Chapter 89 - A Murder Case in the Area (Part 4)

This is what I heard later on.

The player of the clearing group, Schmitt, who was the leader of the DDA Heavy Armor warriors «Defender» group, didn't think of sleeping nor taking off his heavy metal armor even after returning to his room in the headquarters of his own guild.

His room was located deep inside the stone pal—a fort might be more suitable—and the walls on all four sides had no windows. Actually, nobody other than the guild members could enter the guild headquarters thanks to the system, so it was rather safe for him if he stayed inside the room. Though he told himself this, he couldn't look away from the door.

Will the doorknob silently turn the moment he looks away? Will the death god in the hooded robe glide in like a shadow and unknowingly stand behind him?

The people around him thought that he was a brave tank fighter, but the biggest motivation as to why Schmitt has been fighting hard to maintain his ability amongst the top few in the clearing group was that 'he was scared of death'.

On a certain day about a year and a half ago, after this death game started, he was pondering hard in the middle of the plaza in the Starting City. No, he was bewildered. He wondered what he should do so as to not die. The best means was to stay inside the Starting City and not leave. All the main streets were protected by the «Anti-Criminal Code» absolutely, so if he stayed inside, the digitalized life—the HP bar would not drop at all.

But, Schmitt, who was a netgamer and a sportsman in real life, understood clearly that the rules would change. Could he conclude definitely that the SAO rule where the «city is the safest area» would last forever—until the game was completely cleared? What if on one day, it wouldn't be like an 'inside area' incident, and all the gates had large numbers of monsters rushing in like an avalanche? The players who never left the Starting City without even earning a single experience point would be unable to do anything other than move about in a helter-skelter manner.

That's why, in order to survive, he still had to become stronger. He also had to use safe means and must not take any risks.

Having been bothered over this for the entire day, Schmitt finally chose to 'become sturdy'.

First, he went to the weapons store and bought the strongest armor and shield he could afford and used the remaining money to buy a polearm. He then went to the north gate of the city, found a party that focused the most on safety amongst the numerous parties gathering players and joined them. The first time he went to hunt was to have ten people gather to kill the weakest monster in SAO, the small wild boar.

After that, Schmitt spent a long time to hunt in order to make up for experience and continued to increase in level. The increase in levels were obviously far less than the beaters who were gathered in small groups or fighting solo and carrying out high-risk hunting, but the insistent philosophy towards being 'sturdy' cause him to finally become a leader of the strongest guild in the clearing groups, the «Divine Dragons Alliance».

Thanks to his hard work, Schmitt now can be said to be amongst the strongest in Aincrad in terms of HP, equipment defences and the defensive skills he trained.

He believed that if he was holding the large Guard Lance with his right hand and the Tower Shield in his left hand, he would be able to hang on for 30 minutes even if three monsters of the same level as him attacked from the front. Schmitt just wondered if those people wearing leather armor that was like paper and using offensive-oriented weapons and skills for damage dealing—like a certain black solo player he met several minutes ago—were all weirdos with something wrong in their minds. In fact, amongst all the character builds, the ones with the lowest death rate are really the tanks with sturdy armor. Of course, they lacked the ability to exterminate enemies, so they had to join large parties.

Schmitt, who already had what's considered the «Strongest Defense», could finally shake off the 'fear of death' that had been affecting him. That should be the case.

However—

Right now, there was a killer who could nullify large HP, armor abilities, defensive skills and all sorts of protection the system could provide. Also, this guy was targeting him.

A ghost—of course, he never actually believed that it was a ghost.

No, he couldn't affirm that now. Right now, even the absolute law of the «Anti-Criminal Code» was being bypassed like a black mist by that death god, who used a small short spear and a dagger to take away the lives of others. Wasn't that the electronic ghost created by 'that woman' when she was killed and sent her grudge through the Nerve Gear?

If that's the case, no matter how strong the fort's walls were, how heavy the locks were, or how impenetrable the headquarters of the guild was, none of them would have any effect.

That person will definitely come. She will definitely come over while I'm sleeping and kill me. She'll use the third jagged weapon to stab me and take my life.

Schmitt sat on the bed, using the silver gauntlets to cover his head and pondered.

To escape from her revenge, there was only one path left.

He had to beg for forgiveness. He had to kneel on the ground with his forehead touching the ground to beg for forgiveness and let its vengefulness disperse. He had to personally admit his guilt—half a year ago, he had tried to get stronger. No, he tried to get sturdier, and tried to get into a stronger guild, but made a single mistake—and really regretted it. If he did this, even if the other person was really a ghost, it will forgive me. I was just possessed at that moment. I was captivated by the words of that person and committed such a small crime—no, it can't be considered a crime, just a little rudeness. I didn't expect such a tragedy to occur.

Schmitt swayed slightly and stood up, opened the storage, took out one of the teleport crystals, that were as many as the hills which he would use in emergencies, and materialized it into an object. He clenched it with his right hand in a weak manner, took a deep breath and whispers in a hoarse voice.

"Transfer...«Ralback»"

His sights were covered by the blue light, and the moment the lights became thin, he was already standing in the midst of the night.

It's past 22:00, and this was a cleared level. There didn't seem to be any other players at the transfer gate plaza of the 19th floor. The surrounding shops all had their shutters pulled down, and there were no NPCs walking outside at all. There was a feeling that he wasn't inside the area, but standing inside the field.

Until half a year ago, the «Golden Apple» was still at a corner of this village, and had a small little guild home here. What should be a very familiar scene here made Schmitt feel like the entire village was resisting him.

The body under the thick armor trembled, and Schmitt continued to walk out of the village, letting his legs, that seemed to be too tired, move forward.

His destination was a small hill that was a 20 minute walk from the main streets. Of course, it would be 'outside the area', and the Anti-Criminal Code wouldn't be in effect. However, Schmitt had a huge reason to go there. He had to go there to let that black-robed death god forgive him. There was no other way.

Schmitt looked like he was dragging his feet as he climbed up the hill, and looked far away at the things that seemed to be standing under the shrubs, and his body trembled intensely.

It was a stone-made tombstone, eroded by wind and covered with moss, the grave of the «Golden Apple», the dead swordswoman Griselda. The moonlight that seemed to be basking down from somewhere imprinted the cross-shaped sign onto the ground. The night wind that would occasionally blow by from time to time blew into the wilted wood, letting out a rustling cry.

The trees and the tombstone here should be just an ordinary landmark, and it was a scenery-like decoration the designer had casually set up. However, several days after Griselda was killed, and when the Golden Apple had been disbanded, the remaining seven people decided to use this place as her tomb and buried her long sword here—or more accurately, put it at the bottom of the tombstone and let its durability decrease such that it would disappear naturally.

That was why the tombstone didn't have an inscription on it. But if he wanted to confess his sins to Griselda, this would be the only place.

Schmitt wordlessly knelt down, almost rolling as he crawled in front of the tomb.

He put his forehead on the ground that was mixed with sand, his teeth grit a few times before he could finally open his open it with all he had, saying in an unexpectedly clear voice,

"I'm sorry...it's my fault...forgive me, Griselda! I...I, didn't expect things to end up like this...I had never thought of killing you!!"

『Really...?』

A voice could be heard with a strange echo. It sounded like a woman's voice from the ground.

Trying his best not to let his consciousness waver, Schmitt timidly looked up.

Deep inside the shadows of the twisted tree branches, there was a black-clothed shadow that appeared silently. It was covered in a pitch black hooded robe, its sleeves down, and it was impossible to see what was inside the hood in the darkness.

However, Schmitt felt a sharp stare coming from there and used both hands to cup his mouth that was about to let out a cry tightly before hurriedly nodding a few times.

"It...it's true. I didn't know anything! I just...just followed orders, just...a little thing..."

『What did you do...? What did you do to me, Schmitt...?』

Slowly, Schmitt used his widened eyes to look at a thin and long black line that reached out from the right sleeve of the robe.

It was a sword, but extremely fine. It was a one-handed sword almost no one used, the close-ranged piercing-type weapon «Estoc». The blade that looked like a large needle had lots of spikes that were rounded in a spiral shape.

The third «Spiked weapon».

Hiiii!! The soft whimper came from deep within his throat. Schmitt put his forehead down onto the ground for the umpteenth time.

"I...I just...on the day we had decided to sell the ring, I found a memo and a crystal in my belt pouch...and there was an instruction..."

『Who was it, Schmitt?』

This time, it was a man's voice.

『Whose instruction was it...?』

The stiff neck cringed again, and Schmitt just looked frozen.

He tried forcefully to lift that metal-like heavy head and glanced over. The second death god appeared near the shadows of the trees. He had the same design on him, wearing a black hooded robe, but was just slightly taller than the first one.

"...Grimlock...?"

Lowering his head slightly, Schmitt whimpers with what was barely a voice.

"You're...you're dead too...?"

The death god didn't answer, but wordlessly stepped forward. From under the hood, an ominous and distorted voice could be heard.

『Who...who instigated you...?』

"I...I DON'T KNOW! IT'S TRUE!!"

Schmitt frantically shouted out.

