A journey to another world starting from a sword

"..." He opened his mouth as if to say something, but then closed it again. After a moment of silence, Kirito nodded and admitted it directly.

He could no longer lie or make excuses. The fact that he had joined the guild with a hidden level was true. Even when Keita asked him what level he was not long ago, he just gave a number that was similar to everyone else's.

Seeing her brother's gloomy expression, Leafa realized that she might have gotten into trouble, so she quickly looked at Dante.

...I really can't do anything with you.

"I haven't seen you on the front lines for the past two months. So you've been in the middle ranks mentoring newbies. Kirito, are you having fun playing house with these rookies?" Dante mocked.

"This has nothing to do with you, does it?" Kirito said in a somewhat cold tone.

The members of the Moonlit Black Cats group were also shouting something. They felt that they had worked very hard to get here, and being called a newbie was like negating all their efforts so far.

"Who are you calling a newbie?"

Even if you're part of the strategy team...

"Isn't that right?" Dante raised his head. "If I'm not mistaken, Kirito's level is already over 40, while you guys aren't even 30 yet, are you?"

In fact, the difference in levels could be as much as double.

If he remembered correctly, Kirito was 40 when he joined the Moonlit Black Cats, while the average of the other members of the Moonlit Black Cats was only 20.

Dante hadn't paid much attention to the other person all along and had no idea that he had joined the guild.

However, in the original timeline, Kirito was almost level 50, while the Moonlit Black Cats were still a bit short of level 30.

What's the point of living with trash?

"Kita and the others aren't trash." In response to the continuous taunts, Kirito, who had been silent, stood up and looked coldly at Dante.

"Even if you're the guild leader of a top-tier guild in the strategy group, you're not welcome here." Keita walked up to Kirito and put his hand on Kirito's shoulder. "Please leave."

Leafa stood in the middle, looking around helplessly, when she was pulled over by a young girl with short black hair next to her brother. She was the only one present who didn't say anything.

She simply looked at herself gently and said: It's okay.

The noise from the tavern gradually subsided, as if someone had noticed what was happening and quieted down to watch the spectacle.

"Dad, don't fight." Kirito's daughter slowly raised her head, her doll-like face showing a frightened expression, as if she was about to cry.

"Hmph." Dante snorted coldly, and finally glanced at Kirito's daughter, Yui. The little girl also tilted her head slightly, and a shiny black hair slid down her cheek.

The Mental Health Counselling Program (MHCP) reveals that Kirito's daughter is no ordinary person. As an AI within the MHCP, she is expected to eventually acquire intelligence comparable to humans through continuous learning. However, judging from her current performance, she must have been found not long ago.

Dante shook his head, then turned and left.

"Phew..." Keita breathed a sigh of relief after Dante left. "That scared me to death. No wonder he's a celebrity in SAO. His aura is extraordinary."

“Ah, just that size alone exudes power,” the spearman Sasamaru agreed.

"Wow, to remain calm and collected in the face of such an important figure, you truly deserve to be our president, very cool!" Dakavin said, giving a thumbs up.

"Don't laugh at me." Keita shook his head, then looked at Leafa, who looked uneasy. "You're Kirito's sister, right? I don't know what's going on, but... anyway... welcome."

"Oh, oh!" Everyone clapped together.

"Thank you," Leafa nodded repeatedly.

"I'm sorry, because of what happened to me." Kirito lowered his head and apologized to everyone, "I lied."

"It's nothing, it's nothing." "That's what I was saying." "I didn't expect Kirito to be so amazing." "Ah, if the entire strategy team is full of such lousy people, no wonder Kirito left."

"..." Leafa didn't know how she got through that time. She sat in the crowd, holding a wine glass, and smiled from time to time.

Some things have become clear. It turns out that the little girl Yui who calls her brother "Dad" was found by her brother and a girl named Sachi outside the entertainment industry. Because she had amnesia and couldn't find her parents, her brother took her in.

There was also a girl named Xing, sitting on the other side of her brother, wiping the rice crumbs from the corner of Yui's mouth with a handkerchief.

