Bab 1755: -1736- Just trust me
Rozen had mostly figured out who the Laughing Coffin remnant he encountered yesterday was.
After all, within Laughing Coffin, the number of players who left a lasting impression on Rozen, aside from PoH, was at most two or three.
Narrowing it down to those two or three players and identifying yesterday's remnant was an easy task for someone like Rozen.
Even with the limited clues he currently had, Rozen could already deduce who the culprit was.
Seeing Rozen like this, the group was both surprised and delighted.
"Then you can contact Kikuoka Seijirou now!"
Kirito was quick to speak up.
"If you already know who it is, then you must know their character name from SAO. Knowing their character name from that time means we can locate their player profile through the records of the Virtual Division and find their real name and address in the real world!"
Indeed.
Kikuoka Seijirou had mentioned that because GGO's servers were overseas and its operating company was tied to underground organizations, he couldn't investigate Death Gun's player records to identify him. But if it was an SAO player profile, that was a different story.
The Virtual Division, the successor to the SAO Emergency Response Team, had taken full responsibility for the SAO incident back then. Even though the government and the Virtual Division couldn't do much while SAO was still operational, they had detailed player profiles on record.
Thus, if Rozen contacted Kikuoka Seijirou and informed him that Death Gun was an SAO survivor, a remnant of Laughing Coffin who was somehow killing people in real life, the Virtual Division could investigate the character name and track down the player's real-world identity, ultimately bringing them to justice.
This would resolve the entire incident.
However...
"No, that won't work," Rozen immediately denied.
"Why not?" Klein asked with wide eyes.
"It's simple," Rozen succinctly replied. "We have no evidence."
That was the crux of the matter.
"I know Death Gun is a remnant of Laughing Coffin from the SAO, but that's just my word. Even if the Virtual Division believes me, they can't arrest him based on that."
Rozen pointed out the issue.
"Right now, Death Gun is nothing more than a legend. Many people even think it's just a rumor. Even if we claim that he killed two players in GGO—and he himself admitted to it—nobody believes that shooting someone in a game could result in their real-world death. We also have no way to prove that Death Gun did indeed kill those two players in GGO. That's why Kikuoka Seijirou sent me into GGO to investigate in the first place. So even if we identify him as a Laughing Coffin remnant, that's not grounds for arrest."
Because all events related to SAO had already been declared by the government as acts of excessive self-defense or mental instability, caused by the death game environment. The crimes of SAO players were attributed entirely to Kayaba Akihiko, while the players themselves were pardoned and wouldn't face prosecution.
Thus, merely knowing that Death Gun was a Laughing Coffin remnant wasn't enough to have him arrested.
Moreover, without proof that Death Gun was indeed a murderer who caused two deaths in GGO, he couldn't be apprehended either.
The only way to arrest him was to...
"Expose his method of killing and gather evidence of his crimes. Otherwise..."
Otherwise, Rozen would have to resort to illegal measures to resolve the issue.
Unless absolutely necessary, Rozen didn't want to take that route.
Even though the enemy was someone he once considered a nemesis, the situation hadn't escalated to the point where Rozen needed to act recklessly.
If PoH were the one who appeared, Rozen might consider it—after all, PoH had caused him plenty of trouble in the past. Rozen might even use magic to show him a punishment beyond this world. But this enemy was merely a small fry who hadn't caused Rozen any real harm yet. Taking action would only benefit the Virtual Division and Kikuoka Seijirou without compensation.
Rozen wasn't that generous.
In other words, since the culprit hadn't crossed Rozen's bottom line, he was willing to play along for now.
So...
"During tonight's BoB tournament, I'll expose all his tricks and make him pay."
Rozen smiled slightly as he made this declaration.
The group, watching Rozen, found themselves both reassured by his ability and concerned.
"Is this really necessary?" Kirigaya Suguha held onto Rozen's hand with a worried expression. "He's a killer with some method of killing in-game. You really don't have to put yourself in danger, nii-san."
Her words echoed the sentiments of everyone present.
"Leave this to the police."
Agil offered his suggestion.
"We're just ordinary citizens. There's no need to get involved in something so dangerous."
Lis added her voice.
"Yeah, Rozen-nii, please don't go."
Silica pleaded anxiously.
"Guild Leader..."
Sachi seemed hesitant to speak.
Even Kirito and Klein, after much hesitation, finally said:
"I think you shouldn't take such a risk."
"We know you're strong, but you're just a high schooler. The opponent is a killer. Even if you're amazing, there's no need to gamble your life!" Klein said loudly.
No doubt, anyone else would offer the same advice.
The opponent was a lawless criminal. Even if it was necessary to bring him to justice, it wasn't Rozen's responsibility as a high schooler. Let the authorities handle it.
That's what everyone thought. If others found out, they'd think the same.
But they didn't understand: if Rozen truly thought this was dangerous, he would have already used mystic arts instead of playing a cat-and-mouse game in the virtual world.
Such common sense simply didn't apply to Rozen.
After all, the opponent was just a mere mortal. Rozen didn't even need to try seriously.
Therefore...
"Relax. Don't you all know me by now?"
Rozen smiled lazily, his face adopting its characteristic carefree expression.
It was the look of the Magus.
The ever-victorious Magus.
"If I've decided to do this, it means I can expose him while ensuring my own safety."
His voice was clear and confident.
"You don't need to worry about me. Just trust me."
That one statement rendered the group speechless.
Though still worried, they had nothing more to say.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone