Chapter 12: Results of the First Strategy Meeting
At last, the morning of the strategy meeting arrived.
After some discussion, everyone agreed that it was still too early for Lisbeth to participate in a floor boss fight, so she decided not to join this time.
After a brief exchange, Asuna headed to the meeting venue alone.
Hachiman, on the other hand, only set out after discreetly placing the "Boss Strategy Guide" that Argo had stayed up all night to finish in the item shop.
Seeing Asuna sitting alone in the back row, Hachiman was struck by the faint scent of lily of the valley coming from her.
His inner snark flared up instantly.
'She even has a built-in fragrance effect for this kind of situation? Is the SAO system bugged or what!?'
After taking his seat, he asked how the meeting was going.
Asuna's expression was somewhat grave as she began to explain.
"The one leading the meeting is a guy named Diabel. I remember he said that, spiritually, he considers himself a knight."
"Huh? A spiritual knight?" Hachiman almost spit out the water he had just drunk. "Then I'll call myself a shadow ninja or something!"
The moment he said it, Hachiman wished he could bite off his own tongue—damn, he just exposed his hopeless otaku side in front of a girl!
Asuna tilted her head in confusion. "Shadow...what?"
"N-no, nothing!" Hachiman quickly changed the subject. "So then what happened?"
Completely unaware of his inner panic, Asuna continued explaining. "Then that guy with the weird hairstyle—his name was Kibaou, I think—suddenly…"
"Weird hairstyle? Oh, that guy."
"Yeah, he suddenly shouted before the meeting, 'Beta testers, show yourselves! You're the ones who got 2,000 people killed! Take responsibility!' ...something like that."
"What the hell is that guy's problem?"
Hachiman showed an exasperated look.
Asuna continued.
"Then that Black guy, Agil, stepped forward and said the information was publicly available, which temporarily calmed things down. I saw Mr. Agil handing out bread to wandering players at the church before. He seemed like a good guy."
'So good guys always hand out bread? Wait, this situation is packed with too many things to roast!'
After hearing the detailed account, Hachiman regretted not thinking things through better.
When he heard the words "strategy guide," he suddenly felt a jolt run down the back of his neck.
He blurted out, "Wait! Did the strategy guide Argo gave out include a disclaimer like 'Data for reference only'!?"
"Hachiman-kun, what's wrong?" Asuna asked, concerned, seeing his darkened expression.
Hachiman pushed down his anxiety and explained the situation. "Miss Argo... might be in danger..."
At that moment, a player burst into the meeting room.
"Mr. Diabel! We found this at the item shop!"
"This is... the Rat's 'Boss Strategy Guide'!?"
"But the boss room was just discovered! How did this come out so fast...?"
"So detailed... as expected of..."
"Great! With this data, we might win. The stats don't seem too high."
But just as everyone got excited, Kibaou started causing a scene again after seeing the strategy guide.
"See! That woman is colluding with beta testers! She's one of them! She needs to explain herself!"
Voices of agreement echoed around, and the venue was soon filled with accusations against the beta testers.
Hachiman desperately tried to figure out how to calm the situation.
'I'll redirect the criticism to myself, attack Kibaou, and find a reason that convinces everyone.'
Even though the Christmas incident had made him a bit more positive, Hachiman's first instinct in emergencies was still self-sacrifice.
Just as he was about to act, Asuna suddenly grabbed his sleeve.
When he turned around, he saw a determined look in the girl's eyes, and instinctively looked away.
"Just as I thought…"
Thinking he had been seen through, Hachiman was still trying to find a way to explain when Asuna stepped forward toward Kibaou.
Everyone, including Kibaou, froze in surprise at the sudden appearance of the girl.
"Don't you want to get out of here? Why can't you just honestly appreciate useful information?"
When Kibaou realized it was a girl saying those harsh words, he fell silent and completely stiffened.
At the same time, whispers started circulating around the room—"She's a girl?"—and the atmosphere in the room began to change rapidly.
'Now's the time! Just like at the school festival—fight emotion with emotion.'
Hachiman seized the moment and quickly analyzed the situation.
