Sword Art Online - Alternative Reality

The Vice-commander and The Scout CHP.1

September 29th, 2023 – Floor 38 – Bar at frontier town A – 7:00 PM

Collapsing into the open chair and practically slamming the table with my head and arms, I let out the breath that I had been holding in for the entire week.

"Ughhhhh"

After a brief snickering from the other side, I head the only other person in this restaurant pop open the cork of a wine bottle and pour its contents into the glass on my side. Believing that the swordsman was unlikely to pull a prank today, I picked up the glass and while arching my head back, downed its contents. It tasted closer to a tropical drink than actual wine, but that just made it all the more refreshing for my parched throat. Finishing the contents with a sigh, I held out the glass back towards my partner who had his usual aloof look on his face. Chuckling, he finally spoke

"You know vice-commander if you down your drinks that quickly, you'll end up with a stomachache debuff"

"That doesn't actually exist, does it? And besides, it's my day off tomorrow, so it's not like it would be an issue anyway."

"All the more reason, after all, how are you going to enjoy your break if you're stuck in bed the entire day?"

"Fine, fine, I get it I'll drink slower, can you just pour me another glass now?"

With a final laugh, the swordsman filled my glass up with the sparkling red juice, and after filling his cup up, he handed me the menu.

"I suggest the chicken over the fish here, it's tastier and goes well with the drink."

"I'll just have whatever your having, hurry up and order already, I'm starving."

"Alright, alright... excuse me?"

Calling out to the NPC waiter, the swordsman quickly orders two weird-sounding chicken platters and some sort of crepes for dessert, and in less than a minute, the dishes were served. After saying grace, we began to dig into the chicken pasta platter, and just like he said, it went extremely well with the tropical juice/wine hybrid.

After cleaning off half the plate in silence for a few minutes, I finally looked up to see the black-haired swordsman who was taking a sip from his glass. With a one-handed longsword still swung over his back, and his iconic black coat still equipped, the only noticeable difference in his appearance from when they started working together was the red highlights that now adorned his coat and the red crosses on his cuffs with one large on his back currently out of sight.

Kirito, the level 54 swordsman, and official scout of the KoB. It had been close to 10 months since we started working together, and almost 5 months since we joined the Knights of the Blood. Looking down, my appearance hadn't changed greatly either, with predominantly white clothes covered in red accents. Looking back up towards the person I have spent the most time with since arriving in this world, I decided to get him back for that 'vice-commander comment he made earlier.

"So, then mister 'Black Swordsman' when do you plan on finally changing your colors to match with the guilds?"

Spitting his drink to the side, Kirito grimaced and immediately went into a sulking mood

"He-hey you said you weren't gonna bring that name up, if anyone hears you calling me that the newspapers will never let me live it down."

"You were the one that started it."

Raising his hands in surrender, his usual aloof smile returned to his face.

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry Asuna, you win, I won't do it again."