"My lady, my name is Wenren Seiya, and I'm a friend of this guy. Kirito's friends are my friends. If you want to borrow money, I can give you the maximum limit. And you can pay me back with either real-world currency or SAO currency. I'll accept both."
Even though the figure sitting next to Kirito was completely hidden by a cloak, Seiya knew exactly who she was. He had read many works featuring her, so even with her face and figure covered, he recognized her instantly.
"You'll lend me money? And I can pay you back with real-world currency? How can you be so sure that we'll be able to leave this death game?" Asuna was surprised by Seiya's offer. According to the other players, loans from Seiya had a certain limit and couldn't be repaid with real-world money. In SAO, they could sign a contract to prevent a player from defaulting, but a contract in a game wouldn't be legally binding in the real world. How could he be sure she wouldn't just disappear and never pay him back?
"Didn't I just say that Kirito's friends are my friends? Since you're his friend, you're getting special treatment. You can borrow as much as you need, as long as it's within my means. As for your second question, my answer is that we will definitely clear this game and return to the real world. Don't ask me why I'm so confident. If I didn't have that belief, what would be the point of lending you money that I might never get back?"
Seiya knew that Asuna was a wealthy young woman in the real world and that the chance of her defaulting on a loan was close to zero. The reason he was so confident they would return to the real world was that he was a transmigrator. Of course, this was an easy excuse to get Asuna to agree. She was convinced that Seiya was doing this to motivate himself to keep going. She understood that feeling; she, too, had a period of confusion when she was first trapped in the game. If you don't know how to keep going, you create a reason to. In her mind, Seiya was motivating himself to stay alive and get back to the real world to collect his debts.
In Kirito's mind, Seiya's offer was a show of respect for their friendship, which made him feel a little guilty for "backstabbing" his friend.
Seiya's inner thoughts, however, were entirely different. A rare fat cat... a rich girl, finally! Asuna is nothing like a poor person like Kirito. It would be a crime not to take this opportunity to make a fortune.
In a restaurant in Horbana, Seiya was speechless as he watched Asuna and Kirito eat ravenously. "So, you wanted to borrow money just to get a good meal?"
Seiya was dumbfounded as he watched Asuna, who was still wearing her cloak, eat like a slob. Just a few minutes ago, he was thinking of making a fortune by lending her a large sum of money to be paid back in the real world. But he never expected that she would want to borrow money not to strengthen herself or increase her chances of survival, but just to eat a good meal.
"Even if I die now, I'll have no regrets..." Asuna sighed, leaned back in her chair, and rubbed her full belly. Seiya's mouth twitched. He felt that the Asuna in front of him was different from the one he knew. He knew she was a foodie, but he didn't know she could eat so much.
Asuna, now fully fed, noticed Seiya's twitching mouth and realized her manners had been quite unladylike. If she were at home, her family would scold her for eating like that. But here she was in a game, and Seiya and Kirito were people she had just met, so she decided to just own it. "Hmph, if you had been eating that tasteless black bread that's hard as a rock for a month, you'd know how I feel. And even though you can lend me a lot of money, your 'friend' and I just met today."
Asuna, being the daughter of a wealthy family, had excellent manners and morals. The only reason she would even consider borrowing money from a stranger was because a month of eating tasteless black bread was torture. In SAO, to make the game feel more realistic, there were life mechanics besides combat. If a player didn't rest, their fatigue would increase. Similarly, if they didn't eat regularly, their "satiety" would drop and eventually cause them to lose health and die.
The cheapest food in the game was the black bread Asuna mentioned. It provided "satiety," but the taste was awful—like chewing on a dishcloth. While Kirito didn't care much, Asuna was a pampered young woman who loved good food. Eating black bread for a month was a form of torture. That's why the first thing she did after borrowing money was go to a restaurant. She even generously invited her "creditor" and "teammate" to join her.
Because this was a full-dive game, all five senses were controlled by the brain, so the taste of food in SAO was just as real as it was in the real world. This was why Asuna felt so fulfilled after the meal.
"Seiya, do you think this boss strategy will go smoothly?" Kirito, now full and relaxed, brought up the thing he was most worried about.