Sword Art Online (8)
Sword Art Online (8)
Seojun realized something one day.
The target who would cause trouble later isn't just Dick-yaba Akihiko.
It's his closest aide, his lover.
Kojiro Rinko.
'That crazy bitch needs to be dealt with, too.'
Kojiro Rinko is a scientist involved in VR machine research, hailing from the Shigemura research department at Toho Technical University. She was in the same university seminar as Kayaba Akihiko, Sugou Nobuyuki, and Higa Takeru.
She came from the countryside, entered Toho Technical University, and soon after, began dating her lab senior, Kayaba Akihiko.
She poured her attention into Kayaba, who didn't take care of himself because he was obsessed with research, and during their relationship, she showed her affection by serving him homemade meals or even driving him to the beach.
'The problem is that this fucking bitch becomes Kayaba's accomplice.'
The day after she finished her master's thesis, Kayaba started the SAO incident and went missing.
Then, remembering the records left on Kayaba's car navigation, she went to the mountain villa in Nagano Prefecture alone and met Kayaba Akihiko there.
At first, she thought about killing him and then committing suicide, but after seeing the IV marks left on Kayaba's arm, she ended up volunteering to take care of his body while he was logged into SAO.
After the incident was resolved, she should have been judged as an accomplice to mass murder, but she had a remote-detonation micro-bomb implanted in her body by Kayaba. This served as an excuse that she was "forced to cooperate because of the bomb in her body," so she was acquitted. Despite being an accomplice, she was treated as a victim, and without her name even being made public, she fled to the United States.
'Dick-yaba is one thing, but this woman is quite the troublemaker too.'
In the original work, she's portrayed as not being evil, just caught up in events, but even so, it's clear she helped Kayaba of her own free will.
No matter how much guilt she feels about it, she deserves criticism for aiding or indirectly helping with Kayaba's insane killing spree, and seeing her gradually romanticize Kayaba in the story, just like Kirito in the original, proves she's a real crazy bitch.
The biggest reason she's criticized is that she could have ended the situation early by providing Kayaba's location to the police, but she didn't. Instead, she was swayed by her feelings and helped Kayaba's crime, contributing to the 4,000 deaths. In the end, instead of stopping Kayaba's suicide, she helped him, robbing the bereaved families and victims of the minimal comfort they could have gotten by seeing him on the gallows.
Despite that, she didn't remove the bomb Kayaba planted in her body and turn herself in to the police; she shamelessly left the country as a victim. Not only that, she turned the bomb Kayaba planted to avoid suspicion into a locket as if it were a keepsake and told Asuna about it. To top it off, she later babbled about continuing Kayaba's dream, so she's definitely a piece of trash beyond redemption.
'Honestly speaking, she's not even worth using as a fucktoy.'
Her face is decent, but honestly, it was a waste of energy to use on a woman like this.
Well, anyway, Seojun thought about how to deal with her.
'At this point, she must be dating Kayaba.'
Since she's helping him in every way, I'm reluctant to make contact right now.
I don't know what she might do, being completely head-over-heels for Dick-yaba.
'Then, I'll deal with her after SAO happens.'
Dealing with her isn't a big deal.
I'll tail her to find Kayaba's mountain villa, then throw them both in prison at the perfect timing.
'Of course, doing that might cause problems with the later story.'
She was obsessed with developing the Medicuboid, which combines VR machines and medicine in the US using the data Kayaba left behind. After the illegal experiments Sugou Nobuyuki was conducting in ALfheim Online were exposed, she met Kirigaya Kazuto, who had come for a visit, and heard him say, "I talked to Kayaba, who became a digital ghost in ALO, and received the Seed of the World."
After that, she learned about the existence of The Seed left by Kayaba and the fact that he succeeded in scanning his consciousness and transferring his personality to the electronic world before he died. She then entrusted the distribution of The Seed, which could be called Kayaba's legacy, to Kazuto.
'The Medicuboid side is fine.'
The only heroine who uses the Medicuboid is Konno Yuuki.
But since she regained her health, she wouldn't have any reason to use it, so I'm relieved.
Then the only thing left is 'The Seed'...
'Does this bitch even need to exist?'
Anyone can distribute it.
It doesn't matter if Kojiro Rinko isn't there.
'Huh? Come to think of it. She doesn't need to be there, does she?'
Okay, decided!
Since I know Kojiro Rinko doesn't need to be there, I should be able to proceed with the plan as intended.
'Then, regarding the NerveGear and Sword Art Online...'
Seojun explored various methods after that.
It wasn't perfect, but he looked for ways to minimize damage and enjoy the game more.
And time flowed like water.
"Waaaah!! Jun-gun!! You passed!!"
