Chapter 11: Misunderstanding
Rey, Asuna, and Mito were chatting together in the inn's hall.
The atmosphere around them was very quiet. But among all of the people gathering here, their group stood out the most as they chatted while laughing amidst this gloomy situation.
Even the people around them were looking at them with strange looks.
They decided to ignore the three of them and just assumed that they must have lost their mind.
It had been a few minutes since they had been chatting.
"Haa...but I didn't expect that you were in the room next to mine."
Rey was surprised that Asuna and Mito were occupying the room next to his.
"Then, what should we do now?" Asuna asked Rey. Asuna herself had many important affairs in the outside world. So, she could not linger here longer and had to quickly find a way out.
"I also do not know. I hope the people out there can get us out of here. But given how organized Kayaba Akihiko's plans are, I doubt anyone in this era can get us out."
He shook his head.
Rey himself is still looking for other ways to get out of here.
But considering that the person who had trapped them was a technological genius, it was of course impossible for Rey to beat him in that field.
Moreover, he never saw someone out there who had such great capabilities as Kayaba and match him, in his entire life.
"Does that mean the only way out is to clear all the floors of this tower?"
Mito asked with a hopeful face.
"Maybe,"
He answered in a doubtful and uncertain tone as he shrugged his shoulders. Rey can only give that answer for now.
The two girls could only furrow their brows at his answer.
"What do you mean 'maybe'?"
Asuna could only question Rey's ambiguous answer.
"That means I don't want to be so sure that there's no way out of here but to finish this game, that's all."
Actually, he has a way to get out of here. The only reason is that he didn't want to give the two of them too high expectations.
After all, for this method, he wasn't sure this plan would work 100% and it would take quite a long time to do it.
"Hah… this really frustrates me."
Mito rested her head on the table. She was looking down limply in the hope that Rey would find a way, but it seemed the result was the same.
"What else can we do? I can't find a loophole to stop this game. Both from the Nerve Gear and the game."
"Maybe if I could contact the outside world, I could think of a way, it's just that communicating with the outside world alone would be impossible."
"Only one person can contact the outside world and that is the administrator himself. No one but him can."
If he could contact the outside world, then things would be much easier for him.
The problem that Rey faces in his plan is that he cannot contact people in the real world.
The plan requires the help of 'that person' to run.
But sadly, Kayaba himself was the GM of this world, and he is the only one who could contact the outside world. Rey himself was furious at Kayaba, his fists were itching to hit his face.
He and everyone else who was trapped couldn't help but be frustrated.
"Did the development team not add a calling feature or something? So we can communicate with the real world?"
Mito raised her head slightly and looked at Rey.
Usually in online games, there are features that connect players with their contacts with other people in the real world.
So players can also use the game to contact or send messages through the game.
Moreover, there are customer service features in online-based games for players as a place to send their complaints.
"There's nothing...! After all, yesterday was the first day of the game's launch. Of course, we haven't thought about adding a call feature. Even if there was such a feature, Kayaba would definitely delete it anyway." Rey shook her head.
The development team itself only makes facilities for exchanging messages between players and the only way to make outgoing calls is through customer service or in this game called the GM.
"You're right." She could only let out a long sigh hearing Rey's explanation.
Meanwhile, Asuna just kept silent and watched the two of them with a worried and downcast face. She didn't know anything about this world so she could only listen to the two of them.
Only Rey and Mito can help her for now.
Realizing the atmosphere was turning gloomy, Rey decided to break the silence.
"Alright, let's forget about that for now. We can think about it another time." He didn't want to worry them for now. They have to keep their state of mind stable.
If they were to be constantly beset by anxiety and restlessness, they would gradually lose their minds and go mad.
After all, they still had time to finish this game. So, Rey decided to take it slow.
"By the way, are you two hungry?"
Hearing Rey's question, they both raised their heads and raised their eyebrows.
"Eh? Can we feel hungry too?" However, unlike Mito, Asuna was surprised to find that she could feel hungry too even though she was in the game.
"Of course, Asuna. Wait…?! Don't you feel hungry at all?" Mito raised her eyebrows and widened her eyes. Mito himself was also surprised when her friend just found out about it.
Just like Mito, Rey was also surprised at Asuna's ignorance.
'Did she not feel hungry at all since yesterday?' was what they were thinking at the moment. They thought there might be something wrong with their friend.
"Ah-ah, no-no! I did feel it. It's just that I ignored it because I thought it was just my feelings."
Finding herself being stared at by her two friends, Asuna waved her hand because making them misunderstand her.
