Arabelle

Name: Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
Your Profession: Performer
Your Rank: 1
Roll ID: 118500
Roll Result: 11 (LD: 18)
Item Type: Support Song
Tier: 1
Quality: Rare -- Masterpiece
Enhancements: [x2] HP Recovery -- Instant effect
Description: [reference] A piano rendition of one of Mozart's compositions. Literally "a little serenade," the light energetic rhythm of the song would provide a small burst of healing to whoever listens to it. Recorded on a rectangular blue crystal with a small black phoenix etched into one of its sides.
Post Link: http://www.sao-rpg.com/topic/16480-f11-r1-performer-magnolia/?do=findComment&comment=575621

Arabelle dismissed the remnant shards of the crystal that was her first failed craft of the day. This wouldn't work. If she wanted to actually level up as a Performer, she would actually have to craft something other than the song she played during the EaL quest. The small purple-haired girl stared into space and ran through a few more warm-up scales.

She activated her second recording crystal and started to play. A light sprightly tune filled the second floor of her shop as her fingers danced lightly on the keys. Eine Kleine Nachtmusik could be literally translated as "a little night's music," but she thought it was something more suitable to be played on a spring day.

She finished playing, oddly feeling a bit more refreshed than before. Looking back at the recording crystal, she quickly learned why.

"Eeeeeee."

The small purple-haired girl allowed herself a moment to express her delight over her first success. Lowering the lid over her piano, she skipped downstairs to add it to her display.

"Sounds fun," she commented. Idly, she played with the napkin on her side of the table. Stryder knowing how to cook.... it painted a pretty picture in her mind and somehow, it felt natural. "So what do you do best? Like, your favorite recipe?" 

This conversation was taking a bit of a boring turn. Luckily though, Stryder brought up his guild and the small purple-haired girl almost laughed. Cheesy name, but then again, what else would you name a game guild? And he sounded like a Youtuber doing a plug! "Guardians of the..." she didn't bother saying the rest. "Why that name? And you're aiming to be a frontline guild? That's nice! You have lots of competition, though~."

She had a few experiences with front-line guilds.

"Yeah. I kinda don't want to leave here either," Arabelle swung her legs rather childishly under the table. "Dunno. It's just kinda fun. It's, like, every day's an adventure~."

Arabelle prepped her scythe for another barrage, but before she could act, Dustin had already moved in for the kill. His fist smashed into the dragon hatchling's eye in a brutal sort of attack that made her internally go 'oof.' Thrown back by the force of his blow, Zylara slammed against a tree and its HP dropped to zero, leaving them with translucent data shards and rewards windows. 

Quest completed! 

The small purple-haired girl sheathed her side and went over to meet her second favorite guildmate's high-five. "Thanks. You did well, too!" - Despite the fact that he missed his first two hits and landed only one at the end and... wait. Zylara had more than half of its HP left with her last attack. He dealt that much.... in one... hit. She was satisfied with her performance today but the fact that her kouhai just outdamaged her by double her total... was super d e p r e s s i n g. Another leveling spree was in order! "That was a lotta damage though! Been leveling a lot in your free time?"

Sitting down casually, he mentioned takeout with an excited childish glint in his eyes. 

"We finished earlier than expected, but why not?" She already had a place in mind. Arabelle beckoned for him to follow her as they took the short trip back to the safe zone. "So aside from sweets, what do you like?" They stopped at a Japanese place where Arabelle quickly ordered a bento box. "Your order. Let's head back to your house when you're done."

"I'm fine!" she immediately reassured as soon as she recovered. God knows how much he needed it after he teamed up with The Other Girl in the last fight who promptly spent half of the battle panicking over every blow that came her way. Arabelle was different. Too different. She noticed him trip at the corner of her eye and she almost laughed. 

"Can't stand pretty sights, kouhai-kun?" The small purple-haired girl casually twirled her scythe, catching it in a firm grip with both hands. "I'd normally be flattered, but that's no good here~. Eyes on the mob..."

