Long Live Money in Anime Crossover

Mo Mo held up two fingers and said, "You made two mistakes in that statement! First, I'm not strange; I just know when to use the right behavior. Second, everyone has their own desires. My wealth may inspire envy and jealousy, but I don't value it. I envy you more than I envy me."

"Envious of me?"

Asuna was genuinely surprised this time, and said, "What is there for me to envy? I'm not an outstanding person, and whether it's family matters or abilities, I'm... well..."

Asuna's voice grew softer and softer as she realized that Momo had opened his eyes, smiling and staring intently at her.

Thinking of her parents' behavior, Asuna understood Momo's current identity, and the blush on her face faded even more.

023 Log in to the game

"If you keep staring at me like that, I'm going to get angry!"

Momo remained silent, and Asuna lowered her head and fidgeted, creating an awkward atmosphere. Finally, Asuna couldn't stand the tension and broke the silence first.

"Alright, you're the master, so whatever you say goes!"

Momo sat up, glanced around Asuna's room, and said with some surprise, "I thought girls' rooms would be more... complicated, like with lots of little decorations or something."

"Hmph, I'm really sorry my room is so plain!"

"Not at all, aren't you here with us, Asuna?"

"Smooth-talking!"

Asuna was annoyed, but she still followed Momo and looked around her room. Although Momo spoke lightly, as if joking, Asuna felt a heavy weight in her heart.

It seems that her life from childhood to adulthood consisted of nothing but studying and resting.

They had no interests, no hobbies, only the unwavering belief in pursuing the word "elite."

But recently, even this belief seems to be faltering.

"If you have anything on your mind, you can tell me! Right now, I can transform into a doll and sit here obediently listening to you."

Momo pulled at the corners of her mouth with both hands, creating an exaggerated smile, which made Asuna, whose expression had just become slightly serious, laugh out loud again.

"You really are surprising. Isn't there anything that makes you sad or upset? Why are you always so happy? Not only are you happy, but you also make others... and me happy too."

"Happiness is not innate, but a skill. Once you get used to forgetting unhappiness, what's left is happiness. So, how about sharing half of your unhappiness with me and letting me help you forget it?"

Momo's smile and those sincere black eyes seemed to bring Asuna boundless comfort. Asuna felt a warmth in her heart, and when she looked into Momo's eyes, her shyness seemed to lessen considerably.

"Thank you."

Asuna hugged her legs and said, "Actually, it's nothing. I only started having this thought after I met you, Momo."

"Huh, was it my fault?!"

No!

Seeing Momo's face instantly turn to surprise, Asuna quickly offered a reassuring look.

"Actually, it's all just me. I've always strived to catch up with my brother, mother, and father's grades. I've been doing this since I was a child, and I don't think there's anything wrong with it."

Asuna's face was somewhat ashen as she said, "But after meeting you, Momo, I realized that even at our age, we can have completely different lives."

“I’ve recently realized that even though I’m trying very hard, it’s difficult for me to keep up with my brother. If this continues, I may never reach my mother’s level.”

Momo understood what Asuna wanted to say, which was also the biggest difference between Asuna and her mother Kyoko in the original work.

Kyoko Yuki is a typical example of someone who succeeds through hard work. She came out of the mountains, became a professor through her own efforts, and married into the Yuki family. She is successful in both life and career.

Therefore, she naturally attributed her success to her own hard work, without realizing that there is something called talent.

Perhaps talent isn't as miraculous as some movies portray, but when a person walks the path their talent points in, they will always have an edge over others.

Kyoko Yuki may be walking the path guided by her talent.

However, no matter how you look at Asuna, she doesn't seem like an academic talent. Even though she has excellent grades since childhood, Asuna still can't find any sense of accomplishment or direction.

This is also why Asuna rebelled once later and put on the NERvGear that changed her life.

Or to put it simply, faced with the path her parents had paved for her in life, she wanted to say no, but didn't know where to begin, and lacked the courage to utter the word.

Mo Mo listened quietly, her breathing, her smile, and her occasional body movements all seemed to transform her into a kind old man listening to a girl pour out her doubts about life.

Asuna became more and more relaxed, and it seemed that the valve in her heart had been opened by Momo. Countless thoughts flowed out slowly. From childhood to adulthood, all the interesting things and all the confusion were told to Momo one by one.

Even Reimu Hakurei calmed down and listened quietly to the ordinary girl's ordinary life dilemmas, as if recalling that she herself had similar feelings sometime in the past.

How long ago was that?

The SAO open beta launch had long passed, but the three of them didn't seem to realize it.

"I really don't know what to do."

Asuna's body was almost completely curled up, and her voice became dry. At that moment, a warm hand ran through her hair, massaging her head.

Asuna was startled, knowing full well who this was. She didn't know when, but she was already sitting next to Momo, and the one touching her hair was naturally Momo.

Asuna, who should have been nervous, felt a sense of security instead. Her heart was racing, but she felt no discomfort or aversion whatsoever.

This was the first time in her life that she had been so close to another boy.

But now Mo Mo gave her a strange feeling, as if the other person was not a child, but an old man who was about to comfort her.

"It's not that complicated, nor that difficult. Asuna, it's actually quite simple."

"Life is finite, human growth is irreversible, and every age is unique. Therefore, people are actually walking on a one-way street, with only the right to choose the direction, but no possibility of starting over."

