This time had been a little too close for comfort. It wasn’t enough to just brush it off with, "Well, I didn’t know either." Asuna had clearly been under a lot of pressure, so in the end, I felt bad for Kirito, but I shoved everything onto the sturdy shield known as "beta tester."
"Sorry, Kirito. I’ll buy you a meal later."
"...Is this the famous friend shield? It seems like a very useful skill."
"Not exactly a skill, but it is handy. You just have to use it somewhere you won’t get killed."
"It looked very possible someone was about to get killed just now..."
I could practically hear the sigh forming on its own. Well, when Asuna had looked at Kirito earlier with those silent eyes that said, "Why are you only bringing up something that important now?"... I could have sworn there was even a faint killing intent mixed in there. Nah. Must have been my imagination.
Anyway, thankfully, we managed to avoid actual bloodshed and took a look inside the tent.
It was supposed to be an instance dungeon, but maybe because of the increased number of people and the irregularity of Kizmel surviving, the tent was large enough for six people to sleep comfortably.
Of course, that only worked if everyone slept close together, and since the group was mixed, the conversation naturally shifted to sleeping arrangements.
And the conclusion we reached was...
"Then Kirito sleeps on the far end, then Kazuma, then Kazuha, then Kizmel, then me. That works, right?"
"...How exactly did we arrive at that conclusion? I mean, wouldn’t Kazuha feel a little awkward about that? Since Kizmel is an NPC, wouldn’t it make more sense to split the sides around her—"
"I-I’m fine! Really, really! I don’t mind at all!"
"O-okay..."
With Kazuha strangely raising her voice and strongly supporting the current arrangement, it was settled. Then, maybe because the tension had finally eased, Asuna—now filled with intense anticipation for a bath—dragged Kazuha and Kirito away.
Kirito said he was going to stand watch. As for me, I got out of it by saying I’d go take a better look around the area. And that was how things ended up like this.
So why had I wandered off alone like this?
"This should be far enough, right...?"
I opened my skill window again and selected the [Thrown Blade Arts] category. Then I brought up the three skills I’d been practicing before I met up with the other three.
- [Spatial Awareness] (100)
- [Watcher's Eye] (100)
- [Thrown Blade Arts] (67)
"Hmm... just like I thought. Since I keep the first two active all the time, their proficiency rises fast."
"What are you talking about, Kazuma?"
"...Mm. I came all the way out here so I wouldn’t be seen, too..."
Hearing Kizmel’s voice from quite a distance away, I quickly forced myself back into composure and deliberately changed the subject.
I also made an "artificially" troubled expression. In a world run by AI—especially if it was one of Akihiko Kayaba’s masterpieces—there had to be emotional programming built in too.
There would naturally be a process for recognizing and judging human facial expressions.
"Then I must apologize. I came because I was worried you might be in danger... but if what I heard displeased you, I am sorry."
Kizmel lowered her head in apology, and I gently waved a hand.
"It’s fine. It’s just... now that you know something that has to stay secret... I’d rather you not tell the others."
"...Not even your comrades?"
Kizmel sounded a little displeased, but I kept smiling as I answered.
"Yeah."
"...You are a human I find difficult to understand, by the standards I know."
"...You don’t have to understand. This is something that concerns us humans more than it does your people."
"A matter only for humans..."
Kizmel placed a hand near her mouth and thought for a moment. Then she stopped and looked at me with steady eyes.
"Could that matter be the one about having to climb to the top of the tower?"
"...Yeah. That’s the biggest reason. What you just heard is more like a small secret included under that bigger reason."
"I see. Then there is something I am curious about."
"What is it?"
"Why are you willing to tell me?"
"Hmm..."
There was more packed into that question than I’d expected, so I thought for a moment.
"...Well, you’ve already seen it once, and it’s not like I can erase your memory. I can’t kill you either. So I guess... I trust you, not completely, but enough."
