On the way back to town, the group passed though a plain-looking yet mercifully peaceful forest.
“So is there any reason we're walking back instead of just using a teleportation crystal?” Silica asked, watching Pina fly around through the air singing a happy song.
"Because we only have so many of those crystals," Red answered casually. "And I'd rather not waste valuable resources to get somewhere we could simply walk to in twenty or so minutes.“
Kirito smirked and added, "Sounds to me you're just scared of the scolding Sachie is going to give you when we get back and are stalling.”
The girls both laughed while Red simply pouted. To take his mind of that accusation and its validity, he instead turned his thoughts inward, asking, "Hey, Umbra, any progress on that jumbled message we got?"
"Considering the nature of this world," Gelu spoke up in Umbra's stead. "It was likely some message pertaining to your level."
"More like my inventory, given that message locked me out of it," Red pointed out. "Speaking of, do any of you have any ideas why that thing was so scrambled up?"
"We don't belong in this world," Terra answered. "As Gelu mentioned, this reality is entirely non-physical, existing as mere codes in a system, yet we entered it all the same. Most likely, that system registers our presence here as..." He trailed off, searching for the correct wording. "Incorrect," he went with.
"It might also have to do with us specifically,"Gelu theorized. "Considering what kind of beings we are, I doubt this false reality is particularly enjoying keeping us in these digital forms."
"As good an explanation as any, I guess," Red said, yawning. "But back to you, Umbra, have you figured anything out?"
"I think so," Umbra hummed. "You were right, Red; the message does say something about your inventory, but...? Oh! Wait, there we go!" he declared.
A moment later, the scrambled message from before appeared in front of Red before a shadowy haze washed over it, unscrambling it to reveal the message proper. At first, it was a generic congratulations and a note about Red gaining zero experience, but what drew all of their eyes was the single item Red had received and its picture.
"You got the Crimson Dragon Scale?" Red read allowed, drawing the attention of his fellow travelers.
"B-But that's..." Gelu stammered. "That's my brother's scale color; it's his exact shade!"
"That other dragon was neither crimson nor Ignis, however," Terra noted. "So how did slaying that beast reward you with this?"
"I have no idea," Red grumbled, scowling. "But I have a bad feeling about this..."
"At least we now have an actual explanation for why you were with that dragon, Gelu," Umbra acknowledge, putting on a happy voice to hide his own unease. "You must have sensed it had Ignis' scale, so you stayed close by."
"Certainly better than the explanations you lot were offering," she sneered.
Red's first instinct was to tease Gelu again, but he ultimately decided the scale was the more pressing issue. Thus, he turned to Kirito and asked, "Hey, Umbra just finished decrypting that message I got for slaying that one dragon; do you mind taking a look at the item I got?"
"Sure," Kirito said, looking at the screen and raising an eyebrow at what he saw. "Well, it's a dragon scale, but... It doesn't match the dragon's color scheme."
"So?" Lizbeth deadpanned.
"It doesn't match because this scale wasn't from that other dragon," Red explained. "It's from the one I'm still looking for. Any ideas why that other dragon had this?"
“Maybe it’s part of a quest?" Silica asked, puzzled why Red as looking for another dragon but deciding not to inquire for now. "If we show it to some NPCs or another player, maybe they'd know where it’s from?” she suggested.
“If that’s the case we should inform Asuna there’s another dragon out there," Kirito said, giving Red the item back.
"One that's a lot different then the others, a lot more dangerous, and far, far more hot-tempered, Red added, mirroring Kirito's concerned glance.
“Wait, you know Asuna?" Lizbeth asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I do; do you?" Kirito responded.
"She’s one of my best customers. And a friend,” she added a bit more quietly.
Suddenly, a rustling was heard behind the group, and Red and Kirito both responded by instinctively throwing a knife in the sound's direction. A pained whimper and a dull thudwere heard next.
“Well, okay, I guess that just happened," Red said, suddenly acutely aware of how hungry he was. "Let’s see if Mr. Can't Cook bagged a useless item for himself or if I can bring some meat for the guild and hopefully cheer them up a bit,” he joked, shooting Kirito a sly grin.
"More like butter up the Guild's leaders so they don't reprimand you too badly," Terra grumbled as Kirito rolled his eyes and merely walked over to the bush.
Kirito's ears drooped for half a second before he cursed, "Damn it... Just... Damn it!"
