-1700- Nothing to do with us

"What's wrong?"

Seeing Rozen's displeased expression, Asuna, who had been watching him closely, immediately asked with a worried face.

"Nothing, let's move out."

Rozen shook his head at Asuna and glanced at the group, who were also looking at him, giving his instructions.

However, this time, no one moved.

"Just now, I think I heard the name Kikuoka Seijirou, didn't I?"

Kirito asked, his tone serious.

The others looked a bit puzzled.

"Kikuoka Seijirou?"

"Who's that?"

"Never heard that name before..."

Lis, Silica, Sachi, Klein, and Agil exchanged confused looks.

In contrast, both Asuna and Leafa recognized the name.

"That seems to be someone from the SAO Emergency Response Team, right?" Leafa exclaimed in surprise.

"SAO Emergency Response Team?"

The others were shocked.

Most of them had heard of the SAO Emergency Response Team in one way or another.

However, they didn't recognize Kikuoka Seijirou.

As the head of the team, Kikuoka couldn't possibly meet all the SAO survivors. Only a select few had encountered him.

For instance, Kirito and Leafa, being related to Rozen, had met Kikuoka several times during the two months Rozen had been missing. Leafa had even met Kikuoka before SAO had been cleared. This was because the Emergency Response Team was aware of Rozen's unique role within SAO and frequently visited his hospital room, where they encountered Kirigaya Suguha. Through Kikuoka, Suguha had learned certain information about Rozen's situation in SAO.

As for Asuna, there was no doubt. Even putting aside her unique status in old ALO due to Sugo Nobuyuki, her connection to Rozen ensured he told her everything.

This included Rozen's dealings with Kikuoka Seijirou, which involved mutual exchanges and leveraging one another's positions.

Hence, Asuna was well aware that Kikuoka seeking out Rozen like this likely indicated something significant.

"Shouldn't you respond to him?" Asuna cautiously suggested.

"Ignore him," Rozen replied irritably. "That guy keeps sending files to my phone, my computer, and now even to the virtual world when he realizes I haven't looked. Persistent, isn't he?"

Before logging in, Rozen had already noticed the audio files Kikuoka had mentioned on both his phone and computer.

The man seemed desperate for Rozen to listen.

"Next time, I'll have to teach him a lesson," Rozen resolved.

Still...

"What could be so urgent that he's going to such lengths to contact you?" Kirito asked, his tone betraying his dislike for Kikuoka.

Kirito had met Kikuoka several times as well. After waking up, Kikuoka had provided him with updates about his friends from SAO. However, Kirito had always found him suspicious, someone who exuded a vibe of ulterior motives, making him hard to trust.

In fact, Kikuoka Seijirou's intentions were exactly that—highly purposeful and self-serving.

If not for his interest in Rozen's mysterious nature, Kikuoka wouldn't have engaged with them at all.

Thus, Rozen and Kikuoka maintained a purely transactional relationship, never intending for it to become anything more.

While the others couldn't fully grasp this dynamic, hearing that someone from the SAO Emergency Response Team had contacted Rozen prompted a flurry of reactions.

"Why would someone like that reach out to Rozen-nii?" Silica asked anxiously.

"Could it be about the World Seed? Didn't they say before that Rozen was the owner of that program?" Lis speculated.

"This feels like a big deal..." Sachi muttered nervously.

"By the way, the SAO Emergency Response Team doesn't even exist anymore, right? After all, the SAO incident is over. Now there's only the Virtual Division handling network management. Is this Kikuoka guy part of it?" Agil, always well-informed, noted.

"So, what's the deal? Just tell us, boss," Klein chimed in directly.

"Nii-san..." Leafa also kept her eyes fixed on Rozen.

Naturally, Kirito did the same.

Asuna, on the other hand, turned to Yui.

"Yui, do you know what this is about?" Asuna asked.

It was a reasonable question.

Yui could effortlessly connect to the network in Rozen's room. Her core program resided on Rozen's computer, so she likely knew everything about him.

At the very least, if Kikuoka had contacted Rozen via a call or the internet, Yui would have been aware.

"Well..." Yui hesitated, clearly conflicted.

Seeing this, Rozen couldn't help but laugh.

"Alright, it's not like it's a secret." Rozen poked Yui's cheek, saying, "Go ahead and explain it to Mama."

"Understood!" Yui finally relaxed.

Yui then proceeded to relay the contents of Rozen's conversations with Kikuoka Seijirou to the group.

This included details about GGO (Gun Gale Online), Death Gun, and Kikuoka's request for Rozen to investigate Death Gun in GGO.

Upon learning the details, the group was left speechless.

"You're kidding, right...?"

Leafa, Lis, Silica, and Sachi were visibly shaken.

"A character killed in a virtual world, and the player dies in the real world?" Kirito, Klein, and Agil gasped audibly.

"..."

Asuna's expression grew grave.

None of them had anticipated such a horrifying situation.

Rozen finally spoke up.

"Alright, don't overthink this," he said. "We don't know how this is happening, but it's GGO's problem to deal with. It's the Virtual Division's responsibility. We're just ordinary citizens—it has nothing to do with us."

It was a logical statement.

But...

"Another death game?" someone murmured, their voice trembling, evoking memories of the past.

Hearing this, the group fell silent.

Seeing their reactions, Rozen realized they were experiencing psychological trauma.

The idea of virtual death leading to real-world death was too reminiscent of SAO.

If it weren't, Kikuoka Seijirou wouldn't have taken it so seriously.

The group, haunted by their memories, became visibly uneasy.

But Rozen reassured them.

"With current technology, a death game is no longer possible," Rozen said, his gaze sweeping over everyone. "Trust me, there's some other trick at play here. You don't need to be afraid."

His words managed to calm the group.

"Then what kind of trick could it be?" Kirito frowned.

"Why not listen to the audio file Kikuoka-san sent?" Asuna suggested.

Under the expectant gazes of the group, Rozen sighed.

"Alright, let's hear it."

With that, Rozen decisively tapped on the message icon.