Afterward, Rozen and Asuna escorted Liz back to the 48th Floor’s Main Settlement, Lindarth. It was dangerous for Liz to walk around on the frontline, after all.

By the time Rozen and Asuna parted ways with Liz, the sky was already dark. In addition, they also received the report that the Clearers successfully defeated the Field Boss, and all that was left was to explore the labyrinth in order to locate the Boss Room.

That report also meant Rozen and Asuna could no longer absent from the frontline.

But at the very least, they could have a proper rest today.

Both of them then went through what happened that day on their way to Lindarth’s Teleport Gate.

“Thanks for helping me out today.” Rozen said to Asuna:

“I won’t be able to get this guy without you.” Rozen said while stroking his waist, where Dark Repulser, along with its scabbard, was hung.

Asuna sighed at the glance of the crystal sword, whose beauty and captivating luster couldn’t be contained even after being sheathed into its scabbard.

“There’s no need to thank me, with the materials you have, you can easily get yourself an amazing sword even without Liz’s help.”

Asuna didn’t feel like she helped much. Although Liz was indeed more skilled than average blacksmiths out there, she wasn’t the best either.

With Rozen’s resources and power, it wouldn’t be hard to find a better blacksmith than Liz, and with the number of rare materials that Rozen had, it wouldn’t be a problem for them to make a good sword.

And just like Liz, who didn’t feel any sense of accomplishment when she forged Rozen’s sword, Asuna also didn’t feel like she did anything worth thanking for.

but…

“That’s not what I meant.” Rozen said casually:

“You should’ve known that the forged weapon’s parameters would be random in the end, right? Other blacksmiths may be able to forge a good sword, but we don’t know whether the parameters would be just like this one.”

“Is it?” Asuna said:

“Are you saying that other blacksmiths can forge an even better sword?”

“Better than this?” Rozen suddenly laughed and then said:

“Do you really think someone will be able to forge a better sword than this?”

Asuna was dumbfounded because there was nothing more convincing than that sentence.

Because Asuna has seen the Dark Repulser’s parameter with her own eyes, and thus she couldn’t believe that there was anyone out there who could forge a better weapon than the sword hanging on Rozen’s waist.

Even considering its default parameter, prior to being enhanced, that sword was only supposed to be droppable around the 80th Floor or above.

Being able to get his hand on a sword on that level on this Floor was a miracle in itself because no blacksmith should be able to make a weapon of this level just yet. Even if they could, it would take at least six more months.

That was how good Dark Repulser was, so it was a give if Asuna didn’t believe that there was anyone else out there who could forge the sword at this level.

Even with Rozen’s thorough calculation, he wasn’t confident that he could get another weapon as strong as Dark Repulsor.

In short, Rozen was thankful.

“Even if it was a fluke, it was still impossible to get my hands on this sword without Liz, and the one who introduced me to her is none other than you, so stop being stubborn and just accept my thanks.”

Despite what he said, his somewhat indifferent tone made it look like he wasn’t sincere.

The old Asuna would’ve bombarded Rozen with complaints by now, but now Asuna understood that was just how Rozen was.

Despite looking laid-back and childish, he wasn’t someone who just said something to comfort someone else.

Knowing this, Asuna smiled.

“Then, I will take you up on your offer and accept it.”

Seeing Asuna’s smile, Rozen stared at Asuna’s face intently.

“Uhh… what?”

Asuna was uncomfortable seeing Rozen stared at her all serious like that.

Rozen then casually said.

“You’re so pretty when you smile, yet why do you always look so cold?”

“…!?” Asuna’s mind went blank for a second.

Obviously, she didn’t expect that Rozen would actually say such a thing out of the blue.

Asuna wasn’t completely oblivious either when it came to her looks. Whether she liked it or not, she realized that the people around her considered her beautiful through their reaction and demeanor.

This wasn’t the first time Asuna was complimented on her beauty, and she usually didn’t care. However, she was shaken when the one who complimented her was Rozen.

“S… Stop saying weird things!” Asuna glared at Rozen and said loudly:

“What are you saying all of a sudden?!”

“Huh?” Rozen turned a blind eye to Asuna’s reaction and then added:

“Is it that weird for me to say these things?”

Strange?

Strange was actually a very kind word in this case. Ever since their encounter on the First Floor, Rozen has never complimented Asuna.

Most of the time, he would criticize her with logic. She was uncomfortable indeed, but she couldn’t say anything back as Rozen’s argument was always logical.

And that exact Rozen suddenly said those words to her. It couldn’t be helped if she was caught off guard.

Rozen, who was oblivious, casually grabbed a few strands of Asuna’s chestnut-colored hair while she was still too surprised to respond.

“Although this is a virtual body, It’s created based on your real-life appearance, right?”

Ignoring Asuna, who was still dumbfounded, Rozen smiled as she stared at the beautiful strands of hair in his hand and then said…

“You should smile more often. It’s such a waste since you’re beautiful in real life.”

Rozen then turned away, leaving that as his parting words.

Asuna stared at Rozen’s slowly disappearing figure, and before long, her face turned bright red real quick.

If anyone saw this, they’d be surprised for sure.

Asuna gently caressed her long hair that Rozen just grabbed a moment ago. Her heartbeat sound was so loud that she couldn’t think clearly.

That was her first inexplicable yet real heartbeat in this world.

With this starting point, this girl slowly changed.