Sword Art Online - Volume 22 - Chapter 3.3

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As long as I get to bed by two o’clock, that’s still fairly early, I told myself as I touched down in Alfheim. 

It was equally dark there at this hour. However, to dedicated online gamers, these were the golden hours, and Swilvane, capital of the fairy territory, was packed. Sylphs were the majority of them, of course, but there were also other fairy races in greater numbers than before. 

The view through the window of the room I rented in the inn to safely log out made it clear that the cait siths were the most numerous of the other fairy races today. That made sense, as they were in an alliance with the sylphs. The next most common group in attendance were pookas and imps, which had adjacent territory. The sylph land also adjoined the salamander territory, but they were still officially at war, so there was no red hair to be seen here. 

My race, the spriggans, were not hostile to the sylphs, but our territory was on the opposite side of the world, and it was one of the least popular races on top of that. So there were no other spriggans to be seen on the streets, like the salamanders. 

I decided it was best to move about without drawing too much attention, so I pulled a hooded cape out of my inventory and put it on. Then I cast the illusionary magic spell Moonshade Lurk and snuck out of the inn. 

Moonshade Lurk was a spell that made it harder for others to see you when you were in any shade cast by the light of the moon, meaning it had no effect in a dungeon, where there was no moonlight. It was only a slight benefit, but that was the best I could do with magic. Fortunately, the moon was dazzling tonight, and Swilvane was rife with cramped alleyways, so I could move fairly quickly without being exposed. 

After a few minutes, I reached the center of town and came to a stop in the shade. 

Right ahead, there was a rotary over a hundred yards across, with the sylph lord’s manor in the center—the most beautiful building in all of Swilvane. The three-story structure was surrounded by a deep moat, with bridges only on the north and south sides that connected to the road around it. The entire rotary was wide open, with no shade for me to hide in. 

At the foot of each bridge stood a pair of powerful-looking NPC guardians with tall halberds at the ready. Only the lord or lady, and players on the manor’s registry, could pass by them. 

Leafa was registered, as far as I knew, but the list had no exceptions, even for party members of those who had access. I had wings, so you might think I could just fly high over the guardians’ field of view, but things weren’t that easy. The entire manor grounds were under a special barrier that nullified all the magical power of outsiders, including flight. 

I wasn’t going in there to steal anything, so the proper etiquette would be to flag down a staff member going in and ask for permission to enter, but I really didn’t want any rumors left behind about tonight’s visit. 

“…!” 

In that instant, I sensed that the moment I was waiting for had arrived, and I crouched low. 

A black shadow began to cross the surface of the radiant moon from the right. It was a nightly occurrence in Alfheim—an artificial lunar eclipse. New Aincrad, the flying castle, was covering the moon for less than a minute. And of that time, it was only a complete eclipse for less than five seconds. 

The pale disc began to wane, until finally all the light was gone—Swilvane was entirely within the shadow of New Aincrad. I bolted out of the alleyway and into the open. 

There wasn’t much foot traffic here, since there were few shops to visit, but that didn’t mean it was empty. The cait siths shouldn’t be able to see me because of the spell’s effect, but I could only pray that their keen ears wouldn’t pick up my footsteps as I zipped across the rotary. There was a cast-iron fence separating the road from the moat, and right in between the two bridges, I got a foot on top of it and jumped for all I was worth. 

As soon as I was over the dark surface of the water, I could no longer use my wings or any magic. Rumor said that there were nasty aquatic monsters lurking in the moat, which was nearly thirty feet across, and if they caught you, they would drag you down to the bottom, where you would die and turn into a Remain Light. But the light would actually appear just before the moat, so anyone could see that someone had attempted to sneak past. 

Even for a nimble spriggan, crossing thirty feet in a single jump without flight was simply impossible. But in midair, I pulled my sword off my back and reached forward as far as I could during the fall. The end of it just barely managed to catch on the stone blocks on the far side. 

If it were ordinary stone found anywhere else, a sword crafted by a master blacksmith like Lisbeth would just cut right through it, but the structures in town were indestructible. I used that to my advantage, pushing down on the block with the tip of the sword and using it for leverage to hurtle myself upward. 

The following hop was enough for my left hand to reach the edge. I sheathed my blade and scrambled up. There was a brief, quiet ringing when I pressed on the stone with the sword tip, but fortunately, the guardians at the bridges did not react. 

Crouching low again, I hurried behind the bushes of the garden before the brief eclipse was over. 

“……Whew.” I exhaled in relief and looked upward at the manor before me. My destination was in the center of the top floor, if I recalled correctly. I didn’t know if the person I wanted to meet was there, but if they weren’t, I’d just have to wait around anyway. 

There would be no protection from my spell here. I placed my weapon into my virtual inventory, prayed there wouldn’t be any guardians indoors, and began to circle the building in search of the front entrance. 

Five minutes later, I had finally made my way to the stately double doors on the third floor of the lady’s manor. I swiveled to each side to make sure it was safe. 

There were no figures to be seen in the spacious hallway. The majority of the administrative players were having a chat in the great hall on the second floor, which meant I was able to get up to the top without being seen or scolded. But if the person I was looking for was on the second floor, it would all be for nothing. Praying that my good fortune would last, I pulled back my hood and knocked on the doors. 