Rationally, I knew there was also the calculation that, as an AI, she couldn’t really go spreading it to others. But even so, in my heart, I’d decided I could trust this NPC—no, this person named Kizmel.
When I said that without holding anything back, Kizmel blushed a little and scratched her head, looking embarrassed.
"This is... a little embarrassing. I only came because I was worried, and yet you ended up telling me something that makes me so happy."
"Anyway... the important part is this. Don’t tell anyone what you heard just now."
"...Understood. If that is what you wish, then I shall do so."
After confirming Kizmel’s helpless little shrug, I pointed toward the campsite.
"Yeah... thanks. Then let’s head back."
"Very well."
"...I’ll have to be a little more careful when I train from now on."
"You did that on purpose, didn’t you? You let her hear it."
Elia’s voice immediately sounded in my head. She didn’t seem pleased either; even her tone had lost its usual gentleness.
"Yeah. I guess I need to expand my detection range more. Maybe it’s because of racial traits."
Walking beside Kizmel, I continued that silent conversation in my head.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"W-wow?! Why are Kazuma and Kizmel coming in together? And this late at night? Just the two of you, from the forest?"
The moment we got back, Kazuha came at me hard. Naturally, I gave her a chop on the head first, then launched into a lecture of my own as a bonus.
Ah, whatever. I should just take a bath too and go to sleep...
**
At dawn, with the occasional chirp of insects in the air...
I opened my eyes and slowly sat up. I must have slept pretty well this time, because I felt refreshed... though apparently I wasn’t the only one awake. Two other people were up too.
"Hm~? So a man and a woman went off somewhere together in the dead of night..."
Setting my own case completely aside, my face spread into a grin at the interesting sight. I quietly got up and stepped outside so I wouldn’t wake Kazuha or Asuna.
Waking up by coincidence like this might actually have been perfect timing. Kizmel had promised to keep the secret, and Kirito seemed to have triggered some kind of quest, so he probably wouldn’t be paying attention to me.
Returning to the same forest as before, I focused my mind once more on [Spatial Awareness] and [Watcher's Eye].
"First, Elia, wide-area mapping."
"Executing... There are no monsters or NPCs nearby."
After hearing Elia’s response, I switched my skill from one-handed sword to [Martial Arts] and ran straight at the tree in front of me.
Then I leaped. Yellow Sword Skill light gathered in my hand, and the moment I confirmed the effect, I slammed my palm into the trunk.
Thud!
Even with my hand buried halfway into the tree from the heavy impact, I ignored it, planted my feet against the trunk with the force of inertia, crouched, and jumped toward the next tree.
This movement had been designed purely around the assumption that I might not have a sword, so instead of calculating every step, it relied heavily on instinct.
I stepped on another tree, grabbed a branch from the one opposite me, used the rotational force to swing up, and landed on top.
Then I changed direction, ran diagonally again, and before reaching the next point, kicked the tree with [Crescent Moon].
Tak!
Normal objects didn’t take damage like monsters did, but the laws of physics still applied. Using the rebound from the Sword Skill, I reached the final branch and then dropped back down to the ground.
"...Good. This should give me at least one answer for spatial combat."
"...Whether it’s thanks to the game or because of it, movements that would be nearly impossible for a human are possible here."
"Seriously. The higher your level gets, depending on how your stats are distributed, you might even be able to pull off combat styles the system itself never accounted for."
Satisfied with the results, I headed back to camp in a lighter mood. Kirito and Kizmel still hadn’t returned, so I decided I should get whatever rest I could and closed my eyes again.
**
Around 3 a.m., Thursday, December 15, 2022.
To be precise, about two hours after I’d come back and lain down, we left the campsite to set out on a new adventure.
Explaining how that happened would take a while, but honestly, it mostly came down to me being too sensitive. Since I’d left [Spatial Awareness] active before going back to sleep, I saw two points of light approaching in my awareness and woke up because of it.
Asuna was already awake too, sitting there fully prepared. She looked puzzled when she saw me get up, but apparently decided she’d woken me and gave me a slightly apologetic look.
