Chapter 2

The returnee school that Asuna, Lisbeth, Silica, and I attended was located in

a renovated public school that had previously been abandoned after two local

high schools combined into one.

Due to this, the campus was surprisingly complex and contained a number of

spots that, like in an RPG, you couldn't find unless you already knew they

existed. The patch of green I was standing on was one of them—you had to go

upstairs in the extracurricular club building, head all the way down the hall, exit

through the emergency door, go down the outside stairs, then walk along the

planters until you passed through a tiny gap you wouldn't notice otherwise.

This patch of grass, surrounded by the tall planters, the club building, and the

library building, was a rectangle about thirty feet to a side. In the middle, where

the earth was slightly raised, was a white siris tree and a sandalwood tree, side

by side, surrounded by seasonal flowers. Soft grass covered the ground, and

there were essentially no weeds. Someone had to be tending the space, but I'd

never seen whomever it was.

Ever since I'd found the place this past spring, Asuna and I referred to it as the

"secret garden" to keep its information private. Alas, Lisbeth had figured it out

after that, so she and Silica visited it, too. And now there was a fifth person—

actually, sixth, if you counted the unknown gardener—who knew about the

garden.

This fifth person surveyed the space and said in a distinctive voice, "Well,

well, this sure looks like a nice, tidy date spot. Ya sure ya wanted to bring me

here?"

"I didn't really have a choice after that flashy entrance," I grumbled but

caught myself and shook my head. "First of all, it's not a date spot. So it's

perfectly fine if I show it to you."

"Awww, it's been so long. Ya don't have to be so cold, Kiri-boy. Don'tcha want

a warm reunion hug?"

The small teenage girl, who wore a khaki hoodie over a dark sailor uniform,

and a small day pack, held out her arms. She was only slightly shorter than

Asuna and maybe an inch or so taller than Silica. She seemed to have grown

quite a bit since the time I'd visited her regularly…meaning the girl who always

seemed much older than I was still growing, even now.

Argo the Rat.

That was the name of the talented info dealer from back in the floating castle

of Aincrad—who'd shown up in my classroom at returnee school out of

nowhere just a number of minutes ago. At a school with such a distinct

imbalance between boys and girls—in favor of boys—there was no way an

unfamiliar girl in another school's uniform would go without notice. So I'd

grabbed Argo by the arm and zipped out of the room before the other guys

could crowd around. Since it was lunch period and the halls were packed with

students, the only place I could go was this little green space. Once we were

alone, there was a different kind of tension in the air.

I backed away from Argo's smile and outstretched hands. "I…I'll save that for

the next occasion."

"You've always been a coward, Kiri-boy."

"I'm fine with that! More important…what the hell are you doing here?" I

asked at last. Argo stuck her hands into the pockets of her hoodie and grinned. I

couldn't help but stare at her face.

The features beneath that light-colored curly hair were the same as those of

the Rat I knew so well in Aincrad. But because of the lack of face-painted

whiskers on her cheeks or because it had been two—or make that four—years

since the very start of the deadly game, she seemed much more adult. In all

honesty, the first time I'd met Argo in Aincrad, I couldn't be sure if she was a

boy or a girl. But looking at her now, even if you subtracted the girl's uniform,

there was no mistaking her feminine nature. I almost felt a little self-conscious

treating her as brusquely as I typically did.

Argo apparently sensed that I was feeling a little awkward, so she came

closer, wearing a teasing smile, and said, "What am I doing here? I transferred,

of course."

"H-huhhh?!" I shouted, then clamped my mouth shut. In a more measured

tone, I hissed, "Transferred? It's been two years since we escaped. Why now?

And more important, why didn't you ever contact me? I thought for sure you

were…"

I couldn't say the rest. Argo just smiled and shrugged. "You know I wouldn't

kick the bucket. Besides, ya can't knock me for not gettin' in touch when I could

say the same of you. With your connections, you coulda learned my contact

info easily."

"..."

She was right.

In the SAO days, I didn't know Argo's real name or address or phone number,

but I did know the character name "Argo." If I'd given that info to Seijirou

Kikuoka at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications' Virtual Division,

he would have pulled all the information contained in that user's data for me.

