Yoruko?
Asuna, I'll leave the rest to you!
Stop!
Damn!
He's teleporting? But to where?
Dammit!
Phantom Avenger
You moron! Are you out of your mind?!
So, how did it go?
No luck.
He teleported away.
The inn is protected by the system.
I thought we'd be safe here.
Dammit!
That person in the robe was Griselda...
It was Griselda's ghost!
She's back to take revenge on all of us!
A ghost could easily PK within safe areas...
It was no ghost.
There must be some logical explanation to these two murders within safe areas.
There has to be.
Was that black robed player really Griselda's ghost?
Now that I've seen it twice myself, I'm starting to believe it too.
No. That's not possible.
First of all, a ghost wouldn't be able to use a teleport crystal...
A teleport crystal?
What is it?
Nothing...
Here.
Is it for me?
What do you think?
You think I'm just showing it to you?
Oh... Thank you.
It's about to expire and vanish,
so you should hurry and eat it.
Okay...
It's delicious.
When did you get the food?
I did say it's about to expire.
I was prepared for a situation like this,
so I packed them in the morning.
Nothing less from the leader of KoB’s assault team.
By the way, where did you buy this from?
It's not for sale.
You can't buy this.
I can cook, you know.
You know, how should I put this...
If you put this up for an auction, you could easily get rich.
I don't have any more.
What's the matter?
I see! I get it!
What? What did you realize?
I... We didn't see anything.
We thought we saw it, but we were actually looking at something else.
There have never been any weapons or logic that could make murders possible in safe areas.
Level 19 - Hill of the Cross
Griselda...
No one can help me anymore, so I'm here to beg for your forgiveness.
I'm sorry! I'm very sorry!
Please forgive me, Griselda!
I didn't think it'd come down to this!
Really?
Really...?
Really?
What did you do?
What did you do to me, Schmitt?
I... On the day we made the deal for the ring,
the crystal and the memo were in my belt pouch,
and the orders—
Whose, Schmitt?
Whose orders?
Grimlock? You've died too?
Who was it? Who gave your orders?
I don't know! I really don't!
The memo only ordered me to sneak into Griselda's room,
save the position of the corridor crystal,
and then put it in the guild bank.
So?
That's all I did!
I would never murder anyone!
Please believe me!
We've recorded it all, Schmitt.
They're alive?!
Yeah. They're alive.
Yoruko and Kains too.
But...
Within safe areas, player HP bars cannot lower under normal circumstances.
On the other hand, objects expire.
Just like that sandwich.
Back then, Kains' armor was pierced by the spear.
But it didn't lower Kains' HP. Only the armor's durability.
So that was what fell down in pieces?
Yeah, just the empty armor.
And by timing it for the moment the armor broke,
Kains teleported away.
The result seemed like he had died,
but it was a completely different thing.
The same thing happened to Yoruko?
She must've had the dagger in her the entire time she was talking to us.
The entire time?
Think about it.
She never once stood with her back to us in that room.
She continued talking while confirming the decrease in durability.
When it was time, she acted like a dagger from outside had hit her.
Then the black robed figure was...
I'm willing to bet my virginity that it was Grimlock.
Kains and Yoruko realized they could fake their death with this method.
They even made it seem like safe area PKs are possible to arouse even more fear.
Their goal was to find and expose the culprit of the ring case.
They staged their own deaths and created two phantom avengers.
They must've doubted Schmitt from the very beginning.
You still have Yoruko on your friend list, right?
She's on the 19th floor. On a small hill that's close to town.
I see.
Anyway, let's leave this to them now.
Our part in this case is over.
You recorded it?
I see...
So you cared for Griselda this much...
You didn't hate her either, did you?
Of course not!
Believe me...
I only passed the entrance requirements for the Holy Dragon Alliance
due to the rare weapon I bought from the money I got.
Paralysis?
One down!
Could they be?!
This guy's a nicely sized prey.
A leader of the Holy Dragon Alliance, if I'm not mistaken.
The PK guild... Laughing Coffin!
How should we make this fun?
Do that! Let's do that, Head!
The game where they must fight to their deaths, and whoever survives gets a chance!
If I recall correctly the last time we played this, you killed the survivor.
You shouldn't spoil the fun of the game, Head!
Now then, should we get this done?
Seems like I made it just in time.
What are you gonna do now?
Our reinforcements will be here soon.
Would you want to face thirty people of the assault team?
We're out of here.
I'm glad that we meet again, Yoruko.
I wanted to properly apologize to you once it was all over.
But I guess you won't believe me even if I say so, right?