And she followed her own advice. The dragon lunged at her - she still held his Hate and she was the lower-leveled player, Dustin do your job - and its claws extended to strike her again. "No can do." She was ready. Igniting her weapon, the scythe-wielder bounded forward and met it head-on. The claw coming down on her was easily deflected with a swing and she took to the air, bringing the blunt end of her scythe down against its head.

A signature Arabelle move, but without its usual Paralyze! 

The dragon's head slammed against the ground and she scored a few more hits before jumping off and landing a safe distance away.

She pulled up the lid and sat down. Placed her recording crystals beside her sheet music on the rack and shooed Moondust away. Some weird force of nature had compelled her to start grinding for levels again instead of just doing vanity recordings. Arabelle cracked her knuckles (a bad habit, she knew), warmed up with a few scales, and played. 

Processing. Processing. Failed. She toggled with an option to erase the recording, only for the first crystal to refuse to cooperate and shatter into blue dust. Did it sound that bad? She remained seated in front of the piano with her eyes closed - sort of meditating. Then she played again and received another failure. 

The small purple-haired girl groaned and slammed her forehead against the keyboard, generating a rather unpleasant sound and a sharp but not so painful sensation. She turned her head to the other sole occupant of the room.

"Clauuude. Stop laughing."

Arabelle smiled. She waved an NPC waiter over and recited their order, putting in an extra dessert for hers. Force of habit; she would just pay for it herself later. Once the waiter left, she turned back to her date and smiled - in a way that almost seemed concerned by Arabelle standards? "That's... almost literally the same as leveling," the small purple-haired girl pointed out with a laugh. She found herself leaning forward on the table, lacing her fingers together as she thought of what to say next. "I spend most of my free time playing the piano in my shop. Ah, but before I had it, I would play wherever there was one in public. It's kind of fun and people would always come by to watch."

That was only one, but she didn't want to spend the whole date rambling. Arabelle swung her legs under the table and tilted her head to the side. Like she was waiting for a similar response. 

The entire SAO situation had its effects on everyone. Some turned into players with one-track minds: nothing in their heads but the prospect of getting out of the game, how they would go about it, and maybe what they left behind. Understandable. But wasn't that just rather sad?

"By the way, what is this about a guild?"

Arabelle giggled at the shadowy cat's visible delight. Standing still with slight shivers going down her back at the familiar's chilly aura, the small purple-haired girl let it wrap itself around her neck like a scarf. "Cute kitty..." she said softly, stroking its fur. Arabelle was sure she could play with his familiar all day... until Pinball explained how he got her.

She. Did. What.

And the cat was still happily winded around her neck and Arabelle was wondering if she should be concerned.

In the first place, how would a cat made out of gas manage to suffocate someone? Could she actually materialize at will? Or was it something she was forgetting? She didn't ask him that, lest Pinball decide to give her a live demonstration. Then she discarded that thought as they approached the safe zone, remembering that the boy had been her teammate all this time.

"Hehe. Chill," she laughed, mostly to herself. Arabelle continued stroking the cat as she walked beside him, like she'd heard nothing out of place. Eventually, the pair would reach the concerned NPC mother.

Something something heartfelt reunion something. 

Arabelle hardly paid attention. She was still looking down at the cat around her neck. At the appearance of a 'Quest Completed!' pop-up, she raised her head and gave the rewards a quick looksie before dismissing the window. She looked up at Pinball. "Panda cafe?" Despite her words, she poked his familiar, prompting it to return to its owner. "No, just kidding. Let's part ways here. I'll go there alone. That way Pochi's attention wouldn't be divided~."

What a selfish person. The small purple-haired girl took a step back and raised her hand to wave him goodbye. She smiled innocently.

"Besides, I understand the feeling of wanting to keep a special place close to yourself."

Arabelle turned around.

"Anyways, see you! Take me on another quest and I'll find us a better date spot."

[Exit]

"Awww~."

Arabelle never thought she would find a slime cute. But here she was, paying avid attention as Dustin picked up the small slime he'd named Mr. Fluffy. The small purple-haired girl dismissed his apology with a wave, watching the slime bounce back into its enclosure. She wasn't bothered, rather she thought she felt more motivated to get this dragon quest done quick so she could come back and play with it.

