The hall on the first floor of the church in the eastern 7th district of the starting town. Two dozen children are noisily eating large plates of sausages, eggs and vegetable salad lined up on two huge long tables.

This battlefield-like breakfast scene made Asuna and Zhang Yu, who were looking at it, whisper in a slightly surprised voice.

"Still, everyone seems to be happy."

Sitting at the round table a little farther away with Jang Yu, Yui, and Sasha, Asuna smiled and raised the teacup to her lips.

"Every day. No matter how much I told them, I couldn't be quiet. ”

Despite this, Sasha's eyes as she looked at the children were still full of heartfelt love.

Asuna also stroked Yui's head, who was sitting on a chair next to her, eating with a spoon. Yui's presence brings amazing warmth.

Unlike the kind of love that will clench in the chest when you touch Zhang Yu, this feeling is more calm and reassuring, as if you are wrapped in an invisible feather or held by a feather.

Yesterday, Yui fainted due to the onset of symptoms full of mysteries, but fortunately woke up a few minutes later. However, Asuna didn't want to move long distances or use the transfer door immediately, and Sasha was very enthusiastic about it, and finally decided to stay in an empty room in the church for one night.

Yui was also in good shape this morning, so Asuna breathed a sigh of relief. But the basic situation has not changed. From Yui's slightly recovered memory, it seemed that she had never been to the town of the beginning, and that she had never lived with a guardian in the first place.

As a result, I couldn't figure out the cause of Yui's memory loss and degeneration into a toddler, and I couldn't think of anything else to help her.

However, Asuna made up her mind in her heart.

From now on, she will continue to live with Yui until she regains her memory. Even if the holiday is over and the time to return to the front line comes, there will definitely be some way-

As Asuna touched Yui's hair and fell into deep thought, Zhang Yu put down the teacup and spoke.

"Miss Sasha......"

"Yes?"

"Those who saw yesterday are already equal to the perpetrators...... Do they do that often?"

The corners of Sasha's mouth twitched in reply.

"It was about half a year ago that I started to feel a change in their approach...... There are those who have begun to commit acts of intimidation in the name of taxation, and there are those who have in turn banned such acts. Scenes of members of the army pitting against each other are constantly staged. I heard that it was because of a power struggle at the top......"

"Hmm...... After all, the current army is already a huge group with more than 1,000 members, and it is difficult not to completely divide and oppose each other...... But if that behavior became the norm yesterday, it can't be left alone...... Asuna. ”

"What's wrong?"

"There's really no way for us [Shining Jade] to take care of it."

Asuna smiled and put down the teacup and said:

"Of course, if there is no way, it is up to us [Shining Jade] to accept the Beginning Town."

Zhang Yu, who was frowning and was about to take a sip of tea, suddenly picked up his head and looked in the direction of the entrance of the church.

"Someone came, and a person ......"

"Huh...... Are there any guests again......"

A loud knock on the door overlapped with Sasha's words, resounding throughout the room.

Walking into the restaurant with Sasha, who has a short sword at her waist, is a slender female player.

The long silver hair is tied into a ponytail, and the sky-blue eyes on the upright face, which can be described as smart, shine impressively.

Zhang Yu also looked sideways slightly, and secretly flashed a hint of amazement. Then he looked at Asuna with tender eyes.

"Sure enough, there are no ugly girls in anime, and it will look good with a little bit of drama. But it's still not as good as our family, Asuna. ”

Asuna's first impression of this female player contains the longing that she feels that the other party is really beautiful and mature. Later, when I looked at her gear, I couldn't help but stiffen.

Although obscured by an iron-gray cloak, the dark green top, loose thigh-length pants, and metal armor that glows faintly like stainless steel are the uniforms of the [Army]. On the right hangs a short sword from his waist, and on the left hangs a circle of bound black leather whips.

Noticing that the women were dressed in strict clothes, they all closed their mouths, and stopped moving with a vigilant look in their eyes. However, Sasha smiled at the children and said as if to reassure them.

"Don't be afraid of this person, let's continue eating."

Although it didn't seem very reliable at first, Sasha, who was absolutely trusted by the children, said this, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and the restaurant instantly resumed its noise. At this time, the female player who walked to the round table bowed lightly to Sasha, who invited her to sit down, and then sat down on the chair.

The silver-haired whip envoy named Yuriel looked directly at Asuna for a moment, then nodded:

"The first time we met, I was Yuriyel who belonged to the guild ALF."

“ALF?”

Asuna asked back about the name she had heard for the first time. The woman shrunk her neck slightly.

"Ah, sorry, this is short for the Aingron Liberation Army. Because the official name is quite tricky for me......"

"When we first met, I was from the Guild [Jade of Flash], my name was Asuna, and he was Jade. This child is Yui. ”

Yui, who had spent a long time emptying the plate with the soup and was now challenging the juice, raised her face and looked at Yuriel. Though she was slightly suspicious, she immediately smiled and turned her gaze back again.

And Yuriyer's azure eyes widened the moment she heard the [Flash Jade].

