"Not doing business today, you crook?"
Kirito sat listlessly at the counter of Agil's cluttered shop. He was clearly holding a glass of water Agil had given him, but the dejected way he raised it made him look more like someone who had gone to a bar to drown his sorrows after running into trouble. Even the water in the glass seemed as though it had turned into whiskey.
"I was just about to open, but with you showing up here, how am I supposed to dare open the door?"
The burly, rough-looking man rubbed his bald head, looking thoroughly annoyed.
"Why do you people carrying huge news always like coming to my place? I'm a reseller, not some bar hostess."
He glanced at Satoru, who was sitting beside Kirito with a cigarette in his mouth.
"I actually came to buy materials. Sheeta's equipment needs an upgrade." Satoru exhaled a puff of smoke. "Besides, my news is already old by now. Also, did you just admit you're a reseller?"
"Small businesses have it hard."
Agil took a deep breath, then slapped a folded sheet of paper onto the counter with a sharp smack and started complaining at Kirito.
"The Dual Blades swordsman who broke through the 74th Floor Boss with a fifty-hit combo! Shocking! The real reason the shieldless frontliner does not carry a shield! You're at the center of public attention right now. If you come here, who's going to look at my merchandise? They'll all be chasing you for information!"
"You still don't know how to do business. At a time like this, shouldn't you hurry up and bundle your goods with Kirito?"
Satoru raised his eyes slightly.
"You have no right to say that! You were the same back then!"
Agil slapped down another sheet of paper.
"Men fall silent, women weep! The Divine Dragons Alliance's hidden dealings! The must-know inside story of Aincrad! The former Vice Commander's old grudges and past feuds!"
"I can't believe you actually kept that stuff," Satoru said with a shrug.
"But my issue has already blown over."
Agil sighed helplessly, then gave up and sat down on the other side of the counter, copying the two of them. For a moment, the three men simply looked at one another.
"The information brokers have been hounding me since early this morning..." Kirito said, holding his forehead.
"At the end of the day, this is entirely positive news, isn't it?" Satoru said with a yawn. "It's not exactly something shameful."
"Right."
Agil seemed to come to a realization and suddenly spoke seriously.
"Why not just hold a speech event? First, you can get rid of those guys all at once. Second, you can make some money from ticket sales. On that point, I think my abilities could be of assistance, Kirito. How about we split it fifty-fifty?"
"That would only make things worse!" Kirito shouted.
"What are you talking about?" Agil said. "No matter how dark a part of history is, once you turn the page, it's all bright."
"I feel like you're mocking me," Satoru said, looking at Agil suspiciously.
"Your imagination. Just your imagination."
The rough man waved his hand.
"Hurry up and give me the materials. Charge market price. You can't fool me on that."
Satoru took the cigarette from his mouth and urged the shopkeeper along.
"It really is a headache when a former supplier comes to buy goods..."
Muttering under his breath, Agil had no choice but to tap the interface on the counter and begin searching through the shop's warehouse.
"But you've seemed pretty free lately. Aren't you the type who's always holed up in the Labyrinth Tower? Also... for some reason, you seem a lot more cheerful."
"In the past, you weren't this talkative either," Agil added. "You'd come in, deliver the goods, take the money, and leave. Today, you even sat down and lit a cigarette after hearing the news about Kirito."
"You probably wouldn't understand."
Satoru tilted his head.
"Hmph. Don't give me that, young man. I'm a married man."
Satoru and Kirito both looked surprised.
"That really is surprising..."
Kirito could not help nodding as well.
"Yeah..."
"What's with that tone and attitude?!"
"I thought a tough guy like you would be someone with grand ambitions, not someone tied down by love and family. But here you are, already with a wife and household."
Satoru bluntly shook his head and spoke his thoughts.
Agil stared at him.
This guy really is different from before... He can even say dumb lines like that now.
Agil's face darkened.
"All right, all right. Hurry it up. I need to get back and make someone's equipment."
"You're obviously very free..."
Agil began taking out the materials with a look of disdain.
While Kirito continued sighing and the other two handled their transaction, a rapid series of footsteps came thudding closer. Then, with the crisp sound of the door being pushed open, a chestnut-haired girl practically rushed into the room.
The three of them turned around at the same time and stared at the girl, who was bent over and gasping for breath.
"Ah... Asuna..."
Kirito had just opened his mouth.
"W-what do we do? The Commander won't agree!"
Asuna spoke anxiously, visibly unsettled.
?
Satoru and Agil each raised an eyebrow.
...
There were now four people at the counter.
Satoru, Kirito, and Asuna sat on the outside, while Agil stood on the inside. Three glasses of water for his guests were placed on the counter. The burly shop owner half stood there with his upper body leaning on the counter, propping up his head with one arm. It had to be said that the place was looking more and more like a bar.
"Now that I think about it, I often had situations like this in that other world too. Customers who ran into trouble would sit off to the side, drinking while pouring out their problems to me when I had nothing better to do."