Now then, what to do... There were two choices. Wake Kazuha too and set out, or let her keep sleeping.
To be honest, our temporary party—though we’d only sent friend requests and hadn’t formally formed one—had naturally split into two pairs: Kirito and Asuna, and me and Kazuha.
Putting everything else aside, I really wasn’t sure about waking Kazuha when she was sleeping so soundly.
Was it worse to let her fatigue build up, or to leave without her and have her make a huge scene about being abandoned later?
After weighing the scales in my head for a moment, I immediately shook Kazuha awake and had her get ready.
By the time we were all prepared, Kirito came into the tent first—and he was completely unarmed, wearing neither weapon nor armor.
Asuna, who must have noticed Kirito and Kizmel were gone while she was sleeping and assumed they’d gone to get ready to depart, immediately started grilling him in disbelief.
Then, to make things even worse, Kizmel entered the tent right after him in light clothes, and I saw Asuna’s gaze toward Kirito drop to near absolute zero. I was just about to pray for his soul, but Kirito quickly equipped his armor and weapons and desperately appealed that he was fully ready too.
As we walked through the campsite after leaving the tent, Asuna kept shooting Kirito suspicious looks the whole time. But the moment we left the ravine and entered the [Forest Veil] again, all of that vanished as if washed away.
The moss-covered giant trees and the bands of low-lying mist reflecting the blue moonlight looked even more fantastical than they had during the day. For a while, the three of us other than Kizmel simply stood there, admiring the scenery.
"...It’d be nice if we could save this as a picture."
"Agreed..."
Unlike me, who recovered after a brief moment of appreciation, the others still seemed trapped in the spell of the scene and remained standing there.
Asuna and Kazuha in particular stared up at the moonlit sky and the forest with distant, enchanted eyes.
Well, there was no need to rush, so I turned my head to wait—and saw that Kizmel’s gaze was fixed on us as well, as though she were waiting for us to finish.
"Sorry. Did we keep you waiting too long?"
I stepped over and apologized quietly. Kizmel shook her head a little. It was a sentimental thought, but the way she looked now—what the old me would have dismissed as just "an NPC waiting for the player’s response"—felt instead like she was patiently respecting our wonder, and Asuna’s feelings too.
At last, when Kazuha and Asuna came back to themselves and turned around, Kizmel finally spoke.
"...It is just that... that child also loved the forest at night. Come. Let us go."
"That child," huh... Most likely, that was the reason for the event Kirito and Kizmel had together earlier.
When I glanced at him with that thought in mind, Kirito raised one hand apologetically.
I quietly fell back so Asuna and Kazuha wouldn’t notice, then walked beside Kirito.
"So? How was your thrilling encounter with the dark elf?"
"Hey, hey... seriously, spare me for the sake of my life..."
"That depends on what you say. Don’t you think hogging all the information is a bit much?"
"I just knew there was space behind the campsite from the beta and went there. Running into her was pure coincidence... And if you want information, the only thing I learned is that Kizmel’s younger sister’s name was Tilnel."
"Ah... so 'that child' means Tilnel... Did she die?"
"...She was an apothecary. Killed in the rear lines during an ambush by Forest Elf hawk hunters... that’s what Kizmel said."
"...That must’ve been hard on her."
"Honestly, until now, it’s been second nature to think of everything like it’s just a game. Kizmel too—I just thought of her as one more interesting NPC. But now... I don’t think I can see her that way anymore."
"That’s a pretty classic dilemma, Kirito."
With a faint, wry smile, I voiced a question dredged up from some useless corner of my memory.
"...If an artificial intelligence were to develop 'emotions,' should we respect them as persons? It’s been a long-running debate in that field."
"I was going to ask you that before, but... Kazuma, are you from that line of work?"
"No... nothing that grand. But there was someone I once wanted to become like."
"...Somehow, I think I get it."
