Chapter 104: You Like Leafa, Don't You?
"Filthy Spriggans like you really think you're some kind of prince?"
"Though you're not exactly riding a white horse."
Kirito and Sigurd faced each other tensely, swords nearly drawn.
Sigurd's teammates looked nervously between Leafa and Sigurd.
Hachiman stood nearby, poised to act at any moment.
As for Leafa and Recon—
"Prince? Kirito-kun is a prince? Oh no, I might turn into a princess…"
"Leafa-chan's prince… that role should be mine…"
The two responded in completely off-topic ways.
"If I kill you all here, you'll respawn back at the Spriggan capital, right? That'll make Sylph territory a bit cleaner."
"Hah? A rotten soul like you is the one polluting Sylph lands."
"Tch. Hey, Leafa, what are you going to do? Are you still planning to protect these guys?"
"Huh?"
Leafa finally snapped back to reality at those words.
"When I joined the party, I told you I didn't like being bound by rules. You said I could leave at any time or skip out when needed, didn't you?"
"Don't be ridiculous! Our party is the most famous among the Sylphs.
If a member like you keeps acting on your own, where does that leave my reputation as the leader?"
"…"
Even Leafa couldn't accept what Sigurd had just said.
"You're the one who invited me right after I won the tournament, and now you say something that selfish, Sigurd?"
"I see."
Hachiman, who had been silent, muttered with understanding.
"Hachiman, what do you mean?"
"To put it simply, that guy wanted to bring someone stronger like Leafa into his team just to protect his fragile ego — to prove he was above her."
"Ah, that makes sense then."
"You bastards… how dare you…"
"That's enough. I've completely made up my mind."
"Leafa-chan!"
Realizing her determination, Recon tried to stop her, but Leafa firmly halted him and spoke coldly to Sigurd:
"Just so you know, these two are Yukino's allies."
"Wha… I've never heard of Yukino having allies like them."
"They're part of Yukino's returning group.
I'm taking them to see her tomorrow.
If you lay a hand on them, Yukino won't sit idly by.
You were there too — you should know what that means, right?"
"…"
"And I won't stay quiet either. I'll cut you down right here."
"…So this means you're officially leaving the party?"
"That's right. Take it that way. I've had enough."
"Leafa-chan, why…"
"I see…"
Sigurd closed his eyes, seemingly deep in thought.
His unusually calm demeanor confused Leafa.
"Papa, I can sense deep anger from that man. He's only pretending to be calm."
"You can feel it, Yui?"
"Yes."
"I did see a flash of rage in his eyes before he closed them."
"Papa, what do we do?"
"I'd like to have someone keep an eye on him. That guy named Recon is a good fit…"
Hachiman turned to Leafa.
"Leafa, are you close with Recon?"
"Recon? He's a classmate of mine in real life."
"I see."
"Playing VRMMOs with classmates, that sounds fun."
"Maybe one day Kirito and I will end up like that too."
"Ah~ it could happen."
As they chatted, Sigurd suddenly looked up and, in an unusually calm voice, asked:
"Leafa, where are you meeting Yukino?"
"Why do you want to know? On the other side of the Lugru Corridor."
"Hmph. You're attending the alliance signing ceremony after that, right?"
"Yeah, aren't you coming too?"
"No, I've been ordered to stay behind."
"Heh~ is that so."
"Understood. I approve your resignation from the party. Sorry for the trouble."
"Huh? Ah… okay."
With that, Sigurd turned and left with his team.
Recon, still flustered, suddenly made up his mind and declared to Leafa:
"Alright! Then I'm going to quit with Leafa-chan too—"
"Hey, Recon. I've got something to say to you."
"Eh? Ehh?"
Hachiman slung an arm around Recon's shoulder and led him away.
"What's going on… What just happened…"
"Leave it to Hachiman. He's definitely got a plan."
"Kirito-kun really trusts Hachiman-kun, huh?"
"He's serious this time — and so am I. We have something we must accomplish in ALO."
Kirito showed an expression Leafa had seen before.
"Ah…"
Without realizing it, Leafa overlapped that expression with her brother's face.
'Why did my brother's face come to mind just now?
That expression… it carries a strong determination, and a trace of sadness…'
As she missed her brother, Leafa looked at Kirito's side profile.
Meanwhile, Hachiman and Recon were having a quiet talk:
"W-What do you want from me?"
"First, let's confirm something. You like Leafa, right?"
"Wha… how…?"
'Just now, you said you wanted to be her prince.'
"Let's set that aside. Do you want Leafa to thank you?"
"Huh?"
"Let me be clear — Kirito and I are both strong. Even if you join our team, you probably won't stand out in battle."
"Th-Then Leafa-chan might fall for one of you instead…"
"Ah~ no worries there. We both already have someone.
Even if something happened, it wouldn't go anywhere."
"Really!?"
Recon immediately perked up.
Hachiman thought to himself what a pragmatic guy he was — but that's exactly why he could use him.
"What did you think of Sigurd's attitude earlier?"
"He was oddly calm — definitely not like usual."
"Right? It was weird?"
"Yes. Normally, someone like him would've exploded and attacked already."
"Exactly. I saw his eyes before he closed them — they were full of rage.
That calm act is just a cover. He's burning with anger inside."
"Now that you mention it… Sigurd's eyes always give away his emotions…"
"Trying to act calm while prying into our plans — isn't that extremely suspicious?"
"It is! He's totally planning something."
"Which is why—"
Hachiman took a deep breath and got to the point:
"How about you stay in Sigurd's party and spy on him?
He'll definitely act soon. If you pass the info to Leafa, she'll be really grateful."
"…"
"You won't stand out much with us — but if you pull this off, you'll win Leafa's appreciation for sure. It's a good deal, right?"
"Yes! I think it's perfect!!"
"Then it's settled."
The two grinned and shook hands firmly.
"We gather intel and counter his plans — you gain Leafa's favor. Win-win!"
"Alright, let's go back."
"Yeah!"
When they returned, Recon excitedly announced:
"Leafa-chan~ I've decided to stay in Sigurd's party as a spy!"
"Huh? A spy?"
"I'll explain now."
Hachiman explained the plan to Kirito and Leafa (leaving out the "gaining favor"
part).
"Suddenly acting so calm really was suspicious."
"Yeah, that behavior was way off for Sigurd."
"Leafa-chan, look forward to my heroic work!"
"Ah… yeah."
Seeing Recon's sparkling eyes, Hachiman quietly whispered to Leafa:
"Smile and cheer him on. This is your chance to motivate him."
"Got it."
Leafa beamed brightly:
"We're counting on you, Recon. Do your best!"
"Yeah! Leave it to me!"
Recon dashed off like an arrow loosed from a bow.
"Nice job. Alright, let's take off from Wind Tower and talk on the way."
"Understood!"
As the three soared from the Wind Tower, the setting sun cast long shadows over the sea of clouds.
Hachiman glanced at Kirito's face in profile, and in that moment, it overlapped perfectly with the figure of a certain black-clad swordsman.