"THE MEMO...THE MEMO JUST WROTE THAT I WAS TO FOLLOW THE LEADER...THAT WHEN SHE MOVED INTO THE INN AND WENT OUT OF HER ROOM TO EAT, I WAS TO SECRETLY PUT THE TRANSFER CRYSTAL AT A SPOT INSIDE HER ROOM AND, AND PUT THE CRYSTAL INTO THE GUILD STORAGE. THAT, THAT'S ALL THAT WAS WRITTEN...I, I ONLY DID THIS! I DIDN'T TOUCH GRISELDA AT ALL! THA...THAT PERSON ACTUALLY STOLE THE RING AND KILLED HER...I, I DIDN'T THINK THIS WOULD HAPPEN AT ALL!"

Just when Schmitt was defending himself, the two death gods remained unmoved. The night wind blew by, causing the wilted plants and robes to sway.

The fear continued to rise up in Schmitt's mind as he approached his limit, and immediately, he recalled.

On that day half a year ago, he took out the parchment from his belt pouch, and the moment he saw it, he felt that it was really reckless and was shocked by it, and yet amazed by such an ingenious method.

The room in the inn would normally be locked, but aside from the time for sleeping, anyone who was designated as a friend or a guild member could open it. He could use this point to set the transfer crystal inside the room and enter while the owner of the room was sleeping. He just needed to use the trade function to move the hand of the other party to drag the ring and press the confirm button.

There was a risk that the person would be accidentally discovered, but Schmitt's instincts told him that this was the only way to steal an item inside the area. The last part of the memo noted that the reward would be half of the money earned from the sale of the ring. If he was successful, he could get 4 times the reward, but if he failed—if the leader woke up during the trade and saw the face, she would only see the one who gave him the memo, the criminal in this ring incident. Even if that guy wanted to drag him down later, he just had to insist that he didn't know. He was to enter the room and set up the transfer target over there, so there wouldn't be any evidence.

Schmitt was at a loss, but this loss meant that he betrayed the guild and the leader, all just to enter the clearing group immediately. Of course, if this could help with them clearing the game, it would help the leader out in the end. Schmitt thought of this to justify his actions and followed the instructions on the memo.

The next night, Schmitt learnt that the leader was killed. A day later, he found that there was a bag with a deposit on his bed.

"I...was, really scared! If I told everyone else about the memo, everyone would eye me...so, that is why, I had no idea who wrote the memo at all!! Please, please forgive me, Griselda, Grimlock. I, I really never thought of becoming a killer's accomplice. Please believe me, please...!"

Schmitt continued to press his head against the ground, letting out a sharp whimper.

A sudden gust of night wind blew by as the tree branches rustled.

The moment the sounds subsided, the ominous echoes up till now vanished like a lie, and the woman's voice without the ominous echo rang silently.

"I recorded it all, Schmitt."

He heard this—a voice that he had just heard recently. Schmitt timidly lifted his face and widened his eyes in shock.

She removed her pitch black hood, and what appeared inside was the face of the victim who was definitely killed by the robed death god several hours ago. The dark purple wavy hair swayed with the wind.

"...Yolko...?"

Schmitt asked with a voice so soft that it could barely be considered a voice, and looked at the death god beside Yolko who also revealed his true identity. He was about to pass out as he whispered,

"...Caynz."

"They, they're still alive, that means...!?"

Asuna was shocked as she cried out, and I slowly nodded my head.

"Un, they're still alive. Both Yolko-san and Kains-shi."

"Bu, but then...but."

Asuna continued to pant a few times and clasp the hands at her knees together before arguing back with a hoarse tone.

"But...didn't we see it yesterday. Kains-san's...death when he was pierced by the black spear and left to hang at the window."

"No."

I shake my head violently.

"What we saw was Kains-shi's avatar and lots of polygons scattered all over the place to make it look like he disappeared from the scene.

"So, so that means, this isn't 'death' in this world?"

"...Do you still remember? Yesterday, Kains-shi, who was dangling at the window of the church was always staring at a spot in the sky."

I point my right index finger in front of me and said. Asuna nodded her head slightly.

"That's the HP bar, right? He was looking at the continuous pierce damage whittle down his HP bit by bit..."

"That's what I thought, too, but this wasn't the case. He wasn't looking at the HP bar, but the durability of the full-plate armor he was equipped with."

"Du, durability?"

"Un, this morning, when I was experimenting with the continuous pierce damage inside the area, didn't I take off the glove on my left hand? Inside the area, the HP won't drop no matter what the player does, but the durability will drop...it's like the sand baguettes we just ate. Of course, the durability of equipment won't drop naturally like food, but that's if they're not damaged. Listen up. That time, when Kains' armor was pierced through, what the spear wore out wasn't his HP, but the durability of the armor."

On hearing this, Asuna, who had been frowning till now, widened her eyes.

"The, then...it was Kains-san's armor that shattered..."

"That's right. It's the armor he was wearing. I already felt that it was weird why he wore such thick armor even though they were just having a meal...that was worn to make him look obvious when he exploded into polygons. The moment the armor was destroyed, Kains-shi..."

"Use the crystal to teleport away."

Asuna closed her eyes to recall that image in her mind, and said.

"...This resulted in a 'phenomenon where a blue light is given as polygons are shattered and scattered, indicating that the player died'...in other words, it looks like a death effect, but in fact, it was completely different."

"Un, Kains-shi probably took the spear outside the area and stabbed it into him with the armor, used the teleport crystal to move back to the second level of the church, hang himself with the rope and wait till the armor's about to be destroyed before jumping off and teleporting away while the armor was wrecked...something like that..."

Asuna nodded slowly yet forcefully, closed her eyes and heaved out a few words.

"...Then, Yolko-san's 'disappearance' is the same trick, too...right...so they're still alive..."

Asuna never let out her voice as she merely moved her lips, muttering 'thank goodness', but again bit her lips.

"Bu, but, she was definitely wearing thick armor, but when did the throwing dagger stab her? If it is inside the area, it should probably be blocked by the code, and it would be impossible for it to hit her.

"It was already on her right from the beginning."

I immediately answered.

"Think about it carefully. When Schmitt, you and I entered the room, she never let us see her back. On receiving our message that we were going to visit her, she first ran outside to stab the dagger into her back before returning to the inn. With that hairstyle of hers, if she just sat down properly on the sofa, she would be able to hide the very small dagger handle completely, take note of the durability of the clothing, talk to us, see that the timing was about there, retreat to the window, use the foot to kick the wall or something to create a sound, turn her back against us, and make it look like the dagger was stabbed into her at that moment."

"So she fell out of the window...to prevent us from hearing the command of the transfer...in that case, that black robe you had chased after, Kirito-kun, that was..."

"There's a very likely chance that it wasn't Grimlock, but Kains."

I made this conclusion, and Asuna looked up at the sky before heaving a short sigh.

She frowned as she moved towards me.

"Didn't we head to the Black Iron Palace yesterday to check the «Monument of Life»? Kains-san's death was clearly crossed out, the time of death was the same, and the cause of death was also 'Continuous Pierce Damage'."

"Do you remember the spelling of that Kains-san?"

"Erm...I remember it was K, a, i, n, s, like that."

"Un, Yolko-san told that to us and we naturally believed it. But...look at this."

I handed the parchment that became the clue to solving this case over to Asuna. Several hours ago, Schmitt wrote down the list of members of «Golden Apple». Asuna reached out to take it, looked at the parchment for a bit and shouted out "EHHH!!?"

"«Caynz»....!? Is this the way Caynz-san's name was written!?"

"It would be understandable if it was just one character, but if 3 characters were wrong, it probably isn't Schmitt's memory at fault, but Yolko-san gave us the wrong spelling. She started with K to log Kains-san's death and mistake him for Caynz-san, who starts with C."

"Eh...that, that means..."

Asuna's expression stiffened, and her tone hush down.

"At that time...we witnessed C Caynz-san's fake death, and that K Kains-san died under the continuous piercing damage at some place in Aincrad? It's probably...not a coincidence, is it...? Don't tell me..."

"No no."

I smiled slightly and waved my right hand hard.

"It wasn't that Yolko was the accomplice and killed K at that moment. Listen up. The death records on the Monument of Life indicated that it was the 'Month of Sakura, day 22, 18:27'...and in Aincrad. It was the second time that the month of Sakura, 22nd April happened."

"Ah..."

Asuna couldn't say anything at that moment, and could only give a weak smile.

"...So it was like that. I didn't consider this at all. Last year, on the same day and the same time, that Kains-san died without being involved in this case..."

"Yeah. Most likely, this was the start of the plan."

I took a deep breath again, clearing my thoughts in my mind as I continued to say,

"...Yolko-san and Caynz-shi probably knew early on that this Kains who had a similar sounding name but different spelling died last year in April. At first, it was probably just random talk, but they probably realized later on that they could use this coincidence to fake Caynz-shi's death, and not in a normal death in battle against a monster...but a frightening method to enact an 'inside area murder'."

"...It's true that I was fooled just like you. The same time of death as someone else who had a similarly sounding name, destroying the inside area installation through continuous piercing damage, and a transfer crystal...with these three things, they could let the inside area PK look just like the real thing...and the aim for this doing is...."

Asuna whispered softly.

