-1685- Meeting the family?

About a week passed after that.

A week later, Asuna's body had finally mostly recovered, and although she was advised against strenuous exercise, she was at least free to move around again.

So, Asuna was officially discharged from the hospital and went back home.

During this period, the government also implemented some measures for the victims of the SAO and ALO incidents.

These measures were simple. For the unemployed players, the government offered job placement services or loan programs to help support players starting their own businesses, enabling them to reintegrate into society.

For students, as Kikuoka Seijirou had previously mentioned to Rozen, the government would establish a temporary school where they could attend classes and receive an official diploma and graduation certificate.

Of course, as Rozen had said before, the government would monitor and manage these players from SAO to prevent potential issues in society.

In SAO, due to various interests, there were plenty of conflicts and even fights between players. Among the thousands of surviving players, quite a few had harmed others for personal gain, and some were even orange or red players. It was uncertain what problems these individuals—those who had grown accustomed to harming and killing in SAO—might cause in normal society.

If it weren't for the difficulty of tracking SAO events, the government wouldn't hesitate to apprehend these perpetrators and bring them to justice.

However, it was a challenging question whether actions taken in self-defense or for survival in a death game could be criminally punished.

Given these reasons and the incomplete laws regarding virtual worlds, the government ultimately decided not to hold players accountable for their actions in SAO.

But if they caused trouble in the real world, that would be a different story.

In conclusion, monitoring and management were deemed necessary.

Especially for Rozen. As previously mentioned, the government's interest in him was higher than in anyone else, so Kikuoka Seijirou personally urged him to attend the temporary school the government set up.

Rozen, however, didn't mind either way; after all, he had attended school before, so it made no difference to him.

However, since they approached him first, Rozen decided to make a hefty request. He handed something to Kikuoka Seijirou.

Although Kikuoka was hesitant about Rozen's request at first, he recognized the benefits. Eventually, after consulting with the higher-ups, he got approval.

No one knew that this decision would lead to significant changes in the social landscape in the future.

But that was no longer Rozen's concern.

As long as his vision could be realized and his goals achieved, that was enough for him.

Thus, after nearly two years and three months, the series of issues triggered by the SAO incident finally began to come to an end.

Rozen and others officially returned to their everyday lives, drawing the curtain on this chapter.

Then, on this day, Rozen took Asuna home with him.

Yes.

Home.

To the Kirigaya household.

Rozen formally introduced Asuna to his family.

"I... I am Yuuki Asuna, pleased to meet you!"

In the Kirigaya family's living room, Asuna, looking unusually tense, bowed to everyone.

Standing beside her was Rozen, arms crossed, watching with amusement. Present were Kirito, Suguha, and even Kirigaya Midori.

In other words, today, Asuna was meeting Rozen's family.

Of course, Rozen had already told his family about her.

But still...

"So... you're Miss Yuuki?"

Suguha looked at Asuna timidly.

Even Midori, who was usually easygoing, seemed surprised.

"I've heard that rascal talk about you, but I didn't expect you'd be such a beautiful girl."

Midori was amazed.

Today, Asuna had dressed up, presenting herself at her best.

Though she hadn't applied heavy makeup, she wore some lipstick, had her hair done at a salon, and donned a graceful dress with high boots, accessorized with a necklace and bracelets. Her natural elegance, coupled with her noble upbringing, made her beauty no less striking than her appearance as the queen of the fairies in ALO, leaving everyone speechless with admiration.

Rozen could attest to this.

After all, on their way to the Kirigaya household, Asuna had been too nervous to notice the passersby staring at her, leaving many in awe and even causing a few accidents.

In this situation, seeing a girl like Asuna being brought home by Rozen, who wouldn't be surprised?

Especially Suguha, who had been eager to meet Asuna but hadn't expected her to be this beautiful, suddenly feeling shy.

Only Kirito, familiar and at ease, raised his hand to greet her.

"Welcome, Asuna. I'm glad you were able to wake up."

As he greeted her, Kirito looked as if he remembered something, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Oh, right, you're not Asuna now. I should call you Miss Yuuki, right?"

Hearing this, Asuna looked at him.

"You're... Kirito-kun?" Asuna tilted her head, realizing, and replied quickly, "Just call me Yuuki."

"Is that so?" Kirito nodded. "Then, you can call me Kirigaya. Though we're all Kirigaya here, you're close with Aoka, so calling each other by name should be fine. Suguha can also go by name, and for my mom, just call her 'auntie'—no need to be so formal."

Before Asuna could respond, Kirito's head was knocked by two fists.

"Don't assume things on your own, Kazuto-nii-san!"

Suguha glared at him.

"Who are you calling 'auntie,' Kazuto?"

Midori had a smile, though veins bulged on her forehead.

"Ah... ahaha..."

Kirito laughed awkwardly.

"Hehe..."

Asuna's nervousness vanished as she laughed.

Seeing that the atmosphere was just right, Rozen finally stepped forward.

"I say, can you not embarrass yourselves in front of others?"

Rozen said, exasperated.

"Forget them, Asuna. Let's go upstairs."

With that, he took her hand and led her upstairs.

Seeing this, Midori, Kirito, and Suguha exchanged glances and, without hesitation, quietly followed them, sneaking to the bottom of the stairs to listen closely.