“Who’s there…!?” Silica could hear the sound of running footsteps. She ran over and looked outside from under Kirito’s body, where she saw someone’s shadow running down the stairs. “Wha-what is it!!?” “…I think he was eavesdropping.” “What…? But you can’t hear anything past a wall right?” “You can if your eavesdropping skill is high enough. Although… there aren’t… all that many people who would train this skill…” Kirito closed the door and returned to the room. He sat down on the bed with a pondering expression on his face. Silica sat down next to him and wrapped her arms around herself. She was overwhelmed with an inexplicable feeling of fear. “Why was the person eavesdropping…?” “We’ll find out soon, probably. I have a message to send, so could you wait a bit?” Kirito smiled slightly before he put the crystal map away and opened a window. He started moving his fingers on top of the holographic keyboard. Silica curled up on his bed. A distant memory from the real world came back to her. Her father was a reporter. He was always in front of an old PC, typing something with a serious expression. Silica liked to watch the back of her father as he did that. She didn’t feel afraid anymore. As she watched the side of Kirito’s face from behind, it felt as if she were enveloped in a warmth that she