A journey to another world starting from a sword

Now, after nearly a month of imprisonment, they have finally been liberated amidst cheers echoing throughout Urubas.

You can also hear the slow-paced background music in the streets, unlike the string instruments that dominate the music in the various towns on the first floor.

The main melody here is played on the oboe, carrying a sense of melancholy. I wonder if Yuna will consider recreating it with her lyre.

Everywhere you look, people are so crowded in the bars that they're practically bursting at the seams, clinking wooden glasses around outside.

Perhaps at the same time, the starting town also presented the same scene.

This is why Asuna thought they should celebrate too. Looking at the golden ale spilled from the wooden glass, she couldn't help but feel thirsty, but she didn't want to mingle with strangers and drink with them.

After making their decision, Mitt led the way again, and they headed north.

The city of Urubas is divided into a cross shape with the Transfer Gate Square as the center. The south side is a market with shops, the east side is a residential area, the west side is a pasture full of grass, and the north side is a mess of small villages.

There are probably five or six taverns in the market to the south, and one each in the transfer gate square and the east square, but they are all probably packed with people now.

The villages to the north were sparsely populated, which suited their needs perfectly.

There's a shop here that Mit knows about, mainly because not many people come here.

Less than five minutes later, they were sitting at the bar counter with Yuna and Ashura.

The selection of drinks listed in Latin letters in the shop was less than half that of the hidden tavern in Razer village, but they still all ordered a brown ale.

Using the clear, resounding clinking of glasses as a signal, Dante, who was in charge of the opening, shouted: "Cheers to our reunion on the second floor!"

"cheers!"

After loudly expressing their joy, everyone tilted their heads back to let the icy liquid that stung their throats flow smoothly into their stomachs.

"Ha..." Asuna breathed a sigh of relief, then put down the wine glass that was about 30% full. Suddenly, a clapping sound came from the left.

"Asuna-san is amazing! I thought you were going to drink it all in one go."

Asuna's image is often that of a beautiful and elegant young lady, and even in Aincrad, she only gained a bit of a swordsman's aura. Yuna originally thought that she would only dabble in it.

Asuna was completely taken aback by Yuna's praise, and finally managed to squeeze out a few words while extremely shy.

"No, no, I'm just a little thirsty."

Suddenly, there was a loud bang. It turned out that Mitt and Ashura had handed the glasses back to the bar, leaving only a ring of white foam around the full glasses.

Leaving aside Ashurai, an adult woman, Mito's behavior as a girl was far too bold.

"So Mito really likes drinking," Asuna couldn't help but remark. She hadn't drunk much when she tried it with Mito before; was she just not in the mood for drinking back then?

“No.” Mitt shook her head. She had once secretly licked a mouthful of beer served at an adult banquet when she was in elementary school and had vowed never to taste it again.

But ever since he had a Violet Fizz cocktail in Razer eight days ago, Mitt has been hooked on it and often sneaks off to the bar for a couple of drinks behind everyone else's back.

Even now, I can appreciate ale, though I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

However, it's also related to the fact that the beer is so delicious; it's rare to see beer in a pub with such a refreshing and cool taste.

Even Silica took a few big sips, as if she were drinking it.

"Hey, don't you like to drink?" Asuna asked softly, covering her mouth as she saw that Dante's glass on the left still had more than half the liquid left.

"It's alright." Dante didn't know how to explain to Asuna that he had actually discovered last time that Aincrad's wine would make him drunk!

It wasn't really drunkenness, just a short-lived feeling of dizziness.

Afterwards, he also asked Argo and learned that players would receive a debuff if they drank alcohol in Aincrad.

The effect on him was truly amazing.

The second glass for everyone was a spirit wine discovered by Mitt.

However, there was a misunderstanding. After putting the menu back in the wooden frame for a while, Mitt frowned, feeling that something was wrong. She then discovered that the actual name of the Elven Grass Wine was "Elven Grass Wine," not the "Elven Grass Wine" she had thought of!

