Linked Tales

by Underdog Emiya

It was supposed to be a simple game: no VR, no deaths, no player-killers, no crazy GMs. Just the classic set-up of a bunch of friends playing a game and having fun with it. Of course, things couldn't ever be simple with Kirito.

11. Let's Join Swords

Let's Join Swords

Kirito wondered if he would faint every time he used his power. It sounded too annoying for his taste.

He opened one of his eyes. The Swashbuckler felt that he was resting somewhere soft -a bed, he thought, his head resting under a fluffy pillow. Kirito opened his other eye. There were more beds in the place, although they seemed off as if it was a recent addiction. Where was he, and what happened? There was the fight with Demiqas, and then-

"Papa!"

He let his daughter hug him, smiling.

Right. Kirito remembered everything now. They were in a safe place. His shoulders relaxed slightly.

"Is this still Christmas, or did I get down for another day?" asked the father to his adopted daughter. He could see in the window that the sun shone an orange light, but he needed to be sure.

"You only got down for three hours this time, Daddy," said Yui. "This time it wasn't as intense, considering how much effort you had to make to escape from Brigandia, so I suppose..."

He let out a sigh. Alright, so the earlier events of that day.

"Where are we? It doesn't seem like our camp or any inn I remember in the city."

While most inns of Akiba followed a more traditional medieval model, this place exuded a classic Japanese vibe with its polished wooden floor, the shoji leading to a small engawa area, and the paintings with kanji on the walls. Even his bed was a futon compared to the elevated beds in the inns.

"We are in the West Wind Brigade complex," said Yui. "Mama and the others had a room offered here by Soujiro, and they accepted."

He nodded. Yes, Klein did mention this on that night, right?

Wobbly, he lifted from the bed. There were no signs of shoes - considering Soujiro's preferences, Kirito already expected that, so he picked a pair of slippers on the side of his bed.

"Where are the others?" he asked.

"Mister Soujiro is preparing a party to celebrate the success of the rescue. He went with Serara, mister Shiroe, and his friends to the Crescent Moon Guild to invite them to this complex. The others went to grab things for the party. Mister Nyanta and Mama are in the kitchen, however."

He raised his eyebrow.

"In the kitchen? But why-"

Then it hit him.

"Oh."

As fast as he could, he left the room and turned right.

"The kitchen is to the left, Papa!"

Letting a small swear escape from his lips, Kirito ran to the other side.

---

Asuna could see that coming from a mile away.

The moment Kirito heard the words 'Asuna' and 'kitchen' in a phrase, he would connect the dots and come jolting.

She didn't expect him to use the potatoes as a cushion, however.

"Hey, we need those for the curry!" said the Cleric, picking her boyfriend/husband by the collar before he could hit the tubers.

He blinked. His girlfriend wore a pink apron, with her chestnut hairs held back by a pink bandana.

His mind went kaput for a moment.

"Er…"

"Nyahahaha! The Newlywed's Apron Dress has an interesting design, no? I also think Milady Asuna, as the mewth says, 'rocks' the style."

The girl blushed slightly.

"Sheesh, as if the frilly look wasn't already weird enough…" she said. "Why do you even have that, Nyanta?"

The gentlecat chuckled slightly. He had discarded the coat and now only wore the white shirt.

"Ah, but mew seemed so eager to help that mew jumped at the opportunity right when I said this item gave you mewderate Cooking skill. Besides, it's part of a cat's personality to hoard things, no?"

"...Aren't you thinking of dragons?" said Kirito.

He scratched an imaginary beard.

"Hm, maybe this old cat is misremembering things. I'm thinking of cat accumulators, haha!"

"Also, can you get yourself back on foot? My arm is starting to hurt," said Asuna.

"Oh right," said Kirito sheepishly. A bit longer and goodbye potatoes.

Asuna shook her head.

"Honestly, only you can forget that you were falling…while falling," added Asuna. "As weird as it sounds, this seems like such a you thing."

"Hey, you were thinking of dropping me in those poor vegetables?" said Kirito, dramatically. "Such a betrayal from my dearest partner!"

She let out a laugh and pulled the lips of the boy on hers. She split and looked at her boyfriend with a warmth in her eyes.

"I missed you," said the fencer. "You could have talked more. The only thing we knew from Klein was that you and Yui got there safely, and nothing else."

"...you could also have called me, we are in each other's friend lists," pointed out the boy.

Nyanta laughed.

"Ah, such a Schrodinger's Cat situation. Who's the guiltier party? That's not any of us to decide. Ah, how I wish to be a young and proud feline again. To love like that again…"

His gaze went a bit into the distance, drawing the glances of the two lovers. The Felinoid chuckled.

"Oh, don't mind me. Once mew are past a certain age, every memory seems nostalgic. Back to preparing curry."

"Curry with potatoes?" asked Kirito.

"Along with some other things," said Asuna, pointing at some vegetables and a few pieces of meat. "It seems that it will be pretty yummy," she said, picking a red pepper and putting it on a cutting board. Then, she proceeded to chop the vegetable until it became a black goo.

The Swashbuckler had to look again to see if his eyes weren't playing a prank on him.

"Hah?!" said Kirito. "What happened here?!"

Asuna closed her eyes. By her expression, it was not the first time that happened.

"If your level is not high enough, there's the chance that your attempt at treating the food fails. Even with the Apron, I still fail at some tasks. This is already the third thing I turned into goop, and we need to cook for almost ninety people!" she said, annoyed. "Such a pain…And we want to surprise people with the curry!"

Oh right. The Swashbuckler had spent quite some time delighting himself with the delicious plates of his feline counterpart that he nearly forgot that most people in Akiba -and Shiroe's trio, for that matter -had yet to prove food prepared with Real Food Preparation -as Nyanta had taken to call it.

"I suppose that Nyanta explained the process to you?" asked the boy, to which the girl nodded.

"Only me, Soujiro, and that Shiroe guy know about this," she trembled a bit. "I never thought that broth could taste that good."

"Oh, I put a bit of spice, of course," said Nyanta. "A bit of salt, some oregano and rosemary…pretty standard stuff. But I suppose that any water is worth a fortune for a thirsty man. Or woman, in this case."

"You sell yourself short," said Asuna. "Were you a cook in real life? Just by the smell I can tell these plates will be better than most food that I ate in my life. And my parents took me to a fair bit of five-star restaurants."

'Right, rich family,' thought Kirito. Even nowadays, after the scandals with Sugou and RECT, Asuna's family had so much in the bank that they could probably afford many meals together…well, if Shouzou and Kouichirou weren't always busy.

'Come to think of it, I didn't ever meet Kouichirou eye to eye,' thought Kirito. 'At least Shouzou and I talked when Asuna was trapped in Alfheim, even if briefly. I should probably talk with him one day when we leave. I can't let my brother-in-law think I am a delinquent or something. God knows that I give this vibe way too much.'

"Oh, my main occupation was not cooking," said Nyanta. "I was only very much pawssionate about it."

Asuna winced.

"Keep to the mew jokes, please. That one in particular was awful."

"Oh, but it's with experimentation that mew get interesting things," said Nyanta, picking a board with sliced sweet potato. "I wouldn't even know that sweet potato gives a special touch to the curry if I didn't try it before. Same thing with jokes."

He put it into one of the pans. The chef let out a satisfied sigh.

"Yes, all coming together in a concert of smells. You can say many things about how a food will turn out from its smell."

He raised his eyebrow slightly, putting the hand on the ear as a sign: receiving a Tele-Chat. After a few nods, he turned off the connection.

"The other cooks will soon arrive with the remainder of the ingredients. Miss Asuna, can I ask you to leave the kitchen? While meowr help was valuable…"

The girl sighed.

"Yes, I suppose there will be cooks of a higher skill level than the apron gives me, and there's only so many people you can fit inside a kitchen."

The gentlecat bowed slightly.

"If this offends mew…"

The girl smiled, shaking her head.

"Far from it. This only makes me want to get the Chef subclass soon to get back to work. You are looking at the woman who discovered how to make soy sauce in Aincrad, and I won't stand by anything to get back to that level!"

Nyanta smiled, amused.

"Hm, I would be very interested in seeing that happen," said the Felinoid. "Now, come. The party will start at seven o'clock. Mew still have…" he looked at a window. The sun was already going down. "Yes, around one hour to walk around the city."

The girl nodded, unequipping the Newlywed Apron. Thankfully, she didn't appear naked, as unequipping the item would lead you to think, but Kirito looked the other way for good measure before looking at the girl. He hadn't given much thought to the equipment of his friends before -it was tough to do that when fighting for your life against a Monk -but Asuna's robes were now form-fitting -she finally had managed to get rid of those oversized clothes -and colored white and red.

"Going for the KoB style?" asked the boy. The girl blushed slightly.

"It was a random drop right in the day before Klein left us. I had to hear these jokes for so long! Besides, don't you go saying that, mister Black Swordsman. Next thing you know, you will lose an eye and start taking a liking for greatswords!"

The two men blinked.

"Huh. Didn't think you knew that specific manga," said Kirito.

"I picked from Kouichirou's collection," she said. "Mom didn't like it too much, but brother collected mangas in his free time to read, and he passed some of them when I was ill. Fun readings, I suppose."

The two lovers walked out of the kitchen.

"Hm, I always thought you would be a more romantic type. Like with that one…uh, what was the name? Love is…something?"

"My life is not all about you and school, you know?"

"Of course I do! Do you think of me as the negligent type? Your favorite color is purple, the fondest pre-SAO memory you ever had was winning a cooking contest in your school, the types of music you like the most are rock and classic…"

"Now you look like a stalker…"

"Your fault in getting a boyfriend with a good memory! Don't you know that's a rare asset nowadays?"

The girl laughed. At this point, they had already walked so much that the words became muffled. He did hear Kirito's joyful laugh as he lifted an oncoming Yui onto his shoulders and walked happily. At this point, the cooks entered the kitchen, cutting the vision of Nyanta from the little family completely.

The Swashbuckler let out a sigh. This is what the sight of a young couple should be -light, devoid of any weight. To think that, at such a young age, those two remarkable figures had to go through a hardship like that…

And then there was Silica, right? Barely a teenager, probably not even that in the Aincrad. A child, having some of her childhood stolen…

It didn't sit well with him. The youth should be able to live without worry, without being dragged into problems like that.

'What does a man have in his mind to drag 10.000 people to such a hellish situation?' wondered the Swashbuckler.

Well, it didn't matter now. The man was dead and buried. Nothing that Nyanta could do about that.

Besides, it was no time for introspection.

Those pans wouldn't fill themselves with curry, after all.

"Did Shiroechi inform all of you about the secret?" he asked, to which many nodded. "Well then, let's split tasks. Start cutting vegetables, be sure the meat is in the best possible condition, grind the seasoning..."

---

"Ah! I am in heaven!"

"Yay! So yummy!"

The little family had walked from the West Wind complex for fresh air. Along the way, Asuna revealed something special for both of them.

"Your sandwiches are the best, Asuna!" said Kirito, spewing some pieces of lettuce in his girlfriend's face.

"I know you think that, but please remember to eat with a closed mouth," said the girl. "Besides, you are annoying other people."

Some Adventurers were looking at them as if they were nuts, and the Half-Alv couldn't blame them: as far as they knew, Kirito was munching on something that always tasted like bland rice. Part of her considered saying something, but then she remembered that Nyanta insisted on not revealing that secret for now.

'Shiroechi insisted,' said the Swashbuckler. 'I'm sure he has his reasons for that, and I would appreciate it if you kept it a secret as well.'

Still, it was a bit hard to keep that a secret when people kept saying 'Pavlovian influence' as if they were experts in psychology. What does that even mean?

She wondered how they would react if Yui started spouting some of her knowledge to those people.

"Ah…" said Kirito, satisfied. "I feel sorry for Nyanta, but his food doesn't hold a candle for your sandwiches, Asuna."

She smiled.

"Thanks. It's not my finest work, but it feels good to make something after so much time eating bland food," said the Cleric. "But keep it down, will you?"

He bit the last part of the sandwich and sighed.

"Sorry, I missed that," he said. "Even more than I thought. It reminds me of home…"

The two adults stood silent for a minute, thinking of their world. What was happening on the other side? Did they leave any bodies behind? Did their families even know what was happening?

Meanwhile, Yui munched on her sandwich happily. She knew that her parents had some thoughts in their minds, but it was all good as far as the artificial intelligence knew. Feeling longing was the healthier thing to do, and her parents had been busy in the last few days. Better let some of the stress out now than later, I suppose.

"So…" said Asuna. "Nyanta said that you got in a fight with that Demiqas guy, and that's why he got a grudge against you. What happened?"

The boy scratched his head sheepishly.

"Well, you see…"

He explained about his and Yui's excursion to the slave market, how the boy had decided to save that stranger girl, and how that attracted the wrath of Demiqas, leading to their fight and the first awakening of Kirito's power.

"Ugh, I can't blame you for going to help her," said Asuna. "If I were in your shoes, I would probably do the same. But what you did was the opposite of being discreet. You should at least have released her far from the market."

Her boyfriend shrugged.

"I wanted to end that fast and wasn't thinking all that straight," his expression darkened. "That place…I couldn't help but wish to end things as fast as possible."

The expression of the girl softened.

"So bad, huh? I thought Silica seemed uncomfortable when I asked how things were back there, but..."

"She died," said Kirito. "Twice."

The former vice of the Knights of Blood closed her eyes.

"Yes, it tracks. I still remember the fear I had back then…"

Kirito needed no further context. Even if Asuna hadn't died back then and did that to save her beloved, the experience probably wasn't pleasant.

