My SAO adventure is wrong, as expected

Chapter 67: Unexpectedly Becoming a Dad

"Hachiman, look, there's a girl lying there."

"Yeah, um, wait, Asuna."

Hachiman called out to Asuna, who was about to run over to the girl on the ground.

"Look carefully, there's no cursor showing. Looks like that's the elf Kizmel mentioned."

"That girl? But indeed, no cursor is visible."

"That's right."

Although Kizmel said there was no dangerous aura, the two still cautiously approached the unconscious girl.

"She looks like a little kid."

"A very cute, tiny girl."

"We can't just leave her here. Let's take her home first."

"Yeah, please."

When Hachiman lifted the girl, he faintly felt her face resembled Asuna's somewhat. He brought her home and laid her on the bed.

"There's too little information, we have no idea what's going on. What should we do?"

"We can only wait for her to regain consciousness and then ask."

"True. Now let's contact Argo and also Kirito."

"I'll stay by the bed and watch her."

"Thanks."

After contacting the two, Hachiman returned to Asuna, who was watching over the girl.

"I feel this kid looks a bit like you, Hachiman."

"Hm? I think she looks like Asuna."

"Really? I still think she looks like you."

"No matter how I look at it, she looks like Asuna."

As they argued this, Argo and Kirito arrived.

"A wedding and suddenly something happens?"

"Sorry to call you over so abruptly, let's get straight to the point. Look at this girl, she collapsed right outside our door."

"A kid...?"

"That's right. Look closely, no cursor."

"No cursor means she's neither a player nor an NPC..."

"Do you two have any ideas? Even from the beta testing days?"

They both thought deeply but seemed to recall nothing.

"Not really sure."

"Yeah, no memory at all."

"Actually, we just visited Kizmel earlier."

Hachiman explained their previous conversation with Kizmel.

"An elf, huh..."

"Yeah. According to Kizmel, this girl is an elf. First, I want to confirm if Argo knows anything about the Starting City's maze?"

"I'm not completely clueless about that info."

"So it really exists. How much for that info?"

"Haven't verified it, so it's free. But if you find anything, remember to tell me."

"Got it. What exactly is the info?"

"I only heard rumors. There's a place in the Starting City called the Black Iron Palace, right?"

"The prison area and the location of the Life Monument."

"Recently, they say a maze was discovered underground there."

"A maze in such a place..."

"Apparently the underground sewage system somehow turned into a maze."

"Probably one of those mazes that change with the floor levels of the raid."

At this moment, Asuna called to Hachiman:

"Hachiman, she's awake."

Hearing this, the three went to the bedroom to ask the girl questions. Seeing Kirito and Argo exchange a glance, Yui was silent nearby.

"Hey, Argo, could this kid be...?"

"Yeah, no matter how you look at it..."

"Hm? Do you know something?"

"No... but no matter how you look, she seems like..."

"Mom!"

Kirito's words were cut off by the girl's scream.

"Mom! Mom! It's so scary!"

The girl shouted calling Asuna "Mom," clinging tightly to her.

Stirred by maternal instinct, Asuna hugged her back and gently stroked her head.

"It's alright, Mom is here. Did you have a nightmare?"

"Hey, Asuna..."

Hachiman was about to speak, but the girl saw him and shouted:

"Ah, Dad!"

Then she jumped into Hachiman's arms.

"Oh, oh, it's alright. Dad's here too."

Feeling the atmosphere, Hachiman unconsciously assumed a fatherly posture.

"See, just as I thought."

"So it turns out... what have you discovered?"

"Yeah, no matter how you look at her..."

"She's literally a daughter of little Hachiman and little Asuna. She looks so much like you two."

"Huh?"

"Ha?"

The two looked carefully at the girl. Earlier, Hachiman thought she looked like Asuna, Asuna thought she looked like Hachiman—in other words, she looked like a combination of both.

"This kid is my and Asuna's daughter? Though it really feels familiar, but..."

Muttering to himself, Hachiman trailed off as Argo smirked mischievously and Kirito blushed, uncomfortable with the topic.

"Looks like you two know exactly what's going on, huh, Hachi, Little Asu."

