He—was bright and was easy to get along with, and he most probably took care of other people pretty well. He was most definitely hoping that I'd take all his friends with him. But I just couldn't nod. If it was just Cline, I could get to the next village while protecting us from aggressive monsters. But if there was even two more—no, even one more person coming along it would be dangerous. If somebody died along the way, they'd die as Kayaba had announced. The responsibility would undoubtedly fall on me, who suggested to set out from the safe «Starting City» and failed to protect my comrade. To bear such a heavy burden, I could never do that. It was just simply impossible. Cline seemed to have read all these worries that had flashed through my mind. A smile appeared on his slightly bearded cheek and he shook his head. "No...I can't keep relying on you. I was a guild master in the game I used to play. It'll be fine. I'll just make do with the techniques that you've taught me till now. And...there's still a chance that this was just a bad joke and that we'll all be logged off. So don't worry about us and go to the village." "..." With my mouth closed, I was wracked by an indecision that I'd never felt before in my life. Then I chose the words that would gnaw at me for two years.