Chapter 15: Social Death ~ A Humiliating History
The next day, as planned, Asuna and Lisbeth went to explore the town.
As for Hikigaya… he had originally intended to spend the whole day doing absolutely nothing at home…
"There's nothing entertaining in this world… At the very least, there should be books…"
While he could have just slept all day, doing nothing at all was simply too unbearable. So Hikigaya changed his plans and decided to go out.
Just then, Asuna contacted him to discuss plans for the next day, and Hikigaya decided to meet up with Asuna and Lisbeth.
"Find anything interesting?"
"Emmm, nothing particularly new or exciting, really."
"Yeah, Liz. Ah, what's that?"
Asuna seemed to be attracted to something and ran toward a street vendor.
Hikigaya and Lisbeth followed, and seeing an opportunity, Hikigaya asked Lisbeth about yesterday.
"She was really shaken up by the fact that someone died, so I didn't press for details. We mostly talked about lighthearted stuff."
"I see. Thanks."
"As for the dungeon raid, I only heard that your trio worked really hard."
"That's about right."
"Asuna mentioned that during the post-battle discussion, she noticed you were being very careful not to say anyone's name.
Considering the kind of situations we might face in future raids, she's decided to try to avoid using frontliners' names in casual talk too."
(Well, yeah, there are going to be all kinds of situations at the front lines… As expected of Asuna, she really pays attention to things.
Honestly, it's not a big deal even if I mention Kirito's name, but I can wait and introduce him next time I get a chance.)
"Hachiman-kun, Liz, over here~!"
"Coming."
Asuna waved her hand eagerly, and the two jogged over.
"Now that we're on a new floor, what are your plans going forward?"
"No major changes for me.
There's still not much I can do with forging, so I'll just collect materials and work on leveling up my forging skills and overall level."
"I want to upgrade my weapon a bit more and then level up steadily."
"Then let's focus on leveling up for now."
"Looks like the pace of the dungeon raids is picking up, too."
"Then tomorrow, let's go level up while gathering materials and scoping things out."
"Sounds good—if you two are fine with it."
"I'm totally fine, Liz."
The next day, the three of them fully immersed themselves in combat.
They leveled up quite a bit, collected a large number of enhancement materials, and Lisbeth gathered all the materials she needed to improve her forging skills.
Asuna planned to request Lisbeth's help in upgrading her weapons for the next stage, so she was actively helping to gather materials.
At that time, there were rumors spreading in town about "the first player blacksmith being born!", referring to a highly skilled artisan.
This artisan was taking commissions at a street stall and quickly improving their proficiency.
Lisbeth had no intention of working solo in town and, at that point, seemed like she was exclusively serving Hikigaya and Asuna.
(She might accept commissions from other players eventually, but if she messes up a job for a stranger, it could be super awkward. For now, it's better to get experience among people she knows and trusts.)
On the way back from a hunting trip that evening, Hikigaya told the two that he'd be away for a few days.
"Ah—guys. I'm going to be away for a few days starting tomorrow. Got something I need to take care of."
"Uh, can't I come with you?"
Asuna asked without even questioning what the matter was. Hikigaya was secretly happy, but he had a solid reason for needing to go alone this time.
"Ah—sorry, Asuna. It's not that I can't bring you, but I need to handle this solo. You guys can go hunting or gather intel or whatever in the meantime."
This would be the first time they were apart for so long, and Asuna felt a little lonely.
At the same time, she found Hikigaya's vague attitude suspicious—he usually told her clearly about his goals and plans.
"Okay, got it. We'll do our own thing."
"Sorry. If anything urgent comes up, contact me."
"Take care, Hikigaya~"
"Thanks. You too, Liz."
That night, Hikigaya called Argo and bought information on the location of the unarmed combat skill quest.
During a previous conversation, Argo seemed to already know about the existence of the unarmed combat skill and had assumed Hikigaya knew the location as well.
She made a mental note:
"This guy's knowledge is kind of lopsided…"
The next day, Hikigaya arrived at a rocky mountain to the east.
He climbed the cliff, crossed a cave, and slid through an underground waterway using the map for guidance.
He encountered some enemies along the way, but thanks to his stealth skills and practiced movements, he reached his destination within minutes.
After accepting the quest at a lonely cabin, he mentally braced himself—he had to break a giant boulder with his bare hands to gain the unarmed combat skill.
'I was forced to do this once before. There's definitely a trick to it.'