Finally, she pulled herself along with everyone back to the Moonlit Black Cats' stronghold on the 11th floor, Tafto. Leafa remembered seeing in the chronicle that the 11th floor boss, "Storm Griffin," was defeated by Asuna from "Eternal Garden."

"Get some rest, goodnight."

After saying goodnight to her brother and the others, Leafa went into the hotel room he had booked for her and collapsed onto the bed. The bed was cold and hard, completely different from the one she had lain on during the day.

But it doesn't matter, I just felt really tired. A lot happened today.

"My brother's companions are all good people..." Leafa kept talking to herself along the way, as if to dispel her unease. After a long silence, she swiped open the game's main menu with her finger.

Level 1, only has the initial clothes on, and nothing in the inventory. No, there is still 1,000 Cor, but I don't know how much purchasing power it has.

Then there's... guild and friends. Just now, my brother's guild leader, Keita, invited me to join the Moonlit Black Cats Guild, but she said she'd think about it a bit, since I don't know anything about it yet.

Leafa had only two friends, and after a long silence, she suddenly received an email.

"Hey hey hey..." She sat up in a panic, waving her arms and legs wildly. Finally, she opened the message and saw that it was from Xiaochun.

"So, Leafa, have you found your brother?"

"Well, I found it."

"Great, so have you had dinner yet?"

"Why did we suddenly start talking about dinner?" Leafa laughed as she looked at the chat history.

"Because our guild leader always asks, 'Have you eaten? What are we having for dinner?' Everyone in the guild is used to using that as an opening line."

"I see. I've had it. The roast chicken at the tavern was quite good."

Although the taste is indeed not as good as what we had for lunch, Xiaochun was right, the food made by the players is indeed better. I wonder if my brother and the others have eaten at the restaurant on the first floor.

"Really? This is beef stew made by Asuna, it's super delicious! Even Lingyin from our guild praised it as authentic Russian cuisine."

"Oh, I really want to eat this too." Although she didn't know what kind of dish it was, Leafa imagined how to make braised beef in a pot. There shouldn't be any canned food in SAO, right?

However, based on Xiaochun's subsequent words, one can roughly imagine the rich aroma.

so good.

After chatting for quite a while, Leafa and the other person finally said goodnight to each other.

I lay on the pillow for a while and found there was nothing to do. It seems there are no forms of entertainment in SAO.

The hand is loosely clenched; there are no bamboo knives here, and even Su Zhen couldn't do that.

"What is my brother doing now?" Leafa got out of bed, realizing she had so much to say to her brother, both in the game and in real life. Mom and Dad were quite worried about him.

So she walked to the door, opened it, and found that the corridor outside was not too dark because of the oil lamps. As soon as she peeked out of the room, she saw the figure of another player.

"That is......"

How fortunate! The girl who had been sitting next to my brother.

"Is she still awake so late?" Leafa wondered.

But she suddenly noticed that the other person was holding a pillow, and a bad feeling arose in her heart.

Confirmed by this premonition, Leafa watched as Sachi walked to Kirito's door, stopped, and then knocked.

A few seconds later, the door was opened.

"I'm sorry, tonight it's still..." Xing smiled faintly, her expression just like her name.

"It's alright, come in and sleep."

It was definitely her brother's voice! And that tone of his was even gentler than when he spoke to her. Leafa held her breath.

"Mom..." came the voice of the brother's daughter, Yui, at that moment.

What exactly is going on? Sleeping together? And who is the mother?

Her mind went blank for a moment, and she vaguely realized something: it seemed that her brother and that girl named Xing were a couple.

In an instant, the long-suppressed longing in her heart turned into a bittersweet feeling, and she seemed to have forgotten her happiness just moments before.

A surge of emotion suddenly overwhelmed Leafa, and she silently closed the door, pressing her head against it.

My emotions spontaneously turned into tears.

Actually, she harbored a secret: Leafa—Kirigaya Suguha—had always loved Kirigaya Kazuto.

Chapter 176: Girl, Get Stronger!

"Thank you, I owe you a favor."

