"At this rate, people are going to think Hachiman is a massive flirt!"
"...Aaah!"
Realizing the implication a moment too late, Achiman quickly pulled back from Sinon.
"He is definitely going to yell at me for this..."
But it was already too late. The scene had been broadcast live to the tournament stream, giving birth to the rumor that ALO's Hachiman was a flamboyant, skirt-chasing flirt.
In the aftermath of the tournament, with Shana logging in less frequently, it would fall upon the alliance of guilds centered around the "GGO Female Coalition" to aggressively squash those rumors. After all, pleasing the Female Coalition was a matter of survival in GGO.
Fortunately, Sinon was currently using Musketeer X's avatar. Average players who lacked deep interest in Hachiman simply assumed this was the same Musketeer X who had fought alongside him during the war, preventing the rumors from spiraling entirely out of control.
"So, what's your plan now?"
"I'm going to eliminate myself here. Swapping players mid-tournament was technically a rule violation anyway."
"I see... Hey, do you think we'll meet again someday?"
"If you ever play ALO, absolutely."
Sinon smiled brightly at Achiman's response.
"Really...? Okay, then it's a deal! I'm definitely planning to start playing ALO!"
"Then I'll look forward to that day. See you around, Sinon."
"Yeah, see you! Um... Achiman."
"By the way, my name will probably be different when we meet."
"Huh? Really? What will it be?"
"Fufu, that's a secret. You'll have to find me."
"Ah, wait—!"
Before Sinon could stop her, Achiman raised her sidearm, shot her own avatar, and collapsed into a static corpse.
"Well, fair enough. I'll be looking forward to it, Achiman," Sinon whispered with a smile, heading down the building to regroup with Kirito.
Exiting the building, Sinon spotted Kirito almost immediately.
"Kirito-kun!"
"O-Oh... Hey, Sinon. Take a look at this..."
Kirito was staring intently at the ground. Sinon approached, brow furrowed in confusion.
"What's wrong?"
"...This."
"Huh?... W-Wait, this is..."
Hovering above the pavement where a player had collapsed was the stark, glowing text: DISCONNECTION.
"No way... You don't think..."
"It's almost certainly Shana," Kirito said grimly. There were no other players it could possibly belong to.
"Did... did Shana die in real life...?"
Sinon felt the world go dark around her at the sheer weight of her own words.
"No, no, absolutely not! Calm down, Sinon! He's definitely alive!" Kirito hastily reassured her, waving his hands.
"...Really?"
"Of course! I don't doubt that for a second. That's not what I was worried about—I was thinking about something else entirely."
"Something else?" Sinon asked, regaining her composure as relief washed over her.
"Yeah. This DISCONNECTION marker means Shana probably ordered someone on the outside to pull his physical net line so he could forcefully log out. It's the only way he could move freely in the real world right now."
"Ah... Yeah, that makes sense."
"So, why would he do that?"
"Um... A bathroom emergency?"
Kirito gave her a deadpan stare.
"J-Just kidding! Um..." Sinon fell silent, unable to come up with a plausible theory.
"Whenever he gets this desperate, it's almost always because he's trying to protect someone. I'm willing to bet that's what's happening right now."
"Protect someone? Who?"
"Trapped inside the game, none of us know what's happening in the real world. He must be acting on information he gathered in-game."
"Information he gathered here...?" Sinon tilted her head.
"Think about it. Remember when Death Gun almost shot you earlier? That's probably why."
"Eek!..."
Sinon felt a chill run down her spine.
"B-But I thought you said I was safe with guards around?"
"If you have guards, the risk is low, so maybe it's something else. But even if the killer isn't inside your house right now, they could try posing as a delivery driver to get you to open the door."
"That's... true..."
"So he might have rushed out to intercept them or head straight to your place. Either way, as soon as you log out, stay on high alert and call him immediately."
"Got it. I'll do that for sure."
Sinon readily accepted the advice. Deep down, a small part of her was secretly thrilled that she had another excuse to see Hachiman again. Despite her delicate appearance, Sinon possessed a remarkably resilient spirit.
"Now then... what should we do about the tournament outcome?"
"Why don't we go for a double victory? Ever heard of a souvenir grenade?"
"I've heard of it. You pull the pin right before you die to take the other person out with you, right?"
"Yup, pretty much."
"I'm exhausted anyway, so that works for me. What about Achiman?"
"She..." Sinon relayed Achiman's parting message to Kirito.
"I see. 'See you again in ALO,' huh?" Kirito chuckled softly. "I wonder who was actually piloting that avatar. I can't think of anyone outside of Valhalla who fits the bill, but if she says we'll meet again, let's look forward to it."
"Yeah!"
Holding a grenade together, the two shared a bright smile as they made their pact.
"Next time we meet, it'll be in ALO. I'll be waiting."
"Mm! I promised I'd start ALO if I won this tournament, so I'll definitely be there."
"A promise? With whom?"
"With Fuka-chan."
"Is that so? Then I'll be waiting, Sinon."
"Treat me well when I get there, Vice-Commander."
With a shared laugh, the two blew themselves up in a dramatic explosion, securing a dual championship victory for the 3rd Bullet of Bullets.
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