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🕑 Added 2025-01-07 16:00:04 +0000 UTCRoy maintained a serious expression and nodded as she let out a soft cough and began rummaging through her pockets.
Watching her movements with a peculiar look, Roy observed as she pulled out a handful of coins. After fumbling around, she managed to produce a hundred copper coins and, with a proud flourish, declared, "I'll buy myself back with this."
She tossed the coins onto the ground in front of Roy, standing there with her chest puffed out, wearing a look of self-satisfaction.
Roy's lips twitched as he silently picked up the coins, pocketing them without a word. His gaze then returned to the silver-haired girl, who met his eyes defiantly. For a brief moment, they stared at each other—big eyes locking with smaller ones—until her confidence crumbled, and she let out a frustrated huff.
"Fine, fine, fine! You win, you jerk!" she spat. "I'll pay another two hundred copper coins for myself, but don't push your luck!"
Muttering curses under her breath, she began fishing through her pockets again. After some effort, she slapped the additional coins into Roy's hand with a sharp motion, only to immediately regret it as the sting of the slap traveled up her own arm. Meanwhile, Roy calmly stashed the coins away without a change in expression, his gaze returning to her once more.
The loli's face faltered, her expression now tinged with confusion. It was evident she had run out of ideas.
Roy narrowed his eyes slightly as if evaluating her potential. Hmm, she's smart—though not excessively so. The type of person who'd be easy to manipulate.
After a moment of thought, he decided she might be worth cultivating. Three years was more than enough time to mold someone like her. Besides, building up his personal strength and establishing loyal subordinates was something he'd been neglecting for too long.
Sigh, Rudeus's incompetence leaves me with no choice but to step in myself.
In the larger picture, personal strength could only take one so far—what truly mattered was the scale of influence one wielded.
With that thought, his gaze softened as it fell upon the loli once more. Her appearance, despite being masked by a bandit-like aura, was undeniably striking.
But that faint gentleness in his eyes only served to alarm her further. "H-Hey," she stammered, taking a cautious step back. "Are you… alright?"
Roy chuckled lightly. "I'm fine. You just reminded me of someone I used to know," he said, his tone warm as a smile spread across his face.
She stared back skeptically, her expression screaming, Do you really think I'm that gullible?
Unfazed by her disbelief, Roy continued, "You know, I see great potential in you. Your bone structure is remarkable—a once-in-a-century martial arts prodigy! I happen to have a manual that could turn you into a peerless warrior."
His words were only half true. Her potential was real, but the "once-in-a-century" claim? Not so much. And as for the manual? Pure fabrication. Roy wasn't exactly a master of secret techniques himself.
The loli rolled her eyes, unimpressed. "Show me the manual then," she said flatly.
Roy's lips twitched slightly. After a moment's thought, he replied, "A manual is just words on paper. What you need is personal guidance. Meet me here tomorrow at the third hour of the night. I'll teach you. But if you don't show up…"
He paused, his expression darkening as he added, "I'll just capture you and claim the bounty."
He shot her a sinister grin, but despite his attempt at intimidation, his radiant good looks softened the effect. Even his "evil" expression seemed oddly sunny. Without waiting for her reply, he turned and walked away.
The loli stood there, lost in thought. By the time she snapped out of it, Roy had already disappeared from view.
What just happened? she wondered. Did I just escape unscathed?
Later, back at the guild, Roy reported the incident to Maeve. The delicate-looking girl listened with an apologetic expression and assured him she would inform the guildmaster and dispatch someone to investigate the matter.
Roy nodded. The mission wouldn't be a waste, after all. If his report proved accurate, he'd be granted an exception to advance to a D-rank adventurer.
With some free time on his hands, Roy completed a few more quests before returning to the Greyrat household to rest.
"Rest" was a loose term, though. What awaited him was more work: writing training manuals.
One for Eris's magic studies.
Another for the silver-haired loli's swordsmanship.
By the time he finished, it was already late at night. After grabbing a quick bite, he returned to his room, staring at the two incomplete manuscripts before him.
Roy sighed, feeling a twinge of futility. Am I overdoing this?
He spent a little more time refining the contents, then opened his system interface, checking on his Fool self's status. Perhaps it was time for a little gaming session. Surely, that wasn't too indulgent… right?
...
Sword Art Online World.
Due to the relatively small difference in the flow of time, Roy, also known as Naoki Kirigaya, had still only managed to clear the first floor's boss.
The monsters on the 30th floor weren't particularly difficult to handle—they were relatively simple enemies. However, their sheer numbers made them a considerable challenge.
Standing in the frontlines, the Fool Roy's movements hesitated momentarily. This pause stemmed from Roy's control over his body as he adjusted to its capabilities.
Ahead of him stood a grotesque dwarf-like creature—a goblin.
Compared to ordinary goblins, these were noticeably larger and more muscular.
Roy tilted his head slightly to evade an arrow zipping toward him, then sent the goblin in front of him flying with a single, forceful kick.
He flexed his muscles slightly, getting a feel for the strength of this body. His level had increased since the last time Roy had taken control, and the newfound power was palpable.
The surrounding environment was a rocky mine lit dimly by flickering torches. The faint light cast eerie shadows, and the goblins proved to be cunning creatures. While their physical attributes lagged behind other monsters, their intelligence more than made up for it.
At the sight of the goblins, Roy couldn't help but recall certain… unsavory comics he'd read in his past life.
And when his thoughts drifted to those comics, his gaze subconsciously landed on Asuna. His expression turned slightly awkward.
Asuna's rapier flashed like lightning, her movements graceful and swift. She effortlessly cut down goblin after goblin with precise strikes.
Beside her, Kirito's movements were equally sharp. With a fluid swing of his obsidian longsword, its edge glowing faintly with a blue hue, he slashed through a goblin's throat. The creature's HP bar emptied instantly, and it dissipated into blue light.
Once they'd cleared out the surrounding goblins, the group pressed deeper into the mine.
Roy hadn't taken more than a few steps before Asuna sidled up to him, a curious look on her face. "Were you looking at me just now?"
Roy was startled. He hadn't expected her intuition to be so sharp—to notice something like that.
Caught off guard, he nodded and flashed a bright smile.
Asuna rolled her eyes, letting out a soft sigh before leaning closer. "So… tonight," she said with a faint hesitation, "are you free?"
Roy froze, lost in thought. He wanted to shake his head, but his innate honesty prevented him from lying.
Free meant free—there was no reason to deny it. Straightening up, he responded seriously, "I'm free."
After all, he thought, If I've grown up with this flower my whole life, why should I let someone else take it?
