The boorish-faced man gave Eugene a salute.
“A word, Gene?”
“What is it, Kagemune?”
The name struck Leafa as familiar, and she quickly remembered. The surviving mage had mentioned it after their battle on the underground lake. Which meant he was the leader of the salamanders who’d attacked her in the Ancient Forest yesterday, during her first meeting with Kirito.
“I’m sure you’re aware that my party was wiped out yesterday.”
Leafa held her breath and listened closely, realizing that he was bringing up that very incident.
“Yes.”
“Well, it was that exact spriggan who did it—and there was indeed an undine with him.”
“…?!”
Leafa stared openly at Kagemune. Kirito’s brows twitched for an instant, but he returned to his usual poker face just as quickly. Kagemune continued.
“Word from S was that he was the mage team’s target as well. They didn’t have much success, either.”
S was most likely short for “spy.” Either that or shorthand for “Sigurd.”
Eugene gave Kagemune a perplexed look. No doubt the others around them were totally mystified by their conversation, but Leafa was following every word with bated breath.
Eventually, Eugene nodded. “I see.” A slight grin cracked his lips. “We’ll leave it at that, then.”
Next, he turned to Kirito. “At the present moment, neither I nor our lord wish to get into any funny business with the spriggans or undines. We will withdraw for now—but I will have my revenge match with you.”
“Looking forward to it.”
Eugene cracked knuckles with Kirito’s extended fist and turned away. He spread his wings and leaped into the air.
Kagemune joined him, but before doing so, he turned to Leafa and gave her a clumsy wink and smile. She took the gesture to mean that his debt was repaid. Her right cheek dimpled with a grin of her own.
Only when the two men had flown off did Leafa finally exhale the breath she’d been holding in.
As the party of dignitaries watched, the salamanders neatly resumed their battle formation and flew off with the heavy buzz of wings, Eugene at the lead. The swarm of black shapes plunged into the clouds, grew indistinct, and vanished.
With the area quiet again, Kirito said jovially, “See? Those salamanders aren’t so bad after all.”
Leafa didn’t know what to say for several seconds. Eventually, the words bubbled up from her gut.
“…You are seriously insane.”
“I get that a lot.”
“…Hee-hee.”
They laughed until Sakuya reminded them of her presence with a polite cough.
“Excuse me…can someone explain what is going on?”
With the meeting back to its quiet stateliness, Leafa began to explain the chain of events, clarifying that some of it was merely conjecture. Sakuya, Alicia, and the other dignitaries listened patiently and quietly. When she finally finished her explanation, they all exhaled deeply together.
“…I see,” Sakuya murmured, arms crossed, a slight arch to her graceful eyebrows. “I noticed something impatient and cross about Sigurd’s attitude the last several months. Wishing to rule through councils and conferences rather than tyranny, I let him take an important position in my cabinet…and it seems we’ve paid the price for that mistake.”
“I know how hard it can be, Sakuya. You’re a very popular ruler,” said Alicia Rue, who’d actually been in power over her own people for longer than her sylph counterpart.
“But…what would he be so angry about?” Leafa asked curiously. Sakuya looked to the horizon as she answered.
“I suspect…that he couldn’t stand for us to cede so much power to the salamanders.”
“…”
“Sigurd is a man with a strong will to power. Not just in his character’s statistics but in his control over other players. No doubt he could not stand the vision of a future in which the salamanders had completed the main quest and ruled the skies of Alfheim, while he could only watch from the ground.”
“But…why would he act as a salamander spy?”
“Have you heard about the upcoming update 5.0? It’s rumored that they’ll be implementing a reincarnation system.”
“Oh…Meaning…”
“Mortimer probably put the idea in his head. He’d say, ‘Take down your leader for me, and I’ll let you be a salamander.’ But the reincarnation process requires a vast amount of yrd, apparently. There’s no saying whether Mortimer, savvy as he is, would have kept his promise, anyway.”
“…”
Leafa looked at the goldening sky and the distant haze of the World Tree, conflicted.
