-1613- [ ALO ]

After returning to the Kirigaya household, Rozen chatted briefly with the family before retreating to his room.

As soon as he entered, Rozen immediately powered up his computer and began searching online.

The search query was straightforward:

"Games from the comprehensive electronics manufacturer RECT."

Rozen was looking specifically for a game produced by RECT.

Although he had failed to access the SAO servers earlier that day, his interaction with Sugou Nobuyuki had revealed some troubling hints.

Given that the SAO servers were still operational and 300 players, including Asuna, had yet to awaken, it was highly probable they remained trapped within a game, just as they had been during the SAO incident.

According to Kikuoka Seijirou, SAO's data had supposedly been erased after the game was cleared. This didn't sit right with Rozen. He suspected that someone had tampered with the servers and repurposed them to run another game.

This other game, Rozen believed, was where Asuna and the others were still imprisoned.

Rozen's goal in accessing the SAO servers was to uncover the name of the game currently running on them. Although he hadn't succeeded in gaining access, Sugou's behavior had raised some red flags.

"Blocking my access at every turn and using the lives of those 300 players as a shield—it seems like more than just a simple lack of trust toward me."

If trust was the only issue, then someone like Kirigaya Aoka's father-in-law, Yuuki Shouzou, would have at least explained the situation properly and tried to convince Rozen of its gravity. However, Shouzou had seemed troubled, which suggested that RECT's refusal was not as straightforward as they claimed. Sugou had likely pressured Shouzou to block Rozen for reasons other than the safety of those players.

Rozen's instincts told him that Sugou wasn't genuinely concerned about human lives.

"A man eager to arrange a political marriage while Asuna remains unconscious wouldn't care about anything so noble as human lives."

Rozen scoffed at the thought.

Sugou's refusal to let Rozen access the servers pointed to two possible motives:

1. Sugou was deliberately opposing Rozen, seeing him as a rival for Asuna's affection.

2. There was something far more sinister going on.

The first scenario was plausible, given Sugou's obsession with Asuna and his clear hostility toward Rozen. However, Sugou's calm demeanor was odd. It was as if he were confident that Rozen could never interfere with his plans, even if Rozen cut off his access to Asuna entirely. Sugou had simply walked away, showing no signs of anger or panic. This suggested he was hiding something significant.

"The SAO servers were managed by RECT's research department even before the game was cleared. If they are still operational, it's only logical to assume there's something shady going on."

Connecting the dots, Rozen concluded that the game currently running on the servers was likely a product of RECT—and the prison holding Asuna and the others.

Driven by this suspicion, Rozen resumed his search.

And sure enough, he found it.

"A high-end VRMMO game with visual fidelity and motion precision comparable to SAO?"

This immediately piqued Rozen's interest.

SAO had been the brainchild of the genius Kayaba Akihiko, who had poured his heart and soul into building it. Before SAO, VR games were small-scale at best. It was only with SAO's release that the market changed, drawing in gamers like Rozen and Kirito, who had eagerly embraced it.

Over the past two years, although several VR games had been released, none came close to matching SAO's quality. If not for the deathtrap it became, SAO would have undoubtedly taken the world by storm.

Rozen found it hard to believe that anyone other than Kayaba could create a VR world of similar caliber.

"And now RECT has released a game on par with SAO?"

This couldn't be a coincidence.

Rozen quickly searched for the game software and found a link to purchase it online. He clicked the link, and an illustration filled his screen.

The image depicted a vast moon rising over a dense forest. In the sky, a boy and a girl wielding swords soared through the air. Both wore traditional fantasy-style clothing, with large, translucent wings sprouting from their backs.

Beneath the image was the game's elegant title logo:

"ALfheim Online"

Or ALO, for short.

"The realm of the fairies...?"

Rozen narrowed his eyes.

Without hesitation, he added the game to his cart and completed the purchase.

---

Night had fallen by the time Rozen finished.

Not long afterward, Kirigaya Midori returned from work.

Dinner was already prepared, thanks to Kirigaya Suguha. Since she was in her final year of junior high, Suguha now had the flexibility to stay home most days. Recently, she had taken over cooking, providing three meals a day for Rozen and Kirito, which they both deeply appreciated. Having such a caring little sister at home made their lives comfortable.

Once everyone was seated at the table, they began eating and chatting. Partway through the meal, Rozen paused, looking around at his family. After a brief moment of silence, he spoke.

"Everyone, I need to tell you something."

The family turned their attention to him.

"I bought a game online, and I plan to log in tonight."

The moment those words left his mouth—

Bang!

A clatter of bowls echoed across the table.

"W-what did you just say?"

Kirigaya Midori stared at Rozen, her bowl slipping from her hand in shock.

"Aoka-nii-san, you..."

"You're serious!?"

Both Kirito and Suguha looked at Rozen with disbelief.

It was only natural.

Rozen, a survivor of a game that had trapped him for two years, was now announcing his intention to dive into another game.

"Is it really that shocking?"

Rozen gave a bitter smile, as though he had anticipated their reactions.

His family gradually recovered from their initial shock.

"No! Absolutely not! I won't allow it!"

Midori shot to her feet, rejecting the idea without hesitation.

The atmosphere at the table grew tense.