We made it safely through the cave and arrived at the armor shop where Lisbeth was waiting.
However, when I arrived at the 48th floor, Filia said, "I'm tired, I'm going home."
"Although he is used to fighting, he must be very tired from such an experience."
However, what is a little surprising is that the residence of Philia she told me is actually located on the 75th floor of the city. Probably because he calls himself a treasure hunter, he really likes the look of the 75-story ancient city.
While thinking this, I headed to the armor shop where Lisbeth was waiting. Lisbeth saw that we were exhausted after we came back and asked us what happened, but we gave vague answers for the time being and asked her to prioritize strengthening.
The familiar Lisbeth's hammer swung as it struck the blade of the "Mad Ruler". The "Mad Ruler" characterized by its white blade so far bears a strong resemblance to my beloved sword "The Interpreter" . Broken. The red cross became a golden cross.
I was very moved when Heathcliff's sword officially became mine.
"That's nice, isn't it?"
I answered Lisbeth's question confidently. The blade is all black and the cross is gold. The colors don't look as red and white based as the Bloodsworn Knights, but that's fine too.
"Ah, after all, Liz is reliable."
"As expected, I am still Master Smith."
Lisbeth said confidently with her hands on her hips, then turned to face me.
\"Yes. Kirito, I've wanted to say something for a long time.\"
I put away my sword and turned my gaze to Lisbeth. Lisbeth's expression became extremely serious.
"what happened"
"I will also go to the front line and fight in line next to you."
At the same time as me, Lilane, who was standing on my shoulder, was also surprised and made a <voice> to Lisbeth.
\"Filia, why do you say such things?\"
"Up until now, all I could do was sharpen your sword. But in the midst of it all, you've been close to death many times. Sharpening your sword is no longer enough, I'm starting to understand."
"So you want to fight me?"
Lisbeth nodded firmly.
\"Yes. My level has been raised to level 88. I did it secretly with Asuna, Leafa, and Yuki.\"
It's true that Leafa and Yuki haven't participated in many strategies recently, but I understand that this is to improve Lisbeth's level.
However, as you can see, Lisbeth is the owner of an armor shop and a master blacksmith. As you can imagine, leveling up between forges is extremely difficult.
"Do you really want to fight me? The monster in front is very strong."
"I know, I have been fighting monsters on the 75th floor recently, so I know the monsters on the front line are strong, but I have driven them away. Circle"
""
\"I won't stop again. Kirito, you have always protected me when I went on adventures with you. So this time, I will protect you.\"
I stared into Lisbeth's eyes silently. Slightly larger eyes are usually filled with a warm glow. A powerful light of will flickered in it.
“It’s the light in the hearts of those who decide not to back down.”
"Is that so? Is it because I became the boss of the Bloodsworn Knights that everyone hopes for?"
"That's not true. I've been thinking about it for a long time. So I'm going to help you. I'm going to use this mace to clear the way for you."
Speaking of which, Lisbeth once said that she would also fight with him. Back then he was constantly interrupted and couldn't tell everything, but now he seems to be able to tell me in full.
"I see. If Liz is motivated and has no intention of running away, then let's swallow it."
\"Kirito, are you okay?\"
\"Oh, it doesn't matter. If you have trained with Asuna, Yuki, and Leafa, you should be able to rely on me. So let me rely on you.\"
"However, I don't know what kind of monsters will appear in the future." Liz will definitely encounter danger sometimes. Then just do what you've always done.
"Liz, let's fight together. But fighting me is fighting the boss monster. You know that."
"I know this very well. Whether it's the boss in the wild or the boss in the boss room, just fight."
"Okay, then I won't stop you. We will fight together until the critical moment. I will protect Liz."
The next moment, Lisbeth's face became blank.
"Hey, am I the one protecting you?"
"that's right.
Lisbeth's body twitched slightly, and her face immediately turned red.
"Why do you say that? This is"
"Uh, what's the matter?"
"Oh, it's nothing! In other words, I can't protect you. I want to protect you, so don't think about this and focus on the battle in front of you!"
"Okay. Then I believe you, Liz."
After meeting my eyes, Lisbeth looked away.
However, the fact that Lisbeth protects her means that Lisbeth is always in danger. In order to prevent Lisbeth from dying, in order to bring her back to reality, I must protect her.