"I'm guessing it's a useless item, huh?" Red boasted, shooting the girls a wink and approaching Kirito and the bush himself. Upon doing so, Kirito looked up, tears in his eyes, and explained, “No, it's worse! It’s S-grade meat, the best and rarest in the game! And you're right: I can’t cook it!” he exclaimed, horrified.
Red looked over the bush and saw they had killed a rabbit no larger than a tennis ball. He then looked back up at Kirito and deadpanned. “Well, neither can I."
"We could if my brother were here," Gelu whispered more to herself than the others. She and the rest of her roommates all yelped when Lizbeth shoved Red out of the way, scooping up the rabbit and clutching it to her chest. "Alright, buckos, town's five minutes that-a-way," she said, pointing in the general direction they were already walking. "I ain't letting this thing go to waste, so bye!"
She then disappeared in a cloud of dust as she charged forward like an angry bull toward town, whether to sell or cook herself was unknown. Either way, Kirito wasn't the least bit amused, wiping his eyes and racing after her, hollering, "Give that back! That bunny is mine, Lizbeth! Mine
Red rubbed his sore head and groaned; he then blinked when Silica offered him a hand which he tentatively accepted. "Thanks," he said.
"No problem. Are, uh, you going to chase after them too?" she wondered, smirking slyly.
"Nah," Red waved his hand in defeat. "I plan to stop by her forge with some materials later; I'll chew her out then."
"Gotcha. In that case, care for a lovely stroll for the forest, good sir?" Silica asked, smirking even more slyly and offering him her hand again.
Red stared at it for a moment before grinning slyly himself and taking her hand, saying, "How about a dive through the shadows instead?"
"Huh?" Silica then squeaked in fright when Red hugged her close and dove into the ground, fading away into a cloud of shadows that snaked its way toward the town.
Sachi growled in anger as she mutters aloud, “Oh, he is so in for it, not coming back for over a day! I swear if he’s been out fighting I’m taking away his-- his...?" Sachi growled again, shrieking, "Well, I don’t know yet but I'm taking away his something for a month!”
A loud, dramatic gasp caught his attention, and he turned to see Red stepping out of the shadows. “That is just mean, Sachi! Just mean. Whoa boy!” he exclaimed, ducking to avoid the staff swing for his head. “Geez, Silicia, what is it with you people and trying to hit me in the head every time I pop out of your shadows!?" When she didn't respond, he looked around, dodging another of Sachi's swings, and asked aloud, "Hey, Silica? Where'd you go?"
“Down here, Red,” Silica croaked, halfway in the floor and crawling her way out of the shadows. "Help!"
Red didn't hesitate to take hold of her, his cloak swishing to reveal his ice coated arm to Sachi, and help her escape the darkened floor. "What they hay are stuck to!?" he groaned.
"Your cat pal!" she answered, kicking beneath the shadows and smirking when she connected, Umbra's pained hiss echoing from below. The next moment, Red managed to pull her free, both of them tumbling to the floor.
"Umbraaaaa!" Red groaned, glaring at the shadowy cat demon sitting on his chest and glaring at Silica while rubbing his sore nose.
"Did you have to kick me?" he mewled.
"Yes," she answered without skipping a beat. "Did you have to hold onto me and not let me go?"
"Yes," he answered, also without skipping a beat. "You have no idea how long it’s been since I last had someone to cuddle with in those shadows.”
"I don't count?"
"No, Red, you don't." Umbra then glanced up and flinched in fear upon seeing the enraged Sachi towering above him. "Whelp! Good luck with the angry guild guy; I'm gonna disappear now; bye!" Umbra then evaporated into a cloud of shadows that melted through Red's armor and seeped back into the deep crevices of his body and soul.
“Oh. Uh? Hi?" Red said, waving to Sachi.
"Arm. Now," she command with a cold deliberateness that even Gelu couldn't hope to match.
"Uh, heh-heh? Funny story..."
"Keep it short."
"G-Got it. Basically? We got a new friend now," I half-celebrated, standing up and helping Silica do the same. "She’s a bit chilly, but is a big softie once you get to know her.”
“Okay, now just for that!" Gelu growled; Red only had a moment to panic before his body seized up, now under her control. Red's hair turned the same strikingly bright icy blue as his now-reptilian eyes, and she spoke with her own feminine voice, “Please pay that idiot no heed; he is just trying to annoy me. Miss Sachi, I presume?" she inquired.
