Suddenly, there was a sound from the front, and Silica and I looked away in unison. There was a woman with a completely different temperament from other players. She was wearing an ominous black and red combat uniform, and her hair was dyed blood red. There were about three male players wearing silver armor around, probably accompanied by women.
"Oh, Miss Rosalia."
"Rosalia." The moment I heard that name, the man's pale face and those words came to mind. That man was murdered by associates of a criminal guild called the Titan's Hand, of which Rosalia was a member or leader. When I realized that Rosalía was the woman in front of me, I felt a deep anger well up in my heart.
But at first glance, there were no criminals except Rosalia, and I quickly realized that the man next to me was not Rosalia’s accomplice. Only Rosalia's look was different.
I have met several criminal players so far, but they always have a dazzling light in their eyes. ——The same dazzling light flashed in the eyes of Rosalia in front of her. Even though he is a newbie, his villainous appearance is enough to prove that he works in a criminal guild. I never thought I would suddenly encounter a target.
At this moment, I felt a numbness in my back and heard "a sound" inside. Rerun appears to be hidden.
"Calm down, Kirito. The target is this guy, but there's no point in not catching all these guys. I didn't expect us to know Rosaria.
"I know.
I spoke to Lelan in a voice that Rosalía couldn't hear, and Rosalia came toward us with a strange clicking sound in her heels.
"What, I'm glad I escaped the forest...what happened to that lizard?"
Silica didn't reply. It didn't take long for a faint smile to appear on Rosalia's lips.
"Oh, maybe that's what it looks like..."
Silica must have glared at Rosalia who smiled in disgust.
"Pina is dead, but I will definitely bring her back to life!"
Rosalia said "Hey" and crossed her arms.
“So you’re going to Memory Hill, huh?
"Not a high-level dungeon."
I cut between Silica and Rosalia and hid Silica with her coat.
Rosalia smiled sarcastically with her appraising eyes.
"So you were also forced by that child?
Rosalia's rosy eyes matched mine. After all, there was an ominous look in his eyes. Even if I talk to this guy again, he will only make fun of me and I will not make any progress.
I gently grabbed Silica's shoulders and started walking towards the hotel. I seemed to hear Rosalía's voice behind me, but Silica and I continued on without looking back, and finally entered the 35th-floor hotel "Kazemittei".
We decided to dine in the restaurant on the first floor. After finishing the appetizer, Silica sighed and complained.
"Why did you say such despicable things..."
I knew right away that Silica was thinking of Rosalía. Why are you acting so mean? If it's an MMO other than that, I don't know why.
"Is SAO your first MMO, Silica?"
"Yes"
"There are many players who will change their personalities after being transformed. I thought it was..."
Silica's eyes opened slightly. It’s the look in your eyes when you don’t quite understand something.
"What do you mean?"
“This game is a death game, you know that, right?
The cursor above our heads is currently green, but if we commit a crime like murder it will turn orange. The player who committed this murder is called the Killer Red Player.
In a regular game, you can pretend to be a villain and try every possible means to kill them. But in this game, if the player dies, they die in real life. You can't play around with the specs as you like... That's how it should be, but there are too many people who repeat irreversible things like stealing things or killing people.
"You shouldn't be mean to the people you meet. Even Miss Rosalia shouldn't do that..."
The appearance and information of the criminal players he had seen so far appeared in his mind, and anger rose from the bottom of his heart. Unconsciously, I held the cup tightly.
"Sure enough, I think people who do bad things in this world are also bad people in the real world."
Even if my life was at stake like this, the murderer's face came to mind like a game, and I couldn't help but crush the cup in my hand. Not long after, just when I was about to crush the cup, my hands suddenly became warm.
Silica leaned against the table and wrapped her arms around mine. Turning his eyes, he saw Silica's serious face.
"Kirito-san is a good person.
Silica's words seemed to flow from my ears into my heart. At the same time, the words, deeds, conversations and information of the criminal players that appeared in his mind suddenly disappeared, and he only felt that the anger and rage in his mind had dissipated.
"Originally, I wanted to comfort you who lost your beloved beast, but... it was me who was comforted. Thank you, Silica."
Just when I couldn't help laughing, Silica's face suddenly turned red, she let go of my hand, returned to her seat and began to look at me busily.
"Ah, ah, hasn't the meal arrived yet? Excuse me, is there still food?"
Starting over, I stared at Silica intently.
◇◇◇
After dinner, I went back to my room and lay on the bed. Looking at the time, it was already past eight o'clock in the evening.
"This is an ordinary dinner."
"Ah. Especially the cheesecake recommended by Silica is very exquisite."
A simple beef stew with brown bread, Silica's recommended dessert cheesecake is mild and delicious, reminiscent of a high-end cake shop. I was a little surprised by the taste, but what surprised me even more was that Lilan ate it too.
"I never thought you'd eat cheesecake. You seem like one sometimes, you know."
Lying next to the bed, a little white dragon eating curry and cheesecake snorted.
"I'm a dragon. They're not human, but their thoughts and eating habits may be similar to humans. Not only that, but that Silica said a lot of nice things."
"What?"
"They say you're not a bad person. When I look at you, that's really what I think. You're not a bad person and that's why I thought I'd follow you.
"Is that what you said? I'm glad."
"Lelan turned to me."
"If you're a villain, you'll be in hell begging the devil for forgiveness. If not, that means you're not a villain.
"Replay is very good at using words." Moreover, he seems to have a large vocabulary. If you talk to him, he will use various words to respond. But sometimes I get scared because sometimes the demons in hell say terrible things.
"Shino said the same thing, but don't say scary things occasionally.
"Yes. I only say these things to people who are truly offended. I can't confirm that at the moment.
Lilan sat up and turned her gaze to the next room where Silica was. That's where the "sound" would stop, so I couldn't help but call out to Lilan.
"What's wrong"
"No, I'm worried about whether Silica will be fine. He must have been with his family. I'm sure today will be a long night without a magic pet.
"……that's right"
It seems that Silica seems to cherish Pina's "family affection". Otherwise, I would not be so sad about losing Pina, nor would I go all the way to the 47th floor to save her. However, Pina's absence tonight doesn't change anything. …I bet you miss having good friends around you.
"Silica, I hope you don't miss me...but this is impossible."
"Just then, I heard a knock on the door." "Are there guests at this time?" After Lilan said, I immediately got up from the bed, walked to the entrance door, and opened the door. Immediately, I saw a girl with light brown hair and wearing light-colored clothes... Silica, appeared in the conversation with Lilan.
"Silica. What's wrong?"
Silica muttered awkwardly.
"Well... I want you to tell me about the 47th floor. I've never been to the 47th floor, so I want to know how to proceed..."
"Oh, by the way, haven't you been there yet? Let me explain, shall we go downstairs?"
"No, if possible, please stay on this floor. Wouldn't it be bad if someone eavesdrops?"
"Yeah, then go into the room. I'll explain it on the 47th floor."