It didn't take them long to reach the second floor, to which her quest partner tossed her a cookie. She already had pancakes, but who was she to turn down free sweets? "Much appreciated!" And trailing slightly behind him, she was focused on savoring her treat the rest of the way.

Arriving at the quest area, Arabelle spotted the dragon after a quick search of her surroundings. Its color allowed itself to blend into the bushes around it, and it was small by dragon standards. 

They were essentially murdering a young creature, denying it the chance to reach its prime. Lovely. 

"Dustin, the dragon's--" And the boy rushed past her with his fists ignited. So he already saw it. Smirking, Arabelle activated her scythe and followed, barely even hesitating as the Quartz Hatchling noticed the two players and reared to its full height with a loud warning cry.

Time to finally deal more than one damage impress!

"Shi-chan." Arabelle moved in, paying no heed to her teammate's apology. Her scythe was a black and green blur as she allowed the Sword Art to take over: slicing twice, spinning her weapon around to stab at the hatchling's side with the hilt, and rending one of its wing's apart with a final slash. 35 DMG. The small purple-haired girl smirked and prepared to withdraw, only to have the wounded dragon's claw come at her from the side. 

She lost her balance, stabbed her hilt against the ground and quickly regained her composure, then moved out of striking distance.

An old NPC woman approached the flowerpots on her settlement's balcony with a watering can on hand. She tipped the can over her flowers and watched the citizens of Aincrad - both players and NPCs - strolling about the streets below. Ah, this was the nice peaceful life of retirement any old NPC woman would dream of⁠—

The NPC looked up to see a small purple-haired girl happily seated at the edge of her roof. "Why, I⁠..." The woman picked up her duster and waved it at the player rather uselessly. "Young lady, I've told you many times to keep off my property! Leave now or I'm⁠—"

"⁠—Calling the guards," Arabelle finished with a sigh. She didn't move though. She remained seated on the roof with a smug smile as the NPC's irritation grew and it cycled to more aggressive dialogue. And when it set the watering can down and stomped back inside, she took that as her cue to leave.

With a running start, she hopped onto the next building's roof. And the next. And the next. Until she was far enough from the aggravated NPC's settlement. She settled down and propped her elbows on her legs. Arabelle turned her ashen gaze to the streets beneath her.

People watching.

Arabelle didn't flinch. The small purple-haired girl took a step back and held up both hands, palms open, with an innocent smile. "Sorry, sorry~. But you don't leave your guests alone in your house either," she retorted as she pushed the blade away with a finger. That wasn't to say she'd anticipated that reaction. He was a bit too tense, his combat instinct taking over a bit too early, and he seemed to have completely forgotten he was in a safe zone. Well! Everyone had their own burdens. Even she might say his reaction wasn't the most unusual now.

He walked up to her and flicked her forehead - payback.

"Ow." It was a sharp, but not really painful sensation. Arabelle took another step back and held her hands in front of her. Her cheeks reddened in slight embarrassment. She felt like she was being treated like a kid! "You don't do that with your senpais. Dummy." 

But she acknowledged his apology with a nod and followed him back to the kitchen.

"I saw you waking up and I just couldn't resist~," the small purple-haired girl giggled. She seated herself at the kitchen table once again - whoops, she just realized she'd forgotten to tidy up in the excitement of wanting to explore her guildmate's room - and she put her boots back on. She gave no indication of having done something out of place when he asked her about it. "Well, some advice, it's best to eliminate any possible source of sound when you're sneaking up on someone!"

Arabelle made no mention of the picture she saw in his room. 

When he went upstairs to prepare, she moved to the living room and re-equipped her scythe. The small purple-haired girl gave it a few practice swings, careful to not knock any of the furniture over, and turned around to see that her quest partner had returned. 

