A Foreigner's Chat Group

Chapter 88: Real-life Meeting

With a single click, the sliding door opened. What was revealed beyond it is a skinny teenager trying to stand up from his bed. The cause of that nightmare, Nervegear, is placed on the side of the bed.

"Who... are you..?"

The boy tried to speak, but his voice is hoarse. It is due to his year and a half of inactivity, which is the result of his long period of inactivity.

"Eh? You haven't fully woke up yet?" Shiro asked with a playful voice.

Hearing this, he immediately guessed who he was, even if his vision is still blurry.

"Shiro..."

"Anyways, what are you planning to do?"

"I'm going... to make... a phone call."

Since Kirito and Asuna had known each other for a long time, it is natural for them to make plans as to how they'll contact each other. One of them would be calling her brother's phone number.

"A phone call? Here, you can use mine."

"Thanks."

Taking out his 700 Points smartphone, he opened the calling app before passing it to Kirito. With it, he could now sit down peacefully. His clouded vision got better after a minute, allowing him to dial the numbers correctly.

While Shiro laid his back on the wall, the call had finally connected.

"Hello? Who is this?"

On the other side, Yuuki Kouichiro, Asuna's elder brother, answered his phone while he kept running. It is unexpected that just today, RECT's server shut down. It is also the server responsible for running Sword Art Online.

Since he worked for the company, he received the news firsthand and rushed to the hospital where Asuna resides. He also messaged both of his parents before he left the company building and drove his car.

"Is this Kouichiro-san?"

"Yes? Who are you?"

"I am Kirito, Asuna's... friend."

Kirito doesn't want to come off as someone ridiculous on their first meeting. After all, it'll be awkward if he suddenly hangs up upon hearing that they're husband and wife.

"Kirito? Why does it sound like an in-game name..?" Kouichiro asked before realizing something.

"You... You are a player from Sword Art Online?"

"That's right."

To be honest, he found it surprising at first. But then, it also reassured him further that everyone from that game logged out.

"Asuna... You're with her when you logged out?" He asked.

"Yes. It happened suddenly, so I would like to talk with her now."

Hearing this, Kouichiro mulled over this request for a while before agreeing. After all, it's only a talk. He also recalled something in the server's database, in which "Kirito" is a part of the highest leveled players in the game.

Since his mind is in a mess right now, he couldn't think properly. Only now did he calm down as he arrived in the hospital's reception desk.

He put his side on hold as he filled in the visitor's log.

Meanwhile, Shiro said something nerving to Kirito.

"You better look out for some shady guy besides her."

"What do you mean..?" Kirito asked.

To that, Shiro only smiled at him. Though, Kirito already expects some trouble from his tone alone.