A journey to another world starting from a sword

Lisbeth wanted to stay too, and thankfully the bed was big enough for the three girls to sleep comfortably.

Instead of falling asleep immediately in bed, they started chatting.

After leaving the room, Dante began to consider whether he should head straight to the labyrinth area, but then he remembered that he hadn't gotten Asuna's bento yet, so he decided to wait until morning.

Honestly, his increased strength has made him less impatient than before, and recently even his useless desires have increased quite a bit.

With a question lingering in his mind, he went down to the living room on the first floor to find something to drink. He remembered that Mitt hadn't finished the wine he bought from a player's farm downstairs.

"What? Drinking tonight?" Argo's voice came from behind.

He immediately recognized the person from the sound of footsteps, but Dante, without turning his head, looked out at the moonlight and said, "Thirsty? Would you like a cup?"

“If this were in real life, I would refuse. It’s definitely better to drink milk before sleeping,” Argo said, taking a glass of red liquid.

"No, in reality, this doesn't count as alcohol; it's more like fruit juice with alcohol content." Although the item's name includes "alcohol," the player who brewed it seems to have mixed fruit juice into it, making the juice flavor stronger.

"Wow, this would taste even better with ice!" Argo exclaimed with delight after taking a big gulp.

“Once we reach a floor that lasts through winter, we can reliably obtain ice.” Dante remembered that there was a floor above that was covered in snow all year round.

When it was still quite cold a few months ago, even though we could get ice from various sources, we still wanted to drink something hot because of the temperature.

“It’s nice to be like this sometimes,” Argo, who had been quiet, suddenly said.

“Argo, it’s a bit surprising that you would say that,” Dante said.

"Really? I get lonely sometimes too," Argo said with a self-deprecating smile, squinting her eyes.

“Well, if gathering intelligence is really tiring…” Dante said understandingly.

"What are you talking about? I mean, it seems like I've had far fewer opportunities to see you lately," Argo said with a knowing smile.

"That's because I've become a Night Dweller now. I've already collected most of the materials, and after a while..."

Before Dante could finish speaking, Argo interrupted him seriously, "No, I think the reason is more than that."

"There are other reasons?" Dante tilted his head in confusion.

"Put your hand on your conscience, think about what's around you, and think it over carefully," Argo said, pointing to Dante's heart.

"Around me? It's pretty much the same as usual, at the guild, working hard with everyone to clear SAO." Dante noticed that since Leafa and Yuki appeared, his progress in mastering this world had regressed quite a bit. It seemed that he had to clear SAO, but he never expected it to become a long-term task.

“That’s right, exactly!” Argo, who had been so serious, suddenly laughed. “Isn’t it because the number of girls in the guild keeps increasing that you don’t have much time to come see me?”

Then she suddenly chuckled mischievously, "Hehehe... What's it like to have a girl sleeping next to you?"

"Are you drunk?" Dante joked. "Everyone's under a lot of pressure, this is just a way of sticking together for warmth."

"Don't say that. After your moral restrictions were lifted, didn't you have any physical reactions to the girls around you?" Argo asked leisurely, feeling that she was becoming increasingly strange lately.

"Sometimes." For example, when he fell in the bath and touched Asuna, Dante was able to easily focus his attention and was not disturbed by his chaotic thoughts.

"Eh—sometimes?" Argo gave him a sly look. "Well, if you're ever in trouble, I'm sure I can help you out..."

Unexpectedly, after saying that, she looked to the side and found that Dante's face was quite close.

"Whoa! What's wrong?" Argo was startled, his eyes seeming to dart away.

"No, I just didn't expect you to have such thoughts."

Dante squinted and carefully examined the girl in front of him who called herself his older sister.

Chapter 188: Sorry, I'm busy.

"W-what?" Argo took a half step back, lowered his gaze, and scratched his cheek with his fingers as he searched for words.

“I think the order might be slightly off.” Dante leaned forward, his eyes gleaming with a cunning glint in them, the candlelight flickering in his gaze.

