"So, the boss strategy meeting is over... Elia, you still haven't finished that quest?"
"That is correct. It has not been completed yet."
"That's a little strange. It should be the kind of quest a normal party could clear without much trouble..."
"Then, would you like to go take a look?"
"Sure. I need to head back to Horunka anyway, so I can stop by on the way."
By the time that conversation ended and I reached the forest, thirty minutes had already passed. Even though it was a forest on the First Floor, it looked fairly dark, the afternoon sunlight barely piercing the heavy shade.
"I've already mapped this area, so that's not a problem... Should I just head straight for the deep part of the forest...?"
Muttering to myself, I moved straight ahead at a quick pace, but it wasn't long before something started to feel off.
"...There are way too few monsters."
That was right. I'd been crossing the forest for about five minutes and hadn't seen a single monster. That definitely wasn't normal.
As soon as I thought that, one possibility flashed through my mind.
"Come to think of it, Elia. Didn't you say the Horunka forest occasionally has abnormal incidents?"
"Searching for 'Horunka forest' and 'abnormal incident'... Correct. There is a phenomenon known as 'monster overflow.'"
"No way. Don't tell me they got caught up in that. What a pain."
Monster overflow. It sounded like monsters spilling out beyond the forest, but what it actually meant was that monsters that normally roamed within a set range would suddenly converge on a single point.
Basically, a wave. And considering Kazuha's party level right now...
"...I need to hurry. Elia."
Without waiting for a reply, I shot forward, weaving between the trees as my eyes swept the surroundings. Usually, this kind of thing happened near the deepest part of the forest, so I should see it soon...
"Found them."
What came into view was a group of four, faintly visible, surrounded by dozens of Mini Nepenthes and boars.
"Damn it! A [Monster Overflow] here, out of nowhere? Nobody told us this could happen!"
The young man shouting as he swung his weapon without pause had a one-handed sword and a buckler. He was obviously the party leader.
Beside him was a boy unleashing Sword Skills with a one-handed sword, and a girl thrusting with a rapier.
And then, finally, one girl entered my sight.
Even with the hood on, I could still see her long black hair peeking out, along with the single braided side lock swaying like a signature accent.
There was no mistaking her. It was Kazuha.
"...You really did manage it. You stayed alive."
Honestly, until I saw her for myself, I hadn't been sure we'd ever meet again. A whole month had passed, and in that time, one accident was all it would take for someone to be out for good.
So seeing her alive now made me feel relieved for some reason. It was unlike me, as if my thoughts had been stained with a little too much emotion.
"Oops. If I keep getting sentimental, I'll be saying goodbye the moment I arrive."
With a bitter smile, I ran straight toward them. Judging by how close things had been before I got there, the party was already starting to collapse fast.
"...All right, first I'll pull the aggro over here."
As my top priority, I cut down the monsters surrounding the party as fast as I could. At my current level and with my current equipment, if I got a decent number of critical hits, I could practically crush one in a single blow.
Once I'd wiped out around thirty percent of them, the entire group's aggro shifted to me at once. Taking that as my cue, I stopped thinking about anything else and simply swung my sword until every last monster was gone.
About three minutes later, after every visible monster had disappeared, I walked over to the party, who still seemed unable to move from where they stood.
"Are you all right? You looked like you were in danger, so I came over first. I hope I didn't interfere with anything..."
"No! Not at all! Thank you so much for helping us!"
As soon as I spoke in an apologetic tone, the young party leader frantically waved both hands. The other party members shook their heads just as hard and bowed deeply in thanks.
"We really thought we were going to die just now. Thank you so much for saving us."
"No, it's fine. I had business here anyway, so you don't need to worry about it."
At my words, the young man stared at me like he couldn't believe it. Which made sense. If he'd just seen the way I fought, then there was no reason someone like me should have business in a place like this.
"Business here... meaning...?"
As expected, he asked again, but instead of answering directly, I simply turned my head slightly.
There she was, just as I expected. Kazuha, still wearing her hood, stood there blankly staring at me.
Her lips were parted slightly, as if she'd tried to say something and stopped. In her startled eyes, a large tear rolled down, visible even from where I stood.
"...Kazuma?"
Kazuha looked at me as if she were seeing a ghost, unable to take her eyes off me for even a second. I didn't look away. I met her gaze head-on.
"Yeah. Long time no see, Kazuha. It's been a month."
At my short reply, Kazuha rushed over and threw her arms around me.
"It really is you, Kazuma...! I finally found you...!"
She pulled back to look at me again as if she still couldn't believe it, then burst into tears all over again.
I really hadn't expected our reunion to be this emotional. More importantly, why was her whole party crying too? We're not that close, you know?
"Congratulations, Kazuma. You have acquired one beautiful girl."
"No I haven't?! More importantly, Elia, where did you even learn to say something like that?! I never taught you that!"
"From information I collected on the internet..."
First thing after I clear SAO, I'm making a virus and sending it to a few websites. Just like that, I'd found one more reason to be even more motivated about clearing the game.
Anyway, this was getting embarrassing if it kept going.