"Yeah... something like that."
After that, we shared a brief silence. And as usual, I was the one who spoke first.
"The topic drifted a little, but my personal answer to that question is still this: believe whatever you want to believe."
"So you’re saying we should actively accept freedom of thought?"
"Something like that. There’s nothing wrong with living in different worlds. It’s just a difference between what people can accept and what they can’t. But we can’t deny that we’re standing on this ground right now."
"...You really do think like an old man sometimes."
"Shut up. I’ve heard that one enough to last a lifetime, pretty boy."
Trading jabs, we looked at each other and snickered.
**
The quest we received from the commander after [Secret of the Jade Key] was called [Subjugation of the Venomous Spider].
The details were simple: poisonous spider-type monsters had begun appearing abnormally often in the forest and were interfering with the unit’s operations, so we were to locate their nest.
To put it bluntly, it was an investigation-and-extermination quest.
According to our guide, Kirito, the spider nest listed in the quest was randomly placed. Unlike the two women, who were visibly disappointed to hear that, I only repeated one thing in my head.
"Elia, did you find it?"
"...I have located one area with an abnormal concentration of monsters."
That cleared one obstacle. The other was obvious enough: if it involved spiders, then fighting the venomous spiders around the nest meant antidote potions were absolutely necessary.
"How many antidote potions do you have?"
"Hmm... I’ve got three in my pouch and sixteen in my inventory."
"I have the same—three in my pouch and fourteen in my inventory."
"I’ve got three in my pouch and twenty-two in my inventory."
"Me too... Huh? Kazuma? Why is your tens digit different from ours?"
Kirito, who had been about to casually give the signal to move out, made a weird noise and asked in an odd tone.
"I just cleared one more quest. It’s not a big deal."
I answered with a smirk. Kirito looked weirdly resentful for a moment, then suddenly seemed to remember something and turned to Kizmel.
"Oh, right. Kizmel, do you have any antidote potions?"
"I brought a few, just in case, but I do not truly need them. I have this."
With a faintly proud expression, Kizmel held out her right hand to show us the leather glove fitted snugly over it.
On her index finger, over the glove, was a broad ring. At a glance, it clearly wasn’t ordinary. Even under the dim moonlight, it shone strongly.
"Whoa... That ring’s the same color as an antidote potion, isn’t it? What is that?"
"Sharp eye, Kirito. When I was appointed as a royal guard knight, Her Majesty bestowed this upon me together with my sword. Once every ten minutes, it can cast an antidote spell."
"...Guh..."
Kirito’s mouth fell open soundlessly. He was probably trying to say it was incredible.
And honestly, from a beta tester’s perspective, his reaction made perfect sense. Across both the beta and this death game, I had never once seen or heard of an accessory that let you use a detoxification skill infinitely.
This wasn’t just some decent rare item. If it could even cure level 5 [Lethal Poison], then in a situation like this, it would be the kind of rare item that could throw an entire area into chaos.
Maybe the sheer value of it had blown his mind, because as Kirito stared blankly at the ring in Kizmel’s hand, his face was so transparent it might as well have had the words "I want it" written across it.
That burning gaze was intense enough to make even Kizmel flinch for a moment. She immediately cleared her throat.
"Even if you make that face, I cannot give this to you. In the first place, this ring uses the faint magical power remaining in the blood of our Ruisula people as the source of its spellcraft. Your human race could not use it. Most likely."
"Most likely..."
Kirito was about to answer right away, but then he jerked his head side to side.
"N-no, it’s not like I wanted it or anything. If Kizmel has a way to deal with poison, that’s enough."
"How noble of you, Kirito."
"Right? You’re a guy too, so obviously you wouldn’t beg a girl to hand over her ring, would you?"
As I fired back at him, Asuna smiled sweetly and immediately cut off his escape route. Kirito shrank even further.
"O-of course not... Huh? But if you put it that way, it kind of sounds like the reverse would be allowed..."
