“I can’t believe I walked through such a painful world alone”
I got out of bed again without saying a word, stood in a row next to the sleeping girl on the bed, and then got under the quilt. The futon felt warm to begin with, probably because the girl had already used it.
"I hope you wake up tomorrow"
After gently stroking the girl's hair, I closed my eyes quietly. I couldn't sleep next to Kirito, but as soon as I stood next to this girl, I suddenly felt sleepy and fell asleep immediately.
◆◆◆
I woke up to the sound of birdsong outside my window, announcing the arrival of morning. I rubbed my sleepy eyes, opened the window and saw that it was already 8:00. I overslept a little.
"I fell asleep last night without setting a timer, so I thought I overslept." Soon after, I felt some discomfort in my back.
Somehow I felt something akin to a gaze, something akin to presence. There shouldn't be anyone else besides me and Kirito, but I wondered if something had snuck in while we were asleep - I wanted to know what it was, so I tossed and turned, only to find that it was very... big. His gaze met those round black eyes.
I was immediately surprised to find that it was the face of the girl I protected yesterday, and I couldn't help but raise my voice.
\"Kirito Kirito!\"
When I turned my gaze to Kirito, he woke up from his sleep and made a weak sound with a somewhat sleepy face.
\"Good morning, Shino. What happened?\"
"Something happened! The girl woke up!"
After Kirito finished speaking, he immediately said "Really!?" and then rushed to my side. The girl turned her black eyes to me first, looking at me and Kirito alternately. Although she showed a confused expression, she didn't try to say anything.
"Uh, uh, can you get up?"
When I called softly, the girl raised her body in response. Obviously you understand our language, so maybe you can answer more questions.
"Um, what's your name? Do you know where you're from?"
The girl turned her eyes to me and made a weak sound from her barely opened mouth.
"Name name?"
"Yes, name. What's your name?"
For a moment, the girl showed an expression as if she had realized something, and then spoke again.
\"The name I, that, the former you, you, you, is this name.\"
The girl said the word "Yi". Maybe that's the name.
\"Your name is Yui. My name is Shino. This person is Kirito.\"
Yui looked at me and Kirito alternately, and moved her mouth slightly.
\"Shion, Kitto?\"
\"I don't think I can say it well, but now I may be able to tell you why Yui is there.\"
"Then why are you in the woods? Where are your father and mother?"
Yui tilted her head, a troubled expression on her face.
"I don't know I don't know anything"
I found myself confused by Yui's words. I thought I would tell my parents and guardians first when I woke up, but I didn’t know anything.
I've read and studied various manuals, but there's nothing on how to deal with kids who claim to know nothing.
Just when it's useless, only when it's critical, what kind of manual is this - I thought to myself, and Kirito sat down next to Yui.
\"Hey, Yui-chan, can I call you Yui? My name is Kirito. Please call me Kirito from now on.\"
Yui nodded to Kirito and said something awkwardly.
"Kiito?"
\"It's Kirito. Kirito.\"
"...key?"
No matter how many times I tried, Yui couldn't say Kirito's name. It seems that the rhythm is not going well, perhaps the aftereffects of losing consciousness.
"He looked about ten years old, but from what he said, I thought he was just a kid who had just woken up."
Kirito smiled and put his hand on Yui's head.
"Is it a bit difficult? Just call me by any name."
Yui gestured thoughtfully, then turned to Kirito.
"dad"
Hearing what Yui said, Kirito opened his eyes wide and pointed at himself.
"Dad? Am I the daddy?"
Yui continued to turn her face to me and moved her mouth slightly.
"Shino is mother"
"Mom." Does he really think of me as his parent, or is he comparing us to people he has lost his parents to?
Before I thought about it, I smiled and answered.
\"Yes, yes. Mom, Yui.\"
Upon hearing my answer, Yui's face suddenly lit up and a smile appeared on her face.
"-Mother!"
