Money Can Buy Everything

028: A Good Time To Talk

"Really? I feel like she's thoroughly scared. With her current state, can she even go out to conquer the game in the future?" Reimu's doubt was reasonable, considering that Asuna now looked no different from any other frightened player.

Her question was more out of curiosity than a challenge. After all, the girl in front of them was undoubtedly Asuna, the future Asuna the ‘Flash’, the strongest female player known as the Clearer.

"Yes, she's genuinely scared. Right now, she's no different from any other player crying silently. I never thought she would immediately stand up and catch up with me and Kirito to become a powerful force," Momo reminisced about the original story.

"According to the original plot, Asuna already had considerable strength when she participated in the first-floor clearing. So even though she wasn't among the first to leave the starting town, it wouldn't take her more than a few days."

"Within a week, she'll pick up her sword, leave here, and begin to fight monsters without anyone's guidance, growing rapidly."

Momo gently caressed the back of Asuna's hand, his tone growing even softer. "So, in these few days, all I need to do is wait quietly."

Reimu pouted and looked displeased at their tightly held hands. "Are you planning to take advantage of her during this time? It's time to rest. After all, she can stay in the inn, but you still need to fight monsters and level up."

Momo nodded, holding Asuna's hand and spoke softly, "Asuna, rest well. This is an inn, a completely safe place."

Asuna shivered but quickly swallowed the last bite of the bread. She freed her hand and grabbed Momo's sleeve.

"Don't... I don't want to be alone... Stay with me, okay?"

Momo pondered for a moment, then smiled and nodded. "Alright, but you need to listen to my arrangements."

"Okay..."

Asuna nodded almost inaudibly. At this moment, she had completely lost her rationality and ability to think, relying solely on Momo in front of her.

Momo reached out and picked Asuna up, but despite the intimate gesture, Asuna didn't respond at all.

"I don't think she can become that Asuna no matter what."

"Then let's wait and see."

Momo placed Asuna on the bed, arranged the bedding for her, and sat down by the bedside. Throughout, Asuna held tightly onto Momo's hand, unwilling to let go.

The next day, Asuna woke up in a daze, subconsciously reaching for the bedside to check the time on the digital clock, only to find nothing there.

Huh, where's the clock? Did the alarm not go off today? Oh no, am I going to be late for school!

In panic, Asuna sat up, but suddenly realized something and abruptly opened her eyes, all traces of drowsiness vanishing.

Here, there was not the slightest hint of her room's atmosphere!

"This is where?

This is... Aincrad... Inside the death game..."

No one answered Asuna, but her memories quickly came back to her. Fear surged again in her heart, and her body couldn't help but tremble.

"Don't be afraid, I'm here!"

The gentle tone made Asuna turn around and she saw Momo's somewhat tired, yet smiling face.

________

"Yeah, it's another beautiful day!" Momo stepped out of the inn, stretched lazily towards the distant sun. Reimu couldn't help but retort, "Every day is a beautiful day here..."

"Moreover, Asuna doesn't seem to have changed at all! She's still trembling in fear. If you weren't with her, she probably would have burst into tears!"

"Hitting is affection, scolding is love, you know!" Momo said. "After all, Asuna apologized to me afterward. If you weren't here, the embarrassed Asuna might have given me a sweet hug instead."

"Pah! Stop being so boastful. Instead, think about what we should do today. With your spending habits and Asuna's, your Col (currency in the game) won't last long, will it?" Reimu interjected.

Momo stroked his chin and replied, "Indeed, you are right. At this early stage of the game, there are hardly any good income sources."

"As Kirito mentioned, resources in the game are limited. Take Col, for example. All the Col is earned by players, whether through completing quests or selling resources obtained from defeating monsters. Even if I have a box full of legendary items, I'd still only get a hundred Col for each."

"Hmph, you understand pretty well. So, what's your plan then?"

"Cheating!"

Momo confidently proclaimed, leaving Reimu speechless, covering her face and saying, "I knew it!"

Momo laughed heartily, attracting strange looks from numerous huddled players on the roadside, and then approached an NPC fruit seller, saying, "Hey, respected lady, how about I buy an apple from you for 20 Col?"

"Are you crazy? Even if you were to buy it directly, it would only cost 1 Col per apple. Yet, you're using the trade function for this!"

Reimu was shocked, as Momo had offered to buy an apple from an NPC at twenty times the normal price and even used the trading function!

"You either dislike using the trade function too much, or you think you have too much Col to spend!"

Reimu wanted to stop Momo, but he waved his finger and said, "Reimu, just tell me the result of the trade."

"Do I even need to say it? Even a fool would agree to the trade. The result should be... huh?"

Reimu checked the trade result and was stunned. The trade didn't seem to succeed as she had expected.

"If I'm not mistaken, the trade neither succeeded nor failed, right?"

Reimu looked at Momo in astonishment and asked, "How did you know that? The trade function showed 'Please select a trade partner,' but the trade partner is right in front of us!"

The NPC fruit vendor had a formulaic smile and asked, "Want to buy apples? They were just harvested today!"

"I see, so it seems like the trade function doesn't recognize NPCs as trade partners. I thought that trading would violate the principle of voluntariness," Momo explained.

Reimu was finding it hard to keep up and asked, "What's going on?"

"It's simple! The trade partner must be able to rationally and emotionally accept the price of the trade item and complete the trade with me through rational judgment. This is the principle of voluntariness and fairness. However, these two principles have one premise, which is that the trade partner possesses reason and emotion."

"I originally thought that NPCs could only make logical judgments based on data and might only judge whether the trade conforms to the system rules, leading to a trade failure."

"But it seems that the trade function doesn't recognize the NPC in front of us as a valid trade partner. Perhaps she is indeed just a bundle of data."

The female NPC selling apples tilted her head, showing a human-like expression of confusion. She seemed not to understand why the two in front of her were talking so incomprehensibly.

Seeing this, many might think that these NPCs had AI, but the trade function didn't acknowledge her as a sentient being.

"I think I get it now. So, these NPCs are not considered humans, right? Then, won't your trade function be useless, Momo? No, wait, at least for now, there aren't any items worth trading for among the players. So, your trade function is temporarily useless, isn't it?"

Momo shook his finger again and said, "Reimu, remember the special cases! The special cases! This NPC in front of us is just a passerby and can't possibly have any exceptional circumstances. But since Yui exists, does that mean there are other NPCs with advanced AI right now?"

Reimu blinked, suddenly realizing, "Are you suggesting that there are NPCs like Yui? This..."

At first, she thought it was impossible, but after careful consideration, it seemed quite likely!

Yui's existence indicated that Kayaba had put considerable effort into creating advanced artificial intelligence. However, the result might not have been successful, prompting him to continue gathering experience and perfecting the AI during SAO's public beta.

So, did Kayaba only create one Yui? It was evident that as an experiment, there should be more NPCs like Yui!

"Good, explanation complete! Now our job is straightforward!"

Momo stood tall and walked away from the NPC fruit vendor, approaching another stall. He spoke to a young and beautiful NPC lady, saying, "Hey, beautiful and kind NPC lady, how about we make a very profitable trade? I'll give you 20 Col, and you sell me a radish, how does that sound?"

Reimu grinned, suddenly understanding what Momo was up to.

He was going to hit on the whole Starting City!