Chapter 139: The Seed of the World
The next morning, as promised, Hachiman and Kazuto were called out by Haruno. They were now riding in a car heading somewhere.
"Miss Haruno, where exactly are we going?"
"Hmm~? Didn't I tell you? We're going to Daisy Café."
"Daisy Café, huh?"
"Come to think of it, I asked Agil yesterday and got a general idea of the location."
"If we can confirm the exact spot, that's probably a good thing."
After driving for a while, the car stopped beside a building.
"This is the place! Alright, you two, out of the car. Tozuka, come pick us up again when I contact you."
"Yes, Lady Haruno."
After getting out, the three entered the building under Haruno's guidance.
"Oh, it must be there."
"It really does say 'Daisy Café'."
"This is my first time at a place like this. I'm kind of nervous."
"Same here. First time at a place that serves alcohol, even though we can't drink yet."
"Well then, let's go in."
When they opened the door, Agil greeted them with a big smile.
"Yo, first time meeting in person, huh?"
"True, nice to meet you. I'm Hikigaya Hachiman."
"Kirigaya Kazuto."
"I'm Andrew Gilbert Mills. Nice to meet you both."
"…?"
"…?"
"Just call me Agil like before."
"Oh, got it."
"Then I'll keep calling you Kirito too."
"Sounds good. And this here is Argo—take care of her too."
Hearing that, both of them turned around in surprise. At some point, Argo had appeared and was casually sitting at the bar.
"You two, hurry up and sit."
"Ah, okay."
"Argo, were you called here by Miss Haruno too?"
"No, it's more like I was the one who called everyone."
"Eh? Is that true, Miss Haruno?"
"Yup. We've got something important to discuss today, so I rented out the whole place."
The moment they heard that, both of their expressions changed drastically.
"D-Don't tell me… you rented it out just to punish us!?"
"I-I didn't say anything! It was all Hachiman!"
"K-Kirito… now's the time for shared hardship, right? Aren't we friends?"
"First time meeting, right? Was it Hikkitani-san?"
"Grrr… you traitor…"
"Geez, you two are making such a fuss over nothing. Relax. Today, we're here to talk about that program stored in Hachiman-kun's NerveGear."
"Ah."
"Ahhh!!"
Upon hearing that, the two of them immediately sat up straight at the bar.
"That's the one Kayaba-san gave you, right?"
"Exactly. Argo-chan finally finished analyzing it. That's why we called everyone together."
"What's this about?"
"We haven't told Agil yet, have we? So actually…"
Hachiman proceeded to explain to Agil what had happened when he encountered Kayaba after rescuing Asuna.
"Kayaba Akihiko's legacy, huh."
"He might still be out there somewhere."
"Well then, Argo-chan, mind giving us your report?"
Argo began her explanation:
"In conclusion, that program is like a seed for VRMMOs."
"VR?"
"MMO?"
"Seed?"
"Simply put, it's a program that lets the Cardinal system—which normally needs massive servers like in SAO or ALO—run on small-scale servers, and it even includes game development support functions."
Kazuto summarized:
"So it's kind of like an RPG Maker, but for VRMMOs?"
"Yeah… you could say that."
"So with this program, anyone could make a VRMMO like SAO or ALO, as long as they have the minimum system requirements?"
Argo nodded and added:
"Actually, it's even more than that."
"There's more?"
"Games made with this program can allow character transfers between each other. And this feature can't be disabled. Specifically, after a game has been running for three months, you can transfer your ALO character to the new game and start strong from the beginning. And you can return to ALO too."
"Compatibility, huh… That's insane."
"If this spreads, it could really change the world."
"So, Hachiman-kun, what do you plan to do?"
Haruno asked in an unusually serious tone.
"What do I plan to do?"
"This is a groundbreaking program capable of changing the world. It's not just for games—it could be used in medicine or military applications too. And you are the owner. It's up to you what happens next."
"You want me to decide…?"
"By the way, even with a conservative estimate, the licensing fees alone could make you a billionaire. Your beloved 'I-don't-want-to-work-ism' would become reality."
"Th-that…"
Hachiman murmured in a daze.
"What'll you do? Your name might go down in history."
"My name… in history!?"
"Hachiman's name could show up in textbooks!"
"Eh?"
"Would I be on an exam…?"
"S-Sorry for having a weird name…"
"That's what you're worried about!?" Kazuto shot back.
"Anyway, jokes aside, this is really serious."
"..."
"I don't want it."
Haruno cut in before Hachiman could say anything.
"I haven't even said anything yet!"
"You were just about to ask me to manage it, weren't you?"
"Caught me…"
"And give it to me for free, no less."
"Miss Haruno, I've been meaning to ask… are you psychic? Can you read minds?"
"Oh no, I've been found out! Should I reveal Hachiman-kun's wild fantasies from yesterday?"
"P-Please don't! I'm sorry, I was wrong!"
"Just kidding. Did you really have any wild fantasies?"
"Hachiman…"
"What is it, Kirito?"
"Hachiman…"
"What is it, Agil?"
Both men came up beside him, one from the front and one from the left, clapping his shoulders with big grins on their faces.
"Cut it out! Don't look at me like that! Argo, put the phone down! Don't you dare tell Asuna!"
"You're surprisingly observant, little Hachi."
Hachiman exhaled deeply, trying to calm himself, then asked seriously:
"Let's say—just hypothetically—what kind of impact would it have on the military industry if I publicly licensed it compared to distributing it quietly?"
"Well… the relevant industries have already introduced VR tech on their own, so it probably wouldn't make a huge difference."
"For countries without the tech, it might have more impact—but not enough to throw the world into chaos."
"I see… Then what if I spread it worldwide under an anonymous identity?"
"You sure about that?"
"Yeah. I don't know what Kayaba-san's true intentions were, but since I inherited it, I'll decide. Please spread it globally."
"Got it. Argo-chan, I'll leave it to you."
"Understood."
Suddenly, Hachiman added:
"Oh right, Miss Haruno, how about we replace ALO's Cardinal system with this program too? That would resolve the licensing issues, and completely free ALO from RECT's control. It would also make character transfers to other games easier. Isn't that killing two birds with one stone?"
After thinking for a moment, Haruno replied:
"RECT waived the license fees, but yeah, this would definitely avoid any future issues. Argo-chan?"
"Got it, I'll handle it."
"Sorry to ask when you're all so busy, but I'm counting on you."
"All that side?"
"Huh? That's classified. I'll let you know once it's declassified."
"Fair enough. No spoilers."
"Boss, hurry up and find me some reliable engineers!"
"We're screening normal people from among RECT.Progress's former tech staff. Just wait a bit. We're holding a meeting soon, and we'll get the personnel system finalized. Oh, and we've also got some ex-Argus people on board. Here's the list."
From his seat, Kazuto couldn't see the list, so he grabbed it and studied it carefully before looking up and saying:
"Miss Haruno, please take Hachiman and me to that meeting!"