Chapter Ninety-One: Teacher

Lance heard the shout and instantly knew something was wrong. He did not know why, but instinct told him it would be wise to explain himself; otherwise he was certain to die an ugly death.

“Wait!” He wheeled around and caught Asuna’s strike with a bare-handed disarm.

“Hey! At least hear me out!” Lance protested, looking utterly innocent. He admitted that, given the chance, he would have lunged at her too, but this time it had truly been an accident. Unfortunately, she would not give him the slightest opportunity to explain and went straight on the attack. Lance had the distinct feeling that words would never reach her, and that the only thing he could do was deal with the troublemaker who had caused all this—

“Damn it!”

When he saw the girl collapsed at the counter, cheeks burning red and eyes reduced to little spirals, Lance could not help shouting.

After a frantic, chaotic scramble, Lance somehow survived until she woke up.

Ten minutes later:

“So, let me get this straight. That day, when you were dueling POH, Liz ran in, then POH tried to flee and attacked Liz, and you were trying to save her, which led to the accident?” Asuna asked, seated in a chair and sipping tea from a cup no one knew where she had found.

“That’s exactly it. Please judge fairly, my lady!” Lance sat there like a defendant before an ancient tribunal, though he had not entirely lost his dignity; at least he was still in proper seiza.

“Is that true, Liz?” Asuna asked, turning to the now somewhat recovered girl.

“I-I don’t know. I only heard fighting and rushed over, then I got jumped.” At the word “jumped,” Liz could not help blushing again.

“All right, then it seems there’s no problem. But I trust you’ll behave properly during this period of instruction, yes?” Asuna said with a bright, sunny smile.

“Of course. Please believe me!” Lance answered at once, only too eager to escape this miserable situation.

“All right, get up.” Seeing how frightened he looked, Asuna could not help laughing. Lance really was scatterbrained at times, and that was one of the reasons he got along so well with everyone.

“Now then, do you need me to introduce you?” Asuna asked when she sensed the atmosphere beginning to grow awkward.

“I’ll go first.” Lance did not want to be mistaken for a petty man, and since he had in fact benefited from the situation, he said naturally, “Lance, a player from the Clearing Group, and chairman of the Heretic Inquisition. Hmm...” Seeing Asuna’s expression that clearly meant, “Say more, and do not make me lose face,” he remembered that outside the Clearing Group and the players who often appeared on the front line, very few people knew of their organization. So he added, “Well... sometimes I also go down to the lower floors to play the role of a traveling merchant.”

To prove that he was telling the truth, he took out a strange cloak.

After Lance put the cloak on, Asuna used her scouting skill on him, and she was quite curious why he would wear such a thing.

Name: Unknown
Equipment: Unknown
Level: Unknown
Affiliation: Unknown
...

Every bit of information had turned into question marks. Under Asuna’s shocked gaze, Lance explained, “This cloak adds very little in the way of stats, but it has a strange ability: it cannot be inspected. I often use it when I go below to sell things.”

Hearing the cloak’s properties, Asuna finally relaxed. Special cloaks were rare to begin with, and Lance’s was especially odd. She could hardly stand being startled for no reason, especially after the last time, when Lance had pulled out the weapon he had taken from POH along with her own scythe-like weapon. Every player in the Clearing Group had declared that Lance was, without question, a true rich man.

Magic blades were extremely rare. Even Asuna’s own weapon was only S-rank, not a magic blade, which showed just how scarce such items were.

“Oh, I remember now. Aren’t you the one Agil said was always stealing his business down below?” Asuna suddenly recalled how Agil had complained about it to her during the previous boss raids.

Just as the two of them were bickering, Liz tugged at Asuna’s sleeve. “Is he the teacher you found for me?”

In truth, a teacher did not need to do much actual teaching. The two of them only had to confirm the arrangement, and then, while the teacher remained near the apprentice, the forging attribute would increase. The master would also receive certain rewards from the other side, naturally supplied by Kayaba Akihiko himself—materials or other items related to forging.

“Of course. Otherwise why would I bother calling him? He just sits around in the guild sleeping all day like a pig.” Halfway through, Asuna suddenly blushed. Her tone just now...

Thinking of it, she stopped talking and instead said viciously to Lance, “This lazy idiot may be terribly slothful, but for some reason he seems blessed by the God of Materials. Rare materials drop from him all the time, which is why his level rises so fast.”

At her teasing, Lance retorted, “A blessing? That’s a curse, all right! A curse! It’s ridiculous—I soloed a field boss and it dropped one S-rank material and five A-rank materials, but not even a single piece of basic gear! I was even hoping for at least one S-rank weapon.”

At the thought of it, Lance could only sigh in exasperation. Who had ever heard of a player who killed monsters and got nothing but materials, not a single item of equipment?

“All right, enough. Since you’ve already agreed, stop talking nonsense. Liz’s shop closes at six every night, and she goes to bed at ten. During that time, you stay here. Remember, until Liz’s level rises, you are not to run off anywhere.” Asuna said, grabbing Lance by the hem of his clothes.

“Fine, fine, I got it. Just make sure you tell the others in the guild, and remember to keep it secret. You probably wouldn’t want a whole pack of idiots showing up here to cause trouble.” Saying this, Lance actually began to regret founding the organization in the first place. It felt like lifting a stone only to drop it on his own foot.

“No problem. It’s for Liz anyway. Still, I never would have guessed you’d make a guild like that.” Asuna could not help laughing when she said it.

“What’s so funny? Our combat strength is even higher than the Blood Oath Knights’.” Though he said it, Lance still felt strangely uncertain.

“Our Knights of the Blood Oath have plenty of players wanting to join every day. What about yours?” Lance felt as if he had been struck in an instant.

“Oh, and another thing I’ve always found strange: why do the girls in the Clearing Group always try to talk to you, and why do you ignore them? Do you know? You have almost as many supporters on the front line as I do.” On the words “supporters,” she deliberately paused.

Lance shuddered. No matter who it was, surely no one would like a fan club made up entirely of the same gender. It looked as though he would have to find a chance to reveal his true identity. Lance silently made up his mind.

Although Liz believed Asuna would never harm her, this was still the one and only chance to take on a master, so she hesitated a little.

“Lance, show her what you can do. Otherwise my dear friend here may not want you,” Asuna said. The words themselves did not sound strange, but Lance still found them oddly unsettling.

“All right. Take me to your workshop.” Since he had already agreed, Lance naturally accepted, and then asked Liz where the forging room was.

“In the basement.” She led the way at once. She was eager to see just what Lance was capable of.