After three days, I felt like a doctor or a researcher conducting an experiment. Riran, Yui, and Strea returned to Kirito's computer, Amusphere, and contacted me with a strong sense of fatigue and a sense of accomplishment in mastering something.

"It turns out that what Hannibal said is true."

As soon as these words came out, everyone let out a voice of surprise. This is exactly what Kirito expected when he told everyone about it.

Presumably anticipating the same scene, Lilan asked them to raise their hands.

Hannibal said there is a mechanism in Nerve Gear that scans a person's brain and turns it into data that appears it does exist. Yui, myself, and Strea have actually confirmed this. ”

"Yes. You may not believe it, but the 'neural gears' that keep you trapped in SAo, as Hannibal says, scans the brain without the user noticing and uses it to collect data. There are some features that can be converted and merged. ”

As attention was focused on Yui's body, who jumped into Nerve Gear and analyzed its contents, a woman spoke. Alice is a former clerk of Argus who infiltrated Nerve Gear and created three daughters, as well as Nerve Gear and SAo.

"And, obviously, there's an area where the data is stored. When developing Nerve Gear, I thought there was a storage area that looked like a strange black box, but ...... I didn't know it had such a feature. ”

"Teacher Alice, do you understand? \"

After nodding to Sirika who was holding the little light blue dragon Pina in front of her chest, Alice began to look around at the group.

"At that time I was one of Agus' staff and did a lot of things under Mr. Kayaba. I also worked on Nerve Gear, which is said to be a revolutionary machine for humans, and I provided blueprints and basic data, and I saw a lot of them, and I secretly saved them, and kept them, but I didn't expect them to be useful in a place like this. ”

Alice said casually, but at the time Nerve Gear's drawings and basic information were Agus's confidential information, and she took it home without permission, even if it was for personal purposes, it was a serious leak. Secret. It is a behavior associated with deafness.

Now that Argus has disbanded and all the Neural Equipment has been abandoned, this is not a problem, but if Argus is still alive, it will cause an uproar. Cold sweat broke out on the faces of Klein and the others, who worked at IT-related companies, but Alice ignored them and continued.

"First of all, the 'Nerve Gear' is a machine that covers almost the entire human head and sends special electrical signals to transmit consciousness to the VR world. To make this possible, you can't do it with just a little bit. A little power, in order to do something like this in the first place, you have to understand the human brain...... I see what you mean. ”

"Brain Scan"

In the café, the atmosphere is like a college or high school meeting, Asuna mutters like a student, and Alice continues like a teacher or lecturer.

"Yes. In order for Nerve Gear to send people into the VR world, it needs to recognize the human brain and go deep into the brain to send electrical signals. That's why "the Nerve Gear has been equipped from the start, and its scanning power is far superior to that of other machines."

It seems that Amusphere also has this feature, but it is much weaker than Nerve Gear. That's why what we see in ALo looks much smaller than in SAo. As soon as Alice added, Diaberu, a SAo survivor and one of the SAo testers, remembered something. He said.

"Then again, I've heard that 30% of the weight of the Nerve Gear is made up of batteries. Maybe that's where the motivation comes from, right? ”

"I see, and that's where the electrical impulses that burn the user's brain come from. This electronic pulse generator and battery send electrical signals to the brain and recognize the user's brain at the same time. I—I was supposed to scan that thing. ”

The 'nerve gears' covering their heads are secretly scanning their brains. As if someone was frightened by this fact, one of them appeared trembling and immediately let Lilan take over.

\"Did you find anything during your time at SAo, including Kirito? It's easier to move, and it's faster to swing weapons, and there's more realism. Have you ever felt this way? ”

It's the first time Kirito has heard of it, and in the process of being with everyone, he also remembered what happened back then.

Indeed, as the second half of the SAo Raiders progressed, I felt like my body was becoming more familiar with the world, and my freedom of movement and weapon handling improved.

However, this may just be familiarity, something the brain is used to. Before I could say this, my child Yui said it from her mouth.

"This proves that your Nerve Gear has stored your brain's data. For example, it's cached data for your smartphone or computer. ”

The computers and browsers that we use every day have a function that temporarily saves the user's usage information as cached data.

Cached data is stored inside the computer or browser without the user's knowledge, which can have negative effects such as compressed capacity, but on the other hand, the cached data accumulated by referencing can improve the loading speed of certain websites, videos, etc., which a person regularly uses or displays advertisements that are suitable for that person. This will allow you to display the following information.

The "Neural Gear" has a similar function, with a specific individual using a "Neural Gear", and the "Neural Gear" scanning the brain of the particular individual for a long period of time. Everyone's memories and thought patterns are converted into data and stored in a top-secret area.

By accumulating this information, the "Nerve Gear" becomes the device for the exclusive use of the individual, and is associated with the freedom of movement and comfort in the VR world. Yui explained that it was because of this mechanism that they had a medical examination and calibration at the time of purchase.

\"So, does Nerve Gear remember our experiences and growth in that world? \"

Lilan, the person in charge of the investigation, nodded deeply at Filia, who looked incredulous. However, Lilan immediately opened her mouth to add.

