Why did Hikigaya save the anime girls in Sword Story?

"It's also good to be prepared."

As soon as I bought the swimsuit, Kizmel said a new mission had begun.

This time we have to sneak into the enemy camp near the big tree in the east. The dark elves have equipment that can make them invisible, so we need to borrow their power, but we cannot abuse it in the town.

The task is to find the secret key and bring it out before the invisibility expires.

This mission was simply Hachiman's specialty. With his outstanding observation skills, he easily found the target and won Kizmel's praise.

"Humans actually have such abilities."

"you flatter me..."

"Hachiman-kun, this answer is so unromantic..."

Surprisingly, Kizmel was able to pick up the conversation:

"Haha, no need to be modest, I truly admire you, Hachiman."

"Is this true... Asuna, I can no longer treat Kizmel as an NPC."

"Well, I've decided to treat her as a real friend..."

The three people who easily completed the third mission met with the commander again and received a large amount of materials and permission to use the open-air bath exclusively for Ke Er and cadres.

All three keys have been collected, and the new mission will begin tomorrow.

"You're allowed to use the open-air bath. Are you happy, Asuna?"

"Yeah, I'm super happy."

At this time, Kizmel made a shocking statement:

"I have permission too. Do you want to join me?"

The two were petrified and were about to refuse:

"I'm truly delighted to be able to work with you two to save our compatriots and collect all three keys. I hope we can deepen our relationship. What do you think?"

The two hesitated whether to reject Kizmel's innocent wish, which clearly had no ill intentions.

Just as Asuna was racking her brains for what to do, she suddenly remembered what happened in the afternoon.

"Oh right! Swimsuit, Hachiman-kun! It would be fine if Kizmel wore a swimsuit too."

“I did buy it... that’s all I can do.”

(It’s still incredibly difficult for me...)

"But it's embarrassing to take a bath in a swimsuit, so please don't stare."

“Of course I won’t peek.”

The open-air bath was smaller than expected. Hachiman entered first with his back to the other two. When he felt the sound of entering the water, his whole body stiffened.

"Wearing a swimsuit while bathing is a strange human custom."

"Yes, yes, all humans are like this."

Asuna tried her best to cover it up, but Hachiman refused to look back.

"Is it appropriate for me to wear a swimsuit, Hachiman?"

"Hey?"

Facing Kizmel's question, Hachiman turned his head away.

Both of them came in wearing swimsuits, Kizmel in a purple bikini and Asuna in a white one-piece swimsuit.

Hachiman replied with a wandering gaze, "Very, very suitable."

After saying this, he turned his gaze away from the two of them again.

When Asuna saw him, her face flushed red, and Hachiman hurriedly apologized:

"I just turned around unconsciously... Sorry."

"N-It's okay. So...does it look good?"

“Super, super beautiful”

"Thank you"

Although he couldn't see Asuna's expression, she didn't look angry, which made Hachiman feel relieved.

Looking up, the sky was pitch black.

(Come to think of it, there are no stars in Aincrad.)

Asuna also looked up with regret:

“It would be great if I could watch the stars with everyone someday.”

"Um"

Time flowed quietly between the three of them, and the curtain of the second night of the campaign mission quietly fell.

SAO: Chapter 22: The Sword Spirit Inherited "Wind Flower Sword"

The next morning, Kizmel came to visit again.

It seems that today we will be fighting the Queen Spider in a place called "Queen Spider Cave".

It is said that this queen spider is being controlled by someone and specializes in hunting dark elves. Because it is highly poisonous, the two decided to bring more antidotes.

Kizmel seems to be well-versed in toxin protection; it turns out she possesses an unlimited amount of detoxification items.

"Queen Spider... Just hearing the name makes me feel powerful..."

"But Kizmel also said that although it's a strong enemy, it can be hunted, so it should be fine."

"I hope so. Asuna, aren't you afraid of spiders?"

"Well, it's okay."

(I didn't expect Asuna to be afraid of this kind of creature...)

As usual, the three of them easily eliminated the enemies along the way and headed towards their destination.

When they were about to see what looked like the Queen Spider's cave, Hachiman noticed several players running out of the cave.

