thought that I was special… and went into the forest by myself… and ended up…” Tears began to appear naturally as she thought of Pina. “It’s alright.” Kirito said in a calm voice. “We’ll definitely bring Pina back, so don’t worry about it.” Silica wiped her tears and smiled at Kirito. Strangely enough, it felt like she could trust the words of this person. Finally, they could see a two-story building to their right. It was the inn that Silica used often: «Weathercock Tavern». Now that they had arrived, Silica realized that she had led Kirito here without saying anything. “Ah, where’s your home, Kirito-san?” “Oh, it’s on the fiftieth floor…. But it’s too much of a bother going there now, so I suppose I’ll just stay here for the night.” “Ah, okay!” Silica was excited for some reason and clapped her hands together. “The cheesecake here is really good.” She was just about to lead Kirito into the inn by pulling at his coat when four players came out of the shop next to them. They were the party members whom she had hunted with for the past two weeks. The male players that appeared first didn’t see Silica and simply headed for the plaza, but the female player at the end looked back and Silica met her gaze reflexively.