After about a minute or two, the man's cigarette had burned out, and Silica seemed to have gradually regained control of her emotions. Only then did he slowly walk over, kneel in front of her, and speak again in an even tone.
"Does that feather have an item name?"
The unexpected question made Silica look up in confusion. She wiped away her tears and stared once more at the aqua-blue feather.
Now that she thought about it, the fact that only a single feather had been left behind was truly strange. Whether player or monster, when something died and scattered into fragments, all equipment and belongings normally vanished as well. Nervously, she reached out and lightly tapped the feather with her right index finger. A translucent window appeared, quietly displaying its weight and item name.
Pina's Heart.
The moment Silica read it, she nearly burst into tears again. The man glanced at her and seemed to let out a faint sigh.
"If a Heart item was left behind, then there's still a chance to revive it."
"Huh?"
Silica hurriedly lifted her head, mouth slightly open as she stared blankly at him.
"A familiar is part of the game system. Making it a one-time consumable would be a bit too much. And this game is unusually meticulous with details, so there may be a method."
"R-Really?"
Before he had even finished speaking, Silica cried out and started to rise to her feet. A ray of hope instantly pierced the grief filling her chest.
"If you want specifics, just ask a professional."
The man stood up directly, opened his menu, selected someone from what seemed to be his friend list, and sent a message. Silica could only watch him. His expression never changed from start to finish. Neither cold nor sympathetic, just unreadable. A short while later, he seemed to have gotten the information he wanted.
"There's a revival item in the Labyrinth Area on the forty-seventh floor."
He said it simply.
"The forty-seventh floor..."
Silica murmured, her shoulders drooping once more. That was twelve floors above the thirty-fifth floor where they currently were, far beyond what could be called a safe area. If she ignored safety and carried a large stock of recovery items, it might not be impossible to clear it, but...
Just as her gaze quietly fell to the ground, the man spoke again.
"It seems that important flower won't bloom unless the Beast Tamer who lost their familiar goes there in person."
Hearing those words from this swordsman, who looked distant yet was unexpectedly kind, Silica gave a small smile.
"No... Just telling me this much already helps a lot. If I work hard and raise my level, someday..."
"It seems a familiar can only be revived within three days of its death. Once the time limit passes, the Heart in the item name changes to Relic."
He said it immediately, in a tone that could not be called gentle in any way.
"How can that be...!"
Silica cried out despite herself.
Her current level was 44. If SAO were a normal RPG, that would mean she was suited for activities on that floor. A simple and easy-to-understand system where the level matched the floor number. But now that it had become a deadly game, she would need to be around ten levels higher just to ensure her safety.
In other words, to go to the forty-seventh floor, she would need to be at least level 55. Yet she only had three days. No, considering the actual time needed to clear the area, she would have to gain more than ten levels in two days.
No matter how she thought about it, that was impossible.
Even Silica, who had constantly ventured out with diligence, had only managed to reach her current level after a year and a half.
Bound by despair once more, Silica lowered her head. She picked up Pina's feather from the ground, held it to her chest with both hands, and regretted her own foolishness and helplessness. Tears naturally began to fall again.
Suddenly, a glowing translucent system window appeared before her eyes. It was a trade window.
Looking up, she saw the man operating the same kind of window beside him. Item names appeared one after another in the trade slots.
Silver Thread Armor, Shadow Dagger...
Every one of them was something she had never seen before.
"Um..."
As Silica spoke in confusion, the man gave her an indifferent glance and replied in a flat voice.
"This equipment is worth about five or six levels. Though as long as you stay beside me, you won't get hurt. This is just in case."
He said it as though helping her was the most natural thing in the world, with a confidence that left no room for doubt.
"Huh..."
With her mouth slightly open, Silica rose to her feet as well. To figure out what he was really thinking, she stared carefully at his face.
He was not the sort of person who inspired friendliness at first glance.
He wore a worn hooded coat with a wandering vagabond style, and he seemed too bothered to soften even his tone. His self-contained, calm attitude made him seem far older than she was, and indeed, there was not the slightest trace of childishness in his face.
More importantly, the way he had casually wiped out those monsters earlier was overwhelmingly intimidating.
Silica instinctively shrank back a little.
"Why... are you helping me this much...?"
To be honest, she was wary first.
