Chapter 135: Asuna's Troubles

Several days have passed since the incident of the murder within the safe zone, and the relationship between Kirito and Asuna has become even closer.

At the same time, the frequency with which Asuna and Kirito visit Lingyun Garden has increased. She even once told Lingyun that when she saves up enough money in the future, she wants to build a house here and be neighbors with Lingyun.

In some respects, there are two main reasons why Asuna comes to Lingyun Garden: one is Lingqi's adorable cat-demon familiar, Baiyin, and the other is that entire cabinet of rare ingredients Lingyun has. Coupled with Kirito, who comes here to freeload meals all day, Lingyun cannot help but sigh that he seems to have raised the two protagonists of this world into foodies!

On this day, after Asuna finished eating a delicious feast at Lingyun's home, she lay limply on the table, completely drained of energy.

"What's wrong? You look so listless," Kirito asked with some curiosity after tidying up the bowls and chopsticks, looking at Asuna slumped on the table.

"Kirito, I suddenly regret joining the Blood Oath Knights back then!" Asuna said, feeling somewhat depressed.

"Why? Aren't you doing pretty well in the Blood Oath Knights? Plus, you're already a Vice Commander, what are you regretting?" Kirito asked, feeling a bit strange. "If others heard that Asuna, the 'Flash'—the 'Clearer of Ghosts'—actually said something like this, they would probably be scared to death! You're joking with me, right?"

"I'm not joking with you; it's just that some things have happened recently that have made me feel a bit irritable," Asuna waved her hand.

"What things? Tell me about them," Kirito sat down beside Asuna and asked with curiosity.

"You should know that when I first joined the Blood Oath Knights, in order to strengthen the progress of clearing this world, I imposed quite a few strict rules on the guild members!" Asuna began.

"Yeah, yeah, there was indeed such a thing. Although it felt a bit bad to me, thanks to those measures of yours, the speed at which the players in the Clearers are clearing bosses has increased quite a bit!" Kirito nodded slightly. "We've already cleared up to the sixty-something floors now!"

"That is true, but the guild now makes me feel a bit stifled," Asuna sighed.

"Did something bad happen?" Kirito asked. Regardless, Asuna is one of the few friends she has in this world, and she couldn't help but care about her affairs.

"Although I said before in the guild that I don't need a guard, as a matter of policy, all executives must be equipped with one, and even I, as Vice Commander, am no exception," Asuna said. "In the past, when the Blood Oath Knights were still small, the members were all personally recruited by the Commander one by one. But as our reputation grew, the number of members increased, and ever since we were called the strongest guild, the atmosphere in the guild has become somewhat abnormal!" Asuna's face was full of helplessness.

"A guard? Could it be that there's a problem with your guard?" Kirito quickly analyzed the reason for Asuna's distress.

"Yeah, I was assigned a guard before named Kuradeel; you should have seen him, right?"

"Kuradeel? Are you talking about that middle-aged guy who always has a gloomy face?" Kirito asked with a frown; it was clear that this person did not leave a very good impression on her!

"That's right, it's him. When the guards were being assigned, he volunteered to be my guard. I didn't think much of it at the time and just agreed. I never expected that it would lead to so much trouble now," Asuna said, looking distressed. "At the beginning, there was nothing wrong, but now, his guarding of me has simply turned into surveillance!"

"Surveillance? What kind of situation is that?" Kirito's expression turned serious all of a sudden.

"Can you imagine? Recently, every morning when I step out of the house I rented on the 50th floor, I can see him standing in front of my door! No matter where I go or what I do, he appears by my side, leaving me with absolutely no personal freedom. And whenever I ask him why he does this, he always uses the excuse that it's to ensure my personal safety and guarantee the progress of the clearing!" Asuna complained to Kirito. "Fortunately, one can use a Teleport Crystal to come directly to Lingyun's place, otherwise, I'm afraid he would have followed me here directly!"

"That's just too much!" Kirito slapped the table, making the items on it jump.

"But, Asuna, don't you feel that you are very different now compared to before?" Kirito suddenly leaned in close to Asuna and chuckled.

"Wh-what do you mean very different?" Asuna was a bit stunned by the sudden change of topic.

"Haven't you noticed? If it were the you from before, if that guy named Kuradeel used such an excuse to fob you off, you would have definitely gritted your teeth and endured it for the sake of the floor clearing. But now you've actually learned to complain to me; this is definitely not your old style!" Kirito smiled and nudged Asuna's body with her shoulder. "And your strength has also made great progress during this time. I remember these changes seem to have started appearing after the last time you spent a day alone with Lingyun. Tell me, what exactly did you two do that day to make you, who had the title of 'Clearer of Ghosts', turn into what you are now!"

While asking this question, Kirito herself felt a bit strange, not understanding why she would ask such a thing. But inexplicably, she really wanted to know what had happened between Lingyun and Asuna that day.

"This..." A hint of hesitation appeared in Asuna's tone.

Although this feeling appeared somewhat abruptly, inexplicably, she did not want others to know about the time she spent with Lingyun that day; she wanted to keep it as a secret time between herself and Lingyun. Especially regarding the way Mr. Nishida addressed her and Lingyun, she wanted even less for others to know.

Just as Asuna was racking her brain to find a plausible explanation to make Kirito stop pursuing the matter, another voice suddenly rang out from beside them: "Kirito, Asuna, you're at our place again? What were you talking about just now? You were talking so happily!"

Kirito and Asuna looked up to see Lingyun and Busujima Saeko appearing before them.

"Lingyun, you're back!" Asuna looked at Lingyun with some pleasant surprise. She had just been thinking about how to change the subject, and she didn't expect Lingyun to return at this moment; shifting the topic to Lingyun was undoubtedly the best method.

Looking at Asuna's surprised expression, Kirito let out a slight "tch" in her heart. She thought she could get out of Asuna what they had done that day, but she didn't expect Lingyun to return at this time and disrupt her plan.

"Nothing, it's just that Asuna has run into a little trouble recently!" Kirito's eyes rolled, and she suddenly spoke up.

"Run into trouble?" Lingyun frowned and looked at Asuna.

"Th-this..." Asuna glared slightly at Kirito, then stammered and told Lingyun about her current situation.

After hearing Asuna's account, not only Lingyun, but even Busujima Saeko beside him frowned. If such a thing happened to Busujima Saeko, she would definitely teach that guy named Kuradeel what a qualified guard is within minutes. But since this happened to Asuna, a girl who is a "good girl" in reality, it left her feeling a bit at a loss.

"Kuradeel?" Lingyun muttered in his heart. He had some impression of this person when he watched Sword Art Online—a seemingly insignificant minor character, a clown-like figure, but also the person who almost took the life of the original Kirito. For such a person, it is better to solve the problem as soon as possible! Lingyun immediately made a decision in his heart.

"Asuna, stay with me for this period of time; I will help you solve this matter as soon as possible!" Lingyun suddenly said.

"Eh?" Kirito and Asuna looked at Lingyun with astonishment.

Regarding their puzzled gazes, Lingyun just said indifferently: "For this kind of person and this kind of matter, I think it's better to solve it as soon as possible. After all, this matter already involves personal freedom. If it cannot be resolved, I will go find Heathcliff myself and demand an explanation! After all, you are my friend now, and if something happens, I cannot just stand by and watch!"

Busujima Saeko thought for a moment, then nodded slightly, agreeing with Lingyun's idea, and Kirito on the side also raised her hand to express her approval.

The vote was three to one, and Asuna helplessly agreed to this method, which seemed somewhat unreliable.