"At least I feel a bit less guilty about stabbing him in the eye," said the girl, tapping on her cheap rapier. "No one messes with my daughter without getting what is due."

She passed her hand on Yui's head, who smiled.

"I was fine, though," said the girl. "The man with the hand on my shoulder had loosened it just before your burst, Papa. I think he was letting me escape or was shocked by the orders of Demiqas."

"Well, that's a bit of a relief," said Kirito. "So those guys had a heart deep down."

"Hmph," said Asuna. "One good action hardly pays up for ten bad ones."

"It's a start, however," replied the boy. "And I hope that, after today, things will change for the better in Susukino."

His mind went back to Londark. The Sorcerer would have his fair plate of issues to go over before setting things straight there.

'Good luck there. You will need it.'

"Now…." said Asuna. "What is this power that you have, Kirito? Is it a skill?"

The boy shrugged, opening his menu.

"Hell if I know. Last time I looked, I-what the hell!"

"Papa? What is happening?" asked Yui.

He looked around. Some people looked at the little family thanks to Kirito's outburst. They needed some privacy.

"Follow me."

The Swashbuckler jumped from the seat and started walking away from the scene. Asuna followed suit, Yui sitting on her shoulder as a fairy.

"What rattled him so much?" wondered Asuna.

"I'm analyzing his menu," said the Genius. "And…there's something new there. I think Papa should explain, though."

Kirito turned into a blind alley. Asuna followed the cue, going to the deep end. Yui jumped from her mother's shoulder, her time on her reduced form finally over.

"So? What do you want to show?" asked the Cleric.

The boy summoned his menu and made it visible to the girls. His finger was over one particular skill, with the image of a black pearl on a blue background.

"Black Luster…" said Asuna. "It's in English. Weird. You didn't have that before?"

Kirito shook his head.

"No. I didn't see it the first time I triggered my power."

Yui frowned.

"Maybe…learning how to use it allowed you to perceive it? What else does it say, Papa?"

He coughed slightly before translating the text:

"There's a subtitle below. 'Walk carefully on that line. There's not much difference between Evening and Twilight at the end of the day.' This power has the gall to make such references…"

"What reference?" asked Asuna.

"To an old card game. It's something that developers do all the time, but I doubt that…nevermind. Besides, it's the contents that matter."

He coughed again.

'Can only be used when your health is below 50%. Attack and speed increases by 50%. Usage of AINCRAD techniques allowed. Inflict constant self-damage (0.2% per second) but can't get lower than 1% of life. After that, deactivates skill and stipulates 1000 seconds of cooldown.'

The boy had stuttered at "Aincrad" -in capital letters, he said -but finished the text.

"Aincrad…techniques?" asked Asuna.

The boy mentally asked for further details, and a submenu opened. There were only two skills in that tab.

"Vertical, 'Starter: vertical blow that strikes with 200% of attack. 20 seconds' Vorpal Strike, 'Unlocked by the will to march onward: thrust that hits a space around twice the size of the blade used, also inflicts fire and shadow damage. 400% power. 40 seconds'"

Asuna had to take a deep breath.

"Step back for a second. Aren't these-?!"

"Yes, no mistake," said Kirito. "Pure, honest to god Sword Skills."

The girl gulped.

Sword Skills were the closest thing to magic in the world of Aincrad, coming in all sorts of shapes and forms.

And, as far as Asuna knew, they were usable only in virtual worlds derived from Kayaba's Seed.

"Still, this doesn't explain all that happened back there," said Asuna. "You also had some power to call your swords back to your hand. Is that some side effect from this Black Luster skill?"

Kirito looked at his hands. Nope, they didn't look like magnets for him.

"I…think not? This new skill otherwise describes to perfection what happened to me. I moved faster, and my hits were stronger…but I also felt my health diminishing. It's essentially an all-or-nothing card. So what…?"

"Isn't it obvious to you?"

The trio turned to the people walking down the alley.

"Alice?" said Asuna. "I thought you were collecting ingredients."

The girl hadn't changed much from last week to here. Her armor was similar in form to the old one, albeit silver-colored. The shield and the sword were the same, however, which Kirito expected from her behavior in Alfheim. She was the type who upgraded her equipment to the highest level possible and only dropped it when it was at the limit. Even then, Asuna passed to her the old habit of transforming obsolete equipment into material for the next weapon.

Possibly one of the few things that Asuna and Alice agreed on with no ifs or buts. Both women gave great value to their weapons.

"We just returned," said the Wolf Fang, her tail twitching lazily. "It was surprisingly easy to carry the pigs to the complex."

'Pigs?' thought Kirito, looking at Asuna and Yui for context.

"Mister Nyanta wants to make a quality experiment," whispered his daughter. "There's a Butcher class in this game, so he wants to see if someone cutting meat with that class will give a better material."

He nodded. Asuna raised an eyebrow.

"You said that what happened was obvious to you," said the Cleric. "Care to enlighten us?"

The former Integrity Knight tapped her finger on her blade.

"It's simple. It works like THIS!"

She threw her sword at the trio!

"!"

Asuna barely managed to react, and neither could Kirito. Still, she attempted to dodge-

The blade stopped midair and then fell to the ground. At the same time, the Swashbuckler and the Guardian winced.

"Ow!"

The girl blinked.

"What…what just happened?"

Yui looked just as confused.

"That…throwing a sword like that shouldn't work like that," said Yui. "It looked more like…"

"A knife," said Alice, shaking her head. "I make it work like a knife."

"You…made it work like a knife?" asked the girl.

That's when it all clicked with Kirito.

"Wait, the power you are referring to, could it be-"

"Yes," said Alice. "I refer to Incarnation."

Incarnation.

Kirito had been very familiar with the power even before he knew its proper name. Events where his avatar surpassed the limits that a game put on himself -even death itself -and performed impossible deeds.

This, in essence, was Incarnation, an ability that anyone could use, but few people knew of its existence -amongst them, the former ruler of Underworld Quinella and, by extension, her Integrity Knights, such as Alice.

"It all fits the mold," said the Guardian. "You say you did impossible things back there, Kirito, but this is relative. In other words, those were feats you did regularly. By Incarnating, not only the power you had increased to match your former prowess, but also allowed for the execution of that Lightning Slash - er, Vertical," she corrected. "And, by Incarnating, you managed to will your blades back to you. I don't know what was the thought used to channel that power, though."

The boy shrugged.

"My image the first time was that I had weapons in my hand. If that was Incarnation, then it could have been more of a deal to 'correct' that mistake. And then, the second time…I thought how good it would be to have my other sword to help. Then I started feeling my arm again, waited, then thought about using the blade for a feint -which it did, in a certain way. And now, by instinct, I…I think I solidified the air in front of Asuna for a second to block the attack."

"And I forced the image of a knife in the sword to alter its behavior in the air," said Alice. "Thus, reaching full circle."

Asuna frowned.

"But…why do you two look so exhausted?" asked the girl. "Incarnation is a tough thing to use, but it shouldn't tire you so much, right? At least Kirito seemed fine doing lots of Incarnation sequentially back in the Underworld. And neither did I, for that matter, and I had so many holes after fighting that I looked more like Swiss cheese."

Yui scratched her chin.

"Maybe…it's the nature of this world?" wondered Yui. "Theldesia is different from any place we've been before -real or not- but it has something that allows for the usage of Incarnation even when all indicates it shouldn't. However, at the same time, it also doesn't have all the conditions that made it such a prevalent element in the Underworld."

"Memories," said Alice. "That's the piece that is lacking."

"How so?" asked Kirito.

She tapped her head, organizing her thoughts.

"Kirito, as a former worker of Project Alicization, you know that the Underworld uses The Seed as a skeleton, correct?"

He nodded.

"Indeed. To process a world that big with Kayaba's system, they would need an unbelievable amount of processing power, and they also couldn't use Fluctlight Acceleration efficiently. So, they converted the whole thing into…Oh."

At the same time, Asuna remembered some of the specifics about Underworld Kikuoka told her.

"Memories," said the fencer. "If I remember right, the Underworld composition is…what was the term, mnemonic visuals?" At Yui's nod, she continued. "This helped in the creation of the Underworld itself, so one can say that the Underworld is memories."

"Indeed," said Alice. "And, if you two remember correctly, belief and willpower are two of the founding stones of Incarnation -and two concepts intrinsically connected to our ability to remember. For instance, think about gravity: in a dream, you can fly if you so wish, but because most people believe in that concept, it means one must make an active effort to do so, because the Underworld is a great collective dream. Using Incarnation, one can actively make its own rules, but depending on what you do, actions like that can't be held for long -like how my sword does not work like a knife. Throw it at me, Asuna."

The Cleric picked up the blade and attempted to throw it like Alice did. It didn't even make half the way until it fell to the ground, the sound of metal screeching slightly against stone.

"You see? You didn't believe that the sword could work as a knife, even seeing me doing it," said Alice, picking up the blade. "But therein lies an issue."

"The foundations of this world," said Kirito. "They are not as malleable as the Underworld. That place is a giant dreamscape, with users of Incarnation being akin to lucid sleepers, altering the world to their whim. There must be something that allows for its use in this place -maybe some connection with our Fluctlight -but this place has well-defined rules. This is the cause of our exhaustion -we need to use more willpower to make things happen."

Alice nodded.

"I heard something about how you got a new skill -you can tell details later. But, if my deductions are correct, I say this new power is a byproduct of your usage of Incarnation, a rule that the world accepted, like a computer accepting an upgrade to its system. Maybe Demiqas also won one after that battle, but it's hard to say, considering he doesn't have the same level of control as you, Kirito."

Kirito sweatdropped.

"All that I wanted to hear…I gave a new toy to a man who was almost too angry to die. And that wants my head in a stake. Way to go."

"Maybe he will forgive and forget?" said Yui, hopefully. At a look on her father's face, she sighed. "Yeah, I don't believe it either…I evaluate him as a grudgeful type."

Asuna also felt some sweat on her forehead. Yui had lots of faith in people, so it was always something when she said that connection seemed impossible.

Alice coughed lightly.

"Anyway," said the knight. "The ability to use Incarnation in this world raises many questions about what brought us to this world…and if we should reveal it to others."

"Why would we?" said Asuna. "Incarnation is a dangerous thing, right? Just look at what PoH and Subtilizerl did back in the Underworld with access to that tool."

"But it's also useful," said Kirito. "Remember how strong I got once my conscience returned?"

"You also were comatose because of Incarnation in the first place," pointed out Alice. "Even if such a backlash is impossible in this world, being careless means putting yourself in danger."

He winced. Yes, Incarnation could be dangerous. If one focused too much on the chance of defeat, that power could make you weaker or worse. On the flip side, focusing on victory means the body grows stronger in response.

Yui raised her hand.

"I would like to add that if Incarnation works as it did with Papa back then, it should be possible to create new skills beyond the Elder Tale formula. This matters a lot, right?"

Kirito closed his eyes.

"Yes…Yes, it does."

Black Luster was already pretty powerful, and Kirito wasn't sure of Incarnation's limits. What kinds of skills could that generate?

"It's better to keep this private for now," said Kirito. "Let's keep this card in our hands. It makes me feel a bit bad, but it's probably for the better now."

Alice nodded.

"That would be my suggestion, but I wanted to hear your thoughts," said Alice. "I didn't speak with anyone else about that, but I plan to disclose this to the others after tonight. I would also recommend seeing if there's anyone else trustworthy to grant this knowledge."

He scratched his chin.

"That Shiroe guy…Nyanta vouched for him to elaborate the plan to escape Susukino, and all went mostly fine -bar Demiqas, of course."

"Is he that trustworthy, though?" asked Asuna. "You only know him for, like, a few hours."

The boy shrugged.

"The Debauchery Tea Party was a tight group when I left the game. Soujiro also is a good secret-keeper, and he's likely to be just as curious about what happened as Shiroe. If I ask them to keep this a secret, they will do so."

Asuna tapped her foot.

"Yui, what do you know from that guy's personality?" asked Asuna.

People say that children can understand people better than most adults. With Yui, that was quite literally the case: she still was a bit naive but could grasp pretty well the personalities of others.

"Hm…he seemed reliable, from what I saw," said the girl. "And his eyes moved around a lot in your fight, Papa. Pretty observant as well."

Yes, Yui barely needed to explain the rules of the fire prison that Demiqas had formed. By observation, he managed to deduce the fundamentals and theorize ways to bypass them. And she was sure he was barely conscious for the first moments of the fight.

"He was also very kind," she added. "I asked Naotsugu, and Shiroe offered his group's services willingly to journey through a shortcut to Susukino for the rescue. No favors needed."

"Hm…" hummed Asuna. "And I saw enough of Soujiro this week to see he's trustworthy. Yes, it seems a good idea to call these two."

Alice nodded.

"I passed in the brigade, and Shiroe went to talk with Soujiro. You should be able to talk with him now."

Kirito hummed.

"Hm…I could always leave this for later, but it's probably better to go now before the party. Soujiro wanted to talk with me for the longest time anyway."

"Ah…" said Yui, slightly disappointed, before his father caressed her head.

"No 'ahs' with me, young lady. We will have lots of time once everyone is safe. Do you understand?"

Her expression of disappointment turned into one of happiness.

"Yes, Papa!"

Asuna also sighed.

"It's a shame that our hangout had to end so soon, but what can we do? If you are already talking with Soujiro, ask him about the Hamelin investigation. He will give you the details."

He nodded. Yes, there was one person to rescue to reunite their group…for now, anyway.

He only hoped that a Fairy Ring to America wouldn't open in the next few days.

He gave a quick kiss to Asuna's mouth, before walking to the entrance of the alley.