As soon as Dante arrived at the transfer monument, he received a thank you from Kirito.

He looked back at the dimly lit town and shook his head. "As for favors, there's no chance of using them."

Dante then sent a message, "Are you free later? Let's chat briefly about Diabel."

The reply came quite a while later; they were probably looking for the right moment to send the message.

"after an hour."

-----------------

"I have to go out for a bit," Kirito said to Sachi as he stood up in the room.

"Huh?" As soon as she sat down on the edge of the bed, Sachi turned her head slightly toward Kirito and tilted her head cutely.

When she came in, she saw Kirito texting someone, and guessed that they were probably meeting at a certain place.

"Where is Daddy going?" Yui tugged at Kirito's sleeve.

"Hmm..." Kirito didn't know how to explain.

"Yui, come to Mommy's side." Sachi walked over and hugged Yui very considerately.

"That was a huge help." Kirito breathed a sigh of relief.

A fledgling bird will regard the first creature it sees as its parent. When Yui woke up, she saw him and Sachi. Although she had never dated any girls, she was called "Dad." Sachi was probably in the same situation, and her feelings were probably as complicated as Yui's.

However, it didn't matter if it was just a matter of how they addressed each other. After learning that Yui had lost her memory, Keita and the others were understanding and didn't say anything more.

"Then I'm going out," Kirito said before leaving the inn.

He spent a few days here when he first conquered Taft, and now he has been living here for several months with the Moonlit Black Cats, so he can say that he is quite familiar with this town.

The main street on the eleventh floor is somewhat similar in style to Denmark in Scandinavia. During the day, the colorful buildings resemble a fairytale town. The Iingrediente Weekly also commented that Taft's livability ranks among the top of the floors explored so far.

He walked into a quiet bar he had chosen. There was only one other player at the bar, who looked in his direction when the doorbell rang.

"Hey," Dante greeted, "What would you like to drink? It's on me."

"No need, it's so late, I need to go back after I finish talking."

It's a little past nine o'clock now, but for players of Aincrad, this is about time to prepare for bed.

"Wow, men with daughters are just different."

"It has nothing to do with this, does it?" Kirito said stubbornly, sitting at the bar, though Yui was indeed partly to say he wanted to go home early.

"Boss, give him a glass of mead," Dante beckoned.

After hesitating for a moment, Kirito decided to accept the other party's kindness. While quietly waiting for the owner to prepare the drinks, the two chatted for a while.

"Thank you for your help with Xiaozhi."

"It was just a small favor. If there's anything else I can help you with, just let me know," Dante said with a faint smile.

This reminded Kirito of Yui, and he explained that Yui had lost her memory.

"Have you been to the orphanage?" Dante asked, turning his head as he held up his wine glass.

"I've been there, but Miss Sana didn't find any clues," Kirito said, shaking his head.

“That’s true. When Sana took the children away from the town of origin, she specifically searched the town house by house twice more, but she couldn’t find Yui at that time, which means she might not have been there.” Dante lowered his head slightly.

“A child this young couldn’t possibly leave the town of Origin alone; she must have parents,” Kirito analyzed.

“…” AIs don’t have parents, Dante put down his wine glass. “Didn’t you tell Argo about this? She could put a missing person ad for you in the newspaper.”

"......Well."

Judging from Kirito's stunned expression, it was clear he had forgotten.

“I’ll speak to Argo, but be prepared; amnesia is often caused by profound trauma.” Dante pointed to his chest. “If they really can’t find it…”

Just then, the owner brought out a slightly sweet-smelling drink, which Kirito took. "I'm ready... let's get down to business, shall we?"

"Hmm." Dante gave a wry smile. "Do you know how Diabel died?"

"To cover the retreat of the failed Allied Forces." Kirito remembered clearly that Ya-Oh led the members of the Aincrad Allied Forces to attack the Boss without authorization, which ultimately led to the disintegration of this top-notch guild.

After carefully considering his words, Dante slowly began, "Actually, there are many reasons, but I think the biggest factor is that he hid the fact that he was a closed beta player. Don't you... think so?"