WORLD: EARTH
BRANCHED WORLD: SWORD ART ONLINE
LOCATION: TOKYO.
Laurel lay sprawled across something soft and warm, his head nestled lazily in her lap. He turned slightly, rubbing his cheek against her thigh with a contented groan.
"H-Hey, Laurel—quit that!" Mei yelped, startled, her fingers instinctively moving to push at his head. "Stop squirming so much, you big brat."
"Sowwy," he mumbled with a full mouth, voice muffled by fabric. "Cawn't hwelp it... it's Mei, after all."
He turned his face upward, chin resting against her stomach as his eyes met hers with a playful glint.
They were tucked away inside a spacious apartment on the outskirts of the city, a sleek, high-end suite lined with glass walls, velvet furniture, and soft ambient lighting.
It was theirs thanks to the Guild Conversion System, an absurdly broken mechanism that could translate nearly any accumulated asset into a universal digital coin.
The exchange rate?
One digital coin equaled a hundred units of the most valuable currency on the planet.
Laurel practically printed money.
Mei gave up resisting and let her hand settle gently on his head, brushing her fingers through his dark, messy hair.
A faint smile curled at the edge of her lips. She liked it this way, quiet and undisturbed moments. It wasn't that she disliked going out with him, but this?
It was perfect.
As she leaned forward slightly, a strand of her long black hair slipped free, falling across her cheek.
"By the way," she said softly, "that machine you bought earlier..."
Laurel tilted his head toward the nearby table, eyes narrowing slightly with mischief.
"Ah, that's a system that simulates a virtual world. But this one's rare. A real one-of-a-kind. Sword Art Online. If it's in circulation, then this world must be his."
His gaze landed on the polished mahogany table across the room, where around twenty identical devices were lined up neatly in their boxes, compact headgear with sleek headgear like equipments.
Naturally, they were for him and his guild members. Well, they'll be usable after he disables Kayaba's system.
The Logout Lock and the Microwave Kill Protocol.
Not that either system could actually affect them, they were far beyond that now, but still...
Especially since that Virtual World would eventually give birth to many other Virtual World. Better to prep it now.
"Who are you talking about. The 'his' in question."
Laurel stretched and lazily draped his arm over her leg again. "Ahh, our resident black swordsman. Blackie-sensei."
Mei blinked, tilting her head. "Blackie-sensei?"
Then his voice softened slightly.
"But besides him... there's someone else in this world. Someone I want to save."
Mei stared at him for a moment. She didn't ask who. She didn't need to. If Laurel said he wanted to save someone, that was enough.
She simply nodded once, understanding blooming in her eyes. He always had reasons she didn't understand at first. But he always used that knowledge for good.
Mei trusted him completely.
"By the way, how's your world."
It had been nearly two months since they arrived on this Earth. A lot had happened. Too much. But Mei's home... how was it faring?
"Ah... that..." she murmured, her gaze drifting to the side.
Back in her world, life continued on.
The conflicts between Schicksal and Anti-Entropy were still quietly stirring, but progress was being made.
At the very least Otto had yet to begin his plans, and news about the Third Herrscher was yet to circulate.
Mei, after all would be the first to know as soon as word gets out.
Particularly in their efforts to breach the Sea of Quanta.
And Bronya, the next candidate to inherit the mantle of the Anti-Entropy leader, was training steadily.
Sometime ago, Laurel had suggested she attend an exchange program at St. Freya Academy.
"There, I met this really energetic white-haired girl."
Mei said, her lips curling into a soft smile. "Bit of an oddball, honestly. Loud, impulsive. Always charging headfirst into things."
She paused.
"Now that I think about it... she had white hair and bright blue eyes. Just like—"
Laurel let out a faint, nostalgic chuckle. He brushed a hand through his own hair, tugging his fingers through the strands slowly.
Almost absentmindedly.
Before he knew it. His hair had completely been dyed white.
"So?" he said casually, his eyes still cast toward the ceiling. "What did you think of her?"
Mei narrowed her gaze. "What kind of question is that?"
"Well...." He didn't answer. Just shifted his eyes away, awkwardly.
"Haah..." Mei sighed, leaning back on her arms. "So, that's what it is... I can't believe you."
Laurel blinked, turning his head. "Eh?"
"I could kind of tell at a glance, especially with 'Singularity', that my fate was originally tied to her."
Mei's expression drifted away. Everything Laurel had always talked about, she was slowly beginning to understand them.
"Perhaps, maybe a countless other me from different worlds were saved by her, but the me you saved, loves you, Laurel.."
A soft flush crept up her cheeks as she said it, her voice almost trembling.
Laurel looked at her for a moment before his lips thinned, then slowly curled into a smile. "Yeah, I love you too, Mei."
He paused then,
"Also, «Ei» too."
Mei's smile twitched. Just a little.
She tilted her head to the side, slowly, a glint flashed in her eyes. When she spoke, her voice wasn't hers anymore.
It was more colder.
«How did you know?»
Laurel sat up slowly, leaving her lap, turning to face her properly.
"Well," he said, rubbing the back of his neck, "I can just tell."
Maybe it was instinct.
Or maybe it was his unofficial, definitely modded passive: [Mei Paranormal Intuition].
A ridiculously specific ability he joked about creating, but honestly, it might as well be real at this point.
«Hmph. Not like I feel the same way or anything... I was just helping out, that's all.»
Tsundere thunder? Definitely bitter-sweet.
Laurel suppressed a chuckle, deciding not to embarrass the Thunder Queen further. She'd probably fry the walls. Or him.
But then—
A new voice echoed from the stairwell above.
"Are you two finally done? That's great. Now I can fully commit... to making Mei cheat on Laurel."
Luminous.
