The Black Swordsman Laughs Beside Her

Sixteen-year-old Yuuki has spent most of her life confined to a hospital bed, her only taste of the outside world coming through a VR headset. Now, thanks to a special trial enrollment program for SAO returnees, she's finally stepping through the gates of Kazahana Integrated High School—wheelchair and all—determined to savor every ordinary miracle: blackboards, yakisoba bread, the smell of chalk. Her best friend Asuna pushes her wheelchair with a smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes, torn be