Everyone from the Blood Knights, everyone from the Holy Dragon Alliance, everyone from other small and medium-sized guilds, Asuna, Yuuki, Leafa, Lisbeth, and Lilan and Sinon. There are many things to protect, but this must be the role of the boss of the Blood Oath Knights.
"No, you shouldn't try to protect the girl next to you. Or rather, there are girls everywhere in your neighborhood.
"But everyone is immutable, a precious life that must be protected. Of course, you too, Lilan."
\"Although the Mad Lord is great, you only have one body and two swords. Can you protect everyone in this way?\"
"Not two. I have eight swords."
Lilan, who was leaning on his shoulder, sighed.
"I understand. I do have this sword on my forehead, my sword on my tail, and my six swords. If you compare one sword to a person, you have split into eight people.\ "
\"I see. That's why I let you use your power to your heart's content. This is the order of <Beast Tamer> and <Familiar>.\"
\"Well, that's good. That was my intention from the beginning. Let's protect you and your friends with all our might.
"I can't protect everyone by myself." However, it was Lilan's power that made this possible. At the end of the day, we can use all the power that Lelan and I have at our disposal to break through the wall in front of us. I've always done that and will continue to do that.
\"Ah, yes, Kirito. I remember it was in "The Tamer", but Silica seems to be the same as me.\"
"How is this going?"
\"Silica wants to fight alongside you. She has the same training as me, so she should be able to fight just as well as me.\"
\"Is Silica also training with you? But there's no news from Silica recently?\"
"That girl suddenly became shy in front of you. Maybe she didn't dare to speak out, but I believe she also wanted to protect you, so try to talk to her, which will give me strength."
I had the illusion that something heavy was pressing on my shoulders. This has been the case from the beginning, but in the battle on the front lines, not only Lisbeth can be protected, but Silica as well.
\"To be honest, I'm glad you can fight alongside me, but I also have to protect Silica.\"
"Yeah, run it again."
"It's difficult because there's no room for compromise. But I have to do it -"
At this time, Lilan suddenly realized something and turned around. That's the exit from the armory.
"What's wrong, Lilan?"
\"I feel the presence from the outside world. Don't come in, listen to us!\"
"No way, criminal guild!?"
I immediately ran to pry open the armory door.
"Who's there!"
Opening the door, the garden in front of the armory is familiar to me. However, no matter where I looked, there was no human figure. Even if I used the enemy detection skill on the shadow of the object, I could not find any sign. It seems that he completely hid or escaped.
"There is no one here and I don't even have enemy search skills. Are you really searching for enemies, Lilan?"
"Ah. There must be someone near us. That's the sign of a player I've never felt before.
"Is there any sign you're approaching me?"
I realized there was no point in searching for the moment, so when Lisbeth rushed over, I closed the door and went back inside.
\"What's the matter, Kirito?\"
"There were people on the other side of the door eavesdropping on our conversation. For a moment I thought they were members of the Criminal Guild."
Lisbeth's face turned pale. Maybe I made them pop into my head.
"No way, the remains of the 'Smiling Coffin·Luffin Coffin'!?"
"I have thought about this line, but it seems impossible. In fact, all the people poisoned by Vasak Casals were mobilized in that crusade, and all were killed in Lilan.\ "Smiling Coffin\" survives the line. It would be a little thinner
"Are there any other criminal guilds?"
"Of course, there should be many criminal guilds, and that line is probably the thickest."
Lisbeth crossed her arms.
"However, if you are angry, you seem to be the most dangerous person in the criminal guild. When you are angry, the dragon will come and tear you to pieces."
"What information is that?"
"\"Argo\" gave it to me for free.
After saying the dangerous thing, Lisbeth's expression immediately changed as if she had thought of something.
\"Ah, maybe she's a fan of yours. That's a shy girl like Silica.\"
"Fans? Is there such a thing?"
"I don't like it, but since you became the boss of the Blood Oath Knights, you have attracted many fans from all walks of life, especially among female gamers, and you have become a beautiful sight."
\"At that time, I seemed to understand Asuna's mood.\" As the deputy leader of the Holy Blood Knights, Asuna has made many achievements, and she is quite popular for this alone.
