"Then you're where I belong!! You will protect me for the rest of my life!! ”

Shino felt the front of her eyes suddenly distort. For a moment I thought it was rain falling into my eyes, but soon I realized it was tears, not rain. The emotions accumulated in my heart overflowed, and they were released in words other than poetry.

"You don't know anything, you don't know anything, don't say such selfish things! Yo, even if you don't think about it, can you do it!? ”

Shino clenched her fists. His hands were covered in blood after shooting him in the head with a gun stolen from him. If you look at it with a microscope, you can see that the gunpowder that splattered when the gun was fired entered and turned into a mole, a cursed hand. - The Hand of Murder.

"Can you hold this, this, the murderer's hand!?

As soon as the words fell, countless cursed words rang in my head. "Don't touch the murderer", "Terrible child", "Don't touch it, you'll be covered in blood". Therefore, I was not allowed to touch anything, and the memory of being abused echoed in my mind over and over again.

And when he tried to shout out the words "don't touch the murderer's abominable child" again, the curses echoing in his head suddenly stopped. Complete silence envelops your mind. I felt a strange sensation in my hand, and when I turned my head to look at it, Shino froze.

The hand that was about to reach out to Kirito's chest - the murderer's hand stopped in front of Kirito's eyes.

"I was caught by Kirito's hand."

"Pictures"

After staring at Shino's hand, Kirito reached out and grabbed Shino's other hand.

Then, when he brought it to Shino, he put Shino's hands on his chest and covered them with his own hands. The hands, which had been wet and cold in the rain, suddenly became warm.

Poetry is unable to speak. Kirito now holds a cursed hand that no one has ever held before. I don't care that my hands are covered with blood, I will warm the hands of that hateful child.

Kirito opened his mouth and saw a scene he had never seen before.

"Have you forgotten Shinai? The story of waking up in the middle of the night and walking out of the house. It doesn't matter who that person is. “

"Come to think of it, that's what I'm told."

"Before, when Shino woke up from a nightmare and left the cabin." Kirito caught up and said something like this.

"I will protect you, and you promised to bring you back to the real world."

"I didn't think it was stupid at first, but as time went on, I realized that Kirito was really trying to do it, and I began to believe in his promises."

"You still do it, but I'm a murderer"

Kirito shook his head and took Shino's hand.

"You've believed in me until now. But I didn't do anything to thank you. I didn't give you anything in return. ”

When Kirito let go of Shiina's hand, he suddenly unbuttoned his black coat, held it in his hand, and placed it on Shino's body. Shiina's eyes suddenly widened and she was forced to put on her coat, but at the same time, the rain no longer soaked into Shiina's body.

Kirito reached into Shino's coat and grabbed Shiina's shoulder with his bare hands.

"Shiina, I will accept your request. I will be where you are, and I will protect you for the rest of your life. Not just at SAO, even after returning to the real world. I will always be there for you, and I will always protect you. It doesn't matter if you're a murderer or something like that. ”

Shino continued to listen to Kirito's words without saying a word. It didn't take long for Kirito to bow his head slightly.

"My life belongs to you alone, Shino. I will use it for your sake and will continue to protect you. Until that moment, we were going to be together. So"

Kirito pulled Shino's still empty body and hugged her tightly. Shiina's body warms her body that has been cold due to the rain.

"Don't say you don't have a place to belong anymore."

The Shino in Kiri's heart finally came back to his senses. All I could think of was Kirito's words just now, and I couldn't hear any other sounds. Then Kirito grabbed my blood-stained hand and hugged me like that. No, think about it, before I came to SAO, my mom hugged me several times, but no matter how many times I hugged, I felt cold as ice.

Just like at that time, Kirito hugged me, although this was originally the meaning of being hugged, Kirito's chest was warm even though it was wet in the rain.

"Warm"

At the moment when she muttered like this, Shino felt a hot current welling up in her heart. Then it fell from my heart to my stomach, then to my chest, to my throat, all the way to the level of my eyes, where it overflowed like a big tear.