Just like that, Yui jumped into my chest. The warmth like a child in the real world spread in my chest, and I hugged Yui's body without hesitation and gently stroked her head.
"You must be hungry because you've been sleeping. Let's eat quickly."
Yui nodded to my heart.
I got off the bus with Shino and Yui at the same time, sat on a regular chair, opened the newspaper that was delivered, and encountered something surprising. The title states that the boss battle on the 57th floor has ended and the road to the 58th floor has been opened.
The boss this time was too powerful, reminiscent of Quarter Point, but the Knights of the Blood Alliance led by Heathcliff fought hard and successfully defeated it.
Under normal circumstances, Heathcliff will not appear, so Asuna will lead the Bloodsworn Knights, Diabell will lead the Holy Dragon Alliance, and Lilan and I will also join the battle.
This time, although Asuna, Diabell, and even I did not participate, Heathcliff led the elite troops of the Bloodsworn Knights and cleared the team without any casualties.
I think he's the leader of the Bloodsworn Knights, but sometimes I think he's too unusual.
While living in Aincrad, I encountered many mysteries that have yet to be solved, including Lelane and Heathcliff.
As I've thought many times before, Lilan is supposed to be an NPC, but one with a heart, the ability to talk, and the ability to compete with quarter-point bosses has a lot of features I've never seen before.
Even if I asked him about it, he had lost his memory, so I couldn't hear the details. To be honest, I've always wondered who Lilan was.
(...that guy)
The other is Heathcliff of the Blood Oath Knights. After becoming friends with Asuna, he began to hear stories about Heathcliff from time to time, but at the same time he also discovered that Heathcliff was a very mysterious existence.
First of all, Heathcliff rarely appears in boss battles or dungeon exploration. Since he's the boss of the Bloodsworn Knights, I imagine he won't be able to come out due to various circumstances, but even so, he doesn't show up too much.
Although my subordinates were fighting boss battles right in front of me, I rarely participated in boss battles.
(No)
not only. According to Asuna, Heathcliff's fighting ability is so high that he can be called the strongest swordsman in Aincrad, and no matter where he is in Aincrad, as long as he sees Heathcliff Leaf's physical strength will show a warning yellow color.
"Under normal circumstances, any player who is attacked will have reduced physical strength, and depending on the situation, the color may change to yellow or red to indicate danger." There are no exceptions.
"So, no matter how strong Heathcliff is, the color will never fade to yellow. It is basically impossible."
Therefore, the color has never turned yellow, which means that it only recovers as soon as its blood volume decreases, or it tries hard not to be attacked from the beginning, or its automatic recovery ability is stronger than mine. Which is the reason?
However, according to Asuna, Heathcliff rarely uses healing items. Although he can dodge attacks, he mostly blocks them with a shield, and his automatic recovery ability is also lower than that of humans.
First, not using recovery items means that even if your stamina drops, it won't regenerate.
The same goes for blocking with a shield. In this game, blocking attacks with a shield only minimizes the damage taken, but does not completely eliminate it. So if you keep getting attacked, your stamina will drop quickly and you'll eventually turn yellow.
...but there is a way to prevent this from happening. This is the auto-repair skill that Lilane and I, and by the way, even Sinon, have acquired.
The more powerful the automatic recovery skill is, the more you can recover. If you use this skill, you can definitely block the attack with your shield and recover immediately. After blocking, you can repeat the recovery immediately to achieve the effect of not losing physical strength.
However, according to Asuna, Heathcliff's numerical value is lower than that of humans, and the amount of automatic recovery is also related to this.
Taking this into account, no matter how skilled Heathcliff is, it is impossible for him to not lose his physical strength in a fierce battle.
\"Even if his command ability is stronger than Diaberu's, his fighting ability is stronger than Asuna's, and he even has unique skills.\" So far, Heathcliff's career is obviously too strange.
