Restaurants, pubs, and other various eateries within Aincrad tended to offer food that corresponded to the local wildlife of the floor it existed on. In particular, the second floor was home to countless bovine creatures and in fact was the main theme of this floor. As such, the meals were typically of the beef variety including steaks, chops, and roasts. The higher quality dishes typically were quite expensive. A fact not lost on Jayce who now glared across the table at Jemza who happily chewed on another bite.

"Enjoying yourself?" The disdain in his voice was thick and the effect not lost on Jemza who looked up and flashed a wide smile.

"Oh yes. I am very satisfied with this meal thank you very much." She jabbed her fork down into another piece of meat and lifted it slowly towards her mouth. Her movements were so slow that she was clearly trying to irritate him more than he already was.

"Good, because this place cost more than the entirety of your new wardrobe." Jemza popped the meat into her mouth and chewed it while pointing the fork at Jayce wagging it around.

"You know...the other day you barely said more than a few words. Now, you don't know when to keep your mouth shut." Her smile came back once more as she finished speaking before quickly stabbing the prongs of the fork down into another piece of meat that she sarcastically ate.

"Why were you even in the Town of Beginnings today?" He had already promised her a meal so there was no point in continuing to vent his frustration about the cost to her. Instead, he was still curious as to how easily they seemed to bump into each other in Urbus.

"Isn't it obvious? The second floor was opened up. A lot of people were there for the opening of the portal." Jemza was a lot of different things. She was complex to be sure and being a woman meant that Jayce could not fully understand her at times. It was probably the same way she felt about him being a man. However, for all her complexities at least for right now it was clear she was lying. Or, rather than lying she was obfuscating the truth behind the convenience of the portal being opened.

"You were in Horunka, how'd you know it was opening?" The girl stopped chewing and set her fork down on the plate. It was her turn to glare at him from across the table in response to his question. A question that undoubtedly came out more like an accusation.

"Why are you so concerned with where I go all of a sudden? Is there a problem with me being in the Town of Beginnings?"

"Alright...fine." Jayce answered flipping open his system menu and navigating to the <<Messaging>> tab. Her eyes widened slightly as she watched him.

"Hey? What are you doing?"

"Did you know that if someone purchases information about you, that in turn you can pay to find out who did it and what they found out. Basically you can purchase information regarding the person who made the original inquiry. Just part of Argo's business." Her wide eyes grew and panic swept over her face. The sound of plates and silverware clanged loudly as she half dove over the table grabbing his arms to stop him.

"No don't! I was worried alright?" He stopped tapping on the keyboard looking down at the girl half laid across the table holding his wrists. They both glanced around at other patrons who were now staring at them in amusement. Jemza slinked back into her chair while Jayce canceled the message and closed the window.

"You could have just messaged me directly. What happened in Horunka was my fault and between you and I. It makes sense now why Argo showed up this morning at my room. I assume you told her what happened in exchange for my location right?" Jemza nodded timidly folding her hands on the table.

"I'm sorry, but I didn't know if you would even respond to me. Argo and you seem pretty close and it's her job so I panicked and messaged her instead."

"Well, in the moment I probably wouldn't have responded so I guess it's really my fault in the end. Argo and I aren't close or anything like that. I don't know if she is capable of getting close to anyone. Can we agree to not purchase or sell information about each other from now on?"

"You already promised not to run out like last time so yeah I can agree to that. I'm sorry again." She seemed to return back to her relaxed state and straightened the plate ahead of her, retrieving her fork. Watching her eat Jayce decided now was the best time to bring up the other concern that had been weighing on his mind.

"So, after we're done here...are we done?" He didn't ask the question in a tone that indicated that it was what he desired. To the contrary there was a hint of concern in his voice when he asked, but it was important to know what her motivations were.

"If I'm being honest I can't really make that decision. I've never really had the luxury to be in this situation before." She answered staring back at him. Jayce furrowed his brow trying to understand what she meant.

"I'm pretty sure being trapped in a video game is a unique situation for all of us." She let a small laugh out in response, but shook her head.

"No, not that. You're the first person I've spent this much time with in many years. I don't really have any friends." Was she talking about the game or real life? It seemed like she was referring to things outside of SAO, but how could what she said be true?

