Sword Art Online: Moonlight Swordman.

Ren spent the entire noon and afternoon continuing to hunt spiders in the forest. After hours of patience and caution, he finally completed the quest.

He had many chances to speed things up, groups of three spiders no longer posed much of a threat. But Ren didn't take unnecessary risks. He stuck to a safe strategy, step by step, slow but certain.

Better to hold tight to what's secure than to lose everything.

[Quest: 20/20]

[Quest Complete.]

There was no special reward beyond some experience, a few coins, and a handful of materials dropped from the monsters' corpses. But for Ren, that was enough.

The day had passed more than halfway.

Ren opened the map and quietly checked his location. He had covered a good distance, and more of the previously unexplored areas were gradually lighting up.

Not bad progress. But maybe... it was time to return to the settlement.

The return trip would take about thirty minutes, if he was lucky and didn't run into freshly respawned monsters.

Ren glanced over the two remaining hunting quests. He figured he was strong enough to complete them. But after a moment of silence, he chose to leave them for later.

He didn't want to get trapped in the forest when night fell.

Just as Ren predicted, monsters had respawned on the way back.

Still the same spiders crawling over the tree roots, bees buzzing through the canopy, and a few lizards creeping beneath the jagged terrain, familiar foes, but no less annoying.

Ren chose not to engage.

He activated the [Stealth] skill, took the long route, and slipped quietly through the forest, leaving no trace behind.

The return took longer than expected. The forest's murky atmosphere stretched the journey into what felt like forever. Ren couldn't remember how long he'd been walking, only that his legs were growing heavy, and the light seemed endlessly out of reach.

Finally, after nearly forty minutes, he spotted the dim glow of Zumfut's safe zone in the distance. That faint yellow light filtered through the thin mist, like a quiet promise.

[You have completed a quest.]

[You have completed a quest.]

[You have completed a quest.]

[You have completed a quest.]

[You gained 675 EXP.]

[Current EXP: Lv.11 (2135 / 2200)]

Ren stopped walking and let out a sigh full of quiet regret. He was just a bit short, only about 60 experience points away from leveling up.

The three gathering quests had granted him around 370 EXP; the rest came from the Land Spider extermination quest.

In any case, the main reward for these hunting or extermination quests was always gold. Ren earned about 1,200 Cor just from today's quest chain.

From the monster drops, after killing nearly twenty spiders, he collected another 953 Cor.

Tired but at ease, Ren stepped across the safe zone's glowing boundary, where Zumfut's warmth gently eased the aching tension in his limbs.

Even the cold air was less biting here, as if the land itself still welcomed those returning from the forest.

Ren rested his hand lightly on the hilt of his sword, then turned away from the herbalist's shop where he had just turned in the gathering quest. He walked along the cobbled path toward the inn, where the lights gradually receded behind gently curved wooden eaves.

On the way, he bought a few thick, sauce-laden meat sandwiches from a mobile stall beside the blacksmith's forge. The scent of fried onions and black pepper floated in the air, making his stomach tighten with hunger.

Ren sat down on a stone bench facing the main plaza, a spot with a wide, open view thanks to the strong upper winds. He gripped the hot paper wrapping and began to peel it open, letting a soft steam rise and blur the air faintly.

He took a bite and chewed silently. There was no sound but the steady drip of water and the light breeze rustling through the tall trees.

Just then, someone suddenly plopped down onto the stone bench beside him.

"What the hell were they thinking?" a female voice snapped, full of frustration. "All they care about is their own benefit… it's maddening…"

Ren tilted his head slightly. That voice… annoyingly familiar.

He glanced sideways.

And at that exact moment, the other person turned to look at him.

Their eyes met.

"…Sorry if I disturbed you…" the girl said, clearly startled, as if she'd just realized she'd spoken aloud. Her eyes scanned Ren's face, not in fear, but as though trying to confirm something.

Ren didn't answer. He looked at Ago for a moment, then muttered, "…Even the info dealer Ago can feel embarrassed?"

"…Huh?" She jolted upright as if someone had slapped her back.

"Who are you?" she pressed, voice rising. "You… sound familiar. Have we met before, are you an old client?"

Ago narrowed her eyes, tilting her head as she sized Ren up. But the more she looked, the more confused she became.

A cute face, with features both soft and slightly cold… but something about it was just… off. Familiar, but not quite.

"No way, if I'd known someone this handsome, I'd definitely remember…" she mumbled, half to herself, half to gauge his reaction.

Ren turned his face slightly, avoiding her gaze, but the corner of his mouth lifted, almost into a smile.

"..."

The atmosphere turned strange for a moment, tense, but not exactly hostile. Like a thin crack forming between two layers of memory trying to align.