"However, after meeting us and getting Lelan to open up, he became kind and loving."
Since he became the new deputy leader, his popularity has exploded. He has become the envy of players from all walks of life.
"Now, I'm just as popular." I always wanted to avoid it like a popular person.
"So my fans are here too?"
"Maybe, it's hard to be popular."
"Is this really the case?" Of course, now that Heathcliff, who was once everyone's hope, is no longer around, then if I, the man wielding two swords, become everyone's hope, some people are embarrassed Meeting me in person, it’s no surprise. Maybe someone.
"However, I didn't expect that such a person would come."
“Well, I guess I shouldn’t have to worry too much about criminal guilds and stuff.
\"If I want to fight, I'll go by myself. Well, nice to meet you, Kirito.\"
After seeing Lisbeth's optimistic smile, I thanked him for making the sword, then left the shop and returned to the 22nd floor where Yui and Jupiter were supposed to stay at home. I'm back. But just then I felt a strange discomfort and stopped.
"This is the player's presence." No, if anything, it's sight. Someone was watching us from behind the building. No, it would be more accurate to say he was glaring at me, right?
"Replay, can you feel it? The presence of players."
"Ah, I feel it. It's the same reaction I had when I was in the armor shop. Looks like we're being followed.
"Sure enough, we are being followed." I don't know if it's a fan or a criminal guild, but it feels really bad to be followed like this.
Better yet, let's just stop here - thinking this, I turned around and shouted at the shadow of the building where I felt its presence.
"Hey, you must be here too, come out quickly!"
My voice disappeared into the dark alley.
"Will a snake appear or a demon appear?"
As soon as Lilan leaned on my shoulder, I felt a voice coming from behind the building.
\"Ah, you finally found me. Kirito's eyes can't deceive you.\"
"That's a woman's voice." The voice called my name firmly.
"who"
As if in response to my voice, a figure emerged from behind the building and appeared to Lilan and me.
She has white-purple slightly wavy semi-long hair, plump breasts, purple clothes highlight her breasts, and red eyes like gems. Of course, this was a player I had never seen or even seen.
"Who are you..."
The woman smiled brightly.
\"Nice to meet you. I'm Strea. Nice to meet you Kirito.\"
The woman who called herself Strea seemed to know my name. Of course, as Lisbeth said, my name as the leader of the Blood Oath Knights seems to have been spread a lot in Aincrad.
"But this man is definitely not an ordinary person." - because he said he felt signs that Lelan had never felt before.
"What do you mean by following me?"
\"Kirito is not a celebrity, so I have been observing his usual feelings.\"
\"Is this really it? Despite this, you seem to have the ability to only catch my partner's enemy search skills without being caught by mine.\"
"Oh, you understand? I'm strong too. Even so"
Strea came closer to me and stared at me as if gazing into my face. A sweet smell unique to girls hit my nostrils, and Strea's red eyes reflected in my eyes.
\"Kirito, your face is so cute!\"
"Hmm, isn't it cute?"
"That's right! I can't help but want to do this!"
As he said that, Straya spread out his hands, suddenly hugged my body, and put his face against my chest.
It doesn't have the highest cushion on the market, but it has a soft, warm, and very comfortable feeling that only big-breasted girls can have, and there is also a stronger girly fragrance that comes to your nose. If you're a man, you're probably in a situation where you can't help but feel happy and excited.
However, everything was dark in front of me because I was pressed against him and couldn't breathe normally. Even when I tried to move, Strea's strength was so strong that I was, quite literally, restrained rather than hugged.
\"No, stop, fuhohea! Fu, fuhii, furushihi!\"
\"Because Kirito is so cute!
\"Hey Kirito! What are you doing!!\"
“Hey Foha!
"Uh, no, then, if you listen to me, I can let you go."
The conditions for releasing the restrained state were suddenly raised. I can't believe things have turned out like this.
"Oh, you! I will listen to you, just talk to me!!"
\"I want you to tell me about Kirito. I want to know about Kirito.\"
"Okay, wow, say it! I'll say it!"
Hearing what I said, Strea suddenly relaxed and let go of my body. Fresh air entered my lungs, and after a slight suffocation, I raised my head and saw Straya with a bright smile on his face.
