Usually, friends gather in the café, but maybe because it's still early, around nine o'clock, there are empty seats everywhere, and there are no people. However, looking closely, Kirito spotted several figures and walked towards them.

There, on a slightly larger table, there was a chair with long black hair and big breasts, and four girls were standing around her. The black-haired girl Yui, the white-purple haired and busty Streya, the young Quinella with long silver hair, and the eldest daughter Lilan, who has blonde hair and wolf ears on her head. All of these are projects developed by women and are actually children born to women.

The woman, the developer and mother of these children, was confronted by a lanky woman in a simple robe, with long sea-blue hair and silver hair, and a man with round-rimmed glasses. - Kirito thought that someone very unexpected had appeared, so he shouted to the woman for the time being.

Before the woman could react to Kirito's voice, she turned around and saw Kirito's image reflected in her reddish-brown eyes.

"Mr. Alice"

\"Good morning, Kirito-kun. Looks like you're logging in quickly. \"

"Well, something happened and I need to tell everybody. I mean, Alice Sand knows that too. \"

"Well, I'm just talking to this guy about it. And my daughters. ”

After saying that, Alice turned her head and saw a male wizard from the Wendina clan, none other than Zexed, the dragon trainer who was killed by Asuna, Diabel, and Kirito yesterday. At first glance, it may seem like a player who has never met before, but Kirito – or more accurately, all of Kirito's friends – are already familiar with the man.

"Chris Haight, you rarely show up."

"Hey, Kirito-kun. Sometimes I want to have a good talk with you. Please don't be so cruel. \"

The man named Chris Haidt looked at Kirito with a look of embarrassment. In the real world, the man named Chris Haidt is Seijiro Kikuoka, a clerk in the "Virtual Division" of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and a former agent of the "SAo Incident Response Team".

This man, Kikuoka, was the first person Kirito to come into contact with after he successfully returned to the real world, and as a reward for talking about things such as what happened in SAo, he received Shino and Kirito. He also taught me. About everyone.

On top of that, he was the one who allowed Shino to transfer to the SAo Survivors School, and he was the one who proposed the deal to Alice. Therefore, Shino is now able to enter the SAo Survivor School, in fact, thanks to Kikuoka.

However, Kirito, who has seen all sorts of people in SAo, can easily see what he is clearly planning, and he thinks that he is a person who cannot be fully trusted. Kikuoka created the character in ALo because he wanted to befriend Kirito by playing VRmmo, but that wasn't the main reason. Kirito understands, but since he hasn't done any particular harm, he thinks that Chris Height, Kikuoka's avatar, is willing to be friends, even though he is wary of him.

\"So, Chris Haight, what did you just talk to Alice Sand? \"

"Of course, it's about this morning's news. I'm sure you're well aware of a lot that's going on on the web and on TV right now, and you want to tell us that. ”

"Ahh

After a brief answer, Kirito turned to Alice. As for Alice, Yui opens a window that connects to a browser, and she stares at it with a curious gaze.

"It's really funny, or rather, something weird is happening."

"I can make predictions, but what's happening on the internet right now?"

"Didn't you come to see me?"

"I skipped all of them and logged in here."

I see. Then Kirito-san, come over here. \"

After receiving the instructions, Kirito secretly followed Alice, and together with the girls around him, he kept an eye on the contents of Yui's open browser window. The browser window displays information about news sites, search engines, and social media activity, all focused on a single topic, showing great excitement.

"The man who broke the door and fled was finally arrested" "The man who broke the door and fled, the suspect Yasushi Shigemura, was arrested. "Everywhere you look, it's hype, some news sites are streaming live clips on TV, and the number of comments on articles is skyrocketing. That's what I said.

\"You see, Kirito-kun, the Internet is full of topics about the arrest of the 'man who ran away out of control'. Now this topic is hotter than any other. Search keyword rankings are also 'runaway men'. "\" Who broke down the door and fled. Full of arrests and heavy village protection. \"

Indeed, as Alice said, in the browser where Yui is displayed, the name Hiroshi Shigemura is as big as the "fugitive man". It looks like a serial killer who shocked the world has been arrested, but for the public and the media, there is no difference between a "fugitive" and a murderer.

However, no matter how much the media coverage, we still don't know what kind of person Shigemura really is or why he was arrested in the first place.

"It's like that on TV. But who is this Shigemura Bao? ”

"I think so too, but the power of netizens is amazing. The true identity of this guy was immediately revealed. Yui, search for "Shigemura Tsuyasu". \"

The developer's name is Alice, but when Yui, Kirito and Sinon's daughter, answers "yes", it calls the search engine and executes Alice's instructions. The search engine, which claims to be the most used in the world, immediately returned the search results, but Kirito was surprised by the text displayed on the homepage.

“Z、Zexed！？”

The search engine page that searched for the name Shigemura displayed many news sites and personal blogs, but one of them said, "The person who escaped is Shigemura Bao!" I'm curious about Hoho "Shigemura's profile and age!" Is Zexed serious? What is Shigemura's crime and true identity? Who is his girlfriend? Where is he from? Where does he go to school? And "Tsugarge Village is Zexed! I investigated the profile and birthplace of the man who broke the house! ”。

Shigemura is like a search engine saying that the arrested "fugitive" is Zexceed. Lilan, who was watching from the sidelines, said with a slightly surprised expression on her face.

