Yusei and Shiro had mostly recovered. In fact, Kanna had already restored both Shiro and Kaguya to full health that very day.
It was only due to their parents' worries that Yusei and Shiro had stayed in the hospital for half a month.
Today, just after being discharged and arriving home, Yusei received a phone call.
The person on the other end claimed to be from the government unit responsible for compensating SAO Incident's survivors and wanted to have a face-to-face meeting with Yusei and Shiro.
Regarding this, Yusei didn't refuse. They agreed to meet at a café not far away.
When Yusei arrived at the café and approached the agreed-upon table, he found a smiling man already seated there.
Seeing Yusei, he immediately stood up, a smile appearing on his face.
"I've long heard of the strongest player in SAO, the National Youth Kendo Champion..."
The man seemed ready to continue, but Yusei just smiled and waved his hand.
"Let's get to the main point."
Yusei sat down opposite the man and, rather impolitely, beckoned a waiter, ordering a coffee and some pastries.
After handing the menu back to the waiter, Yusei seemed to suddenly remember something, an awkward look on his face.
"I didn't bring any money. You'll cover it, right?"
The man's mouth twitched, but he smiled.
"Of course."
He noticed Yusei was alone and asked puzzledly, "Your younger sister didn't come?"
"No, she's playing at home. You can discuss anything with me; I can represent her."
Shiro was currently playing games with Kanna. Even if she weren't, Yusei wouldn't let his younger sister come to this kind of boring, fake meeting.
He could handle such thing himself.
"If that's the case, shall we get to the main topic?" The man tentatively looked at Yusei. Seeing Yusei nod, he smiled.
"Let me introduce myself first. I am Kikuoka Seijirou, responsible for the national compensation work for SAO Incident's survivor players. Here, I once again sincerely thank you for your outstanding contribution in clearing SAO."
As he spoke, Seijirou stood up and bowed seriously to Yusei with a solemn expression.
If it weren't for Koken warning him beforehand, Yusei felt this respectful attitude could really win over many people.
"No need for thanks. Compared to that, I'm more interested in what compensation the nation has for us survivors?"
Yusei spoke quite bluntly. After all, this was what he deserved.
Seijirou showed no other expression… he maintained a warm smile on his face.
"Regarding Yusei-kun's outstanding contribution to SAO, the nation is naturally very grateful. We have prepared a reward of five million yen for you and your sister."
Five million... that amount really wasn't much. If you considered the merit, the lives of the remaining several thousand players could all be credited to Yusei.
If they had all died, what kind of impact would their deaths have had on society? The losses for the Japanese's government then would have been enormous.
And Yusei could be said to have indirectly helped them a great deal. And the result was just five million yen? They should at least offer a villa in Tokyo or something, right?
Seijirou saw the disappointed look on Yusei's face and naturally knew what he was thinking, but he continued without changing his expression.
"In addition to that, both you and your sister will enjoy various conveniences provided by the state, and we will establish a special school for high school students like you who missed their studies due to SAO. This school will help you catch up on your coursework. Furthermore, when enrolling, major universities will give you priority admission and lower the required entrance exam scores."
This whole list of conditions was a killer move for those game addicts who were originally poor students.
With this guarantee, it was practically ensured admission to university, with the only difference was the quality of the university.
But at the very least, it should be a decent one, right?
However, these held no attraction for Yusei because he was already guaranteed admission anyway.
Yusei spread his hands, his expression somewhat innocent, "But I'm the Kendo Champion. Shouldn't major universities be offering me guaranteed admission?"
Seijirou had initially thought Yusei was just a high school student who would readily agree to his conditions, as there was nothing disadvantageous for them… a specialized school, lowered admission scores, university priority admission, etc.
The only thing they didn't know was that the special school would secretly observe them, that's all.
But, hearing Yusei's words, Seijirou suddenly remembered… Yusei was the Kendo Champion!
As the Kendo Champion, which university wouldn't take him? In Japan, where Kendo is respected and popular, every university would be scrambling to offer him guaranteed admission.
Thinking of this, Seijirou's smile instantly froze on his face.
'What should I do? If Kazami Yusei didn't attend, the 'observation' efficiency would drop significantly.'
This was a task assigned to him from above, failure wasn't an option.
After thinking for a moment, Seijirou finally decided to employ slightly tougher tactics.
Clearing his throat, his expression changed, becoming somewhat serious and earnest.
"Yusei-kun, you must understand that the nation is currently very concerned about the SAO's survivors. If Yusei-kun is unwilling to attend the school, it might affect your smooth entry into university later."
This statement was already quite clear. What did 'affect entry into university' mean? It implied that if you didn't come to the school, the government would instruct the Ministry of Education to block your university admission!
Yusei looked at Seijirou as if he were an idiot. He was just about to say something when his phone suddenly rang.
Looking at the caller ID, he saw it was Kaguya and immediately answered.
"Hello, Kaguya. Good morning."
There was a pause on the other end of the line, "It's already noon."
"Minor details. What's up?" Yusei laughed it off.
"Where are you right now?"
"Moses Café. Why? What's wrong?" Yusei asked, puzzled.
"I'm coming to find you now..." Kaguya's voice had just started when another lively voice came from the other end of the line.
"And me! Kaguya! Let me talk to Yusei-kun too!"
"Stop messing around. We'll go find him soon..."
Listening to the chaotic voices on the phone, Yusei was momentarily stunned. However, he did recognize who that other voice belonged to.