why add so many titles?" Asuna's face turned slightly red as she shot Yusei a look.
"Doesn't it highlight your many achievements?" Yusei laughed.
"Fine, fine. Go play with Shiro and Kanna. Leave the kitchen to me."
Asuna tied her apron and pushed Yusei, quickly ushering him out of the kitchen.
Yusei returned to the living room and found Shiro and Kanna playing cards peacefully. This surprised him greatly.
'These two little ones are actually coexisting peacefully? Amazing, truly amazing.'
He walked over and sat down beside them.
"What are you playing?"
Shiro and Kanna both looked up at Yusei simultaneously, but unlike before, neither of them pounced into his arms.
"Poker. The loser is the 'defeated dog' and can't compete for Nii's/Husband's favor."
The two little girls' eyes burned with fighting spirit as they looked at each other and said at the same time.
"..." Yusei felt his understanding was still flawed, 'Peaceful coexistence between these two was impossible.'
'Unless... they had a common enemy.'
Shaking his head, Yusei decided not to bother with them. They'd probably forget about it eventually anyway.
He planned to go to the dojo to practice his Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu. He really can't accept Koken and Kaguya were always accusing him of being lazy.
After some time had passed, Shiro and Kanna in the living room were still 'battling'.
This was the final, deciding round. This round would determine who among them was the 'defeated dog'.
Suddenly, just as they were about to continue their 'battle', a pleasant voice reached their ears.
"Yusei-kun, Shiro-chan, Kanna-chan, dinner's ready!"