"[Jade of Flashes]. …… I see, no wonder it was easy to deal with that group of people. ”

Realizing that "those people" were referring to yesterday's violent intimidation group, Asuna reinstated her vigilance again.

“…… In other words, you're here to protest yesterday's incident?"

"No, no, no. I would like to thank you in return, it was so well done. ”

“……”

Faced with Asuna, who was completely confused about the situation and fell silent, Liel straightened her posture.

"Is it finally coming? Ninety layers of scythe skeleton ......"

Zhang Yu silently lowered his head and pondered, slightly solemn in his heart.

"The purpose of coming here today is to ask the two of you for something."

"Please, please......?"

The origin of the incident was narrated by Lielle.

After the Tooth King joined the ALF Guild, he won hearts and minds with the despicable policy of hunting criminals and efficiently monopolizing the practice area. The income of the guild increased rapidly, and the guild power of the Tooth King's faction also increased dramatically. And change the name of the guild to the Ayn Grant Liberation Army - [Army].

Since he only cares about increasing his assets, he continues to ignore the strategy game. This makes the sound of "this is putting the cart before the horse" continue to expand among the players at the end......

In order to suppress this dissatisfaction, the Tooth King had no choice but to select a dozen players with the highest level from among his subordinates to form a strategy team and send the front-line strategy leader. As a result, he suffered heavy losses and nearly banished him from the guild......

The desperate Tooth King resorts to a forcible strategy to frame the original president, Xinka. He used the cloister crystal whose exit was set in the depths of the labyrinth, and in turn banished Sinka.

At that time, Sinka was unarmed because he believed in the Tooth King's words, "Let's disarm and talk about it." It is simply impossible to break through the monster horde from the deepest part of the labyrinth alone.

Sinka is in a safe place for the time being. It's just that the location is deep in a very high-level labyrinth, and you can't move it......

Yuriel bit her lip and looked directly at Zhang Yu and Asuna.

"I heard that there was a very strong duo in town, and I had been feeling uneasy, so I came to ask you for help. Mr. Jade – Miss Asuna. ”

Yuriel said with a deep bow.

"You may think that it is too cheeky to make such a request when you have just met. But please, please come with me to save Sinka. ”

Asuna stared at Yuriyer, who had closed her mouth after saying the long sentence.

It's sad, but you can't easily trust what others say in SAO. What I heard this time may also be a conspiracy to lure Zhang Yu and Asuna to the outside circle to persecute them.

Often, with sufficient knowledge of the game, it is possible to find flaws in the words of the scammers. But unfortunately, Asuna and the others are too ignorant of the inside story of the [army].

Zhang Yuzhi has an impression of these in his heart, although he doesn't remember it in detail. But Yuriel was probably right, and there was a trusting look in his eyes.

After making eye contact with Zhang Yu, Asuna spoke softly.

"If it's something we can do, then we're willing to help. We believe in you, too, but for the sake of being responsible. We must do a minimum investigation of what you say to prove it to be true......"

"It's a matter of course......"

Yuriel bowed her head slightly.

"I know it's an unreasonable request...... However, the thought that Sinka's name on the Black Iron Palace's [Monument of Life] could be engraved with a horizontal line (death) at any time made me feel like I was going crazy......"

Seeing the silver-haired whip that made her strong eyes glow with tears, Asuna's heart couldn't help but waver, and she felt even more painful to believe in her. But in the past year, she has heard about the things she has encountered, and they are always alerting her that it is dangerous to act because of sentimentality.

Asuna looked at Zhang Yu again, her black eyes reflecting her gaze.

"Asuna, I think you can trust her."

Just as Zhang Yu was about to say the reason, Yui, who had been silent so far, suddenly raised her head from the cup and said:

"It doesn't matter, Mom and Dad. That man, he didn't lie. ”

This surprised Asuna and looked at Yui intently. Needless to say, I just heard it in fluent Japanese, and the way I spoke so far seemed to be a lie.

"Knot...... Yui, can you judge ...... such a thing?"

She asked, staring straight at Yui's face, and nodded.

"Well, I ...... I can't explain it, but I know ......."

Hearing this, Zhang Yu stretched out his right hand and touched Yui's hair in a mess. Then he smiled at Asuna.

"Yui is the same as I thought, is this a father-daughter concentric, hehe."

"Jade, are you saying that my mother is incompetent?"

Asuna, who was slightly complaining, also smiled, and reached out to stroke Yui's hair. Zhang Yu on the side hurriedly shook his head and said.

"No, oh Mom. Yui, I like Mom and Dad the most. ”

Hearing this, Yui also smiled big and hugged Asuna to comfort her.

Asuna stroked her shiny black hair again, then faced Yuriel again, and said with a smile.

"It's insignificant, but let us help you. Because I know exactly how I feel when I want to save someone important......"

Yuriel's sky-blue eyes glistened with tears, and she bowed her head deeply.

"Thank you...... Thank you for ......."

"Save that until you rescue Mr. Sinka."

Asuna responded with a smile again. But Zhang Yu's face was slightly gloomy, thinking about the traps that would inevitably appear in the labyrinth. A monster equivalent to the ninety layers of the labyrinth - the Scythe Skeleton Monster......