The Black Swordsman (Aincrad 35th Floor, February 2024)
"Please......Don't leave me alone......Pina......"
Two lines of tears streamed down Silica's cheeks, as scattered grains of light burst from the big feather on the ground.
That pale blue feather was the remains of her sole friend and partner for a long time, the familiar «Pina». Just a few minutes ago, Pina died protecting Silica. Given a mortal wound by the monster's weapon, it gave out a cry in a sad voice before shattering like ice. Leaving only its long tail feather which had always waved happily whenever its name was called——
Part 1
Silica was one of the rare «Beast Tamers» in SAO, or perhaps it was more accurate to say 'was once'. Her familiar, the symbol of a beast tamer, was no longer here.
A beast tamer wasn't a class or skill given by the system, but a term used by the players.
On rare occasions, aggressive monsters would show interest in players. If you didn't miss the chance, you could successfully tame the monster by giving it something to eat. The monster would then become the player's «Familiar» and serve as a valuable ally who supports the player in various ways. Players referred to those who had succeeded in doing so as beast tamers with a mix of praise and envy.
Of course, not all monsters can become familiars; only a very limited variety of small monsters could. The conditions to trigger the event weren't all that clear, but the only one that everyone was sure about was that the event wouldn't occur if the player killed too many of the monster type.
This was a rather hard condition when you think about it. Even if one tried to get a familiar by repeatedly meeting them, the monsters were aggressive and the player can't avoid entering a fight with them. In other words, if one wished to become a beast tamer, they would have to keep meeting with the monster, and if the event didn't occur they would have to keep running away. It wasn't hard to imagine just how annoying all that would be.
You could say that Silica was very lucky on this matter.
With no knowledge of this, she had entered some forest without any reason on a floor she visited just because she felt like it. The first monster she had met didn't attack her, but merely approached her. She then gave it a peanut that she had bought the day before without much thought, and it just happened to be a food that the monster liked.
The monster was a «Feathery Dragon». Its whole body was covered in soft, pale blue feathers, and it had two long feathers instead of a tail. The small dragon was a very rare monster to come across. Perhaps Silica had been the first to succeed in taming it, as it immediately became the subject of much interest when she went back to her hometown «Friben» on the eighth floor with it sitting on her shoulder. The next day, countless players had attempted to tame a Feathery Dragon after listening to Silica's information, but none of them managed to succeed.
Silica had named the small dragon «Pina». It was the same name that she gave to a cat she had in the real world.
Familiar monsters were known to have low stats when it comes to actual combat and Pina was no different. But they had a number of special skills instead: a scanning ability that warned the player of approaching monsters, a skill that healed the player a little, and so on. They were all pretty useful and made day-to-day hunting much easier. But what Silica was most happy about was the warmth and comfort that Pina's very existence brought.
The AI of a familiar wasn't that great. Of course, it couldn't talk, and it could only understand a couple dozen commands. But to Silica, who had entered the game when she was only twelve and was being crushed by fear and nervousness, Pina was a savior that was hard to explain with words. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that Silica's «Adventure» — which meant actually «Living» here — had started with Pina.
After a year, Silica and Pina had leveled up smoothly and her skill as a dagger user had become quite good. It made her rather famous amongst the middle level players as one of their best.
Of course, she was still a far cry from the top class warriors who fought on the front lines; but in some ways, those few hundred players who were set on clearing the game amongst the seven thousand total players were harder to see than beast tamers. Therefore, becoming famous among the average players was pretty much the same as becoming one of the idols in the game.
Because female players were rather rare, especially given her age, it didn't take long for «Dragon Master Silica» to become a famous player with numerous fans. She received endless invitations from parties and guilds who wanted an idol player and it was unavoidable for the thirteen year old Silica to become overproud of herself. But in the end, that pride caused her to commit a grave mistake, and she couldn't turn back no matter how much she regretted it.
A fight over a minor detail started everything.
Silica was in a vast forest on the north of the thirty-fifth floor, known as «The Forest of Wandering», with a party that she had met two weeks back. At that point, the front line was already far away on the fifty-fifth floor, so the thirty-fifth floor had already been cleared. But the top class warriors didn't care about anything except clearing the labyrinth area, so sub-dungeons like «The Forest of Wandering» was a popular target for the average player.
Since the six-player party that Silica had joined was made of skilled warriors, they had fought since morning and found quite a lot of items, including a number of treasure chests. But when the sun began to set and everyone was running out of healing potions, they started to make their way back to the living area. A slim female player who wielded a spear then said something, perhaps in order to keep Silica in check.
