He gave her hair one last stroke before turning to leave.
Asuna did not watch him as he strode across to the door. She was too busy steeling her heart against the terror that his final words commanded.
The door clanked shut heavily, and silence returned.
Suguha left the kendo club, back in her school uniform, bamboo shinai case slung over her shoulder. The breeze through the school’s valley brushed her cheek comfortably.
It was one thirty in the afternoon, and with fifth period already in progress, the campus was quiet. The first- and second-year students were in class, and any third-years who elected to come to school were in special focused seminars to prepare for high school entrance exams. Only the students with advancement recommendations already in place, like Suguha, were free to stroll around the grounds at this hour.
She felt at ease, but Suguha didn’t like coming to school just to hang out. If she came across a classmate, there was guaranteed to be a sardonic comment or two directed her way. But the school’s kendo club advisor was very dedicated and couldn’t stand to be out of the loop with his favorite pupil heading off to join a kendo powerhouse high school. As a result, Suguha had been ordered to visit the school dojo once every day.
According to him, Suguha’s blade had picked up an eccentricity recently. Secretly, Suguha shrugged it off and agreed with him. Nearly every day, she was spending at least some amount of time in Alfheim, mixing it up in wild aerial battles without a hint of proper form or discipline.
Fortunately, this hadn’t had an effect on Suguha’s ability as far as the kendo club was concerned. Just today, she had scored two consecutive points on the club adviser, a man in his thirties who had once ranked highly in the national tournament himself. She was rather proud of her victory.
Lately, she found it particularly easy to see the opponent’s strikes. When locked in battle with a powerful foe, she felt her nerves stretching to their limit, and it was almost as though time itself slowed down.
She thought back to her match with Kazuto a few days prior. She had given him her best shot multiple times, and he’d evaded every one. His reaction speed was so fast, it was almost as though he sensed time on a different scale. It made her wonder: What if the experiences during a full dive had some kind of effect on one’s real body upon returning…?
Suguha was idly walking toward the bicycle rack, lost in thought, when a voice called out from the shadow of the school building.
“…Leafa.”
“Aah!”
She was so startled that she jumped back a step. It was a scrawny boy with glasses. Those sagging, hangdog eyebrows that he shared with Recon were even droopier than normal.
Suguha put her hand on her hip, exasperated. “Didn’t I tell you not to call me that at school?”
“S-sorry…Suguha.”
“Why, you…”
She put a hand on her shinai case and took a threatening step. He panicked, a terrified smile frozen on his face.
“S-s-sorry! I mean Kirigaya.”
“…What is it, Nagata?”
“I-I have something to tell you…Can we find someplace more comfortable to talk?”
“You can tell me here.”
Shinichi Nagata slumped his shoulders, looking pathetic.
“…In fact, you already have a recommendation for high school. What are you doing here?”
“Um, I’ve been here all day. I needed to tell you this, Su…Kirigaya.”
“Ugh! Don’t you have anything better to do with your time?” Suguha took several more steps backward until she could sit down on the tall edge of the flowerbed. “So, what is it?”
Nagata sat down next to her at an awkward distance and said, “Sigurd decided we should go hunting again this afternoon. They want to hit up an underwater cave. Plus, there won’t be much concern about salamanders there.”
“I told you to text me news about hunts. Sorry…but I’m not participating for a while.”
“Huh? How come?”
“I’ve got to go to Alne…”
In the center of Alfheim, there was a large neutral city at the foot of the massive World Tree. That was Alne. Not only was it quite a long distance from Swilvane, but there were several points along the journey that were impossible to fly over. It would take several days to make the trip.
He stared at her in openmouthed disappointment for several moments, then sidled closer. “Y-you mean you’re still working with that spriggan…?”
“Yeah, pretty much. I’m acting as his guide.”
“W-what are you thinking, Lea—Su—Kirigaya?! Y-you can’t spend the night with that weird stranger…”
“Why are you blushing? Stop imagining me in stupid situations!”
She whacked him on the chest with her shinai case. He stared at her with open resentment, his eyebrows at perfect forty-five-degree angles.
“When I suggested going to Alne earlier, you totally brushed me off…”
“Because we’d be flattened over and over if I was with you! Anyway, that’s what I’m doing, so let Sigurd and the others know.”
She hopped up, briefly waved good-bye, and took off at a trot for the bicycle rack. His scolded-puppy look needled at her heart, but there were already rumors floating around them at school. She had no desire to close that distance with him.
I’m only escorting him there. That’s all.
She repeated the words over and over, trying to convince herself they were true. But every time she thought of Kirito and his mysterious black eyes, she couldn’t contain her fidgeting.
Suguha quickly undid the lock on her bike, parked in the corner of the large bicycle area. She swung a leg over the seat and took off, pedaling at a stand. The winter air was prickly on her cheeks, but she paid it no mind. Out the back gate she went, then raced down the steep hill without using her brakes.
I just want to fly, she told herself. The thought of another breathless parallel flight with Kirito, at top speed, set her heart racing.
