“And you broke into the cathedral’s armory after that, haven’t
you. There should have been bundles of high quality rope over…
aah, that’s it, this is a waste of time.”
Alice flicked her head away with a hmph and raised her right
arm clad in a golden gauntlet. But she apparently realized she
couldn’t take her left hand off her sword’s grip there, as she
scowled. Jerking her arm in front of me, she ordered.
“Unfasten my gauntlet with your free hand.”
“Hah?”
“And pay extra attention to not touch my skin. Hurry up!”
“……”
According to Eugeo’s recollections, Alice was apparently a
cheerful and energetic girl, more gentle than anyone else, when
she lived in Rulid. If that was the case, where exactly did her
current personality that seemed the polar opposite sprout out
from?
While thinking about such things, I brought up my left hand
that finally regained its sense of touch, then unfastened the
gauntlet’s clasp. Alice, who made me hold onto the gauntlet,
quickly pulled out her right hand and brandished her pale,
slender fingers while shouting out.
“System call!”
Sword Art Online 13 - Alicization Dividing
Chapter 10 - Integrity Knight Alice
33
Following the opening phrase for sacred arts, she rapidly
chanted an unfamiliar, complex art. The gauntlet in my hand let
out a dazzling light and its shape began to change at a
noticeable rate. Within mere seconds, my left hand held a neatly
bundled golden chain.
“Uooh… transmutation…?”
“Were you not listening? Or perhaps those aren’t ears on the
side of your face, but holes infested with insects? That was
merely transformation of its form, arts capable of changing the
properties of its material cannot be used by anyone aside from
the esteemed highest minister.”
Upon apologizing with a “sorry” to Alice, who apparently had
no intention to change her sharp tongue even after consenting
to the cease-fire agreement, I tested the chain’s toughness. My
teeth felt like they were going to fall out when I held its end in
my mouth and pulled, so I relaxed my mouth in a fluster. I had
no qualms, since it seemed to be tough enough despite being
thinner than a little finger and even had sturdy-looking clasps
at both ends to boot.
Firmly fastening one end to my belt, I offered the other end
and Alice took it with a tug and kept it into her sword belt’s
metal fittings. The length of the dangling chain was about five
meters. For the time being, we should be more or less safe even
if our hands slip, unless we both fall.
Sword Art Online 13 - Alicization Dividing
Chapter 10 - Integrity Knight Alice
34
“Now then…”
Scanning the surrounding again, I confirmed the situation we
were in.
Judging from the direction of the sun, we were dangling on
the Central Cathedral’s west wall. The sky overhead was in the
midst of turning from blue to violet with the sun coming from
behind dying the tower’s white wall a bright orange. Guess the
current time was around three in the afternoon.
Hesitantly gazing downwards towards my feet, I could see
pale, hovering clouds passing by, the miniature-like garden, the
stone walls encompassing that, and even the streets of Central
Centoria split into four by the «immortal walls», making me
ascertain just how ridiculously tall the cathedral was once again.
Each floor of the tower should be around six meters, inclusive
of the floor’s thickness, so the eightieth floor, «Cloudtop
Garden», where I fought with Alice would be at a relative height
of four hundred and eighty meters—no, adding on fiftieth floor,
«Grand Cloister of Spiritual Light», with its abnormally high
ceiling, about five hundred meters, huh. Our Lives would
definitely vanish in an instant if we fall. In addition, this body
would turn into fine dirt without even leaving a corpse behind,
probably. The wind was calm now, but I didn’t know how long
that would last.
Sword Art Online 13 - Alicization Dividing
Chapter 10 - Integrity Knight Alice
35
My back shuddered before I gripped my sword again with my
right hand and wiped the sweat running over my left palm on
my trousers.
“Ermm… just checking, but…”
Alice, also peeking at her feet beside me, raised her face when
I called out. It might just be my imagination how her
complexion seemed worse than earlier, but her tone was curt as
always.
“What?”
“No, well… I thought a grand knight like yourself, capable of
using advanced sacred arts like changing the form of objects
would know some art for flight… or not, huh, sorry.”
Despite my prompt apology at her sharply raising eyebrows,
Alice berated me without mercy.
“Just what did you learn in the academy? Even the youngest
ascetic apprentice would know that the only person capable of
flight arts in the vast Human World is the esteemed highest
minister!”
“That’s why I said ‘just checking’, right?! You don’t have to get
that angry!”
“It’s due to that strangely insulting way you put it!”
It gradually appeared clear that this Integrity Knight Alice’s
personality had a conclusively horrible affinity with me,
Sword Art Online 13 - Alicization Dividing
Chapter 10 - Integrity Knight Alice
36
without even considering our respective standpoints, but I
continued my questions while restraining the urge to retort.
“…Then, I’m just checking this time too, but… how about
calling for that huge flying dragon I hung off all the way here?”
“Your suggestions are becoming increasingly foolish.
Approaching any flying dragons is only permitted on the
thirtieth floor’s landing platform. No ridden dragon will go close
to any higher, not even oji-sama… no, not even the Knight
Commander’s.”
“Th-There’s no way I would know of an arrangement like that,
right?!”
“You should have realized it when you knew the flying dragon
landing platform was built on the thirtieth floor!”
I had no idea how many times had we done so already, but we
glared at each other for another three whole seconds before I
swallowed down the anger directed at the great integrity
knight’s irrational remark and turned my head back, speaking.
“…Then there goes the path of escaping by flying… I guess.”
