In the middle of the night, on the twentieth floor of Ayn Grant, on the first street of the Center Plaza, in the middle of a restaurant and a weapons shop, near the corner there was a small hotel.

The windows of the second-floor building, which were barely lit, were wide open, except for a faint silver glow that was too faint to be seen.

On the bed next to the window, a man dressed in a tuxedo costume remains.

On his left hand is an urn made of gray-green wood and an iron sheet, simply decorated, with an unlocked seam that can be seen inside the urn in a gray place.

Grasp it tightly with your left hand and place your right hand on top of the urn to open it, and a creaking sound rings out abruptly throughout the room.

Sure enough, is that the real result?

"From the beginning, there was nothing."

There was nothing in the urn that Sophie had been guarding, it was empty, there were no ashes of the owner she had mentioned.

In response to this, Natsume began to suspect the things she had mentioned about her master's wife.

What exactly is she trying to do?

Why, an NPC would lie and give Natsume such a non-existent task.

Thinking so, Natsume took out from his warehouse what Sophie had given him before escaping the corridor.

The message recording crystal was emitting a soft glow, and the right hand that was clenched tightly could feel the temperature of the crystal that did not exist in the first place.

What will you tell yourself?

Natsume wanted to guess, but found it too stupid, after all, he had only met her for three or four days.

In just three or four days, Natsume couldn't get to know her. After all, is it really possible for a player to get to know NPCs?

No, shaking his head in the negative, Sophie is not like an NPC, closer to AI, artificial intelligence, an imaginary life created by high technology than an NPC.

For some reason, Natsume began to smile wryly at the thought of this, and he clicked on the opening label of the message recording crystal in the floating window. Sophieli's emotionless voice rang out.

[The master once said.] Human beings are creatures with infinite dreams, and the fantasy of the future is always full of many possibilities, and only those who go to the top deserve to have true dreams. 】

It's not about standing still, it's about striding forward.

Sophie wanted to tell herself something. Natsume was sure. In that emotionless voice. Natsume heard the ups and downs of feelings.

There is no living data, no future intelligence, the person she is after. What did the back of the man she was looking at tell her?

[Originally, it was just a monster guarding the 'Knight Dragon Castle', but the appearance of the master gave a great change in the life of the underneath, I believe that Lord Natsume had already discovered it, in fact, it was impossible to move to the upper level. 】

Whether it's an NPC or an AI, if you go up to the top like the player, you will definitely violate the rules of this world.

What if the boss on the top floor has some intelligence, and the thing destroys the room and goes to the lower level? So, Ayn Grant has rules that cannot be overcome.

[Once you move to the upper level, you will be decomposed by your teleportation magic array, and in the words of the master, the data will collapse. 】

The owner's words?

I see, the master in Sophie's mouth is not a monster in this world or a set NPC, but-

Really, human? Maybe it's not wrong for players.

[But the master said so, even if you can't escape the shackles of this layer, you still have a lot of things that can be obtained, that sky, this land, willing humans, and, the memories of the past. 】

That was the comfort that the human had given her, but it was not wrong, giving a virtual being the desire to live was more appropriate than explaining it with a lie, with a 'promise'.

This is the promise given to her by Sophieli's owner, promising the goodness of this world.

[Therefore, I made a mistake in Xia, even if I got the guidance of the master, but I couldn't move forward beyond the back of the master, and I kept following the master, constantly vibrating my wings, and trying to follow the master. 】

As the goalless child follows the adults, Sophie needs someone to guide her.

She has wisdom, but she lacks sensibility;

She has talent, but she lacks utility;

She has dreams, but she lacks progress.

Sophie has been chasing the end of her dream in the back of her master.

Natsume knows, and he has figured out why Sophie deceived herself.

Is that.

[That is, the target that Zai Xia has been trying to find, the target that he has been looking for since the master was killed and cursed. 】

Maybe the master wasn't killed, but left on his own.

That's why her master left the last thing with 'death', that is, the target for Sophie.

The man's wife may have been a lie, and the things Sophie had told herself were part of that lie.

So, what is the reason for this? In addition to giving Sophie something to chase, it brought her, no, including herself, something to the two of you.

[I have been waiting, I have been waiting for hundreds of years, believing that the death of the master must be a scam, a trial given by the master, a trial of up to a hundred years. 】

Hearing this, Natsume knew that what Sophie had been pursuing for so long was just a dream.

But.

Natsume heard Sophie's words and wasn't finished.

[The 'Spirit Cemetery' in the north of the thirty-seventh floor seems to have something left by the owner, although it is not clear below, but I believe it must be a treasure.] 】

What's left? The treasure left behind by the disappeared player?

Natsume didn't know what it was, but she was very interested in it.

[Ah, the time is coming, you have to catch up next, tonight's night is beautiful. 】

With a little choking, like a human being who is about to die.

[Next, tell Natsume-sama the last word.] In just three days, it made Zaime very happy, so if Natsume-sama heard this, it means that Sophie has given up chasing her dreams, because Zaixia, I want to follow Natsume-sama all the time, but I can't do it anymore, and in the end, I still want to cry. 】

But.

[Natsume-sama, what are tears? 】

Bite! After the transmission of the message recording crystal was completed, the slightly lit crystal immediately dimmed.

Really.

Letting go of the urn and the message recording crystal that was not in his hand, Natsume raised his right hand and partially covered his eyes with his arm.

The horizon was dark.

Really.

Biting his lip, Natsume's throat felt like something was stuck in Sophili's words.

It's hard to breathe, and it's painful but happy.

Really.

At the end of the day, why do you have to say this?

Doesn't that make me forget?

I used to be alone in the past, but I was told by others that I want to follow all the time, and I couldn't calm down at all.

So.

Sitting up from her bed, Natsume looked out at the night sky, the same sky that Sophie had once soared.

Isn't the thirty-seventh floor about Sophie?

Thinking of this, Natsume grabbed the sword beside the bed and hurried towards the portal.

The boss of this layer can be solved by yourself. (To be continued......)