"...Are you Eve?"
"Yup! I'm Mai Okano. My birthday is Christmas Eve, so—Eve!"
"Makes sense. I'm Hachiman Hikigaya. Good to meet you, Mai."
"I knew it was you the second I saw you! My intuition never misses."
"You missed three times, actually..."
"Looking back, those other guys were total losers compared to you."
"You sure talk a big game," Hachiman muttered.
He led Mai to the Kit, and they climbed inside.
"Whoa, what is this?! This car is amazing!"
Hachiman, always pleased to hear Kit being praised, puffed out his chest a little. "Yeah, Kit is in a league of his own."
『Thank you. It is an honor to receive such praise. Pleased to meet you, Mai. I am Kit.』
"Uwaaaaa! No way! How is it doing that?!"
"Heh. Surprised you out of your character, did it?"
Mai stared at the dashboard for a moment before her expression turned thoughtful. "If I showed Kit to my mom, she'd probably try to take him apart."
Taken aback, Hachiman asked, "...What exactly does your mother do?"
"Um... she's an inventor?"
"I... see." Hachiman figured the apple didn't fall far from the tree, but Mai's explanation went far beyond typical family hobbies.
"My mom holds a ton of patents, so she doesn't actually need to work. For example, the auto-tracking camera system used in GGO? That's hers."
"That's... actually incredible."
"But she's never officially married. She's more like a common-law wife? So, I don't technically have a legal father."
"Is that so?"
"Do you know about that incident twenty years ago? The terrorist takeover of Eka High School?"
"That's a bit before my time," Hachiman said.
"During that crisis, my mom and two of her best friends were taken hostage. The man who came to save them was someone they'd met at the beach a while back. He stayed in secret contact with my mom while she was being held. She had just finished a prototype of her auto-tracking camera system, and they used it to pinpoint the hostages' locations and escape. That man is my biological father."
"What is this, a movie? Your parents are legends," Hachiman said, genuinely impressed.
"And here's the kicker: Mom and both of her best friends all fell in love with the same guy. He couldn't choose just one, so they all ended up living together as one big happy family, and each of them had kids. The end!"
"...Listen, Mai. Don't ever tell that story to anyone besides me."
"Eh? Why?"
"Because if people realize that's an actual option, there's no telling what kind of chaos would break out!"
"Wait... Ah! Aha! I see how it is, Shana-sama!"
"The 'not choosing' part is different, but yeah, the situation is... similar."
"Understood! Crystal clear!"
"I'm serious, keep it under wraps..."
Hachiman continued his interrogation as they drove. "Did your mom teach you how to hack?"
"Yeah, though she's more of a hardware person."
"How old are you, anyway?"
"Asking a lady her age? Bold. I'm eighteen."
"Seriously? Your mom must have had you in her teens then..."
"Yup. We're more like best friends than mother and daughter."
As the Soleil headquarters building came into view, Mai gasped. "Wait, is that Soleil?!"
"Yeah."
"Man, it must be the dream to work there."
"Why?"
"Because it's Soleil! They're like idols to us in the tech world!"
"I don't really get it, but... okay."
Hachiman pulled the car up right in front of the main entrance.
"Wait, wait! Why are we parking here?!"
"Just follow me."
Mai scrambled out of the car to chase after him. As they entered the lobby, Kaori was sitting behind the reception desk with a practiced, professional air.
"Oh?" Hachiman noted.
"Ah!" Kaori whispered something to her colleague, then stood and gave a deep, formal bow. "I have been expecting you, Hachiman-sama."
"Y-Yeah... What are you doing here? It's too early for you to start, isn't it?"
"I'm currently in training."
"I see. Hard work, staying this late."
"I look forward to April, Hachiman-sama," Kaori said, giving him a playful, secret wink.
Hachiman smiled and whispered back, "See ya."
"See ya!"
As they headed for the elevator, Mai hissed, "You know the receptionist?!"
"Middle school classmate."
"Okay, but... who are you? You just waltzed in here like you own the place, and she called you '-sama'!"
"I'm involved with the company."
"'Involved'? You're getting the VIP treatment!"
"Shut up and get in the elevator."
They reached the top floor and Hachiman stopped in front of a door marked PRESIDENT'S OFFICE. He knocked once.
"Wait—!" Mai started to protest, but the door opened immediately. Hachiman walked in without hesitation.
"Hey! Hold on!" Mai followed him in, coming to a halt in front of Haruno Yukinoshita.
"Eh? ...Wait, wait, wait! Hachiman-kun! I didn't expect to see you here today!"
"You sound just like the Chairwoman..."
"Come in, come in! Sit! I'll make some tea. Oh dear, what do I do? I didn't think you'd visit, so I'm only wearing my 'casual' makeup today."
"Like mother, like daughter," Hachiman muttered.
"So," Haruno said, leaning forward. "What brings you by? And who's the girl?"
