-334- Doing odd jobs?

"Crimson Wing...?"

At that moment, even Silica widened her eyes slightly, her little face filled with astonishment.

There was no help for it.

When it came to the guild "Crimson Wing," there wasn't a single person in all of SAO who wouldn't recognize it.

Even though there had been recent debates in SAO about whether the title of the strongest guild should belong to "Crimson Wing" or "Knights of the Blood Oath," one fact remained unchanged regardless of who it belonged to.

That fact was that the guild known as "Crimson Wing" was at the pinnacle of SAO.

For all the players present, who could only operate on the 35th floor and were separated by a gap of more than twenty floors from the frontline, being associated with the name of this guild was akin to being a legend.

"Why would a member of 'Crimson Wing' be here in this place?"

"Who... who knows?"

The players present were all discussing and whispering to each other.

Even the shield and sword user who had been prepared to confront Rozen froze for a moment, looking bewildered.

Looking at this scene, Rozen didn't voice any opinions. He simply walked in Silica's direction.

Rozen extended a hand towards Silica.

No, to be more precise, he extended his hand towards the little dragon, Pina, on top of Silica's head.

Then, Rozen spoke very briefly.

"Come here."

As this sentence left Rozen's mouth, the small dragon perched on Silica's head immediately raised its head.

"Chu!"

Pina let out a cheerful sound and flapped its wings, flying up from Silica's head.

"P-Pina...!?"

Only then did Silica react and let out a startled cry.

"Chu!"

However, Pina seemed as if it hadn't heard at all. Disregarding its owner, Silica, it flew towards Rozen, landing on the hand he had extended.

"You're a cute one."

Rozen scratched Pina's chin, which had come to rest on his hand, and then took out some small fruits from his pouch, feeding them to Pina.

"Chu!"

Pina let out a happy chirp, extending its neck and swallowing the fruit Rozen fed it directly.

This scene not only shocked the players around but also left Silica astonished.

In principle, familiars only ate the food given by their owners. If their owner didn't feed them, they wouldn't even go for food they saw outside the safe zone, let alone food fed to them by other players.

Familiars wouldn't tell their masters if they were hungry. If the master forgot to feed them for an extended period, the intimacy parameter, a hidden stat, would decrease. In serious cases, the taming effect could suddenly be undone, and the familiar might even run away or, in the worst cases, attack the owner.

To prevent this, Silica always carried nuts that Pina liked in her pouch, and she even had an earring with a timer effect on her right ear, ensuring she wouldn't forget to feed Pina.

However, even if Silica did forget to feed Pina, it should be impossible for Pina, as her familiar, to eat food fed by others.

No, before the feeding issue, there was an even more important issue at hand.

That was the fact that Pina, regardless of being Silica's familiar, actually followed the instructions of another player and obediently flew over to them. This was something that should never have been possible.

As a familiar, Pina shouldn't listen to any player's instructions other than its owner's, so why did Pina obediently go over to the other player's call?

Of course, the astonished Silica didn't know this. When it came to understanding familiars, there was no one in this world more knowledgeable than Rozen.

Only Rozen would know how to tread the fine line of the familiar's AI program, using slight inductions to make Pina's AI program make judgments and take actions within its own parameters without violating its settings.

Now, Rozen didn't give any direct commands to Pina as someone else's familiar. He merely used some inducing techniques to let Pina's AI program make its own judgment and actions. That's how he got Pina to obediently come over and even eat the food willingly.

It was somewhat similar to a well-trained dog that would listen to its owner but, when faced with a master animal trainer, the latter could still make it obedient. While Rozen's methods were only slight inductions, without a sufficient understanding and comprehension of familiar AI, achieving this level of control would be impossible.

And so...

"It seems like your familiar really likes me, Miss Silica."

Rozen continued to feed Pina while casually speaking to the girl named Silica.

"Do you want to team up with me?"

Rozen inquired just like he did before.

However, this time, the players present didn't dare to show disdain or displeasure. Never mind witnessing the incredible feat of Rozen controlling someone else's familiar, just the weight of the guild name "Crimson Wing" made them not dare to have any objections.

On the contrary, Silica hesitated a bit, looking at Pina, who was staying obediently on Rozen's hand and accepting the food. Then, she asked:

"Um, may I ask what your level is?"

It appeared that Silica wanted to understand Rozen first. If Rozen was indeed a member of "Crimson Wing," then his level couldn't possibly be low. As a top player on the frontline, even if he was alone, he would be strong enough to roam freely on the 35th floor.

Why would such a person want to team up with her? Silica had to know this.

Who knew if he had some other intention?

Without clarifying this, rashly going with a male player alone outside the town was extremely dangerous for a thirteen-year-old girl.

Faced with Silica's question...

"My level is 45, which conveniently falls within the safety range for this floor. Don't assume that because I'm in 'Crimson Wing' that I have a high level. In reality, there are many crafting players in 'Crimson Wing' as well. I'm one of them. I'm just here on the 35th floor to obtain materials for high-performance weapon crafting, basically doing odd jobs. There's no need to pay much attention to me."

Rozen said this with a nonchalant tone.

If Kirito were here, he'd probably find this excuse all too familiar, and he might even find Rozen's shamelessness a bit irritating.

However, Rozen's words put the players around at ease.

"So, you're just a casual player?"

"I was wondering why a member of the strongest guild would come to this floor and need to team up."

"That makes sense."

The players made such comments.

In her heart, Silica unlocked a doubt and started to feel hesitant.

To be honest, there wasn't much benefit in teaming up with Rozen. Since he was just a casual player, his level was similar to hers, and he might have even focused on crafting skills. His strength wasn't high. So, compared to teaming up with Rozen, it would be better to join a more complete team.

Not to mention, for a female, it was always risky to venture out alone with a male player. Even though SAO had criminal instructions in place to prevent harassment, there were still many ways to exploit the system, like using paralyzing poisons, leaving female players defenseless and vulnerable to exploitation.

So, from a safety standpoint, Silica should've refused the invitation.

However...

"Chu!"

Seeing Pina happily eating and making that pleasant sound, Silica muttered under her breath.

"Pina seems to really like him..."

Thinking this, Silica made up her mind.

"Then... I'll be in your care!"

Silica bowed to Rozen and formally accepted his invitation.

Seeing this, Rozen raised an eyebrow and then smiled faintly.

"Please take care of me too."

With that said, the two of them left the inn together.

"What a letdown..."

The players could only disperse, feeling a bit disappointed.

Only one person kept their gaze fixed on Rozen and Silica as they left, a hint of delight passing through their eyes.