A journey to another world starting from a sword

"Pfft..." The girl laughed heartily, then suddenly straightened up. "My name is Yuna. Thank you for coming to listen to my song."

"Um, that..." Mito, who had originally planned to disappear after sharing his thoughts, suddenly found it difficult to speak.

Dante immediately introduced himself, saying, "My name is Dante."

"Mite." Mite could only repeat his own name.

The woman with short bob chuckled and said, "Yes, I'm Ashura. Nice to meet you, Sister Mitt and Mr. Dante."

Ashura...

The most famous tailor in SAO in the future, it is said that if it is not top-quality material, the other party will not even make a move.

But Ding looked closely at the other person's current attire and saw that he already possessed the style of a future top fashion designer. He was probably an expert in this field in real life.

After the four introduced themselves, the owner, who came out from behind the bar, arranged thick leather coasters in front of them and placed the beverage glasses on them.

You can clearly see what kind of liquid is inside, which is completely different from the wooden mugs in ordinary restaurants.

Dante's drink is a bright red liquid that looks very stimulating, while Mitt's carbonated water is decorated with lime cut into half-moon shapes and comes with a straw that looks like it's made of plant material.

Before the woman named Ashura was a cocktail glass filled with a milky white liquid.

Then, in front of the girl named Yuna was a stemmed glass with round lemon slices stuck in the rim.

"Wow, the lemon is as bright as a full moon!" Yuna exclaimed, then picked up her glass and stretched out her hand toward the center of the table, gesturing for everyone to clink glasses.

Then Ashura interrupted him, saying, "Little You, you don't need to clink glasses when you toast in a bar like this."

"Hey, is that so?"

"Because thin-walled glasses might break, you can hold the glass up like this."

Ashura skillfully gripped the stem of the cup and raised it to about eye level.

"I understand." Yuna nodded, indicating that she understood.

Then the four of them sipped their wine together. Dante felt a sour and spicy sensation linger in his throat after his first sip, and even his breath had a stimulating taste. It was so realistic.

At that moment, he noticed Mitt beside him, who also seemed surprised by her drink and looked at the bartender.

“You seem a little tired, so I’ve added some lime cordial. If it’s not to your liking, I can make it again,” the old gentleman said, winking as if he had anticipated Mitt’s reaction.

"No, no. It's very delicious, thank you for your concern," Mite hurriedly denied, then lowered his head.

Seeing this, Dante shook his head and continued to savor his "Bloody Mary".

"This bar, as far as I know, is the only place in Aincrad where you can get the same cocktails as in the real world." Ashura puffed out his chest smugly, raised a finger in the hand holding the glass, and said softly in a tone that revealed an important secret.

"Ah, so this is also an official Easter egg." Dante chuckled knowingly as his lips lightly touched the rim of the cup.

Chapter 23: The Neighbor's Girl Runs Away from Home

The group discussed why such delicious wine wasn't served in all restaurants.

Perhaps it's because the game designers didn't want players to be discussing in a fantasy-style restaurant where "Long Island" is, "Manhattan" is, or who "Martini" is.

Hahaha......

That would definitely make it too unimmersive.

"Um... that song just now, was it the ending theme of 'Nana and Hachi'?" Mito asked Yuna, trying to end their casual conversation.

“Yes! Miss Mitt actually knew about it? That being said, it’s a rather niche work.” Yuna looked at Mitt with obvious delight, as if she had met a kindred spirit.

“Yes, I loved it when I was little. Although I’d ​​forgotten about it before, I’m so happy to hear it again after all these years,” Mite nodded.

“And that rearranged version of ‘The Town of Beginnings’ is also fantastic,” Dante added. “Miss Yuna wrote the lyrics herself, didn’t she?”

"Yes. And you two can just call me Yuna." Yuna smiled, then nodded shyly. "For now, consider this my own attempt at writing... Is it a bit awkward?"

"No." Dante and Mitt shook their heads in unison.