But it wasn't just Argo; I didn't proactively search out any of the players I

knew in SAO whose life or death was unknown to me. The group who'd

survived the seventy-fifth-floor boss battle would have logged out safely, I

assumed, but everyone else—like Mr. Nishida or Kibaou, Nezha, Mahocle, and

so on—could be either alive or dead, as far as I knew. I didn't try to find out

because I was scared. I didn't want to hear from Kikuoka's mouth, with all

finality, that they hadn't come back.

For the same reason, I didn't want to find out Argo's real-life information. I

started to lower my head to apologize.

But with the same speed she had back in SAO, Argo closed the gap and jabbed

my forehead with her index and middle fingers, pushing me back up straight.

"Did I ask ya to apologize? I said we were both responsible for not gettin' in

touch. You've been kickin' so much ass in ALO and GGO under your own name, I

coulda reached out and made contact if I tried."

Argo let go and retreated a step. I rubbed my forehead, unsure of how to

react. In the end, I just asked her straight up:

"That's just it…Why didn't you come to ALO? You're not the kind of person

who would get freaked out by full-dive machines now, right?"

"Uh, who do you think I am?" She grimaced. Argo stuck her hands into her

pockets again and rocked back and forth. "Mmm. Well, there are reasons. It's

not like I didn't care about it at all. When I heard you could bring back your old

SAO character in ALO, that was a big temptation. But…I knew that if I went into

business as an info dealer again in ALO, I wouldn't have the same motivation I

did back then…"

"Yeah…I guess I can understand that," I said. But the truth was that I

understood it all too well.

Sword Art Online was a true alternate world created by the mad genius

Akihiko Kayaba. It trapped us in a floating land of rock and steel and demanded

that its players beat the game with a horrifying caveat: If you die in the game,

you die in real life.

Hardly a single day went by back then that I didn't feel fear, despair, panic, or

anguish. But those weren't the only things I felt in the game. There was joy in a

level-up, excitement at acquiring a rare bit of loot, exultation after defeating a

boss monster. They were true, heartfelt emotions unlike anything I had

experienced in the games I'd played before SAO. As hard as it was to admit,

even my main game now, ALO, which I truly enjoyed, didn't elicit the same level

of dedication that SAO had…

But I brushed that momentary sentiment aside and asked, "In that case…what

have you been doing the last two years, and where?"

"I've been going to school where I live, obviously."

"Oh…"

But of course. That should have been obvious. I'd been through a lot after

SAO, as well, but for the most part, what I did boiled down to "going to school

where I live."

"Where are you from? What year are you in?"

Argo thrust out her right hand and replied, "Two questions'll cost ya a

thousand col."

"Oh, right…"

I reached into my uniform pocket for a thousand-col gold coin before I

stopped myself. Argo just laughed.

"Nya-ha-ha-ha…I'm just kiddin'. I live in the lower left part of Kanagawa, and

I'm in my last year of high school."

"Lower left," I murmured, consulting a mental map of Kanagawa Prefecture. I

knew that in the southwestern part of it were the cities of Odawara, Hakone,

and Atami…but the last one was actually in Shizuoka. In any case, they weren't

exactly close to Tokyo. If she was in the third year of high school, that made her

a year above me. Like Asuna and Liz, she'd be graduating in the latter half of the

year.

"…Why would you transfer here now?"

"Mmm." Argo grunted, then shrugged and said, "Ah, might as well." She

reached for the little day pack she was wearing. Her fingers dexterously found

the pocket on the back without looking, and she pulled out a rectangular case.

It was made of yellow leather, and she removed a gray card from it that she

handed to me.

I took the item, which I saw was actually a business card. My eyes were drawn

to the name printed in the middle of its face.

"Tomo…Hosaka. That's your real name?"

"Sorry, it doesn't sound like it'd be my name, huh?"

"Erm, I didn't mean it like that…I was just surprised that you'd tell me your

real name that easily…"

"I'm transferring to this school. It's not like I can hide it forever." Argo, aka

Tomo Hosaka, pouted.