"Why, Mom, it's as cold as ice, but why are you like this?"

Shino buried her head in Kirito's chest and shouted.

"It's so warm!!"

Just like that, Shino let out a loud cry. A warmth that I had never felt before, and I trembled like a baby and cried out loud. Along the way, Kirito whispered to Shino.

"I might say the same thing to the counselors, but Shino, thank you for telling me.

Kirito reached a hand from behind his back to his head and gently stroked his hair. Of course, so far, counselors have told me, "It's hard, I understand, it's hard," but ...... All the counselors said the same thing, they didn't say, "You did your best." Kirito, who gave her warmth, said as he stroked her hair, making Shino's tears unstoppable.

Shino raised her voice desperately, and continued to cry while sucking Kirito's chest. The cry was as loud as the rain, but it was drowned out by the rain and could not reach far.

Shino cried for a while more and didn't stop crying until the rain stopped. Lilan didn't leave the scene and kept an eye on her surroundings, while Kirito kept holding Shino motionless.

Then, Kirito shouted to Shino while stroking Shino's wet hair.

"Have you calmed down?"

Shino nodded and didn't say anything, but immediately opened her mouth and said, "Just stay like this for a while." Kirito whispered "yes" and didn't move, but Shino continued.

"Hey, Kirito, why are you protecting me? I've been thinking about this question for a long time. “

At this time, Shino felt that Kirito's eyes had changed. Somehow, his eyes seemed to remind him of something he didn't want to remember.

Immediately after, Kirito and Shiina's mind sounded the voice of Lilan, who had been silent before.

"I want to know this too. Kirito, isn't it time for us to start talking?

Kirito lowered his head slightly. I had a good reason to want to protect Shino, but I got this far without telling Lilan and Shiina. But now, Shino told me about herself in detail, and I learned more about myself. I couldn't resist getting something back, and I felt like if I quit like this, I might never be able to speak.

"Actually, I'm the same as you."

"Are you the same as me?"

"yes, I've killed too."

Shiina's and Lilan's eyes widened at the words that came from Kiri's mouth. Kirito continued as he received unexpected attention from the two.

"I'm going to elaborate, but in the rain, I don't want anyone but you and Lilan to hear it."

Shi Nai didn't speak, she nodded, and Li Ran nodded in the same way.

"Okay. If you don't want anyone to hear you, please speak here when we're alone. We don't care about the rain

"Me too. Talk to me, Kirito. “

Kirito nodded, turning to Rerune.

"This was before I met Ruilan."

◇◇◇

"I once joined a guild." Its name is "Moonlit Black Cat". A small guild run by five people that appears to be made up of well-connected club members in the real world. I was helped by that guild, and in return for that kindness, I decided to join it.

But at that time, my level was already in my 60s, and everyone else's level was around 30. I didn't want people to think I was in my 60s, so I lied about my level and told everyone. As a result, everyone misunderstood that I was at the same level as theirs, and began to admire me.

The "Moonlit Black Cat" is a soft and warm place, almost like a club activity. Everyone gets along very well and is very nice to me as a complete outsider. Maybe because of this, I feel comfortable with black cats on moonlit nights, and I would like to take them to the capture group if I can. I thought that if I did that, I would be able to change the tension in the capture group and further improve the survival rate. I hang out with them and help them level up.

"But one of them was afraid to fight." My name is Sachi. She is a slightly timid girl with dark blue hair.

The guy told me the night before he went out to explore the dungeon, and it was also a full upgrade. "I'm afraid of fighting, I'm afraid of death, let's escape somewhere together".

"I don't know if he thought it was fleeting." But all of a sudden, I started to want to protect Sachi. Then I decided to protect Sachi no matter what, and told her about it.

Then Yuki stopped crying and laughed. He told me that "I wouldn't be afraid if I was with Kirito", and he was no longer afraid of fighting. Tell me you're safe because I'll protect you. Once again, I thought about protecting Sachi no matter what, and decided to face the exploration of the dungeon.