"Tempting, but we're already combat-ready. Mhm, it's best not to kill the momentum!" She had a feeling that if he gave her a tour now, they would end up fooling around for the rest of the day. As appealing that thought was, Arabelle wanted to show off. And possibly wipe all memory of that first dragon quest from her second favorite guildmate's mind. "We can come back here later. Make it something to look forward to~. Oh, and maybe we could get some takeout on the way and eat it here?"

She had only been in this house for half an hour flat and was as comfy as she could possibly get.

Typical Arabelle.

The small purple-haired girl smiled to herself as she followed Dustin out the door.

Bedtime stories?

As expected of a boy in a pink cat hoodie. It was a bit childish, but not in a bad way. There was nothing wrong with treasuring your childhood memories! She found that people lost their way less often when they knew exactly where they came from and what they wanted to keep from their origins. Arabelle dared to pry a bit more and asked, "What were those stories like?"

She looked away long enough to spot a material and pick it up. When she turned back to Mordecai, she found him climbing up a tree with a hand held out to her.

He presented an interesting prospect.

And Arabelle almost smirked. He was asking her, who took to the Starting City's roofs regularly instead of the crowded streets below and who had just cleared the city's wall in one good jump a few days ago, to race through the trees with him. "Hm, hm. I'm up for it," the small purple-haired girl consented with an innocent smile. She didn't need it, but she took his hand anyway and pulled herself up. 

She didn't let go until he did.

"But what would the winner get? A race isn't a race without a prize, you know~."

So he did like someone. The corners of her lips pulled up to a knowing smirk as he turned red, stood, and left the room whilst trying his best to keep his composure. He didn't even stay to acknowledge the rest of the things she said. Ruuude. But it gave her something interesting to think about. Who could it possibly be? She'd mentioned her best friend's name right after, but Arabelle meant it more as a joke and there was no way Dustin would end up liking someone so intensely after going on a total of one quest with them.

Anyways, Arabelle was kind of annoyed. And Dustin had specifically told her not to go to his room.

Snooping, it was.

The small purple-haired girl enjoyed the rest of her pancakes and quickly finished her orange juice. She stood up and slipped off her combat boots, tiptoeing into the living room. Dustin was at the couch, fast asleep like he was the only person in the house. It was kind of funny. She felt the strong urge to poke his cheek.

But, she had a mission!

"Hmm... wonder where he hides those things?" Arabelle wondered quietly as she stood at the hallway right outside what she could assume was Dustin's door. Those things weren't completely nonexistent in SAO. Artists still had pens and papers. The camera and photo printing function were still around. And the lonely needed something to quell their desires that was not as creepy as NPCs. "...just kidding."

She slid the door open and took a peek.

Blinking at the one thing that stood out in his room, she inched closer to his dresser. She recognized Dustin, but not the other guy. They were both smiling, and a necklace was hung on the edge of the frame.

Now she really felt like she was intruding.

Arabelle was out of the room in record time.

She quietly made her way back to the living room and found her quest partner stirring awake. An idea sprung in her mind, and she grinned. Keeping her footsteps as quiet as possible, she approached the boy from behind and only stopped when she was close enough to -

Grab his shoulders and lightly push him forward!

"Boo."

Pinball did not tell her his cat's name. That was totally unfair, how was she supposed to call out to it?

Ah, whatever. Arabelle's attention was fixed on the black flame wrapped around his spear. At his explanation, the small purple-haired girl nodded vigorously. "Mhm, mhm. So she ups your damage output like that? That's so cool!" She wanted pretty black flames on her scythe too, but she doubted Moondust was magical enough to do that. It was a plain and simple crow with no special abilities of the sort. 

Focused on the cute kitty she was, it didn't go unnoticed how he had seemingly forgotten to be nervous. Pinball lacked his fidgety gestures and his stammering, and she thought they maybe had just landed on a topic he liked. Liked so much that he stopped overthinking things, anyway. That wasn't unusual, and she was having some fun.

Arabelle decided not to tease him.

She reached out to gently pet the floating cat's head. "Ah, cold...!" she gasped instinctively when her hand sank through its "fur" only to be surrounded with a chilly mist. Arabelle felt it through her glove. But she wanted to pet this kitty. So she lifted her hand slightly, making a motion like she was stroking its head.

