"What I wanted to do..." Asuna really thought about it carefully, "Back then, what I wanted most was to go out and play. But our villa was somewhat isolated, and there weren't any kids my age around. Going out wasn't much fun anyway. Later, I saw a cooking show on TV and really wanted to try making the dishes myself."
"Cooking? No wonder your cooking skills are so high, Asuna. So it was powered by passion," Yusei said with a laugh.
Yui, sitting beside them, nodded her little head, "Mhm! Mama's cooking is the best!"
Hearing the praise from her husband and daughter, Asuna was also happy, though she remained modest, "I just follow the steps from cooking magazines I read in my spare time. Real gourmet food should be from those master chefs."
"Oh, that reminds me, when I was little, I saw the admissions information for that Totsuki Academy and actually wanted to apply. But I got scolded pretty harshly by my mom at the time."
"Mama got scolded too?" Yui blinked her big eyes, looking at Asuna.
Asuna smiled wryly and tapped Yui's forehead with her finger, "Of course. What child doesn't get lectured by their parents?"
"Will Yui get lectured by Mama and Papa in the future too?" Yui asked, a little apprehensive.
Yusei gently stroked Yui's little head and said softly, "You're different from us. You're our princess. How could we bear to scold you?"
"Even if you said you wanted the moon from the sky tomorrow, I'd get one for you."
"Hehehe, Papa is lying. The moon's volume is 21.9 billion cubic kilometers. Papa, you couldn't possibly get it." Although Yui unhesitatingly exposed Yusei's 'lie', she was still very happy about her Papa's doting on her.
"I wouldn't lie to you. If I say I can, I really can. But you'll need to give me some time," Yusei said with a laugh.
He was referring to the feat of creating a moon.
Of course, his current self was far from capable of creating an object of that volume, let alone launching it 400,000 kilometers into space.
But the future him? Anything was possible. A mere moon was nothing.
Besides, didn't he have Athena, the Earth Mother Goddess, right at home?
"Then Yui believes Papa!" Yui was still willing to give her father some dignity and promptly rewarded him with a kiss on the cheek.
Asuna sat opposite them, watching the affectionate interaction between father and daughter, feeling a wave of warmth.
This feeling of harmonious happiness was what she truly wanted.
A carefree life, just taking care of her husband and daughter… being a full-time housewife was Yuuki's dream.
After finishing lunch, the family went to a scenic, comfortable spot in the afternoon, a place somewhat reminiscent of the 22nd floor from their SAO days.
Yusei lay with his hands behind his head on the soft grass, legs crossed, eyes closed, enjoying the caress of the breeze.
Asuna sat beside him, quietly watching Yui and Hong Hong playing not far away. The trio and the fox presented a scene much like a family of three on an outing with their pet.
It wasn't until evening that they returned home via Yusei's [Susanoo Unit].
The main purpose of today was for Yui, and it seemed her worries had lessened, her face once again adorned with a bright smile.
The day's family date could be considered over. However, this incident served as a reminder to Yusei: he had a lovely daughter, and he needed to pay more attention to Yui's emotional state.
While Yui was originally responsible for managing player emotions in SAO, that didn't mean she was immune to emotional turbulence herself.
On the contrary, Yui possessed complex emotions and cared deeply about Asuna and Yusei… her Mama and Papa.
Although she had friends like Kanna and Shiro, and a pet like Hong Hong, the times that truly made Yui happiest were still when she was with her parents.
But this wasn't unique to Yui. Wasn't every little girl her age like this? Clinging to their Mama and Papa.
Even though Yui was an AI, her mentality was still that of a young girl.
The next day, after skipping many days of classes, Yusei finally remembered he had school. But his purpose wasn't to attend lectures, it was to check out the so-called Talent Showdown.
"I wonder if Utaha-chan properly signed me up..." Yusei rubbed his nose, a little worried she might have signed him up for something random.
If she signed him up for ballet, that would be really something.
It was worth mentioning that Yusei knew Asuna and Kaguya had also signed up. Asuna signed up for Culinary Arts.
Kaguya signed up for Kyudo. Strangely, she hadn't signed up for Kendo. But she probably knew her swordsmanship couldn't compare to Yusei's, so she simply didn't enter.
She just didn't seem to know that her fiancé also possessed the [God of Archery] Authority, so for this tournament, Yusei wanted to try his hand at archery.
'Sorry in advance, Kaguya,' Yusei thought with a laugh.
He was looking forward to seeing Kaguya's puffed-up cheeks when she found out.
Usually, when she was angry in private, she made that face. It wasn't intimidating at all… instead, it was very cute, making one want to kiss those adorable cheeks.
Tokyo University.
The Tokyo University's campus was a bit different from usual these days. Normally, the campus was relatively quiet, with most top students either playing games in their dorms or reading in the library.
Lately, however, they were visible everywhere on campus.
The so-called tournament was actually organized and run by various clubs and departments.
For example, the Kendo Tournament was hosted by the Kendo Club.
To participate in the competitions, one naturally had to leave the dorms.
After all, the reward of a full year's worth of credits was very tempting.
The university administration had probably noticed the campus was a bit lifeless and organized this event with the idea of injecting some vitality.
After arriving at school, Yusei temporarily parted ways with Asuna. She was going to meet up with Kaguya first, while Yusei planned to head to the Literature Club to ask Utaha if she had signed him up.
Literature Club.
Utaha, having received Yusei's call, came out to greet him.
Today, Utaha was wearing a school-style uniform, her long, beautiful legs still sheathed in black stockings, making them look perfectly shapely.
"Good morning, Yusei-kun."