"You see who I am now, but do you know how much I went through to get to where I am today?"

Asuna naturally had no idea, but she sensed a profound weight in Momo's tone, as if it had been accumulated over a century.

“You didn’t think about all this before, not because you didn’t realize it, but because you wouldn’t regret it. You were willing to sacrifice your time and childhood for your aunt and uncle’s praise. The fact that you’re starting to think about all this now means you’re beginning to prepare to choose a different path.”

"The choice of which path to take is in your hands."

Asuna's eyes brightened slightly as she said, "But I don't know what to choose, and besides, my parents..."

"Your aunt and uncle are your loving parents, and they will definitely support you once you've made up your mind. And don't forget, I'm here for you! I'll protect you, and I'll defeat anyone who tries to stop you!"

As he spoke, Mo Mo pounded his chest hard, making a loud thud, but it made him cough.

"Pfft, haha, why are you using so much force? I believe you, okay?"

As she spoke, Asuna subconsciously reached out to rub Momo's chest, but Momo pulled her into his arms.

Asuna screamed and tried to resist, but found that Momo's strength was surprisingly great.

"Trust me, Asuna, be brave and make your choice, and I will be your strong support."

His calm voice carried an undeniable firmness. Asuna lay on Momo's chest, her eyes slightly glazed, and gently nodded, saying, "I believe you."

Momo, who had been staring at everything in a daze, suddenly had an extremely strange expression on her face, as if she had eaten a piece of spoiled candy.

"Shameless bastard, humph, deal done!"

*******************

"You did all this just to fool the young girl into believing you? I really misjudged you. I thought you had some genuine feelings, but now it seems I was incredibly naive!"

Momo, who was sitting in the car returning to the Yagyu family, said, "What nonsense are you talking about, Reimu? I was originally planning to persuade Asuna not to enter Sword Art Online."

Reimu Hakurei was stunned, her eyes widening as she said, "Are you really crazy? If Asuna doesn't enter Sword Art Online, then..."

What would happen if Asuna Yuuki didn't enter Sword Art Online?

Nothing will happen.

"At least this way, Asuna won't have to endure two years of conquest. That was the turning point for Asuna, but it was also Asuna's nightmare, and the nightmare of every participant in the Sword Art Online game."

"But isn't the Asuna you like the sparkly one? Even if you could win over this gullible little girl in real life, she wouldn't be the Asuna you're looking for, would she?"

Mo Mo smiled wryly and said, "Yes, that's exactly what I'm struggling with. What should we do? Should we keep it from Asuna and let her enter Sword Art Online to create a Flash Asuna, or should we tell her the truth and make the Flash Asuna disappear completely, and replace her with an ordinary Asuna without nightmares?"

Reimu Hakurei was speechless for a long time before finally saying, "So you weren't joking, you actually intend to persuade her. It seems you really like Asuna."

"I never lie. I like Asuna, I like you, and I like every beautiful living character in the world of anime. Before entering the world of anime, I also made a promise to myself that I would not easily interfere with their lives."

"So, Reimu, do you think I should try to persuade Asuna, or not? Sword Art Online is her nightmare, but it's also a major turning point in her life."

Reimu Hakurei sighed and said, "So in the end you did nothing, didn't you? You neither told her the truth nor tried to persuade her not to enter the game. You left everything to her to choose for herself."

Mo Mo laughed and said, "Yeah, it's best not to spoil anything. All I can do is be with her. If she enters the game, I'll enter the game too. If she doesn't enter the game, I'll just play around with Sword Art Online."

"Well, it was your own choice anyway, so I won't comment this time. You'd better hurry, because judging by the timeline, Kayaba Akihiko should be starting his death game soon."

"Yes, Kayaba Akihiko, let's meet again in the game."

Meanwhile, in Asuna's room, Asuna lay on the bed with a flushed face, still unable to forget the scene of her intimate embrace with Momo.

Despite the tension and surprise, there was an overwhelming sense of exhilaration and excitement.

"Oh, how embarrassing!"

After rolling around on the bed a few times, Asuna calmed down, staring at the ceiling and muttering to herself, "Change...?"

She reached into a box on the other side of the bed and took out a game helmet called NERvGear, a game touted as a game that would span the centuries, Sword Art Online, which was supposed to be having its open beta test today.

This will be her first time playing a large-scale MMORPG game.

This can be considered a slight change, right?

024 I do not provide after-sales service.

"Welcome To Sword Art Online!"

With the appearance of the prompt, Momo finally logged into the game and appeared in the central square of the starting street, Torbana.

It was already 3 PM, and only a very small number of players were logging in at this time; the 10,000-player online player count was basically full.

There were only a few people scattered around the square. Most people had already started strolling around in this amazing game, flirting with girls, or those with ambition had probably started leveling up and fighting monsters.

"Wow!"

Mo Mo curled up, his eyes filled with excitement. Although he had lived for a hundred years in his previous life, there was still no fully-developed stealth game on Earth. Moreover, due to the criticism of stealth games, they were limited to various small games and large single-player games.

As for full immersive gameplay in large-scale online games, it has always been blocked by various interest groups for reasons such as security and ethics.

When this kind of game appeared on Earth in his previous life, Momo was already nearly ninety years old and naturally could no longer play the game, so he ignored this dispute.

However, now, in the prime of his youth, Momo has finally experienced this full-immersion game.