[Progressive - Aria Audio Drama] Lisbeth Edition

Hey everyone, Celest here! We at DD came up with a surprise project. Were you expecting this? Seeing as Gsimenas was busy with RL matters, I volunteered to take on the role of translator for this project, with Kaan as the editor.

Anyways, this is my first translation project and I can say without any second thought that it was such an amazing experience. Well... Gsimenas actually spent a whole week polishing up my script due to his perfectionist nature; I learned so much from him. Working with Kaan & Gsi is always lots of fun!

With that said, this audio drama focuses on Lisbeth's story, three weeks after the game started. I find it interesting to experience how and what the characters feel as they're trapped inside the death game. Special mention to Ayahi Takagaki's outstanding voice performance as she was able to convey Lisbeth's feelings to perfection!
The audio dramas were available for listening on the official sao-p website, as a bonus for those who attended the Japan screening of the Aria movie during the 4th week.

We hope you enjoy the release. If you have any suggestions/requests for what to work on, feel free to leave a comment or contact us through Twitter/Discord/Email.

Any feedback is appreciated.

-Celest

Credits

Translation, subtitles, raws: Celest
Translation-check: Gsimenas
Editing: Gsimenas / Kaantantr

N/A

Index

Silica Edition

Audio Clip

Story Transcript

[4th week’s visitor bonus]
Kawahara Reki’s newly written audio drama script - Lisbeth edition

“And here I was hoping I'd be able to handle that a bit better than that………”

These words were my attempt at sweeping it under the rug… this sense of disappointment in myself seething within my chest.

Still, I found myself unable to muster the spunk to get back on my feet. Far from it, actually, as the cold hard stone bench seemed to be sucking the energy out of me at an alarming rate.

In a corner of the Town of Beginnings, there was no one but me around at this little plaza I'd found. So, there was nothing really stopping me from letting the screams, cries, and tears out of my system——heck, that's something I actually do want to get over with, probably, yet something was putting a lid on all of those emotions of mine.

That's what I've always been like, even before I got trapped inside this world. As I hyperfocused on presenting a cheery and humorous version of myself, Shinozaki Rika, to my family and friends, I wound up forgetting how to express my tears and anger. Perhaps what drew me, a girl not all that interested in games, to Sword Art Online was the idea that I might just be able to draw out my real self here.

Yet in the end, it didn’t turn out as I had hoped. Even when we lost the ability to log out from SAO and were told that we would actually die for real if we lost our lives here, I simply hunkered down on the ground, spacing out as an uproar unfolded amongst the other players. Sure, I was really scared back then, but my sense of disbelief, questioning the reality of the situation, won out in the end.

It’s already been three weeks since that day. Despite spending days upon days holed up in an inn, or aimlessly wandering around town during those weeks, not only did the reality of the situation not sink in for me, things got even worse: I started questioning the reality of this world, the whole death game thing, and even questioning my own existence…… That’s why I gave the idea of stepping outside the town a shot today. Seeing as I wasn't feeling scared, I figured I wouldn't have a problem fighting monsters either. Heck, I'd had no issue going into battle back on that fateful evening before I was teleported to the town's main square, in fact.

And yet things went horribly wrong today. My sense of fear was still as blunted as it's always been, and yet my hands and feet turned into a bumbling mess, causing my mace to veer off course despite all my attempts to aim straight. Finding myself at half HP in a battle against a single 《Green Worm》, one of the weakest monsters out there, the only course of action my jumbled up mind managed to come up with was to fling my mace away and head for the hills with my tail between my legs.

“……What were you even thinking, Rika.”

I let out a mutter once more, hugging my knees atop a bench. Even my words rang hollow, as if I'd borrowed them from some cheap drama.

Now that I've thrown away my one and only weapon, and I lack the money to buy a new one, there's no way I can fight monsters anymore. There's only one thing left for me to do: roam about town and just hope the police or something manage to get us out of here in the meantime.

……Wait, no… there actually is one more option available to me. A way to test if the whole shebang about us dying for reals the moment our HP falls to zero isn't just a load of baloney…

And that is… to take a crack at experiencing what death is actually like. There are ways to go about it: I could go to the edge of the Town of Beginnings and just jump off into the never-ending sky, or I could find a monster outside town and just let it attack me till my HP drops to zero; if I were to find myself waking up in the real world afterwards, it would just prove that this Kayaba dude was full of it all along. On the other hand, if I were to fail to wake up afterwards…

At this point, I found myself torn between two voices in my mind: one warning me that there are some lines that should never be crossed, and the other arguing that it's all bound to be a load of baloney anyway, so why not give it a shot. The version of me that's already thrown in the towel, or the version of me that still stands her ground. The one that wants to shed her tears, or the one that isn't capable of doing so. Which of them is the real me? What does 'real' even mean……?

