The twenty-second floor lacked the metallic smell of the frontline maze.
As Lin Yuan stepped out of the passageway, the first thing he heard was the sound of wind rustling through the leaves. Low-level monsters were scattered around the edge of the forest, and as long as they didn't actively step into the warning area, they wouldn't even chase after passing players.
Kirito folded the map he had drawn and put it in his pocket.
The lakeside cabin is located west of the main street, less than a half-day walk along the forest path. For players who can use the teleportation portal, it's a quiet corner suitable for temporarily leaving the front lines.
It took Lin Yuan several days to get from the eleventh floor to here.
He didn't complain about the distance. Kirito invited him not to explore hidden quests or challenge monsters. Since entering SAO, this was the first time Lin Yuan had ever traveled to a place simply because someone had said "I'm here as a guest."
He deliberately slowed his pace.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves, and the lake shimmered with tiny points of light in the distance. The forest was free of the Fairy Tail guild's incessant noise and the Moonlit Black Cats' arguments over dinner.
But this quietness isn't unpleasant.
Lin Yuan walked halfway along the path and suddenly stopped.
A small patch of blackness peeks out from behind the bushes on the right.
It wasn't monster fur, nor did it resemble a cloak discarded by a player. Lin Yuan parted the branches and leaves, and saw a black-haired girl lying on the clearing in the forest.
She looked to be only about ten years old, wearing a simple white dress and barefoot. There were no weapons, backpacks, or medicines with her, nor any signs of a battle.
Lin Yuan squatted down and placed his fingers on the side of the girl's neck.
I can feel the pulse.
The girl had no real wounds, but her breathing was very weak. Lin Yuan couldn't check her HP or abnormal status, so he could only use real-world methods to confirm the situation.
Can you hear me?
The girl did not respond.
Lin Yuan looked up and around. There were only the girl's intermittent footprints on the soil, stretching from the deeper forest all the way here. The footprints were sometimes messy, indicating that she had walked for a long time before losing consciousness.
There were no adults nearby.
He didn't stay to test the girl just because she might be a special NPC, nor did he wait for a guardian who might never appear. After confirming that she was not in immediate danger, Lin Yuan took off his coat to wrap his bare feet and carried her on his back.
The girl was lighter than I had imagined.
Her forehead rested on Lin Yuan's shoulder, her long black hair swaying gently with each step. Occasionally, monsters would be drawn closer by the aura, only to be knocked away by the scabbard before the Nameless Sword could be drawn.
Lin Yuan did not stop to gain experience or drop loot.
Half Tokiomi later, a lake appeared at the end of the forest. A wooden house sat on the shore, smoke rising from its chimney, and firewood that Kirito had just chopped was placed in front of the door.
Lin Yuan knocked on the door twice.
Kirito opened the door.
He first saw Lin Yuan, who had come to visit as agreed, and was about to speak when his gaze shifted to Lin Yuan's back.
"Who is she?"
I found it on the street.
"You can't describe a child as 'found' or 'picked up,' can you?"
I don't know her name.
Hearing the sound, Asuna came out of the house. She didn't ask any further questions and immediately had Lin Yuan take the girl into the bedroom.
The soft bed was far more suitable for sleeping than the forest floor. Lin Yuan laid the girl down, Asuna covered her with a blanket, and Kirito tried to use the system to check nearby players and friends.
No results found.
"She didn't have any guild insignia or equipment to identify her," Kirito said. "There might be registrations for child players in the Town of Beginnings, but this place is too far from the first floor."
"Could it be an NPC?" Asuna asked.
"Regular NPCs will not leave their designated activity areas, much less faint in forests without quest markers."
Lin Yuan sat on the edge of the bed while the two discussed the system rules.
He recalled when he first arrived in the Fairy Tail world.
At that time, he also had no memory, did not know where he came from, and could not explain the power within him. Makarov did not first determine whether he was dangerous, but only asked him if he was willing to return to the guild with him.
Later, Lisanna joined the guild.
That girl always called him "Brother Lin Yuan," and she would always run to the door to greet him after he had been away for a long time. Lin Yuan had been away from Fairy Tail for almost two years, and he wondered how much taller she had grown.
The girl on the bed suddenly frowned.
She seemed to hear some terrifying sound; her breathing became rapid, and her fingers unconsciously gripped the sheets.
Lin Yuan reached out and grasped her wrist.
"Wake up."
The girl suddenly opened her eyes.
Her dark eyes were unfocused, her gaze darting erratically across the unfamiliar room. When she saw Kirito and Asuna, she instinctively shrank back to the corner of the bed until she noticed Lin Yuan sitting beside her.
The girl stared at him for a long time.
Lin Yuan neither urged him nor let go of his hand.
"It's safe here," he said. "You collapsed in the forest, and I brought you back."
The panic in the girl's eyes gradually subsided.
Do you remember your name?
She opened her mouth, as if searching for answers in her fragmented memories.
"Yui..."
" Yui?"
The girl nodded slightly. Besides that, she seemed to remember nothing else.
Just as Lin Yuan was about to continue questioning, Yui turned around and gripped his fingers tightly.
She didn't know who the person in front of her was, nor why she was in the forest. The only thing she could be sure of was the body temperature that hadn't disappeared while she was unconscious.
Yui looked at Lin Yuan, her voice so soft it was almost inaudible.
"Elder brother..."