As she gazed outside, Asuna began thinking about their male friends, but none of them seemed like the type Lisbeth would go out with. Sure, Lisbeth could be a bit boyish at times, but she still had the heart of a maiden. Asuna was fairly certain that none of their friends, or acquaintances, were the ones Lisbeth would meet.
'Am I overthinking things?'
She wondered if she was just reading too much into it, and a wry smile tugged at her lips.
Noticing Asuna had fallen silent, Kirito called out softly, "Asuna, is something wrong? You suddenly went quiet."
Seeing the look of concern in Kirito's eyes, Asuna shook her head and said, looking down again, "Mmm, it's nothing. I was just thinking about something."
Kirito wanted to ask more, but seeing that Asuna didn't seem willing to discuss it further, he held back. Like her, he shifted his gaze downward while they continued holding hands.
Yet, as they shared that quiet moment, Kirito remained unaware of Asuna's wandering thoughts. She, who hadn't been able to figure out who Lisbeth might be meeting, suddenly remembered a person she had recently met.
'It couldn't be him, right?'
As she thought that, the classroom door suddenly slid opened, and Silica entered, wearing a wry smile. Her heart, already a little jealous after hearing that Lisbeth had a date, sank further when she saw Asuna and Kirito holding hands.
'Ugh! These people… they've left me behind…' Silica wanted to scold the world for letting a cute girl like her remain single while her friends had their own love lives. Her thoughts then drifted to Shido, who was like her prince in shining armor. 'I wonder if Setsuna-san wouldn't mind younger ones?'
The thought made Silica's cheeks flush, and she felt a shy warmth spreading through her. Yet, she also liked the feeling, imagining herself being carried like a princess by Shido.
'Kyaaaa!!! It's too much for my heart…'
Silica's face was flushed bright red as she let out strange little giggles, acting completely unlike herself. Watching her, Asuna and Kirito exchanged glances, both silently thinking that Silica had finally lost it.
"What are you doing here, Silica? Didn't you go home with Lisbeth already?" Asuna asked.
The question snapped Silica out of her daydream, and she instantly blushed even deeper, feeling embarrassed that Asuna and Kirito had seen her acting so strange. Fortunately, they didn't seem to notice anything amiss, only curious about why she had come to their classroom.
Walking over to them, Silica replied to Asuna, "Rika-san said she still had something to do, so she went on ahead."
She said it with a helpless expression. While Lisbeth claimed she had something to do, Silica knew it wasn't that simple, she suspected her friend might be going on a date. The thought made her feel a mix of jealousy and happiness for Lisbeth.
Still, she couldn't help but complain silently that Lisbeth hadn't told her anything. What Silica didn't know was that the very person she had been daydreaming about, her prince was the one Lisbeth was meeting. If she ever found out, Silica might crumble into dust as the world was really unfair.
"So you came here to us instead?" Kirito asked with a helpless smile, his time with Asuna interrupted by Silica.
Seeing the helpless look on Kirito's face, Silica snorted softly, secretly pleased by his reaction.
"What's wrong, Kirito-san? Am I bothering you guys?" she said, always skilled at acting innocent, her tone and expression perfectly sweet. Kirito, still a little flustered, didn't have the heart to be blunt with her.
He gave an awkward smile and stammered, "A-ahahaha… of course not. I just… I was wondering, since you rarely come to our class, so…"
"Well, Lisbeth left me after all, so I'm sticking with you guys! Is that okay, Asuna-san?"
"Sure, why not?" Asuna replied with her usual warm smile, agreeing without hesitation. Silica cheered in delight and even flashed a V-sign with her fingers at Kirito which made him speechless.
It wasn't that they hadn't gone home with the others before, but this kind of casual hanging out often happened when there was a gathering at Agil's bar.
Usually, they all stuck together when attending parties in ALO.
"Right… didn't you guys party with Setsuna last night?" Asuna suddenly asked.
Hearing Asuna mention the name Setsuna, Silica's expression lit up with excitement while Kirito raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, Asuna-san. Setsuna-san took us to Aincrad and we cleared the 9th floor with just the four of us. It's a pity you guys couldn't come along, it was really fun, and Setsuna-san is so strong that he managed to deplete most of the Floor Boss's HP."
As Silica continued recounting her experience partying with Shido, Asuna listened with a gentle smile. However, as the story went on, she couldn't help but feel a small pang of envy, thinking about how Silica and the others had enjoyed such an adventure without her.
"Hmm, is that so? That really is a pity," Asuna replied, her gaze lingering on Silica, who was smiling brightly at the memory.
Meanwhile, as Asuna and Silica continued talking, Kirito silently listened from the side. However, his mind was occupied with thoughts about this player called Setsuna.
It wasn't as if he had never heard of him since Setsuna had recently caused a huge stir in ALO, enough that Kirito naturally took notice of such a powerful player. On top of that, Asuna, Silica, Lisbeth, and even his sister Suguha often spoke about Setsuna, which only fueled his curiosity further.
As for how the girls met this player, Lisbeth simply told him that they encountered Setsuna by chance, long before he became famous. Kirito couldn't deny that he also wanted to meet the man himself someday, maybe even spar with him to see just how strong he really was.
"Then join us next time when Setsuna-san invites us to party again. You too, Kirito-san."
"Alright."
Asuna nodded, accepting the suggestion without hesitation, and after glancing at Kirito, she saw him nod in agreement as well.
Silica wore a bright smile when she saw the two agree. All her earlier gloom about being single seemed to vanish the moment she started talking about Shido, making both Asuna and Kirito exchange wry smiles. At this point, they could only conclude that Silica had completely fallen.
"Anyway, what are you two looking at down there?"
Only then did Silica realize that Asuna and Kirito had originally been peering out the window before the conversation shifted. Her curiosity peaked, she leaned forward and poked her head beside them to see what was happening outside.