4

As though the cold snap from yesterday had never happened, a warm breeze brushed the grass. Drawn by the pleasant warmth, several birds were perched in the garden trees, watching the humans below with apparent interest.

They’d moved a large table out into the spacious front yard of Sasha’s church for an unseasonal garden party. Each time food was produced from the grill—as though by magic—the children cheered with delight.

“To think there was food in this world that could actually taste so good…”

Thinker, the highest-ranking officer of the Army, was tearing into Asuna’s special barbecue with a look of sheer bliss. Yuriel sat next to him, beaming. On first meeting, she’d appeared to be an icy lady warrior, but seated next to Thinker, she had transformed into the image of a cheerful young wife.

They hadn’t had time to sit around and get a good look at Thinker with all the commotion yesterday. Now that he was seated across the table, they saw a gentle, good-natured man quite at odds with his position leading a massive military guild.

He was just a tad taller than Asuna but quite a bit shorter than Yuriel. His slightly pudgy build was clad in drab clothing, and he wore no armor at all. Yuriel was not in her Army uniform today, either.

Thinker held up his empty glass to accept Kirito’s offer of more wine and inclined his head to indicate thanks.

“Asuna, Kirito, you’ve done me an incredible favor here. I don’t even know how to thank you…”

“Trust me, I’ve gotten plenty of help from MMO Today over the years.” Kirito grinned.

“There’s a name I haven’t heard in ages.” Thinker’s round face beamed widely. “At the time, those daily updates were a huge burden. I used to think to myself, ‘Doing a news site ain’t what it’s cracked up to be’—but I’d take it in a second now over running a guild. I should have just gotten into the SAO newspaper business.”

The table echoed with laughter.

“So…what happened with the Army?” Asuna asked. Thinker’s smile vanished.

“Kibaou and his followers have been expelled, something I should have done a long time ago…My distaste for confrontation let the situation grow out of hand. I’m actually thinking of disbanding the Army entirely.”

Asuna’s and Kirito’s eyes widened. “That would be quite a bold move.”

“The Army just got much too large for its own good. I’m thinking of dissolving it so I can build a more peaceful, cooperative organization. After all, it would be irresponsible to get rid of it and just abandon everything we worked for.”

Yuriel squeezed Thinker’s hand and continued for him.

“We’re thinking of redistributing the Army’s resources not just among the members but among all the people here in this town. They’ve suffered because of us, after all…I’m so sorry about what happened to you, Sasha.”

Sasha’s large, bespectacled eyes blinked in surprise at their sudden apology. She hurriedly waved her hands in protest.

“N-no, not at all. The good people in the Army have helped out some of the children in the field, too.”

Her easy acceptance brought the warmth back to the table.

“By the way,” Yuriel asked hesitantly, “what about the girl from yesterday—Yui, was it…?”

Asuna shared a look with Kirito, then smiled reassuringly. “Yui is…back home.”

She brought her right hand to her chest. A thin necklace was sparkling around her neck, one that hadn’t been there the day before. A silver pendant hung in the center of delicate silver links, and in the center of that pendant was a large, translucent stone. When she traced the teardrop shape, she felt as though a slight warmth flowed into her fingertips.

After Yui had vanished amid those tiny lights and Asuna wailed against the cold stone floor, Kirito suddenly shouted at her side.

“Cardinal!!”

She raised her teary face to find him screaming at the ceiling.

“Don’t assume you’ll keep getting away with everything!”

Kirito gritted his teeth and leaped onto the black console at the center of the room, tapping at the holo-keyboard that was still visible above the stone. For an instant, the shock made her forget her grief.

“K-Kirito…what are you—?”

“I might still be able to crack into the system using the GM account,” he muttered, his fingers flailing wildly. A large window popped open, and the room was lit by the glow of text rapidly scrolling past. Asuna watched silently as Kirito attempted several different commands. A small progress bar appeared, filling from left to right. Just as it was about to finish—

The entire stone console flashed a cold white, and Kirito was blasted backward as an explosion ripped the air.

“K-Kirito!!”

She rushed to help him up.

Kirito sat up shaking his head, but there was a faint smile on his exhausted face. He held out his right fist to her, clutched tight. Confused, she extended her open palm.

When he opened his fist, a large crystal in the shape of a teardrop fell into Asuna’s hand. A white light beat steadily in the center of the complex, glittering jewel.

“What is it…?”

“Before the access privileges that Yui used to start up the console expired, I was able to separate Yui’s program files from the system and materialize them as an in-game object. It’s Yui’s heart…She’s right in there.”

And as though his willpower were entirely drained, Kirito flopped back down on the floor and closed his eyes. Asuna peered closely at the jewel in her hand.

“I know you’re in there, Yui…my sweet little Yui…”

The tears rushed forth again. As though to answer Asuna’s call, the soft light at the center of the crystal beat once, brighter than usual.

After waving a mournful good-bye to Sasha, Yuriel, Thinker, and the children, Asuna and Kirito walked through the teleport gate to the twenty-second floor, where they were greeted by a chilly wind carrying the scent of the forest. Their journey had only lasted three days, but as Asuna sucked in a deep breath, it seemed like they’d been gone for much longer.

What a great, wide world…

She pondered the mysteries of this strange floating realm. Each of the virtually countless floors had its own residents, laughing and crying and carrying on with their lives. Well, to be fair, the majority of them were probably suffering more than enjoying themselves. And yet they still continued their own personal battles.

And where do I belong?

Asuna looked up at the base of the floor above as they trudged down the path to their home.

I have to return to the front line, she suddenly realized. Very soon, I’ll have to take up my sword again and return to battle. I don’t know how long it will take, but I have to keep fighting until I’ve ended this world and brought back a smile to every living person in this game. I have to bring them joy…It’s what Yui wanted.

“Hey, Kirito.”

“Hmm?”

“If we beat the game and this world goes away, what happens to Yui?”

“Good question…I’m probably cutting it close on memory space. I have my NerveGear’s local memory set up to cache a portion of the client program’s environment data within the unit. It’ll probably be tricky to extract it in a form that’s recognizable as Yui, but…I think it’ll work out.”

“Great.”

Asuna leaned over and squeezed Kirito.

“Then we’ll be able to see Yui again in the real world. Our very first child.”

“Yeah. I’m sure we will.”

Asuna looked down at the crystal that sparkled between them. Good luck, Mama, she thought she heard faintly.

(The End)