At Kirito’s muttered complaint, Asuna’s smile shattered instantly. Ah. A natural counterattack from Kirito.
"W-who said that?! When have I ever begged you for a ring?!"
"I-I never said I was talking about you, Asuna!"
Watching the two of them dig their own graves, I snickered, while Kazuha blushed faintly beside me. The two of them had stopped walking and were glaring at each other with crackling intensity.
Seriously, if they wanted to flirt like this, I wished they’d do it in a safe zone... Unfortunately, it seemed this forest had no intention of leaving us alone.
Kizmel, looking a little troubled herself, spoke up.
"Um... forgive me for interrupting your pleasant conversation."
Bzzzt
"Something is approaching. Judging by the footsteps, it is neither elf, nor human, nor beast."
Bzzzzzt
"...Kazuha, let’s move ahead first. Kizmel, which direction?"
"Huh? W-what?! What about those two?"
"Ah, let them handle the rear. We shall leave the enemy ahead to Kirito and the others."
Bzz... eek?
Feeling the electric tension behind us suddenly vanish, I gave a wry smile and focused on the creature approaching us.
[Watcher's Eye]. [Spatial Awareness].
Thanks to the skills that were always active, I’d already locked onto the enemy. The small text visible from five meters away read: Thicket Spider.
The classic giant spider skittered toward us, its long, thin legs moving noisily as it glided forward.
"Kazuha. Same strategy as before. Watch out for the bite and the webbing it shoots from behind while you fight."
"Got it, Kazuma!"
With that energetic reply, Kazuha slashed the spider’s right side and immediately activated the Sword Skill [Direct Attack].
A no-delay two-hit combo using a normal attack and a Sword Skill. Kazuha really was steadily adapting to life in this virtual world.
"Nice one, Kazuha."
And before the spider’s attention could fully turn toward her, I added a small word of praise and drove the airborne [Sonic Leap], which I’d started enjoying lately, straight into its right eye.
**
If I had to sum up my impression of spider-type monsters in one sentence, it would be: not much to them.
Losing an eye must have been fatal, because after that, a few normal attacks and the simultaneous [Vertical Arc] from Kazuha and me were enough to finish it off.
"Hmm... pretty straightforward. Hitting it from both sides at a fast tempo seems to keep it from using its web attack much."
"Hahaha... pulling off that kind of fast tempo isn’t exactly easy..."
Kazuha scratched her cheek awkwardly as she answered. Come to think of it, I’d moved without really considering her pace.
"Sorry. I fought without thinking about you there."
"N-no, it’s fine. I could keep up..."
I stepped closer to the flustered Kazuha, who was waving both hands, and looked her in the eyes.
"...I told you not to push yourself, right? No lying."
"Ah, ah, ah."
Kazuha started repeating herself like a broken stereo, and her face turned red in direct proportion.
"Hmm... Perhaps I arrived at a rather tactless moment."
Kizmel’s teasing voice came from behind us, and Kazuha jerked around in shock.
"K-K-K-Kizmel?! What are you talking about?! We haven’t done anything yet!"
"Oh? Then are you saying you intend to do something soon?"
"Nooo!"
Kizmel chuckled to herself, apparently finding it fun to tease Kazuha.
"My apologies. You are so pure that teasing you is rather enjoyable. If I have offended you, please forgive me."
"Uuu..."
Kazuha puffed out her cheeks to the limit and glared at Kizmel, then gave a small nod and walked stiffly toward where Kirito and Asuna were.
"Hmm... perhaps she hates me now."
"I don’t think so. Kazuha really is as pure as you think she is. And she’s straightforward too."
"Well now... you do see her clearly. She would be happy to hear that."
"That’s not why I said it... The point is, she just ran off because she was embarrassed. She’s already over being upset."
"I see. Even so, I should properly apologize to her someday... She resembles that child in a strange way."
"...Tilnel, right? Kirito told me. I’m sorry."
"...So you heard. Yes. That is how it is."