'This is the chance. According to Asuna's intel, the reliable ones are Agil and Diabel.'
As the room was still in turmoil, Hachiman stepped in front of Asuna as if to protect her.
Asuna grabbed his sleeve again. Hachiman whispered to her, "Leave the rest to me."
"You sure? You won't do anything reckless, right?"
"Yeah."
Hachiman gave a short reply and then tried to speak calmly to Kibaou.
"Mr. Kibaou, can I ask you something?"
"Hm? What is it?"
Hachiman continued carefully, choosing his words.
"I understand you have your doubts. I'm not telling you to blindly change your mind, but…"
He paused and looked around the room.
"I believe that everyone here is gathered with the will to overcome this nightmare somehow.
Now that we have both the necessary information and comrades, I'd like to express my deep gratitude. Mr. Agil, what do you think?"
When Hachiman suddenly turned to Agil, Agil realized something and followed along.
"I also want to return to the real world as soon as possible. There are important people waiting for me—just like all of you."
His calm baritone voice echoed persuasively through the room.
"What about you, Diabel?"
Hachiman then addressed Diabel, prompting him to take control of the situation.
"Y-you're right! Our enemy isn't the beta testers—it's the floor boss!
Right now, at the very least, we should be thankful for this information. What do you say, Mr. Kibaou?"
Kibaou, though still dissatisfied, sensed the change in the atmosphere and relented.
"Fine... just this time, I'll let it go."
"Thanks for understanding." Diabel smiled cheerfully, and the room filled with voices of agreement.
Hachiman felt that Diabel had similar crowd control skills as Hayama, and returned to his seat with Asuna.
"Hachiman-kun, that was resolved smoothly."
"Yeah, Asuna, you were amazing. You completely changed the mood in the plaza."
"I just felt like you were going to sacrifice yourself again. Sorry for acting on my own, but I knew you'd clean up the mess."
"I never could have done it without you. Thanks, Asuna."
When the meeting moved to team formation, the solemn atmosphere suddenly shifted to feel like a university club recruitment event.
"Forty-five people—perfectly divisible into three teams. But the last unlucky guy left alone..." Hachiman counted the people present, then noticed a black-haired boy in the corner fidgeting in front of his equipment menu.
It looked like a "social anxiety alert" box might pop up over his head.
'He's the one.'
After getting Asuna's approval, Hachiman approached.
"Yo, wanna team up?"
"Eh?" The boy looked up with a startled expression like a frightened animal, but upon seeing the orange-haired swordswoman behind Hachiman, he instantly composed himself. "Um... pleased to meet you!"
Hachiman brought him back to Asuna, and the three introduced themselves briefly.
"I'm Hachiman."
"I'm Asuna."
"My name's Kirito. Nice to meet you."
When he heard the name Kirito, Hachiman felt a rush of memories—as if from the very beginning, outside the city…
"Kirito, did you teach someone named Klein some combat skills before?"
Kirito looked troubled, then realized, "Oh, Klein. Yeah, I remember that. You were there too, right?"
"What a coincidence."
Knowing about Kirito and Klein, Asuna also recognized that Kirito was someone trustworthy.
After deciding on their tactical roles, the three skipped joint training to conserve energy.
That's when Agil approached and offered a hand.
"Well done."
"Thanks for the help earlier."
"Have we met before?"
"At the church. Asuna here said you were a good guy, so I borrowed your reputation. Sorry about that."
Hearing Hachiman's words, Agil looked a little awkward but still smiled and said it was fine.
Hachiman and Kirito also finished their introductions, and the four shook hands.
"Let's do our best tomorrow!"
With that, Agil left.
During the practice outside the city, Hachiman was stunned by Kirito's strength.
When Kirito's black coat became a blur and, combined with Asuna's starry barrage, they unleashed a ten-hit combo, Hachiman stared at the sky-high damage numbers in disbelief.
'This guy is totally cheating! He's a system favorite!'
Kirito, equally shocked, thought: 'This coordination speed is on par with top-tier beta testers.'
Having confirmed their formation, the three decided to disband and prepare for tomorrow.