Sword Art Online - Volume 22 - Chapter 1.2

2 

So with that out of the way… 

The day after my proposal, at two in the afternoon on October 24th, Asuna and I visited the twenty-second floor. 

The day before, we went to the Knights of the Blood headquarters in Grandzam on the fifty-fifth floor and submitted our notice for a temporary leave of absence. Temporary or not, it technically meant leaving the guild at the system level, so the red cross of the guild’s insignia no longer showed up on our player cursors. 

We traveled through the teleport gate in Corral and began walking toward a large lake to the southwest. I asked Asuna, “How long has it been since you joined the KoB?” 

“Well…,” the fencer replied, inclining her head and sending her chestnut-brown hair swaying, “the commander recruited me last December…so it’s been over a year already. It was just after the boss fight on the twenty-fifth floor…” 

“Oh, right…The KoB started up after the Army got decimated…” 

I glanced at the bottom of the floor above us. 

Just three floors from here, the twenty-fifth floor of Aincrad had been the greatest test for the best players since the very first floor. 

Immediately after a player left the main town, it became clear that the monsters on the twenty-fifth floor were significantly tougher than on the previous one. The layout of the landscape was complex and mazelike, and a number of players died just getting to the next town. NPCs did not offer much information, and there were numerous traps like poison swamps and pits. By the time we had finished exploring the floor and reached the labyrinth tower, the frontline group as a whole was exhausted. 

The person who was responsible for whipping us back into shape and energizing us for the tower was Kibaou, the leader of the guild known as the Aincrad Liberation Squad—at this time, they were not yet called the Army. He hurled insults at the group with his characteristic Kansai dialect until we were all furious enough to be back on our feet and ready for action. 

However, just before we rushed into the boss chamber to fight the floor boss, someone fed Kibaou, the unquestioned leader of the frontline group, some false info. They rushed into the chamber with only forty-plus guild members, much less than a full raid party. Over half the ALS died in that battle. It was only when the main force of the advancement group arrived, including me and Asuna, that we managed to topple the horrific boss, despite more deaths. 

But nobody could openly celebrate passing the quarter mark of Aincrad. Not when Kibaou’s furious screams of grief were echoing off the walls of the chamber. 

From there, he parted ways with the frontline players, taking his surviving comrades all the way back down to the first floor. There, they teamed up with a mutual aid group called MMO Today, and that alliance formed the foundation of the Army. 

“The mood of the entire advancement group was dire back then…Suddenly we’d lost a third of our numbers—and it was possibly because of an intentional trap. I suppose it’s no surprise things felt raw. People were downcast even at the meeting to beat the field boss on the twenty-sixth floor…but that was when the new KoB guild showed up. Everyone all decked out in custom white-and-red gear…it left quite an impact,” I said, going over the old memories as we walked along the lakeside. My partner was very quiet, so I glanced over and saw Asuna, with her cheeks red, turning away for some reason. 

Catching on, I feigned ignorance and continued, “But especially, it was the sight of the vice commander that caught my eye…and Klein’s, and even Agil’s. But her, well! She went from plain-looking equipment to the total opposite, with a pure-white no-sleeve bodice, a bright-red miniskirt, and then those white knee-high stockings…If you ask me, it felt like the scattered remnants of the group all came together as one—” 

Wham! There was a bludgeon attack on my left shoulder just short of causing actual damage, cutting my thoughts short. I turned my head and saw the vice commander herself, face beet red, holding a fist. 

“Ugh! You know how embarrassed I was to be seen like that! I assumed the commander would stand at the fore, but then he just says, ‘The effect will be greater if you stand at the front, Asuna,’ so I did it out of sheer resignation!” 

“Um…I see…By the way, I assume that had to be a custom uniform, right? Who designed it?” 

“…All the other officers held numerous design meetings in secret, leaving me out. When they showed the uniform to me, I said, ‘I’m not wearing that!’ But then Daizen got tears in his eyes and claimed, ‘You wouldn’t believe how much it cost us just to produce this one outfit!’ So again, out of sheer resignation…” 

“Ah…I see.” 

The Knights of the Blood were known today for their ironclad rules and strict discipline, but it sounded like their early days were rather jovial. At any rate, the KoB’s arrival certainly gave the frontline group a big morale boost, and they had stood at the front line of the deadly game ever since. Even at this very moment, on the newly opened seventy-fifth floor, red-and-white parties were battling furiously… 

Once again, I glanced up at the bottom of the upper floor. That gesture was enough for Asuna to read my mind. She unclenched her fist and gently grabbed my hand. 

“You basically beat the seventy-fourth-floor boss all by yourself. It only had two or three pixels left on its HP bar. Nobody’s going to complain if you take a little break from the usual activities.” 

“…But they’ll all complain if they learn why I want a break,” I replied with a smirk, squeezing her hand back. The vice commander looked like she wasn’t sure whether to be angry or embarrassed, but she settled on a chuckle. 

By the time we’d gone halfway around the huge lake, which was probably half a mile across, there was a coniferous tree that looked like a cedar, looming higher than the others. At its massive roots was a faint, tiny footpath that broke off from the trail leading around the lake and headed southwest. 

“…So you found this path? You’re always so keen when it comes to finding these hidden routes,” Asuna said, which I chose to take as a compliment. 

“And I didn’t have the Detection mod on my Search skill at the time, so it was all pure eyesight and intuition,” I boasted. “Once we get over that hill, you’ll see the house right away.” 

Now it was Asuna’s turn to light up with excitement. “Ooh, I can’t wait to find out what it’s like! Let’s go!” 

“…Um, Asuna, it’s…just a typical log cabin, so I don’t want you to get your hopes up too high.” 

“When I was a little girl, I often dreamed of living in a log cabin. As long as there’s a proper hearth and a rocking chair to sit in, I’ll be over the moon!” she crowed, hurrying up the hill. I hustled after her. 

A rocking chair could be bought at a furniture shop, but I couldn’t remember if there had been a hearth or not. But at this point, I had to assume there was one. I found this cabin a year and a half ago for the purpose of this very day. If fate had been guiding me properly, there would be a hearth. 

Praying that we’d see a chimney on the roof of the cabin, I crested the hill a few steps behind Asuna and stood next to her, scanning desperately for a chimney. 

But— 

It wasn’t there. 

There was no chimney. 

We were looking at a circular space covered in green undergrowth, with not a single man-made object there…and certainly not any houses.