Scene 22

GG!

What're you doing with your hand?

Ah, sorry. It's a force of habit...

Does it mean anything in particular?

No clue, actually.

Huh?

I picked it up from my older brother.

We were pretending to be heroes one day as kids. He made this sign and yelled, "I beat all the bad guys!"

I still don't know if it means anything, but it became our secret way of showing each other we'd succeeded at something.

I still do it subconsciously, whenever I'm really having fun.

Though, these days I can't hang out with him like I used to...

I hope one day soon we can get together, and just having fun playing pretend again...

Now, all I have are video games.

So you want him to get into SAO, too, then?

Hopefully. I've always dreamed of a place like Aincrad. In a world as realistic as this, maybe I could...

Well, it'd be nice if he finds as much joy here as you do.