"However, the scan data stored by Nerve Gear in top-secret areas is not possible for specific users themselves, such as emotional patterns, thought patterns, memories, and other electrical responses in the brain, to log in and out repeatedly for short periods of time." In order to complete the data, it is necessary to wear it for an extremely long time, log in, scan. ”

Then Kirito has a problem.

Akihiko Kayaba, the developer of SAo, the creator of the VR world, and the main director, also uses a modified Full Dive System machine to scan the brain at ultra-high power, turning it into a veritable cyber presence.

As far as I know, though, the machine was only active for a short period of time, and the scanning time wasn't that long. Despite this, Akihiko Kayaba managed to become a cybernetic.

What is the reason for this? Kirito asked the werewolf girl who could be called Akihiko Kayaba's daughter.

"Wait, Riran. And what about the Kayama? Didn't Kayaba say that after a short scan it becomes cybernetic? \"

"The machine Akihiko uses has been modified to be able to perform Nerve Gear scans in a very short period of time. The Nerve Gear takes many times longer than that. ”

"So, then, how much time will it take for our Nerve Gear to complete our own data?"

Crane said this with an annoyed expression, and Lilan lowered her head. As if to continue, Strea opened her mouth, her usual innocent expression disappearing to a minimum.

"The time it takes for the Nerve Gear to fully convert an individual's emotional patterns, thought patterns, memories, and other electrical responses in the brain into data is approximately 8,760 hours. In other words, it will take a year. "The scan data of a player who has lived in that world for more than a year includes that player's scan data."

Kirito, who heard the truth, was just as speechless as everyone else.

If the "Nerve Gear" is worn continuously for 365 days, it will have the habit of converting the electrical responses that occur in the deepest part of the brain, such as the user's emotional patterns, thought patterns, and memory content, into electrical responses. numeric codes and store them. Yes.

This means that the "Nerve Gear" of all players who have spent a year in this game of death, or who have survived to the end without ending the game, has data that can be said to be that person.

The "Nerve Gear" was called a revolutionary machine for home consoles, but eventually became known as the Devil's Machine. Inside, in a storage area that is not normally accessible, there is a large amount of data that has been converted into individual data, which may have reached the petabyte or even exabyte level. As soon as Kirito looked at it, he felt a strong force. A chill ran down his spine and upper arms.

That machine had my own data in it, and now it's the same as Akihiko Kayaba's. Not only me, but if there are other "Nerve Gear" owners, that owner's data will be included as well.

(No)

Not only. If a player lives in that world for a year and then the game ends, then "Nerve Gear" will contain the data of the deceased player.

It is no exaggeration to say that the scanned data is the human soul itself, and the place where the scanned data is located can be considered the realm of the gods.

And what Hannibal is talking about is how he found a way to enter the sacred realm where the player's soul sleeps, and recovers part of the soul.

He also said that some players were over the game, so Hannibal took possession of the souls of the dead, an act that only God could allow.

I felt like I was being told something unrealistic, so much so that I almost lost consciousness for a moment, but then I heard Zhilan's voice and my consciousness was frozen again. Presumably they came up with a similar answer, and almost everyone gathered in the coffee shop turned pale as far as the eye could see.

"He said he got the scan data, but he's an ambitious guy who is better at hacking and cracking than we are, so he might succeed. The root cause could be to salvage from Nerve Gear and take advantage of it. ”

That is, it was the right thing to do to kill Hannibal back then. Moreover, this scan of the human brain itself can only be interpreted and reconstructed by people who have lived in this field for many years and have mastered the know-how. This is impossible, not even Hannibal's men.

We should take into account that the player's scan data was saved before it was used by Hannibal. ”

Alice acts as if she is trying to reassure the people around her.

Although Lilan, Jupiter, Yui, and Strea certainly existed, they had no feeling when Hannibal disappeared, indicating that they were the same beings as Akihiko Kayaba and the souls of the dead. There is no doubt that Hannibal was becoming, completely disappearing, dying.

If he hadn't been able to kill Hannibal that time, Kirito stopped thinking about it, because he felt that he couldn't stop trembling just thinking about it. Immediately after, Ariki whispered in a trembling voice.

"So, what happened to that 'nerve gear'? The 'neural gear' that holds the data of the deceased player. ”

"It seems that the government collected it and then scrapped it without asking any questions. There seems to be an attempt to analyze and disassemble it in the institute, but no one has been able to open the black box that Professor Alice mentioned. They didn't own it, so they ended up giving it up. ”

The story that Kem, who was standing next to Yuki, told was the one he heard from Lifa when Hannibal was involved in SAo.

After the SAo incident, the government recalled all "Nerve Gear" sold at electronics retailers, and the "Nerve Gear" that died due to game ending in SAo was also completely recycled and stopped production. It's actually out of print.

In this way, the 'nerve gears' are no longer available, and the 'nerve gears' containing the data of the deceased have been discarded, and there is nothing we can do about it. Hannibal may have obtained the data of the dead for self-gratification, rather than to bring them back to life.

The nearly 4,000 players who lost their lives in SAo can't be saved no matter what—Shino must have thought the same thing," she said sadly.

