Why did Hikigaya save the anime girls in Sword Story?

"Because reinforcements are coming soon. I'm just stalling for time. Do you really think you can fight against dozens of raiders?"

"Oh oh, we should withdraw the boss."

"Boss! This guy might not be telling the truth!"

"Idiot! Haven't you figured it out yet?"

"You're still so slow."

Following this voice, Hachiman slowly emerged from behind PoH, his eyes narrowing slightly behind his lenses. "Of course, we're waiting for someone to outflank us."

Shasa's dagger suddenly flew out of his hand and pierced the tree trunk close to Hachiman's ear. A few strands of black hair slowly fell, but Hachiman didn't even flutter his eyelashes. "If you want to cry, go to prison later. The cells in SAO are separate." [《Ling⑺把死k７俬五六#9 sound effects should be good. 》

"You bastard!"

"Wow! It's the legendary Hachiman~ I'm so happy to have the two top masters of the Clearers team with me today~"

“I would be happier if the ending was also happy.”

"Tsk, I'm definitely going to kill you."

"Can it be done?"

Shasa glared at Hachiman fiercely, while PoH looked at him with interest.

"Although the black swordsman is also very attractive, you are even better than I thought, Hachiman~"

"Huh? What nonsense are you talking about? Kirito is definitely stronger, right?"

"Heh, maybe that's the case when dealing with monsters~"

PoH suddenly blew a whistle, which seemed to be a secret signal. Several people quickly rushed into the nearby bushes, pulled out the man hiding in them and held him back with weapons. Hachiman and Kirito were restrained by PoH and were a step slower.

"Mr. Grimrock..." Schmidt, who had been silent all the time, called out the name. It seemed that this person was Griselda's husband Grimrock.

"Now, please welcome the mastermind! It's Show Time!"

"How could it be! Is Mr. Grimrock the mastermind?!"

"Hahaha! Even if you knew the truth, you wouldn't stand by and watch someone die, right? Black Swordsman, Mr. Hachiman~"

"Tsk!"

PoH laughed happily at Hachiman's smacking of his lips.

"This round is a draw, bro! We'll wait for next time!"

The three of them used the teleportation crystal to vanish without a trace.

"Damn it, he escaped."

"That's about it."

"You're really calm, Hachiman."

"Ah, I've got some information."

"Hachiman! Kirito-kun!"

When Asuna led the Blood Alliance Knights into the open space, she only saw Hachiman bending down to pick up the half-broken blade. The moonlight filtered through the gaps in the trees, shining a gloomy look on his face.

"I'm sorry Asuna, I got tricked by them."

"The fact that they were able to escape means there are indeed enemies."

"Yes, the three from Laughing Coffin."

Afterwards, the four former members of Golden Apple seemed to have a private conversation. According to subsequent information, Grimrock was indeed the culprit who commissioned Laughing Coffin to kill Griselda.

Shockingly, Grimrock is also married to Griselda in the real world.

His wife, who is gentle in real life, shows strength and powerful leadership far greater than his own in this world.

He was worried that even if he returned to reality, his wife would still be a strong woman and would file for divorce one day. To prevent this possibility, he decided to kill his wife to monopolize this world.

Schmidt was both the perpetrator and the victim, but was ultimately not held accountable.

"I see. The ring was stored in a shared warehouse, so it automatically became Grimrock's property when Griselda died."

"A couple shares a warehouse."

"Cole gave half of the proceeds from the ring sale to Schmidt and kept the rest."

"It doesn't seem to be about money..."

"Schmidt simply infiltrated Griselda's room to set up the corridor crystal exit and stored it in the guild's shared warehouse, but it still counts as assisting in a major murder."

"So they used this as an excuse to sneak into the room and drag Griselda out of the loop?"

"Mr. Schmidt had absolutely no intention of killing Miss Griselda, and since those two have forgiven him... but still..."

"yes......"

The three of them felt very upset about the ending of this fratricidal relationship.

"Marriage... isn't all good."

"Doesn't Griselda always wear the Guild Master's ring and wedding ring? It's all Grimrock's fault for not trusting her like this."

"That's true. If there's trust, marriage might be good, although I've never been married."

"Isn't Hachiman getting married?"

"Hey, what's the problem? No girl would like someone like me anyway..."

Feeling the anger emanating from Asuna, Hachiman stopped talking in time. Although he vaguely sensed her intentions, the habits he had developed over the years prevented him from thinking deeply.

Kirito noticed the change in atmosphere and changed the subject.

"So, it's time to tell us your reasoning, Hachiman."

"Ah, yes. First, let's assume that Yorke, Keynes, and Grimrock fabricated a murder in the circle in order to elicit a confession from Schmidt?"

"That's right"

"Although the real murderer may be among the other members, let's put it aside for now. Schmidt's involvement in the case is confirmed. Is that part okay?"

