Chapter 118: The Guests Who Came

After receiving the email from Lingyun, all the members of the Moonlit Black Cats rushed over here, wanting to see just how beautiful the house Lingyun had decorated himself really was.

When Keita and the others arrived here, gazing at the vast garden before them, they couldn't help but gape in astonishment.

"Wow! This place is so beautiful!"

"This place is truly too beautiful; I never imagined Mr. Lingyun could find such a beautiful spot in SAO!"

"Lingyun, you've made me want to buy a house here too... I'll be your neighbor here when the time comes!"

"You? Keita, do you have any idea how much money it costs to build a place like this? Even if you sold ten or even twenty Keitas, you couldn't buy this plot of land!"

Watching the members of the Moonlit Black Cats discussing his newly built home, Lingyun smiled and said, "This is indeed a very beautiful place, but building it wasn't that simple. To build this house well, I practically poured my entire fortune into it."

"What, it's that expensive?" Keita couldn't help but widen his eyes.

He had been with Lingyun for quite some time now. From Lingyun's initial resource support when they started their small shop, to the large dividends Lingyun received after the shop's business boomed, he knew just how wealthy Lingyun was. If there were a rich list in SAO, Lingyun would definitely be the one occupying the top spot; only the others in the God Squad could compete with him. But now, for him to say that this house had exhausted his savings, it couldn't help but surprise him.

Kirito, who arrived shortly after, also heard Lingyun's words and widened her eyes, though her attention was quickly drawn away by the beautiful scenery in the garden.

"It really is a beautiful place!" Kirito also exclaimed in her heart. "Perhaps having a house of my own here in the future and becoming Lingyun's neighbor would be a pretty good choice!"

Once this thought appeared, it spread uncontrollably in Kirito's heart. After calculating her own wealth in her mind, a smile curled at the corner of Kirito's mouth.

"Welcome." At the entrance of the garden, several NPC maids bowed slightly to Keita and the others.

"Maids, these are maids, NPC maids!" Keita said with some excitement.

"I originally wanted to find some traditional Chinese handmaidens, but I only found maids here for now, so I have to make do!" Lingyun shrugged slightly. "After we clear higher floors, I'll see if I can find handmaidens with a Chinese aesthetic. After all, a garden paired with maids always gives me a feeling of disharmony."

After Kirito and the others arrived, Luo Yexi and the others also rushed back one after another. When they saw this beautiful garden, they were full of praise for Lingyun's previous choice. Especially when they learned that there were rooms for them in this garden, they immediately went off excitedly to choose their own rooms.

"Lingyun, I want to build a house here too when the time comes and become your neighbor," Kirito said to Lingyun.

"You want to find a place to build a house here too?" Upon hearing Kirito's words, a trace of astonishment appeared in Lingyun's eyes. After all, most of Kirito's focus was currently on clearing SAO; why would she suddenly think of building a house now?

"You don't need to worry about the reason for building the house; you just have to design the house for me when the time comes!" Kirito gave Lingyun a light nudge.

Although he felt something was a bit off, Lingyun still nodded slightly: "No problem, I'll design one for you then. However, you need to be mentally prepared—the construction cost for a house built according to my blueprints is very high!"

"Don't worry, I'm mentally prepared," Kirito nodded slightly.

"By the way, how is Asuna doing lately?" Lingyun asked.

"What else could it be? It's the same old thing. During this time, the Blood Oath Knights have been stuck by the floor boss. It's said that because the boss's defense is too high, they are unable to deal enough damage to it," Kirito replied.

"The boss's defense is too strong? Enough to make the people of the Blood Oath Knights feel troubled?" Lingyun raised an eyebrow.

"Don't worry, Asuna said they have already found a way to deal with the boss's defense, and they will definitely be able to take down this boss tomorrow," Kirito smiled.

"Perhaps they won't need to go!" Luo Yexi, who walked up from behind the two, spoke up.

"Won't need to go? Could it be..." Kirito looked toward Luo Yexi with some surprise.

"The boss you're talking about should be that Pangzi who can only serve as a meat target, right? Although its skin is thick enough, it's still vulnerable as long as it's just a target!" Luo Yexi spread her hands.

Just as Luo Yexi finished speaking, Kirito received a system email notifying her that the 30th floor had been cleared.

"You guys, really..." A wry smile appeared on Kirito's face; she could imagine what kind of mood Asuna must be in right now.

Asuna, who was leading guild members to farm materials in a certain map, couldn't help but have her expression change slightly after receiving the announcement.

"Vice Commander, should we continue?" a member asked, emboldened to step forward.

"Keep farming. This material can effectively lower a monster's defense. We might not need it now, but we will definitely need it in the future!" Asuna gritted her teeth and said. "Besides, if we had been prepared earlier, this boss wouldn't have been lost, would it?"

"Yes, Vice Commander!" The member nodded slightly and then conveyed Asuna's order to the other members.

After receiving Asuna's order, the other members of the Blood Oath Knights continued to attack the monsters in front of them. Asuna, however, stared blankly into the distance, not knowing what she was thinking.

Among the Blood Oath Knights members attacking the monsters, one member looked up toward Asuna, a burning light flashing in his eyes.

In Lingyun's garden, the others were chatting and laughing in the parlor, while Lingyun and Sachi were busy in the kitchen.

Lingyun hadn't expected that while Sachi was practicing armor-smithing, she was also studying culinary arts. Seeing how skillfully she used various kitchen utensils, it was clear that her cooking skills had reached a quite advanced level. To raise her cooking skills to this point in just a few months showed how much effort Sachi had put in.

Lingyun had initially refused Sachi's help in the kitchen; after all, Sachi was a guest, and there was no reason for a host to let a guest cook while he rested on the side. But in the end, he couldn't stop Sachi, as she said she wanted to cook a meal for the others who had taken care of her for so long to express her gratitude, and Lingyun couldn't refuse. However, there were quite a lot of dishes to make this time, so Lingyun joined in with Sachi.

After a period of effort from the two, a sumptuous meal appeared before the others.

After enjoying a wonderful feast, Kirito took Sachi to tour the garden. After all, they had never seen a real garden before, so it was normal for them to be interested in Lingyun's residence. The other members of the Moonlit Black Cats gathered together, playing some small games.

Finally, Luo Yexi and the others went to decorate their own rooms. After all, Lingyun himself didn't know their preferences for rooms, so he could only leave the rooms empty and let them decorate them themselves.

Watching everyone doing their own things, a smile curled at the corner of Lingyun's mouth. Even in a world like SAO filled with the threat of death, one can still find moments that feel leisurely, can't one?