\"Yes! Then where should I go? In other words, I want to get to know Kirito's friends at this time.\"
"Hey, stop increasing the number of requests."
"Oh, no? Okay then."
Straya opened his arms again. Now that I knew exactly what he was trying to do, I braced myself and took a step back.
"Okay, okay! Let's go to the 22nd floor! The arrest should be over now. I'll contact you!"
I immediately opened the window, confirmed that the time was past six o'clock in the afternoon, opened the information window, and asked Shino, Lisbeth, Leafa, and Asuna to come to the house on the 22nd floor.
I thought Alice would be included, but Alice couldn't come because she was busy taking care of the kids, so I didn't contact her.
"Okay, Strea. I'll take you to my house."
"you did it!"
Immediately afterwards, Rirun, who had dodged Strea's attack, returned to my shoulder.
\"Kirito, what is this guy\"
"...I have no idea."
Because of the sudden encounter, I felt that I was speaking a little strangely, but I didn't mind and rushed to the 22nd floor with Strea and Lilan.
\"Um, Kirito, who is this person?\"
"We brought a girl named Strea to visit everyone." In other words, I was the first one to go back to the house on the 22nd floor and call everyone there, so to be precise, everyone came to see me .
They are Shino, Yui, Lisbeth, Silica, Leafa, Yuki, Asuna, Philia, Jupiter, Klein, and Diabell, because I think the two of them The strength may be quite strong, so I think it is better to teach the two of them. and may add to this strategy in the future.
"Let me introduce you to everyone. This person's name is Straya."
"Nice to meet you"
Straya sat on the sofa, smiled and raised his hand. Asuna saw a strange woman in front of everyone, her eyes half-opened.
\"Um, what's going on? What's your relationship with Kirito-kun?\"
“I just met him on the street corner.
Shino crossed her arms.
\"Do you have Kirito? But if I remember correctly, Kirito's ability to search for enemies is the strongest among this group of people, right?\"
"Yes, Straya used my enemy-searching skills to keep following me. From this alone, you can see that I am a pretty powerful person."
Silica looked surprised and confused.
"Then how did you realize it? After all, it is Mr. Lilan's power."
"Although it's a bit frustrating, it's true. Lilan was the first one to notice the existence of Strea. Because Lilan is a dragon, his enemy search ability is higher than mine.
Strea has a high level of hidden skills that only someone with Lilan's skills would notice. I think that's probably the highest. "
While everyone said "Oh" in surprise, Straya looked like he was complaining.
"Uh, who's who? It wouldn't be fair for me to introduce myself."
"Speaking of which, it's great to have everyone together, but I forgot to introduce myself to Straya."
Everyone introduced themselves to Strea, starting with Lilan and me. Among them, the ones that Strea is most interested in are my wife Shino, my daughters Yui and Asuna, and their son Jupiter.
\"Awesome! Kirito's wife, Kirito's daughter, Asuna's son!\"
Well, Shino is my wife in the game, and Yui is our daughter of course, but she's like an adopted son, and the relationship between Asuna and Jupiter is similar.
\"Well, that's right. Well, Straya, I heard that you are a very strong person, but what kind of weapon did you use?\"
"What weapon are you using? My weapon is a two-handed sword."
\"Although some people use various weapons, Strea is the one who uses two-handed swords in Yui. \"Everyone else uses one-handed swords, including daggers.
"two-handed sword"
"Stre turned to face me."
\"Well, Kirito, in return for teaching me many things, I want to tell you something about me.
"What? What is that?"
A smile appeared on Straya's face.
\"I wanted to cooperate with Kirito. I wanted to fight with Kirito, so I followed him.\"
Everyone, including me, had a look of astonishment on their faces.
"Because you want to fight me? What happened to the other guilds?
Straya shook his head.
"I have always been alone. After all, I don't remember anything, so I don't know where to go."
Being surprised by Strea again made me think of Shino and Yui in the past, and Lilan and Jupiter in the present. What's more, I wasn't the only one who remembered this, Shino and Asuna seemed to think so too and shouted to me.
\"Kirito, this person is now!\"
"Didn't you say you don't remember anything?"
"Yes. I did."
\"Is this guy the same as me?\"
"I turned to face Strea again."
