Early and Late

by Reki Kawahara

  The large man, one of the rare few in Aincrad who actually had an athletic build, only came to a stop once he’d descended the hill into the town. He turned around, armor clanking, and lit into me, rather than Asuna.

  “Who did you talk to?”

  “Huh?” I responded, then realized that he had omitted the phrase about the ring, and I chose my words carefully. “From a former member of the guild Golden Apple.”

  Beneath his short, spiky hair, his heavy eyebrows twitched.

  “Who?”

  I hesitated here but realized that if Schmitt had actually done the killing yesterday, he would also know that Yolko was with Kains at the time. There was no point in hiding it.

  “Yolko,” I answered, and the large man looked up briefly, releasing a long breath. I kept my face passive as my mind raced. If I was correct in taking that reaction as relief, that would be because he knew that Yolko was on his side in opposing the sale of the ring.

  Schmitt, too, had come to the conclusion that the killing yesterday was very likely revenge from one of the “sell the ring” voters, which included Grimlock. That’s why he’d faked an illness to stay within the safety of the guild building.

  It was looking increasingly unlikely that Schmitt was responsible for the murder of Kains, but that didn’t mean he had no motive. If both Kains and Schmitt had carried out the killing over the ring, one might still kill the other to silence him. With this in mind, I decided to be direct.

  “Schmitt, do you know where we might find Grimlock, the creator of the spear you took yesterday?”

  “I…I don’t know!!” Schmitt shouted, shaking his head violently. “I haven’t talked to him since the guild fell apart. I don’t even know if he’s alive!” he babbled, his eyes dancing over the various buildings of the town. He seemed to be afraid another spear might come flying at him any second now.

  At this point, Asuna broke her silence and gently said, “Listen, Schmitt, we’re not searching for whoever killed the leader of Golden Apple. We’re looking for who caused the incident last night…Specifically, any clues to it. It’s the only way to ensure that the safe haven stays safe for everyone.”

  She paused, then continued in a tone more serious than before. “I’m afraid that currently, the most suspicious character is the creator of that spear and husband to your guild leader: Grimlock. Of course, it’s possible that someone is trying to frame him, but in order to judge that possibility, we need to speak to Grimlock directly. If you have any idea of where he is now or how he can be reached, will you tell us?”

  With those large hazel-brown eyes trained on him, Schmitt leaned back slightly. So he was not particularly comfortable with talking to female players. A kindred spirit.

  He looked away and clenched his lips. If Asuna’s head-on attack wasn’t going to do the trick, he was a worthy foe indeed. I resigned myself to a tougher time than I’d hoped for, but then Schmitt began to mumble.

  “…I don’t know where he is. Truly. At the time, Grimlock really loved a particular NPC restaurant. He went there practically every day, so maybe he’s still a regular…”

  “R-really?” I asked, leaning forward.

  In Aincrad, eating was essentially the only pleasure to be found in the game. But it was also very rare to find a satisfactory flavor among the cheaper NPC restaurants. If he’d found a place he liked enough to visit every day, that was a tough habit to break. Even I took my daily meals on a rotation of just three particular establishments—and that mysterious eatery from earlier was not one of them.

  “Can you tell us the name of the—”

  “On one condition,” Schmitt said, interrupting me. “I can tell you, but you need to do something for me in return. Help me…see Yolko again.”

  Asuna and I had Schmitt wait at a nearby general store and huddled together to discuss the deal.

  “There’s…no danger in this, right? Or is there?”

  “Hmmm…” I grunted, unable to make a judgment on that question in the moment.

  If Schmitt—or even more unlikely, Yolko—was really the culprit in yesterday’s safe-haven murder, then it was highly probable that they would make the other person their next target. It wasn’t out of the question that as soon as they met in person, that safe-haven PK trick would come into play again, leading to a new fatality.

  But if that were the case, they would have to equip a weapon and utilize a sword skill. And that required at least four or five seconds to open the window, switch weapons on the equipment mannequin, and hit the OK button.

