The war had ended, and a sense of lethargy had settled over the players of GGO. However, not everyone was content to simply idle away the time. For some, the end of the conflict provided the perfect cover to begin moving freely in the shadows.
"Phew. Finally, that tedious war is over. Sounds like you were on the winning side, Spiegel."
"Yeah, Noir-san. I guess you could say that."
"Well, good for you. Better than losing, at least," Noir remarked.
Spiegel gave a strained, bitter smile. Sterben, watching him closely, spoke up. "This Shana person... what's he like?"
"Shana-san? Well..." Spiegel paused, searching for the words. "To be honest, he's like a wall. No matter what I do, I feel like I can't win. In... a lot of ways."
Noir teased him with a smirk. "A lot of ways, huh? Like with women, for instance?"
"Ah, no... I mean... well, just in general," Spiegel stammered, looking away.
Sterben's voice remained cold and level. "Are you satisfied with that?"
"I'm not. Of course I'm not. But surpassing that wall... I don't think it's possible."
"Why do you feel the need to surpass him?" Sterben asked.
"What do you mean?"
It was Noir who answered for him. "Sterben is saying that if Shana were to disappear, his woman would become yours, wouldn't she?"
Spiegel blinked, looking genuinely stunned. The thought hadn't even crossed his mind. After a moment of heavy silence, he shook his head. "It wouldn't work. They're connected in the real world, too."
"The real world?" Sterben's interest piqued.
"Yeah. I heard them talking about it before," Spiegel confirmed.
"I see."
While Spiegel went off to bait some mobs for their hunt, Sterben and Noir lowered their voices to continue the conversation.
"About what he just said..." Noir began.
"Yeah," Sterben replied. "You're thinking we might be able to take Hachiman out after all, aren't you?"
"What do you think?"
"I doubt he lives alone," Sterben mused. "And even if we went at him head-on in the game, I still don't feel like I could land a single bullet on him. Neither of us is truly proficient with firearms yet."
Noir made a gesture of mock surrender. "If only we had a way to fight back properly."
"Indeed."
"So, if we're going to target someone..." Noir trailed off, letting the implication hang.
Sterben finished the thought. "The girl?"
"Exactly. That would deal indirect damage to Hachiman, wouldn't it? Though finding a high school girl who lives alone is rare."
"I recall Kyoji saying a long time ago that the girl—Sinon—lives by herself," Sterben noted.
"Seriously? Then there's a chance. But are you sure? She's your brother's crush."
Sterben's expression didn't flicker. "As long as he's the one who does the deed, and not us, there's no issue, is there?"
"Ah, I see. A crime of passion, then. But can he actually bring himself to hate her that much? Based on his attitude just now, he looked like he'd already given up."
Sterben thought for a moment before speaking. "We'll have him kill someone else first—someone irrelevant. Lower the psychological hurdle."
"Ooh, then we provoke him. That might work. Ideally, the first sacrifice should be someone connected to Hachiman."
"Ever since the war," Sterben said suddenly, "Kyoji has had a certain look in his eyes every now and then."
Noir looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"The kind of eyes we like."
Noir chuckled. "You're as short on words as ever. You mean he's started nursing a grudge against someone from the war?"
"Yes."
"In that case, let's find out who it is."
"It's a slow process," Sterben agreed, "but we start there."
Noir nodded. "How are the... 'supplies' coming along?"
"A few hurdles, but I've found a lead. It won't be a problem."
"Good. Based on my investigation, the ones we could take out right now are Garrett, Pale Rider, Usujio Tarako, and Sacrifice."
"Sacrifice?"
"Yeah. He hasn't logged in lately, but back in the early days of the war, he was the one guarding that Rosalia woman after they kidnapped her."
"I see."
"Should we have Spiegel look into Sinon? If he can get her to invite him over, the keys won't be an issue."
"Yes."
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