Editing Sword Art Online:The Day Before (section)

===Part 7===

The scarecrow, tin figure and lion sought for a brain, a heart and courage, respectively, even in the original "The Wizard of Oz"—that was what Asuna taught me on the way back through the skies.

However, they did not get them in the end. The Wizard of Oz said this at the end of the tale. That in saving Dorothy, who was kidnapped by the witch, Scarecrow used his wisdom, Tin expressed emotions, and Lion exhibited courage. Hence, all of you already have what you've wanted—

"...So that's it, huh. That's why both Argo and you knew that Lion and the rest would stand up even without clearing the sub-quests?"

I spoke with a bitter smile and just as the female team were about to nod in pride, the house landed with a scraping sound.

Upon exiting, I confirmed that this was the empty land in the forest where I found the log house long ago. Without waiting for Asuna and me as we stood still, Argo briskly cut through the lawn and spoke with a satisfied smile on.

"Thanks for todaY, both of yoU. In return, I'll keep that bit of information a secret and not sell 'T."

"Hah? That bit of information... what are you referring to?"

"You know, don't yoU!"

She gave me a quick wink—

"I wish both of you the best, Ki-bou, Aa-chan!"

Leaving us both frozen in shock, Argo disappeared from our sight with the stealth of a ninja.

Seconds later, Asuna started giggling, prompting me to follow along and loosen the tension in my face. As we laughed together, I felt that final thorn, that was embedded deep within my chest, vanish, leaving not a single trace behind.

—What I wished for, was already within my grasp the moment I stepped forth, wanting it.

[[Image:Sword Art Online The Day Before - 070.jpg|thumb]]
I asked for Asuna to always be together with me and proposed. Hence, I have already found what I had lost then. The emotion of loving another.

"......Asuna."

Upon calling her name, Asuna stared at me with a smile still on her face.

I looked straight into those hazel eyes, glistening beautifully in the afterglow visible beyond the roof of the log house, and opened the Main Menu. Moving through two tabs, I softly pressed my finger against the button I was looking for.

I pressed down on the word, «Marriage», and touched the name, «Asuna», next.

Asuna's eyes shifted, noticing the small window appearing before her. Raising her right hand, her slender finger gently caressed the window—

"......Kirito-kun."

Asuna whispered that single word with her eyes unwaveringly on mine and pressed down on the «YES» button.


We found out the name of the autonomous control system that regulated this world, «Cardinal» a mere few days later.

As for the extraordinary «Automatic Quest Generation Function» that Cardinal was installed with, we were informed about that much, much later in the future.

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