Of Mouse and Man
Phase 6— Awkwardly
..
Original Title: The World Only God Knows / 神のみぞ知るセカイ & Sword Art Online(ソードアート・オンライン)
Original Concept by: Tamiki Wakiki & Kawahara Reki
written by: wrathie
Author's Notes: A Crossover where Keima was not approached by the Weiss Capturing Squad and the Events of the Goddess Arc is non-existent.
Author's Notes: Thank you, bowpurity, for the beta!
..
Argo huffed before she settled down to listen to the blue-haired player who had walked to the center of the stadium and up the raised platform that they had all surrounded.
'Good afternoon everyone, I hope to have all of your attention!'
The good looking individual waited for everyone's attention to be on him before he started, smiling appreciatively as the player merchants moved to the side as well.
'First of all, I would like to personally thank Argo-san for helping to spread the word throughout the town. We have a huge turn out thanks to you, for that, I thank you sincerely.'
Argo for her part simply stood up and waved back casually.
'No problem, Diabel! Just remember, if you need something, anything, just look for Argo the Rat and her partner – Keima.'
She ended with a flourish, bowing while Keima simply nodded patiently beside her.
He was not claiming credit for this, even if he was the one who was analyzing, drawing conclusions as well as publishing the discoveries in SAO, he was not the one who interacted with all the players.
Argo was the one who did that, she was a natural in human interaction and as such was the face of the organization. It was of course what he expected it to be, he could not perform the role of interacting with others. That was not his forte at all and definitely not what his skill-set determined it to be.
He was not a people person, and it showed as on many occasions he had angered the individuals he was trying to hire or recruit for. One of the reasons that Lisbeth and Agil was sent as the representative was that they could tolerate Keima, tolerate was the key word, the two of them had trouble speaking with him on even terms as well.
Even terms, as if he'll allow others to treat him in the same level, only Argo and Meizun could do that. He owed them after all.
'Let's start, first of all we would be going through the information that we know about the first floor boss – Ilfang the Kobold Lord.'
Diabel started the ball rolling only for someone to interrupt him by jumping up to the platform with a growl.
'Before we begin, there's people in the crowd that have to answer some damn questions!'
..
The spiky-haired man, Kibaou, called for all the beta-testers to identify themselves and apologize for leaving the new players behind in order when they should have used their experience to help all of them.
The argument was that instead of hoarding strength, they should have distributed them – and since they failed, they had caused the death of many of the new players who would have benefited from the help.
His argument struck close to Keima's heart, he wasn't entirely right, but he wasn't entirely wrong either. It would really depend on how empathetic one was.
But his demands that all the beta-testers should come out and apologize, compensate for all the suffering however was just over the top and stupid.
Kibaou… was it?
'That is the stupidest thing I have ever heard.'
Keima interrupted him by speaking out smoothly and calmly. Pushing his glasses up, he kept his calm even as Kibaou sputtered and pointed his finger accusingly at him.
'Why are you defending them! You must be one of them too!'
Keima simply tilted his head slightly to the side, his eyes keeping contact with his till he looked away to the player indicator that displayed his name.
'You're…. Keima? The information seller?'
He asked weakly before gnashing his teeth and telling the world that he refused to sell him the list of known Beta-players. Well, it was Argo's list actually but the point was that Argo agreed with him.
..
'I do not see any benefit from selling the identity of players to others who would no doubt use that information to harm other players.'
Keima replied easily, that was the truth but Kibaou was not letting this drop.
'Why are you defending them then! They're the ones who let so many people die!'
'As of today, the amount of deaths due to monsters is still dwarfed by the individuals who had taken their lives... your argument is not sound. The beta-players provided much input to the Field Guide to Aincrad, an information goldmine that no doubt saved many of our lives. They are also the players who showed us the way forward, guiding and showing many of us, undoubtedly perhaps unintentionally that it was possible to survive in Aincrad. Without those players, the entire population of 10000 might not even leave the town in fear of their own mortality.'
Keima's answer caused Kibaou to blanch, there was no doubt that he had used the Field Guide to Aincrad, it was up to it's 20th version now and would only get better with each release. The beta-testers were the front-liners, those that went in first and came back with experiences and knowledge on how to survive the game.
Of course that goldmine was bound to get used up, the beta-testers only reached up to level 10 after all. After level 10, anything was fair game.
But till they reached level 10, Keima would not let them lynch the players who had contributed the most so far, it would be totally unproductive.
'The fact that all of you, beta-players and new players alike are out on the field is a main contributing factor to how the number of suicides has dropped over the last week. All of us is in the same boat, if you insist on lynching the strongest players in the game because of your stubborn ego…'
Keima gave a disinterested snort as he finished, causing Kibaou to light up again in anger.
