A journey to another world starting from a sword

The air carried by the night breeze is exceptionally cool. If it weren't for the extremely cold floors, the daytime temperature would be less than 30 degrees Celsius, and the night would be as cool as it is now.

The warning has already been given, so there shouldn't be another incident like the Moonlit Black Cat Gang being wiped out.

Returning to the transfer monument, I received another message from Kirito.

This time it's not about gratitude or anything like that, it's about Leafa getting lost.

"What's wrong with that guy?" He scratched his head, then opened his friends list, only to find that he couldn't confirm his friends' locations.

Either Leafa is alone in the labyrinth area, or she's wearing... a cloak with camouflage.

He replied, "I'll help you find it."

Dante opens the skill list and activates the sub-skill "Tracking," which he has learned at a high proficiency level with "Target Search."

As a result, a fluorescent footprint appeared under his feet. He followed the pale green footprint and saw that it extended in the direction of the transfer monument.

"..."

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

Considering that Leafa hadn't even been to many floors, Dante had pretty much guessed it.

He found the other person by the lake on the twenty-second floor. The silvery moonlight pierced through the void, coating his golden hair with a flowing, liquid halo.

The night sky reflected on the river was like silver foil, and the open environment made the light exceptionally abundant. At this moment, the girl really looked like a fairy under the moonlight.

"Lifa."

As soon as she spoke, Leafa looked up, her ponytail swaying, and murmured in surprise, "Dante... how did you know I was here?"

"Intuition," Dante chose a romantic explanation.

"I see." Leafa smiled slightly and rested her face back on her lap.

"What happened? Shouldn't you be happy to have found your brother?" Dante sat with her by the lake.

"It's nothing serious." Leafa shrank back, her body, which was originally somewhat "robust" among girls, now looked so petite.

Then the two fell silent for a long time. After waiting for a minute or two, Dante, who had nothing to do, was about to wait for the other to speak first when Leafa's faint voice came from behind her, still with her head down.

"Thank you for what happened at the tavern earlier."

"Kirito has already said that," Dante said.

“No, it was I who asked you to do that, so I should be the one to say it.” Leafa turned to look at Dante, her face showing a heartbreaking expression.

“No, someone always has to expose this. A lie is still a lie, and the longer it's hidden, the greater the damage. If your brother Kirito wants to stay there, this karmic debt can't be easily erased.” Dante repeated something similar to what he had said to Kirito twenty minutes earlier.

At that time, he deliberately avoided mentioning the fact that Kirito could now solo on the front lines.

Lacking any point of reference, the members of the Moonlit Black Cats were still unaware that their strength was far behind Kirito's. They were not only a burden, but they didn't even have the right to stand next to him and fight together.

Hopefully, they can hold on to this hard-won leg in time. In the past, it was like Kirito leading a group of people behind him with a rope from a distance while climbing a mountain. But to hold on to a leg, you need to be close and hold on tightly with both hands. Even if you are being dragged along, at least the path you have walked will not be faked.

"My brother has found his place," Leafa muttered dejectedly. "Sigh, I really can't go back to reality. Why did this happen? Dying in the game means dying in real life, right? When will we finally beat this game?"

"..." Dante nodded reflexively. Now that he was starting to care about such things, he roughly knew that Leafa's departure was related to Kirito.

Although explaining things one by one and giving a passable answer was not bad, Dante felt that such comfort was weak and powerless.

"If you want to know the answer, then become stronger." He propped himself up on his knees and stood up, Leafa's face turning with his movement.

“When you become powerful enough, you will know the answers to those questions yourself.” Or rather, they no longer matter, Dante said, raising his hand to stroke Leafa’s hair.

"W-What are you doing?" Leafa didn't stop her, letting out a soft murmur.

"It's nothing. You look so pitiful, like a drowned dog that just crawled out of the lake. I just instinctively wanted to pet you."

In short, it means I think you're like a dog.

“You!” Leafa’s tone sharpened, and she shook her head in protest. “You really don’t know how to comfort people.”

"Hahaha." After laughing, Dante Chaolifa extended her hand. "I said this morning I'd treat you to dessert. Shall we go now?"

“Ah…” Leafa stared blankly at his palm. After a few seconds, she lowered her head for some reason, but obediently placed her hand on it. “I want to go.”

"Let's go then." Dante smiled, and on the way, he didn't exert any force in his hand, but Leafa held it tightly with a look of dependence.

