On the third day of my new life under the same roof as Alice, she caught me by the back of my jacket just as I was preparing to head out for more combat missions.
"I believe there are things you need to finish before you even think about fighting."
"Oh... I know."
I knew exactly what she meant.
"──... Truly, I am sorry for all the trouble I caused you."
Inside a room in a cheap inn on the Fiftieth Floor, under Alice's watchful eye, I bowed my head in apology to Argo, Agil, and Klein, who stood before me with their arms crossed.
I had learned that these three had spent a great deal of time and effort searching for me after I vanished. Argo had worked tirelessly as an information broker for days, verifying every scrap of news that might lead to me. Thanks to Agil and Klein, I had been moved safely from the Thirty-Fifth Floor to the Forty-Seventh.
"Mm. Well, considering the circumstances were beyond your control and you clearly regret it, I have nothing more to say. What about you two?"
"I pretty much agree with Argo. But Mitsuki, you need to learn to rely on those around you more. If you're like this as a boy, you'll face much harder times when you become a man."
"... Right. I'll take those words to heart."
After carving Agil's advice into my soul, I turned my gaze toward Klein. He had been dead silent until that moment, stripped of his usual cheerful atmosphere.
"... Mitsuki, answer me honestly── Do you think we're so weak that we can't be relied on?"
His words were serious and laced with bitterness, so much so that I couldn't find an immediate answer.
"I know we're nowhere near your level or Kirito's. I realize our presence might be a burden to you... and that pisses me off, even if it's true. But── but man...!"
Klein stepped forward and gripped my shoulders tightly.
"Logic isn't enough for stuff like this! I get that you were looking out for us and didn't want to drag us into your mess, but you have to think about the feelings of the people you leave behind...!"
"... Yeah. I owe you a sincere apology."
Klein took a short breath, then burst into genuine laughter. He slapped my back hard.
"It's fine! We don't mind getting dragged into your mess at all!"
After that, I re-added them to my friends list. They made me promise: "If you ever delete us without permission again, we'll beat the life out of you." As I prepared to leave, Argo called out to me from behind.
"... Wait, Mitsuki. I have one thing to say── never let Alice make that face again."
"... That goes without saying. Alice is... she's my important... partner."
Three mocking jeers erupted behind me at once: "He chickened out,""What a hesitant guy," and "Look at how cowardly he is." I ignored them and nudged the Knight of the Blood Oath walking ahead of me, practically fleeing the inn.
── And so, the day was dedicated to restoring my friends list. Although it was short enough that it didn't require much scrolling, it now held five names—not even enough to fill both hands. Alice was at the top, then Mito whom I had registered during our last meeting, and finally those three. I still needed to contact Lisbeth, Sanya, and... those two.
I decided to postpone contacting Sanya, who had rarely appeared on the front lines lately, and head first to Lisbeth's shop on the Forty-Eighth Floor. However, a message reached Alice that made her breath catch, her face clouding with regret.
"... We didn't make it in time. Mitsuki, we're changing plans. We're going to the Twenty-Second Floor first."
"The Twenty-Second Floor?"
Did we have acquaintances there? Alice answered by making the message window visible to me.
"Mitsuki, your name suddenly disappeared from my friends list! Are you okay?! Answer me as soon as you see this!"
The message was from Asuna.
The Twenty-Second Floor of Aincrad── this floor, which includes a small village called Coral, is the least populated in all of Aincrad. At the same time, it was arguably the easiest floor we had traversed up to the Seventy-Fifth. Neither the labyrinth area nor the floor boss were particularly strong; we had cleared it in just three days back then.
In the southwestern region of that quiet floor lie natural expanses surrounded by water and greenery. On the far southern bank stood that house.
"So, this is their new home... It's a wonderful house."
"Yes. This is my first time visiting, but just looking at it warms the soul."
It was a log cabin that Kirito and Asuna had purchased for their marriage. The place was surrounded by a rich natural landscape that made you completely forget you were in a "field area," unprotected by the system.