I looked back at the business card. Right beneath her name was an e-mail

address and phone number. On the upper left was her title. To my surprise, it

said MMO TODAY, WRITER/RESEARCHER.

"Wait, really?!" I exclaimed.

That reaction alone told her what I had spotted on the card. She nodded and

said, "Yep."

"So you're a writer for MMO Today…Meaning I might have already read

several articles you've written without realizing it…?"

"Probably."

"But isn't MMO Today centered around news about The Seed? Can you write

articles if you're not playing the games?"

"I'm not covering individual games. I'm more focused on overall news of The

Seed Nexus and the hardware end, I guess. Sometimes I'll whip up a character

and do a quick dive, but as soon as my research is done, I delete 'em."

"Ohhh…"

I exhaled and looked over Argo's face again. It wasn't particularly shocking

that she was one year older than I, but hearing that she was a writer for MMO

Today, the biggest source of news on the world of VRMMOs, made me feel like

the gap between us was that much larger. I didn't even have a part-time job.

"…I guess…I have to treat you with more respect…From now on, I'll call you

Miss Hosaka…"

"Knock it off! Just be normal," Argo snapped quite seriously. She jutted her

chin at me accusingly and said, "Well? You're gonna make me introduce myself

and won't do me the same courtesy?"

"Huh? Oh, right…"

At long last, I realized I hadn't actually told her my real name. It felt awkward

to do it now, after all this time, but I didn't have a business card to do the

talking for me.

"Well, uh…my real name is Kazuto Kirigaya. It's good to see you again."

"Yep. Likewise," she said, grinning, and stuck out her right hand. Her palm was

vertical this time, making it clear she was asking for a handshake, not payment.

I hesitantly reached out and grabbed it.

She squeezed firmly. Through her skin, I felt a pulse that didn't belong to me.

"…You're alive," I said, the words I couldn't bring myself to say earlier.

Argo smiled at me again, though the nuances of its warmth were slightly

different this time. "It's thanks to you, Kiri-boy. The truth is, I didn't see myself

lasting until the hundredth floor. If you hadn't beaten it on the seventy-fifth, I'd

have prob'ly kicked the bucket somewhere before then."

"It wasn't just me…"

That was all I could say. There was a sudden wrenching feeling in my chest.

And it was true—I only defeated Heathcliff, aka Akihiko Kayaba, because of the

support, encouragement, and guidance of many players. That included Argo, of

course.

I'm so glad she survived, I thought, savoring the emotion, before I let go of her

hand. I inhaled the forest-scented air, then exhaled, ridding myself of all those

lingering feelings. Then I got back on topic.

"So…what's the relation between you transferring to this school and your

writing position with MMO Today?"

"Ahhh, that…"

But Argo didn't say another word. She glanced toward the gap between the

planters, which was the only way in or out of the secret garden. I started to

hear some quick, sprightly footsteps.

A few seconds later, Asuna burst into the green space, holding her phone in

one hand. I'd sent her a text while we were on the way over here. Asuna came

to a stop on the grass, looked at me first, then at Argo next to me.

"…No way…"

Her hazel-brown eyes glittered with the light trickling through the leaves

overhead. Argo blinked, too, then lifted her hand and made a waving motion.

"Hiya. How ya been, A-cha—?"

But she couldn't finish her question. Asuna charged with such speed that she

seemed to be possessed by her old identity, the Flash of SAO, and she wrapped

the smaller woman in a tremendous hug. Her phone slipped out of her right

hand in the process, and I just barely managed to catch it before it hit the

ground.

Asuna buried her face in Argo's shoulder and murmured, "I knew…I knew I

would see you again one day."

"…Sorry I haven't been in touch for a while, A-chan," she whispered, patting

the back of the other girl's blouse. Once they separated, Asuna stared her in the

face, then said the exact same thing I had several minutes earlier.

"So, um…what exactly are you doing here, Argo?"

Lunch period at returnee school lasted from 12:40 to 1:30. Fifty minutes was

a long lunch for a high school, but we didn't have enough time to sit around and

reminisce. Plus, when you were a growing teenager, skipping lunch was not an

option if you wanted to survive the day.