By the time I returned from my thoughts to the outside world, I'd found myself aimlessly stumbling about an unfamiliar street, the bench long since left far behind. Was I feeling so giddy because I haven't had anything to eat for a long time now, I wonder? Then again, it's not like anything I eat in this world would actually find its way into my physical stomach.

*Drip*, I felt a drop of water splashing on my cheek. Then another one fell down on my head, and then my shoulder. When I looked up, I spotted swirling, grey clouds drifting so close to the ground that it almost felt like I could reach them with my hands if they were just a little bit longer. The rain, awfully realistic and yet somehow off compared to the real thing, pounded down on me without mercy as I plodded along the road.

Just as the thought that I might catch a cold if I get all soaked at this rate ran through my mind, I immediately chided myself for that silly idea. My avatar is just a knock-off: it doesn't bleed from any cuts, and it certainly isn't going to catch some stupid cold from dealing with chilly weather either. Seeing as my HP had gone back up to max while I wasn't looking, my avatar should be the epitome of pure spunk right about now, actually.

I'm Rika-chan, a bundle of spunk. I'm Lisbeth, a bundle of spunk. No matter if I get soaked in the rain, or if I'm freezing cold, or if I'm dying from hunger, I'm always a bundle of spunk, always.

At this point, a broad street came into view further up ahead. I'd just need to take a right turn there, then press on straight ahead and I'd reach the part of town at the very edge of the Floor at the end of the road. A small set of handrails is all that separates the town from the endless expanse of sky beyond. I'm guessing that only beyond this great expanse will I ever find the answer as to what is actually real in this world, probably.

*Splish*, *splish*, came the sound of me treading through puddle after puddle, only moments away from reaching the broad street… when…

I noticed a girl, soaking wet just like me, walking down the middle of the road.

Both her waist-long, chestnut-colored hair and her short, reddish-brown cape were battered down to a sorry state by the rain. And yet, the girl refused to cast down her eyes. With her chin up, her chest puffed out, and a firm grip on the sheath of her rapier dangling from her left waist, she marched down the road at breakneck speeds the exact opposite way of where I was heading.

Her chosen path would lead her to the Northern Gate of the Town of Beginnings. Beyond which lies the very same Outer Field that I myself bolted out of with my tail between my legs earlier on.

She’s going out to fight.

I had no real basis for that assumption, but that's the vibe I got from her. From a glimpse at the girl's profile, I could discern neither hope, nor despair behind her expression; all I saw was the will to press on. Burning in her eyes like bluish-white flames.

At some point, my hand found itself searching for something at my waist. Yet, my starter mace was nowhere to be found.

All of a sudden, I was struck by a crushing sense of regret. There's no point in crying over getting my ass handed to me by a monster and running away from the fight, but why, oh why did I dump my weapon in the process. How could I forget that it was the one and only thing that I could have a firm grip of in this world. How could I forget that even when I struggled to shed my tears or vent my anger, it had always been supporting me by my side.

As I stood stock still, the chestnut-haired girl walked past me before my eyes and pressed on into the distance, straight as an arrow. In a matter of moments, the pouring rain shrouded the silhouette of her back from my sight. And yet, I could still make out a trail left in her wake, clear as day. The trail of an azure shooting star, piercing through the pitch-dark sky of the night.

―Time to get my mace back.

The idea struck me out of the blue. Yes, I don't really remember the exact spot where I had fought against the 《Green Worm》; yes, my mace might have expended all of its durability and disappeared by now; yes, I might be forced to face monsters unarmed. And yet, I’ll just keep looking until I find it.

And if I do succeed in tracking it down…

If I do manage to grab hold of my weapon with my hand once more, then―.

Instead of taking a turn to the right, I opted for a left turn as I walked into the broad street. Despite not being able to catch sight of the girl no matter how much I strained my eyes anymore, I was all but certain I'd get the chance to meet her again someday, if I managed to live through this world long enough. My gut says so.

With my chin up and my chest puffed out, I began making my way through the rain.

N/A

Index

Silica Edition