She also felt hungry, it's just that she didn't really care about it because her mind was still full to process all of yesterday's events.
Hearing Asuna's explanation, Rey and Mito breathed a sigh of relief.
"Is that so? But the problem is, the food menu here is very limited." Mito called out her protest.
The food in Aincrad is very limited, but it just depends on the creativity of the player. There are many possibilities here and making various kinds of food is one of them.
If you have cooking skills then you can make many kinds of famous dishes. Of course, that's if the ingredients are there.
"Yes. There is only very basic food here, for example, only this dry bread can be eaten for beginners." Rey let out a disappointed sigh, agreeing with Mito.
He opened his inventory and took out a loaf of dry bread. It's just plain dry bread that you can get on the stall at the side of the road.
"And it's pretty hard too and tastes really bland. Haa…" Rey took a bite and chewed the dry bread. He needed a bit of strength to bite into it as it was a bit hard.
He also wasn't used to eating bland food because usually, if he ate bread, he would definitely use extra toppings.
"Humph, I guess we have no other choice, do we?" Mito also took out dry bread from her inventory as well as Asuna.
Mito also had a bit of a struggle biting the dry bread because of how hard it was for food of its kind.
Even Asuna, who watched the two of them eat it, hesitated. However, she still ate it too. As they had expected, the bread was also bland.
Each rookie player is given a few loaves of bread and they can buy them at the shop in the market. The price is very cheap and it's suitable for early players who don't have much money.
Aincrad has its own currency called cor.
So, even in the game world, you still need money to buy necessities and you can get it from the quests provided.
"Haa…you're right. But still, I need something to improve the taste. I don't care what it is! Give me some seasoning or my tongue will go numb, huhu…"
Rey complained while sulking at whoever gave him this bread. They don't give any taste to it. It was as if they wanted to torment the tongues of those who ate them and he couldn't take it.
"At least give me some salt. Even I'm not a white guy who likes to eat bread for breakfast." He was confused about how westerners could eat only bread for their breakfast.
Of course, they must also add some topping or something to the bread, but still, how can bread alone be enough to fill their stomach?
Even if Rey were to eat 5 big buns he wouldn't feel full. What he really needs is rice.
"Aha-haha," Asuna and Mito couldn't help but laugh awkwardly at Rey's complaints. In contrast to Rey who can eat much, the two of them could feel content just by eating this bread.
If they had known how much Rey could eat in one sitting, they would have been in awe of where all that food went.
"Then, Rey, what are you going to do for today?" Mito asked Rey after finishing her bread.
"What am I going to do today…? Hmm, maybe I'll start hunting monsters again with the others. After all, right now we need to focus on raising our level in order to defeat the floor boss."
That's right, if they wanted to defeat the floor boss, the most important thing to do was to level up quickly. They also need to practice to improve their skills.
After all, without sufficient skill, even a high level would be useless.
Also, they had to be able to get stronger quickly if they wanted to survive here. The threats that threaten their lives don't just come from the monsters in Aincrad.
No, that wasn't what they had to worry about, but other players who could aim for their lives.
No matter where it is, humans will be humans. And killing each other is something that can not be separated from their nature.
"Is that so?" Mito said.
"Oh yeah Rey, where are Sinon and the others?"
Mito suddenly remembered that Rey was usually with Sinon, Yuuki, and Aiko. But she didn't see the three of them with Rey.
"I think they're still sleeping in our room. Maybe they'll wake up soon." Rey thought for a moment then gave his answer.
However, without him realizing it, his words just now had caused a misunderstanding among his friends.
*Thud*
The sound of the bread falling from Asuna's hand caught Rey's attention.
"What?" He asked with a frown while looking at the faces of his two friends who looked like they had just seen a ghost.
"'Sleep in our room'?" Asuna said it with a face and tone of disbelief when she heard those words.
"Is there something wrong?" He really didn't know why the two of them were acting like that and could only ask without knowing where he went wrong.
"Don't ask if something's wrong! Rey, you sleep with them in the same room?!" Mito shouted out her point. She was surprised that the three girls could sleep in the same room as Rey.
Don't they know that a man can't sleep with a girl in the same room, especially if the three of them are underage?
Hearing Mito's reasoning, Rey was confused for a while. He didn't find anything out of the ordinary about it.
But at that moment, he realized where he went wrong and widened his eyes, shocked.
"Eeh!!! No, no!! It is not like that! I only accompany them to sleep because they don't want to be left alone. It's just that."
He was trying to justify this misunderstanding. He just realized that this habit of his is not common.
A man in his 20s sleeping with three underage girls would certainly invite heated conversation and Rey forgot about that.