Even the liquid the owner poured into the slender glass was a bright green color.

This definitely doesn't look like ordinary wine! It looks more like some kind of herbal medicine.

I held it under my nose and shook it slightly. Sure enough, a grassy scent wafted up, but surprisingly, there was no fishy smell; it was all the fragrance of fresh flowers and herbs.

Take a small sip, and the delicate sourness combined with the sophisticated sweetness fills your mouth, while the refreshing herbal aroma then rises to your nose.

Dante looked slightly embarrassed after taking the first sip, which Asuna noticed.

"puff......"

He seemed to hear—a soft, giggling sound.

"The taste is not bad." Dante calmly put down his glass and commented.

"Really?" Asuna tilted her head slightly, revealing a suspicious yet amused expression.

"real."

Chapter 56: The World's First Bull, Bauer

Aside from the grassy taste that hits your nose, what you taste on your tongue is indeed a sweet and sour fruit wine.

The person who designed this wine managed to evoke such a jarring sense of dissonance in him; that's truly impressive.

Later, while chatting with Yuna, I asked her where she was practicing singing.

In fact, after what happened before, she didn't dare to stay in Razer anymore.

But now, no matter which hidden corner of the starting town you run to, people will eventually gather there.

"There's nothing I can do about it. If I heard your voice on the street, I would definitely look for you everywhere," Dante said, shrugging.

“I’m so happy to hear Mr. Dante say that.” Yuna gave a wry smile, but then seemed to remember another happy thing and said with a smile, “By the way, I learned the song you sang in Razelle last time, Mr. Dante.”

"Is that so?" Dante raised an eyebrow.

"Huh?" Asuna exclaimed in surprise, "What kind of song is it?"

"Hmph~" Yuna said with a smile, then took out her zither and jumped off her seat.

Upon seeing this, everyone immediately clapped and cheered.

Then Yuna gently plucked the strings, and a rich, beautiful voice sang from her throat, the epic music resounding throughout the small tavern.

The owner was meticulously wiping the cups, seemingly enjoying the bard's performance.

Since the tavern has a door and the location is quite secluded, there seems to be no need to worry about outsiders intruding and disrupting the performance.

As they expected, the song's time flew by.

As the music ended, Yuna removed her feather-decorated knitted hat and bowed in greeting, and Dante could still see a distinctive braid in her shoulder-length hair.

It's a hairstyle that rivals Asuna's and Mito's princess braids, and it looks adorable on Yuna.

"That's amazing!" Asuna covered her mouth, deeply moved. "Excuse me, what's the name of this song?"

Yuna glanced at Dante, who was still clapping silently, and said, "This song was taught to me by Mr. Dante. It's a previously unpublished piece, and its name is 'Bliss'."

“Bliss…a paradise of happiness?” Asuna murmured absently, suddenly remembering the meaning of the word.

“Yes, yes, it means happiness and paradise.” Yuna looked at Asuna with admiration. When she first heard this word, she had no idea what it meant.

"Eh—" Asuna then turned to Dante beside her, "Did you write this song?"

“It was made by the Muses.” Dante smiled and said, “It was given to me by a certain goddess.”

“Muse is…” Asuna glanced at him speechlessly, then immediately dismissed it, “Never mind.”

"So—did that muse teach you any other works?" Ashura asked jokingly, swirling his glass.

"Let me think about it first." Dante raised his cup and smiled back.

"R-really there are more?" Yuna asked excitedly, holding her lyre and running to Dante. "I can accompany you!"

"..." Dante stared at Yuna, who had rushed towards him, for a few seconds, "Huh?"

"Huh?" Yuna tilted her head.

"Huh?" the others exclaimed.

"No...don't look at me with those expectant eyes." Dante immediately noticed Yuna's disappointed expression, like a little animal, and quickly changed his words, "Okay, okay!"

Then Yuna's face changed from a disappointed look to one that looked like she was about to cry, and then to a silly grin. She was really silly.

