"Then, what are we doing today?"
It was obvious that Asuna had no idea what Feng Chen did here every day. Otherwise, she would not have asked.
After being shaken off by the White Ghost yesterday, Feng Chen had roughly guessed at some of the butterfly effects caused by his presence—for example, she had not lost her memories and was still the same as before...
"Let's take a look around the Labyrinth Area. My purpose in coming to the twenty-second floor is still that rumor, after all. It's rather strange for an NPC like that to exist in SAO."
Setting up an NPC was actually quite simple. All they had to do was encounter players and engage in some dialogue. If they were lucky, they might even trigger a hidden quest.
Those who possessed independent consciousness and could communicate with players had already surpassed the level of NPCs and become AIs. Or... perhaps that was what Kayaba Akihiko had hoped for: beings capable of thinking like humans, constantly growing through setbacks, and becoming the Artificial Soul Kirito would encounter in the future.
The soul was humanity itself. Calling it a soul gave it an air of mystery. Put simply, it was a person's heart.
"A rumor?" Asuna had heard something about this rumor. "Is it about that White Ghost?"
"Yeah. What, Vice Guild Leader, are you coming with us?"
The answer was obvious. Asuna had been freeloading on food and drink at someone else's place, so she couldn't just refuse to help them—she considered herself incapable of being that shameless.
"Call me Asuna!"
They weren't even in the middle of a raid. Using such a formal title was obviously just meant to annoy her, wasn't it?
"Yes, yes, Vice Guild Leader."
"Feng Chen!"
And so, the little cottage passed a