"See you guys later!" he said, running back down the street.

The three women stood silent for a moment. Asuna touched her lips, still feeling the heat of Kirito's.

"Ah…I missed this so much," said the fencer.

---

A few minutes earlier

Sinon didn't know how she ended up in that situation.

That sentence defined most of her life, but especially this particular situation.

"..."

"..."

Now, Shino Asada wouldn't say she was a bad talker. You didn't go far in Gun Gale Online if you were mute, considering how many advanced quests required teamwork for success. Sure, she had this bad habit of putting people away with her aloof attitude, but most people with their minds in business were willing to put up with that act to have the famed Hecate as their long-ranged support, and she did the same for the sake of reward.

It did help that she had an actual circle of friends now, not bullies and whatever her relationship with Kyouji nowadays was.

What do you call the feeling of still looking over your friend that attempted to kill you with a heart-stopping drug? She had no idea, and put the whole blame for that situation on Spiegel's crazy brother, Red-Eyed Xaxa.

She was getting out of the subject, attempting to ignore the figure.

'Like really, how old is she?' wondered the Elf, looking at her fellow Assassin, currently looking at the window that led to the Crescent Moon guild. What was her name again? Akatsuki? Wasn't that related to some anime?

There was Sinon, minding her own business. Their small ragtag group, minus Asuna plus Silica, had gone into the woods to do some job for Nyanta -grabbing materials for his… was that food? She was a bit confused about that, but the small Summoner assured them that it was a task that would be worth it.

(Still, catching them alive was a big hassle. What was even the point of that?)

Regardless, they did so and crossed paths with another group - one that the Guardian named Naotsugu was leading, along with some of the girls from the West Wind Brigade. He offered to take their drops to the guild, meaning they had some free time before returning to the complex. Alice went looking for Kirito to talk about something that seemed important. Meanwhile, Leafa dragged Silica away to upgrade her current equipment, Recon following suit.

'Poor guy. I wonder if Leafa even realizes how heads over heels he is for her,' thought the girl. Poor guy seemed to have a stroke each time he saw her and Soujiro together. As it turns out, the guy was once a famed kendo star who nearly went for Worlds -and Suguha, being one of the shooting stars of the new era of the sport, had taken a liking to him, so they hung out a lot, even switching tips from time to time.

Oh, there she went again, squirting around the subject. Akatsuki had just sat beside her. Sinon had decided to have some alone time and sit on a bench that blocked some of the snow, and not even a minute after, the self-titled ninja took the remainder of the space.

'Oi, you weren't supposed to be guarding Glasses or something?' thought Sinon. 'Huh, using nicknames is fun. I almost understand why Asuna likes Sinonon. Still, what if a bunch of thugs grab him and kidnap him to chop him down and throw him to the fish? Wouldn't it be better to be close to stopping that?'

The scenario was unrealistic for so many reasons, but Sinon felt awkward being there.

Little did she know, the feeling was mutual.

'Why did that girl have to appear out of nowhere?!' thought the exasperated veteran.

That bench was the best position to observe what happened inside the Crescent Moon guild from afar.

There were two reasons why she wasn't by his lord's side.

One: to avoid the hands of that devilish accountant. She had no wish for smothering today, thank you very much.

And the second was a bit more personal.

'Ah, if I hadn't failed my liege!'

Few things were more disgraceful for one walking the path of shinobi than failing to protect its lord. Twice disgraceful was being protected by him, even if unintentionally.

While she had many things to assuage the gravity of that failure -mainly Demiqas' weird power - the girl still felt too ashamed to show her face for long ahead of Shiroe. Thus, her option to watch his moves from afar.

Of course, in her rush, she didn't notice the companion of Kirito, and by the time realization kicked in, it was too late.

It wasn't her day. Akatsuki was an aloof figure usually, but she also knew that being rude to everyone could prejudice her lord one day.

Thus, that awkward situation, where Sinon desperately attempted to focus on other things only to return to the same problem, and Akatsuki tried to watch her liege, only to not get to do so because of the archer's presence.

'Maybe…maybe I can just ignore it? We are close, but this doesn't mean we need to talk. It's just a coincidence. Yeah, ignore it and-'

"I already said to let me go!"

The two girls turned to watch two Adventurers, a bearded man with Samurai armor and a blonde lady wearing the robes of a Kannagi, fight off. Looking at his messy appearance and groggy step, the man seemed to have taken one too many beers, sakes, or whatever his preference for alcohol was.

"H-hey baybe…" said the man. "Let's…et's have some fun, will ye? A smol room…HIC! Snuggling…"

"And I already said no!" said the Kannagi. "Leave me alone!"

The features of the man darkened. He raised the bottle he held in his other hand.

"T-then! Then I will-!"

Then an arrow hit the glass, breaking it into pieces.

"ARGH!" said the man, startled and looking for the shooter.

Sinon raised an eyebrow, already having another arrow in her hands.

"The lady said no. Your mom never taught that no is no?"

The man glared at the Elf. She noticed he was pretty small. Maybe a Dwarf or just a very small Human.

"Wha…what makes u put ya noooose in mah busihness…stoopid Alf. Ima…ima fuck you up…"

He drew his weapon, a large war hammer, and Sinon tensed. If that thing connected, the girl would be minced meat before anyone could say 'arrow.'

"ULULULULULULU-!"

The Assassin prepared to release an arrow-

CRACK!

"Argh!"

The man's charge was interrupted by an Assassin flying to his face and breaking his nose with her knee.

"Mah nose…mah damn nose!"

Akatsuki glared at the Adventurer, wiping away the blood in her pants.

"And I will break more than that if you keep with your folly," said the ninja. "If I see you messing around again, the next blow will be in your jewels."

His face paled, hands protecting the middle of his legs.

"H-hey…no need for drastic-"

"And then I will nail you with so many arrows that people will think you are a bipedal hedgehog," added Sinon, pointing her bow at him.

He gulped. Groggily, the man lifted from the ground and started running.

"U damn bitches!"

The two girls watched the man moving away groggily before finally relaxing once he was out of their sight.

"Asshole," said Sinon. "That guy, thinking he could force himself into anyone and…" she shook her head. "No, better not to jump to conclusions. It could very well be a bad day for him. God knows we are having lots of those recently..."

Akatsuki tapped her sheathed blade.

"Why did you shoot him?"

The Elf raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean by that? The guy was bothering that girl, so-"

"That's not what I meant. I was about to kick his shins off, and then you went there and released an arrow. Why? He was stronger than you."

The archer scratched the back of her head.

"Well…It's not like I could stay still, right? If I can do something to help, then I will. Simple as that. After all, do you need a reason to help others other than knowing something isn't right?"

The ninja hummed. The girl had a point, no? It was natural to-

"Ah, whatever. Probably something more understandable when you are older…"

Akatsuki nearly face planted.

"Erm…how old are you?" asked the girl, her voice trembling slightly.

Sinon blinked.

"Me? Seventeen since last August - are you alright?!"

The face of the girl was pale as if she had seen a ghost.

"Oh…such a blow to my self-esteem. I shouldn't have asked, I shouldn't have asked…"

Sinon soon connected the dots. 'Oh…'

"Ahm…how old are you?"

"...20," whimpered the shinobi. "20 years, and I'm smaller than a seventeen-year-old girl."

Sinon silently mouthed twenty. Oh. That was a very sore spot.

'Damm, hitting this kind of trigger is Kirito's thing, not mine!' thought the blue-haired girl.

"I am very sorry, I didn't-"

"No, it's alright," said Akatsuki. "You couldn't know. I hear this all the time…"

Hm…

Sinon - no, Shino -saw a familiar face on that doll-like figure.

"I suppose people are very judgemental of you because of your appearance," said the girl.

"...yes," said the Assassin. "Are you familiar with this…feeling?"

"Yes," said Sinon. "But for things way worse than looking like a child."

The older woman looked at the Elf. Her eyes had a hidden sadness as if they were about to burst into tears.

"...I see," said Akatsuki. "I also apologize. It seems my rant has bothered you."

"And I answer the same way: it's alright, you didn't know," said the girl coolly. "I…never introduced myself, right? I am Sinon."

The other Assassin bowed slightly.

"Akatsuki, ninja at the service of Lord Shiroe."

"...you are committed to the bit, huh?" said the girl. "I suppose Shiroe is the glasses guy?"

Akatsuki nodded.

"Although I would prefer if you referred to him by his name."

"Well then, no more glasses…unless he says otherwise," she added. "I mean, if it doesn't bother him…"

The ninja gave some thought before nodding.

"Yes, if Milord doesn't object, you can refer to him like that."

"If you say so…"

The two sat back on the bench.

"So…why aren't you close to your liege?" asked Sinon. "It's kinda inefficient for the bodyguard to stay away, no? Unless you have a bow hidden somewhere."

Akatsuki shook her head.

"I failed him. It's a tremendous dishonor for a shinobi to fail to protect their lord. Thus, my self-inflicted punishment is to watch him from afar. And to stay away from that vile woman."

"Vile woman?" said Sinon, suddenly a bit worried. "Oi, oi, doesn't that sound dangerous?"

"For cute things, it is," said the other Assassin. "She's a devil hidden in plain sight, bane of all adorable-looking people."

"Ok…?" said Sinon, looking a bit confused.

The two went silent.

"I can't believe it took a guy harassing a girl to break the ice between us," said Sinon. "You ain't much of a talker?"

"I suppose no," said Akatsuki. "I dutifully did my tasks when this was still a game and did not need to talk to others other than by chat."

"You didn't have a microphone?"

"..something like that," she lied.

Sinon nodded.

"Well, I suppose that I wasn't the greatest talker either. Still, you don't have to be vexed by your height. I mean, isn't there that old movie quote that 'size matters not?' Or anything like that."

"Say that to the pedos that followed me in high school," said the girl with the ponytail. "I heard enough jokes about being a lost child..."

Sinon tapped her fingers against the wood.

"Don't know if it makes you feel better," she started. "But one of the greatest players from the VRMMO I played, Gun Gale Online, was even smaller than you, a midget. And she won like…one or two squad tournaments almost by herself. We called her the Pink Devil."

"Pink Devil?"

"Turns out that pink is a good camouflage color when most of the setting is mounds of reddish sand. Combine that with a small size, and you have a very annoying type of run-and-gun fighter."

"Have you ever faced her?" asked Akatsuki.

"Once," said Sinon, shuddering. "There was this one gal that was interested in my sniper rifle, and that was friends with the Devil. One day, the two attempted to jump me to loot it from me, but I barely managed to escape."

She shuddered a bit. The Devil -LLENN, if her memory was right -was rather apologetic about the arrangement, but her partner…

'Hey, hey, Sinon-san. Next time I'm getting that fancy rifle.'

"I still don't understand her interest in it," said Sinon. "It was one-of-a-kind, but the girl had this fame of being the type that never stuck to one weapon."

"Hm…so it was like a Fantasy item," hummed Akatsuki.

Before she could ask what was a Fantasy item, the ninja lifted from her seat. The white-hooded man had left the Guild Hall.

"My liege has finished his business in this place. I must go," the Assassin flexed her knees before turning her face slightly. "It was a good talk, Sniper Sinon."

With that, she flew into the sky as a pink flash, following the footsteps of her liege..

"It was nice talking with you too, I guess," said Sinon before looking at the sky. "I guess."

She thought about the day. Wandering through an over-leveled place to receive Kirito, shoot down the crazy Monk chasing him, Yui, and his new friends, make a friend with the chuunibyou girl…

And it wasn't even party time!

"What a day."

---

'Hm…there's something awkward about being back so soon.'

Before Kirito's intervention, his calculations told him that his merry group would only return to Akiba after two weeks, not a single one.

He felt split about that. On one hand, it assured a safe trip for Serara -bar, of course, Demiqas' ambush -and allowed her to be together with her guild just in time for Christmas as well, though there wasn't much to celebrate that year.

On the other, more selfish reason…

He looked at the streets. They were emptier than in the first days, but there was still a fair share of figures with blank eyes, wandering, visibly tired. Others, drunk out of their minds, sang Christmas songs in horribly tuneless fashion. When they had too much, they expelled their sorrows into the ground, sobbing.

Some other groups seemed normal at first. A group coming out of an apothecary cautiously avoided a group of drunks. Others, sitting at a table, sipped a bit of beer with more moderation than most.

If one looked closer, however, one would notice that most groups were affiliated to the same guild -not that uncommon at first glance. Then there was the fact that those people seemed to be doing their things, not looking at each other but instead around, as if they were in the fields, fearful of being ambushed by high-level monsters after a tough day hunting for materials.

This was the face of Akiba on the 25th of December. Even without a dictatorship, it still felt similar to Susukino from the few hours he spent inside the city.

'Scratch that,' thought the Enchanter. 'Susukino will probably be in a better mood once Demiqas spawns inside a Church. They have that at least.'

Everything was uncertain. Everyone didn't know how things would go now.

And that was only the beginning of a bigger problem.

---

"How are the recruitments from the big guilds?" asked Shiroe.

Marielle took her eyes off the small group that celebrated loudly the safe return of Serara. Henrietta attempted to calm them, but their animation was contagious, and soon she joined the party. A bit more, and the Bard would be celebrating as loudly as them.

"Hm? Why do you want to know?" asked the green-haired Elf.

The Enchanter tapped his fingers against the arm of the couch.

"No reason right now. It's just to see if a certain tendency I noticed is perpetuating."

The most social lady of Akiba hummed.

"Hm…the big guilds -you know, like D.D.D and the Sword guilds -are finally diminishing their campaigns to drag players to their groups. Anyone that wanted to stay in a group has done so, and everyone else won't change their minds so early."

