We defeated the boss on the 50th floor and safely reached the town on the 51st floor. However, due to the presence of five victims, Diabel and the others decided to return to the headquarters first and hold the funeral of the five people killed by the Colossus. But before that, I decided to tell Diabel about them about Lilan and the truth about this fight.

Pure speculation, but the dashboard that I appear under my "HP bar" seems to increase every time I attack an enemy, and when it reaches the right, I call out Lilan's name and Lilan reverts to its original form.

I speculate that when Lilan enters the boss room, it becomes smaller, and her image is restricted after entering the boss room, so you can remove the image restriction by accumulating the dashboard and start fighting. I explained the premise to you.

Everyone listened calmly and seemed to understand the situation.

I was surprised that normally they might be skeptical of my words, but apparently Diabel's previous angry reaction played a big role in that. It's nice that there wasn't an argument.

When the conversation ended, and I was separated from Diabel and the others, a member of the Holy Dragon Alliance came up to me and wanted to apologize to me and hand me an item. It is said to be an item found in the boss's room after the boss has been defeated.

I told him I didn't need anything like this, but he said he couldn't get an apology if he didn't hand it over. He almost shoehorned the item into me.

He showed no signs of backing down, so I took the item and said I was glad I survived.

The player bowed lightly to me and walked with Diabel towards the Holy Dragon Alliance headquarters.

After taking the items that I was suddenly handed to me and didn't quite understand, I took Lilan back to the town on the 50th floor and started walking around the city, but I couldn't stop thinking.

I've gained such great power as Lilan. But even so, I had 5 deaths. It makes me regret and it hurts when I think about it. Was that battle really a battle that had to be sacrificed?

I seemed to think of my thoughts, and Lilan's voice sounded in my head.

"Don't worry, Kirito. I told you to protect everyone else, but you can't protect all players. If you're always worried about that, you're just going to drain your spirit. “

"So what should I do? I don't want anyone to die anymore. “

"Even if you merge with my powers, there will be people who cannot be protected. Then, you should look for the person you wish to protect from the depths of your heart. By doing so, the people around you will also be protected. “

"Someone you want to protect from the bottom of your heart? What does that mean? “

Lilan flew off my shoulders and jumped in front of me.

"Is there someone you want to protect from the bottom of your heart, to make sure he leaves this world once and for all?"

After listening to her words, I stopped and began to think.

If you want to say who you want to protect...... That's Klein, the leader of the "Wind Forest Volcano" guild, and Egil, who is a freelancer but participates in almost every battle with the boss of the floor and fights to protect other players, gaining the trust of the people around him.

Klein is a friend who will never abandon me and will not fail in me no matter what happens.

Although I originally thought he had abandoned me in the realm boss battle on floor 49, after clearing floor 50, he sent me an email to celebrate my victory and what would never abandon me.

From that email, I knew that Klein hadn't abandoned me. So, I want to protect Klein.

Egil, like Diabel, saw through my actions on the first floor just to act as a villain, and was a mature person who believed in me.

In addition, Egil has also been involved in the development of the players around him and has built a deep relationship of trust, so I think he is an indispensable presence.

I also want to protect Egil and make sure he returns to the real world safely. ... It seems that there are only men, and I want to protect them.

"Both are men, but so far there are two people. Klein and Egil. “

"Where are they now?"

I opened the contacts window and searched for the location of Klein and Egil.

When my eyes fell on where they were, I saw that they were both on this level. Now that the boss has been defeated and the city has been activated, they should come.

"Both of them entered the city...... Wouldn't it be better if I only met with Egil. ”

"Huh? Why? “

"Klein is the president of a small guild. So there should be discussions with the surrounding members and things like that. Egil, on the other hand, is basically a freelancer who can meet whenever he wants. “

Lilan had a satisfied expression.

"Then go to Egil. He should be someone you can talk to. “

"Okay, I'll do it. Come on, Lilan. “

I shouted, Lilan returned to my shoulder, and I continued walking towards where Egil was. After walking for a while, I received instructions that I was getting closer and closer to Egil's location, but I was a little surprised when I saw my surroundings. This is the business district. Egil was basically only involved in the fighting, and had little to do with places like the business district.

