Volume 16

  Was it Kirito, who had disappeared unconsciously, calling her?

  Clumsily pressing on the terminal and putting it to her ear, she heard the frantic voice of a young girl.

  “Sinon-san, it’s Yui!”

  “Eh… Y-Yui?”

  Of course, she knew Kirito and Asuna’s «daughter» — the artificial intelligence Yui. A week ago, when she had been discussing Kirito’s disappearance with Asuna and the others, she had personally witnessed Yui’s high-tech information processing abilities and emotional expressions.

  But, to call her directly by telephone was completely out of her expectations; Shino was temporarily speechless. A slightly electronic, sweet yet urgent voice reached her ear:

  “I’ll explain the details later. Get ready to leave your house and take a taxi. I’ll send the destination and the shortest route to your terminal. First, I’ll wire the taxi fare into Sinon-san’s electronic wallet.”

  Then, with a charin sound effect, Shino’s terminal notified her of an online money transfer.

  “Hah… T-Taxi? Where…?”

  Shino stood as Yui instructed, slipping her foot out of her sleepwear and asked with a heavy head. But Yui’s next words jolted Shino’s consciousness awake like ice water.

  “Please hurry. Papa and Mama are in danger!!”

  ***

  “D… Danger?! Onii-chan and Asuna-san?!”

  A high school student and swordswoman, also Kirigaya Kazuto’s younger sister, Kirigaya Suguha demanded as she buttoned her pants.

  “Leafa-san, you’ll wake up Aunt Midori if you’re that loud.”

  Listening to the calm voice from the terminal, Suguha hurriedly closed her mouth.

  “Ye…Yeah. Hey… This is my first time sneaking out this late…”

  “Very regrettable, but now there’s not much time to explain the reason for your excursion to obaa-sama. Just leave a message in your home server explaining that you needed to attend an early morning club activity.”

  “O… Okay. Wow… Yui sure is a great strategist.”

  Suguha exclaimed as she finished dressing. She descended the stairs with soft steps, and extended her hand towards the front door handle. Although they lived in an ancient Japanese-style house, their online security system still ran throughout the night, but the alarm line seemed to have been severed.

  After Kazuto disappeared, her mother came home early every day. Feeling guilty for her own actions, Suguha put her hands together and apologized before leaving through the entrance.

  — I’m sorry, Mom. I will definitely save onii-chan.

  After reaching the main road, a taxi appeared before her. Probably one that Yui had reserved online. Although the driver was slightly surprised at Suguha’s age, after she explained that her relatives were ill, she glanced at her terminal and said:

  “Um… Please head to Tokyo harbor.”

  She probably shouldn’t be too specific and say “Roppongi”4.

  ***

  Higa Takeru felt a half-eaten Energy Bar hit his leg after dropping from his desk, and suddenly opened his eyes.

  After blinking forcefully a few times, he confirmed the time on the wall clock. There was still a while before 4:00 AM, Japan Standard Time. Glancing beside him, he saw that the RATH technicians watching the sub control room all had fatigued expressions.

  Professor Koujiro Rinko sat horizontally on on a chair at the control console, her head drooping up and down as she drifted in and out of sleep.

  Lieutenant Colonel Kikuoka was not asleep, but his thin slits for eyes staring at the main monitor from behind his black-framed glasses has lost their usual sharpness.

  On the other hand, four technical crewmembers were sprawled like corpses on mattresses laid out beside the wall. Considering that any Defense Officer among the Self-Defense Force could be leaking information, Kikuoka had stationed them to guard the pressure-resistant wall partition beneath the sub control room.

  Since they had been attacked by a mysterious paramilitary group, fourteen hours had elapsed — or rather, finally passed by.

  Ten hours still remained before the Aegis destroyer «Nagato», which was protecting them from a distance — or so it was originally — would give the order to storm the Ocean Turtle. Under this situation, their wait was despairingly long. It was even more so in the time-accelerated Underworld.

