Inside the [Argus] company facilities.
I walk calmly, as if I hadn't just stolen a visitor's pass from a woman in the restroom barely fifteen minutes ago.
I feel completely unconcerned—without a care in the world.
It feels just like doing something routine in my day-to-day life.
I've learned that dwelling on something you've already done solves nothing and doesn't improve the situation.
So, I treat it as just another routine task.
"Rin, why did we come here?" Miko asks me, sounding somewhat bewildered.
"I already told you: we came to find Akihiko Kayaba, a virtual reality video game designer," I reply calmly.
"I know *that* already. What I'm asking is why we're in the cafeteria," Miko asks, exasperated.
Through the eyes of the body Rin controls, Miko watches as Rin stands in line at the company cafeteria.
"There is a perfectly logical reason for my actions: everyone has to eat. Which tells me there's a high probability that the person we're looking for will show up around here," I explain as I inch a little further up the line.
"Why don't we just go look for him directly?" Miko asks.
"I don't know where his office is, and I'm not a hacker, so I can't break into the company servers," I reply.
"Then what's our plan?" Miko asks, accepting my explanation.
"Planning is too complicated. If I see him, I'll simply walk up and make him a proposal," I say calmly.
"I'm no expert in these things, but even *I* know that planning is essential for negotiations!" Miko is left speechless by my response before finally managing to answer.
"Don't believe everything you see in the movies, Miko."
In reality, you don't need to plan every single detail of a negotiation.
The only things you need to negotiate are to know your assets—what you are willing to offer—and to possess the mental agility to calculate the potential gains and losses of your project, along with the key conditions of your objective. "In short, there's no need to plan our conversation; you just have to know what to say at the right moment," I finished explaining.
Miko said nothing, though she felt a little embarrassed.
"Unreliable movies," Miko whispered into the air.
I was amused inwardly but said nothing.
However, that good mood vanished when I saw an evil spirit appear out of thin air.
"You can see me... you can see me... you can..." I didn't let it finish, killing it with a pulse of Cursed Energy.
The evil spirit dissolved into spiritual energy in the air.
"What a nuisance!" I muttered, somewhat startled by the fright the spirit had given me.
"All the Cursed Techniques I possess are for close-quarters combat."
"I was already planning to acquire another Cursed Technique, but I don't know which one to choose; after all, the human brain can only store a maximum of four."
"I'm torn between Sukuna's technique and the Ten Shadows Technique."
"Excuse me, how can I help you?" a voice snaps me out of my thoughts.
It seems it's already my turn.
"I'd like a coffee jelly, two chicken sandwiches—no tomato—and a Coca-Cola, please," I tell the cashier.
"That comes to 1,100 yen. Would you like to pay with cash or card?"
"Cash, please," I say, pulling money from a rather feminine-looking gray coin purse.
"Thank you very much for your purchase," the cashier says by way of farewell.
I simply gather my things and head toward one of the tables in the café.
After eating one of the sandwiches, I put on a pair of secretary-style glasses, and Miko took control of the body.
[Image]
Without saying a word, Miko picked up the other sandwich and began to eat.
It's a rather uncomfortable sensation: watching another person eat while you're inside your own body, yet feeling no sense of satiety yourself.
Miko and I discovered that whenever one of us eats and feels satisfied, the other—upon taking control of the body—still experiences a sort of "phantom hunger."
That is why Miko and I eat in shifts: to avoid that uncomfortable situation.
When Miko finishes eating, she takes off the glasses, and I resume control.
I unwrap the coffee jelly and finish it off in five minutes.
"I don't know what you see in coffee jelly," Miko remarks.
"I didn't like it much at first, either, but eventually you get used to it," I reply calmly.
I sigh.
Miko simply sighs in return.
After all, she is just a child, and she has never known true hunger. One cannot truly understand that when there is nothing else to eat—when one is starving—even food one dislikes tastes absolutely delicious. That is why, even though I do not enjoy eating unfamiliar things, I always maintain the mindset of being willing to eat anything.
Time passes.
Almost all the employees who came to eat have already left.
And Akihiko Kayaba has still not appeared.
"It looks like I'll have to investigate this on my own," I think to myself.
With unhurried steps, I head toward the café door.
As I step outside, I spot a few employees; I was just about to approach them to ask where Akihiko Kayaba usually could be found.
But before I could get close, a voice stops me.
"You're Rin, aren't you?" a male voice asks, bringing me to a sudden halt.
I look to my right and see the very man I was looking for: Akihiko Kayaba.
"Excuse me—do you recognize me?" I ask, feigning a lack of surprise, though inwardly I am completely astonished. After all, I had specifically altered my appearance for this visit.
[Image]
Right now, I look nothing like Miko.
"That's right. Alaya told me that someone working for her would be coming to negotiate with me," Akihiko Kayaba replied in his usual professional tone.
I understood it instantly: apparently, Alaya had reached out to Kayaba to assess his true nature—to determine whether or not he posed a threat to the survival of humanity.
However, Akihiko Kayaba has only one objective: to create a world capable of transcending all the laws and restrictions of the real world.
For he felt stifled and confined by the laws that govern reality.
Yet, unable to alter the rules of the real world, he decided to create a virtual reality game—one that could rise above those very laws and restrictions.
A quest that, ultimately, poses no threat whatsoever to the survival of humanity.
"I see. This isn't the right place to discuss matters like this; how about we go somewhere else?" I suggest, maintaining a calm and composed demeanor.
"Understood," Kayaba replied.
I take the lead, and together we exit the company premises.
We walk in silence, without uttering a single word.
Upon reaching a park situated about 400 meters from the building, I finally break the silence. "Tell me, Kayaba, what exactly did Alaya say to you?" I asked as I entered the park.
"Not much, to be honest. He asked me what my goal was and mentioned that someone would be coming to see me—someone who could help me turn my dream into reality," said Akihiko Kayaba, his hands tucked into the pockets of his white lab coat. "You were quick to believe Alaya," I remarked, without any malice.
"He provided me with irrefutable proof that compelled me to believe him," he replied.
"That's interesting. I won't ask you what specific proof Alaya gave you, though I admit I am a little curious."
"Let me ask you something, Akihiko Kayaba: how much longer until *Sword Art Online* is finished?" I asked as I sat down on one of the park's stone benches.
Akihiko Kayaba sat down on the same bench, leaving a space between us.
"*Sword Art Online* is already nearly complete; all that remains is to run the beta test to make some final adjustments to the software," he replied, showing no surprise whatsoever at my question.
After all, anyone with enough money can easily investigate a corporation's activities.
"I see. When does the beta start?" I asked.
"It was scheduled for thirteen days from now."
"The NerveGear units have already been distributed among the top video game players via a lottery," Kayaba replied.
"And what specific issues do you plan to verify?" I asked him, glancing toward some malevolent spirits passing by, disguised as children.
"The program itself is flawless; the beta serves only to apply the finishing touches, observe player interactions, and ensure the fluidity of their movements," Kayaba replied.
"So, the data for the floating castle—*Aincrad*—is complete?" I asked.
"That is correct." "However, I fail to see the connection between your questions and your ability to help me fulfill my dream," Kayaba Akihiko replied, turning to look me in the eye.
I held his gaze and pulled my cell phone from my pocket.
"I'll show you exactly why my questions about *SAO* are important," I said as I launched a fantasy game on my phone.