"As such, does that mean there might be an entire floor that's all ocean?"
Asuna suddenly speculated, her face full of curiosity.
Although he admired Asuna's unique way of thinking, Akimi still shook his head and denied it:
"When the land was severed, those auras enveloped the largest hundred cities of each race. I don't think any race could have built a sufficiently large city underwater—at least, not in SAO."
"Eh? Is that so?" Asuna was momentarily stunned, then added, "Hmm… But maybe there was an island in that sea area just big enough for a city?"
When Asuna said that, Kirito's eyes lit up and he said with anticipation, "Wouldn't that be great? If the main city is on an island, then the labyrinth zone would be right outside—it'd make the floor raid super easy, right?"
Well, classic Kirito.
Low emotional intelligence Kirito casually murdered the topic.
Kirito also realized that Akimi and the others had all gone silent and were staring at him with speechless expressions.
He gave a few awkward coughs and said nothing more.
When the group arrived at the entrance of the Volputa Grand Casino, they noticed that quite a few gamblers were already heading inside.
After entering the casino and seeing the gaming tables already packed with players, Akimi's mouth twitched as he said, "This really is... booming business. And it's only noon... But ALS and DKB's members don't seem to be here."
Yesterday around this time, members from the two major guilds had already been sitting at the tables, waiting for the evening's monster arena match.
"I'll ask Liten," Asuna said as she messaged Liten to inquire.
According to Liten, both major guilds held self-reflection meetings that lasted until midnight last night, so they likely wouldn't be taking action until the afternoon today.
After all, the entire guild had suffered a massive loss at the casino, which really was something worth reflecting on.
Although in truth, aside from their initial capital, the rest of their chips were won through that so-called "sure-win manual book"—a dishonest method—so their real loss was just the 11,000 Col (about 100 chips) they put in as their original stake.
However, that amount was still by no means insignificant.
Members of the clearing group now only had around 60,000 to 70,000 Col total in savings.
It was hard to say whether such a loss would be enough to make them give up on the idea of continuing to gamble.
The group arrived at Room 17 on the third floor of the VIP area, just like yesterday.
Argo reached out and knocked lightly on the door a few times.
About ten seconds later, a voice came from inside:
"Who is it?"
"Argo, and three… no, four companions."
Upon hearing Argo's voice, the black door slowly opened.
Kio stood at the entrance, bowed slightly, and said, "Please come in."
After Akimi and the others entered the room, they noticed that even though it was already 11:30 AM, the room was still just as dim as it had been the previous night.
The thick curtains completely blocked out the sunlight behind the floor-to-ceiling windows, and the room was lit only by a few oil lamps emitting a soft, warm yellow glow.
Across from Akimi and his group, the large sofa appeared to be empty, which struck them as a little odd.
Kio, in a somewhat apologetic tone, explained, "Miss Nirrnir is still resting. She'll be up by noon. Please enjoy some tea in the meantime and wait a little."
After they sat down, Kio brought over an ornate silver teapot and began pouring tea for them.
As she did, she glanced sideways at Kizmel, who had her hood up to conceal her face, and casually asked:
"Is this one also an adventurer? May I ask your name?"
"…Kizmel."
Kizmel gave her name, and after a moment of hesitation, removed her hood.
But the instant Kio saw Kizmel's face, her pupils contracted sharply.
She immediately reached for the weapon at her waist and shouted in a sharp voice:
"You're—one of the Dark Elf!"
Faced with Kio's sudden hostility, Kizmel immediately sprang to her feet and took a defensive stance.
With one hand on her sword hilt, Kio glared sternly at Akimi's group and demanded:
"Why did you bring a Dark Elf here?!"
Just as Kirito was flusteredly trying to explain, a door to the left suddenly opened.
A small figure shuffled into the living room in slippers and grumbled irritably:
"What's going on? So noisy…"
She followed that with a long yawn.
Nirrnir, wearing a black nightgown and hugging a pillow almost as tall as herself, casually brushed aside her golden hair and scanned the living room with her gem-like wine-red eyes, clearly displeased.
Nirrnir slowly walked to her personal oversized sofa—one large enough to seat five people—and sat down.
She set the pillow aside, crossed her arms, and said calmly with an air of superiority:
"Someone explain. What exactly is going on?"
Kio, still gripping the hilt of her sword, quickly bowed to Nirrnir.
Remaining in a half-ready stance, she gave a factual account of what had just happened, without any exaggeration.
After Kio finished, Nirrnir silently stared at Kizmel.
Under Nirrnir's gaze, Kizmel clenched her right hand into a fist, placed it over her heart, and knelt on one knee, saying:
"I am Kizmel, a knight of Lyusula. I deeply apologize for disturbing your rest with this unannounced visit."
Nirrnir nodded calmly and said, "It's alright. You're one of Argo's companions, aren't you? That makes you my guest as well. Kio, serve the tea."
Still uncertain about whether to act, Kio froze for a moment upon hearing that, then furrowed her brows and said hesitantly, "But… she's a Dark Elf, Miss Nirrnir…"
"That's enough," Nirrnir said with a wave of her hand.
"A knight of Lyusula would never accept commissions for assassination or ambush."
"…Understood."
With a reluctant reply, Kio slowly slid the half-drawn weapon back into its sheath, then once again picked up the teapot and poured tea for everyone.
Nirrnir took a small sip of the black tea and said, "It seems you've already collected both the fruit of the Narsos Tree and the Uruz Stone, haven't you?"
Argo nodded.
"Kio, bring two larger containers," Nirrnir said, setting down her teacup.
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