He nodded.

"But…" said the Elf. "One thing has been bothering me for a while. These guilds…you know that once things calm down, they will likely start looking for a way to return home. Things are getting tamer, as there are fewer PKers than before."

Shiroe's mind went to the ambush his group suffered the night before Marielle called them to request help. Was that so long ago?

"It makes sense," said Shiroe. "With people getting more organized, PK has become a tougher activity…Who wants to engage in a fight that will end in sure defeat?"

The Cleric nodded.

"It was what I thought. Order returned to Akiba…" She looked at the window, where some light snow fell. "Too much of it."

He waited for the woman to continue.

"As I said, the big guilds are getting their heads back together. But I can't say if what's happening is wrong or right, but the atmosphere in the city is…"

'Heavy,' finished Shiroe in his mind. There was something oppressive in the city of Akiba right now.

"It began with small things," she said. "Getting to go first at the market. The best potions, the best smiths. And, recently, they started reserving some areas to hunt exclusively."

Shiroe raised an eyebrow.

"Do you mean…like a territory?"

She nodded.

"This is also another reason for the reduction of assassinations. People are going far away from the city, hunting in places that most killers won't dare to go. And sometimes, when their numbers are big, these big guilds can even afford to guard their turfs."

He frowned. What they were doing was not illegal, but it was certainly not a popular attitude.

"The smaller guilds…they only get the remainders," continued Marielle. "Areas unusable for level grinding or that are hard to farm. It's chaotic to decide who gets what."

"Hm…" said Shiroe. "But there are lots of small guilds in Akiba. Together, surely you could voice these complaints for the others?"

"It's what Henrietta and I are trying to do. We'll assemble next week to talk further. I managed to gather the support of Akaneya and Woodstock, and Eins from Honesty is sympathetic to our cause."

Shiroe nodded. The three men were veterans of Elder Tale, and Honesty, although no D.D.D., was a guild with a significant base in the community.

'I can hear a but, though,' reflected the Enchanter in glasses.

Marielle noticed that and continued:

"We…we have a pretty diverse group, with diverse needs," she continued. "People want different areas, different resources…it's all so heterogeneous that I can't even describe it to you."

Shiroe nodded.

"I see…"

That was the main issue. One large group is naturally more homogenous than ten small ones, as the top branch sets the path that interests the well-being of the whole.

"Our odds of reaching an understanding are pretty low, but if we don't unite soon, the big guilds will hoard all the good things for themselves. And we still have Hamelin to worry about…"

He raised an eyebrow.

"Hamelin? That Hamelin that was recruiting lots of low-level Adventurers?"

Marielle nodded.

"They are taking the EXP pots of these players to sell them to other guilds. Isaac, in particular, buys them at the loads. He wants the Black Sword Knights to reach the 91 soon."

Shiroe frowned. Yes, with the newest expansion, the players of Yamato could theoretically reach that power, as the transfer happened right when Homesteading the Noosphere was launched.

"Those guys…" said Marielle, her Kansai accent getting more prominent. "They give me nothing but bad vibes, but most of the big guys overlook its shadier nature for the possible benefits. If things continue like that..."

The Elf didn't finish, but Shiroe caught on to the subtext. A dark cloud hovered on Akiba's future.

---

If something can make one of the most easygoing players on the server worried, you know things are serious.

And Shiroe grew more and more frustrated as he walked through the city.

'What wouldn't you tell if you weren't here, Kanami,' thought Shiroe. He doubted his former…boss was too formal to describe the Swashbuckler. The leader of the Debauchery? Yeah, that track. Regardless, the Enchanter doubted that she would do more than laugh at those 'uncool' people and either leave the city or, more likely, ask for him to solve things.

'So irresponsible…so her,' he thought. There was a reason for why she was called 'The Human Typhoon:' a being that was born to create some chaos. 'Heh. She would love this situation. But it's probably for the better that she isn't here.'

---

On the other side of the world, a level 90 Monk sneezed.

"Wonder who is talking about me. Maybe Shiroe? He will be surprised when I get back to Yamato…"

---

Still, Shiroe felt irremediably stuck. It wasn't the question of being one single issue. There still were PKers. Hamelin was likely scamming others to make themselves a fortune. The larger guilds were in a showdown for power. The guilds of minor size were butting heads over their own needs. Even those free players were at some fault, jumping without looking in seemingly "safe" positions without understanding all that implied.

'Fault? No, this is a term that's too accusative. At least amongst Adventurers, there's no true guilty figure. Only many people looking for themselves and being foolish. No one we fight will help change things in the city because it's a collective issue.'

Stories made this look simple: defeat the evil mastermind, and their plan will fall like a stack of dominoes.

Most of them never considered that said masterminds had backup plans or other figures that could take their position in whatever scheme was in place. Or that, in the end, there are no fancy tricks: only people in a conflict of interests.

It's almost pathetic. Shiroe, ever the problem-solver, looked for ways to solve something beyond his scope. Planning for a raid and solving social issues of that level were completely different things.

Maybe if he wasn't alone…

"Oh, watch it there - oh, it's that guy in glasses!"

He looked at the girl he bumped. A blonde Samurai Elf in blue armor followed by a Ritian in a brown cape and…

"Hey, you are Shiroe, no?" said Silica. She wore brand new red robes and held a staff with a blue jewel encrusted. A dagger was on her hip.

He nodded.

"Ah, yes. You are Kirito's friends, right?"

The Ritian nodded.

"Yeah. Erm, I mean, I'm kinda not his friend…"

"Hey, don't be like that, Recon!" said the Elf. "Brother likes you, even if you two don't see each other much. I'm Leafa, by the way. Not much time for introductions after, well, you know."

He nodded. For such a long trip, it was silent -maybe because of how things went.

"It's alright," he said. "I'm sorry for getting in the way. Lost in thoughts."

The Elf hummed, looking around.

"Yes, I suppose the scenario makes you think. Do you want to sit a bit? I learned that talking with others helps thinking."

The man in glasses nodded.

"If it doesn't bother you," he said.

The quartet (secretly a quintet, considering that Shiroe was being watched from afar by the dutiful Akatsuki) picked a small seat in a cheap restaurant.

"Hey Sam!" said Leafa. "Can you come here and give us the old combo?"

'Sam?' thought Shiroe.

A bald People of Earth with a kind face appeared, putting on his apron.

"Oh, if they aren't my favorite clients!" he said.

"Aren't we the only clients nowadays?" mumbled Recon before being slapped in the back of the head by Leafa.

"Hey, it's rude saying that," said Kirito's sister. "Besides, it helps his family."

Shiroe blinked.

"His…family?" asked the Enchanter.

The man returned, putting four glasses of water and a small piece of bread for each.

"Yeah!" said Sam. "Two small angels and their grumpy mom. 'Darling, do not open a food stall!' she said. 'Those Adventurers eat nothing! This won't do!' Well, even if other Landers don't come here these days, I say we are doing well so far!"

Shiroe blinked. Again.

"I suppose…this is a good thing."

He sighed.

"Yeah. I wonder why you guys are not celebrating. For some reason, there's usually a bunch of lights and stuff at this time of the year."

Well, Shiroe knew that the reason why there was nothing was because there was no Game Master to update the server to a Christmas theme.

Well, not that those guys would understand.

"Something terrible happened to us recently," said the Enchanter. "Nothing much to celebrate this time around."

"Hm. So it was not my impression that you are being more talkative these days," said the barkeep. "At least you look a bit more real to me, rather than this bunch of flesh golems," a bit too late, he seemed to realize what he said. "Er, I mean…"

"It's alright," said Leafa. "No harm, no foul, Sam."

The fat man bowed slightly.

"Ah, you are so gentle," said the barkeep. "Some of the other Adventurers were far more brutal in their demeanor. A lovely change of pace."

With that said, he returned to the inside to attend to another player.

"Hm…" said Shiroe. "I never expected for the People of Earth to be so…"

"Lively?" completed Leafa. "Yeah, that is a thing. They are not your average NPC."

"Shome-" started Silica before gulping her bread with an expression of displeasure. Maybe she was used to enjoying Nyanta's dishes? "Some of them helped me a lot in my time on Susukino and offered me temporary hiding spots, but I never stood for too long in a place because of how Brigandia was willing to destroy houses. I was poor by the time Mister Nyanta found me."

"We are having to borrow some money to help her buy some things for herself," added Recon.

"Well, we had some surplus," noted Leafa. "Not like we had been going out too much before today."

The Enchanter raised his eyebrow slightly, looking at their levels.

'Hm...Silica is a bit higher, which means she likely went out in the field sometime before the problems in Susukino began. Meanwhile, Leafa and Recon...' he frowned slightly. 'They are level 13. Considering her job as a tank, I say she's more likely to reach 14 earlier. But considering their statement and the time since the Catastrophe, they should be closer to level 20.'

"What is stopping you from farming?" asked Shiroe out loud.

Leafa shrugged.

"It's…complicated. Now that I think about it, Soujiro will probably want your help on this. He probably will send a message at any-"

As soon as she said that, Shiroe heard the familiar tingling of the Tele-Chat. And, yup, there was Soujiro's chibi-like form.

How did Shiroe even turn that off? Did he even want to do that? And who even did those images? So many questions for a later date.

He picked up the call.

'I suppose you want to talk to me about something?'

The Samurai didn't seem surprised.

'Well, would you look at that? I suppose I should have expected this from you, Shiroe. Come here, Nazuna and I spent some time organizing our evidence.'

'Evidence?' asked Shiroe. 'What are you-'

'I will give more details later. If you choose to help on this, I swear that I will owe you big time. Anything you ask.'

Shiroe was about to grill Soujiro for more details before he said that.

'Anything?' he asked.

'Well, don't expect me to bring you the Yasakani no Magatami or anything like that,' said the Samurai. 'But the West Wind will do everything to help you.'

Shiroe tapped his fingers, an idea slowly brewing in his head.

He looked around, not only at the players but at the People of the Earth. Some live their lives, others drown in their sorrows. Most of them fear an uncertain future.

'It's not only the Adventurers being affected by this, right?' thought Shiroe. 'The true inhabitants of this world are as much affected. We may tax them as Non-Playable Characters, but they are more human than us currently.'

'Shiroe?' asked Soujiro. 'Are you still there?'

'I will give more details when I get there,' said the Enchanter. 'Something that will hopefully help everyone. I'll tell you more when I get there.'

With that, he cut the connection. He looked at Leafa.

"Well, it was as you said. I must go now. Thanks for the meal."

The girl nodded.

"It's alright. Hope this talk was of use to you."

He nodded back.

"You can say that. Until later."

The Enchanter walked away.

"Hm, it seems you helped him a lot," observed Recon. "Look at how he seemed more upright."

"Yeah, he looked a bit down before…" said Leafa, looking at Silica, who had a thoughtful face. "Something's wrong, Si?"

"Hm?" the Felinoid said. "No, nothing wrong. It's just…"

Her mind went to a fateful day in a forest. Silica had lost Pina because of her arrogance and barely avoided dying alone. He had the job of hunting down an orange guild, but amidst all that, he decided to go out of his way to help her.

The eyes that Shiroe had were the same as Kirito's on that day.

"I'm just thinking that he's a very kind person."

"You think?" asked the Ritian. "I mean, he helped Kirito and all, but that could also be because their interests coincided."

"He had faith in Kirito's words about the Ring, though," pointed out the Elf. "And…I have this feeling about him as well."

The three looked at the man, who now walked together with a girl in a ponytail.

"Where did she come from?" wondered the Ritian.

Neither of the girls answered, looking at the Enchanter, whose shoulders seemed higher than before, all while the cloudy day opened slightly to rain a solitary sunbeam on him.

---

"Ugh, gotta leave these behind," mumbled Kirito, taking out his shoes. In the game, such places automatically took the footwear of the avatars for the traditional houses: no such luck now, as he put the sandals.

The Swashbuckler moved through the halls, looking for where Soujiro was. It wasn't all that hard: while he barely knew anything about the layout, he noticed a presence watching the door to the guild leader's room, hidden in a bush in the garden.

With a smirk, he approached said bush and touched the diminutive figure's shoulder.

To her credit, she didn't look startled.

"Hey," said Kirito. "I assume Shiroe has already arrived? I need to talk with Soujiro about some things."

Silence for a few seconds. Then, the figure in the bush asked:

"Is this so important for you to interrupt Milord's talk?"

"I want him to hear that as well," he said. "They are in that room, right?"

The bush moved slightly upwards. He assumed it was a nod.

"Before you go," said Akatsuki. "How did you find me? I thought this was a good hiding spot."

He shrugged.

"Your ponytail got tangled into a tendril."

A hand touched the hanging ponytail, snarling at that and saying something about how a ninja shouldn't commit such an amateur mistake. Kirito didn't mind it too much, walking to the paper door and knocking twice.

"May I cut in?"

"Ah, Kirito!" said Soujiro. "Took your sweet time, huh? I almost thought you were escaping me again. Come in, come in. You will want to see this."

He did so.

Soujiro didn't have a proper office, realized Kirito. At least not in the conventional sense, like what Isaac had. There was a table, sure, but, at the taste of the Samurai, it was the small chabudai for meals, and the guild leader and Shiroe sat on red cushions on the ground.

The room had four vases in each corner - two bonsai in the back, two windows to the street, and two azaleas in the entrance. A few decorative weapons hung on the left wall - a fancy-looking katana caught Kirito's attention. On the other, there were two banners. One of them had 西風の旅団 as its inscription: West Wind Brigade. The other had a poem that Kirito didn't read much but was related to some shogunate.

Shiroe looked at the younger man with hesitation. Kirito raised his hand.

