Finally, she calmed down. Asuna said,
“Kirito-kun and I never blamed you, Rinko-san.”
The girl who was 10 years younger suddenly lifted her head,
showing a vague smile as she stared at Rinko.
“...About that...I might not be the same as Kirito-kun, but I do hate
the guild leader...Kayaba Akihiko a lot, and I haven’t settled things with
him.”
Rinko remembered that Asuna belonged to the guild Kayaba
created in that world.
“It’s true that the incident caused the death of 4,000 people. If I
imagined...how much despair and fear they had when they died, I
definitely can’t forgive the guild leader’s crime. However...it’s a selfish
way of putting it, but it’s likely that during the short time I lived in that
world with Kirito-kun, that might be the best memory in my life at this
point.”
Asuna moved her left hand and made a move, looking like she
was about to hold onto something near her waist.
“And just as the guild leader is guilty, I am guilty, Kirito-kun is
guilty, and you are guilty too, Rinko-san... However, I feel that nobody
can compensate for it with their punishment. Most likely, we might
never see that day of redemption, but even so, we have to continue to
face our guilt.”
That night, Rinko dreamt of a long-forgotten time—her time as a
student, when she did not know anything.