"To force the culprit of the 'ring incident' to appear and let him be suspected as the culprit. Yolko-san and Caynz-san acted this murder incident out to create a fake 'avenger', a death god that could ignore the Anti-Criminal code and carry out PK inside the area...and in the end, the one driven by this fear was..."

"Schmitt."

I nodded and used my fingers to touch my chin.

"He probably just doubted at the beginning...Schmitt went from the middle level «Golden Apple» guild, and managed to join the largest clearing guild, the «Divine Dragons Alliance». That would really be a unique situation. Without leveling up quickly or changing equipment quickly...it should be impossible."

"The conditions to join the DDA are already very strict...then, was he the culprit in this ring incident...? Did he kill Griselda and take the ring...?"

Asuna, who had seen Schmitt many times as an advisor in the clearing group strategic meetings, looked rather nervous and stared at me.

My mind immediately thought of the profile of that spear-user, and I shook my head slowly.

"...I can't tell. There's information to provide suspicion...but as to whether that guy has the presence of a «red»..."

The killers in SAO, called red players, would more or less have a strange presence around them, but this was to be expected. That is because those players who killed other players in this word are basically preventing this game from being cleared. To put it a little more drastically, red players are people who have the thinking that 'it doesn't matter whether we get out of here or not' —— or more radically, they hope for 'this death game to continue'.

Such a negative tone would definitely appear in terms of words. However, I couldn't detect any madness of a 'red' from Schmitt, who was thoroughly scared of the black-clothed death god and requested us to escort him back to his headquarters.

"...I can't tell, but he's definitely involved in that, and that can explain things thoroughly..."

On hearing me say that, Asuna nodded in agreement, leaning against the back of one of two chairs that were lined at the window. She seemed to forget looking at the bar opposite as she looked up into the sky above the streets.

"...No matter what, Schmitt is forced into a tight spot now. He believes that there's someone after him for revenge, and feels that the area...no, even the headquarters of the guild isn't safe. Then...what will he do next?"

"If there was an accomplice, he will probably contact that person. Yolko-san and Caynz-shi were probably waiting for that. But if Schmitt doesn't know where the accomplice is, un —— if it's me..."

What would I do? If I killed a player out of greed and hatred and felt absolutely remorseful about it, what would I do?

Up till now, I haven't taken the life of any player in this world, but there were friends of mine who died because of me, because of my foolishness and ugly ego that caused everyone in my guild other than me to die, and I had always regretted that. I used a tree that grew from the garden of a certain inn which we used as a home as their grave. It's not really considered asking for redemption, but I would often bring wine and flowers over. So, Schmitt probably——

"...If Griselda-san has a grave, he will definitely go there to beg for forgiveness."

Asuna seemed to detect the change in my tone as she looked up from the chair at me and smiled in a steady manner.

"That's right. I will do that, too. At the headquarters of the KoB, there are graves for the people who died in boss battles —— that's right, maybe, Yolko-san and Caynz-san will definitely be there...at Griselda-san's grave, waiting for Schmitt-san to appear..."

Silence came suddenly, and her expression became gloomy.

"...? What is it?"

"Uun...it's just that I thought of this. What if Griselda-san's grave is outside the area? If Schmitt-san goes there...will Yolko-san and Caynz-san forgive him just like that? I don't think it's actually possible, but maybe they might really carry out revenge...?"

This unexpected theory caused my back to tense up.

I can't say that it's impossible. Yolko and Caynz spent so much effort trying to act out the 'inside the area murders', so they should have some level of hatred to the culprit in the ring incident. They should have at least used up two teleport crystals. Considering their levels, this should be a rather large expense. They had gone through so much, so would they only be satisfied with getting a confession...?"

"Ah...no...actually...?"

I shook my head after noticing something.

"No, they won't. Those two would definitely never kill Schmitt?"

"How can you deduce this?"

"You still have Yolko-san's name registered in your friend list, right, Asuna? You didn't see a message indicating that she had removed the friend registration at all, did you?"

"Ahh...speaking of which, that's true. I believed that it would have been removed automatically after the second murder incident in the inn, but if she's still alive, we should still be in contact with each other.

Asuna moved her left hand to summon the window, and after operating quickly, nodded back in affirmation.

"It is still registered. If I had realized this, we could have realized a trick going on with this case...but in that case, why did Yolko-san accept the friend request? We could have seen through the entire plan from here."

"Most likely..."

I closed my eyes, and this time, what was ingrained in my mind was a female profile with deep purple wavy hair.

"...It's atonement for lying to us and proof that she trusted us. Even if we noticed the record on the friend list and found out that she's still alive, we could deduce their true intent and not prevent them from baiting Schmitt. Asuna, try tracking Yolko-san's position."

I open my eyes as I said that. Asuna nodded and again hit the window.

"...Right now, she's in the field on the 19th floor, a hill slightly away from the main streets...what's over there is..."

"The grave of the Golden Apple leader, Griselda. Caynz and Schmitt should be there, too. If Schmitt dies there, we can tell that they killed him, so they probably won't do so."

"The...then what about the other way around? Will Schmitt kill both of them to shut them up after finding out his role in the ring incident...?"

Asuna asked in a worried manner. I pondered for a while and still shook my head.

"No...we'll find that out, too. Besides, that person can't accept being a criminal, no, a killer, and get released by the clearing group, so I guess we don't have to worry about them killing each other...just leave it to them. Our role in this incident is over. We were had by Yolko-san this time, but...I don't hate them for this."

On hearing this, Asuna pondered for a while, and then gave me an affirmative smile.

However, Asuna and I didn't even see half the truth in this incident.

This incident still wasn't over yet.

Let's continue on with what I had heard later on.

Schmitt was so shocked that he couldn't breathe, looking back and forth at the two players' faces under their death god's robes.

The true identities of what he had thought to be Griselda and Grimlock were unexpectedly Yolko and Caynz. However, these two should be dead. He had only heard that Caynz was dead, but as for Yolko —— just several hours ago, he witnessed her death personally —— she was stabbed by the black dagger from outside the window, fell onto the streets and her avatar exploded into polygons.

They're ghosts? Schmitt nearly passed out, but the words Yolko said before she showed her face barely managed to keep Schmitt conscious.

"Re...recording...?"

The hoarse voice was barely squeezed out from his throat as Yolko pulled her hand out from her robe to show Schmitt, revealing an eight-sided pillar shaped crystal that gave off a light green glow; a recording crystal.

Ghosts probably didn't use items to record voices.

In that case, Yolko and Caynz's deaths were all a pretense. He couldn't imagine how they did it, but both of them acted out their own 'deaths' to create an avenger that didn't exist in the first place, and forced the 3rd person into a dead end for the sake of vengeance. They recorded the confession of the 3rd person admitting his guilt and asking for forgiveness, all —— as part of a plan to unravel what happened in a murder incident in the past.

"...So...that's how it is..."

Schmitt finally realized the truth, muttered weakly in a voice that was barely audible, and immediately collapsed.

He wasn't enraged that he was fooled so thoroughly, nor that the evidence was taken from him, but amazed by Yolko and Caynz's persistence —— their admiration of Griselda.

"You two...really respect leader..."

Caynz quietly answered in his weak voice.

"Aren't you the same?"

"Eh...?"

"Aren't you the same, like us? You never hated the leader at all, did you? No matter how much you desired the ring, you wouldn't develop any malice towards her, am I right?"

"Of...of course I didn't. Really, trust me."

Schmitt's face twisted as he continued nodding.

In terms of battle ability, even if both of them teamed up on him, they were probably not stronger than him. However, Schmitt didn't think of immediately drawing his weapon to shut them both up. First, if he fell as a red player, he wouldn't be able to continue staying in the guild and the clearing group. And more importantly, if he killed Yolko and Caynz here, Schmitt was very certain that he could never revert to his normal self.

That's why Schmitt continued to repeat the mistake he made in the past even when the recording crystal was active.

"What I did...was that I sneaked into the leader's room and set the portal. And because of this...I used the money I earned from this to buy some high-level weapons and armor, so I cleared the requirements to enter DDA..."

"It is true that you didn't know who wrote the memo, right?'

Yolko asked sternly, and Schmitt nodded hard again.

"I, I still don't know who it was. Amongst the 8 of us, if you minus me off, you two, leader and Grimlock, there should be 3 people left...but I never contacted them after that...don't you have any clue?"

In face of Schmitt's question, Yolko could only shake her head gently.

"The three of them joined a middle-ranked guild that was similar to the «Golden Apple» after it was disbanded and lived ordinary lives. None of them bought any rare equipment or player homes. You were the only one who stepped up so quickly, Schmitt."

"...I see..."

Schmitt said, and lowered his head.

When Griselda died, the leather bag that was sent to his room had an unbelievably large sum of money. At that point, he could buy all of the high ability equipment that he could only water his mouth at.

If the person didn't spend that kind of money and put it inside the storage, that person had an iron heart. No, before this——

Schmitt looked up and immediately forgot the circumstances he was in and said the doubt that grew within him.

"...Bu, but, won't this be too weird...if the person didn't need that money, then why did he kill the leader and steal the ring...?"

Yolko and Caynz heard this unexpected question, and their upper body tilted back slightly.

