"Rozen?"
"Guild Leader?"
"Nii-san?"
"Papa?"
Seeing Rozen suddenly fall silent, everyone exchanged glances, feeling a sense of unease.
The reason was clear — the atmosphere emanating from Rozen made everyone understand.
"Is… something wrong?"
Kirito asked, a bit uncertain.
Rozen didn't ignore him. After a moment of silence, he nodded.
"Kind of," Rozen said, for now.
"Is it troublesome?" Sinon immediately asked. "Do you need our help?"
The others all nodded in agreement, feeling that Sinon had spoken their thoughts.
But…
"If it's troublesome, then yes, it's really troublesome," Rozen said calmly. "Unfortunately, there's nothing you can do to help."
Rozen's direct words left everyone speechless.
"What? How do you know we can't help if you don't tell us?"
Klein was the first to speak out, frustrated.
Rozen raised his head, looked at everyone, and sighed.
"Don't take it the wrong way. I'm not belittling you. It's just that, in reality, there's nothing you can do to help," Rozen said with a bitter smile. "Let me put it this way — this situation is far more serious than the original SAO incident or the old ALO incident. If it fails, it's not a matter of a few thousand or a few hundred lives, but millions upon millions of lives."
"Wh…!?"
Hearing Rozen's words, everyone drew in a sharp breath.
"Millions of lives?"
"You must be joking."
"Th…tThis…"
Silica, Lis, and Sachi exclaimed.
Not only the girls — everyone in the Crimson Wings wore expressions of shock, and the cheers from moments ago instantly vanished.
"Rozen…"
Asuna was terrified.
Everyone stared at Rozen in disbelief.
If it were anyone else, they might think Rozen was joking.
But everyone here was Rozen's friends, even members of the same guild who had fought alongside him in SAO for two whole years. Even the newcomers revered him, treating Rozen as a faith and emotional cornerstone.
So they knew that Rozen would never joke about something like this.
Moreover, the aura coming from Rozen told them that this was no time for jokes.
In other words, Rozen was not lying.
Everything he said was true.
Of course…
"That's something I encountered elsewhere. It won't affect this country, nor you, so don't worry," Rozen said with a faint smile, though his eyes held little humor. "But I'm already involved, and I can't back out. If I don't go, the last hope over there will vanish. So I have to go."
This was the information Rozen chose to reveal.
Indeed, he no longer wanted to make excuses, but he also didn't want to tell everything to everyone here.
For ordinary people, the situation would be too fantastical. If he explained everything, even his friends would probably only believe him halfway.
And as mentioned before, Rozen didn't want mysterious forces interfering with the world's balance. Naturally, he couldn't reveal everything.
So he chose a middle path — no excuses, but partial truth.
Thus…
"This time, I came back to see everyone one more time," Rozen said, looking around at everyone with a helpless smile. "Although it sounds a bit like a farewell, I wanted to see all my friends before this battle begins. That's why I came back. Afterward, I'll have to leave."
At this, everyone fell silent.
No one expected that this was the reason Rozen had returned.
No one expected that something of such magnitude had happened to him.
Even without explaining the specifics, it was clear from his demeanor that this was extremely serious.
If it truly involved millions of lives, then compared to the original SAO and old ALO incidents, this was far more severe.
In the original SAO, in the death game designed by Kayaba Akihiko, the death toll was only a few thousand. In old ALO, it involved only about three hundred people, who were ultimately saved thanks to Rozen.
Those two events were already enough to cause societal panic. Now, with millions of lives potentially at stake, the severity was unimaginable.
Even though Rozen didn't reveal the exact details, he clarified that it wouldn't affect this country. Yet everyone's hearts sank completely.
Not to mention, even if others were safe, Rozen himself might not be.
He had said he was already involved, and if he didn't go, the last hope would vanish.
No one doubted him.
After all, in both original SAO and old ALO, Rozen was everyone's hope.
Sinon even remembered the desperate situation she had faced in GGO, and how Rozen had saved her. Her hands unconsciously clenched.
This man had always been hope for everyone, and this time would be no different.
"I…Is there really nothing we can do to help?"
Yuuki couldn't help but ask in a low voice.
The members of the Sleeping Knights felt the same way.
Their lives had been saved by Rozen; he had given them hope.
Thus, they too had no reason to doubt him.
It was precisely for this reason that Rozen had to speak…
"No," Rozen said very directly. "This is something only I can solve. It's ."
Once again, everyone fell silent.
"Papa…"
Yui hugged Rozen tightly, her face full of worry.
"Nii-san…"
Leafa also couldn't help but hold onto him.
Everyone's eyes were filled with concern, deeply worried about his safety.
Faced with a matter of such magnitude, who would believe there was no danger to life?
But there was nothing they could do.
Since Rozen said so, it must be true.
There was nothing they could do to help.
And they couldn't stop him either.
Otherwise, what would happen to those millions of lives?
They had hope because of Rozen. Could they selfishly stop him from giving hope to others?
No.
They couldn't.
Rozen looked at the silent group, about to say something, when suddenly he felt a tight grip in his hand.
He turned to see who it was.
There was Asuna, staring at him intently, her eyes filled with extreme worry.