“Happy New Year,” I replied, clinking it with my own glass. We drank the Champagne—if you could call it that; at the most it was bubbling golden wine—and shared a smile, then looked back into the sky over town.
"I didn't realize they had fireworks... Where do they sell them, I wonder?" I murmured, squinting as I watched the colorful bursts. Asuna was on the fireworks team of the party-planning committee, so she had the answer.
"Liten told us there was a fishy item shop in a little corner of the Town of Beginnings. They spotted the fireworks there first, and that was what gave them the idea for the countdown party."
"Oooh... I wonder if those fireworks cause damage if they hit a monster..." I suggested, which earned me the first look of exasperation of the year from Asuna.
“I'm sorry to inform you that they are only usable in town,”
“Oh, I didn’t realize..."
"More importantly, it's almost over. Go on, watch those fireworks properly before they finish."
At her suggestion, I looked over the town, where the highest number of flames yet were rising from the ground. Da-da-da-da-doom! They exploded at the same time the colorful flashes appeared, filling the night sky and sparkling like rain before they vanished. Another cheer rose from the town, and when it died down at last, I turned to Asuna.
“So it’s 2023…” I mumbled, trying to grapple with the concept that a new year had actually begun. "It's hard to believe we've been here for two months..."
“Yeah. When I was hiding in that inn room in the Town of Beginnings, each day was like an eternity, but once I started helping out, they started passing in a blink."
"Well, sure. When you start doing quests, raising skill levels, gathering ingredients, and so on, there aren't enough hours in the day to manage it all. Still..."
I paused, and Asuna looked at me expectantly. I turned to the