Chapter 92: Yukino's Strategy Begins
'That bastard, one day I'll make him cry.'
"Miss Haruno, you're so scary. But still, as flawless as ever on the outside."
"Well, I was trained from a young age."
"More importantly, Kirito, why are you curled up in the corner?"
"Uh, that's…"
After leaving Asuna's hospital room and returning to the hospital building, Kirito kept glancing furtively at Hikigaya from the corner of the room.
"What exactly happened? Come to think of it, I heard a scream earlier. What happened?"
"Well, Hikigaya clearly lost it back then! A scream wouldn't be strange at all!"
"Hikigaya-kun lost his temper?"
"Yeah, he really snapped."
"Since when?"
"Probably just before Miss Haruno whispered something to him."
"I didn't notice at all…"
"When Hikigaya loses it, he puts on that 'everything's a bother' face, but once he explodes, he becomes incredibly aggressive."
"I see. Has this kind of thing happened before?"
"Hey, Kirito, you know what happens if you keep talking, right?"
"Kirito-kun, you understand, right?"
"The last time he exploded, he took out Asuna's guards in three seconds flat, then loudly declared his claim by pulling her into his arms!"
Kirito exposed Hikigaya's dark past without hesitation.
"W-wow, I'm going to have to rethink my image of Hikigaya-kun."
"Kirito! You bastard!"
"Sorry, Hikigaya, I'm siding with the stronger one."
"Damn it, I'll definitely snitch to Liz."
"Hey! What does Liz have to do with this?!"
"We know you two get along well. That's enough already."
"By the way, how did you cancel the wedding? It was like watching a magic trick."
Kirito still seemed very curious about that.
"Oh, that. I had Miss Haruno tell Asuna's father that the government had started taking action and that Miss Asuna might wake up soon.
If the company president made a unilateral decision about the marriage, Asuna might reject him for life."
"Thinking about it, that's a pretty normal argument."
"Asuna's father only made that decision out of anxiety. We just cleared up his concerns. It was easy. After all, he's a daughter-con."
"That does make sense."
At that moment, there was a knock at the door. Kikuoka had arrived.
"The analysis results of that photo are out."
"As expected of Mr. Kikuoka, so fast!"
"What did you find?"
"Take a look at this photo first."
Kikuoka handed over several photos to the two.
"This is…"
"Asuna!"
Hikigaya suddenly shouted. Kikuoka gave a "Just as I thought"
look.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. There's no way I'd mistake Asuna. That's definitely her."
"If Hikigaya says so, then it's probably true."
"Our analysis basically confirms it's the same person."
"All thanks to me decoding the wedding photo data!"
"Miss Haruno is right. I truly thank you from the bottom of my heart."
"So she's in ALO…"
"Then the suspect is definitely…"
"That scumbag, right?"
"Oh? You've identified the culprit?"
"The head of RECT's FullDive research department — Sugou."
"Got it. We'll investigate him discreetly on our end too."
"Please do."
"By the way, didn't you notice anything from these photos?"
"Asuna's outfits are all different. It's like she's trying to convey something to us."
"This proves she's conscious and being held captive."
Just as they said, the Asuna in the photos clearly had awareness and was desperately trying to send a message.
"But just this isn't enough evidence."
"Is there any way to contact Asuna?"
"What's with this outfit Asuna's wearing? Any clues?"
"I asked an acquaintance who provided the photo. They said it's the outfit of the fairy queen Titania from the ALO Grand Quest."
"So if we clear the Grand Quest, we might be able to meet Asuna?"
"It's not that simple, but it's possible. The problem is, no one has cleared the Grand Quest yet because it's so difficult."
"Ah, I've seen that. The goal is to climb the World Tree, right? The race that clears it gets to reincarnate as the Alf race and gains permanent flight."
"That's right. But the number of enemies on the World Tree is insane."
"This game mechanic is broken."
"How so?"
"Suppose one race clears it. All new players will pick that race. Most current players will reroll too. With that advantage, game balance collapses."