"I don't understand; I mean you're..." He stopped himself before finishing the sentence. He almost called her beautiful to her face which would have caused all sorts of problems. The last thing she needed was some guy online focusing on her physical traits. He saw the briefest of smiles cross her lips as he fell silent and then it was gone.

"Who we are here, is not who we are there." There was sadness in her voice. She was definitely talking about the real world which inherently made Jayce nervous. Worse than gawking at her body would be prying into her personal life. Whatever she was talking about was clearly personal and not something she was happy about.

"Yeah, I get it. I don't have any either so I can relate." She tilted her head slightly, but didn't question him about it. Instead she leaned forward slightly resting her chin on her hands and blinked slowly a few times.

"So...what should we do?" Jayce swallowed hard staring into her eyes that always seemed to make his heart pound. It was amplified by the way she spoke, almost like she was daring him. With his better judgement arguing against him he forced his voice out after a long silence.

"I would like to stay with you." More than a whisper, but less than a mumble the words spilled out. He was terrified that she might ask him to repeat himself, but she didn't.

"Took a month to clear the first floor. Unless they speed up we'll be here for the better part of a decade. You really want to stay with me that long?" Jemza asked while still leaning on her hands, but now she wore the playful grin that tended to show itself when she was enjoying herself at someone else's expense. While she was having fun, the question she posed made Jayce stop and think. The scope of their situation was undoubtedly dire when realizing that based off current progression it would take over eight years to clear the game. Their real bodies had to be in medical facilities right now keeping them alive on machines. It was the only plausible scenario, but could their bodies endure that many years laid out in hospital beds?

"Do you have family?" Jayce was breaking the biggest rule of online gaming by asking her, but the thought of being trapped here for almost a decade concerned him for those waiting for her to come home. He knew nothing about who Jemza really was outside of this game and what sacrifices her loved ones were making on her behalf. She sat back in her chair continuing to smile, but it now looked sad or maybe even desperate.

"No, there is no one waiting for me out there." Her answer brought a slight stabbing pain to his heart. She didn't seem offended or surprised about the personal question.

"What about your par..."

"Dead." She cut him off before he could finish the sentence. Her tone was flat showing no emotion behind it. She wasn't angry or irritated by his questions, but still, he was afraid that he was approaching dangerous territory with Jemza.

"Um...what about kids? Or you know a husband?" He knew it was a loaded question as he asked it. The fact of the matter was he still couldn't believe someone like her had no one waiting for her outside the game. That, and he was selfishly curious if he was irresponsibly spending time with a married woman. To his surprise she didn't even flinch at the question or show anything on her face. She never looked away or even blinked as far as he noticed.

"Jayce, there is no one out there waiting for me. If I die today, no one will care." Overwhelming regret began to fill Jayce. It broke his heart hearing her talk like this, and worse yet was her seriousness. There was no exaggeration in what she said. Her playful, upbeat attitude began to make sense to him. Maybe being trapped here in Aincrad was better than the life she lived in the real world.

"I'm sorry I shouldn't have...wait...you called me by my name." He almost hadn't noticed that the last thing she said included his name in it. Not Alchemist like normal, but his real name. Or his character name to be exact.

"You seem to be a real person now. Not just a depressed NPC Alchemist." The sadness on her face washed away shifting back to her playful smile.

An hour later they both found an Inn and purchased separate rooms to spend the night in. Tomorrow would be their first venture out onto the new floor which brought equal amounts of excitement and fear. For something like that they had both agreed a good night's rest would be beneficial. Jemza stopped at the door designated for her and unlocked it, pushing the door open.

"Thanks for the meal and talking with me Jayce." He quickly squashed the building excitement in him now that she was calling him by his name. Which he had to admit sounded so nice coming from her.

"Sure. Tomorrow then?" She nodded in response to his question stepping into her room.

"Tomorrow. Good night."

"Hey! Jemza?" She stopped the door from shutting just in time.

"Yeah?" Jayce shifted nervously for a second before forcing himself to look her in the eyes.

"I would care alright?" The skin on her cheeks darkened significantly and she looked away trying to hide a smile that was spreading across her lips.

"Goodnight Alchemist." The door shut without any further hesitation and Jayce held back his laughter. Of every expression Jemza had shown him, the smile she had tried to hide just now had been by far the most beautiful he'd ever seen. For once without a doubt he knew he had done and said the right thing. It would be the first time he could fall asleep while excited to wake up trapped in this world.