In the third popularity contest held by Kawahara Reki as Kunori Fumio, back during the web novel period (to be more exact, in 2005), he figured,

“There’s not that many new characters, thus I was worried there won’t be much difference from the first and second times. Hence, if I ask for questions… if I were to do that, the much-more-unknown sub-characters might just get more votes as the main characters already have quite a bit of information on them.“

Hence, it turned into a Q&A session with the characters.

Spoilers alert. This was held some time after he started writing Alicization.

Spoilers this time are up to volume 2 or 4 of the light novel. For anime-only viewers, episode 12, at the very least.



*-s are links to notes. Click on them.

The number within the brackets is when the non-question (invalid) votes are added in.



3rd – Yui – 43 votes (58)

4th – Asuna (Yuuki Asuna) – 42 votes (83)





3rd – Yui – 43 votes (58)



Q. Won’t you participate in battle again, Yui?

A. Unfortunately, I do not have the capacity to engage in battle in ALO, at the present moment.



Q. Yui-chan, around how much is your actual size (storage capacity)?

A. My main thought routine is approximately 3 terabytes. My capacity of my external storage is already beyond my understanding.



Q. Will the restoration of that strongest battle…?

A. I am unable to use Object Eraser anymore, sadly.



Q. Do you grow (in appearance), Yui?

A. I am considering pestering Papa for a new VR body sooner or later.



Q. Please tell me a “habit that I wish my parents would break, at least!”.

A. I want Papa to stop napping anywhere and everywhere. It troubles me since it makes me sleepy too.



Q. How do you feel looking at your parents’ usual lovey-dovey behaviour, Yui-chan?

A. I can’t stand watching it.



Q. Are you happy?

A. I am still unable to fully comprehend the meaning behind being happy. Is the state of having all desires fulfilled considered happiness?



Q. Is there anything troubling you?

A. I always have to pay attention to monitoring the health of my data. I cannot help but to compress my main thought routine for backups, but when I think about how it could be unpacked and activated, it gets me somewhat unsettled.



Q. Do you want to stay as your Papa’s and Mama’s daughter no matter what happens?

A. Of course.



Q. What are your hobbies?

A. Firewall penetration.



Q. Are you able to easily change your appearance and such?

A. It would cause a problem with my self-recognition, so I am unable to change anything aside from the appearance of my clothes.



Q. Are you able to use the Audiovisual Bidirectional Communication Probe?

A. Yes, Papa tends to take me along using that when he goes out.



Q. How comfortable was it sleeping on top of the rocking chair + Kirito + Pina?

A. It felt the best.



Q. When Mama & Papa are offline, are you alone in the house in the forest, Yui-chan? Or do you sleep at those times?

A. I am mainly collecting data on the net, or sorting those out.



Q. If you were to convert to a human, what would be your age, based on your level of intelligence?

A. I wonder… it is not possible to perfectly compare my artificial intelligence with that of human beings’, so…



Q. Is it possible to talk to you and look at your fairy form in the real world, Yui? Also, could your actual self be loaded onto a mobile terminal, such as a wearable computer- no, a wearable AI (heh)?

A. It would be over a monitor in reality, at the current moment. Also, a mobile terminal able to load my main thought routine does not exist. It is possible to connect through the use of a computer terminal and network, though.



Q. Does everyone treat you well? Aside from your two parents, who do you like? And why?

A. Everyone treats me really well. The conversation partner I enjoy talking to is Pina-san. That child’s intelligence is of a pretty complex structure, you know.



Q. Would you like a little sister or bother?

A. I do want someone to talk to, but on the other hand, I also wish to monopolise Papa and Mama.



Q. What do you like to eat?

A. I like anything Mama makes, but recently, those cookies containing honey are my favourite.



Q. What will you do if you see Papa being unfaithful?

A. I will not allow that! I will fly in and get in his way.



Q. Oh right, can you use sword arts?

A. In my current condition, I am unfortunately unable to equip any type of weapon, so… I wish to get a normal player account someday.



Q. What are you doing when you are sleeping?

A. I allow my main thought routine to rest, sorting and storing the day’s information with my subroutines. I even see something similar to dreams, you know.



Q. If you could come to the real world, where would you like to go?

A. I want to try sleeping in between Papa and Mama’s physical bodies. I believe it will definitely be really warm.



Q. Are you able to go to other MMOs from ALO?

A. I am able to play PC-based MMORPGs, but as for other VRMMOs, I do not have a physical brain, so unfortunately, I cannot use an AmuSphere to log in.



Q. Do you hold thoughts of love for Papa?

A. Love is the hardest to understand among the emotions of human beings, isn’t it. If you mean the desire of always wanting to be together, then Yes.