The next day, Keita, the leader of the Moonlit Black Cat, said that he had saved enough money to buy a house that would serve as a hiding place for the Moonlit Black Cat. We all agreed, and after sending Keita to the residential area,

I crawled into the dungeon looking for a box.

"Then, everyone but me died in the dungeon." When I opened the treasure chest, I fell into a trap in a room that had turned into a crystal void zone and was beaten by countless monsters that came out of it.

Originally, the dungeon was a high-end place for the black cat on a moonlit night. But they forced me in, saying I was an expert and they could anyway. And I myself became arrogant because of my level, thinking that I could handle anything. So I think dungeons with a slightly higher challenge should be fine.

As a result, they died, and Yuki was hacked to death by the monster. I wanted to live, so I eliminated the monsters there and escaped from the dungeon.

"I wanted to protect Xing, but I died in front of me." No, if I hadn't faked my rank in the first place, they might have bypassed me and not joined me. Because I falsified the hierarchy, people died senselessly, and I lost what I wanted to protect.

"But I saw what Yuki said when she was dying." I wanted to at least hear that, and I wanted to see the luck I couldn't protect again, so I desperately leveled up and looked for resurrection items that I could get during the Christmas event.

However, revived items only work for 10 seconds after the player dies. Thankfully, six months have passed since their deaths. As a result, I couldn't bring Sachi back to life.

"But that's when I met Lilan"

"I'm not talking for a while." Shino and Liran in front of them both widened their eyes and looked surprised. Yes, I'm sure you'd be surprised if the person in front of you told you that they had destroyed a guild.

She probably won't talk to me anymore—thought Shino began.

"That's why you're trying to protect me and others. I don't want to repeat what happened to the black cat on a moonlit night? ”

"Yes, I wanted to heal the guilt of letting them die, at least I didn't want to repeat that again, so I fought to protect everyone. Frankly, I'm proud

Shino spoke softly, then fell silent. However, he immediately opened his mouth and spoke again.

"So, what happened to Keita, the rest of the leader? After the loss of a companion? ”

"I was shocked." Yuki's death and the deaths of others were enough to make me miserable, but for Kaita, it wasn't necessary. Most of all, I don't want to remember.

Shino, however, told me that she killed people with her own hands, and it continued until the end. I'll have to get to the end. I can't just be silent.

"Keita, I met him near the outskirts of Ayn Grant, but luckily they died, leaving me alone. Your eyes look like you've lost everything. So what do you think you're doing? “

"What have you been doing all this time?"

"Keita got angry and attacked me. He's talking about this beating bastard and murderer. So, I guess he's going to throw my body on the periphery. If you say something like this, everyone will forget about themselves and get angry. ”

"But You're Alive"

I nodded and told him everything.

"Keita grabbed me by the neck as we scuffled, and Keita, who attacked me with huge eyes and power when I was about to be thrown to the perimeter, was scared that I used my power unintentionally. I think he was trying to break free of Keita, and then Keita climbed over the fence with my body in his arms and let go of my body, and that's it."

I had previously told Shino what would happen if she left Ian Grant. Soon after the game starts, it turns out that if you throw yourself outside of Ayn Grant, you will fall straight into the void and die. If you jump from the perimeter of Ayn Grant, the cause of death is a fall from a height, which is written on the Monument of Life in the City of Origins, with a horizontal line drawn next to the name.

Realizing what had happened to Keita, Shino's eyes widened.

"So who is Keita!"

"Oh, I really killed him."

"As much as you wanted to throw me down, you didn't expect you to fall." I still remember Keita's confused face when she fell. Keita probably didn't realize until the end that she was the one who had fallen on the periphery of Ayn Grant, reduced to countless pieces.

What's even scarier is that while Keita is down because of me, my icon is still green. Obviously, even a fall death caused by a player on purpose can be considered an accident. Ever since I met Lilan and Shiina, I wanted to seal it deep in my heart, but from the moment I spoke, from the moment the moonlit black cat was destroyed in my mind, from the moment Keita was thrown away, I was killed. My heart is full of flashbacks of time.