'This is not justice. You are simply jealous of their strength, nothing more, nothing less. In a situation where every single player counts, every life should not be measured, you are using your personal yardstick to judge others…. Pathetic.'
Shaking his head, Keima stepped back while Argo stepped up instead, her face serious as well.
'I'm not good with words like Keima over there, tl;dr and all that… but I agree with him. Betas are human too, and they're not invincible or saints or anything like that. They're you. And if you can say that you would be all self-sacrificial and help everyone off the bat, you're either crazy or distorted or a saint. Tell me if are though – I'm sure we can help you start a charity or something.''
..
Argo didn't have the usual chirpy or mischievous smile that she usually has on her face. Instead she was scowling and looking quite upset at the two of them. She was upset on two counts – the first was exactly what Keima said.
It wasn't right to start going after the Beta-players, while they were in the wrong for abusing their knowledge of the game at the start. They were also human. All of them were human with their own vested self-interest in themselves.
Heck, Argo was milking that same self-interest to profit from it.
Nothing like good old human greed and selfishness to profit from, eh?
The second point was how Keima couldn't be a little more tactful with his delivery, like really. He could be much better at that if he just tried, but that was something that no one, not even Argo could get him to do if he didn't want to do it in the first place.
On the flip side of the coin however, there was nothing that one could make him stop doing something he wanted to do. This was something Keima decided needed to be said, and he said it. She had to be the one to blunt the edge of Keima's words and that really blows.
At least she agreed with him though, so it's all good in the end.
The two's influence and weight, especially amongst the player merchants as well as them supplying a bulk of the information that everyone uses means that their words carries weight.
Enough wait to win over the tide of resentment that Kibaou was riding on up till now and he spluttered before growing and jumping off the
'Now, now, all of us are entitled to their own opinion…'
As the silence started to drag a little longer, Diabel tried to steer the gathering back to it's original topic by clapping his hands together to gather the crowd's attention.
'Everyone, I'm Diabel, a Knight.'
Diabel gave a flourish and polished bow to everyone, causing the crowd to laugh and start applauding his audacity before starting to deliver the details that was requested from the two of them. It seemed that the crisis, if there was one, was adverted by Keima and Argo's words. The last thing all of them needed was a witch hunt, that would not be productive at all.
What was being discussed was going to be the battle plan to clear the first floor after all!
..
'So, how was it. Did you think that they would clear the floor?'
Argo asked quietly when the players separated to form their own individual parties that they were going to be in for tomorrow's raid on the boss.
After working with him for a month, Argo knew that when it came to analysis – Keima was undoubtedly the best that she had ever seen. She was the best in gathering information though, even surpassing Keima's own feat of being able to document and list down all the quests available on the first floor.
Even if she was a beta-tester, and she really enjoyed her time in SAO, the truth was that she wasn't a very good player in SAO. She had the knowledge, she just couldn't practise what she knew out on the field.
However Keima could, he just didn't like to do so. He'd much prefer to be in the little house they call their office to analyse and gather feedback on the mechanics of SAO than applying that on the field.
That said, from all of his digging from players and NPC alike, he had pieced together the mythology of the setting of Aincrad, the many rumours and stories that were told and correlated them with all the information that the betas knew of the first ten floors.
He had deconstructed the mechanics and had started hashing out ideal 'builds' for players within SAO. That was partly why Keima had funded all the crafting and forging of equipment by the player merchants – he was trying to deconstruct the armour and weapon mechanic of SAO as well.
Argo knew that with enough time, he would live up to the title of the Capturing God and even more. He was living up to his promise that day he returned to her side, asking for her help.
How has Argo helped him? She wasn't sure, but she'll be there to kick his ass to gear till the end of the game.
'They would. The equipment that I have asked Agil and Lisbeth to bring down have all been sold out to them. They would be equipped with the best gear of this floor. Their average levels are above the recommended level of the floor boss. All of them are experienced players and together with the numerical advantage that they have, they would clear the floor. However their battle plan needs work, from the statements and analysis of the field boss, Ilfang, they are being too reliant on the information that we have. It is custom tailored to defeat Ilfang with the least minimal chance of failure.'
Keima pushed a strand of his hair backwards before he scoffed.
'To achieve victory without a single loss of life. With an objective like that, I cannot in good conscious offer my views on how it could be improved.'
'Oh… you do have tact after all…'
Argo deadpanned but Keima didn't even respond to it, instead he turned to look at Lisbeth and Agil instead, the two of them waiting patiently for the two of them while trying to not get dragged into the conversation. They knew better than to give Keima the chance to start on one of his lecture after all. The boy was a genius, he knew what he was doing, but hearing his lectures would suck the energy out of the two of them for sure.