She made it home just before two.
Kazuto’s bicycle wasn’t in the backyard. He must still have been at the gym.
He’d basically recovered the build he had before the SAO Incident, but that was apparently not enough. He still felt a difference between his real self and his virtual self.
That was natural. It was impossible to make one’s body capable of the same things as a virtual avatar—but she understood how he felt. More than a few times, Suguha had felt that urge to fly in real life and nearly fallen off her bike.
She entered the house through the yard, tossed her kendo dogi into the washing machine, and hit the button. Back in her bedroom upstairs, she removed her gray school uniform and skirt, putting them back on the wall hanger.
She put her hands over her chest, feeling for her pulse. The exertion of her bike ride home should have subsided by now, but her heart was still pounding at about ninety beats per minute.
Suguha didn’t want to admit that her racing heart had nothing to do with the exercise. She took several deep breaths, but the more she thought about it, the faster it became.
What am I thinking? I’m only showing him the way to Alne. Plus, I already have my big brother to think about. Wait, no, I’m not supposed to think about him! Stupid, stupid, stupid!
Eventually this line of thought drove her to exasperation, so she put on a baggy T-shirt and plopped onto her bed.
The AmuSphere was resting on top of her headboard. She powered it up, put it on, and closed her eyes. One more deep breath, and then the magic spell.
“Link start!”
After the connection phase was finished, she opened her eyes as Leafa, fairy warrior. The vivid surroundings of the Lily of the Valley greeted her.
There was no one in the seat across the table, of course. There was most of an hour to go before they were scheduled to meet up. But she had preparations to make for the journey.
Outside of the tavern, the town of Swilvane was bathed in gorgeous m
orning light.
A day in ALfheim Online lasted about sixteen hours, perhaps to bring variety to those players who could only log in at a specific time of day. Sometimes it would be the same time in game as it was in the real world, and sometimes—such as now—it was completely off. The time readout in the menu gave both real time and Alfheim time. It was confusing at first, but Suguha liked this system.
She zipped around from store to store and wrapped up her shopping in time to make it back to the tavern. Just as she pushed open the swinging door, a figure in black was materializing at the table in the back.
Kirito blinked a few times after his login and smiled as he recognized Leafa approaching.
“Sweet, that was good timing.”
“Nope, I’ve been here awhile already. I was just doing some errands first.”
“Oh, I see. I suppose I need to get outfitted, too, huh.”
“Don’t worry about the usable items; I got us a healthy supply. Oh, but—” She cast a glance at Kirito’s starter equipment. “We might want to buy you some better gear.”
“Yeah, I’d love to get something better. This sword is not going to cut it…”
“Do you have money? I can lend you some if you need it.”
“Umm…”
Kirito swung his left hand to open the menu and perused it for a moment. For some reason, he frowned.
“…Is this the money in this game? Yrd?”
“That’s it. Got any?”
“Uh, actually, I do. Quite a lot.”
“In that case, let’s get you some gear.”
“Um, okay.”
Kirito stood and started examining himself all over, as though suddenly remembering something. Finally, he peered into his shirt pocket.
“Hey, Yui. Time to go.”
The little black-haired pixie popped her sleepy face out of the pocket and yawned widely.
Once Kirito had outfitted himself with a proper set of equipment at Leafa’s favorite armory, the town was fully drenched in the light of the morning sun.
It wasn’t a fancy set of armor. Just a clothing-style top and bottom with better defensive properties and a long coat. Most of the time was taken up by Kirito’s exacting search for the right sword.
Every time the player who ran the store handed him a new long sword, he’d give it a single swing and say, “Heavier.” He only finally gave in and compromised on a greatsword nearly his own height in length. It was immensely imposing and dark, probably meant for the giant players more commonly found in the gnome and imp factions.
Damage in ALO was calculated only from the weapon’s attack power and the speed of the swing. This gave an advantage to sylphs and cait siths, who had the highest agility of all the races. So as a balancing measure, muscular players were given better control over the massive weapons with the highest damage stats.
Even a sylph could fight with a hammer or ax with enough work on his skills, but his strength—a fixed, hidden statistic—would be too low to make those weapons worth using in battle. The spriggans were among the more versatile of the in-game races, but Kirito’s body type was clearly built for speed, not strength.
“Can you actually swing that thing?” Leafa asked, exasperated.
Kirito nodded coolly. “No problem.”
She had no choice but to take his word for it. He paid the shopkeeper’s price and hoisted the massive blade onto his back. The tip of the scabbard nearly dragged along the ground.
He’s like a child playing at being a warrior, Leafa thought, stifling a laugh.
“Well, I think we’re ready to leave! Put ’er there, partner!” She held out her right hand, and Kirito shyly returned the gesture.
“Nice working with you.”
The pixie zipped out of his pocket and flew over to smack both of their hands in celebration as she spoke.
“We can do it! To the World Tree!”
Massive sword on his back and diminutive pixie on his shoulder, Kirito followed alongside Leafa for several minutes, until she spotted the shining, jade-green tower ahead.