Alice, on the other hand, seemed to have taken another two
seconds before she regained her cool, but her blue eyes glanced
this way and she nodded.
you. There should have been bundles of high quality rope over…
aah, that’s it, this is a waste of time.”
Alice flicked her head away with a hmph and raised her right
arm clad in a golden gauntlet. But she apparently realized she
couldn’t take her left hand off her sword’s grip there, as she
scowled. Jerking her arm in front of me, she ordered.
“Unfasten my gauntlet with your free hand.”
“Hah?”
“And pay extra attention to not touch my skin. Hurry up!”
“……”
According to Eugeo’s recollections, Alice was apparently a
cheerful and energetic girl, more gentle than anyone else, when
she lived in Rulid. If that was the case, where exactly did her
current personality that seemed the polar opposite sprout out
from?
While thinking about such things, I brought up my left hand
that finally regained its sense of touch, then unfastened the
gauntlet’s clasp. Alice, who made me hold onto the gauntlet,
quickly pulled out her right hand and brandished her pale,
slender fingers while shouting out.
“System call!”
Sword Art Online 13 - Alicization Dividing
Chapter 10 - Integrity Knight Alice
33
Following the opening phrase for sacred arts, she rapidly
chanted an unfamiliar, complex art. The gauntlet in my hand let
out a dazzling light and its shape began to change at a
noticeable rate. Within mere seconds, my left hand held a neatly
bundled golden chain.
“Uooh… transmutation…?”
“Were you not listening? Or perhaps those aren’t ears on the
side of your face, but holes infested with insects? That was
merely transformation of its form, arts capable of changing the
properties of its material cannot be used by anyone aside from
the esteemed highest minister.”
Upon apologizing with a “sorry” to Alice, who apparently had
no intention to change her sharp tongue even after consenting
to the cease-fire agreement, I tested the chain’s toughness. My
teeth felt like they were going to fall out when I held its end in
my mouth and pulled, so I relaxed my mouth in a fluster. I had
no qualms, since it seemed to be tough enough despite being
thinner than a little finger and even had sturdy-looking clasps
at both ends to boot.
Firmly fastening one end to my belt, I offered the other end
and Alice took it with a tug and kept it into her sword belt’s
metal fittings. The length of the dangling chain was about five
meters. For the time being, we should be more or less safe even
if our hands slip, unless we both fall.
Sword Art Online 13 - Alicization Dividing
Chapter 10 - Integrity Knight Alice
34
“Now then…”
Scanning the surrounding again, I confirmed the situation we
were in.
Judging from the direction of the sun, we were dangling on
the Central Cathedral’s west wall. The sky overhead was in the
midst of turning from blue to violet with the sun coming from
behind dying the tower’s white wall a bright orange. Guess the
current time was around three in the afternoon.
Hesitantly gazing downwards towards my feet, I could see
pale, hovering clouds passing by, the miniature-like garden, the
stone walls encompassing that, and even the streets of Central
Centoria split into four by the «immortal walls», making me
ascertain just how ridiculously tall the cathedral was once again.
Each floor of the tower should be around six meters, inclusive
of the floor’s thickness, so the eightieth floor, «Cloudtop
Garden», where I fought with Alice would be at a relative height
of four hundred and eighty meters—no, adding on fiftieth floor,
«Grand Cloister of Spiritual Light», with its abnormally high
ceiling, about five hundred meters, huh. Our Lives would
definitely vanish in an instant if we fall. In addition, this body
would turn into fine dirt without even leaving a corpse behind,
probably. The wind was calm now, but I didn’t know how long
that would last.
Sword Art Online 13 - Alicization Dividing
Chapter 10 - Integrity Knight Alice
35
My back shuddered before I gripped my sword again with my
right hand and wiped the sweat running over my left palm on
my trousers.
“Ermm… just checking, but…”
Alice, also peeking at her feet beside me, raised her face when
I called out. It might just be my imagination how her
complexion seemed worse than earlier, but her tone was curt as
always.
“What?”
“No, well… I thought a grand knight like yourself, capable of
using advanced sacred arts like changing the form of objects
would know some art for flight… or not, huh, sorry.”
Despite my prompt apology at her sharply raising eyebrows,
Alice berated me without mercy.
“Just what did you learn in the academy? Even the youngest
ascetic apprentice would know that the only person capable of
flight arts in the vast Human World is the esteemed highest
minister!”
“That’s why I said ‘just checking’, right?! You don’t have to get
that angry!”
“It’s due to that strangely insulting way you put it!”
It gradually appeared clear that this Integrity Knight Alice’s
personality had a conclusively horrible affinity with me,
Sword Art Online 13 - Alicization Dividing
Chapter 10 - Integrity Knight Alice
36
without even considering our respective standpoints, but I
continued my questions while restraining the urge to retort.
“…Then, I’m just checking this time too, but… how about
calling for that huge flying dragon I hung off all the way here?”
“Your suggestions are becoming increasingly foolish.
Approaching any flying dragons is only permitted on the
thirtieth floor’s landing platform. No ridden dragon will go close
to any higher, not even oji-sama… no, not even the Knight
Commander’s.”
“Th-There’s no way I would know of an arrangement like that,
right?!”
“You should have realized it when you knew the flying dragon
landing platform was built on the thirtieth floor!”
I had no idea how many times had we done so already, but we
glared at each other for another three whole seconds before I
swallowed down the anger directed at the great integrity
knight’s irrational remark and turned my head back, speaking.
“…Then there goes the path of escaping by flying… I guess.”
Alice, on the other hand, seemed to have taken another two
seconds before she regained her cool, but her blue eyes glanced
this way and she nodded.