Hopefully, the cat felt that.

Eventually, she drew her hand back, unsure of what to do. Not at all huggable. But - "She's cute~. Where did you find her?"

"A - uh, a life of what?"

Arabelle almost snorted around her orange juice, but she held it back for the sake of her second favorite guildmate. Was Dustin secretly an old hermit or something?! It sounded like something she would hear in her philosophy class, and while some might say that just reeks of self-enlightenment and wisdom, it did not fit into an ordinary conversation over pancakes. Especially when it was in response to a tease about his love life. Oh man, this guy was actually kind of depressing. 

"Hey, hey. You'll find someone~. Let's see... got someone you're interested in right now?" The small purple-haired girl leaned over the table, close enough to Dustin so he could hear her as she spoke in a quiet, conspiratorial tone. "Shiro-chan tickle your fancy? Lots of boys like that cold and composed type, you know? Oh, or is it someone else? Come on, kouhai-kun~. I won't tell..."

She leaned back on her chair and waved her fork dismissively in the air with a hum. "I think it's fine. Stryder says our guild's like a close family! So no one would mind if we see each other in our natural states from time to time. It's the normal thing for families to do, right?

"But... big as it is, I kind of like this place," she admitted as she spared another glance around the dining room before looking back at her quest partner. "It's, like, a fantasy house brought to life! What do they call it again? Old-fashioned...? Rustic...? Hey, you should do that thing where they hang a head bust of a deer on the wall above the fireplace. It's not a weird thing to say, right?" Arabelle turned her ashen gaze to the fireplace, with the logs stacked on each other and a fire poker at its side. "I try to make mine look as modern as possible on the inside, though I gave it the medieval house appearance on the outside to blend in. But, the full experience is also nice!"

Dustin's question only reminded her of the failure of the first dragon. And her short stature. Arabelle turned red and crossed her arms with a small huff. "I can deal lots of damage this time. Enough to make you forget about that last one!" She, very smartly, did not comment on his tease about her height. It would have been nice to tease him back and say something like: 'Bet,' but that would only prompt more teasing of her height, as she learned from experience. She finished another forkful of pancake as she considered his serious inquiry. If he was gonna call someone over... it would have to be someone tanky.

The Other Girl.

Big no!

"We'll be fine. We can probably kill it faster than it lands two hits on us," the small purple-haired girl said, in reference to his bragging during that Easter event. "And from what Claude told me, it doesn't have any special skills that would hurt as much as that Easter boss did. By the way, how did your run go?"

"Ooooh!" The small purple-haired girl was practically starry-eyed as the shadowy familiar floated out of its container at Pinball's response. Tentatively, Arabelle reached out a gloved hand to pet it but the cat had already drifted to the small NPC's side. She tucked her hands behind her back again, blushing with slight embarrassment. "I've got a crow. He doesn't like being around other familiars and monsters though, so I'm trying to make it so that he would attack them instead of running away." 

Or maybe she could just kill it and look for something easier to train.

"But cats can fight well! I mean, they have claws and stuff. And yours is part... gas?" It looked like it could phase through anything if it wanted to and she wondered how a jar could keep something like that contained. "But you wouldn't expect to see a panda familiar rolling around outside the safe zone, would you? They're cute, but they're kind of useless. And slow. And heavy. Hey hey, what's it's name?"

Arabelle definitely wasn't childish enough to ask if she could pet it. No. Definitely not. Baka! The small purple-haired girl gave the familiar another side glance, remembering the cats she used to play with outside her boarding school's dorms. She... was not... going to... 

"...can I pet him?"

"How cute. Objectively, I'd give it a six out of ten. Subjectively, though..." Arabelle dismissed a material she had just picked up into her inventory and turned to him without deactivating her <<Detection>>. An equally alluring red gaze met his, and she smiled. "You're interesting. I'd say it's a bit higher."

