Lisbeth extended her hand toward the spot where Shido had vanished, while her eyes lingered on the place he'd disappeared with a hint of reluctance. But in the end, she lowered her hand and shook her head gently, reminding herself that they would meet again, after all, they'd already added each other as friends.
With that thought, smile finally returned to her face. She looked ahead, feeling a renewed sense of excitement for their next meeting.
Happiness clouded Lisbeth's mind, and she didn't even notice Asuna, Leafa, and Silica watching her with wry smiles, thinking that this girl had fallen pretty hard. Still, they couldn't really blame her since Shido was just so handsome.
Nevertheless, seeing Lisbeth spacing out again with that dreamy smile on her face, the three girls exchanged glances. They knew they had to snap her out of it and make her spill the details about how she'd met Shido. Without wasting any time, they towards her and nudged Lisbeth from the side.
Feeling a tap on her shoulder, Lisbeth snapped out of her daze. When she turned and saw the three girls staring at her with knowing smiles, she suddenly had a bad feeling about where this was going.
"...What's wrong? Your smiles are kinda... weird."
"Nee, nee, Liz~ When did you get ahead of us and snag yourself a handsome guy? Didn't we have an agreement?" Silica asked with a sweet smile, but her smile felt something off.
"..." Liz
"Come on, don't tease Liz too much, Silica." Asuna interjected as Lisbeth felt a little awkward.
Silica know she had to stop when Asuna said so, but still, she couldn't help but let out a sigh since Lisbeth seemed to found someone she likes now. She pouted but nodded and said "...Alright."
"Good." Asuna replied with a smile, before turning to her best friend, her expression clearly showing that she was also curious.
Still, Silica couldn't help but lament why all the good guys were always taken. Thinking of that, Silica let out another sigh, however she was still young and the path of finding love wasn't that easy but she wouldn't give up.
Turning her gaze to the side, Silica's mood finally eased a little when she saw that one of her friends was still single like her. That thought made her smile.
Leafa noticed Silica smiling at her, but something about that smile felt off. She gave her a look that said, 'What's wrong?' However, Silica didn't respond and instead turned her attention back to Lisbeth, since Asuna had just asked the very question she'd been curious about too.
Although Leafa was a bit puzzled by Silica's odd behavior, she was also more interested in knowing how Shido and Lisbeth met so she subconsciously brushed it off.
"So, how did you two meet?" Asuna asked with a teasing smile, making Lisbeth's face flush bright red once again.
"...It's really not that interesting." Lisbeth mumbled.
"Come on, don't be stingy. Spill the beans~" Leafa said with a playful grin, while Silica nodded eagerly beside her.
And so, the girls talk began filled with excited squeals here and there, and also surprised and amazed when they heard Shido's feat from Lisbeth's mouth. The more they listened, the more they started to think that he might be as great or even greater than Kirito. That thought shocked the three of them, especially Asuna, for whom Kirito had always been the strongest.
...
"Achoo! Hm… Did I catch a cold?" Kirito rubbed his nose, looking puzzled as he stood inside Agil's shop.
"You're in ALO. How could you possibly catch a cold?" Agil, a tall, broad-shouldered man with dark skin, a brown goatee, and a bald head, gave him a speechless look.
"Ahaha, you're right." Kirito nodded and laughed thinking that it was a bit ridiculous.
The two were chatting when a man with spiky red hair and a bandana tied around his forehead approached them, looking utterly miserable.
"Kirito, Agil, you guys really don't have any female acquaintances you could introduce me to? Kirito, I heard that your nurse iis quite a beauty, so maybe you could—"
"Shut up, Klein!" 2x
Kirito and Agil said at the same time making Klein burst into tears.
"How cruel!"
...
Shido's Apartment
Shido got up from the bed and remove the AmuSphere on his head then placed it on the side table beside him.
As if being attracted by the faint light coming from his balcony, Shido walks towards it. Pushing the curtains aside, he slid open the glass door and stepped out into the night.
"Hrm… the cold night breeze is certainly refreshing."
Shido inhaled the cold air carried by the wind before exhaling deeply. Feeling the cold wind coming to his apartment during the early evening felt surprisingly pleasant.
He stretched a little to ward off any stiffness, then rested his chin on his hand as he leaned against the balcony railing, gazing down at the busy streets below.
So many things had happened today, from Rinko's arrival, to the scheduled meeting with Asuna's mother, to unexpectedly running into several heroines.
There was also the matter with Lisbeth which Shido have to pay attention. Even though she wasn't as beautiful as Asuna, it was undeniable that Lisbeth had a charm of her own.
Judging by the atmosphere earlier, Shido was certain that if Asuna, Leafa, and Silica hadn't interrupted them at that critical moment, Lisbeth would've confessed already.
While it was a bit disappointing, Shido knew this was for the best. Besides, he wasn't in any hurry to complete quest 5 since Shido planned to take his time with this one.
The system hadn't triggered this time either, nor had it issued any notification that the quest was complete. Because of that, Shido was certain that while Lisbeth felt gratitude and had a good impression of him, it wasn't to the point where she had truly fallen in love with him.
She might just a little confused and swept up in the moment and acted on impulse. So if she had fallen for him, the system would have reacted even without a confession.
Still, even if Lisbeth's feelings toward him were complicated, Shido believed he could gradually melt her heart. Thinking that, a faint smile crossed his handsome face as he stood in the balcony of his apartment, and the cold night breeze brushing gently against his face.
Not only Lisbeth, there was also Rinko, and many other heroines waiting for him, like Kanzaki, Sinon, and Yuuki. However, those three were… how should he put it? Their situation was a bit ...tricky.
Kanzaki had a crazy obsession towards life and death situation.
Sinon carried a deep trauma related to guns.
And Yuuki… was terminally ill.
Among the three, Shido knew he had to prioritize Yuuki's case since her life was on the line, after all.
As for the other two, he believed he could slowly help them overcome their obsessions and traumas.