"Wh...what order?" Argo's mind was a bit blank, and as his mind wavered, he kept leaning back.

When she had nowhere left to retreat, she stopped and muttered to herself, "Why did I come closer...?"

Seeing her remain motionless as she stared at him, Dante felt that her eyes were full of expectation. To be honest, using super intuition to read a girl's feelings was a bit of cheating.

He slowly reached out his hands, touched Argo's cheek, and lifted them slightly.

Upon closer inspection, Argo is quite cute too. Next time, try drawing an even cuter version of the mouse whiskers on his face.

Thanks to this, Argo's face turned even redder, as red as a ripe apple, and his whole body trembled.

"Didn't you say something strange?"

"That was just a joke."

"Hehe, normally no one would make a joke like that, so I took it seriously."

"Wait! Wait! What if someone sees us..." Argo waved his hands haphazardly.

"Don't worry, no one's there."

"Oh, where's Xiaoya? Xiaoya likes you. I think you should do this to her first."

“Indeed,” Dante nodded. “But it’s fine as long as we don’t go all the way to the last step.”

"How can it be nothing? Wait! Just wait!" Argo cupped Dante's face in her hands, so close they could feel each other's breath. She asked cautiously, "You wouldn't have already been with Aya?"

Having understood her meaning, Dante said nothing and broke through the final distance.

"Well......"

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

"dong dong dong"

"......" Who exactly is this person at this time?

No matter who it was, Dante had no reason to turn them away. When he reached the door and opened it, there stood Silica.

"that......"

Letting out a helpless sigh, Dante scratched his head and said, "Can't you sleep?"

"Mmm." Silica timidly buried her face halfway in the pillow, her posture so cute it was almost pitiful. If you were to compare her to a dog, she would be a Chihuahua; if you were to compare her to a cat, she would be a short-legged cat.

Pina wasn't taken with her, because once a familiar's AI falls asleep, it doesn't need to be taken care of, so there's really no need to bring her along.

"Please come in."

"I'm sorry to make such a capricious request..." Before she could finish speaking, Silica entered the room and saw Argo sitting cross-legged on the bed.

"Oh, I'm having trouble sleeping too," Argo said with a playful smile.

"Go to sleep." Dante casually tossed a pillow from the bedside, which hit her right in the face.

It wasn't with much force, but Argo slowly leaned backward as if he had been struck, while maintaining his cross-legged position.

"Ah, why is Sister Argo here?" Several thoughts popped into Silica's head in an instant.

“Same as you,” Argo said with a grin, turning his face toward the door.

"Is that so?" Although she didn't know exactly what it was, Silica breathed a sigh of relief.

“Over here, over here.” Argo patted the bed and pointed to the other side of the bed. “There’s a spot next to this guy.”

"Okay." Silica lay on the bed with mixed feelings. So Miss Argo was an enemy too.

A short while later, the door to the room was knocked on again.

"Ah..." Argo opened his eyes and nudged the person next to him.

"..." Dante silently got up, pulled back the covers, walked to the door and opened it.

"Hehehe, sorry to bother you."

The girl's meticulously styled red hair hung low over her collarbone, casting butterfly-shaped shadows. The lines of her shoulders and neck, where the straps of her dress had slipped, were outlined like a fine brush painting. Tiny spots of light accumulated in the hollow of her collarbone, flickering with her breath.

"What? It's Lingyin." Argo exclaimed upon hearing the familiar voice.

"Huh? Huh!" Lingyin saw from Dante's side that there were actually two people in the room.

"Sister Lingyin is so cunning!" Silica puffed out her cheeks and said dejectedly. Dante had clearly said that only his sister could come, but somehow everyone had come.

"If you don't go to sleep now, you might not be able to get up tomorrow," Dante warned sternly, then pulled Lingyin, who was standing frozen at the door, inside.

"Ah." Lingyin exclaimed softly, then was lifted up in a princess carry.