"Indeed."
"Yes, well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Sachi; my name is—"
"Not Red," she interrupted bluntly. "He's the one I wish to talk to you; you may wait your turn."
So shocked was Gelu at being talked to that way, Red managed to push her back and regain control. "Whew!" he sighed, laughing a little. "Thanks, Sachi, you—Oof!" he grunted after she jabbed him straight in the gut. "Yeah... Kinda deserved that one," he acknowledged.
"I told you not to go wandering off, let alone involving yourself in battles," Sachi began reprimanding, whacking Red upside the head again. "And what did you do!? Exactly that!" She sighed and groaned, "Do I even want to know whether or not you were involved in those dragon rumors I recieved earlier?"
"Actually, Lady Sachi," Silica spoke up. "We do know what that was about."
"Oh, so you were involved in that ruckus, were you!?" she started, making to hit Red again but stopping when Silica stepped between them.
"It was actually good he was involved," she proclaimed. "One of the dragons was Red's... Er?"
"Roommate," Red defaulted, coughing. "Her name was Gelu by the way," he explained even though Sachi neither asked nor cared. "If you remember Umbra, she's basically the same thing."
Gelu seized control again, thankfully not shapeshifting him this time, specifying, "Only, you know? A giant, gorgeous ice breathing dragon."
"With brilliant sapphire scales and huge feathery wings too!” Silica added excitedly, bouncing on her feet. "Seriously, you should have seen her, Lady Sachi; she was gorgeous!"
Red's cheeks flushed from Gelu's blush. "U-Um? Thank you?"
"Oh, um? You're welcome?" Silica said, tilting her head at Red. "Am— Am I talking to Red or Gelu? He never clarified how that worked."
"You were talking to her," Red said, Gelu having relinquished control. "And she very much appreciates the compliment."
"You're telling us," Terra spoke up mentally. "I think that's the first time you've ever said thank you to a mortal for anything, Gelu."
"I think that's the first time I've ever been complimented by one," she noted, her ordinary anti-mortal beliefs conflicting with her genuine gratefulness for said compliment.
“And for why your arm is coated in ice?” Sachi wondered angrily.
"Got a bit dinged up in the fight. Thankfully, Gelu can be a good medic when she wants to be," Red answered with a devil-may-care smile.
"Dinged up, huh? You got just a 'bit dinged up'?" she shrieked, eyes tearing up. “You've already almost died twice since saving us, and yet here you go again trying to get yourself killed again!?"
"Well, I--"
"And if you try a fourth time!? A fifth!? How many more times are you going to go out there with no plan whatsoever!? How many more times are you going to throw yourself into battles you've no hope of winning on your own!? How many more times are you going to risk your own life, completely apathetic to how we'd feel if you didn't come back!?" she ended, panting from her outburst and eyes crying openly crying now.
Red and Silica shared a surprised look before the latter defended, "Lady Sachi, Red can heal himself in bat--"
"Do you think I care about that!?" she cut Silica off. "I care about the fact that one day, he's not going to be able to heal himself! That one day, he's gonna waltz into a battle and come out in pieces! That one day, he's going to... He's..." She shuddered and stopped, wiping her eyes dry.
"Seems she shares our own fear," Gelu observed. "See, Red? We're not the only ones who think you're reckless."
Yeah-yeah, I know. I know... he responded, striding forward and pulling Sachi into a hug. He got a punch to the stomach for his trouble, but as he was groaning in pain, Sachi pulled him back into the hug.
Sighing, Red smiled and returned the hug, patting Sachi on the head. “Hey, don’t cry. It might not seem like it, but I have been through way worse then anything this game could throw at me. And I’m only getting stronger," he added, smirking to himself. "Heck! I’m so powerful, I didn't even get any experience from killing that other dragon."
"I wouldn't exactly brag about that," Silica noted while Sachi just seemed confused how Red didn't gain any experience.
"I digress," Red said, shrugging. "On the subject of that dragon though, I still have one more friend to find. Once we do then..." I'll be out of here, Red didn't want to say in front of his new friends. "Then? I would be all but unbeatable!" he claimed.
"Except for Kirito," Terra acknowledged. "Thanks to the nature of this world, he's likely our equal in terms of overall power."
"Except for Kirito," Silica also acknowledged. "Don't forget, he's getting stronger too. And unlike you, he did gain experience from that battle."
