Asuna's expression instantly stiffened. Regarding this kind of topic, she was confident that she was more afraid than ordinary people, and it was so serious that when she first attacked the labyrinth of the sixty-fifth and sixty-sixth floors of the ancient city, which was famous for its horror floors, she found all kinds of reasons to stagger off the strategy......

"I, I said, this is a game world made up of digital archives, how could there be such a thing as a ghost."

"And how do you explain the figure of Griselda we saw that day? Besides, human nerves are bioelectric, and it's possible that the moment the brain is burned, an unusual signal is generated that has always existed in the game......"

"Woo! Don't talk about that! Asuna covered her ears and tried to escape Ye Chi's explanation......

"Wowhaha, sorry sorry, that was just a joke. I don't think there's a real ghost either, but wouldn't it be nice to go out anyway and go somewhere where something seems to be going on? Besides...... It's better than eating and sleeping and beating Kirito, isn't it? ”

"Has Kirito-kun been reduced to the level of Doudou?"

"Don't worry about the details......"

"It's really caring, hey!" Kirito's protests were ignored......

The four of them made a simple preparation—in fact, there was nothing to prepare...... Because there are almost no monsters on this floor, there is no need to bring anything more than the supplies in the original backpack, and the only weapon on the surface of several people is the long wrist armor on Ye Chi's left hand - and this thing is really a weapon on the surface?

So the only thing to prepare for is lunch......

But this kind of thing Kirito and Liz can't get involved at all......

Ye Chi was in charge of the barbecue steak, and Asuna was in charge of seasoning, and finally the two worked together to make a barbecue-style sandwich.

Ready...... In fact, there is no such thing as an assembly......

Ye Chi's unchanged black shirt and white breeches-like "half-body armor" and his own boots are just that, Asuna is wearing a home-style beige top with a khaki knee-length skirt and brown boots - it is worth mentioning that Ye Chi's shirt is with herself...... She made it all herself...... Kirito is dressed in black, and Liz is dressed in the same shameful outfit as the maid café in the shop......

The four of them walked in the predetermined direction with a smile and a smile along the way...... Completely ignoring the fact that this is not actually a safe zone......

Even if it's a labyrinth area...... These three and a half advanced players are on this low floor...... It's all crushing, right? All the way to the flat A to get ......

Even if it's Liz...... It's also an upper-middle player in his 60s...... Although half of the non-combat skills are ......

Soon, the road descends to the right of the hill and extends into the deep forest. They walked slowly through a huge coniferous forest that resembled fir trees. The sound of the rubbing of leaves, the trickling of the river, and the chirping of birds add a wonderful accompaniment to the forest scenery in this late autumn.

Asuna looked at the tree closer than usual. "What a tall tree. Hey, do you think you can climb this tree?"

"That's not nonsense...... This is not UBI's pit goods, the assassins are free to climb trees......"

"I don't understand the ...... at all."

"Those who care about the details are (9) ......"

During this period of small talk, the forest grew deeper and deeper with the footsteps. Perhaps psychologically, the birdsong has become sparse and the sunlight that falls from the trees has decreased.

Asuna re-observed her surroundings and asked Kirito:

"W-That...... Where's the rumor?"

"Well...... this"

Kirito waved his finger and used the map to confirm his current location.

"Ah, it's coming, it's a few minutes of walking."

"Hmm...... So, what exactly is the content of the rumors?"

Although she didn't want to hear it, Asuna, who felt uneasy if she didn't listen, still asked.

"Speaking of which, this is what happened about a week ago when the Carpenter player came here to pick up wood. It seems that because the wood here is of good quality, players who are obsessed with collecting come back to their senses and it is already dark. Just as he hurried on his way home, a white shadow flashed in the shade of a tree a little farther away. ”

“…………”

In fact, this is already Asuna's limit, but Kirito still continues ruthlessly:

"Although I thought it was a monster and was a little panicked, it turned out to be not. It's human, and I've heard that it's a petite girl with long black hair and a white dress. She was slowly walking to the other end of the woods. The player thought that it wasn't a monster but another player, and looked at it......"

“…………”

"—arrows, not appearing."

"Babbling ......"

Asuna couldn't help but make a small sound deep in her throat. Liz is already gnashing her teeth......

"How could it be—the man thought about it and moved forward, and called out to the other person, and the girl suddenly stopped...... Slowly turned to him......"

"No, no, don't say it again......"

That's when the man noticed something. The girl's white clothes, in the moonlight, turned out to be transparent, and you could see the trees behind her. ”

“————!”

While struggling to suppress the screams, Asuna tightly grasped Ye Chi's hand......

The man thought to himself that if the girl had turned around completely, he would be dead, and he began to run away. When he finally ran to a place where he could see the lights of the village in the distance, he stopped thinking that he should be fine here...... Turning his head slightly, he ......"

“————?”

"There wasn't anyone behind him. It's really gratifying. ”

“…… Kiri, Kirito, this stupid ——!" Liz's iron fist descended on Kirito's head......

"Shhhhhh

"Over there, there's someone." Ye Chi said succinctly.

Asuna felt a strong sense of foreboding for no apparent reason, and stared at the unknown object with trepidation. Although not as powerful as Ye Chi's eagle eye, Asuna's enemy-searching skills have also been practiced to a certain extent. The reinforcing effect of the skill is automatically activated, and the resolution of the concentration of the eye is instantly increased.

The white object seemed to float slowly in the wind. Not plants, not rocks. It's cloth. To be precise, a dress with a simple style. Under the skirt, you can see two slender feet.

A young girl stood there. Dressed in the exact same white dress as Kirito had said, the young girl stood there silently watching.

