Late autumn weather.

Speaking of which, what month was it now?

While thinking that, Haruyuki walked along the path to the hospital that he was now completely accustomed to. The rhythm of his shoes hitting the pavement quickened unconsciously. ‘I’ll be sweaty by the time I get there’, he thought, but even so he couldn’t stop himself.

Today was the day that Kuroyukihime was finally being moved from the ICU to the general recovery ward.

Of course, the ICU prohibited direct meetings, so the last time they had actually seen each other face-to-face was two weeks ago. As such, it was inevitable that he walked with slightly light steps.

He had dashed out of school the instant classes had ended, so the November sun was still high in the sky and warm sunlight pressed down on his back. The charging data-collecting group of the newspaper club, who had heard information about it from somewhere, had been lying in wait for him at the school gates, but he had activated his recently rusty ?running-and-escaping skill? and somehow succeeded in escaping to outside the local net.

He had also been feeling light on Sunday yesterday, as they had gone out to play as three childhood friends for the first time in so long.

Leaving aside when Haruyuki had carelessly connected to the sightseeing tourist network while they were climbing up the New Tokyo Tower and had been challenged to a ?duel? (which he had luckily won by having the advantage of super-height), it had been a very fun day off without any trouble.

On the day of that decisive battle three weeks ago, Haruyuki and Takumu had visited Chiyuri’s house together, and had confessed everything, really everything, in Chiyuri’s room.

The reason why Takumu confessed to Chiyuri two years ago, the reason why Takumu was steadily driven into a wall since then, and the reason why Haruyuki and Takumu recently had come to a confrontation where they knocked their innermost feelings against each other.

Chiyuri didn’t easily believe in the existence of ?Brain Burst? at first.

In the end, Haruyuki and Takumu had ?accelerated?, and by finishing the homework that had been taken out by Chiyuri for that day, she finally admitted it was real, but there was an even greater obstacle after that.

When Takumu confessed about the Backdoor virus he had obtained from his ?Parent?, a blue Burst Linker who served as the captain of his kendo club, and about how he installed it in Chiyuri, Chiyuri displayed an explosion that exceeded Haruyuki’s expectations by several times, and had thrown them out of her room while screaming that she hated both of them, that their friendship was over.

After that, Chiyuri didn’t speak to them for a week, but she spent time considering Takumu’s feelings in her own way and thought that she herself was part of the reason that Takumu did that as well, and so she forgave the two of them on the condition that they would treat her to as many first-class parfaits as she could eat.

Truthfully, Chiyuri and Takumu were still awkward together even now.

But, Haruyuki believed that would be settled with time.

Because Haruyuki and Takumu, after ten years, had finally entered the relationship between them that Chiyuri had wished for—true best friends.

No, probably something more than that,

Right now, Cyan Pile and Silver Crow were a tag team that fought shoulder-to-shoulder in Kuroyukihime’s legion.

After signing into the hospital network while greeting that female nurse he had become completely friendly with with a smile, Haruyuki aimed for the hospitalization ward on the top floor at the highest permissible speed.

He got out from the elevator he had used during the duel, and followed the navigation line towards the hospital room with the room number that he was sent by mail.

The bouquet of flowers in his right hand had flower buds of a breed that were closest to black, among pink Gypsophila flowers and tropical water lilies. They weren’t in season, so it was expensive beyond his expectations and he had used up all his meager savings that were for buying new game software, but his intention to buy it had already vanished anyway. Since software more exciting than ?Brain Burst? couldn’t possibly exist in this world.

After walking for only a few minutes, the navigation line quickly stopped short within his vision.

In front of him, there was a sliding door to a private room in the southeast corner of the top floor.

“Umm..”

Haruyuki gulped fiercely, and rehearsed in his brain the words he should say.

‘Congratulations’..is that good? No, she hasn’t been discharged from the hospital yet, so it would be a little strange. ‘Good work’..is of course a no. ‘It’s been a while’..that’s no good either. I meet with her every day on the net. Umm, aaah, what should I do?

SHU.

The door suddenly slid open in front of him, and Haruyuki confusedly sprang back.

Now, a scolding voice came from inside.

“Hey you, how many minutes do you intend to make me wait! Hurry up and enter!”

“Ye..Yes!”

Crying out in a pitiful voice, Haruyuki crossed the door threshold with teetering footsteps while shrinking his shoulders as much as possible.

After hearing the sound of the door closing behind him, he looked up cautiously.

At that instant—all of the wide hospital room, the scenery outside the window, and even the big bed were excluded from his sight.

The only thing that Haruyuki caught sight of was the form of the person he was seeing for the first time in three weeks, wearing cute pink pajamas and a black cardigan.

She seemed to have become a little thin. Her originally white skin had lost even more color as if becoming transparent, her always silky and flowing hair was gathered in a braid that seemed tightly firm, and her entire left leg was covered up by a big cast.

But.

Those eyes—just those big jet-black pair of eyes, which looked as if they sealed the night sky inside, welcomed Haruyuki with a radiance that hadn’t changed at all from before.

Kuroyukihime wore a smile like a just-blooming flower bud on her face, and spoke in a slightly hoarse voice.

“Hey..it’s been a while, Haruyuki-kun.”

“Ye..Yes.”

With all the words he had been considering completely blown away, Haruyuki simply nodded while blinking his eyes many times.

After looking at each other like that for nearly ten seconds, Haruyuki finally came to his senses and stepped forward a few steps while holding out the small bouquet.

“U..Umm, please have this, though it’s small.”

“Thank you.”

Kuroyukihime and accepted it in her hands. She brought it near her face and breathed in the fragrance.

