"So, Seiya, what you're saying is that the players who are still in a coma are the ones our company, RECT, was responsible for? And that the culprit behind their condition is an insider from our research team?"
Two years had passed, and most people had forgotten about this. The number of players they were originally responsible for didn't match the number of players still in a coma due to deaths in the game, so most people didn't notice this commonality. However, very few would have thought that the comatose SAO players would have a connection to RECT.
"To be able to trap players' consciousnesses, you need a certain level of access to their full-dive terminals. Besides the developer, ARGUS, and the players themselves, the only ones who had access to those terminals two years ago were you, who tried to find a way to free the players. The list of players you were responsible for was probably destroyed by the person who did this. So, I won't waste your time letting you look for a mole. I'll just tell you directly: the one who is currently holding the consciousnesses of your daughter, Asuna Yuuki, and 300 other players hostage in ALO is the man you trust and think highly of, Sugou Nobuyuki."
Shouzo was shocked by Seiya's words. When Seiya said an insider from their team was responsible, many faces had crossed his mind, but Sugou's was not one of them. The reason was simple: Sugou had always seemed kind and honest in his eyes. He had made many contributions to the company over the years and had earned his trust. Shouzo had even thought about setting him up with his daughter. Now, Seiya was telling him that Sugou was the traitor!
"It's precisely because you think it's impossible and trust the person who's holding your daughter captive that I say it's your fault Asuna is in a coma. If you want to know if Sugou is the traitor, why not test him? It shouldn't be hard for a boss like you to set a trap. While it's not hard for me to get rid of that scum, I told you I want to live a quiet life without attracting attention. So the best way is to work with you. With your business connections, I'm sure you can set a trap for him that will land him in jail for the rest of his life, right?"
With that, Seiya prepared to leave. He had said everything he needed to say. As long as Shouzo wasn't an idiot, he would investigate and find the truth. Seiya didn't leave through the "special route" this time; he was respectfully escorted to the door by Shouzo's secretary.
"Miss Yuuki, who was that boy just now?" a security guard at the front entrance asked curiously. Miss Yuuki was a high-ranking secretary at the company. She was rarely so polite, even to clients. The fact that she was so respectful to a young boy suggested that he might be the heir of a big corporation.
"Don't ask questions you shouldn't! If this person ever comes to the company to see Mr. Yuuki, just let me know, and I'll personally take care of him," the secretary replied sternly.
"Hmph, what's so great about her? A flashy bitch who's been ridden by who knows how many people behind the scenes!" the other guard muttered.
"I even saw her give him her number. Who does she think she is, trying to get a young boy's attention?" The two guards watched as the secretary walked away and quietly cursed at her. They swore that one day, they would become rich and make her regret her actions.
Meanwhile, Seiya, who was walking home, looked at the phone number on the note the secretary had given him. He was about to throw it away, but he thought he might need it to contact Shouzo later. He swore he wasn't keeping the note for any other reason.
When Seiya got home, Shouzo hadn't wasted any time. He had already summoned Sugou to his office. Sugou, who had just been in ALO as Oberon, mocking the trapped Asuna, wasn't surprised by Shouzo's call. He even sneered at Asuna, "Soon, you'll be a hundred percent obedient to me. No one in ALO can save you, not even the Wenren Seiya you keep talking about. I'm not like Kayaba Akihiko. I don't have a naive dream or believe in fair play. Besides, no matter how good that Wenren Seiya is in the game, in the real world, he's just a brat. Now that your father completely trusts me, what can a high school student do?"
After his little monologue, Sugou logged out. He still had to be respectful to Shouzo before his experiments were successful and he could invade Asuna's brain. He would eventually have full control over Asuna, and then he would be able to steal power from Shouzo. He fixed his face to look as harmless as ever before entering Shouzo's office.
"Mr. Yuuki, I heard you were looking for me?"
Shouzo, who was at his desk, spoke in his usual tone. "It's nothing important. I just wanted to ask you about the current operation of ALO. Also, the online regulatory department came by today. They wanted a copy of the list of SAO players that RECT was responsible for to cross-reference their data. Do you still have a copy of that list?"