In Aincrad, there was no benefit in putting money earned inside their storage. The value of 1 col was based on the drop rate maintained by the Cardinal System, kept constant at all times, which meant that inflation or depreciation would never happen. Even if players did buy high priced swords and armor, as long as they maintained the equipment properly, they could earn back about the same amount of money on a day they didn't need it. Therefore it was pointless not to use the money. In other words——

"The one...who sent the memo was..."

Schmitt continued to think hard and was about to say a deduction that vaguely appeared in his mind.

However, as he was too focused, it was too late when he noticed 'that'.

"SCH...!!"

Just when Yolko in front of him shouted, a small dagger was stabbed into his neck from behind him, right at the gap between the breastplate and the throat plate. It was the skill combo of «Armor Pierce» that a small stab weapon used, and the «Sneaking» skill that was used on non-metallic armor——

After a moment of shock, Schmitt quickly turned back with the response ability he had trained from the frontlines. Even if his throat was stabbed open, he wouldn't die immediately. It was a fatal point, and the damage would be great, but it would still be far less compared to Schmitt's vast HP amount.

However,

Just when he was about to turn around, Schmitt's feet lost their senses, and he collapsed onto the ground with a clank. His HP bar was surrounded by a green flash. It indicated the state of paralysis. As a tank, his anti-poison skill should have increased by quite a bit, but this was a rather high level poison that could negate resistance. Who was——

"One, down."

The boyish innocent voice came from above Schmitt, and he hurriedly looked up.

First, he saw a black leather boot with what looked like a sharp thumbtack. The person also had black tight-fitting leather pants, and the leather armor on him was black too. His right hand was holding onto a long and thin knife that was dipped in green, while his left hand was in his pocket.

The head had a mask that looked like a 'sack', leaving only circular holes at the eyes. Realizing that there was a sticky stare at him, Schmitt's sights showed the cursor of the player. It wasn't a normal green color, but a bright orange color.

"Ah...!"

Schmitt heard a soft cry and turned around to see a small-sized player holding a really thin sword and threatening Yolko and Caynz. He was dressed completely in black too, but the clothing wasn't made of leather. It was a piece of ragged clothing that reached from top to bottom. His face had a mask that looked like a skull, and the dark eyeholes look like they were giving off glowing red eyes. The right hand was holding what was most likely the same kind of Estoc that Yolko was holding, but the bronze that was giving off a bloody color explained its overwhelming nature. The cursor was orange as well.

The guy with the skull mask took the black Estoc easily from the dazed Yolko's right hand. He glanced at the blade and let out a voice that seemed to have static in it.

"The design is, not too bad. Let's, add, it, to my, collection."

Schmitt knew of these two people. He had never met them directly before, but amongst the bulletin circulated through the guild headquarters, the top most player had a sketch of them amongst the list of the players that they were supposed to be wary of.

In a certain sense, they were the biggest enemy of the clearing group, bigger than the boss monsters, the red players. They were the male players in the largest savage guild who were the executives. The poisoned dagger user who paralyzed Schmitt was «Johnny Black», and the Estoc user who held down Yolko and Caynz was «Red-Eyed XaXa».

In that case, don't tell me —— 'that guy' took part too?

You're lying! Don't! This isn't the time for jokes!

As if betraying the cries inside Schmitt's heart, JARI JARI, the sound of footsteps could be heard.

Schmitt tentatively looked behind and stared over with his widened eyes. He could feel the figure of the biggest terror in Aincrad.

The person was wearing a dull black poncho that covered him down to his knees and a hood that was attached, covering the eyes.

The person was holding a rectangular-shaped giant dagger that looked like a Chinese chopping knife and a blood-like reddish-black blade.

"...«PoH»..."

Schmitt muttered the name out from his lips and started trembling hard as if he saw terror and despair.

The killing guild «Laughing Coffin».

The guild was established half a year after the death game called SAO was created. Before this, they were orange players who just surrounded solo players or a few players with a large number of them to steal col or items, and their extremist thoughts caused them to become such a radical group.

That thought was —— «If it's a death game, killing people is a must»..

In modern Japan, 'legal killing' wasn't allowed, but in such an extreme situation, it became possible. All the players' physical bodies were all in FullDive state, which meant that they were unconscious and couldn't even move a finger. In terms of the legal implications in Japan, the designer of Nerve Gear, Akihiko Kayaba, would be the culprit as the player will be 'killed' by this death mechanism instead of decreasing the HP bar when the HP dropped to zero.

——If that's the case, just kill and enjoy the game. This is a right given to all players.

——The one who gave such a poisonous reasoning to lure and brainwash several orange players and caused them to go on a mad PK craze was the black-poncho clothed guy with the dagger, PoH.

Unlike the amusing sounding name, this tall guy giving off an icy cold stare walked towards Schmitt and simply commanded.

"Turn him over."

Johnny Black immediately reached the front tip of the foot into Schmitt's stomach and kicked him to flip him up. The black chopper-wielding guy saw Schmitt's face as he laid weakly there, and said again,

"Wow...it's true. This guy is one huge prey. Isn't this a leader-sama of the DDA?"

Even though it was a very nice sounding voice, for some reason, there was a deep weird feeling coming with it. He couldn't see the face covered by the hood, but the ample wavy black hair was dangling on the side, swaying with the night wind.

Having realized his own circumstance of despair, Schmitt continued to still think of why this was happening.

Why would the three of them appear in such a place? The top 3 of the «Laughing Coffin» were a symbol of terror, the highest class fugitive. They couldn't possibly come over here for sightseeing.

In other words, the three of them knew that Schmitt was here before attacking.

But this wouldn't be enough to explain it. He never told the people from DDA where he was going, and Yolko and Caynz couldn't possibly leak any information. The two of them were now being threatened by the Estoc of «Red-Eyed XaXa» and looking completely pale. Even if Schmitt, who was moving on his own at the 19th floor, was discovered by a Laughing Coffin member that contacted PoH, it was way too fast for them to appear.

Was there something else that caused the three of them to appear on this floor coincidentally? Was this a huge misfortune that could only happen with a one in ten thousand chance? Or, this coincidence was the revenge of the deceased Griselda...?"

PoH looked down at Schmitt, who was pondering with interrupted thoughts and lying down like a tree branch, and tilted his head slightly.

"Then...it's showtime. But even if I want to do this...how should we play?"

"Then, use that, head."

Johnny Black said with an excited tone.

"The «Kill each other and let the survivor live» game, but we might have to balance the sides with the three of them."

"Even though you say so, don't you kill off the surviving player?"

"Ah, auhh! We can't play this game if you say it out loud, head!"

On hearing this chilling conversation that lacked any tension, XaXa merely cackled while raising the Estoc.

Right now, Schmitt was overwhelmed by the realistic terror and despair, and couldn't help but close his eyes.

The metallic armor that covered his entire body was just a heavy stone when he couldn't move. They quickly stopped by to joke as if it was before a meal, baring their bloodhound-like teeth. PoH's large dagger «Mate Chopper» was a monster drop that not even the highest leveled craftsmen's best created weapons could match, and it was a «Demonic Sword». It should be able to easily pierce through the full plate armor rating on Schmitt.

——Griselda, Grimlock.

If this is your revenge on me, it can't be helped if I die here.

But, why must you implicate Yolko and Caynz? Both of them who they spent so much effort trying to nab the culprit who killed you two? Why?

Just when Schmitt's mind was occupied with thoughts of despair.

On the ground clinging behind, there was a slight vibration.

DODODO! DODODO! There was a rhythmic beat rumbling getting louder and clearer gradually. Soon, the ears were able to hear that deep rumbling.

PoH used a sharp breathing to warn his two subordinates. Johnny readied his poisoned dagger and retreated while XaXa put the Estoc closer to Yolko and Caynz's necks.

Schmitt continued to rotate the neck he couldn't move desperately, and saw a white fluorescent line coming in a straight line from the main streets.

Several seconds later, he could tell that the trembling light on the path was cold flame surrounding a pitch black horse that seemed to melt in the darkness. The horse had a pitch black rider riding it too, like a certain undead rider from hell riding down the blazing white flames in a lightning quick speed. The sound of the gallops became a rumble as it shook the ground, overlapping with the neighs of the horse.

The horse soon reached the bottom of the hill, leapt several times before reaching the top. It used its hind legs to help it stand, and the nostrils let out a burning white presence. Johnny looked like he was overwhelmed by the presence as he retreated. Then, the rider on the horse forcefully pulled the leash —— and immediately dropped down from the horse's back.

DOSK! The person fell onto the ground on the butt and grumbled 'it hurts!' in a very familiar voice.

The intruder who rubbed his waist as he stood up held onto the leash of the large black horse, stared at Schmitt, then at Yolko and Caynz before letting out a relaxed tone.

"Barely safe. The taxi fare will have to be provided by DDA."

In Aincrad, there wasn't any item that allowed for mounting. However, at a few stables run by NPCs on the streets or villages, one could go over there to rent a horse or an ox to move a large number of items the storage couldn't handle. But if someone wanted to ride, a certain level of skill would be needed and the expenses were really expensive, so almost no one used it. In this death game, they would be very few people who would have the luxury of spare time to learn horse riding——

Schmitt exhaled the air that was vented inside his chest and looked at the intruder, the face of the solo player in the clearing group, the «Black Swordsman» Kirito.