"It perfectly fits the style of the fantasy world. Yuna, you will definitely become a famous bard in Aincrad in the future." Dante gave a very high evaluation while swirling his glass.

“Hmm, the part in the lyrics, ‘Please grant blessings to the traveler,’ although I can’t quite put my finger on what’s so good about it, just sounds really nice,” Mitt chimed in.

"That's great~" Yuna said, gently patting her chest.

At the same time, Mitt let out a long sigh of relief, took out a hundred silver coins from his pocket, and placed them on the table.

"I just listened to your song for free, so let me pay the bill. Ms. Ashurai, thank you for telling me about this secret shop, the drinks are really good."

After saying that, she glanced at Dante, but only glanced at him, and then reached for the scythe by the wall.

"Wait!" Yuna suddenly called out.

This startled Mitt, who sat bolt upright. "W-what?"

"Ah, I'm sorry, it was so sudden." The well-behaved Yuna apologized first, then looked at Mito, who was avoiding her gaze, and said, "Miss Mito, do you remember the lyrics of the ending theme song for 'Nana and Hachi'?"

"Eh?"

It turned out that Yuna couldn't remember one of the lyrics, and since Mitt had seen it, she decided to ask her.

But the last time Mitt saw it was probably when he was in elementary school, and he couldn't really remember it.

So, as a hint, Yuna started playing music in the tavern after consulting with the NPC owner.

"I'm sorry." After hearing this, Mitt looked sad, but still shook his head.

“I see…” Yuna turned to Dante and asked, “So, Mr. Dante, what are your thoughts?”

"I don't have any either, but you could ask the players in Aincrad for help. How about you put up a sign on the inn's notice board in the starting town?" Dante suggested, pointing to his finger.

"Huh? You're asking such a pointless question in this situation? Won't you get scolded?" Yuna said worriedly, pouting.

“Then ask again when you’re famous,” Dante shrugged and said jokingly. “I think it won’t be long before rumors of a famous bard named Yuna appear in Aincrad.”

"Is that so?" Yuna blushed slightly, feeling quite embarrassed.

"Yes," Dante chuckled, then took a silver coin from his pocket and tossed it where Mitt had left the money. "Thank you for your wonderful performance. The second drink is on me."

"Then I..." Mitt was still thinking of saying goodbye.

"Have you made any plans?" Yuna asked innocently.

"No, but..."

"In that case, wouldn't it be nice to have another drink with us?" Yuna pleaded with Mitt. "I won't force you, but it's a little bit of a waste to come to this shop and only drink carbonated water."

"Then just one more drink." Reluctantly, Mitt could only sit back down and look at the menu that Miss Ashura had handed him.

In the real world, she has never drunk alcohol; she is too young and has never had the opportunity.

After arriving in Aincrad, he accompanied the curious Asuna to order wine and beer several times.

To be honest, in my memory only wine is unsweetened fruit juice, and beer is carbonated water with a slightly bitter and sour taste.

Seeing Yuna, who is the same age, seemingly enjoying that Full Moon Cocktail, I'll try it again.

Just as she was struggling to decide what to order, the man beside her had already raised his hand to place his order: "Violet Fizz."

Violet Fitz...

"I'll have this one too." With a sigh, Mitt closed the menu.

Soon, the sound of the cascading wine jug began.

This time was no exception; the NPC owner quickly brought the glass to the table, taking less than a minute.

Even in the dim light of a candle, the liquid in the glass still shimmered with a stunning purple hue.

The violet symbolizes eternal beauty and love.

Now it sounds so fitting.

The first thing you notice upon tasting it is the rich floral aroma, followed by a refreshing sweetness and sourness, and then the tingling sensation of carbonation.

The spiciness and bitterness floating beneath these flavors are probably the taste of alcohol, but they are not unpleasant.

He could hear Yuna and Ashura discussing whether the drinks in SAO contained artificial coloring. Dante watched as Mito drank the cocktail, tears streaming down his face and landing on his right hand that was holding the glass.