"It's a tragic story, just when I thought I was dead, the scan data turned out to be alive, but no one noticed it existed, and finally it was scrapped and disappeared"

"Of course, the Nerve Gear is a revolutionary machine. However, it was discovered too late, and we are the ones who were able to analyze it. If we told the government about it, they would have believed it. That's not true...... Even now, there's nothing I can do if all the 'nerve gears' are scrapped. ”

After Argo uttered this uncharacteristically calmly, a heavy silence fell in the café.

If the dead player exists in Nerve Gear in the form of data, if we succeed in analyzing and recovering the scan data, they will end up being the same as Akihiko Kayaba, and maybe he can be resurrected.

However, we don't know how many years it would take to develop the technology that would allow this to happen, and there is no evidence that the probability of success is non-zero, and more importantly, the fact that belonging to Kirito / Kirito still exists, arguably the last "nerve gear", and the other "nerve gears" are largely non-existent.

（... ）

A figure appeared in Kirito's head, spinning silently. Its shape and outline go from blurry to clear in a matter of seconds.

A young girl wearing a battle uniform in a white and blue skirt, using a spear in battle, and having short black hair with a slight bluish tinge.

The timid girl I met while conquering SAo, I wanted to protect her in my heart for the first time, but in the end I couldn't protect her and died.

(Luckily)

When I met that girl, Yuki, it had been more than a year since the game of death began. It takes a year for Nerve Gear to complete a scan of the player's brain.

Now, if you can get the 'nerve gear' that you are said to have used fortunately, and let Lilan and the others analyze and investigate.

When the time comes, we will take out Sachi's scan data and bring him back to life in the form of Akihiko Kayaba, and perform memory repair/memory fragmentation

\"Kirito, I'm Kirito. \"

Suddenly a voice came to his ears, and Kirito came back to his senses. When he turned his head to face the source of the outbreak, he saw the person he needed to protect now, the girl he loved, Shino, with a worried expression on his face.

By looking at Shino's face and remembering the face in the real world, Kirito's consciousness is firmly fixed in the present, and he is able to confirm the situation he finds himself in now.

\"It's okay, Kirito. \"

"Ahh In short, everyone, in the end, although there is nothing we can do, I just want to say that. \"

"Then Hannibal toyed with the world of SAo itself, but there is no doubt that he had completely disappeared by then. If there were any remains, we would notice them immediately, but even that didn't exist. We defeated Hannibal. \"”。

We defeated the mastermind. There was no one left to threaten them—Lilan said as if she was aware of it, and there was a sense of lightness in the café, and Kirito felt that.

That's it. While I couldn't save the dead in SAo, I was able to take down the creatures that played with life, and they're now completely extinct. They no longer have to endure anything related to SAo, and they have also accepted everything they have left behind in SAo.

In addition, "the Seed" created by Akihiko Kayaba, the creator of SAo\"ALo\" and the father of "Lilan\", has been downloaded from large companies and individuals, and many safe VRmmos like ALo Koko have been born...

The existence of VRmmo, which was once on the verge of decadence, has survived the same as the SAo survivors. And it will continue to grow in the future. Kirito looked up, feeling pleased.

\"That's right, we defeated Hannibal, we settled the battle with SAo. So, let's play this VRmmo world together! \"

When Kirito said this sentence like a command before completing the mission, a smile appeared on everyone's face, and soon the café resounded "Oh! Voice. It wasn't long before people who loved the game started asking questions such as "What should I do next?" "What happens in the next update?" and so on.

I was worried that someone would still be worried about SAo, but it turned out that it was nothing. Just as Kirito realized this and was about to sit down on the chair next to him, Shino stopped him again.

\"Hey, Kirito, there's something I've been thinking about\"

“？”

"That was the case at the time, but hasn't Quinella disappeared lately?"

Kirito and his friends have three navigation elves. The three of them were Yui, Jupiter, and Quineira.

When entering the boss fight, Kirito and his friends are always guided by these three people, but when they fight Seven or Hannibal, Quinella is not Yuichi, only Yui and Jupiter are Yuichi's navigators. Kirito, who knew the reason in advance, said "Ah~\".

It was the day before the battle between Number Seven and Hannibal.

Usually, when Kirito logs in, Yui and Quinella will greet him, either "Good morning, hello, or good evening", but that day, Yui was the only one present.

Kirito immediately noticed the strange situation and asked Yui about it, and Quinella said, "I'd like to try this mission myself." And adds, "I think I can do a mission to calm down the mustangs, and the reward is food." "It was explained that he accepted the assignment without permission and went out into the field.

It's too dangerous for Quinella to go into the wild because she doesn't have combat power. Curious if the mission was really safe, he investigated it and found out that it was actually an errand mission, which even a person like Quinera could do. At first I thought it was safe there.

A day later, on the morning of the fierce battle between Seven and Hannibal, Quinella returned with the materials for the mission reward and went into what they called a dormant state. As a result, Quinella never showed up again that day.

"I'm sleeping, girl."

"Well, Quinella is still young, and even the tasks that can be easily completed are indeed tiring. I'm not here today either. Well, I'm glad I was able to get the job done that day without Quinella. \"

"That's right, but those kids are AI after all, they have the same heart as we do, they get tired, they can enjoy all kinds of things. But AI"

Indeed, the AI made by Alice, such as Relan, Yui, and Strea, is very different from the AI made by ordinary companies, and when you get along with them, you will find that they are AI, with such a level. It's so complicated that it's easy to forget it. More than once, twice, Kirito decided that they should no longer be called AI, but should be called something new.