Q. What are your thoughts on people aside from Kirito and Asuna?

A. I think they are all very nice people. However, I do have a problem with Lisbeth-san getting me to do her school homework.



Q. Is there a sword skill you want to try using?

A. It’s not a technique, but I miss Object Eraser-chan.



Q. You’re pretty free?

A. After I finish browsing through all of the resources existing on all of the networks, I might come to comprehend the meaning of the word, “free”, perhaps. At my current pace, I am unable to even calculate how many hundreds of years it will take, though.



Q. You seem to be able to use search engines, but what is the extent of the things you are capable of?

A. I can boast of having an extraction rate of more than even 95% of the useful data, eh-hen.



Q. So, are you really unable to walk around in your former appearance?

A. The data still remains, so I am able to return to my previous form. However, the fairy body is more comfortable in various ways, so it is not used much. Only when I am sleeping together with Papa and Mama.



Q. Does Midori-san know of your existence?

A. You are referring to Papa’s mother, or in other words, my grandmother, aren’t you. I once told Papa that I wanted to give my regards and he said it would be a disaster if I called her, “grandmother”; unfortunately, I have still yet to do so.



Q. What do you do when you’re alone??

A. I surf the net, read books and sleep.



Q. Aside from your Pixie ver. and Normal ver., what other forms can you assume?

A. Only those. I do want to create a slightly bigger body soon, though…



Q. If you were forced to say it, do you like Kirito or Asuna more?

A. I will not say it even if I were forced to! It is exactly the same.



Q. What will you do if Kirito started to date a woman aside from Asuna?

A. I know human beings tend to do that at times. However, can children really choose either of their parents?



Q. I’ll get straight to the point, who do you like more, Papa or Mama?

A. I will be straight to the point, they are the same.



Q. Do you really buy your clothes?

A. There are some bought from shops, but there are more that were made by Mama.



Q. What are you clothes you like?

A. I really able to calm down best in a white one piece, after all.



Q. What are your thoughts on your completely airheaded Papa?

A. I believe he should get married with Mama in the real world as soon as possible.



Q. Wouldn’t you recognise Leafa as your aunt or something? (haha)

A. My parent’s cousin… is there an official method to refer to that? Let me check… it seems to be “first cousin once removed”. It is a little hard to say…



Q. Are you kept as a secret from Midori-san?

A. It seems to be that way for now. I do want to give my regards someday.



Q. During SAO, were there any people with weird mental conditions aside from Kirito and co.?

A. There were many with similar patterns. However, when Papa was together with Mama, their parameters certainly stood out.



Q. Do you have any troubles as the result of being an AI?

A. If the server my data is stored on were to crash… that fear is constantly there.



Q. Sword Art Online, ALfheim Online, it doesn’t matter which VRMMO it is, but have you ever thought of wanting to join as a regular player?

A. Sure, I do. I want to try swing a sword about and using magic.





4th – Asuna (Yuuki Asuna) – 42 votes (83)



Q. So, do you get jealous easily?

A. I personally try to be extremely broad-minded, but it seems like Liz and the rest has a different opinion.



Q. Asuna-san, which part of Kirito-kun did you fall in love with?

A. First would be how I could feel at ease when together with him… I guess?



Q. Your three sizes are?

A. … Should I answer? Am I forced to? …They are 82, 60 ,83.



Q. Who is your greatest rival in love?

A. There aren’t any. That’s what I believe.



Q. How are you so cool despite being an ojou-sama?

A. No, not really? I don’t think of myself as being cool…



Q. Who is your greatest rival? (both in love and combat)

A. There aren’t any in love. In ALO, Leafa-chan would be one in combat.



Q. What words do you wish Kirito-kun would say?

A. There’s many. Of course, the one I wish for the most, are those words he said in SAO as well.



Q. So will Kazuto really marry into your family?

A. I plan to take up the Kirigaya surname.



Q. Does anyone oppose you going out with Kazuto aside from your mother?

A. My mother agreed with it recently as well.



Q. What habit or behaviour do you want Kazuto-kun to fix?

A. To stop getting involved in strange incidents!



Q. What will you do if Kazuto had already done the deed with other girls?

A. …I believe in him.



Q. What weapons do you like aside from rapiers?

A. Fist techniques are surprisingly interesting… I got into unarmed fighting recently.



Q. Kirito LOVE?

A. LOVE.



Q. Are your actual reflexes good?

A. I wonder about that. It’s fun playing tennis and such in school, though.



Q. How were the contents in the SAO Encyclopedia like?

A. It was a record of how each floor was floor. Aside from that, it was mainly the introduction of those in the clearing group, but as expected, it did feature Kirito-kun quite heavily.