She wasn't lying. It wasn't every day she met someone who was as assertive as him - or probably someone who just flirted like it was their natural language without meaning it (*cough* Arabelle *cough*) - and who wore a bright pink hoodie with cat ears well, on top of that. She kind of wanted to play with it.

"And thanks! I got it from my favorite song," the small purple-haired girl shared, smiling brightly. Music was one of the things she liked talking about the most, and she was enjoying this conversation even more with a cute boy expressing his interest by her side. "Arabella by the Arctic Monkeys. Ever heard of it?" She walked slightly ahead of him to stop and make eye contact with a slight curious tilt of her head. Whatever he said in response, she would continue, "But Mordecai's a nice name, too. Kind of sounds like something you'd see in a fantasy novel. Where did you get it?"

The door inched open and she was just about to step closer with a greeting, when it suddenly slammed back close, leaving the small purple-haired girl standing outside with her hand raised in a friendly wave.

As Claude would sometimes so elegantly put it - "Ehhh?" She looked at the other houses and then reopened her map in slight confusion. Arabelle was sure she had been following the directions. Did she knock at the wrong house or something? The rather comical crashes and yells originating from inside the house answered her question. Laughing to herself, she moved to lean on the building's outer wall as she waited for Dustin to finish his frantic last-minute cleaning.

Inviting her over only to end up totally unprepared when she came maybe a few minutes early. She thought it was typical of the boy who was taking a nap before an important guild outing when she first met him.

After some time, the door opened and Arabelle pushed off the wall. Dustin stepped out like nothing happened. And in the girliest unicorn sweatshirt she'd ever seen. But that didn't matter. Where she would have usually teased him - the girl zeroed in on the plate he was holding. Pancakes! The small purple-haired girl practically had stars in her eyes as she took the plate and followed him inside.

Dustin really was her second favorite guildmate!

"Mm? Orange juice is fine." She was not going to tolerate another round of teasing over the sight of a short girl drinking her milk. This was a game, it wouldn't have any effect anyway! Arabelle took a slice out of her pancake and gave a hum of approval. "This is good~. Almost as good as Shiro-chan's pancakes!" - Reminding her that the other girl had not yet reinstated her free dessert privileges. - "Hey, Dustin, you never told me you had a house. When did you get it?" And, giving him a teasing smile, she gave her observation, "It's kind of big for one person though. Someone else living here?"

From the darkness of the cave, the pair stepped out into the blinding daylight. Arabelle held a gloved hand over her eyes and squinted, trying to adjust to the sudden brightness of her surroundings. She was half-expecting to see their two missing party members standing outside - probably mad cause they went ahead without them - but surprise, surprise, they weren't. The other two were probably alive and well as their HP gauges indicated, but they were also most probably still stuck in the cave searching for them considering the fact that they haven't left the party yet.

Either way!

The small purple-haired girl visibly relaxed and breathed out a sigh of relief. Arabelle was glad to finally be outside. "Gosh, I get the feeling we've been in there forever. Is it just me?" 

Her quest companion was stumbling through his response. To a simple yes or no question. It was in stark contrast from when they were engaged in combat - he had at least spoken with more authority and less like she was gonna jump him or something - and the small purple-haired girl watched him from the corner of her eye thoughtfully. For just a quick moment. "Mhm! No one ever takes pandas as their familiars, they're not really suited for that sort of thing, so you wouldn't see a friendly one anywhere! Well, this would be my first time seeing one in two years, anyway." 

She wasn't dense though. Even if she wasn't staring directly at him, she could sense the tenseness in his shoulders and the obvious discomfort.

"So?" Arabelle turned to him with her head slightly tilted to the side in curiosity. "Wanna come along after this? It might be fun."

Quote

Claude: Oh, so it's just you and him then?
Claude: Have fun!
Arabelle: ( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°)
Claude: No, not that kind of fun.

Arabelle smiled to herself as she dismissed her PMs. She switched to another window on her menu - one which displayed a map of Floor 3 with a mark on Dustin's coordinates and a path from the teleport plaza to the marked down area which Claude had helpfully supplied.

She wasn't that hopeless with directions but it was a suitable excuse for the scout to take her by the wrist so he could draw the line on the virtual map for her~.