"... Well, this isn't the time for sightseeing. Are you mentally prepared?"
I swallowed hard as the tension returned to my chest. I took a deep breath, then nodded, signaling my readiness to move forward.
We climbed the small stairs leading to the porch. As soon as Alice knocked on the door, we heard a slight commotion and hurried footsteps from inside.
"── Alice! Mitsuki is in danger, he...!"
"Calm down, Asuna! We need to straighten things out and understand the situation first...!"
The door swung open. Asuna greeted us in a state of total panic, while Kirito tried to soothe her despite the evident worry on his own face. Just hearing their concern made my virtual stomach ache with guilt.
"Calm down, Asuna, Kirito. We'll explain everything to you── and the person in question is right here himself."
"Huh...?"
"Himself...?"
Alice stepped aside, revealing me standing behind her. I looked at them, both frozen in shock.
"H-hello. Uh... congratulations... on your marriage... heh... heh heh──"
I could only manage a dry laugh accompanied by an incredibly embarrassed smile.
We moved to the living room of the newlyweds' home. While Kirito, Asuna, and their guest Alice sat on the sofas, I, the other guest, was forced to sit in a formal seiza position on the wooden floor.
"So, the bottom line is── a bug in one of the Seventy-Fifth Floor quests caused your entire friends list to be deleted. Is that what happened?"
"Ah... yeah. That's exactly it..."
"You really are a troublesome kid... the important thing is that you're okay."
I explained to Kirito and the others that a quest on the Seventy-Fifth Floor—where battles take place in fields resembling ancient warzones against warrior ghosts—had a technical glitch that wiped the friends list as part of the event. This excuse was the result of a consultation between Alice and me on the way here; she had agreed to go along with the lie.
On that day, I wasn't the only one attacked; Kirito had also nearly died because of a trap set by Kuradeel, who was conspiring with the Laughing Coffin guild. I also knew that Kirito had been forced to kill him in that encounter. If I were to point out a new attack from the remnants of that guild now, it would cast a dark shadow over the quiet life they had fought so hard to obtain. Avoiding that was a goal Alice and I shared.
"── I only recently noticed my friends list was empty. So, I started visiting my acquaintances this morning to re-register them. Luckily, there aren't many."
"But if there's a quest like that, you should tell Argo. She publishes the 'Strategy Guide' for every quest. A deleted friends list might seem funny at first, but it could carry hidden risks."
"There's no need. I've already told her, but it seems that quest only appeared once for one person. Since I finished it, no one else can take it."
"That's strange. I've cleared almost all the quests, but I've never heard of one that appears only once for the first person who finds it."
"Since the Seventy-Fifth Floor is the final quarter mark, maybe those kinds of quests will increase in the future."
I ended the discussion with that excuse, and I seemed to have succeeded in deceiving them.
"But I'm truly glad you're okay. Even though we're two days late── Mitsuki, happy birthday."
"Happy birthday, Mitsuki. Sorry we didn't prepare a cake since we were late to find out."
"Don't worry about it. Besides, how did you remember my birthday? Very few people know it."
"I think Alice remembers it quite well."
"Yeah, Alice definitely didn't forget."
Asuna said this, she and Kirito giving Alice warm, mischievous looks. Alice replied flustered, "W-what's with those suspicious smiles...!"
Meanwhile, a slight creaking sound came from the floorboards in the hallway. Someone was walking...? But Kirito and Asuna, the homeowners, were sitting on the sofa. Who was it then── I turned to find my eyes meeting those of a sleepy-looking child.
"... Papa, Mama── who is... this person?"
"Yui── sorry, did we wake you up?"
"No, I woke up on my own."
"Good girl. You're such a dutiful child for waking up early── come, let's go greet Uncle Mitsuki sitting over there."
"Welcome!"
"H-hello... welcome to you, too..."
I stammered out a greeting, then stood up quietly and gestured for Asuna to come to the corner of the room. Alice, sharing my curiosity, followed us.