(They're probably from the Holy Dragon Alliance or the Liberation Corps. Let's hide and observe the situation. Oh no, they're already nearby.)

Hachiman signaled Kizmel to hide, and took Asuna's hand and hid in the shadows.

Asuna was about to speak when Hachiman subconsciously covered her mouth with his hand, ending up hugging her from behind.

"Asuna, look over there, someone is coming."

"Um-"

"Yeah, sorry"

He hurriedly let go of Asuna and apologized, his actions definitely violating the harassment policy. But surprisingly, Asuna showed no intention of opening the system window.

(Wasn't that a violation just now? Although the situation is urgent, we still need to be careful...)

"Xiao Ba, someone did come out."

"Hmm, looks like... the Liberation Army?"

"Ah, Kiba is in there too."

"Want to exchange information?"

Asuna showed a hesitant expression.

"I've never heard of such a monster!"

"The target amulet is already in hand!"

"Okay, retreat!"

Judging from the content of their conversation, it seems that their mission is different from ours.

"It seems that our mission is different from theirs."

"Yeah... As expected, Kizmel's presence makes this mission different from a normal one."

"Why don't we just continue hiding here?"

"Let's do it..."

After the liberation team left, the three entered the cave.

(Fighting a monster like this... Isn't the difficulty too high...?)

The queen spider is extremely large, so you must pay attention to the spider silk sprayed from its tail. When its eyes glow, it means it is about to spray poison. If you are poisoned, you must use the antidote immediately.

The three of them briefly discussed tactics and then launched an attack.

Thanks to Kizmel's powerful fighting ability, the expedition went smoothly.

Although it was troubled by the spider silk at the beginning, the battle became one-sided after it successfully cut off the silk gland in its tail.

When the fourth key was found in the lair, the [!] mark appeared above Kizmel's head again.

"It seems like another mission prompt."

"Is there a quest that can't be triggered without Kizmel?"

"Well, that should be it."

Kizmel said that he sensed the power of elves from deep within the spider web, and the three of them found a cocoon-like object after going deeper.

“It’s right here.”

Following Kizmel's instructions, the cocoon was cut open, revealing a strange metal with a green glow.

"Elf ingot?"

"Oh, it looks like a good thing."

"I can't quite put my finger on why, but I'm drawn to it."

Asuna seemed fascinated by the metal.

"Asuna, would you like to use this metal to test the weapon soul inheritance we mentioned earlier?"

"Eh? That's not good, we all found it together."

"Our fighting style relies mainly on your output. If you become stronger, everyone's safety factor will also be greatly improved, right?"

"Is that right?"

"And at the beginning of the mission, I didn't actively kill the enemies to save trouble. Thanks to Asuna's decision, I was able to obtain this now."

"(⑶(四)令⑺鸸erIV八俬Hmm... Got it. Thank you."

After successfully completing the mission, the three returned to the campsite. Perhaps due to the high difficulty, they didn't see any other players along the way.

Although this was their first encounter with the Liberation Team, there seemed to be very few teams advancing the mission.

Back at the campsite, Asuna and I asked Kizmel about the blacksmith's location.

"Do you want to use the ingots you just made to forge new weapons? Actually, the friend I saved before is a blacksmith, but he's a weirdo.

Sometimes they can forge sharp weapons, and sometimes they make blunt ones. Regular blacksmith shops are more stable. I can introduce both. Which one would you choose?"

(It turns out this is a story branch exclusive to Kizmel, and it can't be triggered without her.)

"Hey, Asuna..."

"Well, let's ask the master who saved us for help. I feel this is the right option."

When we arrived at the blacksmith's place, he looked at us with sharp eyes:

"Hmph, thank you for saving me last time."

"Today I'd like to commission a weapon forging. The materials are this sword and this piece of metal. The attribute needs to be speed-type."

Asuna caressed the Wind Flower Sword reluctantly and handed it over solemnly with both hands.

Hachiman originally thought that the blacksmith would scoff at him, but he didn't expect him to take the materials very seriously, melt the Wind Flower Sword into an ingot, and then fuse it with the elf ingot to form a new metal.