"We'll be handing around the items after we get back. But since your lizard heals you, you won't be needing the healing crystals right?"
Silica felt offended and struck back.
"You don't even come out to the front and only hang around the back of the group, so you don't use crystals anyway."
After that, the bickering had intensified, and the attempts of the team leader, a sword-and-shield wielder, to stop it had been totally ignored. In the end, Silica said in anger:
"I don't need the items. I'll never party with you again. There're plenty of people who want to party with me anyway!"
Ignoring the leader's suggestion to at least stay with the party until they were out of the forest and back in the living area, she left the group and walked aimlessly down a small track.
Even if she were solo, she had already mastered seventy percent of her dagger skill and also had Pina to back her up, so the monsters on the thirty-fifth floor weren't a problem for her. She would have been able to get through the forest and back to the living area without any problems. That is, if she hadn't gotten lost.
The forest wasn't called «The Forest of Wandering» for nothing.
The huge forest was full of large, towering trees and was divided into areas like a chess board; one minute after you set foot into an area, it would be randomly linked via warp to a whole new set of areas. If you wanted to get out of the forest, you had to either get through each area within a minute each, or buy an expensive map from a shop in the living area, which checked the areas your location is currently linked to as you made your way through the forest.
But the only person with a map was the leader. Since using a teleport crystal within The Forest of Wandering only teleported you to another area in the forest instead of back to the city, Silica had to attempt getting through each area. But running around the enormous tree roots and following the ever-meandering forest trail proved harder than she had thought.
Silica had decided to keep going north, but the minute mark kept passing just before she could reach the end of the area, and she ended up being warped to some random area again and again. Soon she was nearing the point of collapsing from the fatigue. The red light of the setting sun deepened and she felt increasingly anxious as the skies darkened and her chances of leaving the dungeon grew more unlikely.
Eventually, Silica gave up on running and began to walk, hoping that she would end up at an area at the edge of the forest by chance. But luck wasn't on her side, and numerous monsters attacked her as she stumbled on. Even with her huge level advantage, as the day grew darker she couldn't even see what was on the ground very well. Although she had Pina to help her, she wasn't able to get out of every fight unscathed and eventually used up not only her remaining potions but also her emergency healing crystals.
As if it sensed Silica's nervousness, Pina stroked her cheek with its head as it purred on her shoulder. Silica regretted her rashness and pride that had gotten her into this situation while she stroked her partner's long neck in a comforting manner.
She muttered in her mind as she walked:
"I'm sorry. I won't think that I'm special again. So please let me get out of this forest the next time I warp."
She stepped into another distorted warp zone as she prayed. After a brief wave of dizziness, what appeared in front of her was the same deep forest she had seen every other time. There wasn't even a hint of the plains in the darkness past all the tall trees.
As the disappointed Silica began to walk again, Pina quickly raised its head and gave a sharp cry. It was a warning. Silica immediately drew her dagger and raised it towards the direction that Pina had been looking at.
A few seconds later, a low growl could be heard behind a huge, moss-covered tree. As Silica focused her gaze, a yellow cursor appeared. There were a few of them. Two, no... three. The monsters' name was «Drunk Ape». They were one of the strongest monsters in The Forest of Wandering. Silica bit her lip.
Even if that were the case—
They weren't all that dangerous if one looked at only the level.
When middle class players, such as Silica, went out onto the field, it was common sense to be several levels higher than the monsters that appear. Normally, they needed to be on a high enough level to defeat five monsters without any healing items on your own.
The reason was that, unlike the top class warriors on the frontlines, the middle class players went on adventures to earn enough col to get by, to gain just enough experience to stay with the average level range, and lastly to simply relieve boredom. Among these reasons, not one was worth risking your life for. In fact, there were still about a thousand players in the «Starting City» who refused to raise the chances of dying by even a little.
But one needed a regular source of income to eat and sleep. Furthermore, all MMORPG players had this disease-like quirk which made them feel insecure if they weren't at least on an average level. Because of this, after about a year and a half since the game started, the main body of players now journeyed onto the field with a huge level advantage to enjoy adventuring in this world.
Therefore, the Drunk Apes, which boasted of being one of the strongest monsters on the thirty-fifth floor, weren't really a challenge for Silica; at least that was how it should have been.