It was the Tower of Wind, the symbol of the sylph homeland. No matter how many times Leafa saw it, she never failed to marvel at its beauty. When she gave Kirito a sidelong glance, however, the spriggan was distastefully eyeing the tower wall he’d been so intimate with the day before. She jabbed him with an elbow, holding back her laughter.
“Want a lesson on braking before we get flying again?”
“…Not necessary. I’m sticking to safe flying from now on,” he answered brusquely. “What’s up with the tower? Are we doing something here?”
“You’ll want to use these towers for long-distance flight. The extra altitude makes all the difference.”
“Aha, I see, “he nodded. Leafa gave him a push on the back.
“Let’s get going! We’ll want to be out of the forest by nightfall.”
“Well, I don’t know the terrain at all, so show me the way.”
“You’re in good hands!” She tapped her chest and turned to look beyond the tower.
The majestic silhouette of the sylph lord’s mansion was clear against the morning sun. The owner of the mansion was a female player named Sakuya, someone Leafa had known throughout her time playing. She thought briefly of stopping by to give her regards before leaving, but the flag bearing the sylph crest was nowhere to be seen on the flagpole sprouting from the center of the building’s roof. It was an indication of the rare occurrence when the master was not home for the day.
“What’s up?” Kirito asked quizzically, but Leafa shook her head. She made a mental note to send a message to Sakuya later, then turned back to the business at hand and strode through the door of the tower.
The ground floor of the structure was a wide, circular lobby with a variety of shops lining the wall. In the center of the lobby were two elevators that presumably ran on magic, sucking in and spitting out players at regular intervals. It was early morning in Alfheim but evening in the real world, so the milling population was starting to grow as more people logged in.
She pulled Kirito by the arm toward the elevator on the right. It had just descended to their level when several figures suddenly moved into place to block their path. Just before she collided with them, Leafa spread her wings to come to a stop.
“Hey, watch it!” she snapped instinctively, then recognized the tall man who had stepped in her way.
He was far above the average sylph height, with rough but masculine features. He was either very lucky or very rich to have obtained looks like those. His body was clad in thick silver armor, and a large broadsword hung from his waist. There was a wide silver band around his forehead, and flowing, dark green locks extended down to his shoulders.
The man’s name was Sigurd. He was a frontline fighter in the party Leafa had been working with for the past few weeks. She noticed that the others he was standing with were those very same party members. She looked around to see if Recon was among them, but there was no sign of his characteristic golden-green hair.
Sigurd was a power player, a constant rival with Leafa for the title of the strongest sylph. And unlike Leafa, who avoided the struggles for control over the sylph populace, he willingly took part in the game’s politics. The current sylph lord—elected by popular vote monthly, with the power to set taxes and determine their use—was Sakuya, but Sigurd was a visible figure as her right-hand man, an ultra-active player in the community.
His vast playtime earned him skill numbers and equipment that Leafa could never hope to match. Whenever they dueled, it was always a protracted, painful affair in which Leafa tried to use her superb athleticism to overcome his stalwart defense. As a hunting partner, he was a reliable force, but his pushy, bossy personality was distasteful to Leafa, who wanted to be free to pursue her own whims. The present arrangement was certainly a lucrative one for her, but she’d been thinking it was about time to part ways.
Fittingly, the smile on Sigurd’s face as he loomed imposingly over her
was tilted into his most imperious and haughty sneer. This was not going to be fun, she knew.
“Hello, Sigurd,” she grinned, but he did not return the pleasantry. Instead, he launched into his business with a growl.
“Are you leaving the party, Leafa?”
He was clearly in a foul mood, and she briefly thought of reassuring him that it was only going to be a brief trip to Alne and back. But the weight of all her concerns was too much, and Leafa found the simpler answer was to nod and own it.
“Yeah…I suppose. I’ve made plenty of money doing this, so I’m going to take it easy for a bit.”
“How very selfish. And you don’t think that will harm the other members?”
“Wha—? Selfish…?!”
That set her off. At the dueling tournament two months ago, after Leafa had defeated Sigurd in a close contest, he approached her later to admit that he was scouting her for his party. She’d thought she made it clear to him that she had conditions: She would only participate in the party’s activities when convenient for her, and she could leave whenever she wanted. It was supposed to be a no-strings-attached arrangement.
Sigurd raised his bushy eyebrows and continued, “You’re already well known as a member of my party. If you leave us without a good reason and join another party, it shames us and ruins our good name.”
“…”
Leafa was speechless. The arrogance of such a claim…But deep down, a part of her had known this moment was coming.
After she’d been in Sigurd’s party for a while, Recon—who’d also been admitted as her sidekick of sorts—had given her a serious warning.
He’d said it was a bad idea to get in too deep with this group. He suspected that Sigurd hadn’t scouted Leafa for her battle ability but for her intangible marketing value for his brand. Not only that, but by recruiting the warrior who’d beaten him as a teammate—no, a subordinate—he protected himself against any loss of prestige from that defeat.