"Wait, no way... Is a Kayaba-engineered AI really this incredible?"
"Sorry, I don't really have a baseline for comparison, so I can't say for sure..."
"Well, to be fair, I knew she was out of the ordinary from the moment we first met."
"No, you don't understand, this is insane! It defies logic! Honestly, Mamiya-san comes across as way more AI-like than she does!"
"That's just how Culus is..."
"Come to think of it, 'Kurisu' and 'Culus' sound pretty similar. Don't tell me Krishna is actually an AI, too?"
"Don't just lump us together because our names sound alike!"
Krishna fired back, the thrill of the discovery still coursing through her. She was visibly riding a high, so much so that Yui instinctively shrank back, and even Kizmel took a half-step behind Hachiman.
"Hey, Krishna, tone it down a bit. You're startling Yui and Kizmel. Just catch your breath for a second."
"O-Oh, I'm sorry... I didn't mean to scare you."
"Hey, I get it," Hachiman offered, trying to defuse the tension. "Getting a glimpse of some mind-blowing, undiscovered tech like this? Anyone would get fired up."
"Right? Thank you! At least Kirito-kun understands. Ugh, what I wouldn't give to take a completely blank Kayaba AI back to the lab with me right now."
"Kyouma wasn't kidding... You really are a textbook mad scientist character, aren't you?"
"O-Okabe has absolutely nothing to do with this right now!"
"Right, right. Whatever you say."
Deciding they all needed a moment to ground themselves, Hachiman turned to Kizmel and asked if she could brew some tea. With practiced, graceful movements, Kizmel prepared the refreshments and set a cup down in front of Krishna.
"Thank you."
"Alright. Let's start by filling you in on Yui and Kizmel."
"Yes, please do."
Hachiman began with Yui, explaining how she was originally designed to monitor and care for the players' mental health. He described how the sheer weight of witnessing the players' collective despair had triggered a sort of psychological defense mechanism, plunging her into an amnesiac state. It was only when she found stability by projecting onto Hachiman and Asuna as her father and mother that she began to recover.
"I can hardly believe it... An AI actively seeking out paternal and maternal bonds on its own intuition?"
"Well, I suppose it means she accumulated an immense amount of complex data all at once," Kirito added. "Compared to Kizmel, Yui was definitely exposed to a much wider, more volatile spectrum of human emotion."
Since Kizmel's name had come up, Hachiman naturally transitioned into explaining her background next.
"I see... So she was originally a quest NPC. But in the end, because she couldn't bear the thought of being separated from you all, she willed herself to survive..."
"Yeah, that's pretty much the long and short of it."
"And now, she recognizes herself as your wife? Are you telling me she has actually developed romantic feelings?"
"No, I doubt it's anything like that. Hey, Kizmel, how do you see that side of things?"
When Hachiman posed the question, Kizmel answered without a shred of hesitation.
"I do not possess an understanding of what 'romance' entails. When I initially declared myself your wife, it was merely based on general information indicating that our bond aligned with such a dynamic. However... recently, whenever I observe Hachiman spending time with the other women in our circle, I find that the information processing efficiency near the center of my chest degrades significantly for reasons I cannot explain. Perhaps I am overdue for a routine maintenance check."
"Wait, seriously?" Hachiman blinked.
"Hold on, isn't that just... love?" Kirito chimed in.
"Is it? I cannot say for certain."
Hearing this, Krishna looked deeply moved, her voice tinged with a profound sense of awe.
"Incredible... Akihiko Kayaba... What I wouldn't give to have met him just once. I know they say he's dead, but still."
At that, Hachiman and Kirito exchanged a tense, hesitant glance. Krishna caught the shift immediately and narrowed her eyes at them.
"What's with the cryptic looks? Don't tell me you two are holding out on me."
"U-Uh... Hey, Kirito, is it safe to talk about that?"
"Honestly, I'm not sure. If the government caught wind of this, things could get incredibly messy..."
A sharp, knowing smirk played across Krishna's lips.
"So, in other words, as long as they don't catch wind of it, we're fine? Meaning, it's fine as long as I keep my mouth shut."
"Well, technically, yes, but..."
"Look, if I'm going to cooperate with you guys moving forward, any blind spots in my information could cause our strategies to misalign. That's a risk we shouldn't take."
"I mean, you have a point, but..."
"This is necessary data. Now spill it."
"Hmm... What do you think, Kirito?"
"Honestly? I say go ahead. Krishna might catch on to something we completely missed, or offer a perspective we'd never even consider."
"Fair enough. Alright."
Hachiman took a breath and dropped an absolute megaton of a revelation on her.
"The chance to speak with Akihiko Kayaba... hasn't been completely lost yet. At least, that's what we think. Probably."
Krishna stared at him, blank-faced.
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