Q. How does the swimsuit you prefer look like?

A. I haven’t bought the one for summer this year yet. I might go to the sea soon, but it really doesn’t seem like I would have the time for sea bathing…



Q. Your waking alarm was set to “♪ Country Road” in Side Story 4, but were there times when your heart and mind was saved by “music” in SAO? *

A. In SAO, the music from all sorts of alarms really were more or less the only form of culture from the real world. Therefore, it was comforting, listening to various tunes I liked on the other side.



Q. How will you be able to pass “Mother’s Rosario” on?

A. Yuuki’s account was terminated, so I should be able to create another generation of the copy. I’ll probably only pass it on when I retire from ALO, so it’s still an issue for the faraway future…



Q. Have you harboured feelings of love for anyone before meeting Kirito?

A. No.



Q. Can you use sword techniques in reality too?

A. I haven’t really tried. I did think of asking Suguha-chan to teach me Kendo once, though.



Q. How far do you go when flirting with Kirito in public? (like holding hands, or kissing) Honestly now, please, lol.

A. I guess hugging would be the limit. I’m fine with it, but Kirito-kun would just, you know.



Q. What are you most anxious about, in your future with Kazuto?

A. That we will be forced to part after the passing of tens of years. Don’t you think the life span of people is too short?



Q. You may be beautiful and strong, yet frail, and an ojou-sama without even minor flaws, Asuna-san, but you do feel uneasiness over Kirito’s popularity, don’t you?

A. …I believe in him.



Q. …How many times will you forgive unfaithfulness?

A. 0 times.



Q. Do you have the confidence to tell him apart, even if Kirito were to suddenly turn middle-aged?

A. Of course. Even if he turns into an old man.



Q. What dish do you want to make for Kirito-kun to eat?

A. A breakfast of miso soup and grilled fish, perhaps.



Q. Are there types of people you’re bad at handling? If there are, what types?

A. Hmm… I might be bad with those who only talk about themselves…



Q. Can you use weapons aside from swords?

A. …Recently, it’s been rather fun punching around with the fist techniques skill…



Q. If you were to get shocked, seeing Kirito kissing Shino, then when you go over to his home the next day to talk about it, you spot him kissing Suguha, what would you do?

A. Maybe I’ll cry… maybe I’ll hit him… it’s not really something I would know unless it happens…



Q. What are your thoughts on Kirito’s serial adultery?

A. Serial adultery… I would like to think that’s not it, for the time being…



Q. What do you think about Kirito (Kazuto)-kun (unintentionally) hooking up with girls (with many beautiful ones) one after another?

A. Hooking up… I would like to think that’s not it, for the time being…



Q. What is the one thing you wish Kirito would fix about himself?

A. How he takes everything upon himself, maybe.



Q. Details on how you joined KoB?

A. I was scouted by the leader while recklessly leveling up in the dungeon.



Q. Well, this is to the entire female cast, but what would you do upon finding out that Kirito did the deed with Asuna in the virtual world?

A. Everyone: “In the first place, those two were married!”



Q. Do your tastes in attire lies with skirts? Pants?

A. There are more skirts in my closet, but the number of pants have been increasing recently. I’ve often gotten the chance to get a ride on Kirito-kun’s bike, hence.



Q. To the Asuna-san at the start who wants to get pampered, where have you gone? Don’t you want to get pampered more?

A. I do get pampered, at those times when we’re by ourselves.



Q. Have there been times when you ended up making something like a signature pose (signature action?) in reality, like Kirito-kun?

A. Aah, that was pretty contagious. I ended up doing it when sheathing my sword.



Q. What would happen when the current Sword Art Online gets cleared?

A. The rewards for clearing the second Grand Quest haven’t been revealed yet, huh. It seems the theory that Aincrad will be able to be taken over as territory is popular, though.



Q. What were your thoughts when you found out it’s possible to remove the Ethics Code?

A. I will never use it! I remember that I thought that.



Q. I know the person you love the most, so I won’t ask about that, but who is the one you’ve grown to hate the most thus far?

A. The person I’ve thought of hating… or rather, pitying, was the one who named himself the Fairy King.



Q. What is the sword to you?

A. I have no intentions of getting attached to swords in the form of items, but as a swordswoman, I would like to live without shame; that is what I always believe.



Notes

Asuna-1: Side Story 4 (from the web version) refers to volume 7 (in the published version), but that’s probably a typo for Side Story 2, which is Morning Dew Girl, where she woke up to that piece of music in the web version. “Country Road” refers to “Take Me Home, Country Roads”, a song by John Denver, which was also used (a Japanese version) in the film from Studio Ghibli, “Whisper of the Heart”.