  Ten hours had passed since Yuuki Asuna had dived in with Super Account 01. Calculating according to the internal acceleration rate of one thousand times, that equated to ten thousand hours — over one year. But there had been no news on whether her mission to protect Alice had succeeded or failed.

  “Is it really that far away… from the Human Empire to the World End Altar…”

  Higa mumbled, his mind constructing a map of the Underworld that resembled the RATH logo — Just then.

  The telephone on the control console burst to life with a earsplitting pi pi pi, pi pi pi. Higa jumped without thinking.

  “Ki… Kiku-san, the phone.”

  Wondering whether something had happened downstairs, he notified the commander.

  Also startled by the phone, a figure in a Hawaiian shirt clamored for the receiver, his clogs slipping from his feet.

  “Sub control room, this is Kikuoka!”

  Although his voice was slightly hoarse, he still managed a forceful reply. After a moment, from the receiver came — not the voice of Captain Nakanishi, in command of the Defense Officers, but the hesitant voice of a young man.

  “Uh, um, this is the STL development headquarters of RATH… Right? I’m Hiraki of the RATH Roppongi branch…”

  “Hah? R-Roppongi?”

  In regards to Kikuoka, this was an extremely rare, slow voice reserved for situations completely outside of his expectations. But Higa was the same.

  Why would the Roppongi branch be contacting them at this time? The technicians there were completely unaware that RATH was a disguised business venture operating on government defense budget, that its headquarters was based not on Japanese soil but in the Ocean Turtle floating far out in the south Pacific Ocean, and the name Project Alicization should be completely foreign to them.

  Of course, they were even more unlikely to know that RATH was currently under attack by a mysterious enemy. The Roppongi branch was set up entirely for the development of STL-related technologies, merely an outside institution.

  Right… STL…

  Suddenly, a feeling of noticing something flew past in Higa’s mind, but Kikuoka coughed loudly before Higa could catch it.

  “Ah, ahh, yes. I am Kikuoka of the STL development headquarters.”

  “Ah, hello, hello! We’ve met before. Long time no see, I am Hiraki, honored to be the development director as you appointed me here!”

  — No need for this corporate talk now, just get to the point!!

  Higa screamed silently. Kikuoka put on the same expression, but the words coming out of his mouth effused a faux corporate-like tone.

  “Ah, greetings and thank you for your hard work, director Hiraki. It’s pretty late; are you working overtime?”

  “No, it’s just that I missed the last train as I was drinking. It’s all the fault of the office location. Oh, Roppongi. Ah, don’t tell the higher-ups, heh heh.”

  — You’re talking to a higher-up right now! The highest-up! Now just spit it out!!

  Whether Higa’s willpower had achieved some effect or not, Hiraki stopped his nonsense, and quickly changed his tone.

  “Ah — right, it’s like this… We’ve got a problem, it’s… something strange. Right now, someone’s suddenly come in from the outside without an appointment…”

  “From the outside? Is it a client?”

  “No, it’s got nothing to do with that… Also, they look kind of like high school girls, and there are two of them…”

  “HAH?!”

  Kikuoka and Higa, along with Professor Koujiro who had stood up at some time, yelped in unison.

  “High… High school girls?”
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  “Yeah. I tried to turn them away, since this company’s secrecy policy is very stringent, you know. But… the things they’re saying, makes me think… “

  At Hiraki’s meandering words, even Higa rose to his feet, both hands on the control console. Once more, Kikuoka exerted his admirable iron willpower, and asked steadily:

  “So, what exactly did they say?”

  “I remember it was like, immediately contact Kikuoka Seijirou at the RATH headquarters, and tell him: confirm the Underworld FLA rate now… That’s what they said.”

  “Wh… Whaaaat?!”

  The two men yelped in unison again.

  Why would high school girls from outside know these words?! These are not words that those who aren’t familiar with all of Project Alicization would know.

  Higa, his mouth hanging open, exchanged looks with Kikuoka and automatically turned towards the control console, his fingers sailing on the keyboard.

  On the pitch-black monitor, the current time acceleration rate appeared.

  x 1.00.