Especially Lisbeth, most of the time she could not follow Keima's argument but for Agil's part, he would spend most of the time wondering where did that confidence came from.
'Are the two of you going to join them in the raid tomorrow?'
'I'll like that, but I'll pass this time. We'll need to restock after those guys cleared us up. They might need more for tomorrow, so it's good business.'
Agil grinned as Lisbeth agreed.
'We'll need a new batch of monster drops to forge what's needed though… and with the majority of the players out on the fields here today it might be hard.'
'I'll handle that, don't worry. They'll be delivered to you later on. On the tab this time too, Keima?'
Argo sniffed unhappily at being asked to pay to buy the drops from other players for the merchants but the two blacksmith shook their head.
'We'll buy them from the open market, Argo… we're not going to mooch off the two of you. We shouldn't even do that in the first place. We have some pride in what we are doing you know.'
Agil scratched his head and looked unhappy even as Keima simply shrugged and said that it was their choice, and his choice was to give them an incentive to trust his judgement call this time.
'We believe you, Keima. Is that so hard to believe? I know that you turned some of the guys off at the start but all of us are happy working with you now, right?'
It was true, Keima had pissed off about half of the player merchants when he had gathered them for his first ever major proposal to overhaul the way players interacted in SAO.
'Happy would be pushing it, but anyway, thankfully he got me on his side, right?'
Argo slapped his back painfully with a grin, one that Keima didn't return but he did nod in acknowledgement.
'Lucky me.''
..
Having worked together for the past month, heck, they had practically lived together for around the same time, the two's relationship had been better than at the start and to others, the two of them worked like clockwork together.
Almost as if they had been working together for much longer. It was true, no doubt, but it was also true that Argo still had not forgiven Keima, and wouldn't do so for quite some time.
The reason the two of them appeared to be getting along well was the facade that both Keima and Argo were able to put on when dealing with business.
Not that the two of them minded – Keima was one who had always been better off in his own devices while Argo did things her own way and thus their functional working relationship and their dysfunctional personal relationship.
Was there one in the first place? There was, one built on the loss that the two of them had experienced.
..
The two information dealers left the group of players to head back to their own house in absolute silence, Keima replying the mails that he received with one eye on the interface and the other on the road. Argo was doing the same herself till the two of them reached the main entrance to the town.
Wordlessly the two of them separated, Keima heading off to speak to the governor of the beginning city and Argo to hit up some of her contacts by herself. The status quo between the two of them had not changed, it won't change that easily no matter what Keima did. But the truth was that Keima had done absolutely nothing to help the situation at all, he was making amends but had not reached out to Argo to try and repair the two's relationships.
Could one blame Argo for not trying on her own part? The answer was no, Argo had no obligation to repair their relationship as Keima was the one that had caused all of her pain, suffering and misplace of trust.
There was perhaps some atonement between the two of them, but forgiveness? That would not happen till Keima did something to try and mend the relationship between the two.
Whether that would happen remains to be seen.
..
'Why...'
Kibaou's voice echoed throughout the entire hall after Kirito defeated the boss. His eyes were heavy and his hands clenched tight as he voiced his frustration at seeing the leader Diabel, their leader, fell in battle while the other player, this Kirito guy, could have saved him.
'Why did you let Diabel die?!'
'Let... him die?'
Kirito replied uncertainly, his eyes heavy as well. He had seen the attack came too late, and he was right in a way. If he had realized earlier that the information given by the betas were inaccurate, Diabel might not have died. But then, he broke formation as well... so...
'Of course! You knew what technique the boss used! If you had told us about that up front, he wouldn't have died!'
The mutterings of the other players after Kibaou's accusation made Kirito feel uncomfortable and uneasy, he was right after all and Kirito was loathe to defend himself, anything said by him just wasn't going to stand well with all of them.
'He must be a beta-tester! That's how he knew all the boss's attack patterns! He knew, but he didn't tell us!'
Another player declared to the crowd and Kirito's heart sank when the others agreed with him. His heart felt heavy, the pressure of all those accusing looks made him feel even unhappier and upset and angry.
'That's... enough.'
However a quiet voice spoke up instead, one of the female players beside Asuna, the girl that he was partnered with, walked towards him suddenly. Brushing past Asuna, who suddenly started at what was happening, the girl continued calmly.
'It was not possible for him to save Diabel. Nor is it his fault that he was not able to. He broke formation after all.'
The girl, one with short blue hair and with the player name [Fuse], stopped in front of Kirito and offered a hand to him to pull him up.
