Spoiler Alert: This article or section contains details about plotlines not covered in the anime. Do not proceed unless you wish to be spoiled. |
Algade Showdown (アルゲードの決闘, Arugēdo no Kettō?), released at COMITIA 90 on November 15, 2009, is the 6th Material Edition written by Kunori Fumio. It features the story of Asuna and Kirito trying to solve the mystery of whether a certain cook was a Non-Player Character (NPC) or a player.
Plot[]
One day, during their honeymoon on the 22nd Floor, Kirito and Asuna began discussing about the Algade House, the restaurant they had visited with Heathcliff six months before. The couple questioned whether the cook was actually a player and, unable to resolve the matter through deliberation alone, Kirito devised a plan that would help them uncover the truth.
The next day, Kirito and Asuna waited for the cook to exit the shop, which would confirm his identity as a player. However, after six hours of fruitless surveillance, they decided to change the plan. Upon entering the shop, both of them continuously placed order after order in an attempt to confirm if the chef, like any other NPC, had an access to limitless supplies.
However, the second plan seemed to backfire as well. As Asuna finished her fifth bowl, she lost consciousness due to overeating, while Kirito was reaching his limit with eighth one. At that moment, recalling the soy sauce made by his wife the other day, Kirito poured a bottle of it into the bowl. Noticing this action, the cook asked for a taste of the noodles with the sauce. Overfilled with emotion upon realising that the noodles had the same taste as the noodles from his store in the real world, he declared his intention of reopening his shop there after the game was cleared. Moments after realizing that the cook was a player, Kirito fell unconscious.