"True, there's probably another reason no one's cleared it."
"Mr. Kikuoka, can you prepare ALO software? It can run on NerveGear, right?"
Kikuoka, as if expecting the request, pulled out two sets of ALO software.
"Already prepared. But are you really okay with this? That device again…"
"I'm fine. There's someone I must get back no matter what."
"I'm okay too. At this point, there's no other way."
"Understood. The real mission will begin later. Let's just try the game for now."
"Let's do it."
"Wait, I'll get a friend's party to support you. Have you picked your race yet?"
Hikigaya and Kirito answered in unison:
"Spriggan."
"Spriggan, huh?"
"Why the dark elves?"
"Because black looks cool."
"A dark, edgy style suits us."
"I-I see. How about wind elves? I really recommend them."
"Wind elves just don't suit Kirito and me."
"Yeah, totally not."
"Got it. I'll contact my friends. Wait a bit."
"I'll be off now. Still need to prepare our investigation."
"We'll wait here."
'Originally, I wanted them to start from the wind elf territory where Yukino and the others reside…
Guess that's out. I was hoping to surprise them with Yukino's support. But the dark elf territory should still work.
Yukino and the others should be near the World Tree.'
.
.
.
A few days ago, the members from Sobu High reunited in ALO after a long time.
"Hikigaya-kun's rehab is almost over. Thanks for all the effort, everyone."
"After school started in April, we've had fewer hospital visits, but this online reunion is nostalgic."
"Ah! Right!"
Komachi suddenly remembered something.
"We totally forgot about the photos we took because of my brother's situation!"
"True, Komachi. Let's all check them out now."
At Ayaka's suggestion, the four began to look through the photos they had taken earlier.
"This must be the World Tree's branches. We're really close."
"Yeah, we almost reached the top that time."
"Hey, look at this! This birdcage-like thing!"
"Who's inside? Could it be Titania?"
"Judging from the outfit, it really looks like her. Yuihama-senpai, this is big news!"
While staring at the photo, Yui suddenly said to Yukino:
"Yukino, doesn't this person look familiar?"
"Now that you mention it… she does look familiar."
"Let me see—huh? Isn't that Miss Asuna?"
"Now that you mention it, she does look like her."
"But isn't Miss Asuna still asleep? Could it be…"
"Could she be at the top of the World Tree? No way, ALO and SAO have the same developers... the servers…"
Yukino fell into deep thought, then suddenly reached a conclusion.
"Everyone, send this photo to my sister immediately. Keep it confidential."
"Got it. This definitely reeks of crime."
"Hikigaya-kun and Kirito-kun might come to ALO. When they do, we need to support them with everything we've got."
"Got it! Komachi will do her best for big bro!"
"Let's do our best!"
"Yeah!"
"Let's wait for the photo analysis. Log off for today. I'll contact you all again later."
A few days ago, that photo reached Haruno's hands, leading to the current situation.
At that moment, Haruno was on the phone with Yukino, informing her that the two had chosen the dark elf race.
"So they chose dark elves, huh. They'll have a hard time with unfamiliar terrain, but it's fine."
"Sorry, they refused to pick wind elves, said it didn't suit them. Anyway, they're logging in soon. Teach them the basics."
"Have them level up around the starter town. We'll head over now. There's no way they can reach Alne, the World Tree city, on their own."
"Got it."
"We'll contact them again when they reach a neutral town near the dark elf territory. We'll rendezvous there."
"Understood. Good luck, Yukino."
.
.
.
"Thanks for waiting. I've made contact. After logging in, level around the starter area. We'll meet at the neutral town near the dark elf territory."
"We definitely need to get used to the controls first."
"Flying takes practice, too."
"Miss Haruno, go enjoy your coffee while you wait."
"Mm, be careful."
"No worries. We can't die for real, right, Kirito?"
"Right. Let's go."
The two of them laid down side by side, and for the first time in over two years, they called out together:
"Link Start!"