She pressed her lips tightly together to keep her heart from jumping out of her chest, and at the same time, a sense of shame at being seen arose.

"If another one comes, there won't be enough room on the bed." After a sigh, Argo rearranged everyone's pillows so they could sleep sideways.

"We'll see then." Dante shook his head, placed Lingyin by the bedside, then knelt down on one knee to help her take off her slippers. Her slender bare feet were slightly pulled back, and her pearl-like toes were unconsciously curling up.

"Ugh, ugh." Lingyin buried her face in her pillow, her face burning hot like boiling red tea.

"Alright, go to sleep now." This time, Dante took the initiative to sleep on the far side to prevent anyone from rolling off the bed.

Argo was next to her, Silica was in the middle, and Lingyin was sleeping at the very back.

"Everyone..." Lingyin hesitated, wanting to say something but stopping herself.

"Don't ask, everyone's the same." Unlike Silica's struggle, Argo had completely let go of the past.

"Dong dong dong."

Jeliska seemed to have seen Lingyin enter Dante's room, which is why she followed her. "Oh dear, everyone's here."

She smiled serenely, the moonlight outlining her graceful silhouette, the lace trim of her sheer nightgown barely concealing her rounded curves.

As she leaned against the door frame, her waist slumped slightly, and her two long, alabaster legs were completely exposed from the slit. The semi-transparent collar rose and fell with her breath, vaguely revealing the alluring shadows among the snow-covered hills.

The movement of her left hand resting on the door frame caused the silk sleeve to slip down to her elbow, the lines of her forearm gleaming like honey glaze under the warm yellow wall lamp. The straps slipped down to her shoulders, the rounded shoulders shimmering with the subtle light of mother-of-pearl, and the creases of her spine were faintly visible through her cascading curls.

"May I sleep here too?" Jeliska asked one of the room's owners.

"Well, I'll sleep on the carpet then." Dante decided to make room for Jelisca.

"Oh, I'll feel guilty if I do that, it's your room after all." Jesca touched her face, looking troubled. "Ah! Why don't we all sleep on the carpet together?"

“Okay!” Silica was the first to agree. Sleeping on the carpet would mean she wouldn’t have to worry about falling off the bed, so… she wanted to sleep next to Dante.

"Haha, why sleep on the floor when there's a bed? Isn't that interesting?" Argo had no objection.

“Okay,” Lingyin nodded.

Silica had originally planned to sleep next to Dante, but Jeliska hugged her in her arms, clearly using her as a pillow.

"It's so soft and fluffy," Jeliska said, seemingly quite pleased.

Dante smiled at Silica's pitiful look, because he felt that Silica was enjoying it.

Yes, Silica felt very comfortable with her head pressed against a white, fleshy chest, but this was completely different from what she had expected!

What's going on with this mother-daughter-like pose?

Chapter 189: I'm Stronger During the Day

However, there is one slight problem... everyone chose to bring a pillow with them.

Didn't anyone think to bring their own blanket?!

Suddenly waking up for some unknown reason, Dante found himself unable to move. Looking to his left, he saw that his arm was tightly bound by Argo.

Her right arm was numb. Jeliska had somehow used her arm as a pillow. Looking down, she could see a black lace strapless top, a soft white daifuku, and Silica's head, which was sandwiched between herself and Jeliska.

Fortunately, Silica was turned towards me, so she was able to breathe steadily.

At the same time, Lingyin's little hand was holding his right hand. How could their hands be clasped together just from sleeping?

Lying on his back with a slight headache, Dante wondered what time it was and whether he should wake everyone up at once, since they had already been taken advantage of.

Then he suddenly realized that there seemed to be other people inside. He glanced towards the door and his eyes met those of a young lady wielding a rapier, her gaze burning with rage.

"..."

"..."

Dante and Asuna stared at each other in silence for several seconds. After seeing Asuna silently raise her fist, Dante took a deep breath and then shouted, "Wait, wait, let me explain first—!"