that moment, the pair saw a village in the middle of the forest and, cheering at their good fortune, landed in it. At that time, even if it would have been troublesome, they should have checked the map if only to confirm the name of the village and the presence of an inn. Who would have thought... “...Who would have thought, that village was a mimic monster...” Kirito, who seemed to be remembering the same thing, sighed. Lyfa also sighed and nodded. “That’s true... Whoever said no monsters appear on the Aarun Plateau?” “I believe that was you.” “I don’t recall saying anything like that.” With this effortless banter, they sighed again in unison. Upon landing in the mysterious village, they hadn’t see any villagers—NPCs—while looking around. Still thinking that there should at least be an innkeeper, they went to enter the largest building in the village when... All three buildings in the village collapsed. What used to be the inn immediately revealed a fleshy lump. However, they had no time to be surprised at that as the ground beneath their feet split open to reveal a gaping hole made of the same fleshy substance. It was a gigantic earthworm type monster that waited underground with its folds projected above ground to lure in prey. Kirito, with Yui in his pocket, and Lyfa were pulled into the earthworm’s mouth by a strong suction. While sliding down the worm’s throat, Lyfa was convinced that death by being dissolved in an