"Yeah, well...?" Not having a particularly good argument to make, Red just deflected, "Without me there, there's no way he could have taken both Gelu and the other dragon on by himself. Maybe one or the other, but both? Nahhh. He's lucky I was there to save his bacon," he bragged.
"Or you were lucky he was there to save yours," Silica shot back, giggling at the sight of his pout. "Don't worry though. I'm sure he's more than grateful for your help."
"Just as I'm grateful for his," Red reluctantly admitted. He then frowned and urged, "Don’t tell him I said that; his head is big enough as is.”
Silica giggled again while Sachi just rolled her eyes, muttering, "Says the original big head..." to herself.
"Anyway," Red eventually continued. "Sachi, you said earlier that there were dragon rumors lately?"
"I did. You aren't thinking of challenging another dragon already, are you!?" she asked, as worried as she was furious.
"Not at the moment, no," he confirmed for her benefit. "But I'm going to need to go looking for more dragons soon; the one I’m searching for is still out there." He withdrew the scale and offered it to Sachi, inquiring, "This is one of his scales. Any dragon you've heard about match this color scheme?"
Sachi examined closely but soon sighed and shook her head. “I’m sorry, but the two you just felled were the only ones I knew of that were in the area. But I'll keep my ears open for any more hearsay about a third one that's this color."
“Thank you. Make sure to also tell me if you hear any tales about monsters using fire attacks as well," Red says in a serious tone. "Unlike the others, Ignis won’t bat an eye at killing humans; he’s even tried killing me a few times.”
"I thought you said he was your friend?" Silica asked, shocked.
"Uhhh...? Yeah, about that? He's an asshole, friend or not."
"Careful how you speak of my brother, fool,"Gelu warned. "Ignis would never appreciate such slander, and I certainly shall not appreciate any of it on his behalf."
"Uh-huh," Red responded indifferently.
“Fine, be that way," Sachi snapped, though with far less aggression than before. "Not like we could stop you from running off if this 'Ignis' fellow shows up, huh?” Before Red could respond, she poked him in the chest sternly, adding, “But don’t you think for a second I won’t be ready to drag you back by the tail if you so much as try to sneak away and fight with your arm like that! Got it!?”
Red gulped audibly and quickly nodded, a bead of sweat forming on his brow.
"You know what?" Gelu began, relishing Red's terror. "I don't often say this of mortals, but I think I like this one. She has a fierceness that could rival mine."
Terra was a lot more happy to hear that from her than he allowed the others to know.
Red cleared his throat and assured, “G-Got it."
"You better," Sachi warned once more. After taking a breath to calm herself she asked, "Now! Where exactly are Kirito and the others?"
"Oh, erm? This pink-haired blacksmith stole an s-grade meat rabbit thing and Kirito went after her," Red explained casually, flinching back when Sachi seemed only further agitated by that.
“You're telling me he let some random fool steal s-grade meat right from under his nose!" she growled. Sachi paused when she noticed Red was already taking several steps out of her range, and she quickly took another calming breath. "Darn it! I could have cooked that for everyone, and we could have had a proper celebration for you finding your friend."
"You can cook S-grade materials?" Silica inquired, surprised.
"Of course, dear, I maxed out my cooking skills ages ago," Sachi laughed. "You should Kirito went after the thief?"
"He did," Red confirmed, glad she no longer seemed too angry with him.
"Good. If I know Kirito, that thief is soon in for a reckoning. I only hope he doesn't try to sell it instead of bringing it back. If he does, I'm going to make him eat his own boots,” she declared. She then waved for Red to follow her, beckoning, "Now come on, you! Let me have a look at that arm and give it some proper treatment."
"'Proper' treatment?" Gelu deadpanned. "As if my treatment isn't good enough!"
"Oh, hush, Gelu," Red whispered under his breath, following after Sachi. "Just be glad we're friends with a healer."
Gelu huffed but said nothing more, settling instead for fading away into their collective consciousness to rest from their ordeal.
Meanwhile...
“Come by my place tonight, and I'll cook this.” Asuna said to Kirito, placing the bunny into his inventory. "There's, er? There's probably only enough for two, sooo...?" She blushed slightly and finished, "B-Best come by alone, and we'll share it. Okay?"
"Aw, thanks, Asuna," Kirito said, relieved just to have the item back.
"You're welcome. Now, don’t be late, okay? S-See you tonight," she said before disappearing back into her shop.