  “As long as we don’t take our eyes off of them, there shouldn’t be any opportunity for a PK. But if that’s not the point of this meeting, why is Schmitt asking us to bring him together with Yolko?” I asked, spreading my hands. Asuna inclined her head, thinking hard.

  “Let’s see…I’m guessing it’s not so he can finally express his love for her.”

  “Huh? Really?”

  I started to spin around to look at Schmitt, who looked like he could possibly be that innocent, but Asuna grabbed the collar of my coat to stop me. “I just said it wasn’t that! Anyway, if there’s no danger in it, then it just depends on Yolko. I’ll shoot her a message to see.”

  “Y-yes, ma’am. Please do.”

  She opened her window and typed away on her holo-keyboard with blazing speed. Friend messages were a convenient function that allowed you to speak immediately with someone in a remote location, but they had strict requirements: You had to be registered either as friends, guildmates, or spouses. So just because we knew Grimlock’s name didn’t mean we could just send him a message. Technically, there were “instant messages” that could be sent if you knew a player’s name, but they only worked if on the same level, and there was no confirmation for the sender that the message was seen.

  Yolko must have replied immediately, as Asuna didn’t even need to close her window before she muttered, “She says okay. I can’t say I’m not nervous…but let’s take him. We can go to Yolko’s inn, right?”

  “Yeah. It’s still too dangerous for her to be out and about,” I agreed, then fully turned to Schmitt this time, who was still waiting at the store behind us. I flashed him the okay sign, and the heavily armored man made an expression of obvious relief.

  By the time the three of us teleported from the fifty-ninth floor to Marten on the fifty-seventh, the city was already blanketed in evening sun.

  The square was full of the raucous cries of NPCs and merchant players hawking wares. Adventurers walked among them, easing the fatigue of the day’s fighting, but there was one spot in the plaza that was desolate.

  It was the facade of a small church, the place where the man named Kains had died under mysterious and shocking circumstances just twenty-four hours earlier. I had to keep my gaze fixed straight ahead to avoid staring at it.

  After a few minutes of walking the same path we’d taken yesterday, we reached the inn and headed upstairs. The room at the very end of the hallway was the place where Yolko was staying—or hiding for protection.

  I knocked on the door and said my name.

  She responded in a tiny voice, and I turned the knob. The door lock was set to only open for friends, and it clicked lightly as I pushed it open.

  Yolko was sitting on one of the two sofas facing each other in the center of the room, directly through the door. She got to her feet and bowed, dark blue hair swaying.

  Without taking a step, I looked from Yolko’s tense expression to Schmitt’s equally nervous face behind me and said, “Well…just to confirm that it’s safe, we’re going to ask that neither of you have any weapons equipped or open your windows. I’m sorry to force that upon you, but I hope you understand.”

  “…Yes.”

  “I understand.”

  Yolko’s hesitant whisper and Schmitt’s disgruntled mutter came at the same time. I stepped inside and motioned to Schmitt and Asuna.

  The two former Golden Apple members, who were meeting again for the first time in m
onths, stared at each other in silence for a long time. Yolko and Schmitt had once been guildmates, but now there had to be at least twenty levels between them, given that Schmitt was a busy member of a major front-line guild. But to my eyes, it was the sturdy lancer who was more nervous about the meeting.

  In the end, it was Yolko who spoke first.

  “…It’s been a while, Schmitt.”

  She smiled thinly. Schmitt pursed his lips, then rasped, “Yes…and I thought I’d never see you again. May I sit?”

  Yolko nodded, and he clanked in his plate armor over to the sofas, sitting on the other one. It looked uncomfortable to me, but he did not remove his armor.

  I made sure that the door had locked itself again, then took position on the east side of the parallel couches. Asuna stood on the other end.

  We’d gotten the most expensive room for Yolko while she had no choice but to stay in hiding, so even with the four of us inside, it felt spacious. The main door was on the north wall, the doorway to the bedroom was to the west, and there were large windows to the east and south.