But what kind of name would be right for them? Just as Kirito was about to think, a voice that wasn't Shino sounded in his ears, making him come back to his senses again.

In front of her is a girl with distinctive long red hair, purple tips, and golden eyes, dressed in a fairy battle suit and wearing a headband reminiscent of a maid's headband.

Lilan is the true sister of Professor Seven/Professor Naneiro, who has not logged into ALo since she was rescued from Hannibal and has not told him about it for a long time.

"Rain"

\"Kirito-kun, is Seven logging in? \"

After the battle to rescue Seven and Shino from Hannibal, the two immediately quit, but Kirito then contacted the emperor and asked Seven to contact him when he logged in.

Normally, if someone says that, the emperor looks like he's going to bite, but at this time he readily accepted Kirito's request and promised to tell Seven.

However, a week has passed, and there has been no news of Number Seven in ALo, and Kirito has not been contacted. Just before going offline, Xiao Qi had promised Lilan to tell her the truth, but the current situation is that he has not yet shown up to fulfill this promise.

"No, she hasn't been here in a week. She didn't contact me. ”

\"I'm guessing that girl was banned from logging in or something like that. She's experimenting with ALo."

Xiaoyu looked worried. After Seven is defeated by Kirito and the others, Emperor and Klein shout to Shamrock, Clarus, and the others to continue to be fans of supporting Seven, and although the event has changed, Seven continues to move forward.

As for Seven, while they did all this, they didn't directly harm a specific number of players or the game's operations, so they just received a stern warning from the management and the account was suspended. become a punishment.

Seven, however, experiences something that the average player would never experience: being captured by Hannibal. It wouldn't be surprising if that fear persists, causing it to become difficult to log in.

"I don't think you need to worry about that. It all depends on your will and time. ”

"But still"

Believing that Seven will definitely come—just as he was about to say that, a window appeared in front of Kirito. I stopped the conversation with Lilan halfway through and checked the window notifying me of the email.

Seeing the sender's name, Kirito spoke.

“... It's here! "Kiriren and Lilan and Shino took Lilan to a certain place. There are the floating islands of the Wolglynd Meadows. This is the first venue in the Grand quest and is often used for picnics because it is the most comfortable environment here.

Every once in a while, a warm and pleasant wind would blow, and I looked up at the sky and saw floating islands rising from the ground. Sora runs around on a big quest to fight the giant eagle dragon Hras Virg.

The four of us flew over it with nostalgia, and when we reached a certain point, we landed. There are no monsters nearby that you might need to fight, and in the middle of the grass without any obstacles, you can feel a breeze blowing through your body.

As soon as Kirito got there, he lowered his wings, looked around, and whispered a word.

"Well, it looks like we're faster."

"Looks like so, there's no sign of a player around here."

Hearing Lilan's answer, Kirito turned around, and Lilan had now transformed into what is commonly known as a werewolf form. At this moment, a girl figure appeared in his eyes.

Lilan, the red-haired girl who flew with us all the way. Like us, he is a SAo survivor, belongs to the huge guild "Blood Knight", is the second president, and has enough strength to be elected as the seventh member.

Perhaps because of this, Lilan always gives people a strange composure, and that mysterious composure can be said to be one of her characteristics.

However, there was no such thing for Lilan now, and she seemed to be busy looking around, with a visibly nervous expression on her face.

Kirito softly called out to Lilan, who looked like a kid about to do something.

"Lilan, don't be so nervous, I guess you were going to reveal it."

"Yes, yes, but yes, I'm a little worried"

"And, here's what you appointed, and if you, an important person, make such a move, I'm starting to worry."

Lilan, who was told by Shino nearby, fell silent as if she had shrunk.

At one point I almost told Seven the truth, but I couldn't because he was interrupted. It was Lilan herself who decided to tell this story that only Lilan didn't know about Seven, but he couldn't help but get nervous.

Lilan looked at Lilan with some surprise, but she, like Shino, had ears growing out of her head and her tail standing up. Kirito looked around and saw the action of the demon, which proved that he sensed the presence of something. In the clear sky, there are two figures.

The figures gradually narrowed in closer, and their faces became clearer. The first is a petite girl with long silver hair and a blue, gold, and white outfit. The second was a tall young man with short light blue hair, dressed in a blue and white uniform. Seven is the person he is looking for, and the emperor is his follower and protector.

"Here we are."

“！”

Lilan straightened up in surprise when she saw the two of them coming. The long-awaited moment has finally arrived. The day when Seven knew the truth had finally arrived - when Kirito thought of this and looked away from Lilan, Seven and the Emperor had already landed on the ground and were walking towards them.

\"Kirito-kun, Lilan-chan, Shino-chan rain. \"

Xiao Qi began to complain as soon as he came in, and Lilan's eyes were fixed on him. However, his mouth remained closed, and there was no sign of speaking. Lilan, be strong - before Kirito could speak, Seven spoke.

"Well, it's sudden, but thank you so much this time. \"

“？”

"I was you who saved me, and if you hadn't saved me, I think I would still be out of control and it could have been much worse. So, to all of you who have helped me, I really appreciate you. ”

Seven's sudden words of thanks surprised Lilan. Lilan, who survived the SAo world of emergencies, should be able to read various developments and take action, but she can't seem to decipher Seven's actions.