So the message I sent to Asuna on the way over was GET THREE PORTIONS OF SOMETHING

FROM CAFETERIA, COME TO SECRET GARDEN. Asuna brought three baguette sandwiches. One

of them was Camembert, ham, and arugula. The second was cream cheese,

smoked salmon, and tomato. The last was shrimp, avocado, and basil. We set

down a lightweight polyethylene sheet at the foot of the sandalwood tree, and

Asuna gave Argo the first choice of sandwiches.

"Pick whichever one you like, Argo. This is on me."

"Ah, geez, I can't do that," she protested, but Asuna shoved the three

sandwiches toward her face with a smile.

"Yes, you can. Remember how you helped us with the quest when we were

buying the house in the forest on the twenty-second floor? I'm paying you back

for that!"

"…Ahhh, right, that did happen," Argo said, her eyes narrowing as she

reminisced. "All right, I'll accept yer gift. I think I'll take…this one."

With a grin, she took the smoked salmon baguette. Asuna turned to look at

me and asked which one I wanted. Out of the two, I figured she would want the

avocado, so I told her, "Ham and cheese!"

Despite being two years since we were released from SAO—and living

together with Asuna for only two weeks in that world—I couldn't get past the

habits from sharing an inventory back then. And I had developed a bad one:

Whenever Asuna paid for something for the both of us, I often forgot to pay her

back. I only realized it this time after I'd taken the sandwich, and I quickly pulled

out my phone. Asuna had bought us three iced teas, too, so I totaled the cost of

three portions, divided by two, and input that into the payment app so Asuna's

device could read the code it displayed. It was even easier to send personal

payments using an Augma, but in my panic, I left that in my bag back in the

classroom.

At that very moment, I froze, phone in one hand and baguette in the other,

and gasped, "Oh…!!"

We were supposed to be using this lunch period to meet with Liz and Silica in

the cafeteria to talk about the anomaly that had shaken The Seed Nexus to its

core yesterday. On top of that, Suguha and Sinon were supposed to take part

using Augmas from their high schools in Ohmiya and Ueno. All of them were

waiting for me and Asuna to join them right now.

Argo gave me an odd look, but Asuna just rolled her eyes and said, "So you

did forget. Don't worry—I got in touch with everyone and asked them to

postpone the meeting until after school."

"Oh…th-thanks," I said sheepishly.

Argo ducked her head, too, and said, "Did ya have plans already? Sorry for

messin' that up."

"It's fine. I knew that lunch break was going to be way too short for what we

need to do, anyway," Asuna explained, passing us the cups of iced tea. "Come

on—let's eat. I'm starving."

I wasn't about to argue with that suggestion. I peeled back the paper and bit

down on the end of the sandwich where the insides jutted out. A local ran the

meal stand in the cafeteria, so while the food was premade, the baguette crust

was fragrant and the veggies were fresh. I ate a few bites in silence, then

washed them down with some iced tea.

Argo finished half of hers in no time, looking thoroughly satisfied. "This ain't

your average cafeteria food. I made the right choice comin' here."

"Pretty much everything on the cafeteria menu is good. But…aside from

that," I said, clearing my throat and returning to the suspended topic of

conversation, "you gotta tell us why you decided to transfer now of all

moments."

"The timing's not that weird, ya know. This school splits its admission period

into early and late periods, and this is the entrance date for the late

admissions."

"What, really? Then…they should have just made it a two-semester system,

rather than a trimester…"

"Then ya wouldn't have winter vacation."

"Okay, never mind, then," I replied immediately.

Asuna giggled and explained, "This school only developed an admissions

system this August. So it wasn't in time for the end of summer vacation, and

they had to set it up for the end of September instead. That makes Argo

transfer student number one. Also, they say you don't have to be a former SAO

player to transfer in."

"Really…? But is any student at a normal school actually going to want to

come to this place? I feel like society treats this like its own unique, isolated

thing…"

"Yes, but because it's a specialty school, lots of the curricula are practical in

nature, right? You can select the units you really want to learn about…And since

the media's been reporting on the various unique qualities of the school, more

people are getting interested. There was a transfer student in my class, too, and

they said the same thing."