“See you tonight," he said after her. He then began walking back to Sachi's place, but soon, he slowed to a stop and looked over the item in his inventory. "Wait a minute, only enough for two...? At her level, she should be able to cook this into at least five helpings, so what did she...?" He blinked in realization. "Was this her way of asking me out on--"
"KIRITO!"
"Gaaahhh!" Kirito jumped, panting heavily and searching for the source of the sound. Said source was a message screen showing Sachi's angered expression. "Oh! Lady Sachi-San," he acknowledged, bowing his head respectfully. "Sorry, you caught me off-guard there," he chuckled.
"You lot did the same to me when I learned you all apparently fought a duo of dragons even though I expressly told you all to not do anything like that!" she rebuked.
“Yeah, sorry about that?" he winced.
"Apology accepted," she said simply. "Well? So long as you didn't sell that S-grade meat I heard you were hunting down. I trust you got that back?"
"I did indeed. Heading back with it now actually," he said, determinedly not informing her about Asuna's request.
"You better be; I plan to cook that meat for all of you," she revealed.
"O-Oh. You do?" he asked, grinning nervously.
"I just said I do," she deadpanned. "Now hurry on up and get back here; we're hungry, and my patient needs his nutrition."
Her message screen then closed, leaving Kirito to stand there and panic over what to do. Ultimately, his fear of Sachi won out over his fear of Asuna, so he turned right back around and knocked on her door, weakly groaning, "Asuna...? Change of plans..."
“Oh! So because she’s threatening you with some form of 'unknown violence' you're handing the meat over to her?" Asuna began, her arms cross and eyes narrowed in fury. "Fine! Fine! That old bat wins! But you know what? I’m coming along to help with the cooking and to have a little chat with her,” she asserted, striding past a nervously sweating Kirito and practically racing back to the base.
She was several meters away before Kirito realized she really wasn't kidding, and he hastened to catch up, anxiously messaging Red. A moment later, a screen appeared before him, displaying Red's yawning face.
"What's up, sword boy?" he asked tiredly. "I was about to take a nap."
"Yeah, um? Sorry about that, but, er?" Kirito stammered. "Asuna is on her way over," he revealed. "Annnd? Well? She's pretty mad about that meat matter."
The screen flickered for a moment, and Kirito swore he saw something black move out of frame. Before he could inquire about it though, Red asked, "How mad?"
"Mad enough that I suspect she'll trying to fight Sachi over who gets to cook it," Kirito said, wincing.
"Oh. Okay then," Red replied, shrugging indifferently. "Sounds like free entertainment, honestly."
"Please don't joke right now," he pleaded.
"Well, what exactly do you want me to do then?"
"Tell me if the others are there yet."
"They're not. But Sachi--" Red stopped and looked at something beyond the screen. He then grimaced. "I was gonna say Sachi was already prepping the meat, but I guess Umbra wanted to play troublemaker and told her about the message."
Kirito grimaced as well. "And?" he whimpered, dreading the answer.
"Uhh? Looks like she just grabbed a spear and is heading outside," Red answered neutrally.
Before Kirito could respond, two loud, unintelligible voices echoed from further into town, followed shortly by a tall plume of dust erupting into the air. Kirito then whined and slowed to a stop, muttering, "And thus begins the 'entertainment.'"
"I'll make popcorn," Red joked. The screen then disappeared.
The commotion continued, and soon a few townsfolk rushed past Kirito, desperately wanting to escape the situation. He then took a deep breath and sighed, readying himself for what he was about to face. Afterward, he picked up the pace and raced to stop the quarrel; however, once he reached the spot the women had made their impromptu battlefield, Kirito couldn't get so much as a word out before Sachi's spear hurtled toward his head.
He naturally dodged out of its way, but as soon as he looked back...
An hour later saw both Asuna and Sachi sitting on the floor, bruised, battered, and their health-bars a stiff breeze away from hitting zero. Regardless, they still looked pissed beyond measure and still shot each other a venomous glare every now and then, but even their glares couldn't hope to match the one Silica currently subjected them both to. Red and Kirito were present as well, content to sit idly by and not draw any of their glares.
"A hunk of meat. A stupid... Hunk of meat. No bigger than a pheasant," Silica began, tapping her foot irately. "You two morons caused all that damage over a freaking hunk of meat!?"
