-404- Closely related to this world

Upon hearing Argo's words, Rozen didn't show any surprise.

If this mouse was contacting him voluntarily, it could only mean that there had been progress regarding the investigation into Yui.

"How did it go?" Rozen asked concisely.

Facing this question, in the past, Argo would have provided detailed information, showcasing her abilities as one of SAO's top information brokers.

However, this time, there was a shade in Argo's expression.

"I don't know," she replied tersely.

"Don't know?" Rozen was taken aback. What did that mean?

Argo seemed to understand Rozen's thoughts and sighed. "Don't overthink it; it means just what it says. For that child named Yui, I've been investigating for the past three days, but in all that time, I haven't found anything."

According to Argo, her first stop was the Town of Beginnings on the 1st floor, where she began investigating Yui.

"I started by looking into the young children who stayed in the Town of Beginnings."

Argo continued, "As you probably know, children of Yui's age should all be living in the Town of Beginnings, right?"

Rozen nodded slightly. Due to their young age, children were unlikely to think about leaving the safe zone and battling monsters outside.

"At the beginning of the game, children of that age mostly suffered from psychological issues due to the overwhelming fear. Although a few children adapted to the game and left the town, they were the rare exceptions."

Argo explained further, "These kids were accustomed to being doted on by their parents, but suddenly they were told they couldn't leave and might never return to the real world. Most of them fell into a state of shock, and some even got their connections cut off…"

Hearing this, Rozen fell into silence. The fate of those who cut off their connections was clear—once the NerveGear lost power or network connection for a certain period, it would fry the player's brain, without exception.

"Fortunately, only a few kids got their connections cut off. The rest went through some difficulties but were eventually taken in by some kind-hearted higher-level players, and they even moved into the church in the Town of Beginnings, relying on each other."

Argo revealed this information.

"Now, there are around twenty kids living in that church. Those should be all the young players in the Town of Beginnings, as the rest of the young players probably moved up to higher floors and made a name for themselves."

Upon hearing Argo's words, Rozen immediately thought of Silica. Although Silica was older than Yui by quite a bit, she could still be considered a young player in SAO, around thirteen or fourteen years old.

But in Silica's case, she had gained some recognition as a Beast Tamer due to her familiar, Pina.

"Being so young and still able to fight on higher floors would surely earn some reputation, regardless of their skills, right?" Argo thought.

"But whether in the Town of Beginnings or on higher floors, I haven't heard of any player named [ Yui ]," Argo continued.

This was the reason why Argo claimed not to know. She hadn't found any information about Yui, despite searching in various ways.

"I also looked into players without markers and whose main menus were different from others, but I came up empty-handed. Currently, no player matches that description," Argo reported.

In other words....

"Your daughter's identity is a mystery; I couldn't find any information about her anywhere," Argo reluctantly admitted, looking at Rozen with a hint of confusion.

"I wonder, ZenZen, is that child really a player?" Argo finally voiced her doubt.

"Could she actually be an NPC?" Argo raised this possibility.

Since Argo couldn't find any information about Yui, and no player seemed to fit her description, she began to consider the possibility that Yui might not be a real player. Rozen and Asuna had questioned Yui's identity in the past as well.

However, Rozen was resolute in his belief. "Yui can't be an NPC."

Rozen confidently spoke as he reasoned, "I've never heard of an NPC being able to summon the main menu. Even if the main menu has some unique features, that functionality should be exclusive to players. Therefore, Yui can't be an NPC." He conveyed this to Argo.

Furthermore, he had other reasons to support his belief. "Even the most advanced AI programs shouldn't exhibit such autonomy and human-like characteristics," Rozen added.

Rozen muttered to himself in a low voice.

In the past, Rozen had encountered NPCs with exceptionally high AI, capable of engaging in free conversations and autonomous actions with players.

However, no matter how realistic they appeared, they were still "like humans" and their actions were influenced to some extent by the game's system. They would only engage in meaningful conversation when related to specific quests or tasks.

But Yui was different.

Yui displayed distinct human qualities, including intelligence, personality, and behavior, without seeming manipulated by the system. She had the unmistakable presence of a "human" being.

This was a crucial reason why Rozen couldn't believe that Yui was just a typical NPC.

"I see..." Argo seemed to accept Rozen's explanation, reluctantly raising her hands in resignation. "In that case, there's nothing more I can do."

Argo, the most accomplished information broker in SAO, was acknowledging her own limitations in gathering information for the first time.

Argo must have felt quite frustrated, to say the least.

"Never mind." Rozen shook his head and said, "Even just having the information that 'Yui's information can't be found' is valuable to me."

With this, Rozen could be certain.

"There must be some secret hidden within Yui, and it's not merely due to a system bug that makes her different from other players."

Rozen asserted.

"Moreover, this secret is very likely to be closely related to this world."

This was Rozen's deduction and also his intuition.

Who exactly was his adoptive daughter?

Rozen looked in the direction of the small cabin, lost in thought.