He was so used to sleeping with the three girls, he almost forgot that if other people found out what he was doing, he could be arrested for allowing underage girls to live in his place.
Rey forgot that in Japan the custom is different from where he came from.
"Just that?!"
Asuna no longer knew what was going on. She was so angry that Rey could see sparks in Asuna's eyes. She interrogates Rey to get an explanation from him.
She gripped Rey's collar tightly and held him up to her. If she knew Rey's real reason, then she might let him go this time. Probably?
"W-well, I mean, I didn't do anything weird to them, so you can rest easy. I would never do something like—"
Rey tried to calm them both down. They got all the attention of the inn for the commotion they made.
If other people heard about this further, then Rey would definitely be branded as a pervert for keeping three girls in his room.
Moreover, he would be considered a lolicon because the girl was underage and that was even worse.
Before he could defuse this heated situation, suddenly the person they were talking about came.
"Oh! Good morning y'all!" Yuuki said good morning to the three of them with a cheerful face. She, Aiko, and Sinon came over after hearing the commotion and were curious of what's going on.
However, it turned out that the ones making the fuss were Rey, Asuna, and Mito.
Everyone who heard Yuuki immediately turned their eyes to him.
"Hmm, what happened?" Aiko wondered at this strange situation.
Why did Asuna grab Rey's collar as if she wanted to punch him? There must have been something that happened before they came.
Meanwhile, Sinon who saw Rey as if she was being threatened could only make a worried face without being able to help him.
"Hey, Yuuki! Tell us! Did Rey do anything weird to you last night?" Finding the person they were talking about was here, Mito asked Yuuki.
She changed her facial expression to one full of pity. She was worried whether Rey had done something indecent to the three of them. She put her hand on Yuuki's shoulder.
Even though the three of them didn't have the same appearance as Asuna and Mito remember, from their behavior alone, they can conclude that they were the real ones.
The same thing happened with the three of them, at first, they were surprised when they saw who is the person approaching Yuuki just now.
But, judging from her voice it was definitely the Mito they knew.
As for Asuna, they found nothing different in her appearance.
"Mito...?" Yuuki said trying to confirm her guess.
"Yes, it's me. Now tell me! Did Rey do something weird to you guys last night?" She said it still trying to get an answer.
"Something weird?" Yuuki who heard it was confused about what Mito meant.
"Yes,"
Yuuki who heard this really didn't know what was going on. 'Something weird? Why is Rey doing such a weird thing to us?' Then, she tilted her head and looked at Rey from Mito's shoulder.
'Help!! Help me!' Those words were painted on Rey's face. He asked Yuuki to clear up this misunderstanding with a pitiful face.
Yuuki tried to process what happened, looked at Mito, and then at Rey again.
She finally understood what had happened and the next thing she did was completely against Rey's expectations.
She smiled mischievously while showing it to Rey.
Rey who saw her smile felt that his hope had been dashed and knew that he shouldn't trust that brat. He shouted in his heart while cursing Yuuki.
Yuuki could only laugh in her heart because she had a wicked plan to pay back Rey for what he has done to her.
Rey finally turned to Sinon and Aiko for help.
The two of them naturally wanted to help Rey, but Yuuki didn't seem to let that happen and spoke before the others could.
"Hmm, of course not." She paused.
The people who heard that including Asuna and Mito were relieved, but it was only for a moment.
"We only slept in the same bed together last night. After all, this has become a common thing for us, isn't that right, Rey?" She said with an innocent and cheerful face while asking Rey's opinion.
As soon as the people around heard it they were immediately shocked and turned their eyes to Rey with hostile looks.
Yuuki made the situation worse and tried to frame Rey. Of course, everyone would suspect Rey of doing something indecent to the three little girls.
Now it's too late for Rey and no one going to believe him anymore.
"So, all of that is true. To think, all this time, it turns out you are…"
Asuna who heard Yuuki's perverse explanation easily believed it and she gripped Rey's collar tighter until he lifted slightly.
Veins popped up on Asuna's face and she clenched her fists in preparation to punch Rey.
Rey swore she saw Asuna giving off such a dark aura that she thought Asuna was a devil incarnated.
Cold sweat drenched all over his body because of how cold the atmosphere was around him.
"Wait! Wait, Asuna, let me explain—" He tried to free Asuna's grip from his collar, but he felt that Asuna's strength was too strong, it felt like he was facing a gorilla.
Before Rey could finish his words, Asuna's fist was already flying toward his face.
"You pervert Rey!!!"
"Argh!!!"
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There's going to be a time skip in the next chapter.
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