Sword Art Online Episode 17

Captive Queen (囚われの女王) is the seventeenth episode of the Sword Art Online anime adaptation. It aired on October 27, 2012

Plot
Kirito swiftly kills another Salamander player and asks Kagemune if he wants to fight, but Kagemune makes an excuse that his magic skill will reach 900, and does not want to receive the death penalty before flying away. Kirito asks Leafa if she also wants to fight, to which she declines.

Leafa asks Kirito on what she should do now: whether to fight or thank Kirito. Kirito teases her, by saying that he is a hero who saved the princess, so she should run into his arms. This declaration angers Yui and causes her to expose herself to Leafa, stating that only Mommy (Asuna) and herself can hug Kirito. Leafa comes closer and wonders why a Spriggan is in the forest around Sylph territory. Kirito makes an excuse, that he got lost, which leads to Leafa's laughter. They introduce themselves to each other, and Leafa asks what Kirito was doing and wonders if she could buy him a drink as thanks. Kirito tells her that he was looking for someone to tell him about the World Tree. Leafa offers to give the details but wants to fly to a neutral village first, leading Kirito to inquire why they can not go to Sylvain instead. Leafa explains that it is Sylph territory and due to this fact, Kirito cannot attack Sylphs but the Sylphs can attack him. But this does not bother Kirito and still insists on going. Leafa accepts his request but warns him that he might not survive.



Kirito notices that Leafa does not need an assist controller to fly, and Leafa tells him that there is a trick, before explaining how to fly without the controller. Kirito begins to fly really high up, which makes Leafa worried as he did not know how to stop, making Yui and Leafa laugh. Kirito gets the hang of flying and they head towards Sylvain.



When they reach Sylvain, Leafa tells Kirito to land at the base of the central tower, before realising he does not know how. Kirito slams into the wall of the tower but is healed by Leafa's healing magic. Recon then arrives to check whether Leafa was alright, but notices Kirito and swiftly gets ready to fight. However, Leafa stops him in time, stating that Kirito had saved her from the Salamanders. The two then introduce each other but Recon still does not trust Kirito, thinking that he may be a spy. Recon tells Leafa that Sigurd and the others have left a seat for her at the usual tavern. Leafa declined Recon's offer, as she promised to buy Kirito a drink for saving her from the Salamanders, and the two leave, leaving Recon behind.



At the restaurant, Kirito wonders if Recon was Leafa's boyfriend, but she quickly rejects the idea, stating that they are only party members and that she knows him in real life as classmates. Leafa changes the subject and thanks him and gives Kirito more information on the World Tree, saying that reaching the top of the World Tree is ALfheim Online's grand quest because the reward is unlimited flight via being reborn as Alfs. However, in order to complete the quest, the player will need to get through a big dome and battle the powerful NPC guardians that defend it. Leafa thinks it is impossible to reach to the top, but tells Kirito not to give up even if it takes years. Kirito tells Leafa that he needs to reach to the top soon because he is looking for someone and thanks Leafa for the information. Leafa stops Kirito and tells him that she can take him to the world tree. They arrange to meet with each other the next day at 3:00 PM. Leafa logs out and tells Kirito he can log out in the rooms upstairs.



Suguha (Leafa) wakes up in her room, recalling her encounter with Kirito, and begins to blush with embarrassment. Yui returns to her original form and she asks if she can sleep next to Kirito until he logs out, which he allows. Kirito tells her that once they save Asuna, they will buy a house again like their Forest Home in Sword Art Online, and promises Yui that reuniting his "family" will be a reality. Kirito then falls asleep.



At the top of World tree, a saddened Asuna was sitting alone when Fairy King Oberon (Sugou Nobuyuki) came to visit her and called her his bride Titania, but she refused to be called by such a weird name and told him to stop after he had inappropriately touched her face and even tried to take off her top. He then revealed to her his goal and told her that he was experimenting in secret on the alteration of the human's memories, emotions, and senses, and that he was the one who rerouted the 300 SAO players and Asuna into ALfheim Online, after Kayaba Akihiko logged them out from SAO. Asuna threatened that she would tell the police the moment she was released, but he replied that he could also alter her memory if he wanted to, although he told her that it "wouldn't be fun" if he did. He soon left after a long conversation and Asuna viciously stared at him as he entered the combination at the locked gate. After he left, Asuna broke down in tears and cried for Kirito to come and save her.

Location

 * Ancient Forest, Neutral Territory
 * Sylvain, Sylph Territory
 * Kirigaya residence.
 * World Tree

Adaptation Notes

 * Adapted from Sword Art Online Light Novel Volume 03 Chapter 2,3

Errors

 * The Words of Power displayed during Leafa's healing chant are written upside down.

Quotes

 * "Personally, I see myself as the hero who just saved the princess. Crying and running into my arms would be a good start" - Kirito
 * "Let's save Asuna and buy a house somewhere again, okay?" - Kirito
 * "It isn't a dream. I'll make it real soon" - Kirito
 * "Save me, Kirito" - Asuna

Episodio 17