  “Gh… One?! When did this happen?!”

  Higa turned away, breathing hard, as Kikuoka frantically shouted into the mouthpiece.

  “Na… Name. Did those two girls mention their names?”

  “Ah, yes. That was funny… They didn’t sound like their real names at all. They told me to tell Kikuoka-san that they were ‘Sinon’ and ‘Leafa’. They looked Japanese, though.”

  Clack.

  That dry noise was the sound of the clog hanging on Kikuoka’s right foot falling to the floor.

  ***

  Only after the automatic lock on the door to RATH’s Roppongi branch had clicked open, and Asada Shino and Kirigaya Suguha had trotted in, did the artificial intelligence Yui feel slightly calmer.

  In particular, she breathed a small hoh of relief, and allocated a large portion of her calculating power on another task she was running at the same time.

  Yui estimated that achieving her goals would come with a great deal of difficulty, because this was something that she definitely could not bring about on her own.

  But at the same time, if she failed, the ones she held most dear, Kirito and Asuna, would be faced with grave danger.

  Pulling her consciousness away from Shino’s portable terminal, Yui gazed with round eyes at each of the four fairies across from her.

  Yui and the others were currently within the VRMMORPG — «ALfheim Online», in Kirito and Asuna’s virtual cabin on Floor 22 of New Aincrad.

  Before Yui, who had transformed into a Navigation Pixie and was floating in the air, sitting on the couch was the Cait Sith player Silica, with triangular ears and small fangs.

  Beside her, with a head of metallic pink hair, was Lisbeth, a Leprechaun.

  Leaning his waist on a table a slight distance from them, his standing red hair tied in a drab bandanna, was Klein, a Salamander. And beside him was a huge gray-skinned man with his arms crossed, Agil, a Gnome.

  They were battle-worn VRMMO players often known as SAO survivors, who had lived through the death game «Sword Art Online», and also best friends of Kirito and Asuna. Even though it was currently very early in the morning, as soon as they received Yui’s call, they had quickly logged into ALO, and had just finished listening to an update on the situation.

  Scratching his bandanna-wrapped head, Klein snorted in a naturally carefree voice as seriously as he could:

  “Dammit… That idiot got mixed up all by himself in something huge again… a virtual world made by the Self Defense Force, and a real artificial intelligence «Alice» that appeared there? That’s beyond the boundary of a game now.”

  “That so-called artificial intelligence, isn’t just an NPC in the game… but an existence equal to humans like us?”

  Lisbeth asked. Yui turned towards her and nodded forcefully.

  “Yes, that is correct. Her structural principle is completely different from an existing AI like myself; she is a real soul. Known internally at RATH as «Artificial Fluctlights».”

  “And they want to put them into war machines for use in war…”

  Watching Yui and the little dragon Pina, who was curled up on her knee, Silica wrinkled her brow.

  “Actually, RATH meant to display it as a technological base for a demonstration of power… But according to my estimations, the attackers currently occupying the Ocean Turtle have a more detailed plan.”

  At Yui’s words, Klein mused with a troubled look:

  “Who the hell are they, those attackers.”

  “There is a 98 percent chance that they are either affiliated with the US military or the US intelligence department.”

  “US… US military?! The American military?!”

  Yui nodded towards Lisbeth, who had recoiled in shock.

  “If Alice falls into the hands of the US military, the day when she is loaded as AI onto unmanned weapons and thrust into warfare will eventually arrive. Papa and Mama are probably trying to stop this from happening as much as they can. Because… Because…”

  Suddenly, Yui became confused at the inconceivable effect that her own emotional output software was creating.

  Large droplets of liquid rolled down her face.

  Tears.

  — I’m crying. But, why…?

  As though her confusion was driven away just before gushing out, Yui tightly clasped her tiny hands in front of her chest and continued:

  “Because, Alice is the proof that ever since SAO began, every single VRMMO world and the many people living within them have existed, and the result of the consumption of real resources. I am positive. The real goal of the creation of The Seed software package is the birth of Alice.”