"Um, Kazuha. About this... this position is a little..."
When I awkwardly hinted at it, she finally seemed to realize the situation. Maybe she'd cried enough by now, because she quickly let go and stepped back, her face turning bright red.
"Ah, um, this, I mean..."
Her flustered reaction was funny enough that I let out a small laugh, then turned back to the rest of the party and suggested we head out.
"Your base area is the Town of Beginnings, right? Then I think we should get moving. Once it gets dark, visibility will be a problem."
"Ah! Y-yes. Understood."
Thankfully, they followed without complaint, and we reached the Town of Beginnings before sunset. Once there, they finished the quest without any trouble.
Afterward, the young party leader came straight over to me and offered me some col.
"Thank you again for helping us today! It's not much, but this is your reward, so please accept it."
"There's no need. From the look of it, you've all been hunting really hard. Use that money to get better equipment and put more strength into clearing the game. That'll help a lot more."
I answered with a natural smile. There wasn't any real emotion behind it, but it probably didn't look unnatural. After all, it was a smile I'd used plenty of times before.
"Th-that..."
Seeing the young man now openly tearing up, I was a little alarmed inside, but I let it go, thinking this would at least clear one debt off his heart.
After giving them one last light nod, I turned to find a decent inn.
The sky was turning violet as the sun slowly set, and lights began to flicker on one by one, announcing the start of the night market. The First Floor boss raid was tomorrow morning. I probably wouldn't be seeing this place much longer, so maybe it was worth taking it in now while I could.
As I walked through the streets, my thoughts drifting slowly along, a voice from behind suddenly brought them to a halt.
"W-wait! Kazuma!"
"Hm? What is it, Kazuha?"
At my question, Kazuha hesitated for a moment, then seemed to steel herself and took a step closer.
"Um... can I come with you, Kazuma?"
"Does that... mean I should take it as you wanting to form a party with me?"
The meaning was a little vague, so I asked to be sure, but Kazuha shook her head as if that wasn't quite it.
"That too, but more than that... I want to stay with you, Kazuma."
"...Do you really have to?"
It was strange. Honestly, if it was her, there would be no shortage of people lining up to take her with them.
Right now, with her hood on, not many people noticed her, but there was no doubt she was one of the top female players in all of SAO.
Judging from how she'd looked earlier, her actual skill still wasn't that impressive. If that was the case, wouldn't it be better for her to rely on somewhere safer?
I was aiming to clear the game. If we were talking danger, then danger was everywhere around me.
"What do you mean, 'have to'...?"
Apparently my answer confused her too, because she tilted her head as if she didn't understand.
"I'm going to the boss raid in two days. So forming a regular party with me probably won't work. And even if we succeed, I'm going to keep pushing the front lines after that. So I'm saying it might be better for you to stay somewhere safer."
I gave her a perfectly logical answer, but Kazuha's face went pale from the very first part of it.
"A boss raid? Kazuma, you're going to fight the boss in two days?! You could die if something goes wrong!"
"Yeah. So?"
"...Huh?"
Maybe I'd been too firm. My flat reply left Kazuha making a blank sound instead.
"So what? I could die. Of course I could. But that's true anywhere. I mean, who knows if they'll get hit by a car and die while walking down the street in real life?"
That was a bit of a forced argument, but it wasn't exactly wrong. Death never bothered to announce itself in advance.
"The only difference here is that 'death' is expressed in a more systemized, more definite way. If you think about it like that, this place is actually better than the real world in one respect. At least here, you can prepare for it."
That... came from experience. I'd seen the closest possible example of it through someone who had once been right beside me.
"That got a little off track, but to put it simply, my opinion is just that you'd be better off joining another party somewhere else."
"U-ugh... so in the end, am I just... a burden to you, Kazuma?"
Kazuha looked up at me anxiously. I was about to make things clear once and for all, but then I stopped. I didn't really want to hurt her, but at the same time, having her with me would be dangerous.
After a brief moment of that dilemma, I finally gave the best answer I could.
"It's not that... All right, maybe this is better. Let's register each other as friends for now, and after that, the choice is yours, Kazuha. I'll respect whatever you decide. But you need to understand this: if you come with me, it could be dangerous."
Trying to lift her mood a little, I patted her on the head as I said it. I'd meant it as a roundabout kind of permission, but when I looked at her face, it actually seemed to brighten, and she nodded.
"Okay, I understand, Kazuma. And I still want to go with you. Even to the boss raid."
"Hmm... I don't know about that."
"Ugh, is it because my level's too low after all?"
"That's a big problem too, but if you did come, I'm not really sure what your position would be."
"I used to practice kendo. I was never good enough to win a championship... but I know the basics!"
"Oh, really? As expected of the student council president. Good at both brains and brawn."
"Ugh! Don't say it like you're making fun of me!"
Kazuha puffed out her cheeks in protest, and I gave a small laugh and nodded.
"All right. Then if you can fight at least a little, you should be able to handle the smaller ones."
At my answer, which in a way all but confirmed she'd be joining me, Kazuha nodded enthusiastically, looking delighted.
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