Kirito pulled the leash and turned the horse before slapping its hind. The black horse was released from rent, and the sound of it galloping away could be heard, overlapping the voice that seemed to lack courage.

"Yo, PoH. Long time no see. You're still in that strange get-up."

"...I don't want to be told that by you."

PoH's response had a killing intent that couldn't be hidden.

Johnny Black then stepped forward and obviously raised his voice.

"You bastard...! Aren't you the relaxed one!? Don't you know the situation you're in!?"

Using his left hand to stop his subordinate who was swinging the dagger, PoH raised the chopper knife in his right hand onto the shoulder from behind and tapped.

"It's just like what this guy said, Kirito. The cool entrance is good, but even you can't handle the three of us alone at the same time, right?"

Schmitt, who was still paralyzed, clenched his left hand which was the only one that he could move.

The situation was just like what PoH described. Even Kirito, who had top-notch fighting ability amongst the clearing group, couldn't possibly beat the top 3 of Laughing Coffin at the same time. Why? At least he should have brought «The Flash» along too?

"Well, it's impossible."

Kirito calmly answered with the left hand on his waist, but he quickly continued.

"But I already drank an antidote potion and brought many healing crystals, so I should be able to hang on for about 10 minutes. With this, I should be able to hang on until the reinforcements arrive. Either way, do you think the three of you can take on 30 people from the clearing group?"

PoH, who was retorted back with a line that was almost the same, clicked his tongue under the hood. Johnny and XaXa looked around at the surrounding darkness in unrest.

"...Suck."

Soon, PoH cursed and moved his right foot back.

He snapped his left finger, and his subordinates went several meters back. Yolko and Caynz were released by the red Estoc and knelt down weakly.

PoH raised the chopper in his right hand and pointed it at Kirito, growling,

"...«Black Swordsman». One of these days, I'll make you crawl on the ground while your important comrades are rolling in the tragic sea of blood. Just wait and see."

After saying that, he spun the large chopper knife on his fingers skillfully before putting it into the holster at his waist. The black leather poncho swayed, and the leader of «Laughing Coffin» turned around before jumping off the hill nonchalantly while the other two subordinates followed suit.

Johnny Black still looked like he was worried about the clearing group that was about to rush here as he quickly walked away, and the Estoc user under the ragged mantle—Red-Eyed XaXa took a few steps forward before turning back, staring at Kirito with the faint glowing eyes under the skull before whispering,

"Looks, cool there. Next time, I will ride on a horse, to hunt you down."

"...Then, please practice as much as you can. It's not as easy as it looks."

On hearing Kirito's response, XaXa let out a deep breathing sound before chasing after his allies and disappearing.

Part 12

The three shadows walked down the hill and vanished into the night. I continued to stare at the orange cursor that came with the Searching Enemy Skill effect.

I once met the leader of Laughing Coffin, PoH, and exchanged words with him, but this is the first time I've met his subordinates; the poison dagger user with the childish attitude and appearance, and the Estoc user wearing a very tattered robe. Of course, their names weren't indicated in the cursor. To play it safe, I intended to ask Schmitt their names later, but after thinking about it, we'll probably be fighting for real the next time we meet. To be honest, I really don't want to know the names of these two people when we will have to kill each other using swords.

Thus, I've watched them until the Searching Enemy Skill cursor's range could no longer detect them.

Criminal players normally couldn't enter the streets and villages that have the «Anti-Criminal Code» in them. Once they stepped inside the area, they would be attacked by a large number of NPC guards that were as strong as demons. All the transfer gates on each floor were all located in the main streets of each floor, so if those three wanted to move to another floor, they could only use a teleport crystal to move to 'a village outside the area', use a very expensive corridor crystal, or walk down the dungeon tower that were cleared to move up and down.

I guess they probably used the first method, but this alone would mean that they had to use up 6 teleport crystals going to and fro, and to those guys, this isn't a small expense. I swallowed my saliva and watch the 3 cursors disappear from my sights before subconsciously heaving a sigh of relief.

Seriously, these are guys that I didn't expect to show up at all. Those three guys actually knew that Schmitt —— a forward leader of the Divine Dragons Alliance Guild with the highest HP and defenses, would appear at this location.

However, I guess it's possible to know immediately where the source of this information came from.

I turned my sights away from the wilderness that was covered in darkness, summoned the window and quickly responded to Klein, who should be bringing more than 10 people here, with, [Laughing Coffin escaped. Wait in town].

I then take out the antidote potion from my pouch and put it in Schmitt's hand. I looked at this hulking guy drink it down with trembling hands and looked away to the other two who were slightly further away.

It couldn't be helped that I had some sarcasm in my tone to the two players who dressed up as death gods and were looking really pale now.

"Nice to meet you again, Yolko-san, and...nice to meet you for the first time, Caynz-san."

Yolko, who should have scattered into many polygons several hours ago and disappeared, looks up at me and grimaced.

"I wanted to apologize to you after everything was over...you probably wouldn't believe me even if I said so."

"Whether I believe you or not, I'll have to see what you treat me. Let me say this first. Don't give me some suspicious looking ramen or okonomiyaki."

Standing beside the dazed Yolko, the stiff looking guy takes off his black robe —— the first murder victim of this 'inside area' incident Caynz lowered his head.

"We've met for the first time —— probably not, Kirito-san. Our eyes did meet at that moment."

The words that were said in such a calm manner caused me to finally recall.

"Speaking of which, it was really like that. You died by, ah, no, you teleported away the moment your armor was destroyed, right?"

"Un, that's right. I had a premonition at that moment that you might see the truth behind this fake death."

"You've overestimated me. I was completely fooled."

This time, it's my turn to give a wry smile. The air that had finally calmed down tensed up again with the clinking of the armor on Schmitt.

"...Thank you for saving me there, Kirito...but how did you know that those three would come here?"

I looked back at the giant's face that was looking straight at me and pondered on what to say.

"It's not that I knew, but a possibility I deduced. If I had known that PoH would be the enemy, I would have run away in fear, too."

This vague answer that came out unconsciously was not without a reason, too.

What I'm going to say is probably going to bring a huge shock to the three of them —— especially Yolko and Caynz. The two of them who wrote the entire script and proceeded with the act with them as the lead didn't notice that there was a 'producer' behind this, hiding in a corner. I heaved a sigh and started to narrate with a voice as calm as possible.

"...It was just 30 minutes ago when I felt that it was weird..."

The incident ended, so I should hand things over to Yolko, Caynz and Schmitt.

On the second level of an inn that had a clear view of a certain bar on the 20th floor, I said this to Asuna and leaned my back on the chair.

They probably wouldn't start killing each other. Then, it's better of the person who started this 'ring incident' and triggered this 'inside area incident'. I noted confidently, and Asuna answered 'yeah' and nodded in agreement.

In the midst of the silence —— I suddenly felt that inside my chest, there was some really thin piercing feeling inside me.

There should be something I had to think about. There was definitely something I had to think about. But I didn't know what it was. It was that kind of anxiety.

What Asuna said just now when we were watching the bar seemed to be related to the feeling right now. I just had this thought and inadvertently said to her. "Well..."

"...What is it?"

I looked at the KoB sub-leader-sama, who sat on the chair and looked up. I used about 80 percent of my analytical ability to analyze this sense of disagreement and asked a very thoughtless question.

"Asuna, have you, gotten married before?"

The response to this question was a bone-chilling stare with killing-intent. She also stood ready to attack with a tightly clenched right fist with body leaning forward.

"JUST JOKING! FORGET ABOUT IT! IT DOESN'T COUNT!"

I hurriedly shouted as I was grabbed by the front while my hands and head were shaking frantically, and I hurriedly added on.

"It's not like that, nothing really behind this...didn't you just mention about marriage?"

"I did say so. So what?"

She continued to stare at me viciously. I started to tremble, but continued to force myself to say,

"Erm...to be specific, it's something you said...something romantic and plastic or..."

"NOBODY SAID THAT!"

In the end, Asuna nearly caused the Anti-Criminal Code to activate as she kicked my calf and corrected my memory.

"I said that it's romantic and pragmatic! I'm telling you, pragmatic means 'practical'!"

"Practical... The marriage in SAO?"

"That's right. In a certain sense, there's no room to hide as the item storage is shared."

"Storage...shared..."

That's the thing.

These words were stinging my chest, the origin of that little sharp pain.

Married players would have their item storage space unified company, and the quantity would be counted as for 2 people. While it's very convenient, it's very prone to marriage scams where rare items were stolen and the spouse ran away.

I had been wondering about this system all this time.

Overwhelmed by this overpowering anxiety, I asked again.

"Then...what happens to the storage when a couple gets divorced?"

"Eh...?"

It seemed like it was completely unexpected as Asuna widened her eyes. She tilted her head slightly and placed her fist that was about to hit me under her chin before saying,

"Erm well...I do remember there are a few options, like Auto-allocations, Item choosing or something like that...there are others, but I don't actually remember..."

"I want to know more about this. What should I do...oh yeah, Asuna, how about we try it?"

