Sword Art Online ー The Cloaked Swordsmen

Chapter 11 - Horsing around

"......What did you just say?"

Asuna said that, her eyes sparkling as if she was staring at treasure. She probably hadn't noticed that she was gripping Kirito's collar so forcefully.

"A-all the milk you can drink ...?"

"After that."

"C-comfy, spacious bed and a nice view...?"

"After that."

"W-with a bath...?" Asuna let go of his coat and continued, flustered.

"You said this room was eighty cor a night?"

"I... I did." Kirito replied and while listening to this exchange of words, I let out a chuckle and smiled. At least Kirito could now handle this much.

"How many extra rooms does this inn have? Where is it? I'll take a room, just show me the way."

Finally, he seemed to understand the situation. He coughed and solemnly stated,

"Um, well, I told you I was renting out the second floor, right?"

"...You did."

"W-What I meant was, we're renting out the entire second floor. There are no open rooms. And they didn't have any to rent on the first floor."

"Wha...?" She had to hold her feet firm to keep from slumping to her knees.

"Then... the room's all..."

He seemed to understand what she was trying to ask.

"it's completely rented out, yeah..."

I said regretfully, and with eyes wandering Kirito followed up,

"Well, we've gotten a good week's worth of enjoyment out of the place... but I actually bought the maximum length of stay in advance-ten days. And the transaction can't be cancelled."

"Wha...?" Again, she nearly flopped over but held her ground.

Asuna seemed terribly conflicted. In truth, there were places to stay aside from the inns, and some were much nicer. Therefore, if she just searched around Tolbana, perhaps there would be another spot with a bath

However, On the other hand, there were currently several dozen players around town for the purpose of beating the floor boss.

Most likely, any nicer room would already be taken, which was one of the reasons he'd reserved his for such a lengthy stay.

The other reason was because I told him to since I'd be in the labyrinth and I wanted him to have a place to stay in advance.

Whereupon, Asuna was quiet for a moment. Then, she lowered her head and said in a voice barely loud enough to hear.

"...Let me use your bath."

The farm at which we were staying was a large building and a pristine stream ran through a corner of the plot of land, pushing a small waterwheel with pleasant creaks.

The two-story house was occupied on the first floor by an NPC farming family. When the three of us stepped through the front door, the farmer's wife flashed a beaming smile.

Kirito was leading the way up a set of heavy stairs to a short hallway with a single door at the end.

He touched the knob and it opened automatically with the clicking sound effect of a lock unlatching.

If Asuna had touched it, nothing would have happened. Even lockpicking skills had no effect on the door to a room rented by a player.

"Um...well, come on in." He pushed the door open and gestured her in with an awkward expression as I gave a sly smirk. It was a step forward for him, i suppose.