Seven is closer to the rain.

\"I especially thank you, Lilan. You saved me twice. The first time was when I was caught, and you saved me. I really hope the Emperor will come. Nine\"

Next to him, the emperor's expression did not change at all. He just looked at Kirito like a knight protecting Seven. Still, his expression seemed to be the same as usual, but I could feel a hint of calm in his expression.

Xiao Qi continued.

"So, Lilan, I really appreciate you. Thank you so much for helping me. ”

Indeed, if he hadn't been able to stop Xiao Qi at that time, he would be in a much worse position now, and if Xiao Qi had still been captured by Hannibal, things would have been even worse. Indeed it is.

In the end, it was Lilan who stopped all this, so it can be said that Lilan was the one who gave the most credit in that battle. Xiao Qi approached such a meritorious person and stopped in front of him.

"That's why I want you to tell me. Why are you helping me? Why are you stopping me? I want you to tell me why. ”

Looking at Lilan, who was silently surprised again, Kirito began to pay attention to her surroundings. I don't know if an existence like Hannibal will come and interfere again. Is there anyone lurking around here?

I searched with all my senses, but I could only feel the sound of the wind and warmth, and I couldn't find a specific person. We're really the ones here for Yuichi.

No one here bothered Lilan and the others. When Kirito checked and turned around, Lilan was looking down deeply, while Seven and the Emperor were looking at Lilan curiously. However, after about three seconds, Lilan looked up, took a deep breath, and saw the image of Seven reflected in her golden eyes—she moved her lips.

\"Okay, I'll just say it. Even if I say that, you may not believe it when I suddenly say it, but I and Seven No, Seven Colors are my sisters. \"

"Huh!?"

"What!?"

Seven and the Emperor were surprised to hear Lilan's confession so loud that it seemed to echo around them. This time, things were probably as expected, Lilan smiled bitterly, and Xiao Qi asked with some doubts.

"What did you say suddenly? I'm an only child, right? I have no siblings. ”

"You may think so, but you're wrong. We lived together in Russia as children and later separated due to the divorce of our parents. ”

\"That's, that's true, Nanara is a family without a father. There is no mother. \"

Listening to the emperor's whisper, Xiao Qi nodded and continued to stare at Lilan. The rain also kept spinning the words.

"Naneiro was taken to the United States by his father, and I was taken to Japan by my mother. So, your favorite phrase is privieto, dasvidanya. ”

"Yes, yes, but. \"

"This greeting is in Russian. This is the language I taught Naneiro when he was still in Russia. ”

That's it. I remember the last time I went on a date with Shiina, when I heard Lilan/Nijika Nijika perform on the streets of Akihabara, Nijika said "dasvidanya" at the end.

At the time I only thought I had heard it somewhere, but then I found out that it was the same word used by Number Seven.

As soon as Lilan said this, her gaze lowered slightly.

"I don't remember that, though. Naneiro is still young."

“”

Xiao Qi also lowered his head and closed his mouth. It seems that he is desperately remembering something, and even Kirito and the others are speechless, but surprisingly, it is the emperor who breaks the silence after a few seconds.

"Seven, is it true?"

“！！！”

After a small sound came out of his throat, Xiao Qi suddenly raised his head. The expression on his face was as if he had finally found Yui, a book called Memory, who was sleeping on the shelf, and memorized the contents.

"Uh, no, I remember I remember! It was taught to me, but it wasn't my father, it wasn't my mother, and I don't know who it was, but I had an older sister who taught me these words! ”

“！”

Seven gently reached out to Lilan. As if wanting to touch an ice sculpture, he cautiously brought his fingertips closer to Lilan.

"Sister, sister, you are my sister."

The truth I've always wanted to uncover. At that moment, when she was called to the name she had always wanted to call, a tear slipped down Lilan's still dull eyes and rolled down her cheeks. As if that was the beginning, tears began to flow, and Lilan's expression changed to a tearful face, and finally to a smile again.

\"Yes, yes, I'm your sister Nanero! \"

When Lilan/Nijika gently opened her arms, big tears welled up in Seven's eyes, and Seven kicked to the ground.

"Sister Sister Sister !!"

"Nanero !!"

Lilan jumped into her sister's body and buried her face in his chest, as if she had stopped her, hugging her petite body with her arms. Immediately, the two sat down, sat firmly on the ground, and hugged each other.

"Finally, we finally met Nanairo"

"Sister Sister"

"My name is Kikukata Hongye and you"

"Naneiro Arshaping, it's Sister Uh!!"

Lilan/Nijka gently buried her face in her sister's silver hair, not worrying about her sister's hat falling off when she started crying.

"I'm sorry for keeping silent, I'm an idiot. If only I had told you earlier."

"No, I'm sorry for myself. I didn't realize it for a long time and I can't remember it for a long time, but my sister stopped me and saved me "everything!!" ”

"Yes, you're my sister to Yuichi, and as an older sister, I can't see you suffer like this I want to protect my precious sister, so I"

\"Sister sister!! \"

The next moment, Nanero was hugged tightly by her sister and cried loudly. This is exactly what Kiritto and the others see when they clash with Shichise, stop experimenting, and be reckless. Shino said to Kirito as she looked at it again.