"Isn't this heavy village a complete human flesh punishment? And"

\"Surpass the guy who fought me yesterday!? \"

Kirito couldn't believe what was in his browser. Yesterday, Kirito appeared in "mmo stream", where he was challenged to a duel by the "Beast Tamer" of Zexceed, a top player. Kirito accepts the duel and actually fights Zexceed, but before Kirito can give him the final blow, Zexceed disappears due to connection issues and easily surrenders the victory to Kirito.

Kirito couldn't help but worry about it for a long time because he failed to land the final blow and won the duel, but it seemed that the moment had already given the answer.

Alice said as if she understood.

"Mr. Shigemura was identified as Zexceed by a post on an anonymous bulletin board on the network. It looks like the blogger took advantage of that information, but Zexceed was subdued and defeated by you yesterday. Indeed it is. ”

"But, at that time"

"Probably, when the police arrested Mr. Shigemura, it was when you gave Zexceed the final blow. The police forcibly cut Mr. Shigemura's phone line, and then it passed overnight. So, Mr. Shigemura, Zexceed, was arrested and taken to the police station...... I guess that's what he's doing. ”

If Alice is right, it makes sense. At that time, Zexed/Shigemura suddenly disconnected the line and tried to flee the duel, but Shigemura's line was cut off by the police at the time and he was forced to quit.

"Still, you are against the drama of such arrests. Yes, Alice Sand. \"

"Oh yes, I don't believe that story at all."

To Chris Haight's sudden words, Alice replied abruptly again. Just as Alice was about to forget what had happened, she called Kirito again.

\"Kirito-kun, what do you think of this story? Do you really think 'smugglers and fugitives' have been arrested? \"

To be honest, I always thought it was impossible. "Saboteur Fugitives" was created by a mysterious man named Hannibal who, due to his extraordinary abilities, was able to avoid arrest no matter how much cyber terrorism he created, while his predecessor, "Saboteur Fugitives", was never known to the police or the media until the end.

It was unbelievable that he was captured so easily, and more importantly, Shigemura, a captured "runaway fugitive", also felt a lot of discomfort.

"I don't think so. I think this Shigemura is a fake dummy, created by a real 'fugitive'. ”

"Well, I feel the same way, and Mr. Chris seems to feel the same way. Shigemura says Zexceed isn't really an "intruder." As proof, where is the face of this person? Is there something wrong with the news video? It's not what you think it is, but the look on your face shows that you're confused and don't know why this is happening. ”

After all, you only have to look at a person's face to know what he's thinking. Although he has now returned to his original role as an AI researcher, Kirito is convinced that Alice is a former psychiatrist at a major hospital. As if taking advantage of Alice's silence, Streya's voice interjected at this time.

"Perhaps, but the real 'Landovarians' are doing this to further confuse the media and the police. Reassure them that he's finally come to arrest the 'Landoverians'—"

"It's like lifting it up with all your might and pushing it all the way to the bottom. But why did the police arrest Shigemura? How did they decide that Shigemura was a 'broken fugitive' and arrest him? ”

"Well, I was able to make a guess, albeit a rough one."

Yui said and began to explain. When Yui sees the report, she and Lilan, Strea, and Quinella speculate about how Jumura was arrested, and when Alice logs in, they are discussing the matter further, and she asks what seems to be the answer, and successfully brings it out. I started talking to Kirito about it.

The real "fugitive" reveals Shigemura's identity, sneaks remote control viruses and malware into his computer, makes him download the data used in the crime, and saves it in a place that Shigemura himself cannot understand.

Then, when Shigemura left the computer, he manipulated the data, using the IP address that Shigemura was using, and hijacking the radio waves used by the mass media, deliberately making his footprints visible, and then submitting the same information as usual. Crime.

Later, the police and the media found the footprints of the man who broke down the door and fled, and found the IP address used by Shigemura, determined that Shigemura was the man who broke the house and fled, and arrested him. We have come to the conclusion that he may have done so. ”

Kirito listened to the explanation of his beloved daughter Yui while looking at Yui and Alice alternately. Perhaps because it was developed by Alice, it exudes an Alice-like vibe when Yui calmly explains things, conducts discussions, and processes information. Even when talking about the circumstances that led to Shigemura's arrest, Yui and Alice sometimes overlap.

Yui is their daughter, but she is also a creation of Alice, who inherits the traits of her parents, Alice. Kirito understood this in his heart and said to Yui, "Thank you." I patted him lightly on the head and said.

"Presumably, this Mr. Shigemura is a dummy prepared by a real 'runaway fugitive' to confuse the public, or rather, he is a trap prepared to trap the media and the police. And the police and the media fell into this trap perfectly, thinking that Mr. Shigemura was the real "runaway fugitive" and arrested him"

Kirito turned to face Chris Haight's voice. Since I didn't know the real thing, I could only turn it into a black silhouette in the shape of a human, but the real "fugitives" and its creator, Hannibal, watched the TV footage and said, "They have set a trap for us." I could easily imagine them laughing and thinking, "The media and the police are taking advantage of this to put on a puppet show." ”

And that's not all. Now the real "fugitives" and Hannibal should be thinking about their next move, a plan that shocked public opinion. No matter how close they are to the "fugitives", the outrageous behavior of his people will never end unless the original Hannibal is cut off.

