"Don't look genuinely disappointed, Krishna!"
Ignoring Hachiman's frantic protests, Kirito pivoted to another question.
"Hey, Krishna, what about something like dementia? Is it possible to extract memories from a patient suffering from that?"
"Yes, I believe that should be possible."
"Huh. Then if technology advances to the point where we can safely use neural implants, could we copy those extracted memories back into the implant to assist the brain's cognitive functions? Couldn't that potentially cure dementia?"
"That..." Krishna paused, momentarily struck speechless by the sheer scope of the idea.
"An implant alone could certainly revolutionize treatment once the tech matures. As for the rest... honestly, we won't know until we run the simulations. But you really are incredible, Kirito-kun. When you graduate high school, you should absolutely come straight to my university. I'm certain my professor would welcome you with open arms."
"It's definitely an interesting option," Kirito replied with a small smile. "Though my plan is to work for Soleil after graduation."
"Well, maybe I could just convince my professor to bring the whole lab over to Soleil... That would certainly streamline our research."
Listening to the exchange, Hachiman chimed in. "If you can actually pull that off, I'm sure there'd be a mountain of red tape, but as far as Soleil is concerned, we'd welcome you both with open arms."
"I'll definitely bring it up with the professor. It would certainly make utilizing the Kayaba AI data a lot easier."
"On that front, I can provide you with clean baseline data for about two AI templates to start with. Anything beyond that will have to be negotiated."
"Even that much is a massive help. Thank you."
"Hey, we're the ones getting your expertise. Thank you."
With that, their discussion for the day drew to a close. Krishna expressed a deep reluctance to leave, repeatedly promising Yui and Kizmel that she would come back to talk to them soon.
"Well, as long as you log into ALO, you can see them whenever you want. Just drop by whenever you have a free moment."
"Yeah, I plan to log in every chance I get."
"You really are dedicated to your craft."
"Of course I am. This could let me finish the Amadeus system in one fell swoop."
"Amadeus?"
"The system I mentioned earlier—the one that integrates human memory into an AI framework."
"Ah, right. Got it."
With the conversation winding down, Kirito stretched his arms. "Alright, let's head out and log off. I wouldn't mind grabbing a light bite before bed if anyone's down."
"Sounds good to me."
"Asuna should be back around now, right?"
"Probably. Let's head out. Yui, Kizmel, see you guys later."
"Yes! See you soon, Papa!"
"Krishna, it was an absolute pleasure meeting you today. Please come again."
"I will, definitely."
When Kurisu woke up on Asuna's bed, the reality of everything that had just happened rushed back to her, leaving her heart racing with excitement. Suddenly, a voice called out from the foot of the bed.
"You look like you're in a great mood. Did you have fun?"
"Eek—! Oh, Asuna-san! You're back?"
"Yep, just a little while ago."
Asuna asked her how she had enjoyed her first real experience inside ALO.
"It was incredible on so many levels... It feels like my research is finally going to make a massive leap forward. Today was an amazing day."
"I'm so glad to hear that! Oh, I whipped up a little late-night snack for us, so let's call the other two and head downstairs."
"Sounds perfect, thank you."
The two girls joined Hachiman and Kazuto downstairs, where they all happily dug into the bowls of udon Asuna had prepared.
"Since it's so late, I made something easy on the stomach but filling enough to help you sleep," Asuna explained warmly.
"Sasuga, Asuna," Kazuto teased, nudging Hachiman. "Honestly, Hachiman, you should just marry her already."
"A-Ah... well, yeah, down the line," Hachiman muttered, clearing his throat.
"Look who's talking, Kazuto," Hachiman countered quickly. "You and Rika need to stop dragging your feet too..."
"Welp, walked right into that one..." Kazuto groaned.
Watching the warm, comfortable banter unfold, Kurisu felt a wave of genuine happiness wash over her, grateful to have found a place among them.
(Maybe I really should try to enjoy ALO a bit more.)
Taking up Asuna's offer, Kurisu ended up staying the night at Hachiman's place. Hachiman offered to drive her back to her hotel first so she could grab a change of clothes.
"Thank you so much for everything. Truly."
"Don't worry about it. Seeing you hit it off with Asuna makes me happy too."
"Come to think of it, don't you have a younger sister?"
"Yeah, Komachi. She's a member of Valhalla too. She's actually having a sleepover at her upperclassman's house tonight. Though, to be fair, that upperclassman is also in Valhalla."
Chatting casually along the way, they reached the hotel. Kurisu grabbed her things, and Hachiman drove her back. Eventually, Hachiman turned in with Kazuto while Asuna and Kurisu headed up to Asuna's room. After staying up a bit longer to talk about everything under the sun, the four of them finally drifted off to sleep.
From that night on, Kurisu became a frequent visitor at the house, regularly staying over whenever Asuna invited her.
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