Silica raised her dagger as she forced her mind to concentrate. Pina also floated upwards as it prepared for battle.
The monsters that appeared from behind the tree were anthropoids covered with dark red fur. They held a crude club in the right hand and some sort of gourd with a string tied around it in their left hand.
As the apes raised their clubs and bared their teeth to roar, Silica rushed towards the one in front to make the first strike. She got a clean hit in and took off quite a chunk of its HP with «Rapid Bite», a middle class charge-type dagger skill, and then went into one of the high speed combos that was one of the greatest advantages of wielding a dagger.
The Drunk Apes used low-level mace skills, and although each hit had formidable power, they lacked in speed and multi-hitting combos. Silica rained blows down on the Drunk Ape and then backed away quickly only to charge in again to start a new assault. After doing this several times, the HP of the Drunk Ape had greatly decreased within a short moment. Once in a while, Pina also used its bubble-like breath attack to confuse the opponent.
But just before she was about to launch her fourth skill «Fad Edge» and kill the first ape...
A new opponent came from behind it, switching with the first ape during the brief respite. Silica didn't have any choice but to switch her target and start attacking the second Ape. The first then backed away and tilted the gourd with its left hand—
Silica was shocked as she glanced at the HP bar of the first Drunk Ape. The HP bar was being filled back up at an amazing speed. It seemed as if the gourd held some sort of healing liquid.
She had faced Drunk Apes in the past on the thirty-fifth floor, but there were only two of them that time, and she eliminated both before they had a chance to switch, so she wasn't aware of this special skill. Silica gritted her teeth and concentrated on taking care of the second one properly.
But just as she knocked its HP bar into the red zone and widened the distance between them to start her last attack, the other ape switched with it. It was the third Drunk Ape. At that point the first one had almost completely filled its HP bar.
There would be no end to this if it continued on. Her mouth became dry with anxiety.
Silica had barely any experience fighting solo in the first place. Even if she had an overwhelming advantage in level, it was only a number; the player's actual skill was entirely another matter. The anxiety that had appeared in Silica's mind began to change into confusion. She started to miss more, which opened the room for her enemy to counterattack.
When she managed to lower the third Drunk Ape's HP to about half, her attempt to keep performing combos caused her to overreach. The ape didn't miss that opportunity and counterattacked, which landed a critical blow.
The wooden club was crudely made, but the basic damage from its weight combined with the Drunken Ape's strength stat caused Silica's HP to go down by almost thirty percent. A chill ran down her spine.
The fact that she had run out of healing potions added to her nervousness. Pina's breath restored about ten percent of her HP, but it wasn't something Pina could use very often. Even with that, if she were hit three more times by such an attack — she would die.
Death. Silica froze as soon as that possibility flashed through her mind. Her arm wouldn't go up. Her legs wouldn't move.
Up till now, fighting had been thrilling, but it had been far from actual danger. She had never thought that it was linked to actual «Death» before—
As she stood frozen in front of the Drunk Ape who roared and raised its club again, Silica realized for the first time what fighting with monsters in SAO actually meant. It was a contradiction; SAO was a game, but at the same time it wasn't something to be played.
With the dull sound of a club rushing through the air, it struck her as she continued to stand rigidly. She couldn't take the impact and collapsed onto the ground. Her HP greatly decreased and entered the orange area.
She could no longer think of anything. She could run away. She could use a teleport crystal. There were still other choices she could make, but she simply looked at the club as the ape raised it a third time.
The crude weapon gave off a red glow, and just when she was about to close her eyes reflexively—
A small figure jumped into the space between her and the club. A heavy and chilling sound of impact sounded. The sky-blue feathers scattered in an instant as the small HP bar dropped down to zero.
Pina gazed at Silica with its round, blue eyes after it fell to the floor. It gave a weak growl and then scattered into countless polygons. A long tail feather floated down as if it were dancing.
Something inside Silica snapped. The thread that held her together had disappeared. Before the sadness could come, she felt anger: anger at herself for being unable to move after being hit just once; and before that, anger at herself for being conceited enough to attempt going through the forest alone just because she felt annoyed about a minor quarrel.
Silica stepped back with a lithe movement, avoiding the blow that the monster had swung at her. She then rushed in with a shout. The dagger in her right hand flashed as it rained blows down on the Ape.
She didn't even try to dodge the club of the Ape that had switched in after it saw the HP of its companion decrease, but instead blocked it with her left hand. Her HP decreased, although not by as much as a direct hit. But she ignored it and went after the third ape, the one that had killed Pina.