  The four players listened silently. Yui’s tears flowed unceasingly as she continued:

  “… It is because, among the countless worlds connected together, the laughter, crying, sadness, and love of countless people… the light of their souls are reflected, so that true humanity can be born in the Underworld. Alice was born from Papa, Mama, Leafa-san, Klein-san, Lisbeth-san, Silica-san, Agil-san, Sinon-san… and the cradle woven from many other people’s souls!”

  Yui also closed her mouth, and no one said anything for a while.

  Yui was unable to discern the thoughts and emotions created in the consciousnesses of the people around her. An existing AI that was merely an information aggregate possessed no real emotions at all, and was therefore unable to process real emotions. There was no one who understood that better than she did.

  Yes, this strong feeling of wanting to protect Kirito and Asuna, and the people she loved only stemmed from the most basic code written into her mental health counseling program.

  And what she said were merely words comprised of simple lists of information, leaving her uncertain of how much she could convey to human hearts. Before this meeting began — Yui had feared this very moment since the instant she had flown from the Ocean Turtle with a heavy mission.

  So when she saw the transparent tracks of tears suddenly flow from Lisbeth’s eyes, Yui experienced rare shock.

  “Y… Yeah. Everything, is connected. Time, people, like rivers.”

  Silica, her eyes wet, also rose to her feet, knelt in front of Yui and gently hugged her with both hands.

  “Don’t worry, Yui. We’ll help Kirito and Asuna. Please, don’t cry anymore.”

  “Yup. Dun trea’ us like strangers, Yui-ppe. There’s no way we’ll abandon Kirito.”5

  Klein tugged his bandanna downwards, and agreed in a cracked voice. Agil nodded beside him, and declared in a solemn baritone:

  “We still owe him a lot. Now is the time to repay some of that.”

  “… Everyone…”

  Hugged by Silica, Yui could only squeeze out one word.

  Because she could not stop the unknown tears that had started just a moment ago.

  — There shouldn’t be any time left. I still have a lot to say. In terms of my action prioritization, I should be calmly relaying the infor
mation. Has my emotional imitation circuit broken?

  But Yui was overruled by a certain code that was berating her own entire existence, and could only repeat the same words over and over as she sobbed.

  “… Thank you, everyone… Thank you everyone…”

  After a few minutes, Yui managed to fight back her tears and quickly explained the current situation to the four players and her estimations of what would happen next.

  The situation was that the attackers and occupiers of the Ocean Turtle, where Kirito and Asuna had created an announcement website in hopes of recruiting players. It was estimated that players lured by this website would begin appearing in massive numbers in the Underworld.

  Klein furrowed his brow and spoke in a serious tone:

  “There’ll be at least thirty thousand players diving in from the US… maybe even a hundred thousand or more… To them, Kirito and Asuna, along with the Human Empire army with Alice among them, are merely PvP targets.”

  “What if we went and followed the threads on American video game social media? Expose the experiments and the attack, and turn them away from this fake closed beta… How about that?”

  At Lisbeth’s direct suggestion, Yui gently shook her head.

  “The reality of the situation is that Japanese and American troops are engaged in a top secret battle. If we arbitrarily expose that, it may have the opposite effect.”

  “‘Your opponents are real humans, please do not harm anyone’… If we write something like that, it’s probably going to cause more trouble, huh.”

  Silica murmured gloomily.

  The deep silence was immediately shattered by Klein’s energetic voice.

  “Hey, let’s fight fire with fire, then! The number of internet shut-ins here will never lose to that of the US. Let’s make our own closed beta website, have, um… RATH or whatever, prepare some more accounts, and we’ll have thirty to forty thousand people in no time!”

  “But, there’s one very troublesome problem.”

  Agil said shortly, his log-like arms crossed.

  “What problem is that?”

  “Time difference. The time now in Japan is still 4:30 AM, which is when the smallest number of players are online. On the other hand in the US, it’s 12:30 PM in Los Angeles, and 3:30 PM in New York. In terms of online player numbers, the other side has way more of them.”