There was no other way but to stop Hannibal. Thinking so, Kirito told Chris Haight.

"Chris Haight, if you work at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, I'm sure you will be able to do it."

"What do you mean you can do it?"

"This is to make Hannibal public. You've already told me, so you know that Hannibal is the birther and manipulator of the 'rogue man'. You can make it public. ”

He tells Kikuoka that Hannibal is the one who gave birth to the "fugitive man" after he managed to escape from SAo. At first, Kikuoka frowned at Kirito's statement and showed no signs of believing it, but the people who were with Kirito in the final battle of SAo, such as Shino, Asuna, Lifa, Klein, Ekir, Tiabel, since what he said was true, the same thing, he now believes the story.

However, despite this, Kikuoka/Chris Haidt sighed deeply and fell silent. Kirito said to Chris Haight, who didn't react at all, as if it were a matter of course.

"Kikuoka-san!"

"Kirito-san, I know exactly what you want to say and think, but it makes no sense. \"

"W-Why?"

"Indeed, you all learned that Hannibal was the source of the 'Fugitive' by fighting the 'Fugitive' in SAo. You are only a handful of people, and even among the SAo survivors, there are people like you. "The vast majority of players don't know the story. Even if you say Hannibal out loud, who will believe you? What do you mean?

Following Chris Haight, who was wearing shiny glasses to hide his expression, Alice whispered to Kirito.

"Kirito-kun, let me give you an example. Suppose you know about the "fugitives" through the media, but you don't know about Hannibal. Someone on the web might say "fugitives" Suppose you say that a man named Hannibal is the origin of "fugitives", but only that person and a small group of people are talking about it, and everyone else is talking about it. I haven't dealt with these people, do you want to believe what those people say? ”

"Oh, that's..."

Kirito couldn't agree with this statement, which sounded like a teacher admonishing an overly excited student. When I go online a lot, there are stories like this every day, but they are all baseless stories told by some people to confuse the people around them or make them find interesting, and most of them are lies.

If I didn't know Hannibal, and someone else knew and told me, I wouldn't believe it.

Alice sighed, as if realizing that she had hit the nail on the head.

"That's it. No one believes what you say, not even the people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications where Kikuoka Chris works. That's why you say so loudly, 'That man, he broke free and ran away.'" It makes no sense to say that Hannibal was the one who made all this. ”

"Still, I think I'll believe the TV media and the weekly"

This is what Quinera said to herself. The mother did not hear what her daughter, who seemed to lack self-confidence, and immediately gave an answer.

Indeed, the media weeklies, newspapers, and television that call the "fugitive" a demon and vow to conquer him will believe Kirito-kun's claims and report it widely. But you\"It's clear to me that there's no point in telling these things, Kirito-kun. ”

“”

Seeing that Kirito didn't answer, Alice pressed her chin against her chin and continued.

"The trust of television and newspapers has been declining year by year, but with the emergence of 'escapees', they have completely fallen to the ground." Currently, digital terrestrial radio has one-eighth the viewership of regular television. Two years ago, the purchase rate of newspapers was 1 in 10, and now it is said that it is the least trustworthy media to continue to broadcast and publish. It's a miracle in itself, and I don't know how they managed to maintain the situation they are in. Yes.

It will soon become a relic of the past.

Even if these people say that Hannibal is the creator of the thieves and that the real devil is Hannibal, they will only end up being ridiculed and rebuked, saying that the media is crazy.

"Or, it's dismissed as some kind of crazy conspiracy theory, like, 'Oh, this is a cult that rules the world behind the scenes,' 'Oh, this is a secret society that manipulates the affairs of the world at will,' or "Oh, this is the gods of the Cthulhu mythos." "It's very frustrating as someone who knows him."

Kirito was completely speechless by Alice and Lilan's words.

Originally, they were able to learn about Hannibal's existence because they happened to hear something said by Sugo the "Fugitive". What we know about Hannibal so far is that Hannibal is the creator of the "Smuggler", who still works behind the scenes somewhere and is the leader of the "Smiling Coffin". He didn't know anything. In addition to that, in addition to the fact that he is following Vashak Casals.

Even if we bring so much information and talk about it, no one will believe that Hannibal exists.

"Hannibal. This was exactly the reversal of Carthage with Rome that he himself could not achieve at that time. ”

Everyone reacted to Chris Haight's nagging and turned their heads to face him, while Kirito unfolded in his mind what he had learned the previous day.

Hannibal. The name is said to mean "benevolent Baal" and is a real-life Carthaginian general. If you follow this man, you will fall into a very deep story, so you only know a certain amount of information, but Hannibal led the army of the small country of Carthage against Rome, the strongest military power at the time, and used various tactics, it is said that he won consecutive battles, overwhelmed the Roman army, and shocked Rome.

Hannibal is said to have left such a record of war unprecedented in history, in his native Carthage, people say that he was both a revolutionary and a hero, and in Rome, where he was attacked, people say that he became a cruel devil.

Today, the "fugitives" have more support than the surrounding politicians and the mass media, and there are many voices on the Internet that support the "fugitives". Almost. "It's like having the internet completely by your side.

