Aincrad, Twenty-fifth Floor, Main Street District.
Lisbeth’s Weapon Shop.
When Fang Zheng walked into the shop, the first thing he saw was Lisbeth’s expression that seed to have lost all hope.
"What’s wrong now? You look like you’ve been through sothing indescribable."
Looking at Lisbeth, who was sprawled across the counter, looking utterly drained, Fang Zheng greeted her with a smile. Upon hearing Fang Zheng’s voice, Lisbeth opened her eyes to glance at him before letting out a long sigh.
"Ah........."
After sighing, Lisbeth closed her eyes again, resting her chin on the counter, motionless.
"What’s going on? Got dumped? Don’t worry, you’ll find the right man soday."
"Who wants to find the right man!"
Upon hearing this, Lisbeth instantly snapped out of her lethargy, slapped the table, and stood up, glaring at Fang Zheng angrily. At this mont, Yui poked her head out from behind Fang Zheng and waved at Lisbeth.
"Hello, Sister Liz."
Seeing Yui, Lisbeth’s expression, which had been like a lioness, instantly transford into a house cat. She gave Fang Zheng a fierce glare, then smiled at Yui, waving her hand.
"Oh, isn’t it Yui? Hello there. I hope I didn’t scare you."
"No, but Sister Liz, what happened to you earlier?"
"It’s nothing, it’s just... I was thinking of so unpleasant things."
Lisbeth replied helplessly, then looked at Fang Zheng.
"You’re here to pick up your order, right?"
"Yes, I assu you’ve got everything ready."
"Of course, it’s ready......"
As she said this, Lisbeth opened her inventory, but upon looking at the various weapons stored inside, she huffed and puffed for a while before she couldn’t help but complain.
"I wonder how your brain works?"
"Hm?"
Hearing Lisbeth’s complaint, Fang Zheng paused for a mont.
"What do you an, ’how it works’?"
"I’m talking about these weapons!"
Lisbeth gazed at the various shapeshifting weapons in the inventory, nearly drooling. Shortly after the Lord BOSS of the twenty-fifth floor was defeated, Fang Zheng had co to Lisbeth’s shop and handed her several weapon blueprints for her to craft.
Lisbeth initially didn’t take much notice, but once the weapons were crafted, she fell more in love with them the more she looked at them. Not only did these weapons have beautiful designs, but they were also comfortable to wield. Lisbeth exercised professional ethics; otherwise, she might have simply absconded with the weapons!
Because these weapons looked too good!! Why aren’t they mine!!
Right now, Lisbeth felt like a bank teller, watching a stream of cash slip through her fingers, with none belonging to her...
This feeling was truly uncomfortable!
"How about I give you half the price, and you make one for ?"
"Of course, no problem, as long as you join the Dark Moon Sword, I’ll make one for you."
In response to Lisbeth’s request, Fang Zheng calmly replied. Hearing Fang Zheng’s response, Lisbeth pouted in dissatisfaction. Fang Zheng had previously invited her to join the Dark Moon Sword, but as a production-focused player, Lisbeth wasn’t inclined to join any specific guild.
Previously, she had only crafted a Beast Cutter Knife for Fang Zheng, so she wasn’t particularly concerned. But this ti, seeing the various shiny and cool weapons Fang Zheng designed for others, Lisbeth the craftsman couldn’t hold back any longer. If only she could have such cool weapons too... but...
Sell myself for a weapon?
It felt like dropping in value...
"Let think about it."
After much hesitation, Lisbeth still didn’t make a decision. After all, her current life was quite satisfying. Although the shapeshifting weapons were undoubtedly great, trading herself for one made Lisbeth feel at a disadvantage. Fang Zheng didn’t mind; although Lisbeth was indeed the most skilled and highest-ranked Forging Master he knew, he could still make weapons without her. If nothing else, Fang Zheng could practice forging himself...
It just takes a lot more ti.
"Forget it, let’s deliver the goods first."
Sighing, Lisbeth shook her head and put the matter behind her. She then opened her inventory, beginning to hand over the items to Fang Zheng.
"All these weapons were made according to your requirents, using the best materials, so there shouldn’t be any problems... Of course, if there are, I can’t help it—after all, your weapons are too strange..."
Listening to Lisbeth’s complaints, Fang Zheng rely smiled silently. After storing the weapons, he patted Yui’s little head, leading her out of the weapon shop.
As they walked towards the Teleportation Crystal, Fang Zheng listened to Yui happily describing the nearby shops. Unlike Fang Zheng, Yui loved to stroll around town, and she was well-acquainted with the shops, restaurants, and hidden stores on each floor’s main streets. This made her popular among the girls; they would always bring Yui along for an enjoyable shopping trip.
Except... There’s still no clue about Yui’s background. But luckily, as ti went by, Yui had beco familiar with everyone. Other than not recovering her mory, Yui was just like any ordinary child now.
"Daddy!"
Just as the two reached the street corner, Yui suddenly stopped and pointed curiously to the distance.
"Look over there, Sister Eiriri is there!"
"Eiriri?"
Upon hearing Yui’s words, Fang Zheng stopped in his tracks and looked in the direction Yui was pointing. Sure enough, he saw Eiriri sitting at a nearby table, holding a bottle of drink, gazing absentmindedly at the ocean and sky, her expression seed a bit gloomy.
