My SAO adventure is wrong, as expected

Chapter 42: "Laughing Coffin"

Hachiman leaned against the wooden signpost, absentmindedly stroking the hilt of the short sword at his waist.

About fifty meters away by the stream, Rosalia was polishing a dagger that glowed with a purplish light, its blade reflecting an unsettling glint.

"Looks like that party is the next target."

Adjusting the communication crystal hidden in the collar of his cloak, Hachiman glanced toward the four-person team packing up their camp in the distance.

When his gaze passed over the small figure holding a light-blue baby dragon, his pupils instinctively contracted.

"Yeah… hey, Kirito, look. That small one—what is that?"

"That's… a familiar?" Kirito's voice was mixed with the rustling of leaves. "Probably an ice crystal dragon hatchling. Not many beast tamers of that level around."

"I think I've heard rumors of dragon tamers among the players. That's probably it. I remember her name—Silica, wasn't it?"

Since that day, Hachiman and Kirito had begun closely monitoring Rosalia.

A few days later, they learned she had set her sights on a new target.

Rosalia seemed to be planning to travel with the party that included the dragon tamer Silica.

As the wind swept through the underbrush, Hachiman seemed to catch the faint scent of blood.

Rosalia suddenly rose and walked toward the girl tending her potion pouch. Her deep red hair swayed at her waist with each step, like a venomous snake poised to strike.

"Silica," she cooed sweetly, her saccharine tone sending chills down Hachiman's spine. "These low-grade healing potions are better off tossed, don't you think? Big sis has some high-end stuff to share."

The girl flinched and stepped back.

The baby dragon in her arms let out a sharp screech.

Hachiman clearly saw a blue glow in Rosalia's left hand, hidden behind her back—she had used Frenzy Dust, a tool that could drive familiars into a berserk state.

But in the end, nothing happened.

"I'll take over monitoring that party."

"Then I'll stay in town and gather intel."

"Alright, contact me immediately if anything happens."

"Got it."

But events progressed faster than expected. The very next morning, things changed. After confirming Rosalia had left the forest, Hachiman immediately contacted Kirito.

"Silica's missing from the party."

Hachiman briefly suspected an attack, but the rest of the group appeared unharmed—likely, Silica had gone off alone for some reason.

From time to time, the remaining party members glanced worriedly at Rosalia while packing, occasionally exchanging anxious looks.

It seemed Rosalia had clashed with Silica.

(Rosalia definitely looked displeased with Silica. Kirito's probably gone after her.)

Hachiman continued to monitor the party.

Shortly after returning to town, he spotted Kirito and Silica returning from the forest. Rosalia, upon seeing them, began pestering Silica.

Kirito noticed Hachiman and signaled to him discreetly, said something to Rosalia, and quickly left with Silica, disappearing around a street corner.

Hachiman tailed Rosalia, waiting for Kirito's contact.

Rosalia followed after Kirito's group while muttering under her breath.

Just heard her grumble, "Just seeing that girl pisses me off." She said it loud enough for others to hear—definitely angry. Her jealousy is even worse than expected.

Kirito soon got in touch. As expected, Rosalia and Silica had argued, leading Silica to storm off from the group.

Though Silica herself was rescued just in time, her baby dragon had died.

'So, the little one died… but Kirito probably knows how to revive it. Should be fine.'

Kirito decided to accompany Silica to the 47th floor the next day to retrieve a familiar revival item.

He was currently explaining the location to her at an inn using a Mirror Crystal.

The wooden floor of the second floor creaked softly beneath Hachiman's feet as he moved along the wall.

Through the sliver of warm yellow light spilling from the door crack, he saw Silica's trembling shoulders casting a wavering silhouette beneath the crystal's projection.

Suddenly, the sound of fabric brushing against wood came from the corridor.

Hachiman held his breath, counted to three, then yanked the door open—just in time to see a glimpse of dark red hair vanishing around the corner.

"Lure successful." Hachiman chuckled to Kirito. "She took the bait."

Rosalia left the inn, operated her interface, then headed straight back to her hideout. Hachiman followed her from the outskirts of the 47th floor.

After walking a while, she appeared to be waiting for someone. Soon, she rendezvoused with an accomplice hiding behind some rocks. Together, they moved toward Remembrance Hill.

'Finally found them—Titan's Hand.'

After relaying the information to Kirito, the latter said he could handle it alone.

Hachiman then proceeded to the prison district to await Rosalia's interrogation.

The prison district was a segregated area for criminals, lined with jail cells.

Green-named players could come and go freely, but former orange-named players couldn't leave.

'Ah, they're here.'

Before long, the hallway doors opened and members of Titan's Hand were brought in.

Seeing the unusually meek group of thugs, Hachiman smirked wryly.

'Hey Kirito, what did you do to them?'

The stone walls of the prison glowed with a faint, cold blue light.

Leaning against the interrogation room doorframe, Hachiman watched Rosalia's shackled right hand twitch nervously.

A bruise on her neck—clearly caused by a sword hilt—made it obvious Kirito had been angrier than he expected.

"Laughing Coffin?" Hachiman deliberately scraped his pen across the parchment, producing an ear-piercing sound. "What kind of late-stage chuunibyou guild name is that? Planning a Halloween-themed party or something?"

Rosalia suddenly lunged.

Her shackles clanged against the stone table, creating a harsh noise.

Hachiman dodged her grasp, grabbed her wrist, and twisted.

The sound of bones dislocating echoed through the room as she screamed and dropped to her knees.

"You raid group psychos…" she screamed, eyes wide with terror. "You're all murderers!"

Hachiman leaned close to her sweat-drenched ear.

"The difference is, we only kill what must die."

His fingers traced her trembling neck.

"Now, spill everything you know about PoH."

Once satisfied, Hachiman threw her to the floor and exited the prison, handing the rest of the interrogation to Argo.

When the Record Crystal glowed blue for the seventh time, the interrogation room door was suddenly kicked open.

Argo leaned against the frame, tossing a dagger.

The information broker licked her fang-like tooth.

"Hachi~ The Laughing Coffin exec list is way more interesting than you'd think~"

.

.

.

"We got some critical intel. The situation's worse than expected."

Hachiman and Argo invited Kirito to analyze the information together.

"Laughing Coffin?"

"Yeah, that's their parent guild."

"Laughing Coffin? What a twisted name."

"The leader's a cloaked man named PoH."

"PoH? Is that an abbreviation?"

"Argo suspects he's the one orchestrating everything."

"…So, he's the cloaked man from before."

"Known officers include Mort, Johnny, and someone named Sasha."

"Those people who vanished on the 25th floor… never heard of Sasha though."

"Seems like a dangerous organization has formed in the shadows."

"Want me to warn the major guilds to raise their alert level?"

"Definitely. Better safe than sorry. According to Rosalia, Laughing Coffin is a guild purely for killing."

Though the immediate crisis had been resolved, it revealed a deeper threat.

One day, they might be forced to confront Laughing Coffin.

Members of the clearing group had begun to see life and death differently.

If they returned to the real world, these altered values could be problematic.

If they had to fight and couldn't take someone alive, what then? What if a friend's life were in danger…?

Hachiman quietly resolved himself.