Stronghold

The process of purchasing the NerveGears went smoothly. Although the headsets were limited to only ten thousand units, and a reservation was required to purchase one, Eriri's manipulation of perception allowed them to bypass this restriction entirely. Without any issues, the store staff overlooked the reservation requirement.

Considering that Lala would be arriving tomorrow to study the Full Dive technology, and that Eriri intended to have Asuna join them in SAO for a trial, they decided to buy four NerveGears at once. The four people at the end of the line, who would have missed out, unknowingly avoided the impending disaster that awaited the first ten thousand players.

As for Asuna's safety, it wasn't a concern for Eriri. Protecting Asuna's brain from the high-output microwaves of the NerveGear would be a trivial task for her.

Under the gaze of the other people in the store, Eriri and Gabriel each carried two large shopping bags containing the NerveGears as they left the store.

"Where are we going now?" Gabriel asked, her voice filled with excitement. Since she got her hands on the NerveGear, she hadn't stopped smiling, her steps even lighter than usual.

After leaving the store, instead of meeting up with Asuna immediately, Eriri decided against using Asuna's home as their base in this world. Considering they had plenty of money and had only spent less than fifty Fukuzawa Yukichi bills on the headsets, Eriri decided to find a temporary place nearby.

"Let's go to a rental agency and get a place to stay for the time being," Eriri suggested.

After subtly influencing the surrounding perceptions, Eriri stored the bags containing the headsets into her storage space. Seeing this, Gabriel quickly followed suit and stored her bags in her own personal storage space.

This wasn't the first time Gabriel had used the chat group's exclusive storage space. In fact, she might be the one who used it the most frequently. Once she discovered that the storage space could preserve food, she started using it as her personal food pantry. Even now, her storage space was stocked with a few boxes of cheap, discounted bento meals.

On their way to the rental agency, Eriri and Gabriel received a notification from Asuna in their minds.

Asuna, who hadn't left school earlier due to her strict upbringing and lack of experience in skipping classes, was now regretting her decision. She found it hard to focus on her studies, her mind constantly on Eriri and Gabriel. The moment the bell rang signaling the end of the school day, she quickly contacted them through the chat group, eager to join them and not caring about her usual after-school club activities.

[Asuna: Eriri, Gabriel, I'm out of school now. Where are you? Did you get the headsets? @Kashiwagi Eri @Archangel Gabriel]

[Arifureta (Group Leader): Asuna, didn't you go with them earlier?]

[Asuna: I was still in class, so I didn't…]

[Chika Fujiwara: It's not a big deal to leave class for a while, right? Just ask for a short leave.]

[Arifureta (Group Leader): Exactly, most schools would allow it.]

[Asuna: Sigh, I know… I just couldn't concentrate in class. I feel like I didn't learn anything in the past hour.]

[Asuna: I really regret not going with you.]

[Archangel Gabriel: We bought four NerveGears. Picture of the headsets.jpg]

[Asuna: Four? One for you, one for Eriri, one for Lala… Who's the fourth one for? Curious.jpg]

[Kashiwagi Eri: It's for you.]

[Asuna: Huh? For me? But I can't protect my brain from the NerveGear's damage…]

Asuna, sitting at her desk, froze when she saw Eriri's reply. Ever since she learned about the future events, she had no intention of entering SAO. She even anonymously warned her friends in the original story about the dangers of SAO. Whether they believed her or not, she couldn't control.

[Kashiwagi Eri: Don't worry, I'll make sure nothing happens to you. I can even make it so you can log in and out like it's just a regular game.]

[Asuna: How is that possible?]

[Kashiwagi Eri: Hehe, you'll find out tomorrow.]

[Chika Fujiwara: Ahhh… Now I want to go to Asuna's world and play this game too.]

[Fallen Angel Black Cat: Me too! Jealous.jpg]

[Iron-Blooded Hot-Blooded Cold-Blooded Vampire: I'm waiting to head over to Eriri's world. I hope the game is ready soon.]

[Kashiwagi Eri: No problem. With Lala's skills, it'll be ready in no time.]

[Lala: Yep, I'll do my best. So this is the Full Dive headset? It seems pretty basic.]

[Kashiwagi Eri: Lala, your world's technology is far more advanced than Asuna's. Maybe you never noticed because it's so low-tech by your standards.]

[Asuna: Yeah, Lala's inventions are amazing. Our world won't reach that level even in a hundred years!]

[Flower Hashira: I also watched Lala's memory clips. Her inventions are unbelievable. I can't imagine our world having that level of technology in the future. But why do your gadgets always malfunction?]

[Arche Eeb Rile Furt: Yeah, and some of your combat inventions are really scary. I wouldn't be able to withstand them.]

[Lala: Hehe, just small problems! Sticking out tongue.jpg]

[Chika Fujiwara: Speaking of Lala's world, I want to know—are there aliens on our planet too?]

[Kashiwagi Eri: Of course! The universe is vast. There's no way Earth is the only place with life.]