After a moment, a familiar voice said, “Come in.” I exhaled in relief, pulled the silver handle, and slipped inside through the smallest possible crack in the doors. 

I shut the doors behind me right as the woman operating the territorial master’s access window looked up across the desk. 

Sakuya, lady of the sylphs, wore an elegant kimono-style dress. When she recognized me, her shapely eyebrows wrinkled, she inclined her head in confusion, and lastly, she pointed a finger in my direction. 

“May I ask something, just to be certain?” 

“Anything you want.” 

“You haven’t been hired by salamanders to come here and take me out…have you, Kirito?” 

“Uh…is that even possible? As a spriggan, can I even pass the bonus from defeating a fairy lord to a salamander?” 

“It is, if you are officially hired as a mercenary. Of course, the guardians in the town would react as though you were a salamander, so you would not get more than a hundred yards inside without a pass medallion.” 

“Ahhh…Hrmm, sorry, didn’t mean to sound interested. The answer is no, of course,” I said, holding up my hands in a show of peace. “The truth is, there’s something I was hoping you could tell me, Sakuya.” 

“…And that’s why you broke into my house?” 

“Well, yes…I mean, I’m not on your friends list, so I can’t send you a direct message…and I didn’t want anyone else to hear this…,” I explained, keenly aware that I was starting to sound like a girl in a rom-com. 

The sylph lady shook her head and said, “It is no matter…but I am the master of this territory. As you belong to a different fairy race, I am limited in what I can tell you—even if you did save my life.” 

“Oh, that won’t be a problem. I’m not asking for any sylph military secrets. Plus, I’m prepared to offer you information in return, of course.” 

“You are? What will you tell me?” 

“How to sneak into the sylph manor and how to prevent that from happening.” 

Sakuya blinked with surprise, then burst into laughter. I could only pray the sound didn’t carry all the way downstairs. 

She poured me a glass of expensive-looking wine that I sipped very carefully. Step by step, I ran through the reason for my unannounced visit. 

Sakuya listened in silence until I was finished, then nodded. 

“I performed the Pillager of the Deep quest about ten days ago, myself.” 

“You…you did? On your own?” 

“I enjoy the occasional dungeon dive, too, you know. Plus, you’ve seen me taking part in a number of floor-boss raids in New Aincrad.” 

“Ah, good point.” 

“But…” 

The proactive sylph master downed the rest of her wine and paused to consider. 

“When I and some of my cabinet members did the quest, there was no Kraken or Leviathan.” 

“What?” 

“We found the pearl, or egg, or what have you, in the temple and handed it back to the NPC. He thanked us, and that was the end of the quest. Then he summoned a giant squid that grabbed us with its tentacles and pulled us back to the beach. It was…not the most enjoyable experience.” 

“A…giant squid? I wish I could have seen that…Er, I mean, I suppose that means there’s a branch depending on whether or not you hand over the pearl…” 

“It would seem so. But who would refuse to hand over the quest item?” she said with a smirk. I smiled back uncomfortably. 

“Well, I was going to give it back to him…but Asuna took it away from me before I could.” 

“Ha-ha. I would never doubt her sixth sense,” she said, pouring herself another glass of wine. “So I understand now that the quest has a branching path. And…what is it you’re hoping to learn from me?” 

“Well…I was wondering if you had any ideas about the ‘new chamber’ Leviathan mentioned…For example, were there any other buildings on the seafloor aside from the temple that seemed likely…?” 

“Hmm…Not off the top of my head…” 

The sylph leader thought for a bit, then opened her special menu and displayed a map across the entire surface of her desk. It was a map of all of Alfheim, several times more detailed than any that we common players could produce. 

“This is a kind of state secret, I suppose, but I’m willing to show you. This map contains discovered quest locations, buildings and headstones with a particular history, and unique spots like shortcuts—everything. If we search this for ‘new chamber,’ then perhaps…” 

Her fingers ran across the map surface, and a window with search results opened up. There were zero hits. 

“Then ‘holy child’…Nothing. ‘Kraken’…‘Leviathan’…still nothing.” 

“What about ‘egg’?” 

“That might be too vague to work…There, you see? Over a hundred hits. There are dozens of quests about finding eggs or protecting them or cooking them.” 

“Oh…right…Hrmm…” 

I stared at the flat image of the fairy world and replayed the dialogue between the king of the sea and the king of the abyss in my mind. 

How long has it been, old friend? And how long will you beg for the mercies of the Aesir? …Not until the child’s power is mine…The one who will one day rule all the seas and skies…… 

All the seas and skies. 

“Um…Sakuya?” 

“What?” 

“Does that map have three-dimensional data on the unique points of interest?” 

“Of course.” 

“Could you tell me the lowest of those points on the map? Aside from Jotunheim, I mean.” 

Sakuya quickly sorted the information. “The lowest coordinates are at negative three hundred and twenty-one feet. The quest name is…Pillager of the Deep.” 

Her eyes glittered. I bobbed my head in return and said, “Next, tell me the point that is highest. Aside from New Aincrad, I mean.” 

“…I don’t need to search for that one.” 

“Huh…?” 

“The answer is obvious. The mystery located at the highest point of Alfheim…?” 

The beautiful leader of the sylphs jabbed a thumb at the large window behind her and grinned. 

“That would be the top of the World Tree, of course.”