She used her small stature to her advantage, charged straight at the Ape, and dug her dagger into its chest with all her strength. With a flashy critical hit effect, the enemy's HP was reduced to nothing. A scream came first, and then the sound of shattering.
Within the scattering debris, Silica turned her body and charged at a new target. Her HP bar had already gone into the red danger area, but she didn't even care anymore. She saw only the enemy she had to kill, as if it were enlarged to fill her vision.
She forgot even her fear of death and was just about to attempt a doomed charge below the swinging club.
A pure white light slashed across the two Drunk Apes from behind them as they stood side by side.
The bodies of the two Apes were each split into two in an instant; then they shattered and disappeared.
As Silica stood numbly, she saw a male player just past the haze of scattering fragments. He had black hair and wore a black coat. He wasn't all that tall, but an overwhelming presence radiated from him. Silica stepped back as she felt an instinctive fear. Their eyes met.
But his eyes were silent and as deep as the darkness. The boy sheathed his one-handed sword back into the scabbard on his back with a clank and then opened his mouth.
"I'm sorry. I couldn't save your friend"
Strength left her body as soon as she heard this. She couldn't stop the tears running down her cheeks. She didn't even register her dagger slipping out of her hand and falling onto the ground. As soon as she saw the sky-blue feather on the ground, she fell to her knees in front of it.
As her anger disappeared, an uncontrollable sadness and loss rushed out. They formed in the shape of tears and rolled down her cheeks relentlessly.
Familiars weren't programmed to stop an attack as part of its normal behavior. Pina had rushed in front of the attack of its own free will — it could be called the result of its love towards Silica, whom it had spent a year with.
As Silica clutched herself, she muttered while crying.
"Please... don't leave me alone... Pina..."
But the sky-blue feather didn't give any sort of reply.
Part 2
“...I'm sorry.”
The boy clad in black clothing said again. Silica shook her head and tried desperately to stop her tears.
“...No... I was... being stupid... Thank you...for saving me...”
She managed to force just that out as she stopped herself from crying.
The boy walked over to her slowly and knelt down in front of Silica before asking hesitantly.
“...That feather, does it have an item name by any chance?”
Surprised by the unexpected question, Silica raised her head. She wiped her tears and then turned her gaze over to the feather.
Now that she thought about it, it was strange that only the feather had remained. Be it monster or human, beings of this world usually left nothing behind after they died, not even their equipment. Silica hesitantly reached over with her hand and clicked on the surface of the feather with her right index finger. The half-transparent window that appeared showed its name and weight.
«Pina's Heart»
Just as Silica was about to start crying again after seeing this, the boy stopped her.
“Wa-Wait-Wait. If a heart item is left behind, then you can revive it.”
“What!?”
Silica raised her head sharply. She stared at the boy's face with her mouth half open.
“It's something that was discovered not too long ago, so there are still lots of people who don't know. There's a dungeon in the northern region of the forty-seventh floor called «The Hill of Memories». It's quite hard despite its name... but they say that the flower that blooms on the top of it is a familiar revival ite—.”
“Re-Really!?”
Silica shot up and shouted before the boy had finished talking. It felt as if hope had flooded her chest, which had been filled with sorrow. But—
“...The forty-seventh floor...”
She muttered and sagged her shoulders. It was twelve floors above this level, floor thirty-five. It was definitely not a safe area for her.
Just when she turned her disheartened eyes to the floor.
“Hmm—”
The boy in front of her said in a bothered voice.
“I could go get it for you if you give me the expenses and some pay, but they say that the flower only shows up if the beast tamer who lost their familiar goes...”
Silica smiled at the surprisingly kind swordsman and spoke:
“No... I'm happy with the information you gave me. If I work hard to raise my level, someday I'll be able to...”
“Well the reason you can't do that is, they say that you can only revive the familiar within four days after it was killed. After that, the item's name will change from «Heart» to «Remains»...”
“What...!”
Silica couldn't stop herself from shouting.
Her level was forty-four right now. If SAO were a normal RPG, the floor of the dungeon would be the suited difficulty for a player with the same level. But since it became a crazy death-game, the safe area would be about ten levels below the player's.
In other words, to explore the forty-seventh floor, she would need to reach level fifty-five at the very least. But no matter how she thought about it, it was impossible to gain over ten levels in just three days... no, two days if she took away the time she needed to clear the dungeon. She had just managed to get to where she is now by diligently going on adventures.