"That's good, Lilan and Xiaoqi" "Ah, the matter is finally settled, you two are sisters after all, and it is impossible for you to understand each other." ”

"Yes, people born of the same parents can understand each other except in extreme cases. Still, even if I knew that, I'm glad it was the case. \"

Lilan smiled, as if she had deep feelings. Although the standards are different, this does not change the fact that I have four younger siblings, so in order to make my sisters happy, I can't help but feel happy as a person who has the same younger siblings.

If they can do such a thing, maybe Leland and they need a different name after all. While thinking, Shichishiro looked at Lilan from the side, and when her gaze returned to the sisters who were hugging each other again, Shichishiro I started crying, I stopped doing it and gave my body completely to the rainbow stand.

"In your sister's arms, it's as warm as it was then"

"The seven colors you mentioned are also warm."

Kirito noticed in his heart that the two were talking in a very pleasant voice.

When I hugged Shino/Shiina, I felt the warmest and safest feeling ever. I'm sure it's because they understand each other.

When hearts and minds truly communicate and connect, something is born. This must be the warmth that he, Shino, Erhua, and Shichiro felt.

If it can be applied and scaled up, it will be a real 'cloud brain', not as Hannibal had planned.

And if the two of them can create the initial stage, they will definitely be able to continue to be close sisters - Kirito can't help but feel like this.

"I didn't expect Lilan to be Seven's sister"

Saying that, the person who approached him was none other than Shichiro's right-hand man, who had power in both reality and ALo. His face, which originally exuded the solemn aura of a martial arts master, showed a deep look of surprise at this time.

"Emperor, are you surprised?"

"How do you recognize this without being surprised?"

"I see. Why don't you make this public? ”

"That's their decision. You know very well that what we do is not up to us. ”

"Yes." Kirito laughed. Indeed, if the news that Lilan is Xiao Qi's sister spreads, it will definitely become a big news in the next few days, and the search engine will also be full of blogs written by bloggers to attract visitors. It's a big deal for sure. In fact.

However, all of these things should be decided by Lilan and Seven, they can't decide what to talk about publicly or without permission, and maybe Lilan is just an ordinary person. There is a risk that the media will flock to Nijka and Nanero himself.

The best thing to do is not to tell anyone the story - just as Kirito was thinking so, the seven colors finally left Nijka's chest. Nijka immediately opened her mouth and said.

"You know what, Naneiro. I want you to ask me one thing. ”

"Hey, is there anything else going on with my sister?"

"Yes, my dream is to be an idol like you, that's why I go to street concerts and sing."

Kirito and the three people next to him were a little surprised by the new story that suddenly appeared. All I know is that Rainbow now works part-time at a famous maid café in Akihabara and performs live performances on the streets as part of her work.

Probably as surprised as Kirito and them, Shichishiro asked with his eyes slightly wide.

\"Does your sister want to be an idol too!? \"

"yes. Well, if you asked me not to do it with you, that's true, but thanks to that, I can understand how painful you were at the time"

At that moment, Kirito felt as if a light flashed in his head.

Lilan/Nijika has always dreamed of becoming an idol and continues to work towards that goal. I haven't reached it yet, but along the way, I learned about the ups and downs of that world, and I also felt the joys and happiness, the pains and pains of people who are active as idols.

and seven colors \/seven. At that time, Naneiro was active as an idol and a scientist, and received a lot of attention from the public. So, he was burdened with the expectations of many people and chose to sacrifice his life and continue to work until he was dizzy.

That's why she can't stand the current situation of Nanero/Seven, she has become the object of public discussion in the media, and even her private affairs have been plundered and suffered, so Nijka logs into the VR world as Lilan and enters Seven's former home. I'm going

Driven by her sister's natural desire to help and protect her, she continues to fight alone against countless monsters known as adults with high expectations.

No, since Nijka was so loyal to his sister, maybe he opened his mouth before he had time to think about what to do next.

"As an idol, it's really not easy to succeed. However, I wanted to sing live at the concert and get a lot of people excited. It's my dream. "And, if I could, I'd like to sing with you too."

"With me...?"

"Yes, if I become an idol and succeed, I will come and see you in person, and then I want to sing with you at the concert to mobilize the fans of both of us and get them excited. Or rather, I "want to sing with you one day." My biggest dream is to continue to do this every day. ”

Kirito almost screamed in surprise because it was exactly what he expected, but he quickly accepted it.

After all, Nijka's greatest wish is to be able to?? Enough to stand in the same place as my sister and continue to sing in the same way. It's hard to become an idol in itself, but it's not difficult at all to be on an equal footing with Nanaro, who is already active as a big idol.

However, because she was never able to give up her desire to sing with Nanaro every day, Nijika pursued Nanaro, sometimes fighting to rescue Nanaro, and performing live on the streets in an attempt to become an idol like Nanaro, and they even sang.

In order to fulfill one of his dreams, he spends every day with his estranged sister.

"So, from now on, I'm going to make the most of my time. I want to practice and study a lot, I want to audition a lot. I'm sure I'll fail many times. "At first, my dream was to sing with you one day. I don't think this dream can be changed.

