I, Asuna, don't want to travel around the world

The fight for the throne has just begun. It is said that with the support of the powerful Minister Ernest, the three-year-old prince is currently the strongest contender for the throne.

...Well, actually this is just gossip from the countryside. Who knows whether it is true or not?

If it is true that even the residents of border cities know what is going on in the empire's top leadership, then it can only be said that the minister is indeed powerful and influential to the point of being famous throughout the world. Otherwise, how could people in such a remote area know such things?

However, if this is the case, then Minister Ernest is also very likely to be determined as an "evil" being by the system.

But until now, after Asuna dealt with several gang members, her system still did not respond at all, and she did not know what the "evil" it was talking about was.

The city of Taisbi is located on the edge of the Western Kingdom, which has been restless in recent years. It is a relatively important border city for the Empire to the Kingdom. Further in front, closer to the front line, is a fortress city heavily protected by three layers of walls. That is the real border fortress and the front line. There are 300,000 imperial troops there to guard the border.

The continent of this world seems to be a Pan-continent, which means that there is only one continent on this planet. Although it is indeed quite exaggerated that it is as big as the capital of the most powerful country on the continent established thousands of years ago, it does not seem completely incomprehensible?

However, although she said she understood, in reality, Asuna still found it difficult to understand.

Not only is the area exaggerated, the population is also much larger than expected. Finally, even the level of technology is not something Asuna really understands.

The drunk uncle talked for a long time, but Asuna was still confused.

For example, there are even troops in the army and the city guards who use automatic rifles!

But, in addition to this, they also have troops armed with cold weapons?

There were street lights to indicate electricity, but many people still used candles indoors, and there were no telephones or other electricity-using products, as should have appeared a few years after the advent of electricity.

The overall feeling is that this is a world where modern times and ancient times are mixed together.

However, there is actually a reason for mixing weapons.

This is because many of them can directly wield cold weapons and fight against dangerous species that are larger than dinosaurs!

They are just like the adventurers in Orario, all of them are cheating players!

07 How did you find me?

Perhaps, this is the reason why the army uses cold weapons?

The situation in this world is really chaotic.

All kinds of messy information mixed together make it hard to know how to deal with it. No matter how hard you think about it, it's hard to unify because these things are too messy.

In the end, Asuna could only give up thinking about these questions for the time being.

Walking out of the alley, outside is a noisy commercial street.

Many people set up stalls here, selling all kinds of livestock meat, vegetables, seasonings and other foods.

Amid the bustling crowd, the stall owner shouted his wares to the pedestrians on the street in an effort to attract customers.

On the street, housewives are either bargaining with vendors at vegetable stalls, looking for fresh ingredients; or walking slowly, thinking about what food to cook today to reward their families.

The children are constantly fighting, chasing and running, and when they see food they want to eat, they will pull their parents' hands and beg them to buy it.

In this bustling street, there is a noisy and lively atmosphere everywhere. If nothing unexpected happens, this atmosphere will continue until sunset.

At noon, Asuna began to prepare to leave the city.

She was ready to leave here and go to other places in the empire to take a look and witness the corruption and darkness of the empire with her own eyes.

At the same time, Asuna plans to seriously consider what she can and should do during this period, as well as how the so-called "evil" is defined.

In order to better fit her role as a "traveler", Asuna first bought some food and clothes to change, and then bought a horse for transportation.

Although he doesn't need a horse at all given his own strength, have you ever seen a traveler who is alone, without any food or clothes, and even without a means of transportation?

If you go to someone empty-handed and tell them you are a traveler from somewhere, they will definitely not believe you.

Riding horses was not allowed in the city, so Asuna let the horses carry food and clothes while she studied the map she had just bought and thought about her next destination.

When they were still some distance away from the city gate, two little guys suddenly ran towards her from the side of the road.

"?"

Looking up, she saw the two little ones, one big and one small, who looked very similar, the only difference being the eye color and hairstyle. They were the Red Eyed and Black Eyed girls who she had been treating as maids and running errands for for a week.

"Ok?"

Asuna glanced at her cloak in confusion.

That’s right, it is indeed produced by SAO, right?

The effect is still effective. How did they find me?

This was the first time that an item from SAO failed, and Asuna couldn't help but feel a little surprised.

However, although she was surprised, Asuna ignored the two little guys and lowered her head to study the map in her hand again.

However, although Asuna ignored them, the two little guys hesitated and continued to follow her footsteps, following Asuna closely like a bug following the king of children.

After walking around for a while in silence.

"I say, what do you want to do by following me?"

Asuna stopped, took off her hood, and looked at the two little guys behind her with a tense face.

"And how did you two find me?"

“You’ve been following me… Could it be that you want to follow me to the city gate and then report me to the guards?

Please, if you really do that, it won’t be me who will die, but the guards and you.”

“.....!”

"elder sister....."

When Asuna put her hand on the inferior sword at her waist, the two sisters gasped in fright and took two steps back.