"As I said to your…friend," it seemed a bit weird to call her a subordinate, considering how nonplussed the Enchanter was with formalities. "I feel you should stay here for what I'm about to say. Though…" he looked at Soujiro. "I feel that the topic of your conversation also concerns me."

The two former members of the Debauchery looked at each other.

"Show him what you showed me," said the strategist. "I need some time before I can give my thoughts."

The leader of the West Wind Brigade nodded, turning to his friend.

"Honestly, I hoped our first talk would be more casual," confessed the Samurai. "To ask things like, 'How are you going?' 'What have you done since the last time we met?' 'When did you have the time to form a family?'"

"Currently feeling like shit, I had to fight for my life half a dozen times last time I counted, and it all started on a foggy day in a forest," said Kirito. "Or maybe it's better to say that it began at a dirty labyrinth when I saved a shooting star close to burning out."

Soujiro laughed.

"You get why I wanted a more casual thing now? I heard about some of your feats from your friends -and from Isaac, that one time we crossed paths -but it's best to hear from the mouth of the man itself," he sighed. "Alas, things aren't always as we want."

The man coughed.

"Let's start with what you know. You leave to help your friend in the hostile environment of Susukino. Meanwhile, the remainder of your group stays and investigates Hamelin for its involvement in capturing your other friend -Lisbeth, right? -with Klein leaving two days after to find his guild members at your advice. This track for you?"

Kirito nodded.

"After that, I didn't communicate with anyone else for the remainder of my time in Susukino -regrettably," he added. "So, what have you figured out while I was out?"

Soujiro picked a document on top of the desk, a small piece of paper.

"This is a summary of Hamelin's activities, diligently provided by your friends and Nazuna's sources. They follow a pretty standard routine for what we saw so far."

Kirito read the document.

"Hm. I see. So, those guys collect the pots to build the stock, then sell them the next day at a high price in batches of 10. Rinse and repeat."

"Indeed," said Soujiro. "This is something they also did back then. Using alts and bots, they accumulated loads of Pots and traded them away to make a quick buck. Of course, with those resources inaccessible, they resorted to using newbies to collect all those pots. Look at the behind. We have a list of names."

He did so. The first on the list popped to him.

"Lisbeth…"

"That's your friend," concluded Soujiro. "Asuna had already said that, but it's good to confirm it."

Kirito looked at the remainder of the list. No other familiar names, but-

"Why are those two names risked?" asked Kirito. "Are these…Minori and Touya important?"

He looked at Soujiro, who looked at Shiroe. The Enchanter shrugged.

"It seems that I had more of a stake than I expected in this case," said the man in glasses. "As if I needed any more reasons."

Kirito nodded, understanding the feeling.

"So you saw all of these names in the field?"

"Not all of them. We learned of Lisbeth's presence by other means."

The man moved his hand to his Magic Bag, drawing a cheap-looking blade. It looked pretty, but Kirito could tell from a glance that the metal wasn't good.

"The EXP pots are not the only way Hamelin is making money. They are also selling equipment at lower prices than most shops do."

Kirito picked the weapon, analyzing it.

"Aggressive Longsword. Production-type with an effect that increases attack power but lowers durability."

Most players didn't bother to get Production items at a low level. At this point, Magic weapons outclassed them, and only with smiths of higher quality, the former could surpass the latter.

But Kirito could see the intent.

"Bastards. They are min-maxing."

He saw that logic in the early days of Aincrad. The two-handed sword weapon class had the highest average damage among the available weapons on the first floor, making them appealing to many. The idea was simple: end battles fast to lose less health and win more while running minimal risks, thus, min-max - minimal risk, maximum reward.

Unfortunately, most people forgot to consider that those weapons also had incredibly long Post-Motion animations for their Sword Skills, and many attempted to abuse their incredible damage to end fights swiftly. Too many have fallen because of that, leading to people looking for weapons they felt more comfortable with instead.

Shiroe raised an eyebrow. 'Interesting. He reached this conclusion immediately. Did something similar happen in the past?'

Maybe he should ask Akatsuki later. She knew more about the incident than him anyway.

'Though perhaps I should wait until after Henrietta has her time with her…' he thought with a small sweatdrop. 'That Bard can be so persuasive when she wants something…'

"I see you understood it fast," said Soujiro. "While Hamelin sells weapons of better quality, the Aggressive types are still pretty popular. This trend will fade as time goes on, but what matters is that they sell this cheaper than most stores, meaning lots of revenue in a short period. They have a deal with a minor guild specialized in collecting minerals, picking the metals at low prices, and selling at many times their market price by making the additional striking power an appealing trait, even if it means that they get wasted faster than normal."

"Meaning they always profit," grumbled Kirito. "And, judging by what you said…"

It was possible to see who produced a Production-item simply by analyzing it. And, as Kirito suspected, there was Liz's name.

'Oh, she must be dying inside,' thought Kirito.

The pink-haired girl had pride in her forging skills. Knowing her, creating weapons of such low quality was almost painful. He couldn't even imagine what it took to-

His eyes narrowed, noticing something: a list of equipment produced by Hamelin. And there was only one name in it.

"How many weapons and armor were made by Lisbeth?" asked the Swashbuckler.

Soujiro nodded.

"All of them. No exceptions."

He reflected on that.

"Hm. On paper, it has a practical sense," said the Swashbuckler. "A smith that creates lots of weapons is a smith that can make more things fast. Its early arsenal is quite limited, after all. But the best weapons are only available at higher levels, and this is a less effective way to win money when put against the Pots system. So why do it, considering that you want to keep the newbies at low levels to keep milking them?"

"There are many ways to look at this," said Shiroe. "Maybe Lisbeth somehow managed to get into the position to send calls for help -she knows of your presence in this world, after all. Or maybe there's some element we are unaware of."

Kirito shrugged.

"Maybe yes, maybe no. I only raise possibilities, and it's not like we know everything that happens inside that place."

"...this is going to change," whispered Shiroe.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Continue."

Kirito sighed.

"Alright, pots, scam weapons. What else do these guys have on their sleeves?"

Soujiro tapped his fingers.

"What if I said they also collaborated with assassin guilds?"

"...I'm listening."

He picked a new document, tapping at a few guild names.

"Hamelin also frequently interacts with a guild trio responsible for most killings nowadays: Canossa, Tide Clan, and Blue Impact. Further investigation showed that most victims of these PKers almost always joined Hamelin because, most of the time, they weathered consecutive attacks to the point they had no gold and even high-level resources."

"As if they needed to be more suspicious," grumbled Kirito. Then, he frowned. "Wait a second…"

He tapped at two names. Agrius and Oreius.

"I recognize these two names. Two guys said something about being bossed around."

Soujiro frowned.

"Again confirming what Asuna said…" at the raised eyebrow of Kirito, he let out an embarrassed smile. "Sorry, we need to be sure all info is precise for this to succeed. This information, however, also aligns with some of our findings."

"So someone is bossing things around?" said Kirito. "For what reason?"

"We know as much as you," said the Samurai. "But the obvious reasoning would be to gather power, no? Causing such a ruckus must be beneficial in some way for this figure. That's the most reasonable explanation, anyway."

Kirito shook his head.

"If there's something a person can be, it's irrational. You should see some of the guilds in the front…but that's a story for another time. Let's go with your idea that this figure is doing this for some reason. Who is it?"

"It's certainly not a figure affiliated to either of these guilds," said Soujiro. "This doesn't help, as they are small. But it eliminates some options. We'll keep watching for now."

The Black Swordsman took a deep breath.

"Hamelin's power ladder almost makes Brigandia look tame. At least they were open about their intent. Not that it made things much better."

He looked at the routine, glaring at the words "grinding."

"It barely can't be called grinding," said the Samurai. "These guys didn't spend much time playing Elder Tale before this. No use of the Teacher System, how they are uncooperative with his parties, and the abrasive wording. They only saw Elder Tale as a way to make a quick buck, and they seek to continue with that mindset to survive in Akiba."

Shiroe sighed in displeasure.

"Such a bothersome line of thought…All to keep an image that anyone with half a brain will know is a lie. Maybe hope to fool the recruits?"

Kirito grimaced.

"I can't see many being fooled by that for long. At least Lisbeth wasn't, judging by what she tried to do."

He frowned at the memory. He couldn't see those guys being gentle with the smith after her attempted escape.

'She's a tough gal,' thought the boy. 'But boy, she must be dying inside making such cheap work.'

"We also have a list of common buyers," the Samurai passed another list. "The Pots are a luxury product, considering Hamelin only gets around 20 at a time, so if any names look familiar..."

The boy frowned at the first name on the list.

"Dammit, Isaac…"

"Not too surprising," said Shiroe. "Isaac was always the type that valued power over everything else. There's a reason for his level 85 policy, after all."

"This doesn't make it much better…" mumbled the boy. He made a mental note to talk with his former guildmate later. "Bunch of big shots, huh? It's a wonder that Hamelin manages to supply all of them."

"Probably they had a stock," said Soujiro. "It will probably exhaust itself at some point, but there's no sign of stopping now, meaning…"

"We need to stop them ourselves," concluded Kirito. "Easier said than done, no? It's not like we can threaten them. What can we do, send them death threats? And it's not like any of us has the guts for torture, right?"

Shiroe nodded. Soujiro, after a moment of hesitation, also did it. Kirito decided it was better not to pry further.

"I have something in the works," said the Enchanter. "It's something I will have fully planned by tomorrow. However, for it to work, we need the support of the Crescent Moon. Or, better said, to support it."

Kirito raised an eyebrow.

"Support in…what?"

Shiroe raised his hand.

"We will explain tomorrow. I am ironing out some details about it, but that sums up what the West Wind Brigade and your group collected. I will be sure to take note of your observations in my plan. Now…I will throw the first stone and assume you want to talk about what happened in Hana Plains."

Kirito raised his eyebrow. The Half-Alv chuckled.

"Come on, it doesn't need a genius to figure it out. It was a remarkable event if anything," the boy had to remind himself that it was genius the word and not a Genius the species(?). "Did something happen?"

The swordsman in black nodded.

"However, this talk doesn't leave the room. You understand?"

The two veterans nodded. With that established, he explained the appearance of that new skill -from his manifestation at Susukino to Alice's theories about its presence. He had to dumb down a few details about Incarnation, as he felt that, for all their wit, the two former members of the Debauchery would only get more questions than answers from that.

Both seemed very baffled, to which Kirito could relate. He felt the same when Cardinal explained the concept and how it almost literally made the Underworld work.

"Kirito…we are friends," said Soujiro. "But forgive me for being skeptical of this idea."

"Is it more weird than being thrown into a different world, though?" pointed out the Swashbuckler, to which the Samurai hummed.

"It is a good point, but seeing is believing. Demonstrate this power outside of your..." the boy paused before saying. "Outside of your Install."

The swordsman blinked.

"My…what?"

"Install," repeated Shiroe. "A fighting game term that is rather fitting to describe Black Luster: a transformation that gives access to new moves and improves power. It checks all the marks in my list."

"...Sure, let's go with that," said the swordsman before continuing. "And I didn't try it voluntarily. As I said, my altered state allowed for greater ease in performing that. But Alice seemed to be able to do it easily."

His mind spun, thinking of something he could do at the moment. He had an idea. Maybe it wouldn't work, but-

Focusing on the tip of his indicator finger, he said:

"System Call: generate Luminous Element, spherical form."

Nothing at first. Then, a small ball of light formed on the tip of his finger, illuminating the room.

"Incredible…" said Shiroe, moving to touch the shining finger. "It looks like a Magic Light, but...you are a Swashbuckler, so that spell shouldn't be castable for you. It's boggling."

After a few more seconds, Kirito released the spell, huffing.

"Ugh…even a small thing like this takes so much energy?" he asked, more to himself than the others.

Soujiro scratched his chin.

"Hm…what kind of stuff could you do when you could freely use Incarnation?"

The Swashbuckler took a moment to answer.

"Well…it makes you stronger in fights, as much as it can make you weaker, depending on if you believe victory is possible. And Sacred Arts -what I did -also use that as a basis to work. For some more esoteric things…I could alter the shape of my sword, fly, and make a certain type of flower grow in an area that many believed it couldn't -even after two assholes nearly destroyed the entire crop."

Soujiro nodded. He lifted from his seat and picked up the fancy katana hanging on the wall, unsheathing it.

"Hm. You say that belief matters with Incarnation, right?"

Kirito nodded.

"Yeah, that's what I-"

SHING!

The two men jumped as the Samurai cut the table in half! A clean, perfect cut.

"Soujiro, what is the meaning of-?"

He passed the sword to his Enchanter friend, who seemed confused.

"But this is a blunt sword!"

Kirito moved to touch its edge and felt that it could barely pierce his skin. In its sheath, though, no one could-

"Oh, you smartass," said the Swashbuckler. "You never told anyone that this was blunt."

The Samurai nodded.

"Only Nazuna knows this weapon is blunt. As far as it concerns others, this is just an old weapon I hung around because I have better blades, and it's sheath is pretty. I never had to correct anyone. Of course, as you two know the truth now…"

He attempted to cut one of the halves of the table, failing to do so.

"Hm…I suppose the perception of people around also affects what can happen with Incarnation, right?"

Kirito nodded.

"This power obeys to a collective idea, but I suppose that this is a factor that can affect the efficiency of it. But you can also force that idea, like I did with my Sacred Art."

He nodded. His brows grew closer as Soujiro again slashed the table. The cut wasn't as clean as the first time, but it was still a blunt slashing through wood.

The leader of the West Wind Brigade touched his head.