It was her dream to be reborn as an alf, free from the shackles of the game’s flight limits. It was for that purpose that she’d joined Sigurd’s party, comprised of only the strongest sylphs, and donated nearly all of the yrd she earned to the government.
If she hadn’t met Kirito and left the party, it seemed likely that Sigurd would have invited her to take part in the salamander reincarnation plot. What would she have done…?
“ALO’s a nasty game, testing its players’ greed like this,” Kirito murmured forlornly at her side. “I’m guessing its designer is a real piece of work.”
“Ha. I agree,” said Sakuya.
Leafa decided to follow her heart just a bit, putting her arm around Kirito’s and leaning slightly into him. Kirito never seemed to be fazed by anything; being so close to him made her feel grounded and calm again.
“So…what’s the plan, Sakuya?”
The smile disappeared from the beautiful politician’s face, and she closed her eyes for a moment. When she opened them again, the deep green irises gleamed with a sharp light.
“Rue, you’ve been working on your dark magic, right?”
Alicia Rue’s ears waggled in affirmation.
“Cast Moonlight Mirror on Sigurd, then.”
“Sure, but it won’t last long during the day.”
“Not a problem. This will be brief.”
Alicia’s ears twitched again, and she took a step back to raise her hands and chant the spell. Her high-pitched, clear voice enunciated the unfamiliar sounds of dark magic spellwords. There was a sudden darkness around them, and a beam of moonlight shone down from somewhere.
The moonbeam piled up in front of Alicia like some golden liquid until it formed the shape of a perfectly circular mirror. As the entire gathering watched silently, the surface rippled—and a picture began to bloom within it.
“Ah…” Leafa couldn’t hold in her voice. It was a familiar place to her: the meeting room of Sakuya’s mansion where official business transpired.
There was a large jade-green table in front. Behind it, someone was seated in the lord’s chair, his feet propped up on top of the table, his eyes closed and hands clasped behind his head. It was Sigurd.
Sakuya approached the mirror and spoke, her voice as clear as a harp.
“Sigurd.”
The image of Sigurd in the mirror leaped up like a spring, his eyes wide. He must have been able to see her in return, because he looked back directly into her eyes, his mouth tense.
“S…Sakuya…?”
“That’s right, still alive. Sorry to disappoint you,” she replied curtly.
“Why…? I mean, what about the meeting…?”
“It will end safely. We’re just about to make it official. But before that, we did have some unexpected guests.”
“G-guests…?”
“General Eugene sends his regards.”
“Wha—”
Now Sigurd was visibly shocked. His imposing face was going paler and paler, and his eyes swiveled as he searched for the right words. Suddenly, he caught sight of Leafa, standing behind Sakuya.
“Leaf—?!”
His eyes looked ready to pop out of his head—he’d finally grasped the situation. His nose wrinkled in anger, and he bared his teeth in a snarl
.
“Incompetent lizards…Well? What’s it going to be, Sakuya? A hefty fine? Expulsion from the council? Just remember, I’m in charge of our military, so you won’t last long without me—”
“No. If being a sylph is so distasteful to you, I will grant your desire.”
“Wh-what?”
She waved her left hand elegantly, calling up the extra-large system menu reserved for the lord of each race. Countless individual windows stacked up in layers to form a hexagonal pillar of light. She pulled out a specific tab and ran her fingers over it.
As Sigurd watched through the mirror, she called up a blue message window. Once he saw what she was doing, he stood up in a panic.
“No! Have you lost your mind?! You’re…you’re going to exile me?!”
“That is correct. You may wander the neutral lands as a renegade. I hope you will find new pleasures there that suit you better.”
“I…I’ll launch a complaint! I’ll petition the GMs! This is abuse of privilege!”
“Do as you wish. Farewell, Sigurd.”
He clenched his fists and prepared to launch into another tirade. But the instant Sakuya pressed the button on her tab, he disappeared from the image in the mirror. He’d been expelled from sylph land, sent randomly to any one of the neutral cities in the game aside from Alne.