"Uh-huh…So Argo's here for the same…," I said before coming to a realization.

The anomaly we were supposed to talk about with the others—the forced

conversion of players from every Seed VRMMO into the mysterious Unital Ring

—started yesterday, September 27th.

And Argo, who was writing articles about The Seed Nexus for MMO Today,

transferred here out of nowhere on September 28th.

Was that really a coincidence? Argo claimed it was the first day of school for

the later admissions, but that couldn't be the only reason.

"Argo, are you actually here because of Unital—?"

She cut me off by pressing her index finger against my lips.

"Don't be in such a rush, Kiri-boy. I'll give ya a proper explanation, but I don't

have enough time for it now. Mind if I join you for that after-school meeting?"

"Wh…what?"

Asuna and I shared stunned looks.

In the SAO days, Argo had contributed much to our advancement through the

deadly game, thanks to her business as an info dealer. But around the middle

floors, she was focused on behind-the-scenes matters, and even I hardly saw

her after that point. Silica and Liz might have known her name, but they

probably never bought or sold her information, and Leafa and Sinon would have

no point of reference for her whatsoever.

But thinking back on it, Liz and Silica had only met Leafa a year and a half ago,

and Sinon just nine months before. But now they were so close, it was like

they'd been friends for years. Argo had a chance to fit in, too. Asuna and I

nodded and turned back to Argo.

"That's fine. But…just…don't say anything weird, okay?"

"Whaddaya mean, 'weird'?"

"I'm counting on your good judgment in that regard," I said in all seriousness

and resumed eating my baguette. Argo would make good friends with the

others, I told myself, and tried not to listen to the note of foreboding in the

back of my mind.

At three thirty, after the end of our last short homeroom period, I quickly left

the class for the computer lab, which was on the northern end of the third floor

of Building Two.

It was called a "lab" because the place had once held classes on information

technology when it was a public school; there wasn't actually some giant

mainframe there. And most of the desktop PCs that had been there were

removed by now, so the room definitely didn't live up to its name.

As students of the school's mechatronics course, two other boys and I formed

a research team and were officially borrowing the computer lab from the

school. Each of us had a key to the door, but the other two were going to

Akihabara to look for parts today, which made it a convenient place for our

meeting.

I rushed down the connecting hallway between the buildings, then climbed

the stairs to the third floor. I assumed I'd be first there, but Lisbeth, aka Rika

Shinozaki, was already waiting outside the room.

"You're late!" Liz shouted as soon as she saw me.

I knifed my hand and dipped my head in apology. "No way. You're just early! I

sprinted here as soon as my homeroom let out…"

"Well, my homeroom teacher is away on an assignment, so I didn't have any

homeroom. What else am I supposed to do?"

"Waste some time in your class before you come over…"

"I decided to walk slowly, so I would arrive at the right time!"

We bickered the same way we did so often in ALO, but here at school, I was in

my second year, while Liz was a third-year student, so I felt the tiniest bit

submissive. Klein and Agil were much older, and I could speak with them as

equals, so this had something to do with the structural power of school years. If

they made a Seed game set in a gigantic school, would it be popular? Maybe

there already was one.

"Why are you spacing out? C'mon, open the door already."

Liz smacked me on the back amicably, and I returned to my senses. There was

a key with a faded plastic tag in my pocket. I took it out and stuck it into the

keyhole. The cranky old cylinder lock turned. I pulled open the sliding door, held

my hand to my chest, and bowed.

"After you, Mistress Lisbeth."

"Thank you, manservant," she said smugly, and I followed her into the

computer lab. We tried to vacuum it as often as possible, but there was no

escaping that particular smell of old classrooms. The afternoon sun blazed

through the white curtains, creating a strong enough contrast of light that we

didn't need to hit the switch.