"Have you lost your memory?"
"Yeah, I forgot everything except how to use tools, how to fight, what is here, where I am, and what I am doing."
"I suddenly put my hand on my chin." Although I wanted to say it again, Straya, like Shino and Yui, was an amnesiac in the past.
What's more, Strea's appearance doesn't look like that of SAo. If anything, she is closer to Leafa and Yuuki. And the games Leafa and Yuuki play
"Were you really kidnapped by ALo?"
"Aro?"
It seemed that Leafa had the same idea as me, so she asked me to follow her.
"This is a game called "Alfheim online".
"Well, I don't know what you're talking about and I don't know anything about it."
So far, Shino, Alice, Yuki, and Leafa have all been brought here from outside SAo.
Among them, besides Shino, three others came here with solid memories, but Shino was Yui, a person who had lost her memory from the beginning. Maybe Straya is the same type of person as Shino.
The person who was familiar with these things and could advise us was Alice. Perhaps Alice can help me grab something - now that I think about it, I regret not calling Alice here.
"W-what? In other words, what is this?"
At this point, Klein and Diabell, who didn't quite understand how Leafa, Yuki and Shino came here, showed puzzled expressions, and Shino began to explain.
After the explanation, Diabel showed a surprised expression again.
\"Miss Shino, Miss Leafa, and Miss Yuki are coming from outside!?\"
\"That's right. I'm from medicuboid, and Leafa and Yuuki are from the ALo game.\"
\"Sinon just turned her face to me.\"
\"Hey Kirito\"
I looked into Shino's black eyes and nodded. I feel like I already know what Shino is thinking.
\"Ah. It seems like it would be better to let Straya check Miss Alice. Maybe he can catch something.\"
But then, Straya said in a calm voice.
\"But I don't mind this kind of thing. It doesn't matter if I don't have memories. As long as I can be with Kirito and others.\"
"I couldn't help but stare at Straya." Normally, she would be worried about her lost memory and would not fight, but Straya was surprisingly active.
"This is probably the first time I've met a player like this."
"But Strea—"
\"Ah, yes. Although my level is okay, I'm already level 107. With this, it's okay to fight with Kirito.\"
The sudden words that came out of Straya's mouth made us lose our souls.
Speaking of level 107, it is only one level lower than Lilan and I’s level of 108. It is the second highest number after Lilan and I.
After Lilan and I, Shino, Yuki, and Asuna were at level 105, and Klein and Diabell were at level 104, but they suddenly surpassed these five people and caught up with Li and me. orchid.
"Hey, you are already level 107!? In other words, you are the next highest level after me and Lilan!?"
"Yes.
107 levels, it is entirely possible for you and me to fight side by side. Lisbeth, Silica, and Philia, who had originally decided to fight me, all dropped their shoulders because the person who suddenly met me was of a higher level than anyone else and wanted to fight me.
"I'm sure it's okay, but"
\"Then it's decided! From now on, I will fight side by side with Kirito!\"
Dialbert nodded awkwardly.
"Level 107. If you are a two-handed swordsman at this level, I think you should be able to make a lot of contributions. But what were you doing before you lost your memory?"
"There's no problem with Straya joining the capture team, but the problem is that she doesn't remember anything." After all, before he rushes to the battlefield, letting Alice know about Straya, or letting him tell it himself, might help better.
“Since someone knows better, I’ll go find that person first.
"Everyone nodded at my words and didn't show any particularly unpleasant expressions." After all, it seems that Straya is a level 107 strong man. Although what he did was unconventional, he was not a bad person.
"Okay, that's it. Nice to meet you, Strea."
After looking around, Straya turned to smile at me. Her smile is as warm as the sun.
"give it to me!"
After Straya answered confidently, Asuna walked up to Straya and shouted to her.
“But Mr. Strea, we know someone who is familiar with your symptoms.
\"Uh, it doesn't matter, but what kind of person is he? Kirito's friend?\"
"Can Alice be my friend?" He was the one who consulted and advised us, but he was more of a collaborator than a friend. It's hard to call them tactical comrades because they rarely act together, but they can be called comrades after all.
"He is not my friend, but he is my collaborator. He is as familiar with the symptoms of amnesia as you are and knows how to solve it. We may know the cause of the loss."
