Suddenly, a girl fell from the sky and I hugged her. At that moment, I couldn't help but think of a line from an animated movie: "Boss! A girl fell from the sky!" Although these things were not important, Lilan and I still looked at the girl anxiously.
"Who is this kid...?"
"It's not unusual for girls to fall from the sky... but it feels a little different."
Girls falling from the sky are not uncommon in games, but there's always something wrong. No, if this girl is an NPC, it will just be an ordinary event, and the NPC's name will usually be displayed. But for this girl, no matter how the cursor is moved to her, the words NPC will not be displayed. ——This girl is not an NPC, but a real player.
To make sure she was conscious, I shook the girl's body.
"Hey, are you okay?"
The girl didn't answer. She just leaned against me, motionless, and seemed to be in a rather deep coma.
"No, she's unconscious."
"It's better to take her somewhere else for the time being. She can't stay here forever."
I changed the girl from the princess holding position to the carrying position, and then stood up. The girl's body has a certain weight, but perhaps the sword weapon is heavier than the sword weapon she has used before.
"So be it. But where to take her?"
"There are only residents of this world in the hotel. Why not take her to Egil's shop just now. That place is Egil's residence."
"I understand. She should be able to find a bed for her to rest there. Although it will bring some trouble to Egil, there is nothing we can do if we fight against the odds. Let's go, Lilan."
Lilan and I carried the girl on our backs, checked the map and determined the direction of Egil's store, then re-entered the intricate maze, and finally arrived in front of Egil's store.
I thought it would take more time but was very surprised to arrive at my destination in just 5 minutes. It seems that Egil's store is relatively close to the square.
I opened the door and heard a jingling sound, and entered the store again. Egil looked at me in surprise.
"Hey, what's up, Kirito?"
"Egil, a girl fell from the sky."
Egil's eyes widened, or rather turned into dots.
Anyway, Egil asked me again with an expression that said he couldn't understand the situation.
"Well, what's that plot that looks like an old animated movie? Is the girl falling from the sky an NPC-related event?"
"No, it's not. Come and see this girl."
I said this, picked up the fallen girl from my back, held her in my arms, and showed her to Egil. Egil noticed that the cursor was not an NPC and said in surprise again.
"This girl...is not an NPC, she is a player!"
"That's right. She suddenly fell from the sky while I was walking in the city."
"Although the girl falling from the sky is an old-fashioned plot device in animation and games, since it is not an NPC, what is going on? Even if it is teleported by transferring crystals, it is impossible to be sent into the air."
"Yes. Because she was involved in such an unbelievable thing, this girl has been unconscious. I can't just leave her alone, so please let her rest at your place."
Egil crossed his arms.
"Hey, are you going to let her use my bed? Not in a hotel?"
"There are no "players" like you in the hotel. She is a player and the players should take care of her"
"What about the others?"
"Diabel is busy with funerals now and has no time. Of course, the same goes for everyone else. Even if I go to find other people, they will definitely find it troublesome. You are the only person I can rely on."
Egil frowned, a little reluctantly.
"It's not impossible, but... in other words, you have to be responsible for taking care of her, Kirito. You're not going to leave her alone and go somewhere else by yourself, are you?"
Indeed, I care a lot about why this girl is here and why she is like that. I wanted to get more information and understand who this girl really was. So I don't want to leave her side. And, as you can see, I took Lilan with me, and Lilan's power has spread throughout Aincrad.
For now, although I am helping Diabell, the "Knights of the Blood Alliance" is the same guild as Diabell's "Holy Dragon Alliance". It is very powerful and is considered the most powerful guild in SAO. They have about 50 members, which is less than the "Holy Dragon Alliance", but each member has the strength comparable to thousands of troops, and the leader "Heathcliff" is considered to be the center of Aincrad. The most powerful person.
Moreover, the tendency of the "Knights of the Blood Alliance" is to recruit strong and capable people as members.
If the information about me and Lilan reaches the "Knights of the Blood Alliance", they will definitely come to recruit me. In particular, the deputy leader is known as the ghost of strategy, and he is very eager to carry out strategy. They will greedily want to have a powerful force like Lilan and elements that can shorten the attack time.
Lilan just met this condition.
"No, maybe they will be forcibly recruited. Look for Lilan and me who control her, they may appear."
"Knights of the Blood Alliance". Indeed, they may come to you first. They certainly didn't think that you would defeat a powerful boss with the sacrifice of only 5 people, not to mention that "Knights of the Blood Alliance" is a strategy-seeking person. The group... isn't a gang of rogues, but an army, but if they see Lilan and you manipulating her power, they'll definitely be greedy for it. They will fight for it without hesitation, even at all costs. "
"I think so too. But I don't want to think of Lilan as just a part of the strategy. Lilan fights with me, she is a partner, she will consider me and other people's things and understand me. I don't want her to change It’s just a tool for fighting monsters and bosses.”
I turned to the girl I was holding.
"Also, I also want to know who this girl is and how she got here. Before that, we have to make sure that she won't be discovered by people like the Blood Knights."
Egil turned toward the store.
"Well, it doesn't matter. Come here quickly, Kirito. Let's let her rest first."
"Ah, that's right. Come on, Lilan."
I said this and instructed Lilan to start walking. At this moment, I heard a small voice, not Egil's voice, nor Lilan's voice, coming from my ear. The source of the sound was the girl in my arms, coming from below her. I felt eyes on me, so I lowered my head and looked into the girl's black eyes, which met mine.
"ah......"
I couldn't help but make a sound, and the girl showed a surprised expression, which then turned into an angry expression, and suddenly hit me. The crime prevention code took effect immediately, and a purple barrier appeared between me and the girl, blocking the girl's attack, but she jumped off my arm, took a few steps back, and assumed a fighting stance.
It was easy to sense the clear hostility in her expression and posture.
"Hey, hey..."
Egil must have seen the scene in front of us. He walked next to me and said to the girl.
"Indeed, if I was held by a strange boy and held up like a princess, I would also feel confused. But please calm down and put down your hostility first!"
The girl made a soft hum and released her fighting stance. But her face remained angry. It seems like being held by me is annoying to her. Maybe she won't listen to my explanation, Egil just wanted to talk to her again.
"My name is Egil. The one in black here is Kirito. Anyway, can you tell us why you fell from such a high place?"
Egil spoke gently, but the girl kept her mouth shut angrily. Egil began to explain the situation.
"The reason why he hugged you was because you fell from a height and he caught you to prevent you from hitting the ground. So there was no malice at all."
The girl looked confused for a moment, then turned into an angry expression, and said to me.
"...Is this true? Are you trying to save me?"
I nodded. I didn't mean any harm, Leland would either burn my face off or bite me in the ass if I even considered that sort of thing.
"I didn't mean it that way. But it's great that you're awake."
The girl swallowed softly and opened her half-opened eyes.
"Yeah?"
"Yes. So, why did you become like that?"
The girl's expression turned troubled and she held her head in one hand.
"...that...why would I...?"
Egil and I looked at each other. Then, the scene of my first encounter with Lilan flashed in my mind. At that time, Lilan said something similar, telling me that she had lost her memory. Could it be that this girl is too?
"You said, did I really fall from the sky? It's unbelievable..."
The girl's expression turned vicious again.
"Besides, you look suspicious. You are wearing all black. Are you playing a character in an anime?"
"I'm not playing a role. This is..."
As she spoke, the girl showed a surprised expression. I looked at where her eyes were and saw that it was the sword I just got in the scabbard on my back.