"Ooh, nice. I really like the atmosphere in here," commented Liz, who had

never been to the lab before. I was so used to it that it didn't elicit any

emotions in me. If it were a wooden building, then maybe there would be a

photogenic quality to it, but Building Two wasn't that old. The walls were

slightly cracked concrete, the floors were faded linoleum, and the desks were

cheap melamine surfaces. But Liz crossed the room, looking at everything with

great curiosity, and turned back to me with an enigmatic smile when she

reached the window.

"Doesn't this seem like a scene from an anime set at a school? After class, at

the older school building, where a boy and girl are alone together…"

I leaned backward, slightly freaked by her implications.

She jabbed a finger at me and finished, "…having a crazy battle with psychic

powers!"

"A battle, huh…?" I replied, exasperated.

Liz lowered her hand and cackled. "What else would we do?"

"Nothing at all. Anyway…what's taking everyone else so long?" I wondered,

right as the door slid open again.

"Thanks for waiting." "Sorry about the delay!"

That was Asuna and Silica, coming in together. And behind them…no third

person.

Did Argo ask us to let her join the meeting and then back out of it? I reached

for my phone to get in touch with her, then remembered that we hadn't traded

information. The image of Argo the Rat in the secret garden just two hours ago

was already fading into dappled sunlight in my mind. As though Asuna and I had

witnessed an illusion…

"Hiya!" said a very casual voice, and Argo herself trotted through the open

doorway.

I nearly fell onto the floor. Asuna waved at her and smiled, but Liz and Silica

were dumbfounded.

Argo, still dressed in her hoodie, noticed them and gave a little bow, then

turned to me and said, "Hey, introduce me already."

"Oh, right…Uh, Liz, Silica, this is Argo. As of today, she's a transfer student at

the school. She's an SAO survivor like us, and back in Aincrad—"

Argo cut in smoothly and continued, "Back in Aincrad, I was Kiri-boy's special

friend."

"Kiri-boy?!" cried Liz.

"Special friend?!" cried Silica.

I performed a slide dash, rushing to Argo's side, where I successfully

withstood the urge to yank her around by the hood of her jacket. Instead, I

hissed, "What did I tell you about not saying anything weird?!"

"Whaddaya mean? It's the truth."

"How is that the truth?! We weren't anything other than salesperson and

customer, and you know it!"

"Why, what a cold thing to say. After all the times I offered ya preferential

treatment…"

Asuna had heard enough of the bickering and snipped, "Can we leave it at

that and get down to business? We can introduce Argo during the meeting.

Otherwise we'll have to do it again for Suguha and Shino-non."

"Oh, r-right…Good point," I said, seeing the stunned looks on Liz's and Silica's

faces. "I'll explain who she is very soon, so why don't we prep for the meeting

now?"

"Are you all right? You sort of tripped over your words there," noted Silica,

fixing me with a piercing gaze. I quickly backed away and made a beeline for my

school bag.

*

The desks in the computer lab weren't classroom desks but long desks for

seating three people. We pushed two together in the center of the room to

make an impromptu meeting table. Asuna and Argo sat on the left side of the

desk, Liz and Silica lined up on the right, and I sat at the end, closest to the door.

All of us wore Augmas—Argo's was painted mustard yellow, with a little rat

symbol on the battery holder in the back. Once they were all booted up, a little

fairy-sized Yui appeared over the desk.

"Papa, Mama, Liz, Silica! Hello!" she said in a cute little voice. Then she

noticed Argo. "And this must be…"

"Oh, er, I'm going to explain in a minute, as soon as we start the—," I started

to say, but Yui just blinked once and then grinned.

"Argo! You were very helpful to Papa and Mama in SAO. My name is Yui," she

said, bowing.

Argo's mouth just hung open. "Uhhh…how did you know I was Argo…?"

"Your biometrics are a ninety-nine percent match to your SAO avatar data!"

"But…I grew a fair bit the last two years…"

"I run a growth simulation during my identification process!" Yui chirped, at

which point Argo finally seemed to understand that Yui was an AI, not an actual

child.

After three seconds of silence, she reached a hand over the desk. "W-well, it's

nice to be working with you."

"Yes, likewise!"

