"The Diva? Oh, I remember her. She used to sing all over the place back then," Klein remarked, a look of nostalgia crossing his face.
Incidentally, the name of Hachiman's GGO shop, Floria, was taken from the main city of the 47th Floor. Hachiman had chosen it because he felt the image of flowers suited her perfectly.
"Aside from Asuna, there was another female player who was always by his side," Agil began. "I'm probably the only one who knows the full story, but it's been long enough now that I think I can talk about it."
"You mean she was…"
"The 'Diva,' Yuna."
"No way... for real?" Klein's eyes widened. "I never even suspected."
"Ryotaro, who is this Diva?" Shizuka asked, curious.
Klein gave her a brief explanation. "She was a girl who used to sing in the towns. Hearing her voice... I don't know how to describe it, but it gave you this strange sense of courage."
Agil paused, weighing his next words. "Well, there was a reason it felt 'strange.' I can say it now, but Yuna actually possessed a unique support ability: the Singing Skill."
Klein stared at him, dumbfounded. "What? You mean those songs were actually a skill effect?"
"It was top-secret information."
"I never heard a whisper about a skill like that. Why keep it hidden?"
It was a fair question. Agil leaned forward to explain. "There were two main reasons. First, Hachiman suppressed the information at Yuna's own request."
"Yuna's request? Why?"
"Yuna wanted to be useful to the front-liners—specifically to Hachiman—through her songs. However, she lacked the combat ability to actually survive on the front lines. Her Singing Skill didn't even manifest until we reached the 65th Floor, and up until then, she had never even set foot outside the safe zones. She needed urgent leveling, but if the word got out about her skill, every guild in the game would have tried to poach her. If anything happened to her while she was with a group that couldn't protect her, it would be a disaster. So, Hachiman restricted the information and, at her request, took it upon himself to train her personally. He did it all with an eye toward the future of the Clearers."
"I see. That sounds just like him…" Klein said, his voice laced with admiration. He knew Hachiman was always three steps ahead, but he hadn't realized the boy had been playing such a long game.
"And the second reason?"
"Yuna had a childhood friend," Agil continued. "He was a hard worker who pushed himself to join the Knights of the Blood Oath just for her sake. But he had a survival instinct that was almost too strong. Whenever he faced a powerful enemy, the system's fear response would literally paralyze him. Asuna eventually made the call to pull him from the front lines."
"Incompatibility with the FullDive environment?" Shizuka guessed.
Agil nodded. "Exactly. He was a different type from Nezha, but the result was the same. Asuna made the right call; if he'd stayed on the battlefield, he would've died."
"So, how does that connect to the secret?"
"Think about it. If Yuna became a superstar while her childhood friend was stuck in the backlines, unable to stand beside her... you can imagine the friction that would cause."
Klein's mind flashed back to a story Hachiman had told him once—the tragedy of Griselda and Grimlock. "Right... the Safe Zone Incident."
"Exactly. Yuna was stubborn at first; she insisted she'd be fine as long as she was with Hachiman and begged to join the boss raids. But once Hachiman told her the story of the Safe Zone Incident, she did a complete 180 and withdrew her request to participate."
"Makes sense. Discord between a couple is a fast track to disaster in that game."
"So Hachiman made her a promise: if we reached the 90th Floor, he would let her join the boss raids. Until then, he would be the one to forge her into a warrior. But as you know... that chance never came."
"I see..." Klein muttered, falling into a pensive silence.
"Um..."
Karen spoke up, breaking the heavy mood.
"Yes? What is it?" Agil asked.
"I don't know much about SAO, but the way you're telling this... it sounds like Yuna and her childhood friend were clearly in love with each other. But you started this by saying Hachiman was popular with girls. Which means..."
"Klein didn't catch on, but you're sharp, Karen-san," Agil chuckled.
"I-I figured it out too!" Miyu added quickly, not wanting to be left out. "My romance-radar is always on!"
"Wait, what am I missing?" Klein asked, looking between them.
"The point is," Agil said, "regardless of the circumstances I just described, the person Yuna actually had feelings for was her mentor—Hachiman."
"No way! What happened to the touching childhood friend story?!"
"Life isn't a fairy tale, Klein. It's just how it was."
Still reeling, Klein pushed further. "Wait, how do you even know all this in such detail, Agil?"
"Simple. For the sake of absolute secrecy, Hachiman decided the fewer people who knew, the better. He couldn't bring her to the front-line headquarters, so he used my shop as a safe house. That's how it started."
"You've got to be kidding me!"
"There were times you were sitting right here, and Yuna walked right past you with her hood up. You never noticed a thing."
Agil sighed before continuing. "She was usually quite reserved, but when it came to her feelings for Hachiman, she was incredibly proactive. She tried every trick in the book to get his attention, but Hachiman just assumed she was joking and brushed her off every time."
Miyu raised her hand enthusiastically. "I know that feeling! I can see it perfectly! I get brushed off exactly the same way!"
"Yeah, pretty much like that."
"I knew it!"
"What about her relationship with the childhood friend?" Karen asked.
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. She treated him strictly as a friend. It was almost pitiful, really."
"That is a bit sad," Karen murmured.
"Love is a cruel mistress," Agil remarked.
The conversation then shifted to how Hachiman and Yuna first met.
"But they were close at the start, right?" Klein asked. "They ended up in SAO together—it's too much of a coincidence. They must have planned it, or one of them invited the other."
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