He could only use his free hand to send a message to Kirito, who was worried at the moment: "The person has been found, there's no need to worry."

Chapter 177: I can't sleep, and coincidentally, I wasn't planning on sleeping anyway.

"I didn't expect there to be so many people even at night."

When they arrived at a dessert shop owned by "Ulbas", Leafa looked at the shop's facilities with a surprised and delighted expression.

"Of course, it's mainly for guys who want to come here for dates, but there are also players who come here to satisfy their cravings. After all, sweetness can bring happiness, and it's one of the few ways to de-stress in Aincrad."

As he spoke, Dante sat down in a seat with a view of the street, and Leafa sat opposite him, casually remarking.

"I see. Then we both belong to the latter category."

Speaking of this, Leafa noticed the strange expression on the man sitting opposite her. Only then did she notice the men and women in the other seats. The two of them might not be seen that way by these people.

"Oh, no, no! This isn't a date or anything!"

Seeing Leafa's flushed face and her forceful slamming of the wooden table, Dante tilted his head and said, "Please don't worry about what others think."

"Isn't it because you were staring at me with those weird looks?" Leafa muttered under her breath, grabbing the menu from the table to cover her face. She'd noticed at lunch that the menu was all in English.

At this moment, an NPC waiter from inside the shop came over and asked with a slightly respectful tone, "What would you like to order?"

“Sa...Sacher...Toter.” Leafa was struggling to spell one of the words.

“It’s SacherTorte,” Dante said with a laugh. “If you can’t read it, there’s a display case of finished products to choose from. You can even order all the pastries in the shop without any problem, as long as you can finish them. Wasting food is shameful.”

“Oh yeah, you won’t get fat in SAO.” Leafa also remembered what Haru had mentioned at noon.

"Yes, and the cake won't spoil; it will only disappear when its durability decreases." That's why the counter staff are also NPC shop assistants, and the owner doesn't need to be in the shop at night. I guess the last batch of popular desserts is replenished in the evening.

"No, then I'll take this one, the SacherTorte." Leafa didn't hesitate at all, seemingly having taken Dante's advice to heart, and was planning to order everything that interested her.

Dante ordered something called "Mille-feuille," which means a thousand layers of puff pastry.

"Speaking of which, aren't there a lot of restaurants for lower-level players?" Leafa changed the subject, seemingly to ease the awkward atmosphere between them.

"Because the raw materials are cheap, a lot of players who want to lie low gather in the lower level, just wanting to earn a meager amount of Cor by defeating the small monsters outside the main street. The by-products dropped in this process are then bought up by specialized players." Dante looked out the window at the night view. He remembered that the last time he came here was the last time. "And milk and butter can be obtained very easily on this level."

"Hey—, milk isn't expensive to begin with, is it?" Leafa listened to this topic with great interest. She remembered that since elementary school, her family's refrigerator had always contained several large cartons of milk from Hokkaido.

“There are many factors to consider when opening a shop. For example, the seasonings in Aincrad are mostly natural spices, which means that honey is still the mainstream sweetener. Even though the lower floors are generally cheaper, the pastry chef had a lot of trouble buying the building and renovating it in the most cost-effective way possible.”

"How do you know all this?" Leafa asked, cupping her face in her hands.

"How many times do you think I've been here?" Dante waved his hand dismissively.

"Eh—" Just as Leafa uttered this remark, she suddenly received a message.

Seeing her hesitate, her finger hovering in mid-air, Dante smiled and said, "Don't easily ignore the care and concern of family and friends."

"I understand." Leafa opened the message and replied seriously, but immediately looked up again, "My brother said he wants to come over and have a good talk with me, what should I do?"

"Is everything alright?" Dante gave the NPC a look that said, "Why are you even asking me this?" and accepted the cake.

After closing the window, Leafa was instantly captivated by the exquisite cake before her, and a childlike smile spread across her face. "Wow wow wow—"

Next to the cake was a pot of vanilla tea that had a bittersweet flavor. Although the desserts at this shop weren't very sweet, they could still get cloying if you ate too much.

"Speaking of which, you still haven't told me why you ran away alone," Dante asked, cutting the cake with his fork.

"That girl named Xing, I saw her go into my brother's room." After a pause, Leafa snorted a little shyly.

