On a street bustling with people, a young girl was wandering, looking at the surrounding shops and pedestrians with a mix of vigilance and curiosity.
"Where is this?" Kaede looked at the surroundings with some confusion. Where had she ended up? No hints were given at all. She had been wandering around here for a long time.
"Yo, beautiful!" Suddenly, a man with an older-looking face wearing a red bandana saw the lost girl. His eyes lit up, and he quickly walked over.
However, Kaede obviously didn't react to the word 'beautiful' as a call for her.
"Hey! Beautiful, you're a newbie too, right?" Klein saw that Kaede was completely ignoring him and a bitter smile appeared on his face. Was it really because of his older-looking face?
"Hmm?" Only then did Kaede realize he was talking to her. She looked at her cloak and realized that her hood had fallen off at some point.
Then, Kaede gave Klein a long, steady look and quickly hid behind a pillar.
"Ugh!" Klein felt like he had taken ten thousand points of damage.
"Who are you? Also, I'm a guy." Hiding behind the pillar as if he still felt unsafe, Kaede stared intently at Klein.
"Uh, little sister, even if you're wary of me, you can't talk nonsense. Who would say you're a boy looking like that?" Klein felt his heart aching more and more.
"Hmm?" Kaede felt that made sense, but if that were the case, the person in front of her was even more dangerous. She couldn't help but take a few more steps back.
Klein felt like he was really going to collapse. What did he do wrong? Was it just because he had an older-looking face? Why did he have to be so guarded against by such a beautiful girl?
"Um, I just wanted to teach you some basic operations, nothing else." Klein wouldn't admit he also wanted to get to know this beautiful girl.
"I don't believe you."
"Alright then." Klein finally turned around with a helpless look, his whole being turning gray.
Suddenly, at this moment, Kaede's stomach growled.
"Ugh." Clutching her stomach, Kaede was stunned. With the nutrient solution, this shouldn't be happening? Could it be a setting within this game world?
At that moment, Klein quickly turned back and said, "Beautiful, I'll treat you to a meal!"
"Eh, really?" Kaede poked her head out cautiously, looking at Klein—or more accurately, staring at Klein with those somewhat dark eyes, observing the expression on his face.
"Of course it's true." Klein laughed loudly, but at the same time felt a bit strange. Just now her guard was so high, so why now?
Then, Kaede came out and followed Klein to eat. After weighing her options, she chose this path—not because she trusted Klein, but because she trusted her own eyes.
It was the first time she had seen this kind of gaze~ There seemed to be a bit of an uncomfortable feeling, but for the most part, it was quite comfortable. It was completely unlike those people from before who looked gentle on the surface, but in reality...
Watching Kaede gnawing on hard bread with a look of pure happiness, Klein felt a bit helpless. He didn't have much money either, so he could only treat her to hard bread. But seeing Kaede's happy expression, Klein felt even more guilty. Wait, what was going on? He was the one treating her to a meal, so why was he the one feeling guilty! But, looking at the blissful Kaede, he really felt so sorry for her!
"Thank you, you're a good person!" Kaede said directly. She saw all of Klein's expressions. Although there was a slightly uncomfortable gaze, there were no other ulterior motives... Could it be that in this world, good people really exist? Kaede couldn't help but think.
'No, people like this must be exceptions! There must still be more people like those ones!'
"Good person... good person." Klein turned gray and white again, murmuring, "I just got 'good-person-zoned' by a beautiful girl, ahhhh!!"
"Hmm?" Tilting her head, Kaede looked at the grayed-out Klein with some confusion. Then she looked at the hard bread in her hand, and a happy expression once again appeared on her face. She nibbled on the bread like a little mouse, acting secretively as if she were afraid someone would snatch the bread from her hands.
Finally, by the time Klein recovered, Kaede had finished the hard bread and was sitting there with her legs pulled up, watching him.
"Uh, finished eating?"
"Mhm." Kaede nodded and looked at Klein. "Uncle, where is this place?"
"Huh? This is SAO. Didn't you buy the game to enter this place?" Klein asked in confusion. He didn't care at all about Kaede calling him 'Uncle,' or perhaps he was already used to it. Why do I feel so sad for Klein?
"A game, huh." Kaede nodded.
"Right, let me teach you the basic operations for game skills." Klein almost forgot his initial intention. Well, he really is a good person.
"Okay." This time Kaede didn't refuse and agreed immediately, because in her eyes, Klein was a good person, a rare species. (Well, a moment of silence for Klein.)
Coming to an open patch of grass, Klein began teaching Kaede how to use skills. He didn't know much else himself.
She sat down next to Klein, hugging her legs with her chin resting on her knees, her eyes sparkling as she stared at him.
Klein felt a bit awkward under Kaede's gaze, but he still demonstrated the basic movements for her. In this game, using skills required certain leading motions. He had received guidance from another player, and now he was teaching someone else—and a beautiful girl at that.
When Klein finished his movements, Kaede closed her eyes, contemplating his actions.
Then, Kaede stood up and performed the skill preparation stance. Suddenly, she swung her sword, and a flash of light burst forth, leaving Klein stunned.
"I succeeded!" Kaede jumped up happily, a bit excited. If she did this, would she become a little stronger? Would she be able to survive better?
"..." Klein said nothing. Looking at Kaede, he vaguely understood her personality—she was like a child. But why did a child have such a strong sense of vigilance? It was so obvious that even someone as easygoing as him could clearly feel it.
"Ahem, although you've learned it, you should still practice well."
"Mhm." Kaede nodded, and then, as if she had found a novel toy, she began to play there tirelessly—no, to practice.
After that, Kaede and Klein parted ways.
Ultimately, they were just a pair of strangers. Even though Kaede considered Klein a good person, she didn't stay close to him—well, except during mealtime.
Klein had wanted to invite the beautiful girl before him to join their team; her child-like personality was truly worrying. But in the end, Kaede flatly refused.
Then Kaede ran off alone.
"Uh, I think I forgot to ask her name." Watching Kaede run at a speed he couldn't even catch up to, Klein rubbed his head with a helpless look. His memory was terrible.
After running to a leveling area, Kaede jumped up.
"Yo, leveling time!"
Actually, Klein had overthought things. Although Kaede couldn't distinguish good from bad and her personality was indeed child-like due to lack of human contact, she was well-acquainted with the dark side. She wouldn't be soft-hearted at all when taking action. Never mind that the monsters here vanished after death; even if they didn't vanish and bled, she wouldn't hesitate in the slightest.
Perhaps even if it were a person in front of her, she wouldn't be soft-hearted.
She still remembered back then, another beggar and a dog fought over leftovers in a trash can. The dog was beaten to death, and the beggar finished his last meal. Then his wounds became infected. How could a beggar go to a hospital? So, he died.
When he passed, that beggar didn't regret it, because he had eaten his fill for that one meal.
All of this happened right before her eyes. She watched as the bodies of the beggar and the dog were taken away like trash.
Death—she didn't know what it was. But seeing the beggar's state, she understood that at the very least, she didn't want to become like him, dragged away like garbage. So she did her best to survive, and finally joined this game.
Combat—all she lacked now was experience, all for the sake of survival!
Combat—no matter the method, she would certainly be the one to survive in the end. With determination flashing in her eyes, Kaede stood before a wild boar with her weapon.
The path of slaughter began here.
Even if she understood nothing, knew nothing, and was ignorant of many common sense matters, there was one aspect where she absolutely would not lose to anyone.
And that was her obsession with survival! Moreover, she possessed these eyes that would astonish anyone; this was her capital for staying alive!
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