By the fireplace.
The three of them sat together, each holding a large berry. It was food Kizmel had brought—sweet and refreshing. For someone like Lillian, who preferred meat, it was a bit too light. Yui, however, ate happily, clearly enjoying it.
Warm orange light enveloped them, the atmosphere calm and peaceful. Lillian felt himself relax—a rare feeling. Ever since arriving in this world, he'd been either grinding monsters or heading off to grind monsters, constantly aware that time was slipping away. He rarely allowed himself to rest.
But now, basking in this warmth, he allowed himself a rare moment of idleness.
"When do you want to set out?" Kizmel asked.
Lillian took another bite of the berry. "Tomorrow morning."
Night had already fallen, stars and moon visible. There was no need to rush. Kizmel also needed time to prepare—and Yui needed to be settled.
"Onii-chan, where are you going?" Yui looked at him curiously. Her language skills had advanced astonishingly fast. Though her intonation still wasn't perfect, she could already form coherent sentences—clear proof of her remarkable learning ability.
"To fight monsters," he said. "Yui, you'll stay in the tent when that happens. I'll go with—"
"No. I want to go too."
"Yui," Kizmel said gently, wiping berry juice from her cheek with a handkerchief. "It's very dangerous. Let your sister and Lillian go."
"No—!"
She dragged the word out stubbornly, her expression firm—clearly unwilling to back down.
The two adults exchanged helpless looks.
Lillian wasn't worried about Yui's safety—she possessed the [Indestructible] passive ability. In simple terms, she was invincible. As for her active ability, it involved directly damaging an opponent's program.
But such an attack violated the game's core system. The moment she used it, the system would detect her and forcibly delete her program.
That was the last thing Lillian wanted.
Which was why he didn't want to put her in a situation where her identity might be exposed. As for the earlier joke about using her as an invincible human shield—it really was just a joke.
He glanced at Kizmel, who was looking at Yui with such gentle warmth, and thought: if I actually did that, she'd probably immediately drop her affection for me to zero… and then slice me up.
After eating her fill, Yui grew drowsy again. Lillian wasn't sure if it was due to lack of energy or something else, but soon she dozed off.
Kizmel gently placed her on the bed and said to Lillian, "We still need to find her family. They must be worried."
"Mm… leave that to me," Lillian replied. "You don't need to worry about it."
"Alright. By the way, tell me about that monster."
"Mm, that…"
They talked for quite a while. Lillian described the BOSS in detail, but before he could even name it, Kizmel said, "Nerius the Evil Treant," clearly already knowing it.
Through her words, Lillian learned more about the BOSS's background: it had originally been a small tree spirit that, by chance, drank the sacred water of the forest elves, "Tear Drop," gaining immense power—but at the cost of extreme rage.
Lillian listened with fascination. Perhaps each BOSS had its own story, one that players were meant to discover themselves rather than having it dryly posted on the BOSS room door. That would be boring.
Instead, hearing it from Kizmel gave players a different experience, like uncovering a hidden "easter egg."
If Kayaba hadn't caused that huge commotion, this game would have been incredibly fun. Players would have eagerly sought out every hidden story. But under the constant threat of death, most players focused only on survival and monster strategies, never paying attention to these small details.
Just like in the original story, when Kirito rested on the perfect weather day, people didn't understand, thinking he was wasting time. It reflected the attitude of most players. Even carefully crafted details in SAO were dulled under the shadow of death; most players never experienced them—they were completely wasted.
Lillian was no exception. He had barely explored the starting town, the second floor was a rush-through, and the third floor was even less. He had barely been to the city… and now, due to his permanent red status, he couldn't even go there.
"That guy is indeed tricky, but the two of us together are enough," Kizmel said, explaining how to deal with the BOSS. "Its trunk center is the weak point. Attacking it there deals massive extra damage."
"I see."
Lillian was delighted to have such crucial information. Before he realized it, almost an hour had passed in their conversation. Outside, everything was silent except for the light footsteps of patrolling dark elf guards, rustling quietly.
"You should get some rest too," Lillian said, standing to leave.
"Where are you going?" Kizmel asked.
"Just find somewhere to spend the night."
"Don't be silly," she said. "Sleep here—on the floor, of course."
"…"
Kizmel walked to a cabinet, opened the top drawer, and pulled out a dark, soft fur blanket. She tossed it to Lillian. "Spread it on the floor, away from the fireplace. I don't want my blanket burned."
"How could it be…"
Lillian spread the blanket a meter from the fire. The fur was fine and soft, really comfortable. He glanced at Kizmel, who was already lying sideways on the bed.
There was none of that childish dialogue like "don't get any funny ideas…" For adults, it was unnecessary.
Kizmel expressed her point practically, removing the curved dagger from her waist and placing it on the bedside. Its cold gleam still shimmered in the dim tent, like a silent warning.
"…"
Lillian scratched his head and removed his own gear—just his leather armor, leg guards, boots. His long-sleeve shirt and pants remained. SAO made changing clothes incredibly convenient: just select "remove" in the operation menu. If only it were that easy in real life… three seconds from start to finish, maybe.
Once equipped was off, he lay down on the soft fur, staring at the gray tent ceiling. He felt completely relaxed, even pondering: what kind of fabric is this tent cloth? Thick, not like silk… maybe hemp? Or some other fiber… questions he'd never care about before were popping into his head.
Looking up, the fireplace quietly crackled. Kizmel lay next to Yui, hands folded on her abdomen, sleeping properly. Compared to Lillian's usual sprawled or curled-up positions, she was very proper.
He turned his gaze away and closed his eyes.
It had been almost twenty days since arriving in this world. He was currently progressing through the third floor and needed to speed up. If Akihiko Kayaba appeared again like in the original story, he might not even need to clear to the top floor—he could just find a chance to backstab him…
Also, Yui couldn't be left alone. He needed to preserve her, maybe even create a server for her, which could involve the real world. But where he was in reality, and whether he had a physical form, remained uncertain—he'd only know after finishing the game.
Thinking this, he slowly drifted into sleep, peaceful all through the night… until Yui lightly scratched his face with her hair, waking him.
"Wake up, Lillian-nii!" she said with a cheerful smile.
"Mm…" Lillian stretched, rubbed his eyes, and stood up. As he moved to pull back the curtain at the door, Kizmel entered from outside—they nearly collided, their faces almost touching.
Lillian quickly stepped back. "G-Good morning…"
"Morning," she said, glancing at him casually. "The sun's up. You seemed anxious last night and wanted to leave early, right? Let's go now."