Ren kept his eyes on Ago.

She… hadn't changed much since the last time they met in Tolbana, just a few days before the raid on the first-floor boss.

Maybe her gear had been slightly upgraded, but her fashion sense was still the same: careless, rebellious, and a little chaotic, the exact look of an information broker who lived by going against the wind.

Ago caught his gaze.

Those blue eyes… deep and calm, as if they had weathered a hundred battles since the last time they met.

She froze. One second. Then two…

Her eyes seemed locked onto Ren's face. Something impossible began to surface in her mind, a possibility she didn't want to believe.

"…You…," she stammered, taking a half-step back, her usual confidence vanishing from her voice, "Don't tell me… don't tell me you're… Ren…?!"

In that instant, the world seemed to hold its breath.

Ren said nothing. He simply took a bite of his sandwich, as if that were the most important thing right now, then gave a slow nod.

Calm. Steady. Confirmation.

"No, no, no, no way…," Ago muttered like she had just seen a ghost.

Then she lunged at Ren like a cannonball.

Her small hands grabbed both his cheeks and pulled hard in opposite directions, without mercy.

"Did you learn some makeup skill or something?! Or use a rare cosmetic item?! This can't be… there's no way this is you!"

Ren frowned, prying her hands off before standing up and stepping back.

"That actually hurt," he muttered, rubbing the bright red marks on his cheeks.

But Ago wasn't listening anymore.

"No way! I have to tell Asuna and Kirito! They need to know right now!" she yelled, like a kid who just found out her best friend was a superhero.

Without waiting for Ren's consent, she immediately opened her interface, snapped a few photos, click click, and began adjusting the brightness, adding frames, and even slapping on a cat-ear sticker.

Ren just sighed.

"…Well… I guess no one else who knows me has seen my face yet, other than you and Kibaou," he said calmly, as if getting his cheeks pulled and having cat stickers added to his photo was a regular occurrence after every quest.

But Ago still wasn't done. She stepped back, gave him a full up-and-down glare, and then sighed in utter defeat.

"…So it really is you." She let her arms drop, her shoulders slumping. "I'm the last one to find out, aren't I?"

Ren just nodded.

Ago laughed, but it was a dry, irritated laugh. "Oh, come on… Are you kidding me? I'm an information broker and you managed to hide your face from me all this time? How do you expect me to keep doing business after this?"

She leaned back against the bench, sighing again, this time with full resignation. "Next time you pull a stunt like 'I'm actually the founder of Aincrad,' could you at least give me a heads-up?"

"…So, how've you been lately?" Ago asked suddenly, her voice slower now, the teasing tone gone. "I thought you completely vanished after taking down the first-floor boss."

Ren was silent for a moment, as if digging for an answer buried deep in his mind. "…Not much. I just stayed on Floor One. Ate… and slept. That's it."

Ago raised an eyebrow. "You talk like someone trying to hide from the world."

He didn't answer. Just turned his face slightly away, avoiding her gaze.

A few seconds of silence passed. Then Ren broke it.

"So… what had you all grumpy and muttering earlier?" he asked lightly but clearly, like he was trying to shift the topic, or maybe he actually cared.

Ago glanced at him, as if about to say something, but hesitated. She let out a sigh and shrugged.

"Those idiots in the strategy meeting earlier," she grumbled. "I helped them gather info, plan the infiltration route, lay out the retreat paths…

And in the end, they turned around and dumped all the blame on me when someone got hurt. Like it was my fault I couldn't predict everything."

She flung her arms up and let them fall again, exhaustion written all over her.

"Just because I'm a broker doesn't mean I'm a damn oracle."

"I told Kibaou and his whole party," Ago went on, her voice rising with frustration. "I clearly warned them, the beta info's no longer reliable. Monsters, terrain, even behavior patterns have changed. But he still led people into that cave."

She huffed, folding her arms tightly. "And then they ran into the Spider Queen boss. A monster that never appeared in the beta. And of course, he blamed me. Said the whole plan collapsed because of me."

Ren gave a small nod but didn't respond right away. He knew what kind of person Kibaou was, reliable with his own group, but that ego of his never took a day off...

"You didn't give them any false intel," Ren said slowly, almost like he was confirming it for her. "They just refused to believe it was outdated."

Ago was quiet for a moment, then let out a short laugh.

"You say that like it's the most obvious thing in the world. But so many people still don't get it." She looked up at Ren, her gaze softer now. "Sometimes I don't know if I'm an informant or a punching bag."

Ren tilted his head. "And you still help them?"

Ago paused, then gave a faint smile. "I've got my reasons… but maybe I'm just stupid. Even when I get blamed, I still want them to survive."