Why did Hikigaya save the anime girls in Sword Story?

Under normal circumstances, if you were to invite someone to a meal made with high-quality ingredients, everyone would beg to be invited, but for these two people, S-grade ingredients were not something special, so their conversation naturally turned out like this.

When I arrived at Lisbeth's weapon shop, I saw Lisbeth busy working.

"Hey, what's up with the three of you? Weapon maintenance?"

"Well, this time it's for Hachiman and I."

"Let me take a look first."

Lisbeth checked their weapons and looked a little surprised.

"These were clearly maintained not long ago. What on earth have they been through in such a short time?"

"Ah, actually..."

Hachiman explained to Lisbeth what happened today.

He also invited her to have dinner with Kirito and the other two later and asked her if she wanted to join them.

"Well... I'd love to go, but I've been a bit busy lately..."

"I see. That's a pity."

"Sorry, Asuna. Let's make an appointment next time."

"Um"

"Hey, Liz."

"What's up, Kirito?"

"Today's menu is rabbit stew."

The moment she heard these words, Lisbeth's movements suddenly accelerated.

The speed is so fast that it is dazzling, but there is no sign of sloppiness at all. It is a move that is completely beyond the professional level.

The three of them watched in amazement, and after a moment Lisbeth suddenly stopped.

Then he slowly turned to Hachiman and said with sparkling eyes:

"Hachiman, the job is done!"

"oh oh......"

So the story returns to the beginning.

"Hey......"

"..." (sparkling)

"that......"

"..." (sparkling)

"If you don't mind, let's have dinner together later?"

"Extremely happy!"

“I see…”

Lisbeth immediately smiled brightly and answered.

Asuna watched the scene while suppressing her laughter, while Kirito smiled with satisfaction.

"Sorry Liz, but chowder rabbit is a common ingredient in our house and I completely forgot that ordinary people would have that kind of reaction."

"What a luxurious worry..."

"Thank me, Liz."

Kirito planned to tease her with a smug look on his face.

"Well, thank you Kirito! I love you!"

“Love, love…?”

This completely unexpected response made Kirito panic.

"Hey Liz! You're becoming a bit like Hachiman-kun from before!"

"Eh? Ah... Yeah, I'm sorry, I didn't realize it..."

"No, it's okay..."

(It does look a bit like me before. 亿VII琉银炘缍氿亻尔麇...)

Hachiman looked at the two of them and recalled what he and Asuna looked like not long ago.

Feeling warm, Hachiman decided to watch over him gently, and to ease the atmosphere, he spoke:

"You're lucky, Liz. If you had called out my name just now, you would have been eliminated by Asuna by now."

"Purge!? Asuna wouldn't do that, right?"

"Of course, Liz..."

Asuna sighed in mock frustration.

"At best I'll call you to a corner and have a good chat for about an hour."

"A-Asuna...?"

"Hehe, luckily the target is Kirito-kun, Liz."

"Y-yes, that's great..."

"Anyway, let's go first" Moon/Yi-6① Chess One Child Eight Private Silk Thread X

"That's right! Now everyone, head to my house!"

Asuna immediately started preparing food after arriving home.

As the three of them relaxed, Hachiman noticed that Kirito and Lisbeth still cared about each other and decided to meddle a little.

"Hey Liz, do you want to go ask Asuna if there's anything we can help with?

Kirito is the guest today, please sit and wait."

"That's right, let's go."

“I’ll help too.”

"We're short on manpower so we'll ask you guys to take a break first."

"Is that so? Then I'd better obey your command."

On the short walk to the kitchen, Hachiman quickly whispered to Lisbeth, "Listen, Liz, Kirito can more or less understand your feelings for the Dark Repulser, and I think your cheerfulness and sincerity are definitely very important to that guy."

"H-Hachiman?"

"You are a good girl second only to Asuna. Have more confidence in yourself."

"Yes! Thank you! And Hachiman, you are also a good man second only to Kirito!"

"Stop the crap, idiot"

Hachiman left Lisbeth to help Asuna and returned to Kirito.

Hachiman, who was sitting next to Kirito, said:

"Hey, Kirito, you sometimes stare at the Dark Repulser, right?"

"Yeah...sometimes I think, what if Liz wasn't here..."

"Without Liz..."

"I don't think Kirito and I will ever get a weapon worthy of being called partners."

"Indeed...ah, I'm really glad Liz is here."

"I'm busy enough just protecting Asuna. If Liz gets into danger in the future..."

"Yes, I will definitely protect her when the time comes."

"Please, Kirito."

"Um"

After the meal was finished, the four of them started to enjoy it.

Lisbeth livened up the atmosphere with a bright smile throughout the whole process, while Kirito stared at her with a dazed look in his eyes.

Everyone was chatting animatedly, and in the end Kirito and Liz decided to stay overnight.

***

Late at night, Kirito inexplicably walked to the courtyard and lay down.

"I will definitely protect you, huh..."

At this moment, there was a sound of someone coming out, and it seemed to be Lisbeth.

She didn't notice Kirito,

Lie down in the same position a little further away.

"Hachiman and Asuna have such a good relationship... When will Kirito and I be able to..."

Kirito shuddered when he suddenly heard his own name.

After understanding the content, I was overwhelmed by the guilt and shame of eavesdropping.

"In that case, let's just cook the rice..."

Hearing the dangerous words, Kirito hurriedly stopped them:

"Liz wait! Stop stop stop!"

"Eh? Kirito? Ah... No, that's not it!"

"I understand, I understand. Calm down first."

"Woo-"

Looking at the tearful Lisbeth, Kirito decided to imitate Hachiman.

There was no need to refer to Hachiman, but the clumsy Kirito could only think of this way.

He gently hugged Lisbeth and patted her back.

Lisbeth was surprised to be suddenly hugged, but she blushed and snuggled in his arms.

"Kirito, um...I'm sorry."

"Don't mind me. I'm embarrassed to eavesdrop."

"Well, that's okay...it's just too embarrassing..."

"Hey, Liz."

Kirito loosened his arms, looked directly into her eyes and said:

“Your kindness makes me happy, but I still have things I need to finish.

I'm not as capable as Hachiman, and I don't have the confidence to handle both strategy and romance at the same time. So..."

"so?"

"We will definitely win this war. I'll definitely come find you when we return to the real world. Before then, could you wait for my reply?"

"Well...I'll wait!"

"Feel sorry"

"No, I should be the one apologizing for burdening you during times like these."

"No, I feel like it's just a matter of time... that..."

"Hey?"

“No, nothing.”

Lisbeth pressed on, but she kept Kirito's words firmly in mind.

To hide her joy and shyness, she buried her face in Kirito's chest.

Kirito accepted her silently and gently.