Hannibal is the one who moves the 'fugitives' I get it, it's true, Chris. ”

Lilan and the others tilted their heads, looking at Chris Haight and Alice alternately, and Kirito couldn't help but understand. The Christeiit compared Hannibal's home country, the small state of Carthage, to Rome, and to the media and police who were attacked by Hannibal and bent on revenge.

In real life, Hannibal used his terrifying tactics to challenge the Roman army and won many victories, only to be defeated by Roman forces in the end, and Carthage was destroyed. No matter how great Hannibal was, he could not beat the scale of Rome.

But now it's the opposite. Before Hannibal went to war against the sprawling Rome where the media, police, politicians, etc. gathered, Hannibal exposed the stains, scandals, and dark secrets of Rome and protected the Roman people by making them defect and take them into Carthage, the so-called network.

Rome, known for its mass media, police, and politicians, once enjoyed enormous size, support, and trust, but thanks to Hannibal's machinations, it lost trust, and it continued to weaken and shrink due to a lack of population. Tracked it down. On the other hand, Carthage, known as the network, has developed into a powerful force and they are celebrating Hannibal as a hero because Hannibal taught them many of the shortcomings of Rome.

The siege and annihilation tactics employed by Hannibal's Carthaginians (known as the "network") against the media, police, and politicians in Rome.

This is happening in the country of Japan right now.

"Rome, which destroyed Hannibal, is now about to be destroyed by Hannibal and Carthage, right? Kirito-kun and his friends are chasing Hannibal, and they originally wanted to create such a situation, so they called him Hannibal. Maybe he's taking advantage of his abilities. "Name."

"Zexceed Shigemura Ujigichi was noticed by Hannibal's 'fugitives' and made into a dummy. If you investigate, you may find out that he is not real, but the police and the media have lost their cool. They won't listen to him, and I don't know when he's going to be released as a scapegoat. ”

Kirito listened to the conversation between Chris Haight and Alice while thinking seriously.

We don't know how great Hannibal is or if he is someone we can challenge and overcome. However, if we let Hannibal go like this, then something terrible will definitely happen, and we cannot rule out the possibility that he will attack us directly, and we have already discovered his true identity.

In any case, Hannibal must be stopped. Even now, like ancient Rome.

"Carthage is a great power, and Rome was conquered by the power of many, huh?"

Speaking of which, Kirito was frightened.

Waiting. I've recently seen a large group of people gathered by someone to get together to do something. It's also recent, and I can't help but feel like I'm watching it very close to home. But I don't remember what it was or where I saw it.

Where exactly have you seen anything like this? Just as Kirito was about to think, the door to the café door was opened, and a voice rushed in.

"Private of the Private! Are you there, host!? ”

Just as Kirito and friends were talking about what had happened this morning, a voice interjected. Kirito and his friends immediately turned their heads to listen to the voice, which was often heard not only when watching the news, but also when playing ALo and in Svartalfheim.

A petite girl with long silver hair and pink eyes, dressed in a blue outfit and wearing a small hat. Naneiro Arsapin\/Seven, who runs a large guild based on ALo, and is also active as an idol, and has gained great popularity among both men and women, is right at the door of the café.

"Isn't it seven?"

\"Oh, I thought it was the master, but not Kirito-kun! Or rather, some people don't know Alice at all! \"

Seven walked into the store at an almost audible speed and came to Kirito's side. Seven are the most popular group in ALo right now, and while their names can be heard everywhere, it's hard to get a chance to meet them and talk to them. It's been a long time since we've met and talked like this.

Seven himself seems to think so, shouting at Kirito like a friend he hasn't seen in a long time?? Road. However, instead of responding, Kirito introduces his friends to Seven, who basically only talks to himself and Alice. Just when Xiao Qi was convinced of the existence of his friend, he finally returned to the topic.

"Seven, it's been a long time since we've seen each other like this."

"Well, we haven't seen each other like this in a while, and we don't know how many days are left."

"I think it's empty. Anyway, I'm guessing you logged in pretty early today. ”

"Yes, today is where I want to be welcomed by everyone, so I just want to say hello to everyone, which is what idols should do."

Compared with other players, Xiao Qi logged in relatively late, and it was not uncommon to log in at noon, sometimes even at one or two o'clock in the afternoon. It's just before ten o'clock in the morning, so it's still early for the seventh to log in.

When Seven saw that Kirito understood the purpose of the login, his expression was as if he remembered something.

\"Yes, Kirito-kun. I saw yesterday's "m Strike" very clearly. \"

"Are you watching too? That is, you can see that I'm talking about all sorts of things? ”

"Of course. Kirito-kun, I think the speech is wonderful! I didn't expect you to give such a speech. You are no less than a scientist who has developed something. \"

At that time, I desperately wanted to express everything I was thinking, so I don't remember much about the situation, I don't remember the way I spoke or gave a speech as a scientist or someone representing my country. Think it's nothing compared to that. To be honest, I'm glad that Seven, a real scientist, complimented my presentation, which was nothing more than that.

Thanks to Kirito-kun, the 'Beast Tamers' inside Clover must have changed. They all seem to think that valuing the "familiar" is the way to become the strongest. \"

"But I don't think it's a good idea to do everything."