"Congratulations, Asuna."
"Sheesh-! We got into the same school, be a little more happy for me~!"
"Yeah, yeah. Wow, I'm so happy."
Asuna puffed out her cheeks at Seojun's soulless tone.
However, she soon smiled brightly and hugged Seojun.
"Ah, this is so great. Being in the same school as Jun-gun."
"I'm happy to be in the same school as Asuna, too."
"Tsk, looking at your reaction just now, you didn't seem very happy."
"Hey, I said that because I knew we'd pass anyway."
The two talked and laughed.
Other students who were looking for their examinee numbers glared at them.
Some might have failed, so showing off like that!
Of course, the two didn't care.
"Since we got in here, Yuuki and Aiko seem full of thoughts about coming here too."
"Fufu, that's right. Yuuki, who hated studying so much, was burning with such motivation."
Seojun and Asuna had turned 13, the age to enter middle school.
Unfortunately, the Konno sisters, who were younger than them, couldn't follow them to middle school, but they were burning with the will to enter the same middle school, so they were buried in their studies these days.
The middle school the two entered was quite prestigious.
'Come to think of it, I wonder what happened to Kirito.'
Doesn't she enter middle school next year too?
Seojun recalled the question he had heard from Kirito before.
'She asked which school I was entering.'
Seojun smirked at that.
He roughly guessed the intention behind that question.
'She probably wants to go to the same place as me, something like that.'
It's too obvious.
But that's why it's cute.
"Then shall we have a party to celebrate passing today?"
"That's a good idea. Let's call Yuuki and Aiko, too."
So, the four of them gathered at Seojun's house as always and had a party.
After eating delicious food, playing games, and chatting, it was already late at night.
Seojun, who had moved the three who had fallen asleep to the room, sat on the sofa.
'It's already been 20 years.'
2020.
The official launch of Sword Art Online was close at hand.
In two years and a few months, the NerveGear and Sword Art Online will be released.
However, there was something more important than that right now.
Because it was related to one of the heroines.
'Sinon.'
Her real name is 'Asada Shino'.
2020 was the year a big incident would happen to her.
Asada Shino's past was bleak.
Before she was even 1 year old, the car Shino and her parents were riding in collided with a huge truck on a quiet country road late at night. In this accident, the truck driver died on the spot, Shino's father was seriously injured, and Shino's mother suffered fractures.
Fortunately, Shino was barely hurt.
However, her mother developed PTSD.
On top of that, one day in 2020, Shino and her mother encounter an armed robber at the post office.
The robber with a pistol in his hand, when the post office staff didn't comply with his threats, really pulled the trigger and knocked one staff member down, and at the same time, he took Shino's mother hostage.
And thinking that she might lose her parents, who were already only half-left, Shino bravely threw her body at the robber, bit the hand holding the gun, and snatched the pistol the robber dropped.
When the panicked robber approached to take the pistol back from Shino, Shino fired the bullets right there, and after firing a few more shots, she saw the end of the robber who fell bleeding in front of her eyes.
However, although she succeeded in protecting her mother, Shino's mother, who was already mentally unstable, became a complete wreck because of this incident, and she suffered from guilt and fear of having killed a person.
It was known as a simple accident in the media, but at the school she attended, all sorts of nicknames calling her a murderer criticized her, and although Shino moved to Tokyo as if running away, the bad rumors from the past spread even at the new school she transferred to, so she ended up living the life of an outcast once again.
Here, what Seojun is thinking about is whether he can prevent this situation.
'I still haven't found her.'
Even though he knows her name, he still hasn't found her.
In the first place, no matter how great the Yuseong Group is, it is very difficult to find a person in all of Japan just by name and age.
'It's a problem even if I find her.'
Even if he finds her, no one knows when she will get caught up in such an incident in 2020.
This is because it wasn't covered in detail in the original work either.
Then should he give up on her?
"..."
Seojun's gaze turned to the room where Asuna, Yuuki, and Aiko were sleeping.
After watching for a while, he shook his head.
"Give up, my ass."
Didn't he decide from the beginning?
That he would build a harem.
He absolutely cannot give up on even one heroine.
And he wants his heroines to live as happily as possible.
"Haa. I didn't really want to use cheats."
Seojun got up from his seat.
Honestly speaking, he didn't want to use his abilities unless he had to.
Because it was too much of a cheat.
But now wasn't the time to be picky.
Seojun went to the window and focused his mind.
A single snow-white wing sprouted from his back, and once it flapped, a formless ripple spread in all directions with him at the center.
How many minutes had passed like that?
Seojun, who opened his closed eyes, muttered.
"Found you."
He figured out Asada Shino's current location.