"Hm…I think I figured out why using this gets you tired," said the Samurai. "It's not troublesome if you follow the rules that the world imposes upon you, but attempting to defy this sense is a big no-no."

"Hm…" hummed Shiroe. "Yes, the examples seem clear. The first time, we assumed that the blade was not blunt, meaning that it was easier to sustain that image. Once we know it wasn't, though, you managed to repeat the performance, albeit with more effort," his eyes glinted. "I have so many questions. How many people do you need for an image to prevail? Is Incarnation something natural to Theldesia or a concept that Kirito and his friends unwittingly brought with them? Is this new skill a result of that, or is it something we could do without it?"

Kirito shrugged.

"I can only answer the first two. The potency of Incarnation can vary depending on how 'universal' it is, to say. For instance, to convince the world that flying is a natural thing for humans to do, you would probably need to make millions believe in that. Something simpler, like making a stage magician trick be actual magic? Probably a few thousand, but it's not something you can exactly calculate. And the theory is that it's less that Incarnation exists in this world, and more that it's possible to use it here thanks to something interacting with our soul, where the memories are."

"...my head hurts a bit," admitted Shiroe. "But I feel I understand the basics of it. It's willpower utilized as a tool, but it's affected by how others perceive the world. Does this sum it up?"

Kirito hummed.

"In short? Yes, I suppose it does."

The Enchanter nodded.

"Hm. This…is still a lot to digest, even with your explanation," said Shiroe.

"Idem," said their host. "And I used that power."

Kirito bowed slightly.

"I'm sorry to trouble both of you before the party," said the Swashbuckler. "But I feel it would be better to explain things as soon as possible."

Soujiro shook his head.

"It's no problem. Better to know earlier than later. Still-"

A few knocks on the door. The trio turned to see Akatsuki.

"Milord. Sires," said the ninja. "Nyanta says that the supper is nearly ready, and the guests are nearby," she looked at the slashed table. "Did something happen here?"

The Samurai nodded.

"Well then," he said, lifting from his position. "As the host, I must ensure everyone is comfortable at the party. It was a good talk, though I would like to speak of lighter subjects next time. We'll see soon."

With these words, the Samurai passed by the Assassin, going to the main hall where the party would happen.

"...he didn't answer my question," mumbled the ninja. "My liege, is something wrong here?"

The Enchanter shook his head.

"It's nothing important," he lied. "Come on, I feel this meal will hold a lot of surprises."

She seemed confused about what he meant, but, like the dutiful servant she was, the ninja followed her liege.

Kirito was alone, with a wrecked table in the middle of the room.

"Hey, Soujiro, it's time to -WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED HERE?!"

Unfairly, Kirito had to give some gold to Nazuna to repair the table. He later complained, leading to Soujiro giving him back the money.

---

As it turns out, the party room of the complex was not big enough for more than a hundred people to sit and eat their food. Surprise, surprise.

With some haste, Soujiro and the girls of the West Wind Brigade put tables in the garden for everyone to eat. Then, as everyone sat down, the chefs called some girls from the West Wind Brigade to help take the delicious-looking plates to the tables. At first, no one gave it much thought, as Kirito -at the table of honor with Soujiro, Shiroe, Akatsuki, Asuna, Serara, Silica, and Marielle -had his plate, eating with some satisfaction. Most thought that he was being weird.

And then Akatsuki -the single person at the table who did not know about the secret of tasty food -took a bite out of it and started digging at it like a man lost in a desert would drink water.

And when the same reaction happened with Leafa -sitting together with Yui, Sinon, Alice, Recon, Naotsugu, and Henrietta, Marielle's vice -this caused havoc as everyone got interested in the curry.

The result?

Kirito was no poet, but he felt that "food orgasm" was a rather fitting term, considering how many people moaned about that small piece of heaven, as weird as it sounded.

"My liege, I don't know how to feel about you hiding this from us," said Akatsuki, taking a break from eating the delicious food. "I would be less offended if you hid a Secret drop from us."

The Enchanter smiled, also enjoying the meal.

"If it makes you better, Nyanta nearly surprised me too. Soujiro got curious, then we had a taste, and we couldn't close Pandora's Box after that."

"Pandora Box?" said Marielle. "Don't you mean Stairway to Heaven? I feel the spice angels dragging me beyond the cinnamon clouds!"

"There's no cinnamon in the recipe, though," said Asuna. "Well, Nyanta didn't put any of it in his pot when I helped there."

"I don't care what is here. It tastes good," said Kirito. "Like, goddamn. And I thought he was a good cook back in Susukino. Is this his job or something?"

Shiroe shook his head.

"Captain didn't give many details about his personal life: I think he mentioned once being into the JSDF and becoming a reservist a few years back. And he also said something about a school once, so maybe he was a teacher or something like that.."

"A teacher?" said the swordsman. "Hm, considering how loud a classroom can be, I can see why he's so patient."

"Isn't that the result of the military training?" asked Marielle, exasperated.

The building drowned in light talk, mood uplifted by the delicious servings of curry.

"You remember what I asked of you two, right?" asked Shiroe to Marielle and Soujiro.

"Keep it secret, right?" said the Samurai. "I don't know what you plan to do with this, but I am confident you will have a big idea coming."

Much to the surprise of Soujiro, Marielle smirked.

"Oh, you don't have the slightest idea."

"That guy with glasses seems almost evil…" mumbled Serara.

"You get used to it," replied Silica - much to the confusion of her fellow guest of honor.

Little did she know, Silica had lots of experience from people on lower floors in Aincrad badmouthing Kirito because of his early fame as the Beater -especially during the time that the Aincrad Liberation Force ruled the City of Beginnings, led by the fiery Kibaou, a very polarizing figure in the guilds scenario, or so she heard. However, after Kirito and Asuna solved an issue involving a power struggle within the group, the spiky-haired man was kicked off from command and put into chains, with Thinker becoming the new leader, setting things straight in the ALF.

She wondered what led Kibaou to take the actions he did, considering before the massacre on the 25th, the man was one of the leaders from the Clearers. She shrugged: she could always ask Asuna about it.

---

"Ah, do we get fatter in this world?"

Alice looked at Henrietta, confused.

"What do you mean by that?"

The Bard let out a small burp, putting the hands in front of her mouth, embarrassed. After a few seconds passed, she continued:

"It's that…I feel like I won't ever stop eating like this until we return home. And eat a lot of food, too. I'm afraid that if we return home, then…"

"That never was a problem for me!" said Leafa merrily. "Just do a lot of exercise to burn all those calories, and you'll be fine."

"...Leafa, not everyone practices kendo," pointed out Recon. "And didn't you get a bit-"

A hand clamped his mouth.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" said Naotsugu. "What are you doing, little bro? Don't you know that the fastest way to hell is to comment on a woman's weight?! It's like rule number one to speak with ladies."

Leafa huffed, a bit annoyed.

"It's fine, I don't mind…" she glared at the Ritian. "But for your information, that extra weight was muscle, Shinichi," the blonde girl approached the Ritian's face. "Muscle."

The boy gulped - but not out of fear. It came to his head how Suguha would look like if her muscles were a bit more noticeable and-

"Want to get out of the gutter?" asked the older Guardian, passing a tissue with an amused expression. Recon was confused for a second until he felt some blood running through his face, and then his face became red as a pepper.

"I have to pee!" he said, rushing out of the table.

Leafa blinked.

"What was that?" wondered the Samurai, confused.

"...day by day, I believe you and Kirito are actual brothers and not cousins," said Sinon.

"Don't worry," said Yui. "If Mama and Papa got together after what happened in Aincrad, then Auntie and Recon will also manage to tie the knot."

"That's some optimism there…"

Henrietta admired the little girl.

'Ah, she's so cute and smart,' thought the second-in-command of the Crescent Moon Alliance. 'Wonder how she would like in more stylish winter coats…hm, shame I can't kidnap -er, borrow -her like I do with Akatsuki. Maybe if I ask her parents...' she frowned slightly. 'If I remember, Shiroe commented that her parents are Kirito and this Asuna girl. They probably are on his table. Let's take a look...'

She did so.

And found a chestnut-haired beauty glaring at her.

'That must be her according to what Shiroe said…but why is she glaring at me? There's no reason for…'

Her eyes paused on Akatsuki, who also stared at her, attempting to disguise that vigilance by eating her curry.

'Wait…did she tell her what I did to her last time?'

Henrietta could admit that she had gone overboard with her dress-up session, but it was not out of malice: the ninja was so cute in whatever clothes she was in~!

'Nah, be real Henrietta. It's a coincidence. She's staring at something-'

And then she swung a punch against the air.

'Eh?'

Then she stared at her eyes. Serious, almost the color of steel.

It sounded like a menace…no, a warning.

'Watch out.'

The Bard turned to her food, appalled.

'Oh…Did I make an enemy out of that girl?'

---

"Did you get it?"

The Cleric looked at her empty hand.

"Nope. Damn mosquito keeps escaping. Why are there even mosquitoes in winter?!"

"I have as much clue as you…" said Akatsuki.]

At Asuna's side, Kirito clapped his hands, smirking.

"Ah, got it," said the Swashbuckler. "Now you ain't ruining anyone's meal."

Marielle chuckled slightly.

"This is what I call taking the meal seriously," said the guildmaster.

"Kirito takes any meal with Asuna's hand seriously," said Silica. "Sometimes I think they only started dating because of how heads over heels he became for her sandwiches…"

"Never mind how many times he nearly got himself killed and I had to help him," replied Asuna, winking. "I swear, I saved him half a dozen times back then."

"And I saved you another half a dozen, so it's even!" countered the swordsman, a cheeky grin on his face.

The two traded a quick smack, laughing.

'So this is what it looks like to be in love?' thought the Elf, glancing at one certain Guardian in another table. 'I wonder…'

She shook her head. It wasn't the first time that Marielle had to deal with love matters, but it was the first time she had her heart hooked. Not only was he good-looking, but behind his whole pervert act, she could see a good man with a big heart. That's why all her care: the Elf had no idea if he had anyone back home, so it was better to be slow and learn more about the Guardian before making moves. The last thing she wanted was to deprive someone of such a good man.

'Not that I'm the best partner to have…' she thought in a self-deprecating tone. 'Just a plain old NEET…'

She noticed Serara looking at her worryingly and shook her head. No, it was wrong to sour the party with such negative thoughts. The Elf traded back a smile that all but said, 'Do not worry.' The Druid smiled back, her body relaxing, as she returned to talk with Silica -something about how the Felinoid met Kirito for the first time.

The Elf let her eyes rest on her best friend, talking with the blonde Guardian -Alice, if her memory didn't fail, which usually didn't in remembering other people's names. Henrietta seemed a bit pale as the Wolf Fang spoke something to her with an excited expression.

'Hm. Henrietta seems tense. Wonder what is up her mind,' the Elf mumbled over the subject for a moment before shrugging it. 'Nah, it's probably nothing. Maybe Alice is just telling some weird story or something.'

---

'Wonder why she's so interested in Asuna.'

Alice had no idea why the orange-haired woman looked so much at her companion. Maybe she was impressed by her earlier deeds? The former Integrity Knight certainly heard admired rumblings from some of the West Wind girls about her courage to face a fearsome foe for the sake of her man (the Wolf Fang's tail twitched a bit too much for her taste at that.)

So the conclusion that Alice reached was: 'Oh. Maybe Henrietta wants to know more about Asuna's deeds.'

If there's one thing Alice could admire about her 'rival', it is her martial prowess. Even without taking Stacia's avatar, the girl from the Underworld quickly saw that the skill of the "Berserker Healer," as many called her, was to be admired. Talking with Kirito allowed her to know much more about that girl. Ergo, she listed some of the actions from her time in Aincrad.

But something that she had said must have made the Bard uncomfortable, leading to her stop talking and going back to eat her food, her face pale as that of some inhabitants of the Dark Territory.

'Was something I said?' wondered Alice. 'Although, the actions that happened in those places are not for the faint of heart. But she doesn't seem cowardly…'

The Guardian decided to let that out of her head for now.

She noticed that Yui stopped eating the curry, frowning.

"Is something wrong with the food?"

The Traveler blinked, then shook her head.

"No, it's excellent. I was thinking about Klein…"

The blonde knight sighed. Yes, the Samurai could be annoying and sometimes a loudmouth, but he also took his "big bro" position seriously. He would be brimming with the food and seeing-

"Ah, dangit!" said the knight. "We need to warn him that things went well!"

Seeing that her friends were eating, the knight decided to take the matter into her own hands.

"I'll be back soon," she said, lifting from her seat and walking through the tables. Some of the boys from the Crescent Moon had decided to start singing a ballad - something about a ship and a whale, which confused her for a second as they were away from the sea - so she sneaked through the halls of the building until she found a quieter place to make the connection.

She made the call, tapping her feet on the ground. After a few seconds, she felt Klein picking up on the line.

"Oh, right on time!" said the Samurai. "I was about to enter a dungeon. What took you guys so long?"

"Honestly? We had a long day."

The girl explained the circumstances behind Kirito's daring escape from Susukino, up to the chaotic duel in Hana Plains, then explained what happened today -including the reveals about food and Incarnation.

The Samurai focused more on the first, though.

"Food. Real food? Not pulling my leg here."

"Yes, it is," confirmed Alice. "The curry here is pretty exquisite."

"...that's it, the others can wait. I'm desperate for a pizza at this point."

"We can see if the chef can do one," promised the blonde girl. "But enough about us. How is your trip?"

"Well…" he yawned through the connection. "I had to take some alternate paths, but once I get through this one final dungeon, I'm in Minami. And then the long haul begins. With luck, Fuurinkazan must return to Akiba by the middle of January…"

The Guardian, however, with all her years of serving as a knight, could hear some hesitation in the older man's voice.

