Sword Art Online Crossover: They're all close friends, how did I become a player?

"Huh? That is..."

Yu Bai glanced around casually, his gaze finally settling on a solitary figure in the corner. The person had their head down, seemingly immersed in their own world, which made Yu Bai's brows furrow slightly.

This person... seems familiar.

"Shuyue, Wuyan, I'm sorry, I have to leave for a while. See you later." Yu Bai turned to his two friends who had just met but were already getting along very well and said softly, with an apologetic yet gentle smile on his face.

"Huh? Okay, okay," Shuyue, who was directly hit by the beauty filter, was slightly stunned upon hearing this, and the skewers in her hand unconsciously stopped in mid-air. Then she quickly nodded.

"Actually, I was planning to go out for a walk. The barbecue was so delicious, and I also ate a lot of wagashi (Japanese sweets) earlier, so my stomach is really bloated. This is a good way to digest my food."

Shuyue said she couldn't really blame Yu Bai for being a little slow to react; it was mainly because Yu Bai was too handsome. Now, this beauty was smiling at her gently and apologetically because she couldn't be with her—who wouldn't be confused by that?

Soza Samonji, who was chatting happily with Mikazuki Munechika and Todanokuni, but was actually enjoying a pleasant conversation with Mikazuki, waved to Todanokuni, who was sitting quietly listening to him.

"My lord, what's wrong?" Soza Samonji walked up to Yu Bai and asked in a low voice.

"I think I just saw someone I know. I'll go check it out. If you don't want to go, you can stay here and wait for me."

"That won't do. As a caged bird, I naturally need to stay by my master's side to feel at ease." The pink-haired tsukumogami no longer sounded melancholic when talking about the caged bird; instead, it carried a hint of teasing. For the bird, which had been pampered by its master to the point of unleashing its true nature, the former cage had become a safe and secure home.

"Besides, if I go out without following my lord, the other swords in the citadel will probably take turns making me fight. Furthermore, this beautiful bird of mine doesn't want to leave its owner."

"Let's go then." Ignoring the somewhat ambiguous words of the sword spirit, Yu Bai didn't even blink and directly pulled Soza Samonji away.

On the contrary, Shuyue, who was also about to leave, was stunned upon hearing this. Although she knew that because the Saniwa's personality was different, their attitudes towards swords were also different. As a result, the sword spirits, although they had the same appearance, had different personalities.

But, was this the Zongsan Zuo script of the Yu Bai family originally?

For some unknown reason, Shuyue's cheeks began to flush slightly, and her eyes darted around.

"Haha, it seems Lord Yu Bai is a very good lord. Very good, very good."

Mikazuki Munechika, standing beside Shuyue, appeared extremely calm. After all, he was also a knife spirit who could say: "Hmm—is this what they call skin contact? Ahahaha! Sure, sure, touch me, no problem."

Sparse moon: Σ(￣д￣；)! ! !

Knowing that she had misunderstood, Shuyue covered her face with one hand and pulled Mikazuki with the other, wanting to leave this place as quickly as possible and wash her brain, which was full of nonsense.

From then on, the once lively little circle was left with only the "aloof male god" Wu Yan and his tsukumogami guarding the food. Wu Yan's face remained aloof, and his gaze occasionally swept over the colorful and delicious barbecue, but he did not show much appetite.

……

"you are?"

Reaching the corner, perhaps because it was too far from the center of the crowd, only one girl sat there with her head down on the picnic mat. Yu Bai slowly approached the figure huddled in the corner, his voice tinged with uncertainty.

“…Yu, Bai-sama? Oh no, I shouldn’t call you by your real name. You can call me Chuan Yu.”

The girl seemed startled by the sudden sound, slowly raising her head with a sluggish expression. Her eyes, which had previously appeared somewhat gloomy, seemed to light up the moment she saw Yu Bai, gleaming with an unusual light. Certain suppressed emotions quietly receded, replaced by an imperceptible fervor, like an undercurrent surging within.

Nobuko Sagawa hesitated as she confirmed who it was, as if she could hardly believe why Yu Bai was here, and even more so, why he had become a Saniwa.

"It's alright, but please don't call me 'sir,' just call me Yu Bai. I didn't expect to see you here." Hearing the girl's address, Yu Bai smiled helplessly. Anyone who could address him that way was naturally a student of Hyotei University.

Nobuko Sagawa, a girl who was in his class when he first entered junior high school, was arrogant and unruly. Back then, she became a fanatical follower of Yu Bai after unintentionally helping him. She even formed a support group for Yu Bai. However, this enthusiasm gradually became distorted. After forming the support group, she often bullied female classmates who tried to get close to Yu Bai in her capacity as the group leader.

On one occasion, Yu Bai accidentally discovered Nobuko Sagawa's misdeeds. He decisively warned her and dealt with the matter seriously. From then on, Nobuko Sagawa never appeared on campus again.

At first, Yu Bai thought it was because of him that she stopped coming to school. However, when he asked the teacher, he learned that her family had already processed his withdrawal from school sometime during that time.

Unexpectedly, I met her again here, and Nobuko Sagawa seemed to have become a seasoned Saniwa.

Was the reason she dropped out of school because she joined the Time Government and became a Saniwa?

"So, Lord Yu Bai, you've become a Saniwa too?" The girl chuckled, her beautiful smile revealing an undisguised fervor. Nobuko Sagawa's gaze was fixed on Yu Bai, as if she wanted to devour him whole; her expression made the girl feel somewhat uncomfortable.

"Your personal attendant? Why isn't he with you?" Yu Bai asked, noticing that Nobuko Sagawa was not accompanied by any sword-wielding men.

Nobuko Sagawa chuckled softly, her eyes revealing a hint of disdain and arrogance: "I naturally sent him to fetch me some food. Those are merely fragments of sword spirits; if it weren't for the annoying regulations of the current government that force me to have a personal attendant by my side, I wouldn't bother bringing them along."

"Look at them! They can't even bring back a rare sword, and they're always getting injured when they go into battle. And these are just low-level maps. It's such a waste of my spiritual energy to heal them. A bunch of useless bastards, what right do they have to sit with me?"

Yu Bai listened to Nobuko Sagawa's disdainful words to the swordsmen, his brow furrowed, and a sense of displeasure rose within him. Now he understood that the girl who supposedly sat there "alone" was actually disdainful of being with others; her arrogance made her unapproachable.

These words also reached Soza Samonji's ears, and a cold glint flashed in his lowered eyes. If it weren't for the fact that the person in front of him seemed to be an old acquaintance of the Saniwa, Soza Samonji could imagine, given this person's attitude towards swords, what kind of treatment those swords were receiving in her Honmaru.

In particular, if it also includes Sayo Samonji and Kousetsu Samonji...

Thinking of this, Soza Samonji unconsciously gripped the hilt of his sword, and an indescribable anger welled up in his heart.