It was graduation day at Sobu High School. A year and three months had passed since Hachiman was trapped in Sword Art Online.
Yukino had secured admission to the nation's top university. Yui, by some miracle, passed the entrance exam for a private Tokyo university. Iroha served as student council president for two years—a first in Sobu High's history. Komachi passed the entrance exam for Sobu High and joined the student council, set to take an officer role next year.
"Ms. Hiratsuka, thank you for everything," Yukino said.
"Teacher, thanks for all you've done!" Yui added.
"I'm thrilled you both got into university," Hiratsuka said. "I just wish I could've sent one more off with a smile."
The three fell silent, thinking of Hachiman, who should've been here.
"What's next for you two?" Hiratsuka asked.
"We're going to Hikki's hospital room with Iroha," Yui said.
"I see," Hiratsuka said. "I'm swamped with work today, but I'll visit another time."
Hayama and Tobe had gathered messages for Hachiman from those connected to him, compiling them into a guestbook. Yukino, Yui, and Iroha brought it to his hospital room, a place they'd visited often. Whenever something happened at school, one of them would say, "Let's tell Hachiman," making it a ritual. Their one-sided conversations with the unresponsive Hachiman had become a familiar sight to the hospital staff, who watched with kind eyes.
"Hikki, we graduated today," Yui said.
"We're graduates now," Yukino added.
They displayed the guestbook in his room.
"I used to think we'd all graduate together, no question," Yui said.
"Indeed. I never doubted it, though I worried Hachiman might flunk due to his behavior," Yukino said.
"Haha…" Yui laughed awkwardly.
"With university, we won't be able to visit as often," Yukino said.
"Yeah, Yukino. I can't keep this pace either," Yui said.
"I'll still come regularly," Iroha said.
"Iroha, I regret to say Hachiman's primary watch will fall to you," Yukino said.
Komachi entered, carrying a change of clothes. "Oh, everyone's here!"
"We were just discussing next year," Yukino said.
"You two are going far for school," Komachi said.
"We'll visit when we can!" Yui said.
"Thank you for this past year. Please keep visiting Onii-chan when you can," Komachi said.
"Will the four of us ever gather like this again?" Yui wondered.
"Oh, speaking of—do you know about ALO?" Komachi asked.
Months ago, Argus, SAO's developer, went bankrupt under massive debt. SAO's server management was taken over by Rect Progress, which launched Alfheim Online (ALO), a VRMMORPG built from SAO's server copy, alongside the Amusphere, a "safe" NerveGear successor.
"That SAO-like game? Saw it on TV!" Yui said.
"Wanna try it together?" Komachi asked.
"What do you mean, Iroha?" Yukino asked.
"Even if we're far apart in reality, we can meet instantly in-game. Could be fun," Komachi said.
"That's efficient, cutting travel time," Yukino said.
"Right? And, though it's not the same, I want to see what Senpai sees," Komachi said.
The others nodded, agreeing to consider it. A knock interrupted, and a man entered.
"Everyone's here, huh?" he said.
"Kikuoaka-san, yahallo!" Yui greeted.
"Y-Yahallo," he replied.
Seijiro Kikuoka, from the Ministry of Internal Affairs' Virtual Space Division, had visited Hachiman's room before, familiar to the group. His playful response to Yui showed his knack for communication.
"Hello, Kikuoka. Any progress?" Yukino asked.
"Honestly, for Hachiman's release, we've exhausted external options. It's up to in-game progress now," Kikuoka said.
"As expected…" Yukino said.
"Sorry I can't do more," Kikuoka said.
"No, you've helped so much with post-release plans," Komachi said.
Kikuoka had informed Komachi about a school for SAO survivors, a project he'd pushed for, earning her gratitude.
"It's all we can do, and it's tough," Kikuoka said.
"Why're you here today?" Yui asked.
"Just passing by, checking on Hachiman," Kikuoka said.
"You visit him a lot. Do you check all victims?" Komachi asked.
"Well, I shouldn't say, but… I only visit players key to clearing the game," Kikuoka said.
"Hachiman's one of them?" Yukino asked.
"Since you're here, I'll share what I can," Kikuoka said. "Over half of SAO's players stay in the starting town. About a thousand operate in mid-tiers. Hachiman's in a small raid group, around a hundred players, top-level."
"Onii-chan's in a top raid group…" Komachi said.
"He's often with two others," Kikuoka said.
"Two?" Yui asked.
"One's the highest-level male player. The other, I mentioned before, is a female player he's been with since the start. They're SAO's top three, Hachiman second," Kikuoka said.
"Hikki's fighting to come back…" Yui said.
"We're watching their movements closely," Kikuoka said.
"Uh, what's that woman like?" Iroha asked urgently.
Kikuoka hesitated, then said, "Same–
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