"It seems Sister Eri isn’t very happy... Did sothing happen?"
Seeing Eiriri’s deanor, Yui anxiously approached Fang Zheng and asked in a low voice. During their ti together, Fang Zheng noticed that Yui was quite sensitive to others’ emotional fluctuations; she could imdiately sense if soone was happy or angry. Clearly, she was a child with strong empathy.
"Hmm... Let’s go take a look."
Noticing Eiriri’s distracted state, Fang Zheng also felt sothing was off. Eiriri was always lively and cheerful in the guild and rarely like this. Could it be she had a quarrel with soone in the guild?
With that thought, Fang Zheng held Yui’s hand and walked towards Eiriri.
This blonde, twin-tailed girl seed to be completely lost in thought; even when Fang Zheng and Yui reached her side, she didn’t notice. Seeing Eiriri like this, Fang Zheng helplessly sighed, then reached out to knock on the table.
"Eiriri?"
"Hmm... Eh? Who is it?"
Hearing Fang Zheng’s voice, Eiriri was startled and suddenly jumped up, looking at Fang Zheng in surprise. After seeing the two, she let out a long sigh of relief.
"Oh, it’s Mr. Fang Zheng and Yui. Don’t scare like that..."
"I wasn’t trying to scare you, but what’s going on with you?"
Fang Zheng casually pulled out a chair for Yui to sit and then sat across from Eiriri, curiously looking at her.
"Did you get into a fight with soone in the guild, or do you have sothing on your mind? If you do, why not talk about it? Maybe I can help."
"Well... It’s not really a big deal..."
Hearing Fang Zheng’s inquiry, Eiriri hesitated for a mont. She reached out, stirring the straw in her cup, then after a while, spoke softly.
"Mr. Fang Zheng, if we clear the 100th floor, we’ll leave this world and return to reality, right?"
"That’s right."
"... To be honest, I’m not sure... if I want to go back."
"Oh?"
Hearing this, Fang Zheng raised an eyebrow, curious.
"Why?"
"... I, well, have soone I like."
At this point, Eiriri paused, then spoke again.
"To be precise, I ’used to’ have soone I liked. His looks are far from yours, Mr. Fang Zheng—just an ordinary, unremarkable guy. Plus, he’s a complete nerd, a fool who would hold light novels in the library and start an ani club at the school festival. Yet, I fell for this guy, or rather... I’ve always liked him."
"..........."
Fang Zheng didn’t say anything, at least for now he already guessed the outco.
"Then, one day that idiot ca to , saying he’d t ’the one destined for him’ and even planned to make a ga with her as the protagonist. Honestly, I didn’t pay much attention then because I knew he was a fool with eyes only for 2D girls. The reason he liked that girl was likely because he saw the 2D version of her, not the real her. But, I was wrong..."
Eiriri lowered her head, gripping the cup tightly with both hands.
"... Although a lot happened in between, in the end, I still lost. Just like Gabriel said, I’m nothing but a loser. Proud as I might have been being his childhood friend, from elentary school onward we’ve been together. But he had another childhood friend from birth, a cradle buddy, compared to her, I’m just a knockoff... And, he found his ’one destined for him’..."
"... Honestly, I’m really upset and heartbroken, which is why after the full-dive ga ca out, I used the excuse of needing inspiration to enter this ga. Unlike others, when I found out there was a possibility I might never leave this ga, deep down, I was even a bit thrilled. If I lived perpetually in this ga or died in battle one day, I wouldn’t have to return to that loathso reality or face all those annoying things again. He wouldn’t have to consider , and could be with whoever he wanted..."
At this point, Eiriri turned her head towards the ocean in the distance.
"I once thought that maybe dying like this wouldn’t be so bad; maybe he would mourn for . But eventually, they would continue their relationship, soday walking down the aisle. Perhaps ten years later, they would bring their children to pay respects at my grave and reminisce about all the silly things we did making gas together... And all I needed to do was beco a photo on a tombstone, smiling and blessing them..."
......
You’ve really planned this out thoroughly.
Seeing the cold aura emanating from Eiriri, Fang Zheng was speechless. But he could sowhat understand because girls at this age tend to view love as being more significant than life or death. You see it in romance novels where heroines jump off cliffs, into rivers, or the sea for love without a blink, and such authors are hailed as "great masters who truly understand love"...
"You’re still young and so cute; let’s not talk about dying."
With this in mind, Fang Zheng shook his head.
"Life is still long; you should think about your parents too. Heartbreak is indeed painful, but as long as there’s a new romance, won’t everything be resolved? Across the horizon, there’s no shortage of flowers; why fixate on one? In a world full of n, why hang yourself on one crooked tree? With your qualities, wouldn’t any man fall for you at your confession?"
"Really?"
Hearing Fang Zheng’s reassurance, Eiriri turned, curiously looking at him. Fang Zheng nodded.
"Of course, don’t believe it? Go to the street and find any guy without a girlfriend and confess, and see if he doesn’t agree."
"Then..."
This ti, Eiriri hesitated for a mont, then fixated on Fang Zheng before she spoke again.
"What if I want to confess to you, Mr. Fang Zheng?"
"... Huh?"
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