'What are you doing, Fuse? He's the one that killed Diabel! He must know more than we do, much more!'
Fuse was a player that was in Diabel's personal group, a person that he had selected to be by his side as she was a very skilled player who fought with a long sword. She was skillful and had supported Diabel's group very well till he had broken formation.
Similar to Meizun before her, the female player was also rumoured to be a beta-tester but somehow was not the target for the other player's ire even with her cold attitude. That was... very unfair, something that Kirito noted with a grimace.
'That skill, it was a [sword skill], was it not?'
Fuse asked quietly, seemingly ignoring everyone else as they mumbled among themselves. There were only two female players in this raid group, Fuse and Asuna and the two girls had just gathered around Kirito. Asuna was giving him a small smile for comfort and staying by his side while Fuse continued to stare at Kirito, waiting for his reply.
'No, it was a [katana] skill. Monsters at higher levels could use it...'
Kirito answered hesitantly while the other players started crying for other beta-testers to come out and to face the music.
'You have fought monsters at other levels?'
Fuse's eyes narrowed seemingly in excitement while Kirito answered in affirmative.
'How... far did you fought in the beta?'
Fuse's questions made him on edge and he wasn't the only one for other players who was listening to the conversation tensed as well.
'Very far... I made it further than any of the rest.'
Why did he say that? Kirito wondered and that seemed to satisfy Fuse for she gave him a small smile in satisfaction. Asuna tensed too as she asked him if he was fine even as the other players shouted that he was cheating.
'That's worse than a beta-tester! You're cheating! A cheater!'
'A cheater! Yeah, a beta-tester and a cheater! A Beater!'
At all the name callings, Kirito's heart sank again, his eyes narrowing and he was about to lash back when Fuse scoffed, turning to face the antagonizing crowd with a calm and proud look. Seeing her do that made Kirito pause and eve Asuna's mouth to drop a little as she drew her sword out in a threatening manner.
'The [katana] skills were listed in the Field Guide to Aincrad, it is knowledge that was given to every one of us if we studied it. Our knowledge regarding Illfang the Kobold Lord was inaccurate from the beta-testers and it is our fault for not recognizing it. Why, is knowing the skill that Illfang used, and being strong enough to clear more levels than any other players cheating?'
Fuse asked patiently and no one replied for a while till Kirito spoke up.
'Because I know much more than any information trader and experienced much more... that is why I'm a cheater... or a beater. I guess I am a beater in that sense.'
Kirito scratched his head while smiling awkwardly and he only stopped when Asuna grabbed his hand and told him to stop it.
'What are you doing, Kirito? You're just going to get them madder!'
Asuna's gesture didn't help to lower the tension that much but Fuse's words did change the mood.
'Kirito is strong because of what he experienced by himself, it is not cheating. We should be cheating since we relied too much on the information that the two information traders gave us and had not experienced it by ourselves.'
'… I guess I'm different from the other beta-testers, ahaha...'
Kirito laughed awkwardly at the stunned crowd, seemingly relieved as well as crazy by telling all of them that. They were ready to lynch him for what he was saying but the two girls didn't seem to mind. Fuse even seemed prouder at hearing him say that.
'W-What do you mean! Why didn't you hel-'
'Tell the others what I know? Seeing how beta-testers are treated, I'm surprised Argo and Keima were willing to say so much... Argo was in the beta, you know?'
Kirito replied even as he equipped the cloak of midnight that shimmered into existence around him.
'The Rat gave us the information we needed to survive! Even if she's in the beta, she helped all of us! You didn't! None of the beta-testers did!'
'The beta-testers were the one that provided a lot of the information on the skills and builds...'
Fuse replied promptly as she followed behind Kirito, the black-haired boy giving her a surprised look that she ignored. Besides her, Asuna was also tagging along, looking both perturbed but determined.
'Without their input, a large majority of the Field Guide would not be published.'
'And why do you know that? Are you a beta-tester too?'
'No, it was written at the first page of the Field Guide.'
Fuse replied calmly even while Kirito pushed open the door to lead them to the second floor.
'You beater! I don't care what you say! You could have saved Diabel! You could!'
Kibaou cried out in anguish and Kirito would have replied if not for Asuna pulling him up the stairs, a determined look on her as she scowled at Kibaou and his flunkies.
The group of players had been left disillusioned, some about what had happened earlier and some with what Fuse had said about the beta-testers.
'Beater... huh...?'
Kirito asked awkwardly as the door closed, leaving him alone with the two female players.
Author's Notes: After careful consideration, I agree with seeing Fuse here. I wonder if someone else ever wrote a FF about her though.