\"That's right. However, everyone is still willing to believe what Kirito-kun said. Besides, Kirito-kun crushed Zexceed with his cherished "demon", which is choice and supremacy, and it is also reliable. \"

Did he even watch the broadcast of that fight? Kirito thought so, but on the other hand, he remembered it again.

Yes, I wonder if Xiao Qi knew the news of Zexceed's arrest for "fugitives" this morning? As a professional scientist, he should make good use of the Internet and news, so Seven should be well aware of the existence of "fugitives", and even in the United States, where Seven is active, there is a "fugitive". I've heard that its existence is well known.

What was Seven thinking this morning? Kirito asked Seven, a little curious.

"Yes, Little Seven. Do you know what happened to Zexceed? ”

"yes, I know. I never expected Zexied to be a 'destructive escapee' or an 'executor'. ”

"\"Performer\"? ”

Executor. Everyone tilted their heads at Seven's sudden mention of the words "executor" and "executor" in English, and Yui and Alice immediately began to explain.

The existence of the cyber terrorist "fugitive" who has shocked Japan today is widely known in overseas countries such as the United States and Russia, but he has a different name. In Japan, an "intruder" is called an "intruder" because he is a person who carries out sabotage and manages to escape, but overseas, he is a person who approaches the country. Politicians, police, media, and other powerful people are called "executors" because of their attacks that resemble condemnation.

It is true that the target of the "fugitives" is the police, politicians, the media, and other people close to state power, and the content of terrorist attacks is to amplify those who do evil and deceive. It means to expose it, as if to say. Many people have been forced to lose their jobs or be arrested as a result, so if you look at it from another angle, this can be seen as a kind of execution or condemnation.

Lilan seemed satisfied with this, and held her chin with one hand and whispered.

I guess it's called "condemning the executor". Sounds better than "fugitives". ”

"But honestly, I don't think the story is true. Kirito-kun, I don't know what you think. \"

Since Seven is an idol and deals with countless ordinary people, Kirito thinks that his way of thinking is that of ordinary people, but his thoughts are subverted by Seven's words. Kirito realizes that although they are idols, their profession is scientists, and they are very different from ordinary people because they claim to have the same ideas as them.

"I feel the same way. Zexceed was arrested as a puppet of the 'Fugitives'. Real people are still somewhere else, watching the news. ”

\"Ah, Kirito-kun seems to agree with you. So, Alice, do they feel the same way? \"

The friends around also nodded at the call of the idol girl. Those who use television and the Internet without thinking may think that the arrested Shigemura is the real "disgraced fugitives," but at least no one in this room thinks so.

Seven understood this by humming a song, and then sat down in the empty chair next to Alice.

"After all, the 'executor' arrested this time is not as fake as it gets. In any case, the 'executor' has become a rather remarkable presence, and he is now a cyber terrorist for whom the whole world is paying. "Notice what kind of thoughts do you have when you do something like that?"

Sure enough, Kirito thought. Even Seven, who uses the Internet to buy and process all kinds of information, may know about the "fugitive" named "Executor", but he doesn't know anything about Hannibal, the protagonist of the story.

Hannibal is the one who created and produced the "fugitive", and the "fugitive" is an existence that Hannibal can create as he pleases, so no matter how he destroys it, it is meaningless, so he does not criticize Hannibal as the mastermind, and terrorism will last forever. - Like other ordinary people, Xiao Qi didn't know this fact.

Alice, a senior scientist, probably fully understood this after hearing Xiao Qi's words that were equivalent to whispering, and asked.

"That's right, Seven. It seems that this 'executor' 'bankrupt fugitive' is creating terrorism against corrupt politicians, police, media, celebrities, etc., are you confident? Wouldn't it be a target for fugitives? ”

"Of course. I, Xiaoqi, are still working hard in this regard. Well, I'd be lying if I said that I had never been photographed by the paparazzi, but I didn't cause any scandal. I want you to feel safe. ”

The purpose of the "man who broke the door" was to expose the information of those who caused great inconvenience and injustice to the people but concealed it, to expose those who withheld it, good ordinary citizens and people with reasonable ideas. I'm not targeting politicians or anything like that. Moreover, from my relationship with Xiao Qi, I know that she is not the kind of girl who would do such a thing.

From now on, Xiao Qi will no longer be the target of the "runaway man". Kirito muttered to himself, and Seven gestured as if he remembered something, turning to Kirito.

\"Ah, by the way, Kirito-kun. Actually, I have a request for Kirito-kun. \"

"Huh? What do you want from me? ”

"Kirito-kun, your player skills are fantastic, your way of thinking is far superior to that of other players, and the way you use 'Demon' is also very good. \"

Then Kirito-kun, I'll ask you again. Please join Clover in the fight. ”

Hearing Xiao Qi's request, Kirito and his friends were surprised almost at the same time. Instead of forming a guild, they fought a battle for the capture of the Grand Guild Clover, led by Seven. Aware of this, Seven considers Kiritto and the others to be formidable opponents, and encourages the members of his guild "Shamrock" to take action.

The current situation is that the boss of the large army, which was supposed to be hostile to Kirito and others, is asking the leader of the almost hostile force to cooperate. In other words, headhunting.

"Am I Shamrock?"

"Oh, by the way, Kirito-kun is the kind of person who can be called an invincible player, I think if Kirito-kun is like that, Shamrock will become stronger, and we will definitely be able to destroy this dark one." \"Zone 1..