I didn't know if I could consider myself smart or lucky for not continuing.

«The Flash» let out a killing intent that was many times stronger than before, holding the scabbard of the named blade «Lambent Light» tightly in her left hand. She smiled and said,

"What do you want me to do with you?"

"...How about we...send a mail to Heathcliff and ask him?"

——Just one minute later, we got a mail in response. On it, the item storage division during a divorce was clearly stated. As expected of the man who was basically a living encyclopedia of the system.

Besides the Auto-value allocations and Item choosing Asuna mentioned just now, it seemed that there was an Auto-allocation by percentage. In other words, it even included the possibility of a divorce fee. This was a really pragmatic system.

I continued to listen to Asuna, who was reading the message, and continued to think.

Of course, these were options that can be chosen when both parties agree to a divorce. If they don't agree with the allocation, the system would not allow them to divorce. However, it's impossible for all examples of divorce in this world to be settled in such a rational manner. If it's such that one side had to divorce but the other party doesn't agree, there isn't any family arbiter or something like that in this world.

What answered this doubt was the last paragraph of words in Heathcliff's mail.

"...«On a side note, unconditional divorce can only happen if one party sets the item allocation ratio to zero percent for himself and 100 percent for the other party. In this example, once the divorce is set, any other items that can't be stored will all drop beside the user. Kirito-kun, if someone asks for an unconditional divorce out of you, I suggest you head to a single-person's room in an inn to hide for the time being»...that's what it's written."

Asuna, who finished reading the mail, gave a vague expression as she closed the window.

I subconsciously stared at that face and continued to mutter a certain part of that message.

0 for oneself, 100 for the other party. 0 for oneself...100 for the other party...

"Ahh...!"

What was a sting that felt out of place as it stung my chest suddenly became a sharp pain.

A small little prick suddenly increased in size. My heart started to turn anxiety into doubt, which then turned into surprise thanks to belief, and finally materialized into fear.

"Ah...ahhh...!!"

I shouted as I kicked the chair down, standing up and grabbing Asuna, who was in front of me, on the shoulders. «The Flash», who was so shocked that she cringed back, let out a cry that was different from before.

"Wait...what, what is it...don't tell me you thought of something here..."

I didn't have time to think about the meaning behind these words and could only let out a moaning-like voice,

"100 for oneself and 0 for the other party. There's only one way to make this form of divorce."

"...Eh...? Wha, what did you say...?"

I grabbed onto those slender shoulders tightly and pulled that petite face over to me before whispering in her ear,

"By death. The moment the marriage partner dies, the storage will revert back to its original size. Whatever items that can't be stored will drop. That means...that means..."

My trembling throat swallowed saliva, and I continued,

"...In other words, the moment the leader of the «Golden Apple» guild, Griselda, was killed by someone, the ring inside her storage wouldn't go to the criminal...it'd go to either her marriage partner, Grimlock, or materialize and drop on the ground as an object.

The hazel-colored eyes right in front of my eyes slowly blinked twice.

The doubtful expression on her face suddenly became a serious chill.

"The ring...wasn't snatched away...?"

Upon hearing this almost voiceless question, I couldn't immediately respond. I moved my hands away from Asuna and stood up, leaning my back on the window sill before whispering,

"No...it's not like that. You can still say it was taken away. Grimlock, he took away the ring that existed in his storage. He wasn't the culprit behind this illusionary 'inside area incident', but the culprit behind the 'ring incident'."

The rapier dropped down from Asuna's left hand, letting out a heavy metallic sound as it landed on the ground.

"...I was still feeling strange about this just 30 minutes ago... I say, Caynz-san, Yolko-san, those two weapons you two have...the spiked short spear and dagger, where did you get them from?"

On hearing me ask, Yolko exchanged looks with her partner, and answered,

"...To carry out our 'fake inside area PK' plan, it was necessary for us to have a continuous pierce damage type weapon. We visited many weaponsmith-sans, but couldn't find these kinds of unique weapons...if we ordered them, the weapons would have the name of the creator on it, and once someone asked the person who made the weapons, he would immediately know the ones who ordered it, us, the victims."

"In this situation, we could only contact someone who hasn't been seen since the guild got disbanded...the husband of the leader, Grimlock-san. We explained to him our plan and requested him to make the necessary piercing weapons. We didn't know where he was, but the friend list still had his name on..."

Caynz continued on with the explanation and finally mentioned this name. I gathered my concentration on my ears and paid attention.

"Grimlock-san, he didn't actually approve of this. On the message he replied us, he just wrote that he hoped that she is rested in peace. But after we continued requesting him, he finally made the two, no, three weapons for us, and the day the weapons were sent to us just happened to be 3 days before Kains-san died."

From these words, I could tell that Yolko and Caynz viewed Grimlock as the victim when his wife was murdered.

I took a long breath and forced out words from my mouth that would bring about a great shock to both of them.

"...Unfortunately, the reason why Grimlock was against your plan wasn't because of Griselda-san. The exaggeration of this 'inside area PK' would bring about a lot of attention, and may end up with somebody discovering the truth. That's because, when it's not a divorce, but death that removes the linked storage...what will happen to the things inside?"

"Eh...?"

It seemed that Yolko didn't quite understand the meaning behind this sentence as she tilted her head slightly.

It's not unreasonable though. No matter how affectionate couples were in Aincrad, it's really rare for people to take the next step that was marriage, and there would be fewer people who'd divorce. Also, it's extremely rare that the reason was because one side died. Let alone me, even Asuna believed that the ring drop definitely landed in the killer's hand the moment Griselda-san was killed.

"Listen... Griselda-san's storage also belonged to Grimlock. Even if Griselda-san was killed, it's impossible for the ring to be taken away, because the moment she died, it would be transferred over to Grimlock. Schmitt...you said you got a monetary reward for assisting in this plan, right?"

On hearing my question, the hulking figure sitting on the ground cross-legged nodded blankly.

"If he was able to prepare so much money, it seemed that the ring was really sold. The only one who could do this is Grimlock, who got the ring. He also knew that Schmitt was the accomplice in that plan, so that meant..."

"It was Grimlock...? That guy, he was the one who sent that memo...and sent Griselda out of the area and killed her?"

Schmitt groaned with a hoarse voice. I pondered for a while and denied this.

"No, he didn't do this directly. If Griselda, who was sleeping inside the inn, was moved out of the area, she may have woken up out of a sudden, and it would be troublesome if his face was seen. I guess the real murderer was a red who was requested to do this job. But even if that's the case, it still doesn't reduce the weight of Grimlock's crime..."

"..."

Schmitt didn't say anything as he merely looked up at the sky blankly.

This devastated expression appeared on Yolko and Caynz's faces as well. A few seconds later, Yolko shook her wavy dark purple hair, getting more agitated in the meantime.

"How is it possible...such a thing, you're lying! Those two were always together...Grimlock-san was always following her from behind...and also...that's right, if he was the real culprit, why did he assist us in our plan!? If he wouldn't help us, we wouldn't be able to do anything, and the 'ring incident' wouldn't see the light of day, right?"

"Did you two describe the entire plan to Grimlock?"

On hearing my sudden question, Yolko shut her mouth tightly, and gave a slight nod.

"...Then, he should have known what would happen if the plan succeeded. In other words, the final scene would be such that Schmitt, who was filled with guilt, would come over to Griselda-san's grave to confess his sins and get questioned by Yolko-san and Caynz-san. In that case, he could think of a plan to bury the 'ring incident' into complete darkness. The accomplice, Schmitt, and the ones who wanted to know the truth, Yolko-san and Caynz-san. He just needed..to shut you three up."

"...I see. So...so that's why, those three..."

I glanced at Schmitt, who looked completely confounded as he said these words, and nodded with a depressed feeling.

"That's the case. The reason why the top three of the «Laughing Coffin» appeared was because Grimlock leaked the information to them. A DDA executive-level prey is here at this place without any allies...I guessed there was a contact link the moment he requested them to kill Griselda-san."

"...How is this..."

Yolko, who lost all her strength in her knees, collapsed onto the ground, and Caynz used his right arm to support her. However, that extremely pale face of his could be clearly seen even under the moonlight.

Yolko grabbed Caynz's shoulder and asked with a very lifeless voice,

"Grimlock-san...wanted to kill us...? But...why...? And...why did he kill his spouse just to get the ring...?"

"I can't deduce the motive behind this, but he, who never left the guild base to prove his alibi during that 'ring incident', probably won't just sit back and watch. Besides, this was a chance to deal with the three of you and bury two incidents in one go. So...for the details, just ask him personally."

The moment I just said this, my ears heard two sets of footsteps coming from the west slope of the hills.

The first thing that entered my eyes was the red and white knight uniform that was still radiant looking in this night scene. Obviously, that was Asuna «The Flash», wielding a rapier with a silver blade that looked extremely clear. As far as I know, this is the thinnest and most elegant looking blade in Aincrad, and also the most savage weapon that could pierce through all sorts of defenses.

A man was walking here as well, seemingly being forced to by the sharp tip of the rapier and the sharp stare of the user.