Silica dropped her head as despair took over her once again. She picked Pina's feather up from the ground and hugged it gently to her chest. Tears appeared as she resented her stupidity and powerlessness.
She noticed the boy stand up. She thought he was leaving and that she should at least say goodbye, but she didn't have the energy to open her mouth any more—
But suddenly, a half-transparent system window appeared in front of her. It was a trade window. When she raised her head, she saw the boy manipulating another window. Items began to appear one by one in the trade section. «Silver Thread Armor», «Ebon Dagger»... They were all equipments that she had never even seen before.
“Errm...”
When she opened her mouth hesitantly, the boy explained casually:
“These should cover for about five, six levels. If I go with you I suppose it'll be fine.”
“What...?”
Silica stood up with her mouth slightly open. She couldn't tell what the boy was thinking, so she looked directly into his face. But because of the SAO system, all she could see was his HP bar; she couldn't even figure out his name or level.
It was hard to tell how old he was. His equipment was entirely black. The force and calmness that radiated from him made it seem like he was several years older than her, but the eyes that were covered by his long bangs appeared somewhat innocent, and the feminine facial lines gave him a slightly girlish look. Silica asked carefully:
“Why... are you being so kind...?”
To tell the truth, she was more wary than anything else.
Up till now, a couple of male players who had been much older than her had tried to gain her love; she had even received a proposal once. To Silica, who was only thirteen, these experiences brought her nothing but fear. She had never received even a confession in the real world.
Inevitably, Silica had started to avoid male players that seemed to have those sorts of interests. Besides, «there's always a motive behind sweet words» was common sense in Aincrad.
The boy scratched his head again, as if he were short on answers. He opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it once again. After that, he turned his gaze and then muttered in a small voice:
“...Well, it's not like this is a manga... I'll tell you if you promise not to laugh.”
“I won't.”
“It's because... you look like my sister.”
At this really manga-like answer, Silica couldn't stop herself from laughing. She blocked her mouth with her hand, but she couldn't stop the laughter that was bubbling up.
“You, you said you wouldn't laugh...”
The boy had a hurt expression on his face and sagged his shoulders as he went into a sulk. That made her laugh even harder.
—He's not a bad person...
As she laughed, Silica decided to trust the kindness of this boy. She had already resolved herself to die once. If it were for saving Pina, there was no reason for her to hold back.
Silica bowed and said:
“I hope we get along. You saved me, and even offered to do something like this for me...”
She stared at the trade window and then put in all the Col she had. There were more than ten pieces of equipment that the boy had offered, and all of them looked like rare items that you couldn't buy from shops.
“Well... I suppose this is too little, but...”
“No, you don't have to pay. They were spares anyway and this coincides with the reason I came here...”
While he talked about something that she couldn't understand, the boy pressed the OK button without receiving any money.
“Thank you. Really.... Oh, I'm Silica.”
As she said her name, she half-expected the boy to be surprised by it, but it seemed like he didn't know it. She felt put out for a second, but then she remembered that it was this side of her that made her end up like this in the first place.
The boy nodded slightly and offered his right hand.
“I'm Kirito. I hope we get along.”
They shook hands.
The player called Kirito took out a map of the Wandering Forest from the pouch that hung from his belt. He looked for an area that was linked to the entrance and then started walking. As she followed, she put Pina's feather against her lips and muttered in her mind.
Just wait, Pina. I'll revive you soon...
The living area of the thirty-fifth floor had a pastoral, farm-like feel with its white buildings and red roofs. The village itself wasn't all that big, but it was the main adventuring area for the middle level players right now, so there were quite a few people walking around.
Silica's hometown was Friben Village, which was situated on the eighth floor; but since she hadn't bought a house, staying at any inn in any village wasn't really all that different. The most important thing was how the food served there tasted. Silica liked the cheesecake that the NPC cook here made, so she had been staying here since two weeks ago when she began adventuring in the Forest of Wandering.
As she lead Kirito, who was looking around as if everything fascinated him, a couple of players whose faces she knew began to strike up a conversation with her. They were trying to get Silica to join their party after hearing the rumor that she had left her old one.
“Erm, well... thank you for the offer, but...”
She bowed as she refused the offers in order to not make them feel bad. She then glanced at Kirito, who was standing beside her, and continued:
“...I'm going to party with this person for a while...”
