Chapter 115 - Alliance Formed
"Hah, seriously... I give up. A total defeat. You're really strong—I've realized how far I still have to go."
These were the first words out of Eugene's mouth after being revived, directed straight at Kirito.
"You're not so bad yourself,"
Kirito replied, extending his right hand to Eugene.
"Let's have a rematch sometime,"
Eugene responded, accepting the handshake warmly.
At that moment, Sakuya and Alicia joined in the conversation and began eagerly trying to recruit Kirito.
"Kirito-kun, have you thought about joining the Cait Sith? I guarantee you excellent treatment."
"Hold it, Alicia. He's someone I invited as a bodyguard—obviously the Sylphs get first negotiation rights."
"Eh? Ah—well, I've got a bunch of things going on..."
"P-please consider it, okay?"
Alicia said with a sly smile, pushing her chest against Kirito's face.
"That's cheating, Alicia! If that's how we're playing it, then I'll..."
Sakuya, flustered by the sight, pressed her chest against the other side of Kirito's face.
As Kirito struggled desperately to escape the situation, a chilling voice came from behind.
"What do you two think you're doing to our comrade?"
"Eek!"
"Y-Yukino..."
The two women turned and saw Yukino towering over them, her eyes icy cold. They immediately jumped away from Kirito and apologized in unison. Yukino sighed, and at that moment Eugene addressed her:
"We were completely outmaneuvered this time, Yukino. Honestly, if it weren't for your side, this battle probably would've ended in our victory."
"It's been a while, General Eugene. You're probably right. Still, with only the four founding members and Miss Leafa, I doubt we could have reversed the entire battle."
Yukino calmly analyzed the situation. From a pure combat power perspective, taking down the Salamander' army should have been extremely difficult.
"True. Looks like you've gathered some powerful allies while I was away."
"They weren't gathered by me, but this is the perfect opportunity to make an announcement."
"Announcement?"
"Yes. Right now, we have the representatives of four races gathered here—each with a deep connection to me."
"Four races?"
"That's right."
As Yukino spoke, she glanced at Hachiman and Möbius. Understanding her cue, they flew over. Möbius was the first to greet the others:
"Sakuya-chan, Alicia-chan, and Eugene-kun—it's been ages~!"
"Ah! Isn't that Miss Möbius?!"
"Möbius-chan, it's been a long time!"
"Möbius... I didn't expect even the Lord of the Undines to be here..."
"Exactly. That's what I meant by 'four races.'"
Yukino continued:
"I hereby declare this: we have maintained neutrality until now, but that ends here. From this moment forward, we will unite under the banner of Hachiman-kun."
"Huh?"
"Yukino, are you serious?"
"Of course. From now on, we'll walk with him and follow his direction.
Hachiman-kun is our leader. Kirito-kun will be his right-hand man. I suppose I'll be third in command."
"I'm stepping down as the Lord of the Undines to join Hachiman-kun's team too!"
Möbius's sudden declaration was met with calm acceptance by the students from Sobu High, as if they had expected it.
The others, however, were visibly stunned.
"They've gone this far..."
"Are they serious?"
"This is a massive alliance—bridging racial divides, no less."
Not just the three leaders, but the surrounding players also erupted in chatter. Hachiman scratched his head, thinking, "This got out of hand,"
but still stepped forward and addressed Sakuya, Alicia, and Eugene sincerely:
"Um... anyway, that's the situation. I look forward to working with you."
Then, his expression turned serious.
"Let me get straight to the point. I'd like to discuss something with the three of you as race representatives. At the very least, will you hear me out?"
After clarifying to Möbius that he wasn't including the Undines in the count, Hachiman began his explanation:
"Our goal is to clear the World Tree's main quest. More precisely, we aim to reach the deepest area that hasn't been unlocked yet—because I believe the main quest hasn't actually been implemented yet."
After hearing Hachiman's theory—that only the first race to clear the quest will be allowed to reincarnate as Light Sprites—the three fell into thought.
"From a developer's standpoint, it would be unreasonable to design a game that causes other races to go extinct."
"It's still a hypothesis. I personally agree with your idea, but considering the current power gap, convincing my brother will be tough."
"What if the Undines join us?"
Möbius interjected.
"A three-race coalition would be threatening, but Möbius—you've been offline for a while, right? You'll need time to unify your race's internal opinions."
"That's true."
"Your brother might take this chance to clear the quest first."
"Should we just kidnap and lock up your brother?"
Hearing Yukino say that, both Hachiman and Eugene jumped in shock.
"Don't joke like that, Yukino! That's a joke... right?"
"Half-joking. Please continue, Hachiman-kun."
"Half is still way too much..."
While Hachiman and Eugene wiped cold sweat, Hachiman whispered a certain sum of money into Sakuya and Alicia's ears.
"That's a lot!?"
"You're serious?"
"Yeah."
With their support secured, Hachiman turned to Eugene.
"As for the remaining Salamander... it's probably going to be tough, right?"
"I'll tell my brother—but don't get your hopes up."
At that moment, Möbius opened a system window and said:
"Looks like the Undines have officially decided to support Hachiman-kun!"
"You have proof?"
"Well, up till now it was just talk, but look over there!"
Following Möbius's finger, lightning suddenly cracked across the sky. Under the stunned gazes of everyone present, a figure descended from above.
"Ta-da~! My name's Soleil! I'm here~ Hehe~"
As she rushed toward Hachiman for a hug, a solid iron fist landed squarely on her head.
"Who the hell are you?! What the hell are you doing?!"
"Uuu~ So mean! I came all this way to help you, Hachiman-kun!"
"You know me...? Wait, are you Argo—no, that's not it."
Yukino suddenly grabbed her forehead as if remembering something and said:
"Soleil means 'sun' in French."
"Sun... don't tell me—!"
Hachiman stumbled backward in shock. Kirito and the other Sobu High students gasped.
Klein and the others seemed to know already but still looked surprised.
For some reason, Sakuya, Alicia, Eugene, and Leafa were all frozen in place.
"As expected of Yukino-chan. Sharp as ever. Now that I'm here, you've got nothing to worry about."
Soleil grinned proudly, puffing out her chest.
Hachiman, however, still kept his guard up, raising his hands warily.