The very tall and thin figure was wearing very long-edged leather clothing and a hat with a very large edge. The face that was hidden under the shadows had something that would reflect moonlight from time to time, probably glasses. The overall impression he gave was that he was more of a hitman in a Hong Kong movie than a craftsman. Of course, that may be because I already had a biased impression beforehand.

The colors of both their cursors are green. I was already prepared to let Asuna become an orange player to prevent that guy from running away —— of course, if that had happened, I would have definitely helped her perform whichever task was necessary to revert to her original alignment —— so after seeing this, I couldn't help but heave a sigh of relief, but I immediately tensed up again and stared at this man walking up the hill.

Under the silver-framed spectacles was a face that looked gentle, no matter how one looked at it. The eyes that were long, narrow and looking somewhat droopy, looked rather kind as well. But the slightly small black pupils deep inside the glasses did have a certain kind of existence that could summon my cautiousness.

The man stopped three meters in front of me, first looking at Schmitt, then Yolko, Caynz and finally, the grave that was covered with moss before saying,

"Well...it's been a long time, everyone."

A few seconds later, Yolko finally answered back in a calm and deep tone,

"Grimlock...san. You...you, are you really..."

The one who killed Griselda, took the ring, and planned to eliminate the three of us here to cover up this incident?

Even though it wasn't stated, everyone understood from this question. As for this question, this man —— the sub-leader of the ex-«Golden Apple», the blacksmith Grimlock didn't answer immediately.

He watched Asuna sheath her blade behind him and moved towards me before smiling, and said,

"...That's a misunderstanding. I just felt that I have a need to understand the outcome of this situation, which was why I came here. The reason why I obediently listened to that terrifying onee-san here is just to clear this misunderstanding."

——Ohh, he's denying it? I was really shocked inside. There's no actual proof to show that he leaked the information to PoH, but he can't deny about the system settings in the ring incident.

"YOU'RE LYING!"

Asuna immediately shouted back.

"Weren't you hiding amongst the bushes just now? If I didn't use the Reveal technique, you wouldn't have stepped out."

"Of course it couldn't be helped. I'm just an ordinary blacksmith, and as you can see, I don't have a single weapon on me at all. Why must I be told off by you so thoroughly for not appearing in front of some orange players?"

He answered calmly and reluctantly opened his arms with the leather gloves on.

Schmitt, Caynz and Yolko couldn't say anything as they just continued to listen to Grimlock defending himself. They were probably still in disbelief that their ex-sub-leader requested savage red players to kill them. They never thought of that and were probably unwilling to believe this. It's not weird for them to be like this.

I reached my left hand out to stop Asuna, who looked like she still wanted to say something, and finally said,

"Nice to meet you for the first time, Grimlock-san. I'm Kirito...just an outsider —— but it's true that we can't link your appearance here with the attack by «Laughing Coffin» as we have no evidence to prove these two cases. Even if we ask them, they probably wouldn't testify."

In fact, if Grimlock's friend list could be visualized and we checked the friends' messaging, there should be a player's name that accepted requests for «Laughing Coffin», but unfortunately, I don't know which name it was.

However, even if we left aside the attempted murder on Schmitt and company, there shouldn't be any excuses for the 'ring incident'. I believed this was the case, and continued,

"But last autumn, the 'ring incident' that caused the «Golden Apple» guild to disband...definitely has something to do with you. No, you should be the mastermind behind this. No matter who killed Griselda, the ring definitely landed in your hands since you had a shared storage with her. You actually hid that fact, secretly sold that ring and handed half of the money over to Schmitt. This is something that can't be done by anyone other than the culprit, and there's only one reason why you're involved in this 'inside area incident'...you wanted to shut the mouths of those people involved and bury the past into the darkness, am I right?"

After I said that, a heavy silence descended on this hill of wilderness. The blue moonlight that was shining down from somewhere showed an obvious grim on Grimlock's face.

Soon, his lips curled strangely, and a voice that felt like it could cause the temperature to drop rang.

"I see. Such an interesting theory, Mr. Detective-kun...but unfortunately, there's a loophole in this reasoning."

"What?!"

I instinctively asked back. Grimlock glanced at me and used the right hand covered with the black glove to press his hat down.

"It's true that I shared the same storage with Griselda, so when she was killed, all the items that were stored inside her storage should come to me...this reasoning is right. However..."

A sharp stare came at me from the round lens reflecting the moonlight, and the tall and thin craftsman continued on in a monotonous tone.

"What if that ring wasn't kept inside the storage? In other words, what if it was materialized as an object and equipped on Griselda's finger...?"

"Ahh..."

Asuna let out a slight sound.

I, who was stumped by this unexpected question, could only let out such a similar empty voice. It's true that in this incident had many aspects that I didn't consider as well.

A player with equipment materialized as objects would definitely drop these equipment whether they were killed by monsters or other players, without exception. If Griselda was equipped with that ring, it wouldn't be transferred over to Grimlock's storage, but land in the killer's hand. This kind of reasoning is valid as well.

Did he realize that the tide has changed? Grimlock's lips curled up slightly, but that expression soon vanished. The blacksmith used his right hand to hold his forehead up and shook his head sadly.

"...Griselda was a speed-type swordsman. It's not unlikely for her to try out the high agility boost of the ring before she sold it, right? Listen up, when she was killed, everything she had did indeed come to me, but the ring wasn't there. That's how it is, Mr. Detective."

I subconsciously gritted my teeth. I tried to find a way to refute Grimlock's claim, but if I wanted to prove that Griselda was equipped with a ring or not, I'll probably need the criminal who actually killed her —— probably some member of Laughing Coffin.

Upon seeing me remain speechless, Grimlock raised his hat slightly, looked at the other four people around, and bowed curtly.

"Then, I'll take my leave. It's a pity that you weren't able to find out the mastermind behind Griselda's murder, but even Schmitt's remorse alone would be enough to let her soul be at peace."

As we faced the back of the craftsman who pulled his hat down and turned around neatly——

It was as if a certain strong feeling was hidden in her serenity as Yolko simply said,

"Please wait...no, hold it right there, Grimlock."

The man who stopped turned his face slightly. The seemingly gentle eyes under the glasses suddenly gave an annoyed look.

"Is there something else? If it's just a baseless accusation out of emotions, that can't be considered. To me, this place is sacred ground."

Grimlock said this with an arrogant and fluid tone, and Yolko stepped forward.

Is she about to do something? She looked at the white hands that were raised to her chest, and then again looked forward. Those deep blue eyes were giving a glow of strength I had never seen till now.

"Grimlock, you just said that the leader equipped the ring, so it wasn't transferred to you, but taken away by the killer. But...that's impossible."

"...How? What proof do you have?"

Yolko watched Grimlock turn around slowly, and said with a harsher tone,

"When we got that ring drop, the guild members were all discussing about what to do, remember? Caynz, Schmitt, and I were opposed to selling the ring because we thought we should increase the strength of the guild. At that moment, Caynz really wanted to use it for himself, but said that he wanted to let the leader use it —— the strongest swordsman in the «Golden Apple» was the leader, so it was best for her to use it."

Right beside Yolko, Caynz showed an awkward expression. But Yolko didn't mind at all as she continued to say with action.

"As for those words, I could still remember every single word the leader said. That person smiled as she said this —— in SAO, one hand can only be equipped with one ring. My right hand is equipped with the seal of the guild leader, and...the marriage ring on my left hand can't be removed, so I can't use it. DID YOU HEAR THAT!? IT'S IMPOSSIBLE FOR HER TO TAKE OFF EITHER OF THESE TWO RINGS AND TRY THE ABILITY OF THIS RARE RING, IMPOSSIBLE!"

The moment the sharp words rang, everyone present, including me, gasped.

It's true that on the main menu equip figure, there are one each on both the left and right hands. If both of them were taken up, it's impossible to equip a new ring. However——

This reasoning was still too weak.

It's like my thoughts were heard as Grimlock said softly.

"I thought you wanted to say something. 'Impossible'? If you really want to say this, how about you say this? ——I, who's married to Griselda, would never hurt or kill her. What you just said was a baseless accusation."

"No."

Yolko responded with a very soft voice. I held my breath to watch this petite female player, and she slowly shook her head violently.

"No, that's not it. I have proof...the killer who killed the leader felt that the items that were dropped were worthless and left them at the scene. Luckily, a player who knew the leader's name found these items and sent the leftover items over to the guild home. That's why we used this place...used this tombstone as the grave. At that time, we put her sword at this tombstone, and let it disappear as the durability wore out. Bu...but that's not all. I even buried something...something she left behind that I never mentioned before."

After saying that, Yolko turn around and knelt down beside the small tombstone and started digging with her hand. As everyone watched silently, Yolko finally stood up and handed the object over for everyone to see. It was a glossy silver box that shone under the moonlight.

"Ah...«Eternal Storage Trinket»...!"

It was just like what Asuna said. What Yolko took out was a storage box that only a master-class craftsman could make to preserve the durability of an item. It was a cuboid that was 10cm in size, so it couldn't store large items. However, it can store a few things that were the size of accessories. Even when placed in the wilderness, the durability will never drop, and the items wouldn't disappear on their own.

Yolko reached out her left hand and opened the lid of the silver box.

What lay on the white silk were two glowing rings.