"Miss Mitt?"

Hearing Yuna's concerned voice, Mito hurriedly wiped away his tears and said, "N-nothing."

“This doesn’t seem like nothing’s wrong,” Ashura sighed softly. “If there weren’t two of you, I would have thought you were some criminal players.”

The two of them could be teammates traveling together, and trust is a luxury these days, which is why Ashura didn't suspect their intentions.

but......

"Aren't you two partners?" she asked with a sense of certainty, as if she had figured something out.

“We’ve only met before,” Dante explained.

"...PK?" Mito agreed with Ashura's warning, which was also the reason why she was determined to take Asuna out of town.

But she softly refuted Ashura's point of view, "Given the current situation, no one would want to PK, right? Because, killing players here..."

"That's why there are players who are keen on PvP," Ashura said, spreading his hands. "Because there are no legal consequences for doing anything here. In fact, this is also 20% the reason why I'm with Xiaoyou."

"Huh?" Mit looked at the two of them in confusion, assuming that they must be partners in the same game.

It turns out that Yuna only wanted to practice her zither and singing, and had no intention of going to the front lines.

As for why it was in "Raiser Village" instead of the safer starting town, it's because...

"Actually, I ran away from home," Yuna declared in a shocking statement.

Chapter 24: Hidden Malice

Of course, this is not running away from home in the traditional sense.

It wasn't because she had a fight with her childhood friend who had invited her to come over.

"He seemed to think that it was all his responsibility that things turned out this way, saying that he would definitely protect me until we beat the game."

When Yuna said this, Mit's breath hitched, but fortunately Yuna didn't seem to notice and continued talking.

"I'm certainly happy to hear that, but his approach is a bit extreme. He said that they're not allowed to leave the starting town until their weapon skill proficiency is high enough!"

"Eh... is that enough? What exactly is that number?" Dante asked curiously.

"Minimum 150!"

The starting town has several training grounds where you can practice sword skills. As long as you use your sword skills, you can gain proficiency even when facing the training dummies.

However, the proficiency gained in towns is extremely low, almost unbearably low, far less efficient than going out into town to kill monsters.

Is the other person simply persistent, or overly cautious?

None of them could speak.

"How long will this take?" Mite asked uncertainly.

"About half a year, I guess." Dante knew the answer.

“Yes. That’s what Nuo-jun said,” Yuna continued. Nuo-jun was her childhood friend.

Half a year... well, that is indeed a long time. Dante guessed that the other party probably didn't persevere, because in half a year, Aincrad would have already conquered twenty or thirty floors.

Most players who left town before him have already reached a proficiency level of 150.

Even if you try to catch up at that point, it will be impossible to catch up with the top players, and it's hard to say whether you can even reach the level of a mid-level player.

"...Well, I wanted to find a quiet place to practice my playing, but he said it was absolutely impossible. Not only that, he also said that I should practice swordsmanship more than singing and playing instruments. I was so angry at his words that I thought I would just leave by myself, so I secretly ran away from the hotel."

"I see..." Ashura finally understood why Yuna had left the town of beginnings.

The relationship between Yuna and Ashura was also explained.

“They’re artists and fans, right?” Ashura joked with a smile.

"Really, don't say things like that! Let me make it clear, I'm also a fan of Miss Lily!" Yuna blushed and gently poked Ashura.

She took down the wide-brimmed hat hanging on the hook on the wall and stroked it lovingly. "This was made for me by Miss Li."

That bard-like equipment was made by Ashurai himself; he truly deserves to be called a future master tailor.

Even their entire outfits were made by Ashurai. Yuna is a bard, and Ashurai is a tailor. The two of them formed such a unique combination.

As for why the two came to Raizer Village, it was because powerful monsters would appear on the way to Horuka Village, but these were basically non-existent here, with only some wild boars and wolves spawning.