Chapter 67: Asuna

I run a general store; I can’t cook rare S-class ingredients like Golden Herring myself—I originally planned to sell it.

But the key point is, Kirito happened to come here this morning and also set his eyes on this Golden Herring.

He just didn’t have enough money to buy it, so he said he’d come back tomorrow after gathering the funds.

Upon hearing Asuna wanted to buy the Golden Herring, Agil scratched his bald head, looking deeply troubled.

If the original buyer were a stranger, Agil wouldn’t mind giving Asuna a favor.

But both Kirito and Asuna are my friends—that makes it complicated.

“Kirito wants this Golden Herring too? But I remember his cooking skill is just as low as Shengzai’s, right?”

Wait… I recall Yuki’s cooking skill is actually quite high. Since the two of them are already married in the game, the Golden Herring would naturally be cooked by Yuki.”

“Ah! Forget it! Not grabbing this dream ingredient is the ultimate disrespect to any foodie!”

Agil, how much did Kirito offer? I’ll pay double!”

After a brief hesitation, Asuna decisively chose the food over her friend—and immediately raised her bid.

“Asuna, you must understand: rare S-class dream ingredients like the Golden Herring aren’t ordinary food. I agreed to Kirito’s price—two hundred thousand copper Kael.”

If you want to buy it at double the price, that’s four hundred thousand copper Kael—and Kirito’s side…”

As players’ levels keep rising and earning Kael has become easier, Kael has lost much of its initial value.

But if the game’s payment system were still active, several hundred thousand copper Kael would roughly equal a hundred thousand yen.

Spending a hundred thousand yen on a single in-game ingredient is undeniably extravagant—even most hardcore foodies wouldn’t do it.

Even though SAO perfectly replicates food flavors, most players would likely spend such a sum on gear rather than satisfy their appetites.

“Triple! I’ll pay triple—three times the price! That should satisfy Kirito, right?”

After all, you’re a merchant, aren’t you? Highest bidder wins. When will Kirito even manage to scrape together the money for the Golden Herring?”

Triple the price meant six hundred thousand copper Kael. Even Agil’s heart skipped a beat at Asuna’s offer.

After less than a few seconds of hesitation, Agil readily accepted Asuna’s proposal.

There was no choice: aside from the fact that both Kirito and Asuna were his friends, he was still a merchant.

Kirito, that broke-ass, couldn’t even afford two hundred Kael without borrowing or going into debt—but Asuna offered triple, paid upfront, and took delivery immediately—who else would you sell it to?”

In truth, asking Asuna to suddenly produce six hundred thousand Kael would still be difficult for her.

But that didn’t matter—Asuna didn’t have enough, but others did.

When she opened her inventory and saw the eight-digit sum in the shared inventory, Asuna swiftly transferred six hundred thousand Kael to Agil.

After handing over the Golden Herring to Asuna, Agil looked at her with envy. “Sometimes I really envy Shengzai.”

The legendary ‘Flash’ now acts like a housewife, rushing home every day to cook for him.”

By the way, you two are married in-game, right? If all those male players who idolize the ‘Flash’ found out, Shengzai would probably get torn apart.”

Hearing Agil’s teasing, Asuna retorted dryly: “I think it won’t just be him who gets torn apart.”

Correct. Since the last time we explored the dungeon with the Moonlit Black Cat Guild, another half-year had passed.

Two months after that day, Kirito and Yuki finally confirmed their relationship and got married in-game.

After becoming a couple, Kirito spent all his savings to buy a house on the 50th floor of Aincrad and invited Shengzai, Asuna, and other friends.

That’s why Kirito, a top solo player, couldn’t even afford an S-class ingredient.

When Shengzai learned Kirito had truly married Yuki, he was stunned.

In his view, Asuna’s figure, looks, and personality were far superior to Yuki’s.

Yet Kirito still chose his first love—perhaps proving the saying: “First love is the most beautiful.”

Because Kirito chose to marry Yuki, Shengzai, who had always kept a polite distance from Asuna, began to relax his boundaries.

Moreover, Shengzai believed that, to some extent, his own actions had caused Asuna to lose her rightful place as the main lady—and thus felt guilty toward her.

Because of this, Shengzai and Asuna’s relationship gradually grew closer.

More than a month ago, during the assault on the 50th floor’s boss, Asuna carelessly took a direct hit from the boss, her HP instantly dropping to zero.

As she felt her life slipping away, Asuna looked at Shengzai before her and, wanting no regrets, confessed her feelings to him.

Just as her body was about to dissolve into fragments, Shengzai pulled out an item—“Christmas’s Final Gift”—and used it on the dying Asuna.

“Christmas’s Final Gift” was a rare item dropped by the seasonal boss “Traitor Nicholas,” who appeared in the Lost Forest on Floor 35 during the Christmas event.

Its effect: revive a dead player within ten seconds of death.

At the time, multiple powerful guilds—including the Holy Dragon Alliance—competed for this item, but Shengzai ultimately claimed it.

Originally, Kirito was supposed to fight for it—but since the Moonlit Black Cat Guild had no tragedy and Yuki didn’t die, Kirito’s obsession with the item faded.

As for Shengzai, he originally joined the fight thinking the revival item could fetch a high price—but never imagined he’d actually use it.

(End of Chapter)