Kirito, thank you for saving us! But how did you know?
That those three would ambush us here.
I didn't know.
I just concluded that it's a possibility.
Kains, Yoruko, the two weapons you've got were made by Grimlock, right?
He wasn't willing at first.
He said he wanted to let Griselda rest in peace.
But as we kept begging him, he gave in to our request.
I'm sorry to tell you, but he didn't oppose your plan for Griselda's sake.
If you stage insane incidents like murders in safe areas,
you'll draw way too much attention, and eventually people would realize.
I'd only realized it 30 minutes ago.
I ended up playing a part in Yoruko's plan,
but I don't mind at all.
Yeah.
Say...
If it was you, what would you do if you get a legendary drop?
Well...
I hate when things like that happen, so I happen to solo.
In our guild, the item belongs to the person who received it.
That's our rule.
In SAO, it's up to the player to announce what he or she received after a battle.
Then it's better to set a rule like ours than to put up with secrets and lies.
And it's because of this system that marriage in this world means something.
If you get married, your item storage will be shared with your significant other.
Even if you tried to hide something before,
after getting married, you can't hide anything anymore.
Storage sharing is a really pragmatic system,
but I think it's really romantic as well.
Say...
Yes?
Asuna, have you ever gotten married before?
Don't get the wrong idea!
You just said it's romantic and plastic...
I didn't say that!
I said it's romantic and pragmatic!
Pragmatic means it's practical and realistic!
Realistic? Marriage in SAO?
Yeah! It's really blunt and straightforward!
Just imagine sharing your storage.
What?
Storage sharing...
What happens to the items if your significant other dies?
Your storage is shared.
What happens if one person dies?
You mean Griselda and Grimlock?
That's right... If one of them died...
Won't all the items go to the other person?
Which means the rare ring in Griselda's storage...
It should be with Grimlock, and not the murderer.
The ring wasn't stolen?
No, that's not it. It was stolen.
Grimlock stole the ring from his own storage.
Grimlock...
He was the one who sent that memo and killed Griselda?
No, I don't think he'd dirty his hands directly.
He probably asked red players to do the murder.
But...
If he's the culprit, then why did he help us with our plan?
You explained your plan to him, right?
Then he could use that as a chase to bury this ring case forever.
Schmitt, Yoruko, and Kains.
He waited for a chance where all three of you are together...
to erase you all at once.
I see.
That's... That's why the PK guild showed up!
They've probably been in touch since the murder of Griselda.
But...
I found him.
Let's hear the details from the culprit himself.
Long time no see, guys.
Grimlock... Did you... Did you really?
Why, Grimlock?!
Did you really desire the money that much that you'd steal the ring and kill your wife?!
Money? Money you say?
It wasn't for the money.
I had to kill her no matter what.
While she was my wife here,
she was my wife in the real world as well.
She was a perfect and ideal wife.
She was cute and obedient.
We've never once had an argument.
But...
When we got caught in this world together, she changed.
Unlike me, she wasn't startled, shocked or scared by this terrible game of death.
She became a lot more lively and active as compared to before.
I had to accept it!
That the Yuuko I loved had vanished!
Then...
Then, what if, in this world where murder is possible, I lock her...
I wanted to lock Yuuko as she appeared in my memories for eternity...
Who can blame me for that?!
You killed your wife for such a reason?
This reason is more than enough.
One day, you will understand too, detective boy.
As you find love, and as you're about to lose it...
No, you are wrong, Grimlock.
It wasn't love that you felt toward Griselda.
It was the feeling of possession.
Kirito, can you leave him to us?
Definitely.
Say...
Theoretically speaking, if you get married,
and noticed a side of your partner that you hadn't known before,
what would you think?
Guess I'd think I'm lucky.
You know, if you married someone,
that means you love every side of your significant other that you already know.
So if you find a new side after to love,
doesn't that mean you'll love your partner even more?
Whatever.
More importantly, I'm hungry!
I didn't get a chance to eat properly earlier on.
That's right...
We've been away from the front lines for two days.
We have to get back to work tomorrow.
Yeah. I want to break through this floor by the end of this week.
What?
Hey, Kirito. Let's add each other as friends.
Huh?
We haven't done that yet, right?
If we're both on the assault team, it's inconvenient if we can't get in touch with each other.
But I'm a solo player...
I didn't say you have to party up with me.
And you should make some friends too.
Yeah... Well, I wouldn't say it's inconvenient—
Think about it while we grab some food.
Let's get back to town first.
Okay...
Next time: The Warmth of the Heart.