50th Floor. Algade.
Yuuji and Asuna walked hand in hand through an alleyway of Algade. filled with various stalls and hole-in-the-wall restaurants and stalls. And behind, Kirito and Sachi followed after the couple closely, hand in hand.
Yellow and orange lights illuminated the alleyway that kept its crowds despite the late hours.
Soon, they stopped in front of a relatively large building. A large metal plaque with a feathered knight's helmet imprinted onto its surface was nailed onto the top of the large double doors.
Several players, mid to middle-high level considering their equipment, come and go through the doors, and when it opened, the sounds of hustle and bustle escaped the gap.
"This is it."
"Ah… So we're going to him, after all."
Kirito smiled helplessly.
"Of course. He's the only one I'll bother this time of night."
Yuuji and Asuna entered before Kirito and Sachi went in as well.
"Who are we visiting?"
Sachi asked her boyfriend.
"A friend. We've known each other for quite a while. And Yuuji's the reason he got this kind of place."
Inside, a number of players perused weapons, shields, potions, and materials displayed on shelves that lined every wall as far as they could see.
Several staff in leather aprons peppered around the store, assisting customers with their questions, late night purchases in preparation for the next day, and selling loot from the day's adventures.
At the end of the floor, standing behind the wooden counter, Yuuji easily spotted the tall and bald man with tanned skin.
And almost at the same time, the man recognized him and the girl by his side with just a glance.
"Oh, it's you guys. Welcome!"
The four approached the man behind the counter as he waved them over.
"Looks like business is booming. Still wondering how much margin you took from my sales to afford this kind of place."
"Heh, shut up. You got a beautiful home yourself. I paid you fair and square. Don't go around slandering my good name."
Agil smirked and bumped fists with Yuuji.
"It's nice to see you again, Agil-san. Thank you for taking care of Yuuji. "
"Oh, Asuna. It's nice to see you too."
Agil nodded towards Asuna, before his gaze shifted towards Kirito and Sachi.
"Oh, Kirito. You came too. It's been a while."
"Hey, it's been a while. Oh, and let me introduce you. This is Sachi. "
"I-It's nice to meet you, Agil-san! Thank you for taking care of Kirito."
"Nice to meet you. The name's Agil. Let's get along."
Once Sachi finished her introduction, Yuuji leaned forward and spoke with a lower voice.
"Agil, I need your help. Is the usual room free?"
Agil quickly sensed the gravity behind Yuuj's words. And without missing a beat, he gestured to the hall behind him with his head.
"The usual one. Let's go.
He led the group around the counter and towards the dimly lit hall, before entering a room.
Agil entered first, lighting up the lamp that instantly illuminated the room.
Within were several shelves filled with crates, glasses, and wares that lined all three walls of the room, and a single wooden table with 3 seats on each side at the center.
Yuuji was familiar with the room, and Asuna had also visited it when she was accompanying Yuuji.
While Kirito had only visited it a few times, only when he was selling particularly expensive and rare item drops.
"Welcome. This is the room I usually deal with whatever ridiculous things this guy brings."
Agila pointed at Yuuji with his thumb.
"I can never be too careful when it comes to him or he'll drop a pile of high-grade enchantment crystals at the front counter, and other players would just buy them directly from him. Happened at least three times."
"Hahaha! But when that happened, I profited quite a bit."
"You turned my shop into your auction house! There's no way I'll let that happen again!"
Agil huffed and dropped down onto a chair. Kirito and Sachi sat beside him, while Yuuji and Asuna sat on the opposite side.
"Alright, tell me what happened. You're not one to ask for help for trivial things."
"Unfortunately…"
Yuuji took off his hood and smiled helplessly.
"Something happened this afternoon."
Yuuji began retelling what happened on the 57th floor. And by the end of it, Agil's eyes were wide with disbelief.
"Someone's HP dropped to zero at an inner area? And it wasn't a duel?"
"Yeah. He shattered into light before I could pull out this sword from his chest."
A crimson sword appeared in Yuuji's hand before he placed it on the table before Agil.
"No one saw any duel winner notifications…"
Kirito nodded, crossing his arms.
"It also can't be a sleep-PK since he was walking with Yolko-san right before it happened."
Asuna added.
Before he could even say it, all the possibilities Agil had in mind were struck down one by one, leaving behind nothing but the sword in his hand.
"Mm. Well, it wouldn't make sense to tie a noose around your opponent in the middle of a duel before kicking them off the tower."
Agil rubbed the back of his head. Just imagining it made him snort.
But how someone could die in an inner area still puzzled him.
"Guess this is your only lead, huh?"
Agil picked up the sword, accessed his menu, and used his Appraise skill on the item.
And soon enough, he received all the information there was to know about the item.
"It's player-made."
"Who made it?"
Agil frowned slightly.
"Grimlock… Never heard of the man. He's not a top-ranked swordsmith for sure. There's also nothing unusual about this weapon, other than its shape."
"It's still a clue we can use. What's the weapon's name?"
"Let's see… That would be 'Guilty Thorn'."
Yuuji stared at the sword as Agil handed it back to him.
Guilty Thorn… Grimlock. A custom weapon. Was he related somehow to Caynz and Yolko?
Yuuji replayed the scene of the crime repeatedly in his mind as he considered a myriad of possibilities. Of explanations.
But murder cases, specifically those driven by personal relationships and emotion rather than pragmatism and strategic logic found in large-scale wars, were more difficult to see through.
After all, even Yuuji wouldn't be able to see through the characters, personality, backgrounds, and the intricate relationships between the people involved in this case without knowing anything about them.
Though, he still had his guesses.
"Could he be… the perpetrator?"