"It was S-grade meat--"
"So what!?" Silica shrieked over Asuna. "It'd take a dozen hunks of that crap to cover even half of what you two idiots now owe the town! You're lucky you're not in a jail cell now!"
"Like you have any right to judge us," Sachi grumbled, drawing up her cloak defensively.
"Any right to...? Excuse you, I have every right to judge you!" she asserted. "Sachi, you're a freaking grown woman; act like it instead of some crazy, old hag!"
"What did you just--"
"And!" Silica cut her off. "You almost took Kirito's head off five times. Five! Times!" she emphasized. "Honestly, if this is how you react to someone wanting to cook dinner instead of you, we should all just cut our losses and get the hell away from your violent ass here and now," she sneered, sneaking a glance to Red.
Sachi intended to argue against that, but after a moment, her eyes fell and she remained silent.
"And you," Silica continued, returning her attention to Asuna. "Asuna, you're a member of the largest frontline guild there is; do you honestly think your actions today will reflect well on you in the slightest?"
Asuna winced, knowing she couldn't exactly combat that accusation either.
Silica then sighed, massaging the bridge of her nose and grumbling, "I swear... I hope you two learned your lesson from today because I do not have the patience to be some glorified babysitter to you two nutjobs."
Sachi and Asuna shared a far less hostile glance before hanging their heads once more, both intending to apologize proper to other later once each found the appropriate words to do so.
In the absence of anyone talking, a dark shadow creeped out from under the sofa, and out of it arose the fluffy head of one particular impish feline. Umbra smirked and began, "I hope they learned their lesson too. After all, violence only beget-- Yeow!" he screamed upon Silica slamming her foot down onto his tail. "Ow-ow-owwww," he whined, shadow-swimming as far away from her as he could while cradling his throbbing, crooked tail. "What'd you do that for?" he mewled, putting on an exaggeratedly pained expression.
"Because you were the one who instigated their fight in the first place," she responded without skipping a beat. "You are lucky all I did was stomp on your tail; because believe me... Curiosity can indeed kill a cat," Silica concluded, leering down at him angrily.
"Yeah, well, that, er..." Umbra stammered, completely thrown off-guard by Silica not falling for his sad act in the slightest. "I-I was bored, a-a-and..." He flinched when she only intensified her glare. "A-And you're a meanie; wa-hah-hahhhh!" he sobbed, running over to Red. "Red, she hurt me!"
"Yeah, because you brought it on yourself," Red replied, also not buying the act. "Now get in the time-out corner where you bad kittens belong," he added, waving Umbra closer.
Umbra blinked and sighed in frustration at finding no sympathy from Red either. "Fine," he groaned, flicking his tail and wincing before leaping up to Red's lap and fading into back into his shadow, rejoining the others in the depths of their shared soul.
Once Silica was done lecturing everyone, Sachi and Asuna excused themselves to the kitchen to both apologize properly and prepare dinner; meanwhile, Red and Kirito set the table ahead of time, though silently.
Not exactly preferring the silence, Red began, “So, Sachi nearly hit you five times, huh?"
Kirito chewed his tongue, admitting, "Yes."
"Well, what do you know. Seems you're getting sloppy. Mr. Agility," he laughed, raising an inquisitive eyebrow at him.
“You're one to talk, Mr. Took-a-boulder-to-the-face.”
“Hey, we all know how fast and how hard Maud can hit when she's mad," Red protested to Gelu.
She remained silent for a moment before grumbling, "Fair point."
"Yeah. To be honest, we’re lucky it was only a week long coma.” “Anyway," Red continued to Kirito. "Sorry to ruin your date night.”
By the time everyone else had returned, Sachi and Asuna had finished the dinner, turning it into a veritable feast that everyone wasted no time both thanking them for and digging into the scrumptious goodness.
Everyone's laughter and words mingled together into a warm, pleasant din of cheer and merriment that utterly contrasted the dramatic hostilities that half the group had engaged in mere hours prior.
In fact, Silica had sparked equal parts laughter and astonishment upon recounting said dramatic hostilities, and during this newest round of jubilance, Kirito and Asuna had managed to slip out, unnoticed by all but Umbra, though the shadowy feline had opted to keep his mouth shut just this once.
Eventually, however, the good times gradually wound down until everyone was in agreement to call it a night, each person retreating to their own room in the guild except for Red who settled for plopping onto the couch and passing out there, snoring loudly and drooling freely into the well-worn cushions.