Of course, I won't ask you to date me for free. When joining Shamrock, we skipped all the interviews, almost unconditionally, we put Kirito and the Imperial Palace in the same position, and when you defeat the final boss in the Swart area, you get the final attack bonus. You can keep all other rewards to yourself. Also, Kirito-kun—\"

Kirito thinks seriously next to Seven, and Seven talks about Kirito's time with Clover like a machine-gun conversation.

Indeed, if you can join a guild as big as Clover, then you will be able to advance smoothly and clear the Swalt region in the blink of an eye, just like when you joined the Knights of the Blood Pact.

However, since coming to ALo, Kirito and his friends have decided that they will no longer belong to a guild like they did in the Knights of the Blood Pact, but will freely enjoy the game with their friends who have overcome difficulties together, and have no intention. Change it radically.

Being directly invited to join Clover by Leader Seven is a very attractive thing, but since it is a matter of mutual decision, I can't accept it. Kirito made up his mind and interrupted Seven, who was still talking intently.

"I'm sorry Seven, I can't accept this request."

"Huh!? Why? Even if we have such good conditions? I also want something. ”

"It's not like that. Ever since I started playing this game, I've decided that I want to play freely with everyone and that's what I'm going to keep doing. I can't join Rock. Of course, my friends feel the same way. ”

I didn't expect anyone to refuse a request on such terms. Xiao Qi didn't seem to believe what was happening in front of him, and looked at Kirito, but still asked Alice without hesitation.

"I'm sure you're brave enough to try to get Kirito-kun into Shamrock's mind, but all I can say is a waste of time, Seven. Kirito-kun is still very determined, and will stick to the end no matter what he does. He decided to do so. He was a principled child. So you should give up on adding Kirito to Clover. \"

\"I really, really don't want to join, Kirito-san. \"

Kirito didn't answer, but nodded. Xiao Qi made a noise in his throat and was silent, but he immediately broke it and opened his mouth.

"If things get to this point, I can't help it. But Kirito-kun, we Shamrock are also getting serious. If Kirito-kun doesn't join us and continue to be our opponents, one day we will be our opponents. Well? There will be a serious conflict with Kirito-kun and them. Wow. I don't know if I'll be able to win then. \"

"When the time comes, we will have to gather our forces and attack you. Moreover, we have no intention of losing to you, although we have lost a little now, we will soon catch up with you. ”

"It's an amazing feat. Kirito-kun was meant to be like that. But I don't want to lose. Finally, let's have an all-out war. \"

Shamrock can now be said to be the largest guild in ALo, and if compared to SAo, it is a strategy composed of various guilds such as the Knights of the Blood Pact, the Holy Dragon Alliance, and the Wind Forest Kazan, which can be called a group. Itself. We used to be part of the strategy group and will wage an all-out war against the current strategy group Shamrock. Normally, it seems that the odds are not very good, but even so, Kirito thinks that he can play well.

The power of the previous strategy team surpasses that of the current strategy team – and as a gamer, there probably doesn't get much more exciting than that. With such determination in his heart, Xiao Qi's solemn expression regained its softness and made him take a deep breath.

"It's just the story in the game, though. If I had met Kirito-kun in real life, we wouldn't have had any interaction like we do now. I'm waiting for the day when Kirito - Kun is here. ”

"Well, it's true, our competition only exists in games. I also have no intention of bringing this topic to the real world, but is that story still going on? ”

"Of course. I'll keep talking about it until you say give up, so I don't want you to forget it. ”

Although I haven't told you yet, Kirito wants to be a scientist in the future, just like Heathcliff/Akihiko Kayaba, Seven Person/Seven Colors, Alice/Airi - and it's a VR-related field. He is currently self-taught. That's why it's so much fun to be able to do research with Nanairo in the lab, and I definitely hope to make that happen.

However, since this topic was brought up to me a long time ago, I thought Shichiro had already finished the story, so to be honest, I'm glad Shichiro \/Shichiro hadn't finished the story yet.

"I have no intention of forgetting and I will not give up. I'm going to grow up to visit your labs. ”

"I have to, I don't know how long it will take, but I'm waiting for you!"

After speaking, Xiao Qi stretched out happily, "Hmm! Ground let out a long sigh.

"In that case, I don't have anything to drink without Shizun, so I'll let you go quickly, I have to say hello to everyone quickly."

"I don't think it's necessary to go that fast, you can go slower."

When Rilan, the most distinctive blonde-haired wolf-eared girl here, said this, the silver-haired girl Xiao Qi shook her head and quickly stood up.

"I'll take a break when I get back to Clover headquarters. Also, the experience of being able to meet me will be a huge morale boost for everyone at Clover, so it's better to do it than not to do it. "of...''

Just after Xiao Qi stood up and complained like a scientist, something strange happened to Xiao Qi. His words suddenly became incoherent, his body began to shake, and his steps became staggering, like a newborn foal, walking back and forth, and his behavior became completely suspicious. Everyone exclaimed Xiao Qi's actions, as if he was dizzy when he stood up, or was attacked by severe dizziness.

"Seven!?"

"Ahhh

Xiao Qi's steps were completely unsteady, and he kept stomping and stumbling in place, and just as he stretched out his right hand to his head, he suddenly fell backwards and fell to the floor. Kirito and the others finally got up from their seats in surprise, but before they could get up, Seven collapsed on the hard stone floor.