  The south window was open, the pleasant spring breeze rustling the curtains. Of course, the window was protected by the game system, so no one could get inside, even when it stood wide open. It was a taller building than those around it, so there was a good view of the darkening town past the white curtains, as the light deepened into purple.

  The bustle of the city outside was interrupted by Yolko’s voice. “You’re in the Divine Dragon Alliance now, Schmitt. That’s very good—they’re the best, even among the front-line players.”

  It sounded like an honest compliment, but Schmitt’s brow furrowed unhappily. He rumbled, “What do you mean? You find that unnatural?”

  His suspicious, barbed response took me by surprise, but Yolko was not affected.

  “Hardly. I just think that you must have worked really hard after the end of our guild. It’s very admirable of you, when Kains and I gave up on leveling further.”

  She brushed back the dark hair resting on her shoulders and smiled. While it wasn’t to the same level as Schmitt in his plate armor, Yolko, too, was more dressed up than usual. She wore a thick one-piece dress with a leather vest, then a purple velvet tunic, and even a shawl on her shoulders. Even without any metal, this much clothing would provide a significant armor boost. While she was acting calm and collected, she had to be nervous on the inside.

  Meanwhile, Schmitt made no attempt to hide his discomfort. He leaned forward, armor clattering. “Enough about me! The only reason I’m here…is to ask about Kains.” His tone of voice dropped lower. “Why would he be murdered, after all this time?! Did…did he steal the ring? Was he the one who killed our leader in GA?”

  I realized at once that “GA” stood for Golden Apple. His question essentially announced that he had nothing to do with the ring incident or the safe-haven murder. If it was an act, it was a good one.

  For the first time, Yolko’s expression shifted. Her faint smile vanished, and she glared at Schmitt. “Of course not. Both Kains and I fully revered the leader. We opposed selling the ring because we wanted to use it to strengthen the guild, rather than have us split the money and waste it. I’m sure that she felt the same way about it.”

  “Yeah…I felt that way, too. Don’t forget, I also opposed selling it. Besides, it’s not just the anti-sellers who had a motive to steal the ring. One of the pro-sellers might have wanted to seize it so they could get all of the money themselves!”

  He slammed his gauntleted hand against his knee, then held his head in his hands.

  “So…why would Grimlock go after Kains now…? Is he going to kill all three of us for voting against selling? Is he coming after you and me?!”

  It couldn’t possibly be an act. When I looked at Schmitt’s profile, with the way he clenched his teeth, I saw clear, undeniable fear.

  Meanwhile, Yolko had regained her calm composure. She said, “We don’t know for certain that it was Grimlock who killed Kains. It could have been one of the other members who asked him to make that spear. In fact…” She looked down at the low table between the two sofas and mumbled, “Couldn’t it have been the leader’s revenge? There’s no way for any ordinary player to kill someone like that in a safe zone.”

  “Wha…”

  Schmitt’s mouth gaped wordlessly. I couldn’t deny that I felt a tiny chill run up my back, too. He looked back at the grinning Yolko and said, “But you just said that Kains couldn’t have stolen the ring…”

  Yolko stood without responding and took a step to the right. With both hands clasped behind her back and her face toward us, she stepped backward toward the open window to the south. As her slippers softly snickered against the ground, she murmured, “I stayed up all night thinking. Someone among the guild killed the leader, but in the end, it was also all of us. We shouldn’t have taken a vote when the ring dropped. She should have just made an order for us to follow. In fact, she should have used it herself. She was the best swordfighter of all of us, and she would have made the best use of the ring. Yet none of us suggested it, because we were all too blinded by greed in our own ways. We all claimed we wanted to make GA a front-line guild, but we just wanted to strengthen ourselves as individuals.”

