-401- What could've happened

It was nighttime.

The soft moonlight spilled from the night sky outside Aincrad, casting a silver veil over the entire floating castle, giving it a mysterious aura.

The 22nd floor also bathed in moonlight, causing the lake's waters to reflect shimmering arcs. The forest became incredibly tranquil, providing a sense of inner peace.

Inside the Forest Cottage, the lights were all extinguished, leaving only the fireplace in the living room burning with flames, filling the entire log cabin with warmth.

Among them, on the bed that Rozen had designated as the guest room, Yui lay there with her eyes closed, sleeping peacefully, curled up on one side.

"Gu..."

"Gu..."

Saichou and Hanachou also slept at the head of the bed, with phosphorescent powder effect glittering between their wings, making them appear like tiny stars in the moonlight, very beautiful.

Of course, in addition Yui, Saichou, and Hanachou, there was also two person who had become Yui's parents today.

Apart from Rozen and Asuna, who else could it be?

"...I didn't expect us to really end up sleeping together."

"Yeah..."

Rozen and Asuna lay on both sides of Yui, under the same blanket. They stared at the wooden ceiling, feeling particularly tense, and unable to fall asleep at all.

The reason they ended up sleeping here was actually quite simple.

It all started with a sentence from Asuna to Yui.

"It's getting late; you should go to bed, Yui."

This was a very normal thing to say.

Asuna had fully immersed herself in the role of Yui's mother and naturally wouldn't let Yui stay up so late, especially considering Yui's unstable condition; she needed more rest.

So, Asuna's actions were not wrong.

However, Yui responded with this:

"I want to sleep with Mama and Papa."

This was the culprit that led to this situation.

The reason Asuna had such a strong reaction in the living room was because of this.

In other words, the fact that she had to sleep in the same bed as Rozen was something Asuna couldn't bear, causing her to scream on the spot.

Of course, at first, Asuna refused to agree to this.

"Ma... Mama can sleep with you, but not Papa, okay?"

Asuna said this in a panicked manner, but what she got was Yui's stubbornness.

"I want to sleep with Papa and Mama."

Yui, in contrast to her previous obedient demeanor, began to be stubborn.

At this moment, Yui looked just like an ordinary child.

Faced with Yui's stubbornness, Asuna was naturally very embarrassed. In the end, she succumbed to Yui's somewhat teary-eyed gaze, reluctantly agreeing.

Rozen, who had watched this scene from beginning to end, was also completely dumbfounded.

When the situation was confirmed, Rozen finally reacted, trembling as he spoke.

"Uh... maybe it's not a good idea...?"

As soon as these words came out of Rozen's mouth, Asuna immediately glared at him, her face red with either embarrassment or anger.

After all, it was the girl who had agreed, and for a grown man to bring up this issue afterward was bound to attract some resentment.

In the end, Rozen naturally had to back down.

So, the three of them, plus two familiars, ended up lying on the same bed, creating the current situation.

In this situation, Yui and the two familiars slept soundly. However, Rozen and Asuna couldn't fall asleep no matter what. Even though Yui was between them, it felt like they could still sense each other's body temperature, and their heartbeats became clearly audible.

Rozen even felt a bit relieved.

(Thank goodness for SAO's restrictive regulations...)

If this were happening in the real world, as a healthy male, Rozen's would undoubtedly have awaken something. But in SAO, players only had two basic desires: hunger and sleep. Apart from that, there were only mental desires. Physical desires weren't displayed due to the nature of virtual bodies.

However, this was all relative.

Rozen had once carefully examined the main menu and knew that at the very bottom, there was an option that most players might not have discovered until now: "Remove Restrictive Regulations."

As the name implied, this option removed the restrictions on certain desires. Once this option was activated, the most shameful desires for men would be reinstated, causing natural reactions in their bodies.

Of course, female players also had this setting.

Rozen didn't understand why such a feature existed in a game world, but it undoubtedly met the urgent needs of many couples and loving partners. There were very few people who could endure Platonic love.

And Rozen was confident that he was not one of those people.

It wasn't clear whether Asuna was thinking the same thing, but the finesse swordswoman was also tightly focused on the wooden ceiling, covering the area below her eyes with the blanket so that her expression couldn't be seen.

However, Rozen could feel Asuna's breathing is a bit fast, and it was evident that her mood was far from calm.

Just when both of them were feeling extremely uncomfortable and nervously preparing for a sleepless night...

"Mn..."

Yui suddenly turned over and murmured in her sleep, as if talking in a dream.

"Papa... Mama..."

Her small voice was exceptionally clear and reached Rozen and Asuna's ears, causing both of them to look at Yui. They could see Yui's peaceful sleeping face.

Seeing Yui's peaceful sleeping face, Rozen and Asuna's moods inexplicably calmed down.

At this moment, both of them had the same thought in their hearts.

(Forget about it...)

This was the thought that spontaneously arose in both of their minds.

Compared to their own nervousness and uneasiness, the girl in front of them who called them Papa and Mama was more important.

As long as they could continue to see this peaceful sleeping face, then anything they did was worth it.

Rozen and Asuna thought so.

Even though they had only known Yui for a short day, the fact that they had these thoughts felt incredibly natural to them.

Yet, Rozen and Asuna also felt that everything that had happened was so inevitable that they finally looked at each other and simultaneously showed a helpless smile.

A while later, Asuna's smile suddenly disappeared without any prior indication.

"Hey, Rozen."

Asuna spoke softly.

"Why do you think Yui has become like this? What could have happened to her?"

Asuna asked such a question, causing Rozen to raise an eyebrow and fall into deep thought.