'Inner thoughts...'

"..."

Both flushed red. Argo seized the opportunity to tease further:

"Seems like you enjoyed last night a lot—"

"Wh-what's your name?"

"Yui!"

Flustered, Asuna cut off the teasing, and the girl cheerfully answered:

"Yui!"

'Same pronunciation as Yui Yuigahama, though completely unlike her.'

"What are Dad and Mom's names?"

Yui asked.

"Yui-chan, I'm Asuna."

"I'm Hachiman."

"Asuna-mom! Hachiman-dad!"

"Just call us Mom and Dad, Yui-chan."

"Got it! Dad! Mom!"

Asuna clearly fully accepted Yui as her daughter. Since she had decided, Hachiman had no objection.

"Yeah, Yui, I'm your dad."

"Dad!"

Hachiman lifted Yui high, and the three looked like a real family.

Argo stopped teasing, and Kirito sighed:

"You already look like a real family."

"Perfect match, isn't that great?"

"Exactly."

"Hachi, Asu-chan, first let's ask Yui about her situation."

"Oh, right. Yui, let's go to that room."

They all moved to the living room to question Yui. Seeing Kirito and Argo, Yui asked:

"Are you two Mom and Dad's friends?"

"Yes, that's right, Yui-chan, I'm Kirito."

"I'm Argo."

"Yui, this is Uncle Kirito and Aunt Argo."

"Yeah! Uncle Kirito! Aunt Argo!"

"Guh... Hachiman."

"Hey, Hachiman! I'm not teasing you two!"

"Kirito's just collateral damage, blame Argo for that. Alright, Yui, can you answer Dad's questions?"

"Yeah!"

Hachiman started asking:

"Yui, you collapsed in front of our door. Do you remember what happened?"

"Hmm—Yui felt really bad at first. Then she felt something warm rising up. When she came to, she was in bed, and then she saw Mom and Dad."

Yui said, then snuggled into Asuna's arms. Hachiman handed her over to Asuna and asked Kirito and Argo for their opinion.

"What do you think?"

"Though it's hard to judge with so little info, like Kizmel said, she definitely came from the Starting City's maze."

"And since she can teleport instantly, she's obviously part of the system."

"When creating a virtual body, it seems they referenced your images."

After thinking for a moment, Hachiman made a decision:

"We definitely need to go to Starting City. Argo, do you know the maze's difficulty?"

"No info at all, but with Kirito and you three, it should be fine."

"Kirito, can you help?"

"Of course."

"Argo will keep gathering info."

"Got it~ I'll contact you immediately if anything comes up."

"So, are you two staying over tonight?"

Hearing this, the two exchanged mischievous smiles.

"We won't disturb the family reunion. We'll head back first."

"Tonight you three will sleep in a river shape formation."

"Annoying, old man, old aunt."

After the two left, Yui stayed glued to her parents, so the three really did sleep arranged in a river shape.

The next morning, when Hachiman woke, Yui was the only one in sight. Asuna had gotten up early to prepare breakfast and bento.

"Yui, good morning."

"Mm—Ah, good morning, Dad."

"Oh, good morning, Yui."

"Having Mom and Dad here makes me sleep really well."

"Is that so?"

'Seems she matured a bit more than yesterday?'

"Yui, Mom is cooking. Go to that room."

"What's food?"

"Ah..."

'Yui doesn't need to eat, huh? Asuna might feel disappointed.'

"It's nothing. Go find Mom."

The two held hands and walked toward the living room.

"Good morning, Asuna."

"Good morning, Mom."

"Good morning to both of you."

"Sorry, Asuna, but Yui doesn't seem to need to eat."

"Oh, I see..."

Asuna looked a little downcast. Hachiman gently patted her head. During their casual talk, Asuna also noticed Yui's growth.

"Yui-chan seems to have grown a bit."

"As expected of our daughter."

"Yeah, exactly!"

Later, Kirito arrived.

"Ah, good morning, Uncle Kirito!"

"Ah, um, good morning, Yui."

Kirito was still unused to being called uncle and was surprised by Yui's polite greeting.

The four then headed toward the Black Iron Palace in Starting City.