What!? Really!? The people who surrounded Silica said sullenly and stared at Kirito suspiciously.
Silica had seen a bit of Kirito's skill; but when you looked at the black swordsman just standing there, he didn't seem all that strong.
He didn't have any expensive equipment on —he didn't wear any armor and only had an old and worn-looking long coat on top of his shirt— all he had was a single simple one-handed sword; he didn't even have a shield.
“Hey, you—”
The tall two-handed sword user who had tried the hardest to get Silica to join walked over to Kirito. He opened his mouth as he looked down upon Kirito:
“You're a new face, but you shouldn't cut in line. We've had our eyes on Silica for quite a while now.”
“Well I didn't know; things just ended up like this somehow...”
Kirito scratched his head with a troubled expression.
He could at least argue a little, Silica thought with a little discontent, and then she spoke to the two-handed sword wielder:
“Erm, it's something I requested. I'm sorry!”
Silica bowed low one last time and then walked away as she pulled at the end of Kirito's coat.
“I'll send you a message next time~.”
Silica walked quickly, wanting to get away from the waving crowd, which still wouldn't completely give up on her, as fast as possible. She cut across the gate plaza and into the main street.
When they finally couldn't see the players anymore, Silica sighed and looked up at Kirito.
“...I-I'm sorry. For making you go through all this trouble.”
“It's fine.”
Kirito answered with a slight smile as if it didn't worry him at all.
“Silica-san is pretty popular.”
“Please just call me Silica... It's not because I'm popular; they're just trying to get me in their party as a sort of mascot, really. But... I thought that I was special... and went into the forest by myself... and ended up...”
Tears began to appear naturally as she thought of Pina.
“It's alright.”
Kirito said in a calm voice.
“We'll definitely bring Pina back, so don't worry about it.”
Silica wiped her tears and smiled at Kirito. Strangely enough, it felt like she could trust the words of this person.
Finally, they could see a two-story building to their right. It was the inn that Silica used often: «Weathercock Tavern». Now that they had arrived, Silica realized that she had led Kirito here without saying anything.
“Ah, where's your home, Kirito-san?”
“Oh, it's on the fiftieth floor.... But it's too much of a bother going there now, so I suppose I'll just stay here for the night.”
“Ah, okay!”
Silica was excited for some reason and clapped her hands together.
“The cheesecake here is really good.”
She was just about to lead Kirito into the inn by pulling at his coat when four players came out of the shop next to them. They were the party members whom she had hunted with for the past two weeks. The male players that appeared first didn't see Silica and simply headed for the plaza, but the female player at the end looked back and Silica met her gaze reflexively.
“...!”
It was the face that she didn't want to see the most right now. It was the spear wielder that had been the cause of the fight which had made Silica quit the party. She was going to just walk into the inn with her head bowed low but...
“Oh, isn't it Silica?”
The spear wielder called out, so Silica didn't have a choice but to stop walking.
“...Yeah.”
“Ho~, you somehow managed to get out of the forest. That's a relief.”
The player named Rosalia, who had her deep red hair in wild curls, said with a lopsided smile.
“But you're too late. We've already distributed the items.”
“I said I don't need them! —I'm busy right now so goodbye!”
Silica tried to end the conversation, but it seemed that the other side didn't have any intention of letting her go just yet.
“Oh? What happened to that lizard?”
Silica bit her lip. You couldn't put familiars in your inventory or entrust it to another person. In other words, there was only one reason why it wasn't there. Rosalia most probably knew that too, but she continued on with a slight smile.
“Oh, by any chance...?”
“It's dead.... But!”
Silica glared at the spear wielder.
“I'm going to revive Pina!”
Rosalia, who had been smiling with great satisfaction, widened her eyes. She even gave a low whistle.
“Ho, so you're going to the «Hill of Memories»? But can you get through it at your level?”
“She can.”
Kirito declared even before Silica could answer. He hid Silica behind his coat as if to protect her.
“It's not that hard of a dungeon anyway.”
Rosalia looked up and down at Kirito with a blunt stare and then scoffed:
“You're another one that fell for her? You don't look all that strong.”
Silica started shaking with fury. She looked downwards as she tried to hold her tears back.
“Let's go.”
Kirito placed a hand on her shoulder, and then Silica began to walk towards the inn.
“Well, good luck.”
Rosalia's laughing voice sounded behind her, but she didn't look back.