Yui grabbed Argo's thumb with her tiny hands. It occurred to me that Yui's

information-collection abilities, which were far beyond those of any organic

human being, had to be a source of envy for Argo, who was still doing a kind of

info-dealer job in the real world. As Yui returned to the center of the table, I

made a mental note to keep an eye on her and make sure she didn't get

recruited for any fishy side jobs.

Yui spread her hands and said, "Now I'll connect to Sinon and Leafa!"

There was a visual effect like whitish sparks in the air, and Sinon and Suguha

appeared on the window end of the table. They were both wearing their school

uniforms and sat in chairs with different designs.

This was the first time trying out Yui's AR meeting system, but the realism of

the experience was stunning; it was like there were two other people physically

present in the room with us. They were just as shocked, and they looked around

the computer lab with amazement.

"…Wow…so this is returnee school…," murmured Sinon, who started to get up

from her chair, but I held out my hands to stop her.

"No, don't move! What you're seeing is being overwritten by the Augma, so if

you move around, you'll bump into stuff and fall over."

"Oh…right. By the way, I'm in the language lab. So if some other student

comes in, they'll see me just sitting by myself, talking to nothing, right?" Sinon

asked.

Yui enthusiastically confirmed this, and Suguha made a face. "Ugh, I'm

connecting from the nurse's office. Someone's sure to come by…"

"What about your club, Sugu?" I asked.

The kendo team member stuck out her tongue. "I took time off today."

"Wait, really? Are you sure? What if the third-years take it out on you?"

"I'll be just fine, thank you very much! Besides, the third-years graduated

from the club after nationals in August, so I'm the vice-captain now."

"Wait, really? You should have said so! We haven't done any celebrations for

you."

"Being made vice-captain isn't worth making a fuss over. But if I go far in the

newcomer competition in November, I'll demand a major party!"

We were just having a sibling chat in the midst of this important meeting. But

Silica looked surprised and asked Suguha, "If you're the vice-captain, then is

there someone better than you in the club?"

"Oh, you bet. I win some and lose some in practice, but I kind of follow my

own individual style…You want an orthodox person to be your team captain."

I was starting to worry about her getting bullied again, but the kendo club

wouldn't choose an unpopular member to be vice-captain. Nationals had

happened in early August, when I was still in the hospital, so I hadn't been able

to go cheer her on. The newcomer competition for first-and second-years after

the seniors left was coming up, so I definitely needed to be there for it.

"Anyway," I said, "let's not waste any more time. First of all, I want to

introduce her—er, our guest, I mean."

I pointed to Argo, who rose from her seat and bowed.

"This is a new transfer student at returnee school as of today, Tomo Hosaka…

But in SAO, she was the info dealer known as Argo the Rat."

Immediately, Liz and Silica said in unison, "Ohhh! From the strategy guides!"

Sinon and Suguha looked at them suspiciously, muttering "Strategy guides?"

Argo herself giggled nervously and stood up again so she could give handshakes

to the four people aside from me, Asuna, and Yui—although in the case of the

two remote partners, they had to mimic shaking hands.

Of course, it also occurred to me that this was only worsening the imbalance

of boys and girls on the team. There were tons of male VRMMO players at this

school, so if we wanted to recruit more to the group, it would have been easy,

but I just never really felt like it. That was probably because I'd already met the

greatest friend I could ever have after two years in the Underworld. I didn't

think I'd ever have another guy friend my age I'd reach such a close

understanding with, and I didn't really want to. When he died in battle, a part of

me died with him. That was a scar that would never heal for the rest of my life,

most likely.

I took a deep breath of wax-scented air, stifling the sharp pain in my chest,

and stated, "Now that introductions are over, let's get down to business. The

first thing I want to know is the state of non-ALO players…You got converted

into Unital Ring from GGO, too, didn't you, Sinon?"

"Yep," she agreed, drawing everyone's attention.

"And just to confirm, you know that your avatar stays in the virtual space

after you log out, right? Are you in a safe location?"

"Well…I think I'm safe. The birdmen are protecting me."

Everyone, including me, looked puzzled at that. Sinon just shrugged, as if to

say she didn't get it, either.