"Seven !!"

Just as Seven was about to fall to the ground, everyone around him rushed over, and his body stopped before hitting his head on the floor. Kirito was surprised by Seven's repetitive sudden movements, and he turned his head to look at Seven, but Seven let out a small exclamation again.

Suddenly, a girl appears next to Seven, who is on the verge of collapse, and holds Seven's body. A girl with long crimson hair, blue-purple at the ends, orange eyes, and a costume based on black and red.

It is said that Lilan once belonged to Shamrock and was called a liar by the Emperor, but is now one of Kirito's friends.

"Rain!?"

How the hell did she show up, and when did she sneak into this coffee shop? While everyone ignored these questions and looked at her in surprise, Lilan gently let Xiao Qi recover her body. As if the vibration had worked, Xiao Qi let out a groan and opened his closed eyelids slightly.

"That"

"Xiao Qi, are you okay?"

“”

With a disturbed expression on his face, Seven slowly opened his mouth, and he saw the face of the girl who walked up to him, his own face reflected in his orange eyes.

"I'm sure you're Lilan or rather, I am"

"I almost fell. I'm glad I arrived in time."

Hearing Lilan's relieved voice, Xiao Qi sighed deeply, as if he understood what had happened to him. Almost at the same time, Kirito and the others rushed to Seven's side, snuggled up to him, and Kirito opened his mouth.

"Seven, are you okay?"

\"Kirito-san, uh, yes. \"

In this ALo, the emotional expression function allows the player's emotions to be reflected on the character's face, but Xiao Qi's face turned pale and nodded in pain. This is evidence that something is wrong with the doppelganger's body in the real world.

"Xiao Qi, how is it now?"

"It's okay, Alice-Sand. I just feel a little dizzy."

"I wouldn't say it's a little dizzy enough to make me fall."

Despite being an AI researcher now, Alice is still in the process of applying for a medical license, and her eyes sparkle as she looks at Seven's body, which is being held and supported by Lilan. When it reached the tiptoes, Alice quickly returned her gaze to Seven's face and said with a sigh.

"It could be dizziness caused by overexertion, which is the precursor to autonomic disorders, and it's not a good thing for a 12-year-old to have something like this happen."

"No, it's okay, it's okay"

"This thing wouldn't have happened if nothing else had happened. You whip too many young bones, as opposed to old bones. ”

In the real world, Xiao Qi locks himself in the laboratory every day to conduct research, sometimes travels the world by plane, appears in media interviews, sings and performs mini-shows in addition to managing and interacting with fans. Life.

It's no wonder that Xiao Qi, a twelve-year-old child, lives a busy life that even adults in their twenties and thirties would collapse. No, it's not something Xiao Qi can do. 1st place. Kirito immediately understood what Alice was trying to say.

"Seven, you're pushing yourself too hard, it's time for you to quit and rest today."

"That's right, you're like everyone's hope, and if something like this happens, your fans will be sad."

In addition to Kirito, Lilan also said to Seven, who took turns looking at them with confused eyes. After a while, Xiao Qi slowly stood up with Lilan's support and took a deep breath.

``... Indeed, I may have been pushing myself lately. But that's what idols and scientists look like. If it were for research and their fans, they would sacrifice themselves...... That's why scientists ...... You can call me as an idol Dr. Serizawa. ”

When Alice was rejected, she put her hand on her chin with an embarrassed expression on her face. When Alice was doing AI research, she must have continued to devote herself to research and reduced her rest and sleep. This is probably why it is difficult to resolutely refute Xiao Qi.

"That's true, but that doesn't mean we're going to continue researching until we're having a breakdown, we're hospitalized, and we're childless. Moreover, we are the ones who cannot do it. "That's a good thing, but it's too early for you, please take care of your body and things."

After receiving the advice of the senior scientist, Seven puffed out his cheeks slightly, made an unconvinced expression, and then sighed deeply.

\"yes. There's a live show tonight. Plans changed. I'm going to take a break from now on. \"

Soon after, Seven turned to public relations. In front of him is Lilan, the girl who unknowingly appeared in the coffee shop to support Xiao Qi.

"Well, it's Lilan. Thanks to your support, I didn't feel any pain. Thank you. ”

"Huh? Ah, sorry. I was so focused when I gave it to you."

"Why are you apologizing there? Actually, I'm the one who deserves the most apologies. I'm sorry that something like this happened all of a sudden. ”

“”

While Lilan rightly thanked him, he seems to regret his actions, perhaps because he thinks he did something wrong to his idol Seven.

Although he was just looking at Seven, Kirito couldn't help but feel uncomfortable.

When Lilan supported Xiao Qi, who was about to fall just now, she looked very relaxed. This is exactly the face that Relan, the older sister of all the AI girls here, shows when she successfully helps Yui and Strea, the face of an older sister who cares about her sister.

The look on my face helped Seven at the time, but now I don't. To put it bluntly, Lilan's behavior is inconsistent.

"Anyway, I'm going to take a break and get ready for tonight's live performance. Please come and listen to my song at night. \"

\"Ugh. Ahhhh Let you do it. Seventh, don't push yourself. \"

Seven said, "I see! After that, he said goodbye to everyone as usual and left the coffee shop. After returning to what can be called an ordinary space, Kirito looked at Lilan again.

