章 136: Chapter 136 - A Big Step

Afterwards, it was the same as any battle like this. Congratulations were passed around. Commendations were made. Quietly. Because it was a big victory. They were now officially over a fifth of the way up to the top of Aincrad. 2 out of 130 frontliners wasn't even that big of a loss. In fact, it was almost negligible. Acceptable casualties.

It was hard to call it that when you personally knew the people who died. When you had shared drinks and jokes. Who you had fought with shoulder to shoulder for 20 floors.

They weren't acceptable casualties. And it hurt. Badly.

Klein, Dale, Issin, Dynamm, and Kunimittz took Harry One's death the hardest, of course. Their eyes were red, and they were visibly holding back tears.

"Let's go."

Drifter sighed. There was really nothing you could say in this situation that would make them feel better. 'Harry died to save someone'. 'He gave his life so we could escape SAO'. It all felt empty. Worthless.

Getting up, the spearmaster gave Yuna and Nautilus a one-armed hug. The other Reavers also set into motion, albeit reluctantly. There would be time for crying later, but not in the boss room, with all of Aincrad watching.

Kirito went over and spoke softly with Klein. The red-haired player was one of his oldest friends in SAO.

Without saying anything, Klein and Fuurinkazan got up and shuffled towards the stairs to the next floor. Drifter sighed again.

...

3 days later, somewhere on the 21st floor.

Drifter thought it was unfair how beautiful the 21st floor was, especially after the price in blood it demanded.

In some ways, it was almost a leisure floor. It still had mobs, but they were restricted to certain areas. The several lakes that made up most of the floor were connected by stretches of land and man-made wood paths. It was a paradise for fishermen.

Most of the mobs were encountered in the small forests sprinkled throughout the floor, or sometimes fished from the lakes. But while they were appropriate for the average clearer level, they were no threat for the frontliners.

Maybe Cardinal had decided to finally offer some respite for the players after their desperate struggle on the last 10 floors, and especially the 20th.

"I'm worried about Klein."

Drifter turned his head to look at Kirito. He, the swordsman, Kizmel, Liz, Vallerk, and Yuna were exploring one of the floor's small forests.

"Fuurinkazan has less than a full party now. And they have been throwing themselves into fights recklessly since the raid. Argo said they haven't gotten back to the safe zone earlier than 10 PM in those last three days."

When nobody said anything, Kirito continued. His gaze was clouded with worry. Yuna fiddled with her instrument.

"Are you thinking of offering them to merge with Reaver's Requiem?"

"They wouldn't go for it. Klein and the others put their blood, sweat, and tears into Fuurinkazan, from before SAO had even started."

Drifter frowned, then shrugged. Kirito was right. And he found himself speaking somewhat callously.

"Give them time. It's the first time they lost someone so close to them. I'm sure Argo is keeping an eye on them, she won't let them do something stupid. We can revisit the topic later, after they calmed down and came to terms with Harry's death."

It was incredible - and horrifying - how quickly you became used to death. Or, at least, with the need to keep moving, and to not stop and wallow on it.

"Hey, is that a house?"

Vallerk interjected and changed topics to something less depressing - for which they were all grateful for. Kizmel stood on her tiptoes to get a better view, and nodded.

"Huh. So it is."

Drifter cranked his neck to get a better view. There, by the lakeside, was a log cabin. It was a small building, but not tiny. It looked accommodating. Probably two bedrooms, a kitchen, and a living room. A chimney was the only stone part of the cabin.

"Maybe its an NPC's house?"

"It looks comfy."

It truly did. There was a porch out the front, and Drifter could easily see someone setting down a rocking chair and reading a book or taking a nap, or simply just enjoying the view of the lake. Maybe himself.

"Let's take a look."

The party walked over to the cabin. When they got closer, Drifter finally realized what the building was. Mostly due to the semi-transparent blue wall that rose to block it off.

"It's for sale."

It was. When Kirito touched it, a price appeared on the 'shield' around the property. The amount of zeroes had all the Reavers spluttering.

"A million cor?!!"

Drifter's eyes widened in disbelief. Okay, buildings players could buy were rare. Actually, most of the time players could only temporarily rent stores in the lower floors, normally just a front and a back room, and even then it was expensive.

But never that much. It was true the log cabin looked like a luxury property some rich guy would buy to spend 2 weeks a year there during summer. But the price was at least five times that of the most expensive house Drifter had seen for sale.

"This... If we pooled together what everyone in the guild has... And didn't buy Liz any materials or intel from Argo for a year... Maybe we would be able to afford half of it?"

"More like only the porch. That's crazy expensive."

"It's broad daylight robbery, that's what it is. Nobody can afford that."

Drifter nodded. Frontliners were actually tighter on funds than most people would expect. The amount of cor they spent each day on new equipment, repairs, information, and consumables was enough for a low-level player to live comfortably for a month.

Reaver's Requiem was slightly better than most guilds due to the fact that they had Liz to create and repair equipment for them for free - as long as they supplied the raw materials. Of course, other big guilds also had their own blacksmiths, but they still came to her when they needed to forge something with a high-level material or wanted a top-tier weapon or armor.

The party chatted in front of the cabin for a few minutes more, mostly about the absurd price or why someone would even buy a house when the cor could be much better spent on actual useful stuff.

And yet, when they left, all of them couldn't help but keep throwing glances over their shoulder at the log cabin. Ideas started taking root and sprouting.

They were used to staying in inns on the topmost floor, and moving as that changed. It saved time each morning, not having to go through the teleporters. And they didn't actually spend that much time in the inn, or even the safe zones, anyway.

