The Survival Logs || Sword Art Online Fanfic

PK Pandemonia Arc: Chapter 71 - Cornered Secret

20 February 2024 (Morning)

Katalysis, 43rd Floor

POV: Rakuno

"Um, what are you doing?"

"Hmm? Just messaging. Do you not see?"

"Aren't you supposed to be in your own room?"

"Ah, Tekion prefers working in an environment without anyone nearby, not even me. Can't be helped."

I was starting to have that gut feeling that Zena coming over to my inn room would become a common occurrence. He came while Meghan and Alexis were leaving in the morning again, but I made sure to prepare myself before then.

He had almost seen me practically half-naked yesterday morning. I was so determined to not let that happen in this one.

Honestly, I wasn't really annoyed by the fact that Zena would be in my room. He wasn't really doing anything much. If he ever does something, it would be related to the mission. We were supposed to meet Kira of the Council tonight after all.

Come to think of it, he could never leave the room alone too. Those were his own policies that he set for everyone in the party. It must be a bit frustrating to have to follow the rules that he himself made though.

And so, here he was, sitting on Alexis's bed without ever so much of doing anything besides typing onto his message window.

Yeah.....I really can't take it. The silence, even with someone right in front of me, was just too deafening for me to hold out.

".....How long is Tekion gonna finish up with my sword?"

"Soon, soon. Won't be surprised if he knocks on the door around now." His gaze was still focused on his message window. He sure was taking way too much time trying to send a message that should have been like, I don't know, just a few sentences?

In the first place, was the word limit for a message really that large to begin with? Make no mistake, he had been typing on the same message window all this while. I never did send messages that were longer than maybe 5 sentences before, but with the way he was at it, he might as well write a full-page report.

In any case, it seemed that messages have absolutely no word limit, and you can make them as long as you wanted. The more you know.

Even then, it might have been common sense to split it into smaller messages. I couldn't help myself but to blurt out that remark.

"Your message's so.....well.....long-winded....."

"Ah? Oh. I'm just sending a report to Misuko, is all."

So he really was sending a report. Honestly. What the hell.

"Misuko, your guild leader?"

"Yeah, I'm surprised you could remember."

"Did she order you to send a report?"

"Actually.....no, it's my own obligation."

Zena's fingers paused, as he looked at me with an eyebrow-raising stare. "By the way, if you really think that Misuko's ordering me to do stuff, then you've certainly never known how my guild works."

"I've never been a member of a guild before," I replied. "Guilds generally don't suit my style of doing things"

"And, to be honest, I also don't get how you, a fellow Drifter, is a member of a guild. Doesn't stuff like guild duties or whatever bind you from Drifting?"

I decided to continue, being curious about Zena's affiliation with a guild even though he claimed to be a Drifter himself. As far as I was concerned, being a Drifter contradicts being in a guild. It was like freelancing versus working in a company. You can't choose both opposites of each other.