-1688- [ Dicey Cafe ]

Afterward, Rozen and Asuna spent some time chatting in the room. When they finally left the room to get lunch, something strange awaited them.

To their surprise, not only was lunch not ready yet, but Kirigaya Midori, Kirito, and Suguha seemed to have rushed away in a hurry, looking suspiciously as if they were up to something. Asuna found it odd, but Rozen simply rolled his eyes.

There was no way Rozen hadn't noticed these three eavesdropping on them. Even without using any kind of magic, he could easily detect when three ordinary people were sneaking around. That's precisely why he hadn't done anything with Asuna in the room. After all, when a beautiful young woman who was also his fiancée was sitting on his bed, it would be quite a waste not to do anything, especially for a young man who hadn't had much experience.

But, since he had noticed the three lurking around, he decided to just chat with Asuna all morning instead of anything... newsworthy.

Of course, for Kirigaya Midori and the others, simply seeing Rozen bring a girl home was plenty noteworthy.

Thanks to this, over the delayed lunch, Kirigaya Midori fired one question after another at Asuna, causing her face to stiffen slightly. She couldn't help but feel relieved.

(Thank goodness I listened to Rozen and didn't mention anything about the engagement.)

If she had, not only Midori but even Kirito and Suguha would probably have been shocked and would have started asking all kinds of questions.

Now, only Kirigaya Midori was asking questions incessantly, while Kirito calmly ate his meal as though none of this had anything to do with him. After all, back in the days of SAO, many, including Kirito, had already sensed there was something going on between the two. To Kirito, seeing Rozen bring Asuna home felt more like his friend's online relationship coming to life, so it wasn't surprising to him.

Suguha, on the other hand, was watching Asuna quietly throughout the meal. She barely spoke, only responding with a few words when the conversation included her. She seemed unusually shy, almost trying to avoid attention. But her complex gaze toward Asuna hinted that it wasn't shyness; rather, she wasn't sure how to interact with her.

Rozen, of course, noticed this but had no particular solution and simply observed as well.

Overall, though, Asuna's arrival was quite a pleasant experience for everyone. Kirigaya Midori, in particular, seemed very pleased and even made a comment.

"I always thought with Aoka's personality, he might never get a girlfriend, but now I can finally stop worrying."

That comment caused Rozen's forehead to darken with embarrassment, though he couldn't deny it.

During his time in this world, Rozen had mostly either stayed in his room playing games or trained in magecraft on his own. Even his shopping was done online, so he rarely went out, spending most of the 365 days of the year at home.

Back in elementary school, Rozen had drawn admiration from many young girls with his looks and academic performance. But after graduating, he stopped attending school, using the excuse that he'd already finished the equivalent of middle school studies and preferred to study at home. Thus, he barely interacted with anyone outside of his family.

Under these circumstances, it was understandable for Kirigaya Midori to worry. She would probably have been happy no matter which girl Rozen brought home, but Asuna's qualities far exceeded expectations. Not only was she beautiful, but she also had poise and elegance and was from a prestigious family. If Midori weren't satisfied, it would be almost impossible to find a better daughter-in-law.

Indeed, Kirigaya Midori was so satisfied that she pulled Rozen aside to give him some advice.

"With such a great chance, you need to hold on tightly. Don't let little Asuna slip away; you have to bring her home as your bride."

This made Rozen twitch slightly.

"Can I just say that, in a sense, I've already brought her home?"

Rozen thought wryly to himself.

But, for Asuna's sake, and to avoid any more questioning, he decided to hold back on revealing their engagement for now, saving that big surprise for later.

After lunch, everyone took a short break before heading out together a couple of hours later. They had a gathering to attend that day. As Kirito had previously mentioned, it was a reunion of SAO players, where those who had once fought alongside Rozen would be gathering.

At least, those he was familiar with would be there.

Rozen had arranged to bring Asuna home first for lunch before joining the others in the afternoon. Besides Rozen and Asuna, Kirito would also join them, and even Suguha wanted to come.

"I want to meet the people who once fought alongside my brothers," Suguha explained as her reason for joining.

Rozen, naturally, had no objections and set off with Asuna, Kirito, and Suguha in tow.

...

Ueno District, Tokyo.

In front of a narrow alleyway, the group exited the taxi.

"Is this where the gathering is?" Suguha looked at the narrow alley with some surprise.

Not only Suguha but also Rozen and Asuna were a bit taken aback.

"Are you sure it's here?" Rozen asked, glancing at Kirito.

"Didn't you say it was going to be at Agil-san's shop?" Asuna asked with a similar look of surprise.

The gathering was supposed to take place at Agil's store. This burly battle-axe-wielding man was not only a merchant in SAO but also owned a bar in real life and had married a beautiful wife, truly living the dream. While Agil was trapped in SAO for two years, his wife had kept the bar running, enduring many hardships that had deeply moved Agil.

This time, Kirito had arranged for everyone to meet at Agil's shop.

Rozen and the others were aware of the gathering but didn't know exactly where Agil's shop was; only Kirito had been there a few times.

"I was surprised too when I first came, but it's really here," Kirito assured them with a small smile. "Come on, follow me."

With that, he led the way.

The others exchanged glances and then followed.

Before long, they arrived at a secluded corner where there was a shop.

The entrance was made of wood stained with a charcoal-like color, with a metal sign hanging above to mark the place. The sign bore the name of the establishment—Dicey Cafe.

"Here we are," Kirito said mysteriously, gesturing to Rozen.

"Aoka, why don't you open the door?"

"Me?" Rozen was a bit surprised but seemed to understand, chuckling as he stepped forward and pushed the door open.

"Ding-ding!"

As the bell chimed, the door opened.

And then…

"Pop! Pop! Pop!"

A series of party poppers went off in celebration.