"Hey, Kirito, my hair's not weird, is it?" Hachiman asked.
"You're fine. What, you a maiden now?" Kirito teased.
The two had begged Yosino to let them wait outside the interview venue, insisting it was to avoid mixing personal and professional matters. They hadn't told her who they wanted to meet. Yosino, planning to hire everyone unless they bombed the interview, found their request pointless but respected their wishes, letting them do as they pleased.
"So, Hachiman, how do we approach this?" Kirito asked.
"Just act normal. That's surprising enough," Hachiman replied.
"No time for a big surprise, huh?"
"Normal's plenty shocking."
Finally, their target appeared at the building's entrance. They rushed over.
"Nishida-san!" Kirito called.
"Nishida-saaan!" Hachiman echoed.
"Oh! Hachiman-kun! Kirito-kun!" Nishida exclaimed.
Kazuto had spotted Nishida's name on the list. Learning Nishida was restarting his life under Yosino, they'd pleaded to tag along.
"You're both safe. Thank goodness," Nishida said.
"Yeah, Asuna's still in the hospital, but everyone's okay," Kirito replied.
"Good… good…" Nishida nodded.
"Let's move somewhere else to talk," Hachiman suggested.
"Sobi-san, I need to speak with these two. I'll head out first," Nishida said.
"…Yes, Chief Nishida," a woman replied.
Unseen by the duo, Nishida had a companion. They bowed to her and started to leave with Nishida, but Hachiman froze, eyes narrowing as if recalling something. Turning, he saw the woman, Sobi, hurrying away—like she was fleeing.
"Sobi… Sobi… No way…" Hachiman muttered.
"What's up, Hachiman?" Kirito asked.
"Sorry, go ahead. I'll catch up," Hachiman said.
"Hey, Hachiman!" Kirito called.
"I'll call you later!" Hachiman shouted, chasing after Sobi.
Dodging passersby, he caught up. "Excuse me, Sobi-san, right? We've met before, haven't we?"
Sobi flinched, stopping but not turning. Hachiman gently touched her shoulder, turning her to face him.
"Yup, thought so. Long time, Rosalia," he said.
"Eek!" she gasped.
"Hey, don't look so scared. I'm not here to hurt you."
"R-Really?" Rosalia's face, once bold, now looked timid.
"I promise. Just wanna talk."
"Okay…"
"Let's head to that quiet park nearby. Not a conversation for others to hear."
"Alright."
They moved to an empty park.
"Sobi means 'rose,' right? Makes sense for Rosalia," Hachiman said.
"Y-Yeah. Got a problem with that?" she replied.
"Nah, it's a nice name. I like it."
"Oh… thanks…"
"After that, a ton of dangerous folks got sent there, huh? You made it out okay."
'There' was the prison area, and Rosalia understood immediately.
"Yeah… a bunch of Laughing Coffin members got sent there after. Your doing, right?" she said.
"Not just me, but yeah."
"Meeting them there was… honestly, a relief."
"Not your crew?"
"Crew? Their first words to me were, 'We were gonna kill you eventually, but you got lucky.'"
"…Ouch."
"I did unforgivable things, I won't deny that. But I'm not like them."
"If you say so."
Rosalia, surprised by his calm response, stared. "What? Nothing on my face, right?"
"I thought you'd dismiss me outright. Aren't you here to judge me?"
Hachiman met her gaze, hesitating. "You've probably reformed, or you're under tight watch, right? I'm not exactly a saint myself, so I'm in no place to lecture."
Rosalia blinked. "Why think that?"
"Yosino-san hired you. She doesn't take in troublemakers lightly."
Rosalia recalled Yosino's sharp gaze and nodded, deciding to explain. "I was hired to use my SAO connections to pass info to her if something comes up. I got compensation, but not enough to live idly. Companies don't hire sinners like me easily."
"Most wouldn't know what you did."
"Proving I didn't do something is impossible. Getting a job needs government backing, which we rarely get."
"Makes sense…"
"Then Yosino showed up. I jumped at her offer."
Hachiman marveled at Yosino's magnanimity. "She's really something…"
"I'm grateful, even with conditions," Rosalia said.
"Good…"
"By catching me, you guys let me survive. You cleared SAO too, right? You're my saviors, twice over."
Hachiman, not intending that, went along. "Guess it turned out that way."
"I want to cherish this life I was given. I'm sorry for those I hurt, but I can't undo it. I'll carry my sins forever. Thanks for talking to me. It eased my heart a bit."
Rosalia turned to leave. Hachiman called after her. "I carry the same sins. We're in the same boat. Let's never forget them. Since you're with Yosino, we might meet again. Keep going, Rosalia. Life's tough, but let's keep living."
Rosalia turned, stunned, stared at him, then bowed deeply and left. Hachiman called Kirito, located them, and rushed to the izakaya.
"Sorry I'm late," Hachiman said.
"Slowpoke! We're already buzzed!" Kirito laughed.
"That's clearly oolong tea," Hachiman shot back.
"Hachiman-kun, been a while," Nishida said.
"Yeah, good to see you, Nishida-san."
Hachiman sat, and the three chatted lively. They planned to visit Asuna in the hospital later. As they parted, Nishida spoke.
"I'm here because of you two and the raid team. Thank you. I was shocked you know Yosino, but it's fate. Here's to more, you two."
"Absolutely, Nishida-san!" Kirito said.
"Meeting you today was amazing," Hachiman added.
Nishida shook their hands, beaming. "Today's one of my top three days ever."
"What're the other two?" Kirito asked.
"My wedding and my grandkid's birth."
"Nice…"
"See you, you two!"
"Later!" they replied.
After Nishida left, Kazuto asked, "What was that about?"
"The woman with Nishida? That was Rosalia. She's working under Yosino, probably as Nishida's subordinate."
Kazuto frowned. "Is that… okay?"
"Yeah, it's fine," Hachiman assured.
"If you say so, I trust you," Kazuto said. "But if it was Kuradeel, I'd never forgive him."
"Same."
They laughed and headed home.
------------------------------
Hi everyone! I have uploaded 40-50 chapters to my Patreon. If you like this story, please come to Patreon to support me. Thank you very much!
👉 Check it out here: [patreon.com/Greyhounds]