Agil, having completely given up on opening for business today, spoke blandly.
"So you really were a crooked merchant watering down the drinks."
Satoru sighed. Since a female player was sitting beside them, he simply put out his cigarette. Although the smoke in Aincrad was nothing more than an illusion, the choking smell was still very real.
"I absolutely did not! Please don't insult my profession!"
That more or less opened the conversation among the four of them. After exchanging a few words, the two men each looked toward the man and woman on the other side, waiting for the rest.
After gulping down her water, Asuna's complexion recovered slightly. She seemed to have sorted out what she wanted to say and began explaining bit by bit.
"Yesterday, after I returned to headquarters... I told the Commander about what happened on the 74th Floor. I thought today's meeting would approve my request."
She pressed her lips together.
"But the Commander said he couldn't let two excellent combatants be away from the front lines for so long..." After I negotiated with him for a while, the Captain finally set a condition."
Asuna glanced at Kirito.
"You have to beat him."
"Wha...?"
Kirito froze, seemingly unable to understand how that condition connected to their request.
"How did it turn into that?"
"I don't understand either. It's obviously something with no real meaning, but the Commander wouldn't listen. He insisted that if we want him to approve us leaving the Guild for a certain period of time, it has to be done this way."
"That rigid, boring man does act strangely every now and then."
Satoru held his glass of water, not caring in the least that the two people beside him were members of the Guild belonging to the boring man he was talking about.
"But choosing to settle something like this with a sparring match... Even though he feels like a programmer, maybe deep down he still has the mentality of a player."
"Holy Sword versus Dual Blades? Hmm... If they turn it into an exhibition duel, they could definitely rake in a lot from ticket sales."
Agil rubbed his chin and frowned.
"As expected of the Guild Leader of a first-rate Guild. He's got sharp instincts, especially when Kirito is right at the height of his fame."
"There's no way that's what this is!"
Asuna glared at Agil.
"S-sorry."
Agil shrank back timidly.
"It's basically a roundabout refusal, isn't it?"
Kirito frowned and thought for a moment.
"The duel is just an excuse."
"Or maybe he thinks an opponent with a Unique Skill is a rare opportunity?"
Satoru folded his arms.
"Besides, if you win, your request gets approved."
"That may be true, but..."
Agil also hummed at that.
"Heathcliff, who holds Holy Sword, is still considered by most people to be the strongest player in Aincrad. It was because of him that the six thousand surviving players learned this game even had a mechanism like Unique Skills. To be honest, the shock when that was revealed was far greater than what Kirito is causing now."
"And besides, he has always held the front line in every battle. That immovable defense of his is deeply trusted by the Assault Team."
Kirito also seemed to find it troublesome, his brow tightly furrowed.
"Then just don't accept."
Satoru looked at the two solemn figures.
"You just won't be allowed to leave the Guild. It's not that big a deal."
"You really don't understand the human heart."
Agil shook his head.
"Hmm...?"
"I want to try."
Kirito suddenly spoke.
"I want to test the power of Holy Sword. The power that doesn't even drop into yellow HP against a Floor Boss."
"But..."
Asuna hesitated.
"Then there won't be any room to turn back."
"That's fine. Just like Yurnero said, if it doesn't get approved, it doesn't get approved. There's no loss, right?"
Kirito smiled.
"You could even make the event bigger and let KoB earn a fortune."
Agil added fuel to the fire.
"Anyway, both of you are KoB members right now. Isn't that perfect?"
"So what you're saying is, I'm the only one who's disappointed that our planned trip to the lower floors to relax might fall through?"
Asuna shot Kirito a sidelong glare.
"Ah, no, that's not what I meant..."
Kirito stammered in defense.
"But losing wouldn't be great either. Hmm. Yurnero, you've beaten Heathcliff before. Why not give them a few useful suggestions?"
Agil looked toward Satoru.
"My most direct suggestion is not to fight."
Resting his head on one hand and taking a sip of water, Satoru spoke calmly.
"Hacking away at that turtle shell for half a day made even me feel bad for my sword."
"Huh?! Yurnero beat the Commander?"
"When did that happen?"
Unexpectedly, the two people on his right spoke in surprise at the same time.
"Even KoB members don't know?"
Agil asked in confusion.
"When Sheeta-san applied to leave the Guild before, Heathcliff handled it the same way. He dueled Yurnero."
"I never heard about that."
"Oh? Heathcliff is surprisingly concerned about saving face."
Agil looked interested.
"Really? You beat him?"
Kirito pressed him closely.
Satoru thought for a moment.
"Set the duel mode to first-hit victory. Simply attacking that shield is pointless."
It was unbelievably hard, like a building that had been given an indestructible command.
"After that, it depends on your speed. Whether you can surpass his recovery and guard."
Satoru turned his head, looked at Kirito, and said with certainty,
"If you can, then you win."