"Sorry for the no-show, but I was hoping we could hire her."
"Oh? What are her specs?"
"Hacker. Mai Okano, eighteen. Her mother is Yuka Okano, the one who holds the patent for the auto-tracking camera system."
Hachiman glanced at Mai to confirm, and she whispered her mother's name to him.
"I see..." Haruno's eyes sharpened. "And her background check?"
"Kikuoka already cleared her. Apparently, the government wants to recruit her themselves."
"Then it's a done deal. Let's get her signed before the bureaucrats can snatch her up."
"Also," Hachiman added, "I asked Argo and Rosalia to wait here. Can I call them in?"
From the names, Haruno realized Mai was a GGO contact. She immediately buzzed the office. "Bara? Hachiman-kun is here. Bring Argo-chan to my office, please."
"Bara? ...Wait, Rosalia? And... Argo? No way... the Argo?" Mai's eyes went wide. She seemed more shocked by "Argo" than "Rosalia."
The two girls appeared moments later. Rosalia looked at Hachiman and asked formally, "Who is this young lady, Hachiman-sama?"
Hachiman looked at Rosalia. "It's Eve."
"Ah. I see." Rosalia broke into a wide smile. "Nice to meet you in person, Eve. I'm Rosalia."
"Rosalia-san!" Eve looked visibly relieved to see a familiar face.
Haruno looked at Hachiman. "Hachiman-kun, did you explain anything to this girl?"
"Honestly, I haven't explained things to Argo or Rosalia either."
"Fine. Explanation time it is." Haruno turned to Mai with a shark-like grin. "Nice to meet you, Mai. I am the President of Soleil, and also Hachiman's wife—"
"Hey, you crazy hag. Did you forget the lecture Yukino gave you the other day?"
"...T-That was a joke. I'm his 'big sister' figure, Haruno Yukinoshita." Haruno corrected herself with a slight sweat-drop.
"I am Rosalia—my real name is Bara," Rose said.
"Full name?" Hachiman poked.
Rose's face twisted in agony. "You... I'll remember this."
"It's common sense for an adult to use their full name," Hachiman said flatly.
"Ugh... It's Bara Konekoya. Nice to meet you, Eve."
"Konekoya! That's so cute!" Mai squealed.
"Right? I like it too," Hachiman added.
Rose's face became a complex knot of emotions, though the corners of her mouth were twitching into a smile. Finally, Argo stepped up.
"And I'm Argo."
"Full name?" Hachiman poked again.
Argo shrugged. "A lady has her secrets."
"Fair enough."
Rose glared at Hachiman for the double standard, but he ignored her. "I told you to be proud of your name. I think it's cute, and that's all that matters."
"O-Oh..." Rose's face completely softened.
"She's such a pushover," Haruno whispered.
"Total 'Choroin'," Argo added.
"Rosalia-san is so cute!" Mai cheered.
Hachiman sighed. "Don't spoil her too much, Eve."
"Wait, that name," Argo said, looking at Mai. "I've been wondering about it."
"I've been wondering about yours too," Mai replied. "Are you the same Argo? The 'Rat'?"
"Most people call me the Rat now, yeah," Argo said. "And you're 'Electronic Eve'?"
Mai nodded. "You vanished four years ago. I didn't think I'd find you here."
"Well, I was a bit busy being trapped in SAO."
"Ah! That makes sense. Well, we were never enemies, so I'm glad you're here. I look forward to working with you, Senior."
"If you're calling me 'Senior,' I guess you're joining Soleil too? Glad to have you, Eve."
Mai beamed. This was going to be fun. She turned back to Hachiman. "So... what exactly is your position here, Hachiman-san?"
"Hachiman-kun is the next President," Haruno answered.
"He's gonna be our boss eventually," Argo added.
"And I'm going to be his secretary," Rose finished.
"Aha! Now the mystery is solved!" Mai nodded vigorously. "Thank you for the job, Hachiman-sama!"
"I'm still not used to the '-sama' thing, but whatever. We'll worry about that later."
Hachiman turned to Argo. "Argo, let's get that war footage edited and out there."
"On it. Heard you went wild today, Hac-chi."
"Something like that."
"Oh! So that's why Soleil is broadcasting the videos!" Mai exclaimed. "Another mystery solved!"
"He has plenty more mysteries," Haruno said, "but make sure you don't let any of them leak."
"I wouldn't dream of it! I respect Hachiman-sama far too much for that!"
Haruno looked at Mai with a skeptical expression. "Respect, huh?"
"What?" Hachiman asked.
"Nothing~" Haruno thought to herself: This one's going to fall for him too.
The team got to work. Hachiman recorded a message, and they edited the footage of Sinon's trick shot and the pincer maneuver at the fortress. Within the hour, the video was broadcasting across the special monitors in GGO and on the official Soleil website.
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