On the night of December 31, 2022, at 11:59 PM, on the streets of Karluin, the main town on the fifth floor of Aincrad, over a thousand players were counting down with the town clock.
"Ten, nine, eight, seven…"
Though it was only a ten-second countdown, the atmosphere clearly shifted from calm to excited.
No one was leading, yet everyone counted in perfect unison.
"Five, four, three, two, one…"
At the exact moment the crowd shouted "Zero!" in unison, several fireworks streaked into the sky from the Teleport Gate Plaza in the center of Karluin, their trails lighting up the air before bursting brilliantly against the black night sky.
The sound of fireworks exploding was joined by the cheers of players echoing across the sky.
The streets were filled with cries of "Happy New Year!" and "It's the new year!"
On a high platform on the east side of Karluin, Akimi watched the fireworks while pouring a drink from a bottle of Fickle Wine into his glass.
What disappointed him, though, was that Blueberry Tart wasn't available for takeaway—neither was the Wobbly Cream Strawberry Cake, for that matter.
Leaning against the railing, Akimi took a sip of the fizzy pink Fickle Wine, his gaze gradually becoming unfocused.
"…It's already been nearly two months," he murmured.
In the past fifty-five days, Akimi felt that even if he hadn't done everything perfectly, he had done pretty well.
After all, he was just an ordinary person—not like some other isekai protagonists with incredible powers.
As Akimi drifted off in his thoughts, mentally spiraling as usual, a soft voice suddenly came from beside him.
"Hey, what are you spacing out for?"
Akimi blinked and turned toward the voice—it was Asuna.
"Ah… it's nothing," Akimi said slowly.
"It's just… I can't believe how fast time has passed. In the blink of an eye, it's already been two months since we came to Aincrad."
Asuna smiled and said, "Yeah, I get that feeling. But it's totally normal. Every day we're exploring new maps, completing quests, gathering materials… it always feels like there's never enough time."
While talking, Asuna placed the bamboo basket she had been carrying on her arm onto the stone table in front of them, then began taking out all kinds of food.
After neatly arranging the dishes, Asuna took out two tall-stemmed glass goblets from the basket.
She poured some Fickle Wine into each, then lifted her glass, beaming brightly.
"Happy New Year, young master."
Akimi let out a helpless chuckle, raised his glass to clink it against Asuna's, and replied, "Happy New Year, Asuna."
Then the two of them downed their drinks together.
After finishing the wine, the two sat across from each other at the stone table.
As Akimi looked over the spread of food, he was a little surprised—some of the dishes looked very familiar.
Among them were the Wobbly Cream Strawberry Cake, Taran Buns, and Blueberry Tart.
Pointing at a few of them, he asked, "These are…"
But before he could finish, Asuna cut in, "They're not sold by NPCs. I tried making them myself based on memory. They don't have any stat bonuses, and… honestly, I'm not sure how they taste, so I'll leave the poison-testing to you."
Looking at Asuna's cheerful smile, Akimi put on a bitter face and said, "Can I refuse?"
Still smiling sweetly, Asuna made an "X" with her hands in front of her chest and replied in a gentle but absolutely firm tone, "Nope, not allowed." (Dame yo.)
After picking through the various dishes for quite a while, Akimi finally set his sights on the buns.
He picked one up and kept telling himself, Asuna's cooking skill is already pretty high—it won't taste bad…
Then he took a bite of the steaming hot bun.
The moment his teeth sank into it, the soft, fluffy texture gave him the impression that it was probably going to be good.
But just as he bit into it, Asuna's face lit up with a mischievous smile, as if her plan had succeeded—a smile that Akimi just happened to catch out of the corner of his eye, and it instantly gave him a bad feeling.
But it was too late for regret—the filling, which had a texture like yogurt, burst out the moment he bit down, splattering all over his face and collar.
Yep, it was the real Taran Bun.
With a stiff expression, Akimi slowly turned his head to look at Asuna and saw her grinning like a little fox.
She teased playfully, "Oh, I forgot to mention—the Taran Bun was actually bought from an NPC. I even reheated it before bringing it over."
Wiping at the mess with a handkerchief, Akimi walked over to Asuna, grabbed both of her cheeks with his hands, and growled, "Was that on purpose or an accident?"
Asuna responded confidently, "It was accidentally on purpose."
Soon after, Asuna started to realize something was off—their faces were now less than ten centimeters apart.
She quickly pushed Akimi's hands away, turned her head to the side, and a soft blush rose on her cheeks.
It was hard to say whether it was from embarrassment or from being pinched.
Akimi cleared his throat and awkwardly changed the subject.
"Anyway… I didn't expect there to be an item like fireworks in this game."
Calming down, Asuna replied, "Liten found them at a little item stall back in the Town of Beginnings. But they only work within a limited area."
Just then, a firework burst overhead, casting brilliant colors across their faces.
Asuna stared up at the fireworks, lost in thought.
Akimi, without realizing it, turned his gaze toward Asuna's face.
Seeing her gentle smile and the light dancing in her eyes, he couldn't help but feel that the most beautiful thing in the world was sitting right there in front of him.
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