Descending from the curved spiral staircase just beyond the grand living room, she moved with a practiced grace, her long platinum hair swaying behind her like starlight,
Which now, he could understand why the humans served Luminous and not Veldanava. As she reached the final step, her gaze met Ei's.
Laurel glanced over his shoulder.
"Shouldn't it be the other way around?"
«Oh?» Ei's voice was back, now low and dangerous. «You confess one second and start talking about cheating the next? That's bold, even for you.»
Mei, or rather, Ei's expression didn't soften in the slightest. She was glaring now.
"Uhm... I wasn't really thinking about—"
Laurel tilted his head awkwardly to the side.
She had never liked Luminous. Not because she was divine. Not because she was powerful. But because Laurel treated her like royalty—his royalty. Too much attention. Too much affection. For that damned bat.
«Now that I think about it... haven't you been a little too affectionate toward her?»
"Oh?" Luminous's eyes sparkled with delight as she stepped closer. "Are you jealous, Thunder Queen?"
The light in the room dimmed. A invisible pressure began to press against the room, vibrating it, subtle yet rising.
Luminous paused mid-step, raising a brow, hand lifting to her chin in mock thought.
"Oh dear," she murmured. "Did I take it too far?"
Then, with a glance at Laurel, and a wicked little smile curling her lips, she leaned back, relaxed, and stepped away.
"I'll leave her to you."
Saying that, Luminous figure retreated to another space, leaving Laurel with a now pissed Queen.
He winced, lowering himself slightly under her gaze.
This... was not how he had imagined the moment going.
"Hahaha... sh*t," he muttered under his breath.
Well, he bought this upon himself. This was the greed the Bible talked about, and now he's suffering for it.
Elsewhere,
WORLD: EARTH
BRANCHED WORLD: SAIJAKU MUHAI NO BAHAMUT
LOCATION: NEW KINGDOM ATISMATA
"Hmm..."
The red glow of the setting sun bled through the open window, casting long, drowsy shadows across the small wooden room. The scent of wildflowers drifted in, mixing with the subtle warmth of the sun's fading heat.
Lux Arcadia stirred on the modest bed, eyes fluttering open.
Despite how narrow the space was, there—tucked impossibly close beside him—was a small-framed girl curled into his side. Her breathing was soft, her expression calm, and her outfit?
...barely there.
Beads of sweat slid down Lux's temple.
"Yoruka..." he muttered with a resigned sigh. "Again?"
No matter how many locks he put on the door... or the windows... or even the walls, somehow she always found her way in. Stealth skills? Off the charts. Creepy devotion? Also maxed out.
He sat up carefully, trying not to wake her.
"Seriously... Laurel and I are way too lucky in all the wrong ways," he murmured with a shake of his head.
Across the room stood a small vanity—mirror, chair, and all—tucked against the wall. He moved toward it with measured grace, his foot gliding silently across the floorboards.
FWIP.
A faint red glow flashed in his eyes as he shifted positions. One hand on his chest, the other reaching for the edge of the table, he exhaled slowly, thinking he'd escaped.
"Hnngh... Master..."
He froze.
Yoruka murmured in her sleep, shifting slightly, but didn't wake. Close call.
KNOCK KNOCK
"Brother, it's time to wake up."
"Lux? Are you in there?"
Those voices. Wait, they sounded like... Airi and Lisharte. Why now of all times.
BANG BANG BANG!
For a supposed princess, Lisesharte had zero concept of personal space. Or volume.
Slowly—carefully—Lux reached for the bed, his fingers stretching toward Yoruka. If he could just pull the blanket over her... maybe, just maybe, he could salvage the situation.
BOOM!
"Lux, get up already!" Lisesharte's voice rang out like a cannon blast. "Today is—"
The door didn't just open. It exploded inward.
Shards of wood flew off the hinges as Lux flinched violently.
His arm froze mid-motion, still extended toward Yoruka, who lay on the bed, barely covered, sleeping like nothing had happened.
The sight the three girls were greeted with was... not ideal.
Lux. Arm outstretched. Hovering over a nearly-naked Yoruka, who was curled up like a content kitten.
Perilous, to say the least.
TAH.
Something hit the ground, a hairclip, maybe, falling from Lisesharte's hand. She stood there, blonde hair shimmering under the soft light, crimson eyes wide in shock.
Dressed in her crisp white and blue academy uniform, she looked every bit the princess, until her jaw dropped.
Accompanied by his sister, short white hair that reaches the side, a black choker around her neck. His sister, Airi simply sighed, rubbing her forehead.
While, behind her, she was being accompanied by another who stared at the scene with perfect seriousness, with a monotone voice:
"Pervert?"
She turned her head slowly, mechanically, eyes locked on Lux.
Lux blinked. Panic surged.
"N-no! I'm not—this isn't—!"
Too late.
"Y-y-you pervert!" Lisesharte shouted, cheeks flaring red.
"W-wait! Lisha-sama, please calm down!" Airi pleaded, grabbing at her sleeve.
Chaos. Pure chaos.
Later...
In a quiet, empty courtyard under the dim blue sky, two white-haired men stood face-to-face. Laurel and Lux. They stared at each other in tired silence.
Laurel was slouched forward, a faint trail of smoke literally curling from his head. Lux had a red slap mark on his cheek and what looked like bite marks on his collarbone.
"...Bro," Laurel muttered, squinting. "You look kinda ass today."
Lux grunted. "Can say the same for you, Laurel. What's with the smoke coming off your head?"
"Laid my head in the wrong lap."
"...Luminous?"
"No. Worse."
They both looked off into the middle distance for a moment, each lost in his own mental trauma. Then, in sync:
"Let's put that aside. We've got work to do."
Laurel said, finally straightening his back. Lux nodded.
"Agreed. Let's move."