The first floor of «Weathercock Tavern» was a huge restaurant. Kirito got Silica to sit down at a table and then walked over to the front counter where a NPC was waiting. After he finished checking in, he clicked the menu on the counter and then quickly returned.
As soon as Kirito sat down on the other side, Silica opened her mouth to apologize for making Kirito go through such an uncomfortable situation because of her. But Kirito stopped her by raising his hand and then smiled.
“Let's eat first.”
The waiter brought two steaming mugs over just in time. The cups in front of them were filled with a red liquid; a mysterious aroma rose from them.
“To the forming of our party.”
They clinked their mugs together at Kirito's toast. Silica then took a sip of the hot liquid.
“...Tasty...”
The smell and sour-sweet taste was similar to the wine that her father had let her try a long time ago. But Silica already had a go at every drink offered in this restaurant over the past two weeks, yet she couldn't remember trying this one.
“Erm, what is this...?”
Kirito smiled before he answered:
“You can bring bottled drinks with you to NPC restaurants. This is an item that I had called «Ruby Ichor». If you drink a cup of it, it will increase your dexterity by one point.”
“It's-It's really precious...!”
“Well, it's not like alcohol gets any better if I keep it in my inventory, and I don't know that many people so I don't have many chances to drink it...”
Kirito gave a silly shrug. Silica laughed and then took another sip. The somehow nostalgic taste slowly softened her heart, which had hardened because of the many sad things that had happened this day.
After she finished drinking, Silica held the cup to her chest as if she still longed for its warmth. She then turned her gaze downwards to the table and said quietly:
“...Why... do they say such mean things...”
Kirito's expression turned serious as he put his cup down and then opened his mouth.
“Is SAO your first MMORPG?”
“It's my first.”
“Oh right— In any online game, there're many players whose personalities change when they wear the mask of their character. There are people who become kind, as well as others who become evil... They called it roleplaying in the past, but I think it's different in SAO.”
Kirito's gaze sharpened.
“Even though we're in such a difficult situation... Well, it's impossible for all the players to work together at clearing the game. But there are too many people who enjoy watching others suffer, stealing items— and even those who kill others.”
Kirito looked straight at Silica. There seemed to be a deep sadness behind his anger.
“I think that the people who commit crimes here are total garbage back in the real world as well.”
He almost spat this out. But then he noticed that Silica was cowering slightly, so he smiled and apologized:
“Sorry... I'm not even in the position to talk about others myself. I hardly ever help others. I even— caused my companions to die...”
“Kirito-san...”
Silica realized that the black swordsman sitting in front of her bore a deep scar within him. She wanted to console him, but she resented the fact that words were too shallow to convey what she wanted to say. Instead, she unconsciously grasped Kirito's hand, which was clenched on top of the table, with both of her hands.
“Kirito-san is a good person. You saved me.”
At first, Kirito was surprised and tried to pull his hand back, but he soon relaxed. A soft smile appeared on his lips.
“...It seems I ended up being comforted. Thanks, Silica.”
Just then, Silica felt a painful feeling, as if her heart had constricted. Her heartbeat sped up for no reason. Her face felt hot.
She pulled her hands away quickly and pressed them down on her chest. But the aching didn't stop.
“What are you doing...?”
As Kirito leaned forward over the table, Silica shook her head and managed to smile.
“It-It's nothing! Ah, I'm hungry!”
After they had eaten their bread and stew, with some cheesecake for dessert, it was already past eight. They decided to turn in early in preparation for going to the forty-seventh floor tomorrow. The two went upstairs to the second floor, where there were countless rooms on either side of the wide corridor.
The room that Kirito had rented was, by coincidence, next to Silica's. They bid each other good night with a smile.
As soon as she entered her room, Silica decided that before she got changed, she would practice some combos to familiarize herself with the new dagger that Kirito had given her. She tried to concentrate on the weapon, which was slightly heavier than the one she was used to, but the aching in her chest made it hard to.
After she somehow managed to chain five blows together, she opened her window, unequipped her gear, and then got into bed in her underwear. She then tapped on the wall to bring out the pop-up menu and switched off the lights.
She felt a heavy weariness all over her body, so she thought that she would be able to fall asleep easily. But for some reason, she felt even less drowsy than usual.
Ever since they had become friends, she had always gone to sleep with Pina's soft body in her arms, so the wide bed felt somewhat empty. She tossed and turned for a bit before she gave up on sleeping and sat back up. She kept looking towards her left— where the wall that was connected to Kirito's room stood.
She wanted to talk some more with him.