Up until now, Silica had been approached several times by male players much older than herself. She had even been proposed to once. For thirteen-year-old Silica, those experiences brought only fear. In the real world, she had never even experienced a confession from a classmate.
Because of that, Silica now made a point of avoiding male players who approached her with ulterior motives. Especially in Aincrad, where sweet words hiding malice were common sense.
The man shook his head.
"Don't worry. I have no ill intentions toward you. I'm not one of those animals who go after female players in the game."
He let out another tired sigh.
"I came down to the lower floors for my own reasons. I'm not the type to do favors for no reason. From the looks of it, you might be able to help me. Call it mutual benefit."
"Mutual benefit...?"
Silica took another step back.
...
The man seemed somewhat troubled over how to handle the situation. He scratched his head, then shook it a moment later.
"Forget it. It's not something easy to explain. It's already late, so let's head back to town first. After that, if you have companions you can trust, ask them to go with you to the forty-seventh floor. And when you go hunting again from now on, be more careful. Whether it's a monster ambush or a trap set by other players, stay cautious."
It looked like he had given up.
But...
Trusted companions. The kind who would risk themselves to accompany her to the upper floors.
Did she really have anyone like that...?
Those people might only see her as some kind of mascot. If it were only a small inconvenience, maybe they would help. But this involved risking their lives.
If she had more time, hiring high-level players with Col might have been possible, but...
With only three days left.
Then Pina would...
Silica clenched her fists and looked at the man, who had turned away and begun checking their direction. After struggling with herself for a while, the bond in her heart won out in the end.
"U-Um... what exactly is it that you need me to do?"
She forced herself to ask.
"Actually, you don't need to do anything." The man hesitated for a moment. "Just stay by my side for a while."
Huh?
That answer was not much different from what those other people used to say, and for a moment she had no idea how to respond.
"You're pretty young, aren't you? Fifteen, maybe sixteen?" the man asked without turning around.
"Mm... around that."
Silica answered vaguely, as if seeming a little older might give her some advantage in the conversation.
"This should be the age when you're properly receiving the love of family and friends."
For some reason, the man lifted his head and looked toward the darkening night sky. But he was not looking only at the sky. It was as though he were gazing at something farther away, something much higher.
"To dare force someone to bear all this, Kami-sama is impressively stubborn."
She had absolutely no idea what he was talking about.
"I won't harm you. I swear it. Even so, sudden kindness is half the same as malice."
The man turned back with a frown. His troubled expression did not look fake at all.
"The choice is yours."
...
A brief silence.
"Then... please."
After shrinking back at first, then firming her resolve, Silica spoke as if she had made up her mind.
That's fine.
The man gave a small nod.
"As for the equipment from earlier... I probably don't have enough Col right now, but at least some compensation..."
"It's nothing. Those things were only taking up space in my inventory anyway. Giving them to you even reduces my load."
The man had already started walking. He drew the pitch-black curved blade with its cold gleam from behind his waist.
"Stay close. This Labyrinth Area can be a little troublesome."
"P-Please tell me your name?"
The man paused almost imperceptibly, then lowered his voice.
"Yurnero."
"Yurnero-san... My name is Silica."
"Mm. Got it."
It was a cool reply that suited his image perfectly. Even though around the middle floors, Silica the Beast Tamer was fairly well known.
But perhaps that same ease had arisen in his mind as well.
Since she did not know too much about that nickname, it saved him the trouble of explaining anything.
After carefully putting away the feather, Silica quietly followed the man ahead of her.
Until now, she had never felt that walking through the Labyrinth Area was easier than walking through town.
Whether monsters came from the shadows of the trees, from grass and bushes, or openly charged at them from the distance, every single one was effortlessly cut down by the man.
It was overwhelming dominance, to the point it could be called instant kills.
And yet his back looked so thin and slender, the evening light stamped across that dusty hooded coat.
It made him look utterly drained.
But he was frighteningly strong.
"Yu-Yurnero-san... could you be one of the frontliners?"
After a long silence, Silica finally asked in curiosity.
"No..."
"Even like this, you're not?"
Silica clicked her tongue in amazement.
The man lightly shook his head, though it was unclear what exactly he was denying.
"Earlier, you chose to trust me. Thank you."
Another strange thing to say.
After that, whenever the two spoke again, he only gave short, simple replies.
About ten minutes later.
The two of them strolled back into town.