-394- A young girl in the forest

Today was a beautiful day.

Due to the structure of Aincrad, one couldn't directly see the sun except during the morning and evening. However, during the daytime, there was still ample light illuminating the floors, casting a warm glow on the evergreen forest in this almost-winter season.

Rozen and Asuna walked along the wooden walkway that connected their small wooden house. The path sloped downwards on the right, leading into the deep forest. They strolled slowly through the towering evergreen trees, similar to giant spruce, as the surrounding trees rustled in the breeze.

The sound of leaves rustling, the gentle flow of a small river, the chirping of birds – all of it created a delightful atmosphere. Saichou and Hanachou flew around, chirping happily, circling around Rozen and Asuna.

Each scene was visually pleasing, filling them with a sense of contentment.

Asuna walked beside Rozen and suddenly said, "I've started to like this place."

Asuna's words carried a sincere relaxation, and her eyes sparkled as she looked around.

Rozen didn't find this surprising at all; instead, he agreed, "Me too."

It was the truth.

After living here for a whole week, Rozen had genuinely started to like this place. It was tranquil, peaceful, and offered beautiful scenery. It constantly relaxed the mind. For those who didn't prefer overly thrilling lives, it was an ideal retreat.

If there were a place like this in the real world, Rozen truly wished he could buy a small wooden house there, focus on studying magic, play games when tired, and occasionally go for walks. Life couldn't get any more pleasant.

Rozen also believed that if Mash knew about this place, she would definitely like it too and wouldn't mind staying here permanently.

As for Asuna, Rozen wondered if she felt the same way. However, he didn't know that, apart from the environment, the presence of the person beside her was one of the significant reasons Asuna had grown fond of this place.

Asuna didn't mention this but expressed regret, saying, "Why didn't I realize how wonderful this place was when we were clearing it a year and a half ago?"

Although Asuna hadn't joined the clearing group and hadn't cleared this floor with Rozen and the others, when she was here as part of the frontline presence, she had indeed trained in the leveling areas and Labyrinth on this floor.

Back then, Asuna had no attachment to the environment here. After clearing this floor, she immediately proceeded to the 23rd floor to gain experience efficiently. However, after a year and a half, when she returned to this floor, Asuna hadn't anticipated the significant change in her perspective.

She felt regretful for missing out on such beauty.

But...

"At that time, your focus was solely on clearing. Even if you did find this place beautiful, you wouldn't have stayed here, right?" Rozen pointed out, exposing Asuna's thought process, and she nodded in agreement.

Now, looking back, Asuna realized how regrettable her past experiences had been.

At that time, she had no understanding of the meaning of living. She kept sacrificing the present for the sake of securing a future, thinking that staying on the right path was the most crucial thing, and everything else was irrelevant. She had blindly followed this path, firmly convinced, and completely oblivious to the significant losses she had incurred.

Now, thinking carefully, she realized that her past self, fixated on both the past and the future, was beyond redemption.

Her past self would cower in her room in inns, plagued by nightmares, trembling from fear and despair. Her future self would charge forward madly toward clearing the game without truly living.

In this world, living meant savoring the present moment, as the lazy person who was still yawning but walking alongside her had taught her. It was he who made her realize that she should stop looking up at the upper floors and start looking at the rainbow right in front of her.

He taught her to keep smiling because that's what made her beautiful, to stop having nightmares, and to notice all the beautiful things around her.

Thinking of this, Asuna couldn't help but reach out a hand towards Rozen. Just as her hand was about to touch his, and they were about to interlace their fingers...

"Huh?" Suddenly, Rozen stopped in his tracks and exclaimed in confusion.

"Eek!" Realizing what she was about to do, Asuna quickly withdrew her hand as if she had been shocked.

This surprised Rozen, and he turned to look at Asuna, his face filled with astonishment and confusion. "What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing!" Asuna quickly waved her hand and shook her head, even though her face had already turned bright red. She made an effort to change the subject.

"W-What's... what's going on? Why did you stop all of a sudden?" Asuna raised her voice in an exaggerated manner.

This left Rozen feeling perplexed, but he decided not to press the matter. "Look over there," he pointed to a spot in the deep forest ahead.

"There?" Asuna immediately followed Rozen's direction, focusing intently, adjusting her vision to see deeper into the forest.

In the next moment, Asuna widened her eyes in astonishment. In the midst of the rays of sunlight filtering through the trees into a clear space in the forest's depths, a silent figure stood there.

It was a young girl, dressed in nothing but a pristine white dress that exposed her slender legs. She wore no shoes, standing barefoot on the ground, with her back turned to them, her face hidden from view.

Asuna could only see her long, jet-black hair flowing in the breeze along with the hem of her dress.

"That is...?" Asuna was thoroughly surprised.

There was no helping it. In this secluded forest, the sudden appearance of a young girl without any warning was truly astonishing.

Rozen continued to stare in her direction and muttered in a low voice, "Why does this feel a bit off?"

Just as he voiced his thoughts, with a soft thud, the young girl unexpectedly collapsed onto the ground without any prior warning, completely motionless.

"What...!?" Rozen exclaimed in shock.

"Oh no!" Asuna cried out.

Both of them rushed towards the girl's location.