The golden mirror continued to show the empty council room for a few moments, then its surface rippled again and tinkled into dust. As it vanished, the late-afternoon sun reappeared to light the area.
“Sakuya,” Leafa quietly murmured into the silence, as the sylph lady’s brows furrowed in thought.
The beautiful leader of the sylphs closed the game window with a swipe of her hand, then sighed and smiled.
“I suppose the next election will tell me if my decision was wise or poor. But in any case—thank you, Leafa. After all the times you refused to join the council, it makes me very happy to see you rush to our aid. Alicia, I apologize for exposing you to danger through our own infighting.”
“We’re alive, and that’s all that matters!” the cait sith leader said perkily. Leafa hastily downplayed her part in the events.
“I didn’t do anything, really. It’s Kirito here who deserves your thanks.”
“Ah, yes, of course. And what is your story…?”
Sakuya and Alicia Rue turned quizzical glances at Kirito.
“Hey, you. Was that true about being an envoy of the spriggans and undines?” Alicia asked, her tail waving back and forth with curiosity. Kirito put a hand on his hip and puffed out his chest.
“Complete poppycock. A bluff, a feint, a piece of negotiation.”
“Wha…”
They stared at him, mouths agape.
“You’re a madman. Lying through your teeth in a situation with stakes that high?”
“That’s my style. When my cards are bad, I raise my bet,” he said confidently. Alicia Rue flashed a mischievous feline grin and sidled over to get a better look at him.
“You’re very strong for such a liar, though, aren’t you? Did you know that Eugene is considered the most powerful warrior in ALO? And you beat him in a fair fight…What are you, the spriggans’ secret weapon?”
“Hardly. Just a wandering sword-for-hire.”
“Pfft! Nya-ha-ha-ha!”
Entertained by Kirito’s sass, Alicia laughed and grabbed his right arm, squeezing it to her chest. She threw him a coquettish glance out of the corner of her eye and purred, “If you’re available, would you like to work as a mercenary for the cait siths? I can guarantee you three meals a day, plus an afternoon nap.”
“Wha…”
Leafa’s mouth twitched. But before she could insert herself into the situation—
“Now now, Rue, no cutting in line,” Sakuya said, her voice even more seductive than usual. Her long kimono sleeve wrapped around Kirito’s left arm. “He came to the sylphs’ rescue, so we have the right to negotiate with him first. Kirito, you said your name was? I’ve taken a shine to you—how would you like to share a drink back in Swilvane?”
Crik-crack. Leafa’s temples were twitching now.
“Hey, no fair, Sakuya! No seducing allowed!”
“What do you call what you’re doing? Stop rubbing yourself all over him!”
Pulled on each side by a beautiful lady, Kirito’s face went red with embarrassment, but he didn’t seem to mind too much.
Leafa had seen enough. She grabbed Kirito’s cloak from behind and pulled.
“You can’t! Kirito is my…”
They all turned to look at her. Her words trailed off as she came to her senses. “Umm…he’s my…”
Unable to finish her sentence, she began mumbling, but Kirito simply smiled and picked up the slack for her.
“I appreciate your offers, but I’m sorry—she promised to take me to the center of the map.”
“Ah, I see…That is too bad.” Sakuya was not one to display her inner feelings, but she did truly seem disappointed now. She turned to Leafa. “You are going to Alne? For recreational purposes? Or…”
“I was planning to leave the territory. But I’m sure I’ll be back to Swilvane…I just don’t know when.”
“That is a relief to hear. Promise you’ll come back—with him.”
“And stop by our place on the way. You’re welcome anytime!”
The two ladies pulled back and straightened up. Sakuya put a hand on her chest and tilted her head forward regally, while Alicia bowed deeply and flattened out her ears. When the courtesy was finished, Sakuya spoke again.
“Thank you once again, Leafa and Kirito. If we’d been defeated today, the salamanders’ victory would have been all but guaranteed. I wish I could show my appreciation somehow…”
“There’s no need,” Kirito said awkwardly. Leafa suddenly realized something. She took a step forward.