Sachi spoke softly, almost afraid, as she stayed close to Kirito, never letting go of his hand.
"Or someone wanted to frame him as one… Right, Yuuji?"
Asuna, and everyone else in the room, turned towards Yuuji as he stared at the sword in his hand.
The events of that afternoon replayed in his mind.
Caynz hanging off the tower. The sword pierced through his chest armor. The shattering of his figure, leaving behind the Guilty Thorn and the noose that was tied around his neck.
Then… his lips curled into an amused smile.
"Could be. It's hard to tell the motive without knowing the full story. But…"
A pair of bracers appeared on Yuuji's hand, one that Asuna instantly recognized.
It was one of the trash items dropped by a monster from the 56th floor labyrinth they planned to sell or simply throw away.
It had been sitting in their inventory for a while now, forgotten.
"I think I figured out their trick."
Yuuji raised the Guilty Thorn, and stabbed into the pair of bracers.
""!!!""
--------------------------------X--------------------------------
Yuuji, Asuna, Kirito, and Sachi left Agil's shop after finishing their business.
"Thanks for today, Agil. We'll come and visit to sell off some trash drops."
Yuuji smirked and bumped his fist against Agil's.
"Hey, I'm not your dumpster! And I suggest you find a more relaxing activity for your double date than solving a murder next time!"
"Mind your own business!"
The two couples left after bidding farewell to Agil. Then, they separated, returning to their respective abode after promising to meet again the next day.
Kirito and Sachi returned to their inn on the 57th floor and retired to their respective rooms, immediately letting their exhaustion lead them to sleep.
While Yuuji and Asuna returned to their home on the 22nd floor and fell asleep in each other's embrace.
Each to their restful sleep.
Dawn the next day.
Yuuji, Asuna, Kirito, and Sachi met up once again with Yolko in the restaurant on the 57th floor.
An overcast hid the morning sun, blanketing the lively town in misty grey.
The restaurant was empty. After the tragedy that happened just a day before, no one was eager to eat in a place near the scene of the murder.
Only the four of them and Yolko sat together on the table at the corner with a glass bottle of grape juice and glasses to share.
Yolko stared at her empty glass in silence. She hadn't even touched her bottle of grape juice.
"Yolko-san… Thank you so much for willing to have this conversation with us again this morning."
Asuna started, her voice soft and gentle, as if to soothe the still perturbed woman before her.
"We did our investigations yesterday… And we found a name."
"Do you know anybody who goes by the name Grimlock?"
The word struck her like a bullet. Her eyes widened in shock. Then… understanding dawned on her expression.
"Yes… I do. He was a member of the guild Caynz and I used to be in."
"I see…"
Asuna nodded towards Yuuji, letting him tell her about the result of their investigation last night.
"We actually had the sword that pierced Caynz-san's chest appraised. It was made by Grimlock-san. Is there anything that comes to mind?"
This time, she gasped. Audibly. Her lithe hand moved to cover her gaping mouth.
"Yes… Yes I do…"
She took a deep breath, placed both of her hands on the table, and lowered her head.
"I'm sorry I wasn't able to tell you yesterday. I… I wanted to forget. It's not something I really want to remember."
"But if it will help… I will tell you."
A drop of water fell onto the cobble stone roads outside. Then another.
A light drizzle. Then soon, rain had fully come over the town of Marten.
"It's something that destroyed our guild…"
Yolko began telling them of a story, a story about her now destroyed guild, as rain attempted to fill the heavy silence that accompanied her somber voice.
"Our guild's name was Golden Apple. There were 8 of us, including Caynz and I."
"Six months ago, a rare monster we defeated dropped a powerful ring that raises your agility by 20 points."
Asuna's eyes widened ever so slightly in recognition of the item Yolko mentioned.
Yuuji obtained a similar one a few months back and gave it to her since it would boost her agility greatly. Though soon after, they quickly found something even better and sold it. Then, they used the money to buy a lot of high quality ingredients to stock up and had a great dinner that night.
If it wasn't for Yolko mentioning it, she would've forgotten about the item and only remembered their dinner.
"We were divided on whether to use it for the guild, or to sell it and split the earnings. But in the end, we put it to a vote. The vote was 5 to 3 in favor of selling it."
"Our leader, Griselda-san, planned to stay overnight in a large town at the front lines, so she could sell it to a broker. However… She never came back."
"Later on… We learned that she had died. I still don't know how."
"...No one would venture into the outer field with a rare item like that. Could it be, sleep-PK?"
Kirito muttered under his breath.
"Half a year ago, it would've just been before the method became popular."
Asuna responded.
"But it's hard to believe that it's a coincidence… Griselda-san must've been attacked by a player who knew about the ring. In other words…"
"...One of the other seven members of the Golden Apple."
Kirito nodded at Yolko's words.
"Those opposed to selling it would be the most suspicious."
On the vote, Yolko mentioned that 3 out of 5 were opposed to selling it. Kirito couldn't help but be suspicious of them.
"They might attack Griselda-san to get the ring before it is sold."
Kirito glanced at Yuuji, unconsciously searching for validation from him regarding his theory.
He hadn't spoken since Yolko began her story, silent in his own thoughts.
Until now.
"Yolko-san. May I ask who Grimlock-san is?"
"He was Griseldan-san's husband. Just within the game, though."
"I see…"
Under his hood, Yuuji narrowed his eyes. The iciness within them hidden by the white-red hood of his guild's cloak.
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AN: I hope you guys enjoy this chapter~! Please comment your thoughts~! I would love to hear what you think about it~!!!!
Also, if you'd like to read additional chapters ahead and get a pdf version (Light & Dark), please feel free to check out my at patr_eon.com/verglasx ~!
Thank you~!