"Thank you, Kaede."
"Eh?" Kaede blinked, an embarrassed look appearing on her face, "But why are you thanking me?"
"Because you saved Sachi!" At this moment, Sachi also walked over. Although there was still lingering fear of Kaede in her eyes, she also expressed her gratitude to Kaede.
"Mm, but I was just doing what big sister said." Kaede still felt something was off; she didn't save Sachi for the sake of saving Sachi.
"Silly little sister," Asuna laughed and said, "At times like this, you just need to say 'you're welcome'."
"Eh? Is that so?" Kaede paused, looking at Kirito and Sachi in front of her, and the gratitude on their faces. Suddenly, a smile blossomed on her face, a beautiful smile.
"You're welcome~~"
Asuna watched Kaede gently from behind; the few people opposite were already dumbfounded.
Only Kirito was still there, saying solemnly, "If you need anything in the future, call me, and I will definitely come."
"Mm, Kirito, Kaede and I are planning to buy a house. Do you have any suggestions?" Asuna asked at this moment.
"A house?" Kaede paused, then looked at Asuna cautiously.
"A home?"
"Mm, it's a home~" Asuna stroked Kaede's head and said gently, "It's a home for the two of us~"
"A home..." Kaede was stunned.
"Our home..." Kaede closed her eyes, her whole body trembling.
"Am I... finally going to have a home?"
"Mm, you have a home." Asuna gently hugged Kaede, feeling a bit heartbroken.
"Hmm?" Listening to the conversation between Asuna and Kaede, Kirito had a trace of doubt in his eyes. Could there be some hidden story behind Kaede?
Thinking of the completely different personalities of Kaede and Asuna, Kirito understood; there must be some hidden story.
However, none of this was Kirito's business.
"As for a house, actually, I had my eye on one. I originally wanted to save up enough money to buy it myself. Since you're asking now, I'll tell you." Kirito was a bit helpless; he really liked that place.
"It's in a forest on the 22nd floor." Saying this, Kirito sent the coordinates to Kaede and Asuna.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Afterwards, Asuna parted ways with the Moonlit Black Cats.
The Moonlit Black Cats also reunited with their leader, Keita.
"Um, Leader, Kirito and I will stay behind for a little while. I'll catch up with you right away!" Sachi said, bowing to Keita.
"Eh, okay..." Keita scratched his head, feeling a bit confused, but he agreed nonetheless.
When they had walked far away, the people beside him explained the reason to Keita, as well as Kirito's true identity. Even if they were slow, they couldn't fail to guess Kirito's true identity at this point.
"Ah, is that so?" Keita looked in Sachi's direction and sighed. "But, is it really okay to do this?"
"Perhaps this is the best outcome." As Sachi's companions, almost everyone in the Moonlit Black Cats understood what Sachi wanted to do, but not a single person opposed it, even if they would lose a top-tier player.
"What's wrong?" A bad premonition flashed through Kirito's heart at that moment.
Sachi looked at Kirito, her eyes filled with tenderness, then rushed into Kirito's arms, wrapped her hands around his neck, and pressed her lips against his.
"Mmph!" Kirito's face was instantly covered in a blush.
Sachi rested her head on Kirito's shoulder and whispered softly into his ear.
"Let's... break up."
Suddenly, it seemed as if even the air grew quiet. A trace of a blush still remained on Kirito's face, but his eyes widened as he looked at Sachi, who had already stepped back in front of him.
"Why?" Kirito didn't understand why things had to be this way. Did he do something wrong?
"Hmm~" Sachi shook her head. "Kirito-kun is great, but do you really like me?"
"I do!"
"Is it the kind of liking that is love? The two of us are just cats licking each other's wounds. There is liking, but is this liking love?" Sachi looked at the speechless Kirito, gave him no time to speak, showed Kirito her final smile, and then turned to chase after the Moonlit Black Cats.
Leaving Kirito standing there blankly all by himself.
Looking up at the vast sky, Kirito couldn't help but murmur, "Do I... really like, love Sachi?"
Speechless, Kirito didn't understand his own feelings; he only knew that it hurt a lot right now, and he wanted to scream loudly, so he did.
"Ah!!!"
Sachi, who had walked away, heard Kirito's scream and immediately collapsed to the ground as if she had lost all her strength, her tears finally falling uncontrollably.
She could tell that perhaps Kirito really hadn't fallen in love with her, but she knew that she had truly fallen in love with Kirito.
However, the two of them weren't a good match. In her eyes, Kirito was just too dazzling—so dazzling that he was an existence she couldn't reach.
"Sigh!" At this moment, Keita walked up to Sachi, patted her shoulder, and said, "Let's go. Since you've made this choice, just watch over him from behind."
"Mm, I'm sorry, Leader." Sachi said while crying.
Keita didn't speak.
"It is we who are sorry to you. If any of us could have surpassed Kirito... perhaps it wouldn't have ended up like this." Keita's eyes dimmed; he had already removed Kirito from the guild, and from now on, they would have to work hard too!
From then on, there was an additional relatively strong team in sword art online, as well as a solo player—a solo player who didn't party with anyone, a solo player who leveled up frantically.
However, the solo player was waiting for something in a snowy field at this moment; it was something he had promised.
However, upon seeing the person who arrived, a look of surprise appeared on Kirito's face.
Because, the person who arrived was only Kaede. Although it was Kaede who had sought him out, Kirito had always assumed that Asuna would follow.
Has she grown up? She must have grown up.
Kirito thought to himself.
"Hi, where's Asuna? I didn't expect you to come find me alone." Kirito said.
"Uh, I came out without my sister knowing." Kaede scratched her head. "I want to give her something."
"That medicine that is rumored to be able to resurrect people?" Kirito raised an eyebrow.
"Mm." Kaede nodded.
Kirito looked at Kaede, feeling a bit strange; Kaede's expression now didn't seem as good as it was back then...
"That's fine too. After all, you and Asuna are known as the sisters who are the flower of strategy; staying on the front lines is indeed a bit dangerous." Kirito nodded and said.
Kirito paused while speaking, looking up at Kaede, whose face was a bit gloomy, not knowing what was going on.
Kaede also reacted, turned her head away, and said.
"Can you not mention the word'strategy'!"
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