Akahime stood in front as always, while Kurohime huddled behind her sister.

"Hei Tong, don't be afraid...it's okay."

Akame, who was also afraid of Asuna in her heart, remained calm because of her sister's stance.

While comforting her sister, she mustered up the courage to look at Asuna: "We won't go looking for the guards, but... please, please let us follow you!"

"Follow me? What for? Aren't you afraid that I will kill you?"

Asuna frowned.

"If you wanted to kill us, you could have killed us long ago."

“And during this time, you didn’t even hit us because you were in a bad mood... I believe... you are different from the adults on the street, so... please let us follow you!”

Akahiko calmly analyzed by giving examples.

As expected, am I too gentle to them?

"…Forget it. I don't have the energy to take care of a child."

This was so good in contrast to the adults on the street that Asuna didn't know what to say.

"I, we won't be a burden, and we don't need any care. As long as we can follow, that's enough..."

"Follow? Is there any point in just following?"

"If we follow... no one will come to bully us. I don't care... but they will also beat Hei Tong."

After all, it was to protect my sister.

Asuna sighed in her heart, thinking that Kuroneki was really lucky to have a sister who cared about her like this.

Moreover, generally speaking, most people walking together are in the same group, so if you follow them, you will be regarded as a group.

For homeless children, following an adult is like having an umbrella of protection.

At least those thugs and hooligans would not attack a child who is with adults.

But two little kids wandering the streets are easily bullied.

No matter whether they are adults or children, they will kick the dogs if they don’t like them. It is normal for them to be beaten to death one day. Even if they get food from dogs, it will be snatched away by local homeless people.

Although they were still somewhat afraid of Asuna, they had no other choice.

The best way at this stage is to follow closely!

After all, children without parents and living on the streets are at the bottom of society and have no human rights. No one will protect them and they have no choice about the current situation.

The vast majority of children need to rely on others to survive, especially in border cities like this where there are no orphanages. They can only survive if they are lucky enough to be picked up by someone. Otherwise, even if they are still alive now, who knows how long they can live?

Most homeless children will die on the streets, then die unknown to anyone, and finally their bodies will be abandoned in the wilderness.

Looking at the two little guys in front of her who were looking at her nervously, Asuna patted her head in annoyance.

"Forget it, just follow me if you want."

"But how did you find me?"

In the end, Asuna let them follow her, but doubts still remained in her heart.

08 Senior "Evil Man"

"real?!"

"May I??"

After hearing Asuna's words, Akame and Kurome showed expressions of surprise, so much so that they subconsciously skipped Asuna's next sentence.

Asuna: "..."

Shouldn't I be soft-hearted?

"It's fake, see you later."

Asuna shook her head repeatedly at the two sisters who expressed disbelief in her words, and just led the horse, ignoring the two stunned sisters, and continued walking towards the city gate.

As for how the other party discovered this problem of his, he can just find someone to experiment with it later.

"Oh....No....Right, I'm sorry! We're not doubting....It's just....please don't abandon us!"

"Oh, sorry.... sorry, please wait for us!"

The elder sister apologized nervously, and the younger sister followed suit and apologized as well, and they ran after Asuna together.

Just like that, Asuna, who originally planned to "travel" alone, suddenly had two little guys around her to liven up her life and do part-time errands.

...

……

Leave the city gate and walk into the street outside the city.

As soon as they left the city gate, the three of them encountered a problem that was neither big nor small.

Although they were traveling together as a group of three now, Asuna had originally intended to travel alone, so naturally there was only one horse.

"I'll sit on top, and you two can run behind. I believe your endurance is as good as that of the horses."

Asuna patted the horse's thick neck with a smile, and made a proposal to the two sisters who were hurriedly catching up behind her, which made them dumbfounded.

"This...is this a joke...?"

"My sister and I can't outrun a horse..."

"What? You can't even outrun a horse? You guys are really too much trouble."

Asuna was just joking in the first place, so she certainly wouldn't really let them run behind the horse.

Asuna did not say anything else. She just climbed onto the horse's back amid the anxious and disappointed looks of the two people, and then looked down at the two sisters.

"You are still very young, so it shouldn't be a big problem for one horse to carry three people. You can choose who goes in front and who goes behind."

"Hey? Front and back?"

Akagi didn't quite understand and tilted her head slightly.

“If the two of you are in the front, it will be inconvenient to ride a horse… Well, if I were the kind of Indian who can ride a motorcycle with three people in the front, maybe it would be possible?

But let me make it clear that this is also my first time riding a horse... Well, the front is relatively safe. Okay, enough of the nonsense, are you two going to get on or not?"

"Then Black Eye is in the front."

As the elder sister, Akahime made the decision without hesitation.

Because of the posture, it would be difficult for someone in front to bend over, so it would be much more convenient to go up from the back first. Therefore, Asuna first bent down, put her hands under the armpits of Akame who had already cooperated by raising her arms, picked her up and put her at the back, and then carried the timid Kurome to the front.