[Chika Fujiwara: Then what if aliens invade Earth one day? If they're as strong as the ones from Lala's planet, Earth would be done for. Scared.jpg]

[Flower Hashira: Why did you say 'again'? Curious.jpg]

[Arifureta (Group Leader): Haha, because Earth gets destroyed in so many stories, so it's kind of a running joke.]

[Flower Hashira: I see.]

[Kashiwagi Eri: Maybe one day aliens really will invade Earth. Hehe, you know, with powerful starships, crossing star systems is easy.]

[Chika Fujiwara: …]

[Fallen Angel Black Cat: …]

[Red Devil: …]

[Asuna: …]

[Chika Fujiwara: I've decided. I'm going to train hard so that when the aliens come, I'll be strong enough to beat them back and show them the power of Fujiwara Chika! Hmph.]

[Asuna: Oh, right. I almost forgot! Eriri, where are you guys? I'm coming to find you. @Kashiwagi Eri @Archangel Gabriel]

Immersed in the chat, Asuna suddenly snapped back to reality. She glanced around, realizing that despite how much they had talked, only a minute had passed. The teacher had just left the classroom, and her classmates were busy packing up their books. Refocusing, she looked back at the chat.

[Kashiwagi Eri: We're about to rent a place. Street corner view.jpg]

[Asuna: Eh? Why rent a place? You could just stay at my house. We have plenty of rooms.]

[Kashiwagi Eri: No need. We're not short on money, and we don't want to trouble your family. Plus, are you sure your parents wouldn't have any objections?]

[Asuna: Um… Alright then. Disappointed.jpg]

[Kashiwagi Eri: Don't worry. Wait at school for a bit. We'll come get you after we've found a place. Patting head.jpg]

…

Half an hour later, Eriri and Gabriel arrived at a detached townhouse, covering about two to three hundred square meters. The townhouse seemed freshly renovated, with fully furnished interiors showing no signs of previous use.

The townhouse had two floors with five bedrooms, a bathroom on each floor, and a bath on the first floor. A three-meter-high wall surrounded the property. Located in a high-end neighborhood, Eriri had rented it for 5 million yen for a year. Combined with the money spent on the headsets, they were left with little of the local currency.

As for Gabriel's money, none of it was touched. It would be her living expenses for the next few days in this world.

With Lala's abilities, Eriri estimated that by tomorrow, Lala would fully understand the Full Dive technology and even exceed it. After that, they could bring Lala back to the world of "Saekano," where the SAO game could be remade with support from the Sawamura Group. A technology that previously existed only in theory would cause a massive stir upon its sudden appearance.

Eriri then used teleportation to head to Asuna's school, bringing her to the townhouse. Coincidentally, Asuna's home was less than a kilometer away from the place Eriri had rented.

"Asuna, why don't you stay here for a few days? Since it's so close to your house, your parents might not mind, right?" Eriri asked, noticing the slightly awkward expression on Asuna's face as she sat on a nearby single sofa. Eriri herself was lounging on the main sofa in the living room, with Gabriel lying on the couch next to her, playing games on her laptop. Gabriel's legs were draped over Eriri's lap, where Eriri absentmindedly played with them.

Fortunately, the townhouse was already equipped with internet, sparing them the hassle of setting it up.

Asuna looked at the two of them, their behavior intimate and suggestive, and was at a loss for words. She was certain that something must have happened between them on their way to buy the NerveGears.

"Okay, I'll ask my mom. But she's really strict, so I'm not sure if she'll agree. Still, I'll do my best to convince her." Asuna nodded, realizing that this was what she wanted. Due to her family's strict rules, she had never stayed overnight at a friend's house.

Her life had always been carefully planned by her parents, and she had never thought of resisting. But after joining the chat group, seeing so many different worlds, and learning about her original future, she found her old way of thinking to be naive. She started expressing her opinions and desires to her parents, wanting to live her own life.

"Alright, I've done pretty much everything I came here to do. Now we just have to wait until tomorrow to try out SAO." Eriri playfully patted Gabriel on the butt, earning a cute eye roll from her.

"Gabriel, Asuna, I'm heading back now. I'll bring Lala over tomorrow."

Lifting Gabriel's legs off her lap, Eriri stood up, preparing to return to her world. It was already past 4 PM, and she had been in this world for over two hours. She still needed to help Kujou Aoi ascend to the ranks of the superhuman when she got back.

Eriri realized that today had been quite busy for her.

Hearing this, Gabriel put down her laptop and sat up, looking at Eriri with a hopeful expression. "So soon? Don't you want to stay and hang out a bit longer?"

Asuna also felt a twinge of reluctance. After all, Eriri had just brought her from school, and they had only spent about ten minutes together. But knowing that Eriri would be back tomorrow, she didn't press the issue.

"What? Are you going to miss me?" Eriri teased, ruffling Gabriel's hair with a mischievous smile.

"Hmph, I just thought you should rest a bit more since you've been so busy today." Gabriel pushed Eriri's hand away, tilting her head with a huff.

"Alright, I'll be back first thing in the morning, and then we'll grind levels together in SAO."

"Okay."

Gabriel eventually nodded. She was just feeling a bit reluctant and wanted to spend more time with Eriri, especially since they had only just officially started their relationship today.