Romance? Nah, I'd Level Up My Companion XP

"...Are you searching for something, Haru?"

I shook my head. "Not really."

'How did she even notice? I must say I'm impressed.'

While we made our way to the Labyrinth of this floor, my eyes were indeed subtly looking around.

Of course, it wasn't because I was hunting for monsters—most of them were quick work with our current levels and skills.

Moreover, the experience they gave was so little that it was useless to actively hunt at the moment.

My true target was a certain young girl with dark hair and eyes.

'As I thought, it's way too soon.'

In the original, her mind would need almost two full years of constant wear to finally crack.

As such, there's no way it would happen so soon.

But even though I know that, I cannot let go of my cautious nature, because it has saved me countless times already.

Just because I know an event and how it happened doesn't mean it will unfold the same way in this world.

It might be entirely possible that the players, thanks to us easily clearing through all the floors so far, will start feeling less and less negative feelings, leading to her mental state not collapsing.

I know I'm the bad one for saying this, but this might be a problem for me.

So please, feel bad y'all, thank you.

It might be harsh, but there is one important reason I need Yui.

Game Master rights.

I'm not actually planning to use them, of course.

If I did, then the Cardinal System would simply flag her as an object that needed to be removed, and I'm not confident I can easily make her an in-game object to store in my Nerve Gear like Kirito managed to do.

No, I am actually aiming for the GM Console placed in the safe area of the hidden Dungeon.

Only Admins can open it.

As such, I just need her to touch it... Nothing more, nothing less.

But after we reached the outskirts of the Labyrinth, I was forced to give up on the 'search.'

I concluded it's too soon. I'll leave it as an option for the future.

"Even though this Labyrinth is probably not that difficult to clear, let's still prioritize safety. No one will be here to bother us even if we take some more time anyway."

My tone was highly sarcastic.

Asuna looked at me, sighing. "It's the truth, but still..."

Well, the thought of me making fun of people was still something Asuna kind of didn't like, but...

"I know I said this world looks exactly like reality, Asuna, but you must understand that in games, roasting is the ultimate pleasure!"

She's never been spammed a "What a save!" in her face, and as revenge completely destroyed the enemy team.

The pleasure derived from such an action is immeasurable.

It's my duty as a gamer to make her understand!

"Sure sure, whatever..."

Don't dismiss me like I'm bullshitting, please. My gamer heart is hurting.

--- Asuna ---

I just cannot understand him.

I've been in a party with Haru for almost two months now, and all I can say is that he's quite...unique.

He's not a beta tester, but he knows this game even more than they do.

He's not that old, but it feels like he has countless years of experience under his belt that I can't even begin to question.

He's also quite cold towards people he doesn't care about.

All those things I didn't know, but the more I learn about him, the more curious I become.

What made you like this, Haru? Why are you so obsessed with clearing this game? I'm not that stupid.

I know he actually does not care about returning to reality. Despite that, he's the one pushing this party to clear the game as fast as possible.

I concluded he enjoys this game, but does not want to lose himself in it, exactly as he's told me today.

Even though all those things brought me some doubts, I did not care. I put my faith in him.

The reason being, Haru has always shown absolute sincerity to me.

Never once did I feel like I was wronged or used in any way.

Since that's the case, how could I overstep his boundaries and ask?

He has his reasons, and that's enough for me.

I don't like being rude. He deserves proper respect.

Without him, perhaps I'd have been crushed by the reality we were facing, or I would've ended up dead trying to unreasonably try to get out of here as soon as possible...

Back to the point. If this is what being treated with gloves feels like, then I must say I underestimated how good it was.

Sadly, I never had such experiences in life.

Ah, but don't think I'm misunderstanding our relationship here.

I am well aware there is nothing romantic between us.

It's hard to ignore my heart sometimes, but he has never once even so much as hinted for us to be a thing.

For that reason, I'll respect his decision.

---

"With this, all that's left is the Floor Boss. Shall we?"

Haru touched the massive door leading to the Boss Room, then turned to me with a confident smile.

I couldn't help but smile back. "Ready to kick his ass whenever you are."

He whistled, clearly surprised by my directness. "Well, look at you, all fired up! Guess I can't let you outshine me."

I rolled my eyes, trying to stifle a laugh. "You really get all competitive on the weirdest things, you know that?"

Haru just grinned, the playful glint in his eyes making me realize how much our dynamic had changed.

Maybe I had let myself be influenced by him more than I thought, enjoying these moments of lighthearted banter.

It felt good to joke around with him, to feel like a team more than ever.

As I mused on this, Haru pushed open the door to the Boss Room.

The heavy doors groaned as they swung inward, revealing the dark, foreboding chamber beyond...

---

Author's Note:

It's confirmed y'all, Asuna feels shit but Akira is like no no, this is my no no square, and thus she was forced to stay out, sry.

Yes, I'll actually cover this Floor Boss fight, even though there is literally no information about this boss on either the SAO progressive novel, or the normal SAO.

Anyway, Akira played Rocket League, that's the reference for the what a save! thingie.

Remember,

Ez.

- Fin