-395- Unknown existence

The Forest Cottage.

As the door to this place was opened once again, it was not just Rozen and Asuna who returned, but also a little girl lying on Rozen's back, seemingly asleep as if lifeless.

"Gu!"

"Gu!"

Saichou and Hanachou flew ahead, almost guiding the way, and led the group to a room where they stopped, urging Rozen and Asuna to enter.

Asuna took the lead and opened the room's door. Although the ownership of this cabin was in Rozen's name, he had registered Asuna as an authorized user, allowing her to freely access all the rooms and facilities.

"Rozen."

Asuna called out as Rozen, still carrying the girl on his back, entered the room.

"Yep."

Rozen nodded and gently laid the girl on the bed, covering her with a blanket, leaving only her head exposed.

The room was very basic, with only a bed and a wardrobe, clearly showing that no one had been living there.

Indeed, this was the only empty room in the small cabin.

In the Forest Cottage, there were a total of three rooms: one belonged to Rozen, one to Asuna, and the remaining one, this one, was designated as a guest room by Rozen. If Kirito came over to stay, Rozen would offer him this room.

For now, this room served as an emergency accommodation.

Only now did everyone get a clear look at the girl's appearance.

The girl's looks were just as they appeared on the outside, very young, even younger than Silica, probably not more than ten years old.

However, despite her cuteness, the girl gave off an unreal feeling. Her serene sleeping posture made her seem less like a human child and more like a fairy who had been living for countless years. Her skin was as pale as gypsum, her long black hair shone with a brilliant luster, and her facial features had an exotic charm with sharp contours.

"Gu..."

"Gu..."

It seemed that Saichou and Hanachou rather enjoyed the mysterious atmosphere around the girl and treated her like one of their kind. They landed on either side of her bed, making concerned sounds.

Rozen and Asuna both stared at the girl without speaking for a while.

Not long after, Asuna voiced her uncertainty, "This child... should be a player, right?"

Asuna hesitated, pondering the situation.

In response, Rozen offered his thoughts, "At the very least, she's not an NPC."

If she were an NPC, she wouldn't have left the designated activity area, and players couldn't freely move her around. Attempting to touch an NPC would trigger a harassment warning window within seconds and result in an unpleasant jolt.

This rule was in place to prevent male players from behaving improperly toward female NPCs.

Rozen, on the other hand, had easily brought her to his home, an action clearly not permitted.

Therefore, Rozen concluded that the girl was not an NPC.

Asuna, however, had her doubts, "Could she be some kind of special NPC? Like those with assigned mission roles?"

In SAO, there were some special NPC characters with unique settings due to specific reasons, allowing them to act beyond regular NPC constraints.

For instance, players could trigger quests that involved seeking assistance from powerful NPCs. These NPCs would then join the player in battle until the quest was completed, at which point they would leave the party.

Asuna thought that the girl might be this type of NPC. Her collapse in the forest could have been a fixed event triggered as part of a mission, where players could bring her back to their home to wake her up before continuing with the quest.

However, Rozen shook his head and refuted, "If that were the case, our quest log window would have updated when we found her. For example, a message like 'Found a mysterious unconscious girl in the forest, there seems to be a story here' would have appeared in our quest list as a hint that we triggered a quest."

This was the standard procedure for quests.

But Rozen and Asuna's quest log windows had not updated at all, indicating that this girl was not the key to triggering a specific mission.

Asuna couldn't believe that this girl was a player, and she had her reasons. She expressed her doubts, "She looks like she's not even ten years old, probably around eight, right? How can there be players this young?"

This was because the NerveGear, the game helmet used in SAO, had an age restriction. Only legal citizens over the age of thirteen were allowed to purchase and use the helmet.

Of course, that was just one reason. Even if it were just a matter of the helmet, some players might lie about their age or use other means to bypass the restriction and gain access to the device.

The more significant problem was that an eight-year-old player could not logically appear in the dangerous 22nd floor's Forest outside the safe zone. It was far too perilous.

"Even if there were players that young, they should have stayed in the Starting Town on the 1st floor," Asuna thought.

This time, Rozen agreed with her. "Even if they used a teleport gate to reach the 22nd floor, as soon as they stepped out of the safe zone, they wouldn't survive if they encountered monsters."

From this perspective, it was highly doubtful that the girl was a player.

In summary, Asuna couldn't determine whether the girl was an NPC or a player. Even Rozen couldn't be sure.

The reason was simple.

"Have you noticed?" Rozen stared intently at the sleeping girl's head and continued, "She doesn't have a cursor above her head."

"Huh?" Asuna was taken aback and then finally noticed it.

Indeed, the girl didn't have a cursor above her head.

"Whether it's a player, NPC, or monster, there should be a cursor above their head, just with different colors. Generally, players have green cursors, criminal players have orange cursors, NPCs have yellow cursors, and monsters have red cursors, without exception."

Rozen explained, "But this child doesn't have a cursor."

What did this indicate?

"She is neither a player nor an NPC, nor even a monster. She is some kind of existence we simply don't know."

Rozen's calm statement sent a chilling atmosphere through the room.