"I didn't expect you to be a brother complex. But is that normal in SAO? Everyone has the fear of not being able to beat the game, it's just a matter of degree."

"I'm not a brother complex person!" Leafa said, embarrassed and angry, but after Dante's explanation, she seemed to understand something.

"Hehe, if you're scared too, you can always come and have a heart-to-heart talk with me."

"Hmph." Leafa turned her head to the side. "We'll see about that later."

Just then, the shop door opened. To everyone's surprise, Kirito arrived so quickly. He really cares about his sister.

"Ah, brother."

"I didn't expect to see you again so soon," Dante joked.

"I didn't expect this either," Kirito said, sitting between the two. "Nao has caused you trouble."

"What?" Leafa pouted in dissatisfaction.

"Nao, next time you want to go out, please let me know in advance. It's very dangerous outside." Until this point, Kirito still thought Leafa just wanted to go out for a walk.

Unexpectedly, Leafa blurted out, "Is my brother dating Sachi?"

"Huh?" Kirito was stumped by the question. "N-no, we're not dating."

"Ha..." Leafa sighed after hearing this.

"But let's order another cake, it's on me anyway." After watching Leafa take the last bite, Dante pointed to the display case, "Remember to get one for your brother too."

"Then I won't be polite." Leafa, now cheerful again, got up and walked towards the counter.

After Leafa left, Dante teased Kirito, "Congratulations, Kirito. You almost created a love triangle. Don't neglect others just because you care about your sister."

"What are you talking about?" Kirito raised an eyebrow.

"Luckily, Leafa saw you enter your room." Dante raised his eyes, a hint of disdain in them that only a boy could understand.

"Uh, there's nothing between me and Sachi," Kirito quickly explained.

"Huh? You don't think a girl would easily sleep in the same room and bed with someone, do you?" Dante stared straight at Kirito's expression.

"Hmm." Having his sore spot exposed, Kirito had no room for rebuttal, because it was the truth.

"She may just not realize that she likes you yet, and it's just a feeling of dependence."

After a moment of silence, Kirito, covering his mouth with his hand, leaned forward and asked softly, "Just wondering, what do you do in this situation?"

"I'm sorry I won't encounter this situation, because I have different troubles than you," Dante said calmly. "But in your case, wouldn't it be better to just start dating?"

"..."

"What are you talking about?" Leafa walked over carrying her and Kirito's cake.

"It's a topic for boys," the two replied hastily.

"Whoa!" Leafa then clicked her tongue.

After Leafa finished eating the fifth cake, she clasped her hands together and said, "I'm full, thank you for the treat."

The final bill came to around three thousand Cor, which made Kirito exclaim in surprise, "I never thought a casual player could earn so much!"

The three of them savored the last pot of fruit tea together. The refreshing aroma and soothing warmth made them wish they could freeze time at that moment.

"Nao, shall we go back?" Kirito suggested.

“I don’t want to go back. That’s your guild, brother,” Leafa said, sounding somewhat resistant.

"Hey, Keita and the others are really nice people, you should be able to get to know them quickly," Kirito said slowly.

"No means no. Those who spoke ill of Dante are just a bunch of idiots." Leafa said sternly. He was just her brother's friend. She couldn't just ignore him for speaking ill of her friend.

“No, I didn’t mind.” Dante gently raised his hand, placing it between the brother and sister.

That's true. Perhaps the more emotionally intelligent members of the Moonlit Black Cats have already figured out the truth, and Dante won't be bothered by people he doesn't know well.

"And I've already set my goals; I want to join the strategy team too." Leafa puffed out her full chest with high spirits.

"Then I'll have to join a guild or a fixed team." Kirito was well aware of the effort he would need to put in to catch up with the strategy team.

"Why don't you just join my guild?" Dante suddenly extended an invitation.

"Okay, then it's decided!" Leafa laughed happily, and the next second she patted his shoulder with her little hand, as if she had been waiting for this sentence.

"Won't this cause you any trouble?" Kirito asked somewhat seriously.

“We already had a promising newcomer in our guild, so having one more won’t hurt,” Dante said nonchalantly.

"Oh, you have a good eye!" Leafa laughed cheerfully, sensing that Dante was praising her potential.

"...Then I'll have to trouble you." After snorting for a while, Kirito earnestly asked, "To be honest, I really trust you with my life."

“I’m glad you think that way, as your friend,” Dante said with a smile.