Argo gently knocked twice on the door, which was the same color as the floor.
A few seconds later, a voice came from inside:
"Who is it?"
"It's Argo, along with a few companions."
After a few more seconds, the high-class-looking door slowly opened.
The room inside felt dimly lit.
As they stepped in, Akimi and the others were stunned—the interior of the room was so luxurious it was hard to describe.
Even a so-called five-star presidential suite paled in comparison.
Although only a few dim oil lamps were lit, the bright moonlight streaming in through the floor-to-ceiling windows on the opposite side provided enough illumination to make out the contents of the room.
Right in front of the window was an extra-long sofa, upon which sat a small figure.
Above her head floated the yellow marker indicating an NPC, along with her name: Nirrnir.
While the group was still taking in their surroundings, a woman's voice suddenly came from beside them:
"Apologies, but please hand over your weapons for safekeeping."
The voice belonged to a female NPC dressed in a classic maid outfit.
However, underneath the maid attire, steel chest armor could be faintly seen.
Her arms and legs were also covered in armor, and a rapier-like weapon was strapped to her left waist.
Judging by her appearance, she was clearly a battle maid—a trope known to send many LSPs (lewd-spirited players) into mental overdrive.
This maid NPC fit every imaginable fantasy of a battle maid.
She had medium-length jet-black hair tied into a small ponytail at the back, sharp eyes beneath angled bangs, and a beautiful yet stern expression.
She appeared to be around 170 cm tall.
Her chest was just the right size, and her long legs looked slim yet powerful.
Her alluring black stockings were overlaid with armored greaves, creating a strange yet fitting aesthetic that made one wonder what her feet inside those greaves might look like…
Could they even handle being "played with all year"?
Others might not know, but this kind of look hit Akimi's kink dead-on.
Just as a pleased smile curled on his lips while admiring the beauty, he suddenly felt a sharp pain as the soft flesh of his waist was pinched hard—enough to make someone gasp and shut their eyes in pain—wait, wasn't SAO supposed to have no pain sensations?!
It was Asuna.
She smiled sweetly and asked, "So? Is she pretty?"
Akimi instantly activated full survival mode and shook his head like crazy.
Only then did Asuna slowly release her grip.
Above her head, the name of the battle maid was also displayed for the group—"Kio", likely pronounced Qio.
"Please hand over your weapons to me for safekeeping," she said.
Seeing no response from the group, Kio frowned slightly and repeated her words with more force.
"Ah… okay."
Only then did the group snap out of it and begin handing over their weapons.
When she received Akimi's Nichirin Blade, Kio seemed momentarily surprised.
She unsheathed it and examined the water-blue blade.
Frowning thoughtfully, she murmured, "Material I haven't seen before…"
However, she didn't dwell on it for long.
After placing all the weapons neatly against the wall, Kio turned to them with a serious expression and said, "Please understand, this is for Miss Nirrnir's safety. When speaking with her, do not be disrespectful."
With that, she led them toward the sofa.
After walking across a nearly ten-meter-long carpet, they arrived in front of the long sofa and finally got a good look at Miss Nirrnir—a petite girl.
Nirrnir lounged on the elegant sofa with a casual, almost lazy posture.
She wore a black Lolita dress made from a semi-transparent material.
Her long, wavy golden hair, paired with the luxurious jewelry adorning her, made her resemble an exquisitely crafted porcelain doll.
"Welcome back, Argo," Nirrnir said, parting her cherry-pink lips.
Her voice carried an innate elegance. "Introduce your companions, won't you?"
"Yes, Miss Nirrnir," Argo replied with a small bow.
"These four are Kirito, Tomioka Akimi, Asuna, and Yu Wenjun."
"I see… Understood." Nirrnir gave a slight nod, then gestured to a smaller sofa next to the large one.
"Please, have a seat."
Once everyone was seated and Kio served them tea, Nirrnir relaxed a bit and said, "Since you've made it here, I assume you've already discovered the cheating method that little mutt was using, correct, Argo?"
"Mhm, that's right. Kirito, why don't you explain it?"
"Eh?! Me?"
The deeply introverted Kirito had just planned to stay invisible, only to be directly called out by Argo.
With no other choice, he braced himself and stepped up.
"This was found in the arena," Kirito said as he took the handkerchief—stained with a red dot—from Akimi.
He then handed it to Kio, who stood nearby.
After examining it and confirming there was nothing wrong, Kio respectfully presented the handkerchief with both hands to Nirrnir.
Nirrnir lightly pinched the handkerchief, and without closely inspecting it, she casually said, "I thought it was that little mutt's blood, but apparently not."
"That's right. It appears to be a type of plant-based dye."
"Dye?" Nirrnir slowly sat up straighter, her large eyes narrowing as her voice turned icy.
"So… that little mutt was dyed?"
"Exactly. We suspect the creature that entered the match wasn't actually a Rusted Ly wild hound, but rather a higher-level canine-type monster. Because in a one-on-one match, a Rusted Ly could never defeat the Bouncy Ster."
Upon hearing that, Nirrnir silently handed the handkerchief back to Kio, then picked up a wine-like drink from the table and downed it in one gulp.
After taking several deep breaths, she slammed the glass down onto the table.
Her brows arched sharply as she stared out the floor-to-ceiling window with a gaze that was deep and chilling, speaking in a tone that didn't match her sweet appearance at all:
"Very well... Korloy. I never expected you to stoop to something like this…"
Even though her voice still sounded youthful, everyone could clearly feel the nearly uncontrollable fury beneath her words.
As an information broker with a sharp nose for fresh intel, Argo immediately sensed something big and quietly asked,
"Excuse me… Who is Korloy?"
After a brief silence, Nirrnir waved her hand toward Kio and said,
"Kio, explain it to them."
"Yes, Miss Nirrnir."
After giving Nirrnir a respectful bow, Kio turned to face Akimi and the others and said,
"Did you know? The Voluptia Grand Casino is jointly run by Miss Nirrnir's family—the Nactoy family—and their relatives—the Korloy family."
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