Heathcliff is as mysterious as "reenactment", no, even more mysterious than "reenactment". Thanks to this existence, I couldn't help but feel like there was a small bone stuck in my throat. If I tell Asuna, will I be able to contact her? Anyway, I want to find out who Heathcliff is as soon as possible.
\"But now Asuna and Lilane\"
"Dad. Daddy. Daddy."
"A little girl's voice brought me back to reality." When I looked around to see what was going on, I saw the face of a girl about ten years old with round, cute black eyes. .
"It was so close to me that I was surprised and called out its name."
"Yu, Yu"
Next to me is a plate of sandwiches with red sauce in my right hand, probably made for me by him, and a plate of hot cakes in my left hand, probably made for Yui and Shino. A look of astonishment appeared on his face.
\"Kirito, you are still in the same posture as when you were thinking.
"I smiled bitterly involuntarily." When I thought of Leland and Heathcliff, I seemed to fall into the depths of my thoughts without realizing it. I think it's natural for Shino to have an annoyed expression and Yui to have a bored expression.
"Sorry, sorry, it seems that the boss on the 57th floor has been defeated. When I think about what the boss battle is like and what kind of guy the boss is, I can't help but fall into deep thought."
Shino sighed softly, walked away with a wry smile, and placed a plate of sandwiches on the table next to me.
"Your thoughts can sometimes lead to big conclusions, so I don't hate hearing it, but don't get too deep into it, you won't be able to come back. Especially when you're fighting, never go into this world." Thoughts. Case"
\"Jesus Mom\"
After Shino sighed again, Yui suddenly put her hand on her chin, showing a thoughtful expression.
——Realizing that this was exactly what I was doing when I was thinking, Shino smiled wryly and placed a plate of hot cakes next to Yui.
“Hey Yui, don’t imitate daddy.
Yui immediately stopped imitating me and stared at Shino's cake. At the same time, I took a bite of the sandwich prepared by Shino.
It's filled with cheese, chicken, and lettuce, and topped with a generous amount of hot sauce. Ordinary people frown when they say it hurts, but in my opinion, it’s just right.
After Shino understood my favorite taste, she would occasionally cook two meals, one for me and one for herself, and she would also serve me spicy food.
I said, "You don't have to go through all that trouble anymore. No," and jumped away.
"That's why I specially cooked spicy food for you, but I feel sorry for bothering you sometimes." However, after all, the food made by Shino is delicious, whether it is spicy or not, so it doesn't matter whether it is spicy or not.
After thinking about it, I put the sandwich in my mouth, looked at the newspaper again, and felt a strange look on me.
\"Shinon sometimes looks at me, but it's not Shino's fault.\" Just when I was wondering who this was, I discovered that the true identity of that look was Yui.
What's more, Yui's eyes were not looking at me, but at the sandwich in my hand.
You look interesting.
\"Yu, Yui. This is too painful. You can't do it.\"
Yui just stared at my hands, but Shino stopped me after a while.
"Yui's cake is here, eat it quickly."
Yui said to me, looking at the pancakes and sandwiches alternately.
"It's great to be like dad."
"We both said 'hmm' at the end." No matter how much I wanted Yui, this sandwich was spicy.
This is a reaction that even normal people would have, and even Lilan was reluctant to eat it. What's more, in the eyes of Yui, a child whose taste is still in the development stage, it must be extremely spicy.
However, I felt Yui's eyes eager for my sandwich.
"There's nothing you can do. Since you said so, I won't stop you. Everything is based on experience."
Saying that, I handed the sandwich to Yui. Yui happily took the sandwich, her eyes sparkling, but Shino let out a slight scream next to her.
\"Hey, Kirito, this is not something you should give Yui!\"
Just when Shino was about to stop her, Yui said "Amu" and took a bite of the sandwich she made for me. Just as the two of us were staring at Yui, Yui's face gradually wrinkled, and finally she swallowed the sandwich in her mouth and smiled awkwardly.