Lilan just looked at the door of the coffee shop, as if worried about something.

"What's wrong, Lilan? You've been expressionless for a long time. ”

As she crawls through a labyrinthine dungeon in a corner of the rocky plains, Lilan shouts to Lilan.

About ten minutes after Seven's departure, the usual friends gathered and the strategy meeting began. The nameless captives led by Kirito are also making progress in the capture operation when Kirito, Shino, and Lilan are missing, and have successfully narrowed the gap with Shamrock.

With the addition of Lilan, who has successfully evolved and is strong enough to defeat any monster or "demon pet", there is no doubt that he will be able to conquer it faster. While reading this article, Kirito realized that there were multiple places to conquer, so he divided his team into groups of several people and decided on a strategy to conquer the "Underworld/Rocky Field Nibelheim". Together with Lilan, Lilan, Alice, and others, I traveled to the last area of Swaldjärfheim, "Nibelheim, Rocky Plains".

And now, the capture team composed of Kirito, Lilan, Lilan, and Alice, like the rest of the team, infiltrates the dungeon that exists in the "Rocky Field Nebelheim" to find the monsters lurking inside. He kept going as he went. Defeat.

"Nothing, Riran-chan. I'm just the same as usual. \"

"I say that because it's not normal now. If you're worried about anything, I'll come to you for advice. Just tell me. ”

"Ugh"

Lilan, Lilan is in trouble, don't say it - Kirito usually says that, but now he doesn't want to say it. As Lilan said, Lilan has been looking depressed since Incident Seven.

Kirito's partner Lilan, who talks to Lilan, is an AI that has the ability and function to treat people who are mentally unstable or worried, so there are no mental or emotional abnormalities. I noticed this sensitively. Lilan's reaction to Lilan shows that something strange is happening in Lilan's heart.

Intrigued, Kirito approaches Lilan and talks to her.

"Lilan, what's wrong? Do you have anything to worry about? ”

"It's not like that, but I guess that's the way it is."

"If that's the case, you should talk to us or me."

"Huh?" Lilan turned to Alice and said. It can be hard to notice just playing ALo together, but until recently, Alice was a psychiatrist and was nationally known as a highly skilled doctor. Kirito believes that the timing is perfect for Lilan, who is close to people who have troubles, because she is like an expert who heals people's hearts by helping them solve their problems and talking about them.

Lilan may not know this, but Alice Sand is a psychiatrist in real life. So if you are worried about something, you should talk to her. ”

"Really"

"Ah, yes. I'm proud that I'm at least good at listening to people's problems and coming up with solutions. But there's no need to force yourself to speak. ”

Alice came to her, and Lilan lowered her head. Indeed, this is not a clinic or a hospital, but a dungeon where you never know when monsters will appear. This is not a place where things can be talked about so calmly.

Lilan, who realized this and felt sorry for Lilan, spoke.

\"I'm wondering, did I do something bad to Xiao Qi just now? \"

"Bad things?"

"Yes, just now I hid it from Xiao Qi and touched her about to fall. Xiao Qi is not the kind of person who can be easily touched, but I won't do anything like that. "Maybe Xiao Qi doesn't like me."

Earlier, Lilan rushed to Xiao Qi, who was severely dizzy, and held his body. As a result, Seven didn't fall to the ground, but Seven seemed grateful to Lilan at the time, and I listened carefully to her words. Xiao Qi didn't seem to dislike Lilan at all, nor did he hate her at all. Kirito was curious and said to Lilan.

"I don't think that's true. If you don't hold her, she'll fall to the ground. ”

"Moreover, Lao Qi didn't care about you at all, he was just grateful to you."

Even after hearing Lilan's words, Lilan still lowered her head. Not only that, but his face was getting lower and lower.

\"But I'm a person who is hated, Xiao Qi may hate me. \"

"Are you hated? It seems like someone says you're a liar, Lilan, but that's just a small part of Clover saying that, not everyone. ”

Lilan shook her head at Kirito and finally looked up. His face took on an expression of long-term solitude - though not as strong as Shino.

"It's the same with me in real life. My family is a single parent and my mother doesn't have a regular job, so I rely on part-time jobs to make ends meet, and I'm busy with that part of my job is that I don't have friends, and I'm hated. That's what I did. ”

It's true that students who are busy with part-time jobs often don't have friends, but that doesn't mean that the people around them don't like them. Kirito couldn't help but think that every word of Lilan sounded too pessimistic, so he naturally said it to her to cheer her up.

"I don't know what he does part-time, but I think it's more than that. Even Xiao Qi is very grateful to Lilan. There is no need to be so pessimistic. \"

Lilan turned gently to Alice. Alice folded her arms, nodded, and said to Lilan.

"Well, I generally agree with Kirito-kun and Lilan. I won't ask you about your private life, but I don't think you need to be so pessimistic. Moreover, there are many friends like Kirito-kun. That's why you don't have to think you're hated anymore. ”

His words were persuasive and warm, perhaps because he was a psychiatrist who had worked with many patients, listened to their concerns and anxieties, and offered solutions and treatments. The rain seemed to be able to receive it well, and her originally gloomy face regained its brightness, and it didn't take long for her to speak again.