"... Would you mind explaining what's going on?"
"Well, it's a long story... or maybe it isn't──"
Asuna, with a bewildered smile, began to tell us the story of how they met this girl named Yui──.
"── and that's why we decided to take care of her for now."
"I see. So that's the story... Sorry, Asuna, I was too quick to judge."
"It's fine. It's natural to be surprised."
"I was truly shocked... I thought I'd have to give a double gift for the marriage and the baby."
── Although my current financial situation made me doubt I could afford even the wedding gift alone.
"... But she was lost in a very strange place. Didn't you find any trace of her parents?"
"No. It seems she's lost all her memories of her parents... Kirito and I were discussing going to the First Floor this afternoon to look for anyone who knows Yui."
"To lose everything at such a young age... she must have been so scared."
Alice seemed incredibly sympathetic toward the girl, perhaps because she had a similar experience of fighting fiercely without any memories of her real world.
"── In that case, let me help."
"Really? Are you okay with that?"
"Luckily── though that might not be the right word── Mitsuki and I are away from the front lines right now. Given the size of the 'Starting City,' having more searchers will be helpful. Mitsuki, you don't mind?"
"Of course not."
"Thank you both... truly."
Kirito, Asuna, and us as well; even though we were away from the front now, this situation wouldn't last forever. Even if we left the labyrinth missions to others, we had to at least participate in boss battles, and then this child would be left alone. For her, calling these two "Papa and Mama," the feeling of loneliness would be harsh, even if it was just a passing childhood attachment. It was best to return her to her real family as soon as possible... but I was sure the thought of "the worst-case scenario" was on everyone's mind now, except for Yui.
On the Twenty-Second Floor, monsters rarely appear outside the labyrinth area, and the fact that the child remained safe until Kirito found her proved it, but there are exceptions to every rule. Perhaps an aquatic monster from one of the scattered lakes had attacked her parents, and they had sacrificed themselves so Yui could live── I forcibly stopped myself from thinking of that ominous possibility.
I convinced myself that her parents were fine, that her memory would return, and that she would go back home. Then I suddenly looked at Alice.
What about her?
When this game ends, will Alice's memories of the real world return? And if they do── what will happen to Alice's current memories? Will the gaps in her past be filled like puzzle pieces, or will something else happen...?
I shook my head to clear these thoughts once more. It seemed my heart refused to think about it any further.
"Sit down now. I can't call this a 'thank you,' but I'll prepare lunch for you."
"Thank you, Asuna. We gratefully accept your invitation."
While I was eagerly waiting to taste Asuna's cooking after such a long time, Yui approached me with small steps after climbing down from Kirito's lap. She looked to be about the age of an elementary school student, and her innocent eyes stared at me── or maybe she was looking at "something" behind me──
"... Does it hurt?"
"──!?"
I caught my breath sharply at her sudden words. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alice with the same expression of shock on her face.
"I know... at a time like this... ah──"
Yui stood on her tiptoes and reached out her small hand to touch my head.
"Pain, pain, go away!── That's how we do it. It's a spell to make you smile!"
"Yui, did you remember something?"
"Mmm, I don't know... but I knew this spell. It's a spell that makes someone who's crying smile."
I stifled the intense emotions that nearly overflowed at that pure smile. Instead, I said:
"... Thank you, Yui. You have great magic. I feel much better because of you."
"Ehehe...!"
"── Well, as a reward, I'll play with you outside until the food is ready!"
I lifted her small body. Although as a spear user I possessed exceptionally high physical strength compared to others, Yui was very light, and she laughed happily in my arms.
We went outside, leaving Kirito and Alice alone in the living room── then, Kirito spoke quietly.
"... You don't have to answer if you don't want to... but did something happen to Mitsuki?"
"Yes... something happened on our way here."
"... I see. Alice, it might sound strange for me to say this, but── please, take good care of Mitsuki."
"... Of course I will."
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