"Accident...... Egil actually came to the business district. “

I muttered, kept walking, and saw the figure of the target. He is about 180 centimeters tall, tall and athletic, with brown skin, a bald head and a beard that gives him strong characteristics. Without a doubt, he is the player Egil I have trusted since the first layer. Is he preparing for something?

"Hey, Egil!"

My voice reached his ears, and Egil turned his head, surprised, and waved.

"Kirito!"

He looked around at the NPCs around him, and I ran in front of him.

"Egil, you're on the 50th floor."

"Yes, I heard that Kirito defeated the boss on the 50th floor. You're a terrible guy to be able to defeat such a powerful boss. Congratulations, though. “

What has been noticed since the first floor is that Egil is able to speak English fluently. Judging by his appearance, he may have emigrated from the United States or elsewhere.

And the news of my defeat of the boss has reached Egil at some point. It's very likely that Diabel or someone in the Holy Dragon Alliance leaked the news, so Klein should have gotten the information there.

"Well, it's a pretty powerful boss. However, thanks to this battle, we lost 5 people. “

"Five people? Only 5 people died?! “

Egil was suddenly surprised, and I was taken aback.

"What happened all of a sudden?"

"Don't you know? According to the information gathered by the Knights of the Blood Alliance, the 50-story boss was announced as a large boss that could cause the death of more than 20 people. And you, it only took 5 people to sacrifice and it was over? Only a quarter? “

That boss is called a dangerous boss that can cause more than 20 deaths? I have not heard such information. In fact, I just went with Diabel and then won well, so I only learned the basics. Thanks to the rays that the guy spewed, it led to the deaths of 5 people.

The biggest factor that we were able to win, though, was that this guy was on my shoulders.

"That'......"

"Ah, what's that?"

Before speaking, Egil noticed the partner sitting on my shoulder. Well, since it wasn't on my shoulder until now, it was only natural that he was surprised. Also, I haven't even introduced him yet, so let's introduce myself first.

"He's the Demon I met on the 35th floor. His name is Lilan. “

Egil stared at Lilan curiously, his eyes as if he had seen something he had never seen before, with an innocent expression.

"It's ...... New variety? And does the "demon" thing mean that you have become an "animal tamer"? “

"Yes. I met him when I was on the 49th floor of the Raiders team, and then became the "Beast Tamer". “

"That's right. My name is Lilan. Please take care of it, Egil."

Egil looked around in surprise again, the same reaction as Diabel.

"So, what's the matter with that voice? Now I hear voices in my head...... While you may not know what is being said, is it true? “

"Ah, that's Lilan's voice. He has a consciousness of his own and can communicate directly in his mind through telepathy. “

Egil stared at Lilan.

"It—can it speak?"

"Ah...... Actually, Egil, you look surprised. "Demon" is such an existence. He can grow larger and compete with boss on floor 50. “

Egil frowned and asked me with a confused expression.

"Wait, wait, Kirito. What you say is so different from what I've heard from the "animal tamer". “

"Huh?"

"What's going on?"

Egil let me go into a nearby shop-like building first. After I followed him inside, it was indeed an interior that looked like a store, and although there were no goods on display yet, there were no NPCs in it. However, I think it's probably too early to ask about the situation in this place. What I want to know now is about the "Beast Tamer".

"So Egil, the information you said about the "Beast Tamer" is very different from my intelligence, what the hell is going on? “

A look of displeasure appeared on Egil's face.

"It's that Lilan, who completely deviates from the story of the "animal tamer" I heard earlier. Kirito, first of all, can you tell me about Lilan? Now without confirming this, it is impossible to draw conclusions. “

I hadn't talked to people about Lilan in particular depth before. And a guy like Lilan, I always thought it was the default form of "Demon", but it doesn't seem to be the case. And I believe Egil is a credible person, so I can tell him.

"Okay. Lilan is ......."

I told Egil about the situation when I met Lilan, Lilan's characteristics, and fighting the boss with Lilan. After hearing this, Egil's eyes must have widened in surprise.

"I see...... Sure enough, it was far from my information. And, is the name derived from the IT term "Return"? It's really in line with your style. “

"That doesn't matter. So, what do you know about the "animal trainer"? I don't have a lot of information on that. “