"Is something wrong?"

"...things are escalating in Minami. More and more people are flocking to this Nureha figure. Isshin and the others don't understand what is happening, but I feel we're running out of time."

"Is it about to become another Susukino?"

Silence.

"Klein, is Minami becoming something like Susukino?"

"...do you want an honest answer?" said Klein. "From what I heard from your story…Minami won't become as hostile as Susukino. But all my instincts scream that this will become infinitely more dangerous."

The eyes of the girl narrowed.

"Klein…"

"I know you will say to go back if it's too dangerous," he said. "But I won't forgive myself if something happens to the others. It is already way past the time to get out of danger. Now, there's only one way ahead."

The girl went silent.

"Look, I will be okay," he said. "And it will be worse if I twiddle my fingers like an idiot instead of taking initiative."

"...alright," she said. "Stay safe, Klein."

"Same for you guys, but especially for Kirito. You take his eyes from him for a second…"

The Samurai cut the connection in the middle of his ramblings.

Alice looked at the dimming streets of Akiba.

'An enemy worse than Brigandia…' thought the knight.

She felt the aftertaste of Nyanta's curry. She hadn't felt such a taste in a long time, her robotic frame having no function capable of simulating taste -nor need to do so in the first place.

Yes, even if it was something necessary for the sake of the Underworld.

Alice missed those things. To feel human in something other than mind.

She clenched her fist.

'I won't let anyone bring ruin to this world,' she decided.

---

"...and this is why you never mess with a sheep on the 56th Floor."

"Hm. I didn't know that the sheep of Aincrad had such a fearsome guardian," said Shiroe.

"And I never knew that the combination of a sheep and a xenomorph could be so terrific," said Asuna, shivering. "Yes, let's not talk about the Sheep King. I would rather face the GeoCrawler than that thing again. Who was the designer of that Field Boss?"

"At least it was not a chicken…" said Soujiro. "Or you would have no chance of victory."

Asuna looked at the Samurai, confused.

"Forgive her," said Kirito. "She didn't play many video games before virtual reality became a thing, and she still doesn't get many references."

"I can distinguish Mario from Luigi now…"

"This doesn't seem that hard," commented Shiroe.

Kirito was about to say something, but Asuna shut him with a glare. 'Yeah, better not pull the pin of this grenade,' he thought.

Soujiro let out a chuckle.

"Ah…it's good to see you are more sociable now," said the Samurai. "I remember that, even in your time as the second from the Black Sword Knights, you weren't the talking type."

"Well, you can't say that most of the guys from that guild are easy to talk with," said Marielle. "No offense, but most of that crew is so zany…"

"I was one of them, mind you," said Kirito, raising his eyebrow. "And they are still the damn best guild in the Server."

"I thought it was D.D.D," said Serara. "At least that is what I heard."

"Quality over quantity," said Kirito. "Even if there's competition now, this probably only makes Isaac go even harder to compensate. There's a reason why the slogan is 'Let's go hard!' It is stupid, but it's true," he paused. "Although Ifrit should have put that in other words. Sheesh and she was supposed to be an amateur singer or something…"

Asuna let out a smile. It was something new -yet incredibly amusing -to see her boyfriend defend his former guild that way. 'I wonder…was he that passionate with the-'

"Do you think of joining them again?" asked Akatsuki.

The boy shook his head.

"Nah. It is a thing of the past, and I earned the right to leave my position behind."

"You don't need to take your position as vice-leader, though," said Silica. "I mean, you could always join as a normal member."

"Again, not really. I heard the guild nowadays is strict with who can get in. Being the exception to the rule would cause a lot of trouble. And then there's you guys."

"So why not form a guild mewrself?"

The people at the table turned to see the elegant figure of Nyanta.

"Oh, don't mind this old cat," said the Swashbuckler. "I was passing by to hear what people thought of the food and heard mew talking about guilds."

"Is that so," said his Human counterpart. "Then I have nothing but complaints on how you keep such a delicacy hidden from us in Susukino. Shameful for a gentlecat," the Swashbuckler replied with an expression of false indignation.

"I-I thought it was wonderful, Mister Nyanta!" said Serara, blushing slightly.

"I liked it, and so did Hawk!" said Silica, caressing her summon.

'When did she summon that?' thought Shiroe. He took his eyes for a minute, then there he was.

"Hm…good to know," said the chef, smiling. "The satisfaction of a cook lies on his targets. A purrfect meal, indeed."

"...stick to the mew jokes. That was awful," said Kirito.

"You are one to talk," countered Asuna. "I missed the mark of how many terrible puns you did in our time together. I should ask Yui about that."

"Don't," retorted the swordsman. "Just don't."

"Anyways…" said Nyanta. "Why not create a guild mewrself? Mew has a very sizable base to form the group."

"And it's not like you lack experience to keep a group," commented Serara. "I can't imagine the Black Sword Knights as a prim and proper group in any universe."

"I…don't feel it," said the swordsman, his smile slightly strained. "These days, I am very different from that guy Isaac invited to lead as part of a bet. And I don't think I would do well as the top guy."

"..."

The Swashbuckler had good instincts. Even not looking at his girlfriend, he knew she wanted to tell him something.

"...I think you would do better than you think," she admitted. "Take this from someone who was the de facto leader of the KoB."

Asuna respected Kayaba to an extent, but with how often he left things in the hands of the sub-leaders, the girl had more often than not to step up to lead both the guild and the Clearers frequently. So, the fencer felt she had a good grasp on what made a good leader, and Kirito had many desirable traits for a commander.

For starters, experience. Even if you discounted Elder Tale and SAO, he had years of experience in MMOs, which meant years learning how to communicate with others, understanding the mechanics of bosses, learning the patterns, and all the jazz. Asuna felt that the only person with more experience in that was Nyanta.

However, that was the most material thing, and being a leader wasn't only about that. It was about inspiring confidence in the subordinates, caring for each member, and being wise to know what is best for the group to succeed. He is the first to charge into battle and the last to leave.

There was a reason why he became a king in the Underworld. He had these traits inside him, the potential to be a good -maybe even a great -leader.

"It's not a good idea, Asuna," said Kirito. "Trust me, I'm not as great as you think I am."

Of course, there was that caveat: Kirito had no wish to lead. One could set this as his wish and leave it alone, but Asuna knew better.

Kirito has only been in two guilds. Moonlit Black Cats and the Knights of Blood, and he only entered the latter to be together with her.

Yes, that was the crux of the question.

Even after so long, Kirito couldn't forgive what happened on that day. His greatest what-ifs:

'What if I hadn't lied?'

'What if I had been faster?'

'What if I had noticed the trap earlier?'

'What if I never met those guys?'

'What if-'

'What if-'

She closed her eyes. Those were questions that also came to her head from time to time. The burden of a leader is the consequences of their actions.

The boy raised his eyebrow slightly.

"Hm. I need to leave for a few minutes," he said. "I'll be right back."

The boy left, his new serving of curry almost untouched.

"Kirito…" said Asuna.

---

Maybe it was rude to leave so out of the blue, but Kirito had no time to waste. If his math didn't fail him, it was eleven o'clock. If he wanted to do that, then…

He passed over Recon -his face a bit red -and Alice -who didn't react to the passage of the swordsman, lost in thoughts -and started running through Akiba.

'Is there even a graveyard here?' he wondered. The Swashbuckler reflected that it would be as good of a substitute that he could arrange on such short notice. He cursed himself. The boy had plans to look for a place for the ceremony when he reached Akiba, but that went out of the window because of Demiqas and Incarnation's discovery.

Sure, he could do that tomorrow, but if the possibility of doing that today existed, he would take it.

He jumped into some walls, stopping on top of a building. As he feared, no graveyard was in sight. 'I would have remembered if something like that was here,' thought the man in black. 'Is there nothing I can-?'

The boy noticed something caressing his leg and nearly slipped on the roof. He looked at the guilty party, a gray cat.

'Where did he come from?'

The boy shook his head. It didn't matter: he needed-

The cat jumped away. Kirito followed suit.

'Why am I doing this?' he asked himself.

The answer? Guts. They told him that he would see something interesting.

After a few minutes of jumping from rooftop to rooftop, the cat landed in the south area of Akiba, close to some ruins. The Swashbuckler noticed many other felines gathering together, sitting close to a set of stones illuminated by the moonlight.

The boy raised his eyebrow, studying the environment. He smelt the air, feeling something familiar. His eyes widened slightly.

"Catnip."

Kirito recognized that when he visited Silica's house once with Lisbeth and Asuna to help her with a school project. The girl loved to buy catnip as a treat for Pina, the cat.

"Better not take Nyanta or Silica close to this place…" he mumbled, remembering the Summoner's story.

On the other hand, Kirito was a Human. That plant did nothing for him.

And it was as good of a spot as he could get.

"Cats at the moonlight…poetic."

Kirito thought how lucky it was to find such a place. It was almost perfect.

He took an item from the Magic Bag - five candles he had bought in Susukino. Putting each one on top of one of the rocks, he clapped his hands, lighting them, a spell that the seller imbued in the product at the request of the Swashbuckler.

Then, sitting on his knees, he started praying.

'...hey guys. You wouldn't believe what happened since the last time we talked.'

This was how Kirito started his conversations with them: after clearing their graves, he would tell them what happened in the year.

And he had lots to tell. Right after Christmas, there was the Calibur quest. Then they met Yuuki (did that even happen half a year ago? It felt like it was longer), then the mess with the Augma and Ordinal Scale happened, followed by the issues inside Project Alicization, all leading to the cherry on top, the Catastrophe.

The boy wished for more time to give more details, but he decided to go do his prayers.

'Keita…your mom was fine the last time I saw her. The same goes for your parents, Tetsuo and Sasamaru. Ducker, your uncle retired recently. And Sachi, your mother is still…'

He paused. Most people would question the need to tell the dead the worries of the living, but Kirito didn't care much for that. Learning about his old friends, even when death separated them, was weirdly soothing.

'...she still didn't recover,' he finished. 'But your father says that she was starting to do things on her own again.'

Through occasional meetings, Kirito learned about the lives of his friends. About how Keita lived with his mom while his father worked overseas. That Tetsuo and Sasamaru were half-brothers from the father's side. That Ducker had lost his parents when he was young and, until the Death Game, lived with his uncle, an archaeologist.

That Sachi's mom broke down after the day she died, having to be taken to a psychiatric hospital, and her father desperately worked to sustain her stay there until she got better.

All of that, and more, he learned since then.

'To think that people of such different backgrounds got united under the banner of a small computer club…'

Even coming from such different backgrounds, their bond was almost unbreakable. Their willingness to learn, to grow, to fight-

And then that day came. If he had been faster if he had been more cautious if he had been stronger-

The boy started trembling, tears falling through his face. He felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Am I bothering mew?"

His head slowly turned to meet Nyanta.

"How did you…?"

"Find mew?" he finished. "My enhanced senses. Mew nearly lost me with all the catnip, though."

The Felinoid noticed the candles. The Swashbuckler raised his eyebrows.

"Hm, it's not elegant for a gentlecat to interrupt a ceremony of such personal nature. Should I…?"

"You are not," cut off the younger man. "I…got a bit sidetracked in my thoughts."

Nyanta nodded slowly. His sharp mind made a few connections in the blink of an eye.

"Mind if I join?"

Silence. Taking that as a yes, the older man sat down like Kirito, closing his eyes.

Silence. The only sounds were the cats playing, the candles burning and the wind flowing.

"Are these meant to represent mewr guild member's graves?"

Kirito didn't answer, instead asking:

"Why do you think that?"

"The talk about guilds," explained the gentlecat. "Mew hid well, but a few managed to catch those old wounds. And mewr reaction just confirmed it to me."

"The oldest trick in the book…" mumbled Kirito. "Why did you follow me? Don't you have a kitchen to supervise?"

"I feel that they can handle a few minutes without my presence. I also needed some air to think over some proposal I received, so I caught mew by accident, and here we are."

Kirito nodded, turning back to the candles.

"...I loved them," said the Swashbuckler. "I had to take the role of villain for the longest time for the sake of many. I felt lonely, so when I crossed the way with that group, I thought that staying with them and nurturing them to become stronger would help with that. And, for a time, it worked. For a time, I even thought that Sachi and I could become something…"

He didn't finish. Nyanta closed his eyes.

"What happened then?" he asked gently.

Kirito closed his eyes.

"...a trap," he said. "A trap room. No way to leave without killing all the over-leveled monsters or destroying the trigger protected by them. All but one were slaughtered in front of me. And then, when I took the news of what happened to our leader, revealed my identity…he threw himself out of Aincrad, falling to his death."

'You're a Beater. You didn't have the right to get involved with us.'

No emotion. Only a lost will to live, as he took one step and fell into the abyss.

And Kirito couldn't find many ways to question it.

"...it wasn't mewr fault," said Nyanta. "That place was cruel. Mew couldn't have-"

"I thought the same thing. Time and time again," said Kirito. He looked at his trembling hands. "And yet…if I never had met them…if I had stood alone…if at least I had been stronger, then…"

He felt Nyanta's hand on his shoulder.

"Kirito…from what I saw in this short time we knew each other, mew are a brave and compassionate man, with a strong sense of duty," he said. "Which is mewr greatest strength…and biggest weakness."

The boy raised an eyebrow.

"I…don't understand."

"I wouldn't think mew would," said Nyanta. "Duty is one of the greatest virtues a human can have, but, like most things, too much of it can make it a flaw. Mew has duty in excess, Kirito. Mew takes your failures harshly…and I suppose it all began on that day."

