As someone without any official identity, Lillian couldn't even rent a place to live. He could only stay in 24-hour cafés. He booked a private room, connected the charger to the tablet, and soon the small screen glowed once more.
After five or six minutes, someone finally appeared—but only one person.
It was Kayaba.
"They've returned to The Seed," Kayaba said, glancing down at his own body. "We can only manifest in 2D form. Even so, the computational load is enormous. I've reduced consumption as much as possible, but the tablet you're holding still can't support long-term communication."
"So that's why the battery drained so fast."
"Yes. Based on my scan of this tablet, even at full charge, communicating with only one person can last at most twenty minutes. And each use causes irreversible damage to the hardware."
"…"
Lillian knew full well that forcing a small tablet to run artificial intelligence was asking the impossible. But he couldn't acquire any large-scale computer equipment either—there was no way he could take something like that with him.
Even the tablet in his hands… whether he could bring it along at all was still an unknown.
'I'll go buy the best-performing one I can find,' Lillian thought. This was the only solution he had.
"Does the world you're going to not have electricity?" Kayaba asked suddenly.
"…"
"Otherwise, you wouldn't be so fixated on a tablet as your medium."
"Not necessarily," Lillian replied. "The world I'm going to isn't fixed. I don't know if it has electricity. And I can't be sure whether I can even bring you along. Everything is unknown."
"Different worlds, huh… in that case, your identity is more like that of an 'interdimensional traveler,'" Kayaba's 2D representation said. To reduce computational load, his form on the screen had been simplified to the extreme—just six blocks: a head, a body, and four limbs. It looked oddly comical.
"Still, I won't truly be able to confirm this until I see the other world with my own eyes," Lillian said. At that moment, a prompt appeared on his face:
[Low Battery]
The battery was draining faster than it could charge… Lillian glanced at the plug inserted in the tablet. Kayaba could also detect this, so he proactively spoke:
"I'll return for now. Oh, by the way, I made an application just now. With a single click, we'll be able to sense you."
"…"
Lillian watched Kayaba's form vanish, and he reached for the tablet to see the program. The instant he touched it, a wave of heat shot through his hands.
"Hot…"
The tablet was an off-the-shelf model, mediocre in performance. Just as Kayaba had said, each use caused hardware damage. This one wouldn't last long before it burned out, so Lillian knew he needed to buy a higher-quality one—and also find a way to get a few backups.
As for the development software… Lillian closed his eyes, thinking carefully, and remembered Kirito's (Kazuto's) address.
---
The next day, outside a typical Japanese-style house, a cute girl with short hair and a school bag dashed out. She seemed preoccupied, her eyes downcast as she hurried along. Around a corner, she nearly collided with someone coming the opposite way.
"Ah—" she realized too late. But the other person stepped back lightly, avoiding an awkward collision.
"I'm very sorry!" she quickly stabilized herself and bowed in apology. The next second, she heard a clear voice:
"It's alright."
Looking up, she saw a boy a few years older than her, with a delicate face and a gentle smile.
"Hello," the boy said. "Is Kirigaya Kazuto living here?"
"Eh!!" The girl was startled. "H-He… he's my brother…"
"Ah, then you must be Kirigaya Suguha. Kirito mentioned you before."
Suguha blushed and stumbled over her words. "My brother mentioned me…? May I ask who you are?" She was curious about Lillian's identity. In her memory, Kirito was very introverted, rarely seeing friends, never joining any clubs, and spending every holiday indoors playing games.
"I'm a friend of his. My name is Lillian. I heard about him… so I came to check on him."
"Oh… I see." Suguha realized he meant regarding SAO. She didn't assume Lillian was a player himself. SAO players had been bedridden for over half a year. Although carefully cared for, their muscles had atrophied somewhat. But since it was only half a year, the atrophy was minor—much less severe than in the original storyline's two-year timeframe. Many players had been checked at the hospital and allowed to go home to recuperate. Kirito was no exception.
"Then I'll take you to him!" Suguha said brightly. "If a friend comes to see him, it'll definitely cheer him up!"
"Won't that make you late for school?"
"It's fine!"
Suguha led Lillian into the yard. Kirito was doing squats, training his leg muscles. Seeing Lillian, he was taken aback.
"Lillian, how come—"
"I came to check on you," Lillian said. Then he turned to Suguha: "Thank you, Kirigaya-san. You should go to school now, or you'll really be late."
"Oh, okay." Suguha was relieved seeing they really knew each other and turned to leave.
Once she left, Kirito finally asked, "How… how come you're fine? Your body…"
Indeed, it was obvious at first glance. Lillian showed no signs of muscle atrophy and was full of vigor. Kirito couldn't help but feel puzzled.
"My body is somewhat special. But that's not important," Lillian said, eyeing Kirito's still-fragile legs. "Let's sit down and talk. I have something important to tell you."
"All right." Despite his confusion, Kirito was happy to see Lillian. After all, his friends were mostly from the game. Meeting someone from reality was naturally good.
---
They sat on stone benches in the yard. Without small talk, Lillian pulled a box from his pocket and opened it. He spoke directly:
"This is a development tool for 'Full Dive' games. Kirito, I want to give it to you, so you can pass it to the person in charge of the Ministry of Internal Affairs' SAO Incident Response Headquarters."
"This…" Kirito stared at the small device. "How did you get this? This should only be with Kayaba… Did he give it to you?"
"Something like that."
"Then why didn't you—"
"I'll be leaving this city soon, maybe even this country," Lillian interrupted. "If you pass it along, you'll be involved in the investigation. It will benefit your future… and help with someone you care about, Asuna. You might not know, but someone is already keeping an eye on her."
"What!?"
Hearing Asuna's name, Kirito's expression changed instantly. Lillian explained Suguo's scheme to him. Furious, Kirito eventually agreed to Lillian's suggestion. He would pass on the development system and report the intelligence Lillian had shared.
---
An hour later, Lillian had finished speaking. He stood up.
"All right, I'll leave now. Take care of yourself."
"You're really leaving?" Kirito stood with effort. "This morning Terusuke, Argo, and the others coordinated via email. We agreed to meet in a month."
"Is that so." Lillian nodded slightly, gazing at the distant sky. "I'll try my best. If possible, I'll come see you again."
"…All right." Kirito sensed many secrets in Lillian, but he never mentioned any, and Kirito wisely didn't ask.
"Then farewell for now." Lillian extended his hand. "I'll always remember the six months we fought side by side."
"Of course." Kirito smiled, shaking Lillian's hand. "We'll definitely team up to play games again if we get the chance."
"Good."