"Levy......" "Shh-" Ye Chi stuck to the tree and looked over there vigilantly.

In Hawkeye's view, the girl doesn't have the usual player's green, nor the red of the red name—but the same color as the background—blue.

The girl didn't move, just stood dozens of meters away from the two of them and stared here. Just when Asuna was mentally prepared that if the other party approached here a little, she would definitely pass out-

Suddenly—the girl's body shook. There was a faint thud in her ears, and the girl fell to the ground like a robot puppet without energy, with strange movements that did not resemble creatures.

“…… Hungry? Ye Chi's brain was down, and these two words burst out for a long time......

Kirito's eyes instantly widened.

"It's not a ghost!"

So shouted and ran out.

"Kiri, Kirito, wait a minute!" Liz cried out in fear, but without looking back, he ran over to the girl who had fallen to the ground.

"Really!" Ye Chi muttered and followed......

When he came to the bottom of the conifer a few seconds late, Kirito had already picked up the girl. She hadn't regained consciousness yet. His eyes were closed with long eyelashes, and his arms hung limply beside him. For the sake of caution, he stared at the body in the dress, but did not find any transparent places.

"Yes, should it be fine, right?"

"Hmmm......"

Kirito replied by looking at the girl's face.

That being said...... But the world doesn't breathe, and the heart doesn't beat......"

The SAO omits almost all reproduction of human physiology. Although it can inhale air spontaneously and feel the flow of air through the trachea, this virtual body does not have unconscious breathing behavior, and so does the beating of the heart, and although it will feel puffing and popping when it is nervous or excited, it cannot feel the heartbeat of others.

"But since it's not gone...... Then it means that he is still alive. But it's really ...... Quite weird......"

Kirito tilted his head after speaking.

"Strange?"

"Because you can touch it, it's not a ghost. However, the arrows ...... Didn't show up ......"

"And...... In my field of vision...... This man, and the surrounding trees, mountains, and rocks...... It's the same! Ye Chi said behind the back.

"It's scared to death!" Asuna gave Ye Chi a burst chestnut......

"It can't be a bug, right? Even if it's a thatch farm, it's impossible to be in one place, and the bug doesn't appear......"

"Perhaps. In a normal online game, this is definitely a situation where you need to call a GM. But there are no GMs in SAO...... And, not only does she not have arrows, but she's too young for the player. ”

Indeed it is. Kirito's body in his arms was too small, and he should not be even ten years old in terms of age. In principle, there is an age limit for NERvGear equipment, so please remember that children under the age of 13 are not allowed to use it.

Asuna gently reached out and touched the girl's forehead. The cold but smooth touch came.

"Why...... Such a young child would ...... in SAO"

"Anyway, take it back first, shall we?" Ye Chi proposed: "Even if the monster is in a safe room, we don't have a problem, right?" And to throw such a young child in the wilderness, my conscience is not at ease......"

"Well, anyway, can't put her here. By the time she woke up, she should know something. Take her back to our house. ”

"Well, that's it." Ye Chi nodded.

"Wait, why is it your house?" Liz was upset...... "My family can do it too......"

"Three points, first, this is brought up by Asuna, second, my family is bigger than yours, and third...... Don't accept that you bite me? Ye Chi smiled and successfully attracted Liz's hatred......

Ye Chi picked up the girl——

"Go along! How can you hug a girl like this......" Kirito immediately came over and snatched the girl away.

"I'm not holding ...... It's ...... to carry it."

"You know!"

————————————————————

Several people left the forest almost by running the same way, and when they returned home, the girl's consciousness still did not recover. Have the girl lie on Asuna's bed and cover her with a blanket.

The four of them stood in a circle around the bed, as if they were having a memorial service......

After a brief silence, Kirito spoke intermittently:

"The only thing that can be determined now is that since she can move to your house, then she is not an NPC."

"yes......"

NPCs controlled by the system have fixed coordinates within a certain range, and cannot be moved by the player arbitrarily. If you touch or hold an NPC with your hand, you will jump out of the harassment warning window within seconds and be knocked flying by an unpleasant impact.

So I want to do this and that to NPCs because they are not conscious...... is impossible......

Ye Chi thought for a while and agreed with Kirito's point of view. Kirito then speculated more.

"And it's not an event that starts any task. Even then, the task list window should update at the point of contact with her...... So, I think the most likely scenario is that this kid is a player who got lost over there. ”

Kirito glanced over to the bed, then continued:

"If you don't have a crystal with you, or you don't know how to transfer it, you probably haven't been to the practice area since you logged in, and you've been staying in the 'Beginning Town'. I don't know why she's here, but there should be players in the Origin Town who know this child...... It's hard to have parents or guardians. ”

"But there's one doubt...... That is, this child does not appear in the eagle's eye, but does not have any luster like the passerby NPC...... Even shop NPCs have a light blue light effect...... And there are no arrows either, are they? ”

"I don't know...... Anyway, let's go to the City of Initiation when she wakes up......"

"Dead horses are ...... healers of live horses"

"Hey, she'll regain consciousness, right?" Asuna asked worriedly.

"Well, since it hasn't disappeared, it means that there is still a signal exchange with NERvGear. It should be very similar to sleep now, so I should wake up after a while...... bar. ”

Although he nodded vigorously, Kirito's words still had a hint of anticipation.

————————————————————————

Well, Yui is coming...... So, it's time to move on...... Is it to keep Yui or to Kirito?

Or is it an author survey......

Other than that...... From the 26th to the 29th, I went to report to the ...... It may stop for a few days......

O university monk...... I'm looking forward to it......