Hikigaya began repeatedly striking the rock.
Thanks to his prior experience, he made swift progress.
The next day, as cracks began to form in the rock, he suddenly sensed a gaze and instantly jumped away.
'What the…? This should be a safe zone—no monsters. Did someone come? There's someone in the shadows of the cabin… More than one?'
Hikigaya crept to the back of the cabin and peeked around secretly.
'It's Liz… No, Liz wouldn't come here alone… Wait, could it be—'
Just then, he heard a thump from above—someone landed behind him. His shoulders were suddenly grabbed from behind.
"Liz~! Gotcha~!"
"OK~! I'm here~!"
That voice—he'd been hearing it nearly every day lately.
Hikigaya crouched, clutching his head, and asked in a trembling voice:
"A-A-Asuna? Why are you here?"
"Because you were acting super suspicious. I originally asked Argo for your location, but she said she couldn't give it out without your consent.
So I bought different intel: 'Please sell me a map or info of the same kind Hikigaya bought.' "
'Argo, you traitor!!!!!!!'
"And when I saw the map, I realized it wasn't far, so I figured I'd come by while scouting for information."
"Y-Your initiative is really something…"
"I was just curious, really. I didn't want to cause you trouble, so I thought I'd wait for you to tell me. But Argo was grinning super weirdly when she handed over the map and said, 'Thanks for your patronage~' "
'Argooooooooooo!!!'
Seeing Hikigaya crouched and unmoving, Asuna asked cautiously:
"Sorry… I came here on impulse. Did I cause you trouble?"
"N-No, not at all, Asuna."
"Hmm~? What's wrong, Hikigaya?"
"Y-Yo, Miss Lisbeth, long time no see…"
"Definitely suspicious…"
"N-No, I didn't do anything shady, Miss Asuna!"
"Your face?"
Flustered, Hikigaya had dug himself deeper. The two girls exchanged a glance and nodded. Then they tried to wrestle Hikigaya to the ground.
"Wait, stop, you two!"
"Liz, I'll count to three."
"Okay. One, two!"
At their signal, they flipped Hikigaya over. On his face was—
A beautifully drawn mustache. To be specific—
"Hikidoraemon?!"
The two girls couldn't contain their laughter anymore and rolled on the ground laughing for a long time.
"This is why I didn't want to say anything…"
Hikigaya said tearfully.
"S-Sorry, we didn't expect this."
"My bad, Hikigaya."
"But looking closely, you kinda resemble Miss Argo."
"Ah, true!"
"I guess Argo failed the trial and ended up like this too. That's my guess."
"So, about the unarmed skill—what do you actually have to do?"
"You accept the quest and it turns into this. It won't go away until you clear it. The condition to complete it is—"
Hikigaya tapped the cracked rock.
"Break this with your bare hands."
He then punched the rock.
"Whoa, it's so hard…"
"It doesn't hurt, but it really takes perseverance…"
"Anyway, it'll probably take until tomorrow night. Don't worry about me—do your own thing."
"Should we be doing this quest too?"
Asuna asked suddenly.
"Ah—Asuna, maybe after you level up a bit more. Liz doesn't need it unless she plans to be a frontline fighter."
"Then we'll do it later."
"Yeah."
"Let's go back, Asuna."
"Okay. Hachiman-kun, good luck."
"Thanks. I'll contact you when I'm done."
'Another addition to my black history…'
Shamed and frustrated, Hikigaya took his anger out on the rock and, surprisingly, managed to break it by the afternoon of the next day.
As he basked in the sense of accomplishment and prepared to leave, someone else arrived.
'Why are people always coming to a place like this…? Oh—it's Kirito.'
Thinking Argo was behind this again, Hikigaya hid and watched.
Thanks to his superior stealth skills, he wasn't noticed.
He saw that Kirito didn't seem to be looking for anyone—he took the quest directly.
Upon seeing the mustache, his face went blank, and he looked utterly crushed by the quest content.
'He took it without asking what it was, didn't he…? So Argo didn't tell him, huh.'
Watching Kirito start punching the rock, Hikigaya decided to encourage him before leaving. He suddenly jumped out from behind Kirito.
"Yo~ Kirinyan! Long road ahead—do your best!"
Caught off guard, Kirito froze at being addressed so suddenly. Hikigaya gave him a thumbs-up and smiled.
Seeing Kirito let out a silent scream, Hikigaya bolted and vanished without a trace.