"I understand, then take me there, I want to meet that person."
A curious expression appeared on Straya's face. As expected, Straya seemed to be looking forward to meeting the unknown person.
"Okay, I'll take you there, and we'll split up later, but what are you going to do?"
Diabell was the first to respond to my words.
\"I'm going back to the guild to hold a strategy meeting for the next boss battle. It's a pity that I can't be with Kirito and the others.\"
Next, Lisbeth answered.
"From now on, I'm going to keep my weapons. From tomorrow on, I'm going to be part of the prisoner team."
\"Please go to Miss Liz's place to keep your weapons.\"
Silica continued to answer Lisbeth, followed by Leafa and Yuuki.
\"I will follow Kirito-kun. I won't have anything to do after that.\"
\"I plan to follow Asuna, but what will Asuna do?\"
\"Asuna turned around to face me.\"
\"I will also follow Kirito-kun. Alice-sensei knows a lot about this, so I want to hear her opinion. But Yubi.
Teru is not good at Teacher Alice, so I want Yuuki to go home and see Jupiter first.
Yuuki nodded to Asuna's request.
"I see.
Immediately afterwards, Shino spoke.
"I will follow you.
"I will go with you."
Yui said after Shino. Just like that, the four of us heading to Alice are me, Lilan, Shino, Asuna, Yui, and Leafa. But then, Filia and Klein tilted their heads.
\"Hey, Kirito, who is that Alice teacher? Do you know Kirito?\"
\"I think so too. Who is Teacher Alice?\"
It seems that these two people did not know about Alice's existence before coming here. Well, Philia will prioritize dungeon information, and Klein will collect combat and skill data, so Alice shouldn't be in sight.
\"Speaking of which, Filia and Klein don't know about Miss Alice.
Diabel shook his head.
\"No, I know about Miss Alice. I have returned to the first floor many times, so I knew it then.\"
"is that so"
"Kleon walked towards me with a slight smile on his face."
"Maybe that Alice is a woman. Hey, what's she like?"
"I immediately imagined what Alice would look like." Alice is a woman with waist-length black hair, wearing what looks like a white coat, a red headband and reddish-brown eyes.
"I don't want to say this, but I can say that even from my perspective, she is very beautiful." I believe Klein will be very excited when he sees it.
(wait?)
I turned my gaze to Strea and compared it with the image of Alice in my mind. If you think about it, Strea's eye color and breast size are very similar to Alice's.
"Is this a coincidence?" Well, even if I think about it now, I can't think of an answer, so let Straya go meet Alice now.
\"I will know about Miss Alice when I see her.
◇◇◇
I took Lilan, Shino, Stella, Yui, Asuna, Filia, and Klein to the town on the first floor. Maybe it was because it was already past dinner time, but I heard customers shouting here and there. I could hear the sounds of grilling, frying, and stir-frying food in the food stalls everywhere. I even smelled a nice smell. I'm hungry.
"Wow, it smells so good. I'm starving to death."
I nodded in response to Filia's muttering. I didn't have lunch today, so I didn't have anything in my stomach. Maybe that's part of why a good smell here and there is so effective.
"It's time for dinner. Hey, Kirito-kun, are you going to Alice-sensei's place now?"
\"I feel like I understand what Asuna is thinking.\" All the time, when Alice brought Asuna and Shino to Alice's house, the two of them usually cooked for the children. Alice will probably ask for food today too.
\"Since it is Miss Alice's business, she may ask.
"I'm not against cooking, but"
Leafa held her stomach and looked around.
“Even so, the smell and sound made me sick.
"I agree.
After saying that, I led everyone quickly through the city. I kept walking, trying not to look at the food, and before I knew it I was in front of the church as I kept passing street vendors and people walking through town.
"Isn't this a church? Is Alice a nun or something?"
Asuna answered Klein's question.
\"It looks like a church at first glance, but there are many children trapped in the game. Teacher Alice is the leader there.\"
\"Ah, I see. SAo is indeed a fun game for children. Does that mean that children are also trapped like us?\"
While Klein and Asuna continued to talk, the church door opened and a figure appeared from inside. It was Sasha, a woman with green eyes, red hair, and a few freckles on her cheeks. Strea was the first to react to the figure.