So, Nanairo, I don't know how long it will take, but can you wait until then? ”

After listening to Nijka's words, Shichishiro immediately closed his mouth. She has become an idol who can rival the big idols and continues to sing with them. Normal people would deny this dream with a stunned face, insisting that it was impossible.

Shichishiro seemed to have thought of the answer, and a smile appeared on his face.

"Of course! I also want to sing with my sister. I want to sing together, mobilize a lot of people, and get them as excited as possible. The days when I sang with my sister who became an idol were amazing. I want it! ”

Nijka looked a little surprised by her sister's answer. Naneiro began to speak, as if he were talking about a machine gun.

"It's very difficult and painful to become an idol, but I still believe that you can reach that level on your own. I think I can help you if something happens, but ...... I know you don't need anything like that.

So, sister, please don't give up on this dream. I'm waiting. I will wait forever so please come and see me. ”

I have been waiting for my sister's bright smile and words of anticipation. Nijka's every word was firmly in his ears, and he nodded deeply, tears welling up in his eyes again.

"Yes. I promise, Naneiro. I'll definitely come to you and show you, me! ”

"Yes! This is the agreed sister, I will wait for you! ”

The two sisters, who had made promises to each other, hugged each other's bodies again, hugging, as if to inscribe each other's existence. Seeing that her sisters finally achieved the first happiness in their lives, Lilan hugged her arms.

"But, well, I want to be a real icon, and that's a big deal."

"Yes, it's not so easy to become an idol, and if you want to reach the same level as Xiao Qi, that road may be extremely difficult. However, "

Kirito nodded, accepting Shino's squint.

Now that I really want to become an idol, Nijika/Lilan will definitely be busier than ever, and in the future, I will be able to log in to VRmmo such as ALo less often, and it will be difficult to play with them, right?

However, Lilan, like them, overcomes various difficulties in SAo to gain the ability to become the seventh of the Blood Pact Knights, with Kirito as the second captain and Nikika as the one.

No matter how desperate the situation is, as long as Nijka continues to resist, participate in the final battle, fight to the end, and become a SAo survivor, she will be able to enjoy her days as an idol in the near future, right?

It's sad not to be able to play together, but if Nijka, who survived that world together, can fulfill his dream of risking his life, that's okay.

The most important thing is that if it is a rainbow bridge, there is no doubt that he will be able to realize his dream - Kirito is convinced of this and nods.

"Rain can definitely do that."

"Yes, I'm sure Lilan can do it."

Hearing Shino's answer, Kirito's face was slightly solemn and he looked in a certain direction. A young man with short light blue hair and purple eyes, his tall body wrapped in a blue and white combat uniform, stared intently at the two sisters who were hugging each other.

Kirito calls out to the former strongest "beast tamer", who may not stop being his servant after completing Swald Yalfheim's great mission.

"So the Emperor."

"What"

"I've heard a lot of things. Everything about you. ”

"What?"

While Riran, Yui, and Strea analyze Nerve Gear, Kirito hears a story about the emperor from Alice, who calls.

The emperor's real name is Imperial Yota, and he should be commissioned by Seijiro Kikuoka, who is close to Kirito and others, to become a quantum neurodynamicist. The reason why Lilan was able to get Seven's information was due to other reasons besides the fact that the emperor and Kikuoka were both masters.

When I told them about it, Leland and Shino cried out in surprise, but the emperor remained calm, as if he had seen through it all.

"I see. Did he tell you everything? ”

"Ah, there's a lot going on with you, but I'm relieved. I know you really love Xiao Qi, and I know that you are working hard with Xiao Qi to advance your research. ”

"I see, since that's the case, I don't have to tell me the details anymore."

"No, there is. What are you going to do now? "I'm going to do that. The Cloud Brain Project was Hannibal's, and not only did it fail, but Hannibal died. Now that the plan is blank, what are you going to do? ”

The emperor took his eyes off Kirito and looked at his sisters again—Shichisai, to be exact—and opened his mouth expressionlessly.

"I'll participate in Xiao Qi's experiments and scientific research as usual, but now that Yun Brain is gone, we have to decide on the next research idea."

"So, does that mean you're going to continue to support Seven?"

"That's the way it is. But next time, we need to do something that won't put too much pressure on Xiao Qi. ”

The emperor has the expression of a martial arts master when he is dueling, and the expression of a knight protecting the princess at the age of seven or so, and the one who exudes these breaths all over his body is the emperor.

The emperor's expression now is more of the latter, mixed with calm, kindness, and relief.

The young man was also saddened that he had no choice but to watch Seven being lured into Hannibal's plans, and now that Seven no longer had to destroy himself, he was relieved. He was happy to be able to get Naneiro to do his research without pushing himself too much. It was in his face, but he had no words.

Seven may continue to work as idols and scientists, but they have Shamrock, Cluster, and Sumeragi around them to support them. I believe he will be able to live and no longer turn his body to dust as he used to.

"yes, I can't let that girl do anything reckless anymore."

"You're quite right. By the way, Kirito, I also have something I want to ask you. \"

The emperor suddenly turned to me and saw Kirito, Shino, and Lilan. When the three of us turned to know what was going on, the emperor asked us.