But it would be nice to have a place to call theirs. A headquarters for Reaver's Requiem.

Some saw even more than that. Drifter looked back at the cabin, and threw a sideways glance at his girlfriend. Yuna felt his gaze on her, and turned to meet his eyes, giving him that smile he loved so much.

The cabin wasn't very big. Probably two bedrooms, a living room, and a kitchen. A bathroom too, of course, maybe with a bathtub. And the porch.

Not enough for an entire guild. Not even close. But for two people... It had even a spare bedroom in this case.

Reaching over, Drifter grabbed Yuna's hand, and she leaned her head on his shoulder. They didn't need to talk to know they were both thinking the same thing.

Not the log cabin. It was too expensive, and too out of the way. It would be a treck each day just to get to the city to use the teleporter, and from there to wherever they had to go. And being separated from the other Reavers would be too big of an inconvenience right now.

But it was a nice dream for the future. Not necessarily inside SAO.

-----------------------

In their house, Kana was watching Drifter - Itsuki - on the television they always left on in the living room. The Ogawa household's electricity bills had risen sharply since the 24/7 broadcast feature was released, but they were happy to pay it if it meant they could see their son anytime they wanted - which was all the time.

"Genji, I think it's time we started talking with Tetsuhiro."

Genji lifted his head from washing the dishes in the kitchen sink.

"We talk to him almost daily, honey. We meet up once a week and in every boss fight."

Kana waved her hand dismissively.

"I know, I know. But I mean we should talk to him about Itsuki and Yuuna."

"What about them?"

"Turn that tap off and come here and look!"

Kana ushered her husband. Genji looked puzzled, but shrugged and did as he was told, sitting down on the sofa next to her.

"What am I to see?"

"Their eyes, you old man! I know the look in their eyes. They are head over heels for each other!"

Genji looked. Songstress Yuna currently had her head on Drifter's shoulder, and they were trailing behind their party, which was steadfastly ignoring the PDA. He shrugged again.

"I think that's old news, honey. Quite literally the entire world knows it."

His tone was a little sour when he spoke. That was the one thing Genji didn't like about the broadcasts. While Kayaba and the government kept the players' real identities hidden, their faces were still in full display. He had lost count of how many estranged family members had suddenly tried to reconnect, and how many old friends and neighbors he never spoke a word to came to ring their doorbell. There had yet to be any reporters or paparazzi, which was really the only silver lining, but he knew that wouldn't last forever.

"Don't be dour! You were young once, or at least I think you were. I don't think I would have gone for an old man."

Kana slapped her husband's shoulder and chided him. Genji, knowing better than to argue with his wife, let her get it out of her system before cajoling his way back to her good side.

"Sorry, love, I was wrong. But still, what exactly do you mean?"

"If they were in the real world right now, I would say our Itsuki is about to pop the question!"

Kana said excitedly, and Genji raised both of his eyebrows.

"You mean he is going to ask Yuna to marry him?"

"Yes! Well, if they weren't in the game, at least. Our sweet boy is completely and utterly in love with her. And I couldn't approve more of his choice! She is such a great kid."

Genji looked at the TV pensively. Kana hadn't said anything he didn't agree with. He never had many objections to Yuna, and what few he did have, the Songstress quickly wiped away by virtue of risking her life alongside their son.

Much like Shigemura Tetsuhiro once thought in relation to Drifter, it was hard to dislike someone who dared death every day for the sake of seven thousand people she didn't know.

Following that line of thought, Genji and Kana came to a sudden realization at almost the same time.

"You don't think he is going to ask her to marry him now, do you?"

"Can't be! They are still inside Sword Art Online! Surely Itsuki wouldn't- He would, wouldn't he? Our boy has always been decisive. If he thinks he found his lifelong love, and I think he did..."

"But can he even... No, there's marriage in SAO."

"Yeah, that poor girl Griselda, who joined their guild. It had a horrible end, which luckily they stopped before it went past the point of no return, but she was married in the game. Itsuki and Yuuna could do the same."

"Minus the horrible end part."

"Don't you even dare say that, Ogawa Genji! Are you trying to curse our son?!"

There Genji went, cajoling again. Or it was the sofa for him tonight.

-----------------------

The old saying that nobody knows a son better than his mother turned out to be very accurate in this case. Later that night, in the security of their room, with Yuna resting on his chest, Drifter was thinking of marriage.

Could he? No, should he?

Griselda set a bad precedent. Not that he thought his relationship with Yuna was anything like Griselda's with Grimlock, but some preconceptions were hard to get rid off.

And marriage was a big step anyway. Maybe not complicated in SAO, but Drifter already came to the conclusion that Aincrad was as real as the outside world, which meant if he asked Yuna, it would be for real too. Not just a couple of rings and shared inventory. It would be true and real, and he would make sure it was valid on both worlds as soon as they got out.

It was a really big step. But he thought was ready to take it. And not because he might die tomorrow and didn't want any regrets. That would be a poor foundation upon which to build a loving - and hopefully eternal - relationship.

Doubtlessly, SAO and all that it entailed influenced Drifter's decision. The daily danger they were in likely made him fall for Yuna faster than he would have in normal circumstances. But in the 'normal' world, he wouldn't have even met her.

"Uhmm..."

At this moment, Yuna, soundly asleep, mumbled something and snuggled closer to him. Drifter smiled softly and kissed the top of her head.

It was a big step. But he loved her. More than he could put into words. He was ready for it. He thought she was too. Now to gather up the nerve to actually ask it. And hope Yuna says yes.

Suddenly Drifter was really nervous. He didn't think he would sleep well tonight. Or at all.