“?Black Lotuses?, huh. I look forward to when they bloom. I’m sorry, but since the vase is over there, could you draw the water and arrange them?”

“Yes!”

Haruyuki poured water from the sink in the corner of the room into a small vase on the sideboard, put in the received bouquet and then came back.

Silence once again.

The one who undid their connected gazes was Kuroyukihime. Suddenly putting on a stern expression, she spoke in a voice with increased hardness along with a light cough.

“Then..let me hear the report about the aforementioned matter. Please sit on the chair there.”

“Ah..Y-Yes.”

That’s right, this wasn’t a merry-and-frolicking situation.

Though he thought that, Haruyuki quietly put his body on the visitor’s chair while feeling a touch of loneliness.

He operated his virtual desktop and slid the report he had gathered over to Kuroyukihime.

“Umm.. As mentioned before, the Backdoor program was given out in absolute secrecy to several subordinates by Taku’s ?Parent? for trial use, but thanks to the patch on the matching server last week, it can’t be used at all anymore. It seems that the ?Parent? was ?executed? within the Blue Legion..in other words, he was punished by the loss of all his points. However, it seems that he never confessed about who was the maker of that program..”

“Hmph, I see.”

Kuroyukihime let out a short breath and placed her head on her crossed arms behind her with a thud.

“Most likely, it came from the yellow side, whose specialty is conspiracies. Instead of using it on themselves, they tested it out on an upper-echelon member of an enemy legion. Well, someday I’ll yank out the black curtain with my own hand.”

Muttering dangerous words while moving her right hand’s finger in imitation of a sword, Kuroyukihime then changed expressions and looked at Haruyuki.

“Then, how is it, our legion?”

“Yes..that is, you could say it’s passable, we’ve somehow gained control of the ?Suginami Third Battle District? and ?Fourth Battle District?.”

“Fufufu, that is a small territory. But, it’s splendid. It’s just right for a legion composed of only three members.”

Kuroyukihime’s shoulders shook a little and she laughed.

The Black Legion, ?Nega Nebulas?. In the past it was said to have been a huge group which ranked among the legions of the Six Kings, but had broken up during the event two years ago and followed the path of extinction. It had brilliantly revived in that declaration—it was good until that point, but at any rate its members were only three people for the moment, consisting of Kuroyukihime, Haruyuki and Takumu, and moreover the strongest rebel ?Black Lotus? couldn’t go out to actual battles for the time being. It took all their might just to protect the field around Umesato Middle School.

As if guessing what was within Haruyuki’s mind, Kuroyukihime spoke while smiling.

“Don’t be so downhearted. There’s no need to be impatient..increasing our comrades and expanding our area little by little is fine.”

“Ye..Yes.”

Haruyuki nodded, and put his hand in his uniform’s pocket in order to wipe his sweat that was running just a little from meeting after such a long time. Then, instead of a handkerchief, his fingers touched something else.

He pulled out the item he had completely forgotten about. The student handbook with a blue cover that was no longer used for its original purpose now and in the future. It was Kuroyukihime’s.

“Ah..that’s right, I was holding on to this. I’ll return it to you.”

Kuroyukihime looked at the notebook he had held out while he said that without thinking really well, and—

She blinked several times, opened her mouth a little, and suddenly blood rushed to her cheeks.

HASHI! Taking the notebook as if snatching it away, she held it to her chest and looked down again.

“....Did you look inside?”

A question that was issued in a faint-sounding voice.

Haruyuki finally realized the reason for Kuroyukihime’s reaction.

“Yes! No, yes, no, that is, yes, umm..I..I looked..”

SHIIN.

Suddenly, a short phrase tore through the super-high density frozen atmosphere.

“Forget it.”

“..Hah?”

“Erase it completely from your memories and never touch it again. If you speak of this matter from now on, you will experience my Level 9 special technique with your body.”

Hiii!?

Gulping, Haruyuki shook his head furiously.

“I won’t talk about it, I won’t remember it! Ah, I forgot, I completely forgot it just now!”

Keeping her chin up, she glared at the sweating Haruyuki with a sidelong glance.

Kuroyukihime then sighed with a ‘Dear me’, and gave a smile.

“Geez..Even though you’re the ?Silver Crow? whose name is already famous now in Accel World, you’re still always like that, Haruyuki-kun.”

While removing some of the tension in his shoulders, Haruyuki also answered back.

“E-Even Kuroyukihime is the same, your scariness hasn’t changed at all..?Black Lotus?-san.”

“How rude. I’m always kind..but, speaking of that, Haruyuki-kun.”

Giving a cough, Kuroyukihime changed attitudes and spoke with a gentle smile.

“Isn’t it about time you stopped calling me by my nickname and used my real name?”

“Ah..Ye..Yes.”

After nodding.

Haruyuki—

Realized an unbelievable fact that made him shudder.

“Ah......Umm.”

“Hmm..?”

“I..I..don’t..know..senpai’s..real name..”

BISHI.

It was as if the world froze again with a hardness and density that was the same as, no, more than when he ?accelerated?.

However, it was soon melted by a laugh mixed with a sigh by Kuroyukihime.

“I say, you..Didn’t you look in my student handbook?”

“Ah..err..that is, I only quickly looked inside it once..”

“Fufu. You really are you, Haruyuki-kun. Then, I’ll introduce myself once again. Though, even if I say that, it isn’t much different from my nickname.”

A gentle wind blew in from the slightly opened window, and the fragrance of the black lotuses softly spread.

Spreading out her thin body a little and putting both hand together in front of her chest, and the top-class beautiful rebellious Black King then spoke in a clear-sounding voice.

“My name is..”