The small purple-haired girl allowed the semi-transparent windows to float in front of her as she walked. Dustin had invited her on the second quest in the Dragon Hunt series, and after the embarrassment of the first, she was all hyped to redeem herself. Five-something levels higher than the previous, better equipment, and The Other Girl wasn't around to ruin their victory. And to top it all off, she was hanging out with her second favorite guildmate. Today was going to be perfect!

Arriving at her destination, Arabelle paused. She idly adjusted her newest piece of equipment: a +3 ACC brooch in the shape of a black phoenix pinned to her chest. The small purple-haired girl looked the house up and down, then at her map.

He invited her to his house? How gutsy of him.

Kidding aside, part of her had assumed they would simply meet up at some random place he liked and head straight for the dragon. Maybe not. Arabelle smiled. She was here, might as well try to come in and explore! Unequipping her scythe (it seemed like overkill in a safe zone), she walked up to the door and knocked.

The small purple-haired girl entered the shop, visibly excited. The pretty shopkeeper had crafted her item just in time! And she had mentioned... Hazado in her PM? She racked her brain for any instance where she mentioned her friend's name around the artisan, but ultimately shrugged it off, reasoning that maybe the big guy was friends with this person. He was a much higher level, it would make sense if he knew more people, especially the ones running shops.

Arabelle retrieved the item from the artisan, delicately holding it in her small gloved hands like it was a prized artifact. Considering the pretty jewel at its center, it probably was. "Thanks for this, miss!" she said happily, all the thinly-veiled discontentment from her previous meeting gone in a flash. She dropped the brooch into her inventory and traded over her payment in Col. "Nice hair, by the way. It's not every day I see someone with purple hair like mine. See you."

If his lack of reaction was any indication, Pinball did not notice. 

Oof?

But! Arabelle thought she liked watching him interact with the NPC. His voice was steady and gentle as he spoke to it and it instantly soothed the small frightened child. It stopped crying and grabbed onto his shirt, and the boy patted its head with a soft smile. It was cute. 

"Mm, well... I was thinking we could grab something after this. Just a small treat after finishing a quest. It's always good to have those~." Arabelle chose not to voice her thoughts, instead walking up on his other side with her hands tucked behind her back. "There's this one cafe on this floor that I've been wanting to visit. Cold beverages, cakes, and desserts... you get the deal. But, I think the main highlight is their panda familiar! Like a Starbucks but with a panda! Ever been there?"

"It wasn't supposed to be." 

Skipping alongside him, the small purple-haired girl hummed in agreement at Roulette's explanation of his odd name. It was really just some justification he thought of on the fly and it still sounded like the sort of username a twelve-year-old would pick because it sounded cool, but... made sense! "That's always a possibility. But - " and to show off, Arabelle tapped the scythe on her back - "We've got my scythe and Teleport Crystals are a thing." She made another quick, unsuccessful search for materials as they progressed through a grassy field before continuing, "Besides, this is much better than sitting around in the safe zone and doing nothing. People who rely on others to face all the dangers for them are the worst kind of cowards."

She almost laughed at his remark. "So are you saying you're one of those hormonal teenagers? You're kind of wrong though~. SAO's main appeal was its entire full-dive thing, but mechanics and parameters are still a part of it. It's still a game. As long as you're here, playing it, you'd need to learn how things work. Kind of like how it is in the real world, but replace all that practical knowledge with knowledge of how stats work and how you can best use that to your advantage."

Already, the fence separating the <<Garden>> from the rest of the zone was visible. Arabelle stopped her unfriendly quest partner and made a vague gesture at the area surrounding them. "Here we are. There's no clear borderline, but... as long as the fence is still visible, you can be sure you're in the right place. Just don't walk into the <<Garden>>. Materials there don't count." 

~~~ SUMMARY ~~~

All Participants

• 3 SP
• 325 Col
• <Rhaegal’s Emerald> [Vanity Quest Item]: 1 of 9, collect all 9 and meet whom that waits before you, only then will you get the grand prize.