Yolko first took out one of them—a larger silver ring. At the flat surface of the ring, there was a mark of an apple on it.

"This is the thing the leader always equipped on the middle finger of her right hand, the seal of the «Golden Apple». I kept the same thing, too, so you can tell once you compare them."

After putting it back, she took out another one —— a long and thin ring that glowed golden.

"And this —— is the wedding ring she would always wear on the left ring finger, you know, Grimlock! Your name is clearly engraved on it, too!...These two rings were at the same place —— THAT'S THE UNSHAKEABLE PROOF THAT THE LEADER WAS WEARING THEM EVEN AS SHE WAS TAKEN OUT OF THE AREA AND KILLED! ISN'T IT!? IF NOT, TRY ARGUING BACK!!"

At the end, she was screaming hysterically in tears.

A large number of tears flowed down Yolko's cheeks, and she reached her hand with the golden ring out for Grimlock to see.

At this moment, nobody spoke up. Caynz, Schmitt, Asuna and I could only watch both of them in their confrontation with our eyes widened.

The tall and thin craftsman's lips were still curled as he remained there for more than 10 seconds. Finally, the lips trembled slightly before opening up.

"That ring...I think it was during the funeral when you asked me, Yolko, whether I wanted to take Griselda's wedding ring. I answered that we should let it disappear naturally with the sword. If at that moment...I said I wanted to take it away..."

Grimlock lowered his head deeply and buried his face inside the hat, collapsing onto the ground as if the strings controlling his tall body had snapped.

Yolko placed the golden ring back into the box, closed the lid and held the box tightly before looking up at the sky with her twisted teary face, saying with a voice that had lost its sharpness.

"...Why...just why, Grimlock. Why, did you really want to snatch the ring to exchange it for money, and kill the leader...your own wife, for the sake of that?"

"...Money? Did you say money?"

As he continued to kneel, Grimlock said with a hoarse voice, and then started laughing.

He raised his left hand, summoned the menu window, and after a short time of operating, what appeared as an object was a leather bag that's just slightly big. Grimlock grabbed it and threw it onto the ground. Amidst the heavy sound, there are some clear metallic sounds in them. From this, I could deduce that the bag had a large amount of money.

"That's half of the money earned when it was sold. Not a single coin has left it."

"Eh...?"

Grimlock looked up at the puzzled and frowning Yolko, and then looked over at us and said in a hoarse voice,

"It's not because of money. I...I had to kill her, while she was still my wife."

The round glasses glanced at the moss-riddled tombstone for an instant and quickly turned back, and the craftsman continued his words.

"Griselda, Grimlock. The Gri at the beginning isn't a coincidence. She and I, we used the same names in the net games we played before SAO. And if the system allowed it, we were always husband and wife. That's because...she was my wife in the real world."

I was thoroughly shocked deep inside as my mouth opened slightly. Asuna gasped as well as Yolko and the rest looked extremely surprised.

"To me, she's an ideal wife without a flaw. It's like she was designed as a wife who would follow the husband, who was extremely cute and obedient and never quarreled. It's just that...when we were trapped in this world together...she changed..." Grimlock shook his face that was almost covered by the hat and sighed,

"The one who was scared and trembling when we entered this forced death game was me. What sort of talent was hidden in her...whether it was the battle ability or decision making, Griselda...no, «Yuuko» far exceeded me. Also, that's not it. Later, she went against my opposition, creating a guild and enlisting members before starting to train. She...as compared to the real world, was filled with even more life...looking extremely fulfilled...as I stood beside her and watched her, even I had to admit that the Yuuko I loved had disappeared. Even if we cleared the game and returned to the real world, the quiet and obedient Yuuko would never come back.

The shoulders of the longcoat that had buttons in front trembled slightly. Was he mocking himself or feeling the pain of his own loss? I couldn't tell. That soft voice continued,

"...Can you understand what I was scared of? If I returned to the real world...and if Yuuko raised the proposal that we're to divorce...I would never be able to endure the shame. Then...while I was still her husband in this world where killing is legal, I wanted to seal Yuuko in my memories. This wish of mine...I suppose no one can blame me, right...?"

The slow and horrifying confession ended, and during this time, no one was able to say anything.

And what I heard was the hoarse voice coming out from my throat.

"Shame...shame? Because your own wife stopped listening to you...you killed her just for this reason? She trained herself and her friends so that we can all be released from SAO...and hoped to join the clearing group one day, and you...killed her...for such a reason..."

I used my left wrist to hold down the right hand that was about to reach for the sword on my back.

Grimlock slowly lifted his face, the bottom of the glasses reflecting a soft light, and muttered at me,

"Such a reason? Of course not. That's an ample reason. One day, you'll understand, Mr. Detective. When you get love and are about to lose it."

"No, you're the one in the wrong, Grimlock!"

The one who argued back wasn't me, but Asuna.

The exceptionally pretty face gave an expression even I didn't know of, and the rapier user said calmly,

"What you harbored for Griselda wasn't love, just possessiveness. If you loved her, take off the glove on your left hand. You probably threw the same ring away which Griselda didn't take off even as she was killed."

Grimlock's shoulders jerked slightly, and just like me, his right hand was holding onto his left.

However, his hand didn't do anything else. The craftsman remained silent and didn't take off the leather glove.

The one who broke the silence again was Schmitt, who didn't talk up til now.

"...Kirito, can you leave this guy's punishment to us? Of course, we won't lynch him, but we'll definitely make him atone for his sins."

This calm voice didn't have any sense of the absolute terror it had several minutes ago.

I looked up at the muscular guy whose armor let out some sounds and nodded slightly.

"I got it. I'll leave it to you then."

Schmitt nodded wordlessly and grabbed Grimlock's right hand to pull him up. After checking that the craftsman with his head lowered wouldn't run away, he simply said, "Sorry to trouble you," and left the hill.

Yolko and Caynz, who buried that silver box back in, walked towards us, bowed deeply and exchanged looks with us. Yolko then said,

"Asuna-san, Kirito-san. I'm really sorry...I don't know how to thank you two. Without you two, we would probably be killed here...and Grimlock's crime won't be revealed."

"No...luckily you managed to remember those two rings in the end. Nicely done. If you return back to the real world, you can be a prosecutor or lawyer."

On hearing this, Yolko smiled and shrugged.

"No...you two may not believe this, but at that moment, I seemed to have heard the leader's voice and remembered the rings."

"...I see..."

Both of them bowed again. Asuna and I then watched them walk down the hill, following Schmitt from behind.

Soon after, the 4 cursors all disappeared into the town. On the hill in the wilderness, there was only the blue moonlight and the steady night wind.

"...I say, Kirito-kun."

Suddenly, Asuna whispered softly.

"If you...if you get married with someone and found out something about her that you didn't know about, how will you think?"

"Eh?"

This question that I had never considered before caused me to be stunned. I had only lived for 15 years, and this delicate question of life is something I couldn't understand completely.

But after thinking about it, I finally said an answer that more or less lacked thought.

"I'll probably think that I'm lucky."

"Eh?"

"Tha...that's because if we're married, it means that both of us like the areas we can see, right? So if we find a new side after that, and if we still like each other...won't it be tw, twice the love?"

I know that it's really a stupid explanation, but Asuna merely frowned, tilted her head and smiled.

"I see. That's weird."

"We...weird..."

"Well, it's nothing much. Let's not talk about this...a lot of things have happened, and my stomach is grumbling. Let's go get something to eat."

"Tha, that's right. Then...that Algade's specialty that looks like okonomiyaki without the sauce..."

"Rejected."

As expected, Asuna refused it, and suddenly grabbed my shoulder from before.

Shocked, I turn to look behind, and what was in front of my eyes——

The umpteenth inexplicable scene ever since I got involved in this 'inside area incident' appeared in my eyes.

In Aincrad, all sorts of senses are digitalized data that can be indicated through process codes, so it's impossible for supernatural phenomenon to happen.

So is this a bug in the server I see? Or is it an illusion in my breath?

Not far away, on the north side of the hill, under the old trees gathered there, beside a moss-riddled tombstone standing there...was a translucent female player giving off a slightly golden light.

Her slender body has the bare minimum metallic armor. The long sword is tied at her waist, the shield is on her back, and her short-haired head has a serene and beautiful face. Her eyes has a strong glow that I know most players have.

The eyes of a clearer who wished to use the blade to end this death game. This female player who's giving a serene smile watches Asuna and me wordlessly. However, after a while, she extends her right hand over to us to seemingly hand something over.

Asuna and I reached our right hands out, and as we felt the warmth, we clasped onto it tightly. This warmth entered our bodies, lighting the fire within our chest. We opened our mouths and said out the words the form within us.

"Your will...we'll definitely carry it on. One day, we'll definitely beat this game and release everyone for you to see."

"Un, definitely, so...please watch over us, Griselda-san."

Asuna's words rode through the night wind and reached the female swordsman. The transparent face showed a large smile——

And in that instant, nobody was there.

We put our hands down and remained spaced out over there for quite some time.

Soon after, Asuna clasped my hand tightly, smiling and saying,

"Let's go back. We have to work hard tomorrow."

"...Yeah. I want to clear that level by this week."

We then turned before walking down the hill, heading towards the main town.