"Hmm... This is a song by another muse. I wonder if the lyre can play it well." Dante reached out and took Yuna's lyre from her. After all, he had only been learning it for a short time, and it would be more reliable for him to accompany her himself.

The intense drumbeats were replaced by tranquil string sounds, and even Dante began to wonder if it would work.

And indeed, the voice that came out of her throat was exceptionally gentle.

"I agree, it's a timid past. A nameless fear has always lingered in my heart..."

The completely different tune of the song made the tavern freeze as if it had stopped; everyone except the singer remained motionless.

"The body that leaps high in the dream sweeps away all the lingering unease, and the silent, insignificant longing begins to spread. I, who am weak, finally understand that as long as you are there, I can bravely face the dark world..."

"I call your name until you hear it, and I want to experience more miracles of meeting you. I, who was once so weak, finally understand that with you, I can be strong no matter how dark the world is..."

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

"I want to be with you forever... I want to hold you tight right now... I swear I won't let you cry... I'll give you everything I have..."

On the way to dinner, Asuna kept humming the English part of the song she had just heard. Finally, after Dante sang it three times... she learned it? No way!

Asuna only memorized this English phrase; due to her strict upbringing, she rarely had the opportunity to go to karaoke with her friends.

Compared to Yuna, who can sing it after two tries, and Ashura, who can sing along after three tries, Asuna, Mito, and Silica simply don't have that sense of pitch, whether it's innate or acquired.

"Speaking of which, isn't this a love song?" Mito asked Dante, shifting his gaze from Asuna, who was walking happily ahead of him.

"Does it count?" Dante countered.

"..." Ignoring Dante's question, Mito brought up another matter, "Speaking of which, Yuna's childhood friend still isn't planning to change her mind..."

Mitt's unspoken message was that the other person was really stubborn, even though his childhood sweetheart had almost died not long ago, when he was probably still practicing swordsmanship in the starting town.

Dante wholeheartedly agreed with Mitt's assessment.

According to Yuna, the other person is the type who will never step outside the circle unless they have mastered their weapon to 150 proficiency.

what!

If you keep wasting time, you'll end up missing the deadline.

Moreover, Dante always doubted whether the other could persevere. Just as the two were about to say something more, Asuna suddenly stopped in her tracks.

"Is this the way?"

"Ah, um."

From the main east-west street, walk into the alleyway heading north, then turn right and left, and you'll see the restaurant you're looking for.

Discovering such hidden gems requires either good luck or a love of adventure and the time to do so.

Of course, these people do not belong to either of the two categories mentioned above.

As soon as you step inside, you're greeted by the sweet aroma of cream. There are currently no other players in the store.

Seeing this, Asuna opened the window, removed the cloak she had just put on, took out her chestnut-colored long hair, and breathed a sigh of relief.

Silica simply took off her hat, while Mitt casually flicked the ponytail behind her head.

The four of them found a seat deep inside and ordered their food: salad, cream soup, and bread...

Although it is simple, it is basically considered to be the highest-grade cuisine on the second floor.

When designing the food in Aincrad, the game's design team certainly wouldn't have concentrated all the delicacies on the first dozen or so floors.

Even the food on each floor of the restaurant is different; the vegetables in the salads, the type of bread, and the softness of the bread are all slightly different.

The apple pie I had on the first floor was quite a unique dessert; you probably wouldn't have the chance to try it on other floors.

When the dessert was served, everyone was surprised, except for Mitt.

As agreed, Dante not only paid for dinner, but also provided dessert.

What's truly terrifying is that just one slice of cake, the "Trembling Strawberry Cake," costs more than the three main courses combined.

We originally planned to each have one, but Asuna suggested that we order one piece to try first, and if it's just okay, then we'll skip it.

If everyone ordered one serving, Dante would have to spend almost a thousand colones on this one dinner alone.

He himself didn't care much, but Asuna felt a little bad about spending so much money.