Progressive Factor

The Not So Itsy, Not So Bitsy Spiders

The next day, Kirito

Thursday, December 15th, 2022. The party consists of the level-15 dark knight elf, the level 14-swordsmen, the level-13 rogue, and the level-13 fencer. The sun has not risen yet; as a matter of fact, it's only 3 am. The previous hours after the girls bathed were eventful.

When Koharu and Asuna finished bathing, they went to eat; Kirito took a half-second dip while Jaymes relaxed for much longer. When the other swordsman exited the bathing tent, only Kirito saw who came out with him: Kizmel, their hostess. Kirito decided to tease the older male, but it fell on deaf ears.

In his own words, "Kirito, hear me out. Asuna and Koharu are very beautiful, and you cannot deny it. They're goddesses, and we're not worthy to even breathe the same air they do. I'd pay whatever Col necessary to see what we saw of them in the past if we never saw it for free. But what I just saw...the apex of the male fantasy. If Legolas is the definitive male elf, Kizmel is his counterpart. Thank you, Akihiko Kayaba!"

"...Really?"

"Well, maybe I exaggerate a lot, but you get my point. Besides, I got to talk to her a bit, and I'm not a pervert. I did try to leave when she arrived... Anyway, she told me something important." Jaymes turns his head towards the tent where elves enjoy food and drink, eyeing their human companions. Or, more specifically, his. "'I understand that humankind is facing a painful battle of its own. A partner who will watch your back should be treasured.' Forgetting what I just said of her, one day I hope to make true on those words. I only have one mission, Kirito, and that's to make sure Koharu escapes this game. I don't care...well, I prefer that I do, but if I don't make it with her, that's fine. As long as she lives, I will always protect my partner."

"That's kind of you. You and Koharu make a great team. That's something...something I cannot do myself. After all, this party of ours is only temporary, right? Once we're done with what we need of each other, we'll go our separate ways. Sure, we'll meet up from time to time on the front, but there's no need for us to party up."

"...What do you think of Kizmel as an NPC?"

"Seems to be quite a robust construct for an NPC, but we shouldn't get attached, right?"

"No, we shouldn't. If anything, it's like she has her own AI." Jaymes frowns and crosses his arms. "And here I thought I could get away from that..."

Eventually, the group returned to Kizmel's tent and, after a minor debacle between the boys and the girls over a certain elf, they all few asleep for a few hours. Kirito had woken up and saw that Kizmel had vacated the tent. Curious, he searched and found her standing under a tree surrounded by planted swords, a makeshift gravesite. She sits behind one particular blade, holding tightly to the hilt. Engaging in conversation with her, he learned about Tilnel, Kizmel's sister, and her brother-in-law, both who died before the players' arrival on the third floor. She offered Kirito a drink, which he found was not water or anything else.

"That's moon tear wine—my sister's favorite. When my duty was over, I wanted to offer something nice to celebrate her wedding. So I borrowed it from the castle. After she died, I told myself that after avenging her, I would drink this with her husband. Now, neither of those will happen... Kirito, I asked Jaymes this about Koharu, so I will ask this of you. You must keep Asuna from harm. And in turn, I will protect you all until the moments our paths diverge."

Right then and there, Kirito's coldness and rationality changed. He did not witness the deaths of the two Kizmel mourns for, but he did see the Forest Elf die. He did notice Kizmel was fighting with purpose against him, for this purpose beyond the key. When Kayaba announced that people could die in the game, he didn't honestly believe it until he witnessed it just hours later after a perilous first night. Yet his small discussion with Asuna before they fell asleep, how she felt about Kizmel, a stark contrast from Jaymes' true feelings about her... He understood her from the non-gamer point of view, and Koharu probably harbors similar feelings. Yet as she sits her in remembrance of her family, he realizes just how wrong he was. True, Kizmel is an NPC, but to the world of Aincrad, she's just as much a living being as they are. They live and most certainly can die.