"Oh, that's delicious."
I was surprised when Yui said it was delicious, even though I was about to say it was spicy or not tasty. Yui looks like a very courageous child. Maybe he has more guts than Lilan who almost fainted after eating my food.
“You’re so brave.
When I touched her head while talking, Yui smiled and nodded "Yeah", but Shino immediately said:
"I wouldn't do that kind of thing, don't get carried away."
and dismissed it. And just after the two of them smiled bitterly, Yui seemed to feel sleepy again and was about to fall asleep.
Shino immediately sat down on the rectangular sofa and waved to Yui. Yui stumbled closer and fell on Shino's chest. Shino slowly moved Yui's body so that her head rested on his lap.
Yui rested her head on Shino's lap, maybe because she was in such a good mood, she began to fall asleep peacefully.
As soon as she gave birth to her daughter, Shino raised her face and covered her with one hand.
"After so long, I don't know what to do."
"I nodded unconsciously." As far as Yui is concerned, Yui and Lilan are the same.
No, it seems that he has lost more memories than Lilan. Besides, she looks about ten years old, but judging from Yui's behavior, she is much younger than a ten-year-old child, just like a child.
"It seems that you have no memory, but maybe you lost your memory due to the shock of killing your parents, and your mental age has regressed."
"I don't want to think about it, but it seems possible."
I had no idea how severe Yui’s amnesia was. If it's as serious as Lilan's, his memory won't be restored so easily.
\"So until then, what should I do with this Yui?\" Even though we have parents and siblings, Yui herself can't help herself in this situation, and the most important thing is that Yui calls us daddy and mom. Even if we try to separate them, they may follow us and think we are their biological parents.
"I want to take care of Yui until she regains her memory. Eventually, we will have to go back to the front line and resume our strategy on what to do with this child if this happens"
"What would Lilan suggest at a time like this?"
Lelan basically listened to what we had to say, but made suggestions when we got stuck like this. If Lilan were here now, he might have some advice for Yui, but now Lilan is on vacation and going to Asuna's place.
In order to see Lilan, she must contact Asuna, and first, Yui must see Asuna, so what will happen?
"If Lilan was here at this time, he would definitely give me some good advice."
Looking at Shino, I was a little surprised. Shino seemed to think so too.
"Then I have no choice but to do this."
"Okay. Let's bring Lilan back."
\"Yes. Lilan is with Asuna now. Although Asuna said she wanted to be with him, are you going to take her away by force?\"
\"No. I will act together with Asuna. With Asuna, with Yui, get good ideas from Lilan. Then, when we get home, we will go back to me, Shino With Yui by your side, that's fine.\"During the day. Then meet up with Asuna to learn about Yui's situation. \"
Shino showed a confused expression.
“Well I think I understand, I think I don’t understand.
\"Yes. Although it's a bit bad for Asuna, I can't think of any good ideas this time.\"
Shino looked annoyed, but immediately nodded in agreement.
"I agree. But why?"
"What?"
Shino reached out to Yui on her knees and gently stroked her hair.
“The weird thing is, I want to spend more time with this kid.
"I feel the same way." I don't feel uncomfortable being called daddy, and most importantly, Yui feels as cute as my own child. Lilan will come back one day, but I imagine how fun it would be for Shino, Yui, and Lilan to live together.
"So to be honest, even if I find Yui's parents and siblings, I still want to be with Yui."
"I feel the same way. But now, I have to understand Yui.
\"Yes. Now that we know about Yui, let's think about the future.\"
"Okay, then let's go see where Lilan is."
I rolled my eyes when I tried to confirm. When I opened the window to look for Lilan's location, Lilan was on the 22nd floor, right next to our house. Asuna's reaction was also noticed nearby.
"Hey, Lilan, I'm here."
\"Shino was surprised.\"
"Hey, is Lilan here?"
Then I heard a knock and a voice coming from the front door.