"Kirito, what's your relationship with Alice? \"

“？”

"What's your relationship with Alice? I want to hear it. ”

Hearing the stupid questions coming from the bushes, the three of us tilted our heads.

Alice/Serizawa Serizawa Alice's relationship with herself. The strongest in this area are Lilan and Shino.

First of all, Lilan is the first of the artificial intelligence "MHHP" created by Alice when she was in Argus, and she can almost be called Alice's daughter.

Shiina/Shina, who became a psychiatrist after the dissolution of Agus, is an exclusive patient of Alice, who has been medically examined and treated for a long time, but their friendship goes beyond the doctor-patient relationship and seems to be almost there.

Whether it's in VR or in reality, it's Kirito who Alice asks to protect Shino, and from the SAo era to the present, Kirito has received all kinds of advice, advice, blasting, encouragement, etc. from Alice.

Now that SAo has cleared the level, he is a reliable collaborator and companion who occasionally logs in to play with us. When the trio explained that it was their Serizawa Alice/Alice, the emperor looked confused.

"Is this really what you need?"

"I see, what, what's the matter with him?"

"That guy was a scientist just like us. But he doesn't do research like we do, and he doesn't even want to do research with us. Developing science for humanity. He even said it was a waste of time, and he also said some strange things."

Indeed, Alice / Airi is an engineer known as Akihiko Kaiba's right-hand man, and she is also very good at AI development. It was because of this skill that he was able to work at Argus, one of the largest game companies, and was able to participate in the development of SAo, creating characters such as Relan and Yui.

On the other hand, however, Airi herself is a very unusual person; She does not collaborate with other scientists or researchers on research and does not disclose the results of her research to others. What's more, in some cases, you can give certain characteristics of your body to an artificial intelligence that you created in the name of genetics.

Despite their excellent technical abilities, they don't particularly share or post. He's a scientist who constantly makes remarks, does things that make any scientist laugh, and he even seems to have inherited Akihiko Kayaba's lonely demeanor.

And, in private, he is a weirdo who takes things seriously, makes strange remarks, and even makes fun of him. That person is Airi Serizawa.

"Alice Sand is a person who says that a lot. She's a good scientist, but she also has a lot of oddities. And rightfully so, she doesn't get along well with you. \"

Moreover, it is not new for Alice to say strange things with a serious face. As my own daughter, I have been teased many times, and Kirito they are all victims. Just like a person. \"

"Is that so?"

The emperor's eyes widen at Kirito and Rilan's remarks, but Shino asks her to stop him.

"Dr. Alice in particular makes fun of serious people, not her patients."

You're the kind of scientist who makes fun of Alice because she thinks it's a good thing. The emperor, who was vaguely told by Shino, had an expression on his face as if he had been slightly humiliated. Eventually, he said regretfully.

"I was just being teased, huh? I found that I was still a weirdo that even we scientists couldn't understand. ”

Kirito thought so too.

There aren't many scientists like Airi who have ideas that even other scientists can't understand. Understanding Airi's thoughts can be as difficult as understanding the thoughts of Akihiko Kayaba, the creator of that death game.

That said, Kirito came to the conclusion that if you want to think directly, you'll end up in trouble, so it's best not to think seriously.

"yes, that guy is a weirdo, it's better not to be nosy."

"If we meet again in the future, so be it."

All three of them struggled not to laugh at the palace with a look of remorse. Immediately after, the two sisters who had been hugging each other let go of their hands, and finally the younger sister said a word as if she had thought of something.

"Yes sister."

\"Oh, what's wrong, Naneiro? \"

"It's your sister's dream, but why don't you make it happen tonight?" "What? What to start? ”

8:30 p.m. in the real world

On this day, when ALo's internal time and real time were anomalously synchronized, Kirito and the others postponed the completion of the Swarthalfheim mission and assembled somewhere.

The location is located in a casino on the corner of the Jiudong Line. This place is a place where plays and live performances can be held, and its most distinctive feature is that its exterior is inspired by the ancient Roman Colosseum, but the stage on which the performers stand has a different worldview. Installed monitors can damage the atmosphere.

In the audience, countless players of various races gathered, eagerly waiting for the upcoming event. Kirito and his friends sit in the audience, looking down on the excited contestants on stage.

"There are too many people. What will happen? ”

"I heard that it's Seven's comeback live, but will there be more people than usual?"

Asuna and Lizbet, who were closer to Kirito, looked around.

The person who made this place like this is none other than ALo's idol and friend Lilan's sister Seven.

This morning, Xiao Qi learns the truth that Lilan is her sister. Seven accepts what Lilan told her and hugs Lilan in tears, but eventually she says that she will fulfill her sister's dream in some way and flies somewhere with her sister Lilan. I'm leaving.

The 7th originally announced that a live performance would be held at ALo on the day they learned the truth, and had been preparing, but after the Lilan incident, they updated the content and said, "Tonight. We invite special guests to watch Seven's live performance, which will be a collaboration scene. ”

It is said that the live performance alone was already a fuss, but since they also advertised that they would collaborate with special guests, even those who wanted to see the unusual gathered, and the auditorium was packed with people.

"Also, I heard that they are going to invite a special guest, I wonder who it will be?"

"I couldn't imagine it at all. But I guess that's why so many people come together. ”