An awkward air started to settle over us, so I clapped my hands once and pointed in the direction Kazuha had gone.
"Anyway, let’s go check on them. I’m curious how those two are doing."
"Yes, let us. Though from what I saw earlier, they have likely finished by now."
Walking side by side, we pushed through the brush for about thirty seconds and found Kirito’s pair and Kazuha in the middle of the clearing, just as the monster was dissolving into polygons, all three of them mid-high-five.
"You... were spacing out a little during that fight, weren’t you?"
"...Y-yeah."
"Ah, Kazuma. You’re back?"
Whatever embarrassment she’d had earlier was already gone, because Kazuha quickly came over to me. Then she turned her gaze back to Kizmel and bowed her head.
"I’m sorry about earlier, Kizmel. I get flustered really easily... I think I got too worked up."
At that honest apology, Kizmel was the one who looked a little flustered for once.
"N-no, not at all. I was the insensitive one, if anything. You did nothing wrong, Kazuha... But Kirito, what were you thinking about? Even against a weak enemy, carelessness can invite danger."
Then, as if remembering just now, she folded her arms and fixed Kirito with a stern look.
Hmm... in some circles, getting cold stares from two beautiful women might count as a reward, but right now Kirito’s life might actually be in more danger than when we ran into the monster. Choose your words carefully, Kirito.
"I-it wasn’t that I was careless, exactly. I was just thinking about something..."
"That is why I am asking what you were thinking about."
"Uh, um... uuuum..."
Kirito rolled his head this way and that for a moment, then finally muttered as if giving up.
"...I was just a little surprised that Asuna isn’t scared of spiders or bees at all..."
"What?! That’s the pointless thing you were thinking about?!"
"Y-yes."
Apparently Asuna had assumed Kirito’s worries were about something else entirely, because she shouted in a voice full of betrayal.
Then she glared at him for a while before finally letting out a sigh.
"...When they’re that huge, there’s not much difference between bugs and beasts. If you start being scared of every monster just because of how it looks, there’ll be no end to it."
I found myself agreeing with Asuna’s very logical answer, then suddenly thought of something and asked Kazuha too.
"Come to think of it, Kazuha, you rushed right in too. Weren’t you scared of bugs?"
"Huh?! Ah... well, they were gross, but like Asuna said, once they get that big, they stop feeling like bugs and start feeling like something else..."
Kazuha answered without much trouble, apparently feeling the same way Asuna did. Kizmel watched the two of them with a meaningful, bittersweet smile.
...Looks like they really did remind her of Tilnel a lot. But I had no desire to let the mood turn heavy again, so I quietly let it pass.
"Ah, more importantly, what was the meaning of that action you all did just now?"
As she spoke, Kizmel lightly held out her hand, and I tilted my head for a moment.
In that case, was this another piece of culture from our real world flowing into this virtual one? Or would everything reset once this campaign ended, preserving the balance?
Before that thought had even fully formed, Asuna smiled and answered.
"It’s a human greeting for wishing each other good fortune in battle."
Then she slapped Kizmel’s right hand. Kizmel stared at her own palm for a while, then lightly curled her fingers as if trying to preserve the sensation.
"I see. We elves rarely touch others... but it is not a bad greeting."
After giving that serious review, she immediately held her hand out to Kirito. He high-fived her with a helpless look... but right after that, his face went visibly pale.
As if something had just flashed back into his mind.
"...Kirito?"
"What is wrong, Kirito?"
Asuna and Kizmel both asked at once, sensing something strange. Kirito hurriedly snapped back to himself and quickly lowered the awkwardly raised right hand.
"N-no, it’s nothing."
Kirito really wasn’t good at acting. He stammered for a while and looked suspicious as hell, but after a moment, Kizmel slowly nodded.
"Very well. Then let us hurry. The spiders’ nest should lie in the direction from which those creatures came."
At Kizmel’s words, we all nodded and began crossing the moonlit forest once more.
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