"Um"

"I believe the real murderer is very likely involved in this incident because he is afraid that his crime will be exposed and will definitely participate in it to prevent the truth from coming to light."

"I see"

Kirito nodded heavily.

"If there is a true murderer among the four, and he is colluding with the murder guild, then the murderer's next move will be—"

“…Silencing?

"Yes, when the other three gather in a remote place without permission, we will entrust the murder guild to catch them all in one fell swoop, so we can rest assured." Hachiman further explained.

"It's a bit scary..."

"Combined with the rumors these days that an important figure will be attacked, it fits perfectly with this case."

SAO : Chapter 48: Annihilation War

"The door of the safe zone meeting room was knocked many times"

A few days later, an emergency meeting was held at Hachiman's call.

Kirito leaned against the faded walnut table with his arms folded, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the surface. When the last participant took a seat in his dew-soaked leather boots, he suddenly knocked over the tin cup beside him.

"Because there is new progress, I called everyone here. I'm really sorry that I always notify you suddenly." Facing everyone, Hachiman's voice was lower and louder than usual.

"We've encountered the Laughing Coffin executives. We can't leave them alone any longer. This concerns everyone's safety. Don't worry about these details," Asuna suddenly interrupted, her pupils sweeping across the participants. The rapier at her waist reflected a cold light as she turned, appropriately making everyone straighten their backs.

Klein suddenly pushed his chair aside and stood up. "Those lunatics are causing trouble again? This time...?"

"Well, I won't go into the details. I managed to gather some intelligence during an incident a few days ago, and I wanted to report it to everyone."

"please say."

After all, it was a matter of life and death, so everyone listened attentively.

"First, although we had speculated before, it turns out that this group of people wear masks when committing crimes, but normally take them off and wander the streets as if nothing happened."

"This has been pointed out a long time ago."

"The second is Shasa's eyes. Even if he takes off his mask, his pupils should still be red." Hachiman zoomed in on a battle video recording. The grinning man in the video had a strange red light flashing in his eyes.

"This information is only to the extent that it can be verified."

"That's right, the above are all confirmed matters, and the next step is the key point."

Hachiman looked around at everyone and spoke slowly:

"PoH, he should be a strong foreigner."

Everyone present was stunned by the surprise.

"What's important is the confrontation three days ago." Kirito's Adam's apple rolled as he continued, "The guy cursed in West Coast slang, 'snapfu'."

"Son of a bitch," Agil suddenly translated in a deep bass voice, his bronze skin gleaming metallically under the magical light. "A few years ago, when I was repairing cars at the garrison base, that's what the drunken soldiers were yelling about."

"I-I see..."

"This is very dangerous, which means that guy is likely a professional soldier."

There was a commotion at the scene, but soon the weight of the words was understood and the venue fell silent.

"This means he's proficient in weaponry. He might even ignore skill restrictions and use martial arts directly. Incidentally, his weapon is a kitchen knife-shaped dagger."

"Understood..."

“It’s too dangerous…”

"Can we fight it?"

"No problem. This is a game after all. A soldier's strength lies in their skills and training, but their strength and speed are completely determined by their level and attributes. As long as multiple high-level players work together, there will be no problem."

After hearing this, many people breathed a sigh of relief.

"Finally, let's talk about countermeasures. The only physically strong foreigner I've seen in the game is Agil. Has anyone seen anyone else like him?"

No one answered.

"That guy hardly ever comes to town. From now on, if you see a foreigner like him on the street besides Agil, he's a PoH."

Everyone exclaimed "Oh!"

"Johnny's wanted picture, Shasa's red eyes, a sturdy foreigner, or someone wearing a black cloak. Anyone who spots these features and reports them immediately will be rewarded upon confirmation. But be careful not to misidentify Agil."

Agil gave a wry smile, and soft laughter echoed around him.

"This way, all players can monitor cadres. Furthermore, when accepting Morality Restoration missions, anyone who sees suspicious activity can also be reported. While there's always the possibility of false reporting, the compensation mechanism might need to be adjusted..."

This time, louder "Oh" sounds were heard in the venue.

"Will this deal a heavy blow to Laughing Coffin?"

"Well, it should be quite effective."

"Alright! Let's proceed according to this policy!"

"Oh!!"

So an encirclement was quickly established against the Smiling Coffin.

----

In a forest outside the safe zone, the smell of blood drifted in the shadows, and the rotten leaves made a crisp sound when they were crushed by shoes.

"here we go again..."

"Two people have been arrested this week."

"Tsk! It must be Hachiman's doing. Boss, let's go kill him!" The red-eyed young man impatiently chopped the branches with a dagger.

"If we lose more people, it will be troublesome."

Even the usually taciturn Johnny murmured his opinion.

The man known as PoH leaned against a dead tree, wiping his scimitar. The blade reflected his cold eyes.

"Tsk! How many people are left now?"