\"Kirito-kun, Shinono, are you there!?\"
\"Asuna's voice seemed to be trying to spread rumors.\"
"I originally wanted to see you, but I didn't expect you to come from that way." I immediately stood up and walked towards the entrance, but there I could already feel Asuna's presence as a player and Lillan's unique presence. The presence of the <familiar>. It seems that these two people must be outside.
When I opened the front door, Asuna was there, whether I should say it or not. The outfit was a light yellow long-sleeved sweater and a light brown knee-length skirt, which I had never seen before.
However, contrary to her appearance, Asuna's face looked pale.
\"Asuna, what's wrong?\"
\"Asuna suddenly bowed to me.\"
\"I'm sorry Kirito-kun! Run again, run again!\"
“Oh, please calm down.
"No, this would be more magical."
As soon as Asuna finished speaking, something fell lightly from behind. I wanted to know what was going on, so I left the house and took a look. It was a rather large feather. It was so big that it stretched from the tips of my toes to my chest.
"What's this..."
"That is..."
Asuna was about to say something when she heard the sound of something slapping against her ear. It sounded like the flapping of a large bird's wings, but at the same time it sounded like a monster.
Since there are basically no monsters on this floor, there shouldn't be such a sound - just as I was thinking this, something fell in front of me and a strong gust of wind blew.
I was about to be blown away, so I stood there, covering my eyes with my arms, temporarily unable to see what was in front of me.
When I turned my head and saw the appearance of the twenty-second floor without monsters, I unconsciously raised my voice in surprise.
"What?!?"
The person in front of me is wearing a luxurious carapace, which can be said to be shining platinum armor. There are wings on the back, the feathers are very large, and the mane is similar to that of a blonde woman, growing around the head. It has golden hairs on its elbows and behind its legs, but its abdomen, chest and head are covered with golden hairs. Its tail is like a sword. It is a dragon with red eyes, with the outline of a wolf, and horns growing out of its forehead, like A sword.
Although the dragon is now separated from me, judging from the sword on his forehead, the red eyes and the outline of the wolf, I realize that it is the partner Lilan I want to find.
"R-Lilan!? Is it Lilan!?"
As soon as I finished speaking, a familiar "voice" sounded in my mind, like the voice of an old woman.
"Even so. It's sooner than I expected that we'll meet again, Kirito.
"What's going on? You look completely different from last time!"
"This is evolution." When I wasn't looking, Lilan evolved. Their appearance, names, and even ability scores have changed, which is nothing more than evolution. But Asuna was going on vacation, so how could Lilan evolve? Just as I was thinking this, Asuna stopped me.
\"Kirito-san, what does this mean? I don’t know why, but Lilanne’s appearance suddenly changed. I didn’t do anything particularly bad!?\"
Speaking of which, I forgot to tell Asuna that Lilanne is an evolved dragon. That's why I'm so impatient with "Lelan"'s evolution.
\"Asuna, calm down. Actually, I forgot to tell you about Lilan, so I will invite you to my house.\"
\"I turned from Asuna to Lilan.\" Although the appearance has changed, the reliable look on Li Ran's body has not disappeared.
"Lilan, I also have a question to ask you. A serious problem arose while you were away."
"Lilan's face turned ugly."
"What happened? Let's go in and hear the story.
"No, the problem is inside."
"What?\"
I turned my gaze to the house behind me and noticed something there. Before he knew it, Yui, the problem, woke up and stood at the front door with Shino, staring at Ruiran with sparkling eyes.
"Toddler?\"
Once Lilan arrives, Yui is overjoyed and starts treating him like a puppy. Furthermore, Yui is familiar with the hard parts such as Riran's carapace and horns, and focuses on touching the soft parts such as the fur.
I thought Yui would be hurt because the carapace and horns are still hard even when they are smaller, but interestingly, Yui understands this.
When interacting with Yui, Lilan issued
