A few days later, Kaede and Asuna arrived at the venue, where the meeting to discuss clearing the first-floor boss was to be held.
In fact, Kaede had absolutely no interest in this. She wanted a safe life, and going to clear a boss meant there was a possibility of losing her life. But since Asuna was going, she could only go too. Kaede was very clingy to Asuna now. Or rather, ever since that night when she had unilaterally imposed a relationship between herself and Asuna, she had become more and more like a real child...
However, after arriving at the venue, seeing so many people, Kaede pulled Asuna to a spot in the corner and sat down, hiding behind Asuna.
"There, there." Asuna patted Kaede's head, knowing that Kaede didn't like such crowded environments, and sat down next to her.
After the people had trickled in and gathered, the first-floor boss clearing meeting began.
There was someone on the platform giving a speech.
Kaede was not interested in the content at all; she was there observing everything around her with bright eyes.
For instance, when Diavel, who called himself a knight, stated that his profession was a knight, the surrounding people laughed and wore mocking expressions, because in SAO, there was no such thing as a profession.
Or when a clown appeared and accused the beta testers, the surrounding people were angry. Of course, a few people's expressions shifted slightly, including that of Diavel.
And when that big black man stood up and explained using the booklet provided by a beta tester, the young man over there looked suddenly much more relaxed, and there was also that fleeting cold expression on Kibaou...
However, Kaede just liked observing these things and was completely uninterested in anything else.
'A beta tester?' Kaede glanced at the young man, and just as she had said before, she was not interested in him at all.
'Sister, that big black guy is a good person,' Kaede said, leaning on Asuna's arm. It was the first time Kaede had seen that kind of expression; it was a bit different from Klein's.
'Mm.' Asuna nodded and smiled helplessly, hearing how Kaede addressed her.
Kaede had suddenly decided to call her that. Furthermore, at first, she had actually wanted to call her 'Mom', which had scared Asuna into hurriedly rejecting the suggestion. Setting aside that she was still an unmarried young girl, the person in front of her was exactly the same as herself. Yes, Asuna had already confirmed it, including some private areas that were exactly the same! Size, shape, ahem...
Thinking of this, Asuna's face flushed a little.
Therefore, the title of 'Mom' was completely impossible!
In the end, Asuna couldn't stand Kaede's pitiful gaze, so she let Kaede call her'Sister', while she would call Kaede 'Little Kaede'.
Although Kaede seemed a bit unwilling, she eventually agreed, which made Asuna heave a sigh of relief; if Kaede had insisted on calling her that, Asuna really wouldn't have known what to do. Little did she know, Kaede was just thinking, 'Good children should listen to their mother, right?', which is why she agreed~
'Um, do you want to form a party?' At this moment, the young man whom Kaede had identified as a beta tester walked over. It seemed that because no one would party with him, he had no choice but to come here. After all, clearing a boss alone was almost impossible, and it was safer to be in a group.
'It's enough for me to party with my sister,' Kaede said, hiding behind Asuna, not wanting the young man in front of them to get involved.
However, Asuna agreed immediately.
'I agree,' Asuna nodded. In fact, she was thinking that it was time for Kaede to have some contact with others. It wouldn't be good for Kaede to interact with too many people all at once, and it just so happened that the young man in front of them was alone.
Kaede looked at Asuna, glared at the young man, and did not object.
The young man heaved a sigh of relief. If he had been rejected, without a party, he might not have been able to participate in this boss raid.
'Then add me to the party,' the young man said.
'Add to party?' Asuna and Kaede exchanged a glance and asked simultaneously, 'Isn't it enough that we agreed?'
'Uh!' The young man's eyes widened, looking at the two people in front of him, dumbfounded. 'You guys, don't tell me you're gaming noobs!'
'Mm.' Kaede and Asuna both nodded and admitted it openly. 'We are both playing a game for the first time.'
The young man was a bit speechless, then he taught Kaede and Asuna some basic gaming knowledge, and at the same time added Asuna and Kaede to the party, feeling as if he had chosen the wrong teammates.
At this time, Asuna and Kaede also learned the young man's name: Kirito.
For the sake of coordination during the raid, Kirito began to teach Kaede and Asuna some controls.
Then Kirito felt as if he had struck gold.
Seeing that both of their agility was shockingly high, Kirito nodded. Asuna, this rapier user, was doing a great job, but... Kirito looked at Kaede. Although Kaede was holding a rapier, are you sure she is a rapier user? Kirito began to think about weapons suitable for Kaede.
If she used a two-handed greatsword, it would be too much of a waste of Kaede's agility.
'You can try a Tachi,' Kirito offered his advice.
'Oh.' Kaede nodded. She knew Kirito was a beta tester and that what he said should be reasonable, but she still had to try it herself to decide.
But even so, Kirito could tell that she was not weak.
After practicing their basic coordination a little more, the three of them returned to the main group. By this time, it had gotten dark, and the tasks for each party had already been assigned.
This was the final moment of preparation before the battle.
Sitting there, Kaede picked up a steamed bun and started gnawing on it, and Asuna, beside her, did the same.
'Mm.' Watching them gnaw on the dry, hard buns, Kirito took out something and handed it to them. 'This is some sauce. You can spread it on top; it tastes quite good.'
'Mm?' Kaede's eyes lit up, and then she did as Kirito said. Taking a bite, her expression immediately melted. Even though they couldn't see Kaede's expression through her cloak, both Kirito and Asuna could feel the happy atmosphere.
'Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration?' Kirito scratched his head, feeling a bit strange. Asuna, however, wasn't surprised at all; if she could eat a dry, hard bun so happily, this was nothing.
Asuna, beside her, also tasted it and then finished the bun in a few bites. It really was delicious.
'You're a good person!' Kaede said, 'As expected, what that guy named Kibaou said was wrong.'
'Uh, a good person.' Kirito was about to say that her definition of a good person was too shallow, but the next moment, Kaede's words stunned him. Kirito looked at Kaede in disbelief. 'You know I am...'
Kaede nodded as a matter of course. 'Of course I do; your expression completely betrayed you at that time.'
'Is that so?' Kirito fell into a bitter smile. He had really been a bit at a loss at the time, but at the same time, he was surprised by Kaede's observational skills. You have to know that there were so many people at that time, yet she was able to observe the changes in his expression, and Kirito didn't think Kaede was specifically observing him.
Asuna also realized what they were talking about, but she didn't have much of a concept of it, so she didn't show any signs of repulsion, which made Kirito heave a sigh of relief.
The next moment, the time of waiting had come to an end.
'Next, the raid begins!' Diavel stood on the high platform, looking at the crowd who had mostly rested, and shouted loudly.
'Oh!!'
---------------------------------
I hope you're enjoying the fanfiction so far! If the fanfiction has you hooked and you can't wait to see what happens next, you can unlock 30 or more chapters in advance over on my patreon: patreon.com/FTLGenBen
Also every bit of support means the world to me so if you're loving the ride, don't forget to drop a Power Stone, Thanks.