"Since then, I've dreamed many times of the moment when everyone in the Black Cat on a moonlit night dies like you, and the moment when Keita is fallen. But it doesn't matter, I killed five people, and that's the right kind. "Punishment for me. Here, too, Shino. “

Shiina's lips trembled and she whispered.

"And how did you forget that memory? You weren't like that when you were with me. ”

"I'll look at Shino's coat." But what I'm seeing now isn't Shino or Court.

"Yuki left me a message saying that if they died, it wasn't my fault. Thanks to that, I was able to get back on my feet and never do it again. I've been able to go into battle with them. "No way to be determined.

Just as I was about to continue, Lilan's "voice" rang in my head.

"It was an accident"

"Pictures?"

Shino and I turned our attention to the source of the sound. The whole body is soaked, and the fluffy fur usually sticks to the carapace and skin.

"The purpose of Keita's attack is to push you down. He must have been driven by anger. But that's not an excuse to try to crush you. As a result, you rebelled and fell. It can reasonably be considered an accidental death. If I had calmed down and thought about it, maybe I wouldn't have died.

"That's right..."

"I don't think you're doing this out of malice. If you have even the slightest regret about Keita, you should choose not to stop here and come forward and finish the castle. You should also consider living for them. Keita's death, Yuki's death, do you think Yuki, who got you back on your feet, wants you to live like the ghost of the black cat on a moonlit night? “

"I don't think so"

Lilan smiled lightly.

"Well, Kirito is facing forward. The black cat on a moonlit night is "memory". You can't live in the future if you only think about the past. If the root cause of their death is investigated, there is also an element of the world itself. As long as this castle does not end, there will continue to be casualties like the lucky ones. You don't want victims like them, do you? Then you shouldn't be stuck in the past and live in the present. What's in front of you now? What do you think

I shifted my gaze from "re-enactment" to me. "That's Shino's soaking wet face. She was the only girl who came to me out of the blue, believed my words, and opened up to me. And now, that's what I want to protect in the world.

"You should just give the answer and tell Shino. Just think about it, and try to do it. I will do my best to help you.

"What more should I say?" What do you think you should do right now – >

Before that, he whispered.

"Stay with Shino and protect her. It's the same both in this world and back in reality. “

"And escape from this castle and protect everyone who tries to return to the real world as undead as possible."

Lilan smiled softly.

"Don't you know?"

I nodded and closed my eyes slightly. In the depths of my heart, I saw everyone in the black cat on a moonlit night.

"I can't forgive what I did, and I can't make amends to them anymore." So, at least, I swear, I will live to prevent victims like them from reappearing, and I will not repeat their mistakes. I will never repeat myself again.

Thinking about it, I feel like they're smiling.

"Kirito"

I opened my eyes, and the black cat on a moonlit night disappeared with a single cry.

Shiina's figure reappeared in his eyes.

"Kirito has also been through a lot of things, and you have also experienced a lot of difficulties, right? At last

"You've made a very important promise to me, but I also want you to promise me one thing." Stop trying to be in control on your own. When you're with me, just like when I'm with you, if you're hurt, let me know. I will face you with you. ”

"My hands suddenly became warmer." Just now I was covering Shino's hand, but now I'm covered by Shino.

"It's like you tell me that I don't belong here, and you don't belong here. You are no longer a loner.

"In this world, in the real world forever." If you are there for me, I will be there for you too. So, stop clinging to things. ”

Shino's hands were soaked, but they still felt warm. And that warmth spread through my hands all over my body, even to my heart.

"I promised Shino that I would be by her side." But it also means that Shino will be there for me at the same time. He didn't seem to notice anything as simple as that.

"I used to try to use this life to protect Yuki. It's yours, I use it for you, you continue to protect when you're about to break, I'll support you and be with you until the last moment, whether it's in this world or in the real world. ”

"I looked Shino in the eye."

"But at the same time, will you stay with me? Will you stay with me? ”

Shino smiled like she had never seen before.

"Yes"