"...before," admitted the younger man. "In the first-floor boss fight…there was this man that gathered our raid team. I didn't know at the time but, like me, he was a beta tester. We knew the original patterns and what kind of reward the boss gave to the one who dealt the finishing blow. However, when he charged ahead, I noticed he had a different weapon for his final bar…if I had noticed it faster, moved faster. Most games suffer changes between their beta and final versions, subtle or not. I knew that, but feared being chased away by people who hated the beta testers. If I had spoken up…"

"...those that live in 'what ifs' can't enjoy the now, mew know?" asked Nyanta. "Mew are still mewng. This was a tragedy that couldn't be avoided."

"How can you be sure?" asked the boy bitterly.

Nyanta closed his eyes. This was something that Kirito thought about again and again. How could his words go through him?

"...some say that Aincrad was hell," said Kirito. "And I can't disagree with them. I lost so many pieces of myself there that you wouldn't recognize the old me. But…" his eyes went glossy. "I also won so much. If I had kept following my way before that happened I wouldn't ever have made so many friends. I would still be alone in my world. Curious how such a place can incite such contradictory feelings, no?"

Yes, Kirito was a boy who was a walking contradiction. So young, yet had emotional baggage to match a soldier. So quiet, yet when it mattered the most, his voice was the loudest. And his unassuming appearance hid a monster in combat.

And surrounded by such a tight group, he refused to give the natural next step.

Nyanta wasn't one to talk, considering the Debauchery Tea Party, but it was different with Kirito and his friends -because Kanami was far from being a common person. Besides that, most of the members of the Debauchery at the time had no interest in forming a guild, while Kirito's group, although not pressing for it, wouldn't refuse it either.

'I could let it be,' thought Nyanta. 'There is nothing wrong in leaving this alone, after all. It's not my business, and it's not like I can understand what is going on in his mind.'

But.

As a gentleman, Nyanta couldn't handle letting someone in distress without helping them. And he felt that Kirito was at a crossroads. If he could help it…

"Hm?"

He noticed something in the ground. Kirito looked at it with some surprise, then he relaxed.

]

"I must have let that fall from my bag," said the Swashbuckler. "Let me…"

"I can pass it to mew," said the Felinoid, picking up the card. He looked at the image. "The Hanged Man? Didn't know that mew were interested in tarot, Kirito."

"It's…something I found," the boy decided for a half-truth. "Don't know why I kept it close to me. This card has a bad omen anyway. Sacrifice and everything."

The catman hummed.

"Mew know…I also know a few tidbits of tarot myself," said the Swashbuckler. "And I know that those cards can have multiple meanings. If I'm not mistaken, the Hanged Man can mean both sacrifice and contemplation.."

The boy raised an eyebrow.

"Contemplation?"

Nyanta nodded.

"Yes, contemplation, there is no echo here, mew know? I think it fits mewr thoughts right now. It's about making a choice and thinking well over it."

Kirito picked the card with some hesitation, looking at the image.

"A choice…"

Nyanta lifted from the ground, taking out the dust in his coat.

"I have no right to dictate mewr choices, Kirito. But to forgive mewrself, mew must be willing to step towards unknown roads."

"...what if I don't forgiveness?"

"Then this is mewr choice, and I shall respect it," said Nyanta. "But…I know the feeling that regret brings. My wife…to keep her alive, I had to forsake much of the time I could have spent with her to pay for her treatment, and yet it was all for naught. It took me a long time to make peace with those feelings and to keep looking ahead. As someone who had those feelings before…surround mewrself with friends. This was how I healed. Face those feelings head-on and conquer them."

Silence. With those words, Nyanta left Kirito to his devices.

Only he could choose to move onward.

'But…do I have this right?'

That was the question in Kirito's mind. Was it right for him to move past that? Should he do that?

'...what would you tell me?'

He knew exactly what those guys would say. He should keep going, not let guilt eat him away. Easier said than done.

Kirito was afraid. Afraid he would fail again. That he would lose his friends because he wasn't strong enough. He had failed the Cats. He failed Ronye and Tieze back in the academy. He had failed with Eugeo. He-

The boy looked at the Hanged Man -when did he pick up that again? - staring at it. Change, Nyanta said. A card that means change.

He closed his eyes, taking deep breaths.

No. None of those people would have liked to see him in such a poor state. Each one of them loved him, and he loved them back. Besides…

'This isn't like before. I was alone in holding everyone together. Now…'

Yes, now it was different. One person can't protect everything by itself. But Kirito was not alone. Every person in their group would give their all to protect the other. Even the other members of Fuurinkazan would do that, just because Klein was their friend.

Each time he put the task of protecting everyone he loved on his shoulders alone, it caused tragedy. Maybe it was time to let others protect each other.

"Kirito?"

He looked to see Asuna standing in the back. She was panting a little, indicating the girl had recently run. No point in guessing the reason.

"How did you…"

"I…I asked Yui," she said. "I asked her to stay at the party, but she helped me find you with her powers."

He nodded silently, turning back to the stones, and staring at the flame of the candles. Soon after, Asuna joined him, sitting beside him.

"I never saw what you did for the Cats," said the girl. "Did you…?"

"I'm…improvising," said the Swashbuckler. "A lot."

Asuna nodded. The two stared at the candles in silence for a few minutes.

"I thought you would want to ask what Nyanta and I were talking about."

"I thought it was something personal," she said. "I was waiting for you to tell me…if you want it."

The boy hummed slightly before saying:

"Asuna…do you think I should change?"

The girl raised an eyebrow.

"Er, this came a bit out of left field. A bit more context would be nice."

The Swashbuckler took a few seconds to think before answering:

"If you could change anything about me…what would it be?"

The Cleric raised an eyebrow, still confused. Seeing how serious her boyfriend was, however, she started to reflect on the subject:

"It's…well…hard to say. You are kind, brave, and loyal. Witty, but not outright mean. But if you are serious about this…well, I already said what I thought was your biggest flaw."

He closed his eyes. His guilt. His unwillingness to share his pain with others. He felt Asuna embrace him.

"You shared the burden of many others, Kirito. Let others shoulder yours."

Silence. He let out a sigh.

"New year."

"Hm?"

"I will announce my decision in the new year. It will give me time."

The girl nodded.

"It's your choice in the end, Kirito. Regardless of where you decide to go, we'll be there for you. Always."

"...thank you," he said.

The two stared silently at the burning candles. The Swashbuckler started to do the last thing he did during these times -the boy started to hum Red Nosed Rudolph. Asuna stood silently by his side, feeling some of the tears coming from her boyfriend.

'I promise Kirito…we will help you shoulder the world if it's needed,' thought the Cleric. 'I will shoulder the world.'

---

Not much further, a few people also talked about the future.

"Eesh…" mumbled Naotsugu. "It took you long enough, didn't you? What, wanted to sneak out of buying us a Christmas gift?"

Shiroe let out a smirk.

"Far from it. It's just that I've been reflecting on many things in the last few days. I…" he paused. "...I am still a bit not sure if that is what I want to do. It's a whole new world for me."

"My liege, you will do well," said Akatsuki. "You have what it takes to lead."

"Indeed, indeed," said Nyanta. "If mew can handle Kanami, there is nothing to worry about. Nyehehehe," at Shiroe's annoyed expression, the gentlecat gave a legit Cheshire grin. "Now, don't be like that. Naotsugu-ecchi and I have been waiting for something like that to happen for a long time now. It's only unfortunate that it is under such dire circumstances."

The Enchanter sighed.

"Indeed…I apologize for having taken so long to make up my mind."

"Ah, don't be like that!" said Naotsugu, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder. "We could have waited much more for the opportunity."

Akatsuki huffed, a bit annoyed at the Guardian. A few minutes ago, he was advising the Recon boy on the best panties, and now here he was saying such things.

"As always, you have my blade, milord," said the Assassin.

"And mine as well," said Nyanta. "And my meals too, I guess," he joked.

"The most important part," said Naotsugu, sagely.

"Yes indeed," said Shiroe.

The three men laughed, and after a moment, so did Akatsuki.

"So, milord," asked Akatsuki. "What do we call ourselves now?"

The Enchanter tapped his fingers.

"Hm…I was thinking…my plans for this guild. I want to figure out the secrets of this world. Understand why we are here. For that, I need a group willing to go beyond what the horizon provides, explorers of all corners of the world, willing to challenge those lands and their dangers. We will be Log Horizon, and our name shall be known as the ones who herald a new era."

---

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

A hammer went up and down.

"Woman, stop protesting!" complained a voice. "Just keep creating weapons and stop hitting metal!"

The eyebrows of the pink-haired Dwarf burrowed as she kept hitting the hammer against the sword.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The man on the other side of the door grumbled but gave up. At this point, the men and women of Hamelin realized it was a foolish effort to stop the Dwarf -especially after the last time, when she mauled the jewels of the last man who attempted to stop her.

"..."

She looked at the sword silently: so simple and unbalanced. In other words, a crude blade.

Lisbeth growled, absolutely livid.

"I would rather be in hell than make such cheap garbage!" she said with indignation, throwing the piece of metal in the corner, along with the other swords. Now she wanted to annoy those guys. She picked a metal plate and was about to start hammering when-

Knock, knock.

"I swear if you came back to complain-"

"It's me."

The shoulders of the Dwarf relaxed slightly. She used the kimono's sleeve to wipe away some of the sweat on her forehead.

"Ah, it's you. Come in, Minori."

The younger, brown-haired Kannagi entered the room, carrying a small tray with bread and water. After attempting to escape so many times, the leaders of the guild decided to trap her, and thus she had been locked in that room for the last week, making her supply almost all of their weapon production.

She supposed it was an attempt at breaking her, but Lisbeth had it worse in Aincrad. At least here she didn't have to haggle for prices in materials or hunt for them herself - the incident that she and Kirito had during their first meeting came to her mind.

However, Minori didn't see things the same way -and honestly, how could she, considering that Lisbeth was in this situation in the first place because of her and Touya?

"..." the Dwarf glanced silently at her fingers, tied in bandages. "They still are forcing you guys to work?"

"...just like you," said the girl, meek. Lisbeth looked at her swollen fingers, faking surprise.

"Oh, these? Didn't even feel them," the older girl was lying through her teeth. Those hurt like hell, but Minori already had too many worries. "How is your brother?"

"...fine. He's just a little down…"

"I suppose there's not much reason to get excited," said Lisbeth. "I suppose the…gentlemen are also asking for my potion?"

The Kannagi nodded weakly. Lisbeth huffed. The cowards don't even have the guts to ask her directly. She picked the recipient from the inventory and passed it to her.

"Here. I also have something for you and your brother."

She passed an oak staff and a katana to her. A quick analysis showed Minori that those weapons were way stronger than the ones the brother and sister duo currently held -and better than the cheap blades she did in mass.

"When did you…"

"Most of these," she pointed at the ground. "I did as the system ordered, so they are only as good as my current level as a blacksmith can provide. But I figured out a secret method…"

Well, it wasn't much of a secret, she thought. Having instincts honed by years of working as a smith in both Aincrad and Alfheim, at one point the Dwarf let those instincts take over and was surprised when she got a weapon of a slightly higher quality. And then she did that again, for the same result. She also used it as a way to annoy the guys from Hamelin, by being deliberately noisy with her beats.

"Don't tell anyone but your brother," she asked. "I am already working too much without having to put actual effort into this. Why did I even bother to suggest this arrangement…"

"Er…because the alternative would be worse?"

The pink-haired girl shuddered.

"Ugh, right. Yeah, that was way worse. At least only I suffer."

She touched the dark circles around her eyes. At least two weeks working non-stop, with barely any time to rest. The girl wondered if that's what it felt like to work under a black company.

At least there she would have tasty snacks and accessible water. Probably.

"This…this is not right," said Minori. "You shouldn't have risked so much, only to-"

"I knew the risks," interrupted Lisbeth. "And I didn't care for it back then, and don't care right now. Simple as that."

"...I wish I could be as strong as you," said the Kannagi. "Maybe then…"

The two women went silent. Silently, Minori grabbed Lisbeth's gifts and threw them into her inventory.

"...merry Christmas," said the girl. "I'm sorry that I don't have anything for you."

Lisbeth let out a smirk.

"Wait until we are out of here, then buy me the fanciest hammer you come across."

The Kannagi seemed like she wanted to say something, but she only sighed and left the room. A few seconds later, the door opened again, with the ugly face of Shredder staring at her.

"We are out of materials. You get the night to rest," he said. "Enjoy it, nobody."

The girl bit her tongue to refrain from speaking. She could get away with swearing at most of the other members of Hamelin, but Shredder was the type that would maul her to death -she should know because he already did that to her.

The girl turned off the magical fire with a mental command, then sat down at a corner of the room. She coughed a little, the smoke of the furnace entering her lungs.

'I hate game logic at times…who would build a furnace in a place without any space to let the smoke get out?!'

Still, the girl did her best to stay comfortable, pulling a blanket from her inventory and putting it on the ground. The room's heat would suffice to keep her warm through the night. Then, taking off her leather apron, she rolled into a makeshift pillow, laying her head in it. It was not comfortable, but it was what it was.

Her body ached. From so much pain, the girl barely managed to close her eyes, not helped by the smoke that slowly disappeared - probably magic, she thought.

Outside, Lisbeth seems small, broken by hardship.

Inside, however, her spirit was stainless.

'I…I know you guys are out there,' she thought. 'That you are looking for me.'

She closed her fist.

'I need to be strong. For my sake. For the sake of the others. If I bow, then…then I will lose something important, I know it.'

The girl let out the tears she held for a long time. She didn't stop crying after darkness took over.