Sword Art Online - Volume 21 - Chapter 1

Sword Art Online Volume 21 – Chapter 1

Translation Credits:

Translation – defan752

TLC – Gil

Proofreading – defan752

Consultation – SAO Wiki

1
I — Kirigaya Kazuto, was born on October 7, 2008… I think.

I’m supposed to be eighteen this year, but for some reason this whole experience hasn’t really felt like my own. Maybe it’s because I don’t remember my real parents, since they passed away when I was still a baby.

My biological father was called Narusaka Yukito. My biological mother was Narusaka Aoi. So if the car accident that took their lives and badly injured me hadn’t happened, that means I would have continued to live as Narusaka Kazuto. Though I can’t confidently say whether I would have chosen «Naruto» over «Kirito» as my character name in that case.

On the other hand, since my interest in computers came from my adoptive mother’s — Midori-san’s influence, and since the identity crisis I had from finding out I was adopted definitely played a part in my childhood online gaming addiction, it’s possible that Narusaka Kazuto wouldn’t have grown up a gamer at all, and therefore would not have been involved in the SAO incident. But it’s pretty pointless to imagine that now.

In any case, that’s why I haven’t felt too near and dear to my own birthday ever since I broke into the basic resident registration network when I was ten years old. My attitude went south, and at its worst, in my second year of middle school I forcefully pushed away my own birthday party at home, even making my little sister Suguha cry.

Of course, I’ve reflected deeply upon those stupid actions, and despite my two years’ worth of birthday celebrations last year to make up for lost time in Aincrad, I still have a hard time firmly accepting that I was born on October 7. I think this state of mind will persist until I learn everything there is to know about my biological mother and father.

There were only ten days until my birthday this year. Eighteen was also the age when it became possible to get a driver’s license, and vote. Apparently Suguha had already begun running various errands related to my party, and had ordered me rather sternly to return straight home from school as quickly as possible. I’m excited about it too, for sure. But right now I can’t allow myself to dwell upon my own birthday.

Why? Because on September 30, a week before my birthday and three days from now, it’ll be Asuna’s birthday.

“Daddy, have you decided on a present for Mommy yet?”

I heard the miniature fairy ask as she sat delicately on a mug rim. With my back in the mesh of an office chair, I replied:

“Hmm… I’m still thinking…”

The fairy who called me “Daddy” replied in a tone that was more older sister-ish than childlike:

“It doesn’t matter whether you go to a store or buy it online. If you don’t decide soon it’ll be too late! I really don’t recommend following a schedule as precarious as last year’s birthday, when you only managed to get her present during lunch break on the same day!”

“I know we’d like to avoid that, but it’s so hard! Asuna never talks about things she wants… Oh, how about you go ask her what she wants, Yui? Indirectly.”

Yui, an artificial intelligence Asuna and I met in SAO and who then became our beloved daughter, coolly rejected my appeal:

“No! Cheating is bad! It has to be something you choose yourself, Daddy. Mommy will be delighted no matter what it is!”

“Well, you’re not wroooong…” I agreed, but dragged out the last word.

During Asuna’s birthday last year, I had feverishly deliberated back and forth all the way up to the day before until I finally chose a red scarf as her present. I was thinking that she probably had it rough in winter, especially since her daily commute took 90 minutes each way. Somehow she ended up using only that particular scarf from November to February, though I imagine she’s got enough scarves at home to tie a large jumping rope, and there were bound to be warmer ones than mine among them… but by the time I noticed, the coldest time of the year had long passed.

That’s why I was planning to choose something not as practical this year, but that area exceeds my scope of knowledge as a useless VRMMO junkie. Searching things like «recommended Christmas presents by age» brought up a whole lot of pages, but it felt inappropriate to decide on a present based on something like that.

“Hmmmm…”

I stretched, then reached for the mug Yui was sitting on. Gazing at the fairy as she softly lifted off and flew to sit on the edge of the tablet display (which I rarely used nowadays), I drained the mugful of lukewarm cappuccino in one gulp.

I hadn’t been able to communicate with Yui in the real world without using the «AVIC Probe» I’d made at school, but the wearable, multifunction «Augma» that went on sale in April easily resolved this. Now, Yui could use data from my vision to map, in real-time, the placement and shapes of the mug on the table, the tablet display, and other objects; she could pass through them, and could move freely as long as she did not pass beneath the desk. She would tell me that she preferred the AVIC Probe to make me feel better, and she was able to mentally control it, but it only allows me to hear her voice. Sure enough, even if I only used it to see my precious daughter in the real world, I ought to be grateful for this otherwise shady Augma device.

As I pondered this I reached out my left hand; Yui expanded her wings again and alighted on my fingertip. I could barely feel the hint of her weight, but the smoothness of her peachy dress and her faint warmth were reproduced on a borderline virtual world-level. She moved in front of my face and I caressed her head with a finger on my left hand as my eyes fell upon the bed on the other side of the room.

Atop the bedspread, freshly sun-dried today, there lay a head-mounted VR device: the AmuSphere. A year and a half of use had worn its casing, and its once sleek design now looked unwieldy next to the Augma, yet I still preferred FullDive to both augmented and mixed reality.

“Say, Yui. I’ll choose Asuna’s present on my own, I will, but…”

I looked back to the fairy on my left hand and continued:

“… Before that, could you help me do a bit of research? I’m buying the present in a store instead of online this year, so I’ve still got time.”

Reading the meaning behind my words and glances towards the AmuSphere — an amazing feat for an AI — Yui shrugged gently and replied:

“Good grief, it’s no use, is it? I’ll be waiting over there, then!”

She lifted away from my finger, spun in a circle as if in a dance, and with that her tiny body vanished in a burst of light particles. I followed suit: I rose from my chair and removed the Augma from my left ear. With the virtual desktop gone, I turned my newly expanded visual field towards the west window.

It was Sunday, September 27. Only four days had passed since the autumn equinox, but I could already feel the sunsets coming sooner. It was just past four but the scaly clouds were already tinted a brilliant gold; a flock of birds returning to their nests passed slowly below.

Suddenly, I thought I saw an ivory tower piercing through the dusky sky, and blinked a couple of times. I pressed my right hand to my chest and allowed my innumerable, almost overflowing memories to calm down, before sitting on my bed. Using my folded blankets as a cushion, I lay down, picked up the AmuSphere, and put it over my head.

Closing my eyes, I murmured the incantation:

“… Link Start.”

Variegated light enveloped my consciousness, transporting it to a faraway fairy kingdom.