She was surprised at herself as she thought of this. This person was a male player whom she had known for less than a day. She had avoided male players up until now, but why did this swordsman she knew nothing about keep appearing in her mind?
She couldn't explain her own feelings. When she glanced at the clock, which was at the bottom of her vision, it was already ten. She could no longer hear the footsteps of other players from her window, only the sound of a dog barking in the distance.
'Well that doesn't make any sense, so let's just sleep.'
She thought that in her mind. But for some reason, she got out of bed and stepped lightly onto the floor. After telling herself that she would only knock and wave her hand, she opened the menu, chose the cutest tunic she had, and put it on.
She took a few steps in the candlelit corridor. Then, after hesitating for a few dozen seconds in front of the door, she knocked twice.
Normally, all doors should shield sounds off, preventing the voices in conversation from leaking out. However, that restriction was lifted only after knocks, for thirty seconds, and Kirito immediately called out a reply, and opened the door.
Kirito, in a simple shirt with his weapons unequipped, looked at Silica and spoke while giving a slight stare of wonder.
“Huh? Is something the matter?”
“Well—”
Silica just realized that she hadn't prepared a reasonable excuse for coming and was flustered. 'I just wanted to talk' simply sounded too childish.
“Well, that err— Ah, I wanted to know more about the forty-seventh floor!”
Fortunately, Kirito didn't suspect anything and simply nodded.
“Okay then. Should we head downstairs?”
“No, well— If it's alright, in your room...”
She answered without thinking and then quickly added:
“Be-Because, we shouldn't let anyone else hear precious information!”
“Erm... well... yeah, you're right. But...”
Kirito scratched his head with a slightly uncomfortable expression, then...
“Well, I suppose it should be okay.”
He muttered, then opened the door properly and took a step back.
Of course, Kirito's room was the same as her own: a bed on the left, plus a tea table and a chair a bit further in. That was all the furniture there. A lantern mounted on the left wall let out an orange glow.
Kirito offered the chair before he sat down on the bed and opened a window. He manipulated it quickly and called out a small box.
The box that had been placed on the table had a small crystal ball inside. It shone under the light of the lantern.
“Pretty... What is it?”
“It's an item called the «Mirage Sphere».”
When Kirito clicked on the sphere, a menu window appeared. He manipulated it quickly and pressed the OK button.
As soon as he did this, the sphere began to project a bright blue light, and a large spherical hologram appeared. The image seemed to be the entirety of a floor in Aincrad. It showed the villages and every single tree in great detail, and was completely different from the simple map that could be found on the system menu.
“Uwaa...!”
Silica stared numbly at the half-transparent map. It almost seemed like it could show people walking around if she kept gazing at it.
“This is the living area, and this is the Hill of Memories. You have to go past this way, but... there are some strong monsters around here...”
Kirito pointed here and there as he explained the geography of the forty-seventh floor without pausing. Silica felt warm just by listening to that calm voice.
“And if you cross this bridge you can see the hi...”
Suddenly Kirito stopped talking.
“...?”
“Shh...”
When she raised her head, she saw that Kirito's expression was hard and that he had a finger on his lips. He glared at the door with a sharp gaze.
Kirito burst into action. He jumped off the bed at lightning speed and opened the door.
“Who's there...!?”
Silica could hear the sound of running footsteps. She ran over and looked outside from under Kirito's body, where she saw someone's shadow running down the stairs.
“Wha-What is it!!?”
“...I think he was eavesdropping.”
“What...? But you can't hear anything past a wall right?”
“You can if your eavesdropping skill is high enough. Although... there aren't... all that many people who would train this skill...”
Kirito closed the door and returned to the room. He sat down on the bed with a pondering expression on his face. Silica sat down next to him and wrapped her arms around herself. She was overwhelmed with an inexplicable feeling of fear.
“Why was the person eavesdropping...?”
“We'll find out soon, probably. I have a message to send, so could you wait a bit?”
Kirito smiled slightly before he put the crystal map away and opened a window. He started moving his fingers on top of the holographic keyboard.
Silica curled up on his bed. A distant memory from the real world came back to her. Her father was a reporter. He was always in front of an old PC, typing something with a serious expression. Silica liked to watch the back of her father as he did that.
She didn't feel afraid anymore. As she watched the side of Kirito's face from behind, it felt as if she were enveloped in a warmth that she had forgotten for so long. Before she knew it, her eyes had closed themselves.
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