My SAO adventure is wrong, as expected

Chapter 46: Safe Zone Shrimp Incident

"Kirito-kun, right now..." Fingertips tightly clutching the hem of her clothes, Asuna's lowered eyelashes cast fine shadows on her face.

The black-haired swordsman's hand suddenly clenched tightly.

He looked up at the clock tower in the central plaza, where sunlight refracted star-like glints from the spire.

"Ah, let's go, Asuna."

As the two rushed into the main district of the third floor, the victim was just dispersing into blue fragments.

Kirito reached out and caught the floating data stream, which then disappeared in his hand.

Looking around, there wasn't even a duel result screen displayed.

"No duel request record." Asuna brought up the system interface. The pale blue screen reflected her face, now ghostly pale.

After hearing the situation from a woman named Yoruko — an acquaintance of the deceased (apparently named Kains) — the two decided to begin investigating the incident.

First, they tried to verify whether it was possible to kill someone within the safe zone, but progress was tough.

They even asked Heathcliff, who was knowledgeable about many things, but came up empty.

However, as they parted, Heathcliff said, "Only believe the information you witness with your own eyes."

It sounded like advice.

By the way, Hachiman was currently sleeping, face buried in a Shiba Inu-patterned pillow. The rainbow hourglass on the nightstand showed 16:27.

During the investigation, the Divine Dragon Alliance's tank leader Schmitt kept asking all kinds of questions.

Suspecting he might be involved, they tried probing him, but he remained vague, refusing to answer anything crucial.

Left with no choice, the two decided to talk to Yoruko again.

"Mr. Schmitt?"

"Yeah, do you recognize that name?"

"A former companion."

From Yoruko, the two learned she used to belong to a guild called Golden Apple.

They summoned Schmitt for a four-person discussion.

At this time, Hachiman was thinking, Did I oversleep?

He suddenly sprang up from under the blanket, his head hitting the metal bed frame with a thunk. Damn Aincrad — even the furniture was reinforced.

At this moment, he missed the memory foam pillows of the real world terribly.

Propping himself up from the bed, he noticed blinking light dots at the edge of his vision — several messages had arrived.

"A murder in the safe zone, huh..."

Hachiman scratched his head, grabbed a drink to activate his brain, and gulped it down. The fizzy beverage cleared his dry throat and woke him up.

Now calm, he began reading the messages Asuna had sent.

'Possibly a dispute over a rare ring dropped by the Golden Apple guild. On the way to sell it, guild leader Griselda died, the ring disappeared, and the guild disbanded...'

Hachiman mentally sorted out the characters involved and kept reading.

'Kains died in the safe zone. Cause of death: sustained piercing damage?'

'Suspected weapon: a spear crafted by Griselda's husband, Grimlock?'

'The two are suspecting this guy.'

'And then Schmitt...? That guy should've joined the Divine Dragon Alliance partway through. That group has strict entry standards, so for a former mid-tier guild member like Schmitt to get in immediately means...'

"Schmitt definitely had some involvement in Griselda's death."

Muttering to himself, Hachiman sank back into thought.

'Death in a safe zone... Though they checked the Monument of Life, judgment needs to be reserved. Heathcliff said... only believe what you see with your own eyes.'

The so-called Monument of Life is a facility that records the names of all players in the game. You can view the dates and causes of death of deceased players.

It's located in the Town of Beginnings.

Just then, Asuna sent a new message: moments ago, they had witnessed Yoruko being killed.

The culprit seemed to have escaped using a teleport crystal.

'Teleport crystal, safe zone murder... ah...'

Hachiman contacted Asuna, telling her he had just woken up.

Some time later, wrapped in a patterned bathrobe, he squatted in front of the fireplace, watching the two visitors crowd into the entryway like rain-soaked stray cats.

Kirito looked very worn out.

Asuna's chestnut hair was unusually tangled — the last time the sub-leader of the Knights of the Blood had looked this disheveled was when she discovered they were out of honey cake.

"Yo, sorry I overslept," he said, raising a steaming mug. "Want a cup of healing potion?"

"Hachiman-kun! Miss Yoruko, Miss Yoruko, she..." Asuna's voice was tearful.

"Calm down first. You guys are fundamentally misunderstanding something," said Hachiman. Seeing Asuna's teary eyes, he flinched and quickly began explaining.

"Misunderstanding? What do you mean, Hachiman?"

"Because you saw it with your own eyes, your assumptions became deeper. Listen: it's impossible to kill someone in a safe zone."

"But we definitely saw it..." Kirito irritably ran his fingers through his bangs.

"That's right, Hachiman-kun! Two people disappeared right before our eyes!"

"That's exactly why it was an illusion. Precisely because you saw it with your own eyes, you subconsciously excluded other possibilities." Hachiman continued, "Didn't Heathcliff also say it? Only believe what you personally see."

Suddenly, Kirito slapped the table, making the papers on it clatter. "Item durability! Disappearance effect!"

"I see! A blind spot! Heathcliff was hinting at this possibility!"

"What do you mean?"

"In other words: Yoruko and Kains deliberately let their equipment's durability drop to zero, then used a teleport crystal the moment they vanished — meaning they're still alive."

Asuna's eyelashes began to tremble, and ripples formed in her cup. "So Miss Yoruko did it on purpose... but Kains really did..."

"Good question!" Hachiman suddenly pulled out a yellowed list and slapped it on the table. "Did you check the spelling of the name on the Monument of Life? Maybe it was written as 'Kainz' instead of 'Kains', or 'Kayinze' or something?"

Hearing that, Kirito suddenly realized.

"Wait, Hachiman, are you saying..."

"Exactly. Yoruko and Kains likely came up with this plan when they saw that name. Based on the weapon involved, Grimlock is also in on it." Hachiman continued analyzing.

"Why would they plan something like this? What's the point?"

"First, tell me what happened during your four-person meeting."

Asuna and Kirito began recounting their conversation with Yoruko before her supposed death.

"Speaking of which, where did Schmitt go?"

"He mumbled something about apologizing to Griselda and left."

"Schmitt is highly suspicious. That reaction makes sense."

"Mr. Schmitt?"

Hachiman told the two his earlier deductions: "Whether he directly acted or not is unclear, but he's definitely involved."

"Final question: What kind of leader was Griselda?"

"She was said to be strong and reliable — that's why they even built a grave for her."

Hachiman fell silent for a moment.

"Such a strong person couldn't be killed easily by a fellow Golden Apple member even in a surprise attack.

The most likely explanation is involvement from an outside organization — one that commits murders regularly."

"You mean a hired hit?"

"Pretty much."

"But Mr. Schmitt doesn't seem like the kind of person who'd hire an assassin..."

"Probably not directly involved, but clearly suspicious. So Yoruko and Kains designed this plan to lure Schmitt to Griselda's grave, intending to force a confession."

"The current evidence definitely points to that conclusion."

"But we're missing something... the real killer... a murder guild... oh no!"

Hachiman stood up. "The enemy this time is likely... Laughing Coffin."