  When her long speech ended, Yolko’s back was resting against the windowsill. As she leaned back, she added, “Only Grimlock said he would leave it up to her discretion. Only he abandoned his greed and thought of the guild as a whole. So he has the right to seek vengeance against all of us for not giving up our desires for the sake of the leader…”

  Amid the silence that fell, the only sound was the chilly whispering of the evening breeze. Eventually, the sound of clattering metal broke the silence: Schmitt’s plate armor as he trembled. The veteran player, his face pale and downcast, mumbled, “…You must be kidding. You must be kidding. Now…? All these months later, now he wants revenge…?”

  He sprang upward, shouting. “And you think that’s fine, Yolko?! After all the efforts we’ve made to survive, you think it’s fine for us to be killed in some bizarre, inexplicable way?!”

  Schmitt, Asuna, and I all looked at Yolko. The fragile-looking woman was gazing here and there into empty space, as though looking for the right words.

  Finally her lips moved, preparing to say something.

  At that very moment, a dry sound echoed off the walls. Her eyes and mouth shot wide open. Next, her frail body swayed. She took a heavy step to steady herself, then wobbled around, placing a hand on the open windowsill.

  A sudden gust of wind sent Yolko’s hair swaying off of her back. There, I saw something I could not believe.

  From the center of her shining purple tunic jutted something like a small black stick. It was so insignificant and cheap-looking that for an instant, I didn’t recognize it. But when I saw the blinking red light surrounding the stick, I felt a chill of terror.

  It was the hilt of a throwing dagger. The entire blade was buried in her body. In other words, the knife had flown from outside of the window and pierced Yolko’s back.

  Her body wobbled backward and forward, until she tilted perilously over the sill.

  “Ah—!” Asuna gasped. I leaped forward, reaching out to grab Yolko and pull her back.

  But my fingers only grazed the end of her shawl, and she fell silently out of the building.

  “Yolko!!” I screamed, leaning out of the window.

  Down below, her body bounced off of the cobblestones, surrounded by a blue glow.

  There was the tiniest, most insignificant shattering sound. The mass of polygons expanded, pushed by the burst of blue light…

  And a second later, only the black dagger was left behind, clattering against the stone.

  7

  That’s impossible!! the voice in my head screamed, a sentiment that came for multiple reasons.

  The inn room was protected by the game code. Even with the window open, there was absolutely no way to get inside, let alone throw a weapon thro
ugh.

  And it was hard to imagine such a small throwing dagger having enough piercing damage, even over time, to wipe out the entirety of a mid-level player’s HP. It hadn’t taken more than five seconds at the longest for Yolko to disappear after being hit by the dagger.

  It was impossible. This was more than just a safe-haven PK; it was an instant kill.

  I forced myself to look down at the cobblestones where Yolko had fallen, fighting off the breath caught in my throat and the terrible chill racing up and down my back. Then I looked up, eyes wide, tracking the outline of the town like a camera.

  And then I saw it.

  The roof of another building the same height as this one, about two blocks away from the inn. And standing atop it, a black figure against the deep purple gloom.

  I couldn’t see the face due to the hooded black robe he was wearing. I shoved aside the word Death as I bellowed, “You bastard!!”

  I planted my right foot on the sill and, without looking back, yelled, “Take care of the rest, Asuna!!”

  Then I jumped, leaping straight to the roof of the building across the street.

  However, even with an excellent agility stat to boost my jump, it was a bit naive of me to think I could clear fifteen feet without a running start, so rather than landing on my feet, I just barely managed to snag the lip of the roof with an outstretched hand. Now it was my strength stat that helped me flip myself upward and over the roof, back onto my feet.

  From behind me, I heard Asuna’s panicked voice cry, “You can’t, Kirito!”

  The reason for her command was obvious: If I took a hit from that same throwing dagger attack, I might die just as quickly as Yolko had.

  But I wasn’t going to let fear of my own mortality keep me from getting a glimpse of the killer in the flesh. I was the one who had guaranteed Yolko’s safety. I had shortsightedly assumed that the game system would keep her safe, and I failed to think of other possibilities. If I was going to rely on the system’s protection, it would have worked anywhere in town. Why hadn’t I considered that a player who would pull off a safe-haven PK could also break through the protection of an inn room?