“Sakuya, Alicia…this alliance is for the purpose of conquering the World Tree, isn’t it?”
“Well, ultimately, yes. If we work together to scale the tree, and we both become alfs, splendid. If only one race does, they’ll help the other beat the next major questline. That’s the gist of the arrangement.”
“We’d like to take part in the attempt. As soon as possible, actually.”
Sakuya and Alicia shared a look.
“…We don’t have a problem with that. In fact, we’d like you to join us. I can’t make any guarantees as to a timeframe, however. Why?”
“…”
Leafa glanced at Kirito. The enigmatic spriggan boy looked down and spoke. “I came to this world because I wanted to reach the top of the World Tree. I need to meet someone who might be up there…”
“Someone? The fairy king, Oberon?”
“No…I don’t think so. It’s someone I can’t reach in real life…but I have to find.”
“So if he or she is on top of the World Tree, does that mean it’s an admin? Wow, kinda mysterious, huh?” Alicia raved, her eyes sparkling. But that excitement quickly turned to dejection, her ears and tail drooping. “But…it’s going to take a while to get everyone properly outfitted for the quest. It’s not something that can be done in a day or two…”
“I see…good point. Then again, I just wanted to get to the foot of the tree, that’s all. I’ll figure out the rest on my own.”
He smiled and, as though just remembering something, abruptly waved his hand to call up the menu. When he was done fiddling with his inventory, a large leather sack appeared.
“Go ahead and use this to help pay for stuff.”
The sack clanked heavily—it appeared to be stuffed full of yrd. Alicia accepted it from Kirito and immediately stumbled under its weight. She shifted her hands to get a better grip and peered inside. Her eyes went wide.
“S-Sakuya, look…”
“Hmm?”
Sakuya followed Alicia’s finger and peered inside. She pulled out a large pale blue coin that sparkled in the light.
“Wow…”
Leafa co
uldn’t contain herself. The two leaders were frozen with their mouths open, and the twelve dignitaries who’d been dutifully watching the scene began to murmur excitedly.
“A hundred-thousand-yrd mithril coins…? Are these all—?!”
Even Sakuya was hoarse with astonishment as she examined the coin closely. She eventually put it back into the sack, shaking her head in disbelief. “You can’t make this kind of money without camping out to hunt Deviant Gods in Jotunheim…Are you sure about this? You could build yourself a castle in a prime location with a sum like this.”
“It’s fine. I don’t need it anymore,” he said, unconcerned.
Sakuya and Alicia looked back into the bag and sighed deeply.
“This will put us much closer to the total we need.”
“We’ll procure equipment on the double and inform you when the preparations are complete.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
Alicia put the leather sack into Sakuya’s open inventory window.
“I won’t feel safe ferrying around a gold mine like this out in the open…Let’s head back to cait sith land before the ’manders change their minds.”
“Good idea. We can finish the negotiations once we’re safe.”
The two women gave orders to their subordinates. In moments, the large table and fourteen chairs were all stowed away.
“You’ve helped us in every way imaginable. I promise we’ll do everything we can to assist you, Kirito and Leafa.”
“I’m just happy to be of service.”
“We’ll be awaiting your word.”
Sakuya, Alicia, Kirito, and Leafa all exchanged firm handshakes.
“Thanks! See you later!” Alicia chirped with another naughty grin and pulled Kirito closer with her tail. She brushed his cheek lightly with her lips, much to his embarrassment, and flashed the twitching Leafa an enigmatic wink before spreading her pale golden wings.
The two noble ladies rose straight into the air, waving good-bye, and headed west into the reddening sky. Each was soon followed by her six compatriots in elegant formation, like flocks of geese.
Kirito and Leafa watched them go silently until they disappeared into the sunset.
The area was so quiet that the incredible duel, and the standoff in which the fate of three races hung in the balance, might as well have never happened. Only the whistling of the wind and the rustling of leaves could be heard. Leafa felt a bit chilly and leaned close to Kirito.