In the real world, Rozen had seen photos of Kayaba Akihiko in the news, magazines, and various websites, so he knew what Kayaba Akihiko looked like.
Kayaba Akihiko was an ordinary-looking man with short hair. He often liked to wear a shirt and trousers, a tie, and a white coat. He was dressed like a researcher.
This man looked completely different from the man named Heathcliff in front of him.
However, for Kayaba Akihiko, who was equivalent to the God of this game, changing his appearance was not difficult at all.
Weren't all players able to change their appearances in the early stages of the game?
In order not to expose his identity, Kayaba Akihiko changed his virtual body into a completely different person, which was very simple.
Therefore, even if the face in front of him was completely different from what Rozen remembered, Rozen still had to admit it.
Heathcliff was Kayaba Akihiko.
That was the truth.
"— — —!"
Someone in the group of players in front of them seemed to be shouting something.
However, their roars were drowned out by the howls of the Skeleton Hunters, making it impossible to hear what they were saying.
Rozen and Heathcliff stood side by side as they watched the chaotic battlefield. One of them was calm as he commanded the troops in an orderly manner, while the other was indifferent as if he was looking at a mouse struggling in a cage he had made. He seemed so superior and full of pity.
To be honest, Rozen hated this kind of expression.
Because this would always remind Rozen of those unpleasant memories of the past.
If it weren't for the current situation, this alone would be enough for Rozen to fall out with Heathcliff.
Even though Rozen was smart, he knew that a truly mature person wouldn't be so impulsive. Unfortunately, even the smartest person had their own temper.
Unfortunately, Rozen was a man with a temper.
If they weren't in the midst of a raid, Rozen would've drawn his sword on Heathcliff even if his name became orange.
But now, Rozen could only hold back his emotions that were about to explode, and continue calmly commanding the Players.
Otherwise, the frontline would definitely collapse. Kirito, Klein, Aikir, and the other players might die at the hands of the Bone Hunters at any time. Even Yasna would be in danger.
Even for them, Rozen had to restrain himself.
However …
"I have a question."
Heathcliff asked as if he didn't notice Rozen's emotions.
"You've already discovered my identity. Why didn't you expose me?"
This seemed to be the question that Heathcliff had been thinking about recently.
After all, it had been two weeks since the incident with Klatyr. If Rozen wanted to expose Heathcliff's identity, he would have plenty of opportunities to do so.
And with Rozen's identity as the leader of the Clearers and his reputation in SAO, as long as he stood up and pointed out Heathcliff, Heathcliff would definitely be pushed to the forefront.
But Rozen didn't do so.
"Thanks to this, I have been thinking about your intentions alone for the past two weeks. Although I came up with several conclusions, none of them survived. I overturned them all."
Heathcliff said as if nothing had happened. He told Rozen why his whereabouts had been a mystery for the past two weeks.
"Why didn't you expose me?"
Heathcliff stared at Rozen, there was no curiosity or interest in his eyes, there was only a pure thirst for knowledge and the pursuit of the answer to the question.
This was indeed in line with the identity of a scientist.
Unfortunately, this was also what Rozen hated.
Disregarding others' desire for knowledge and only pursuing results, wasn't this exactly the same as those unscrupulous magicians?
Therefore, during the command period, Rozen gave Heathcliff a lukewarm answer.
"That's just a suspicion, not a confirmation."
Indeed.
Before this, Rozen only had doubts about Heathcliff's identity, but he hadn't confirmed that he was Kayaba Akihiko.
Otherwise, Rozen wouldn't have asked for a vacation to think about the problem.
But that was before.
Heathcliff knew …
"Three days ago, in the underground labyrinth of the Black Iron Palace, you found the management device located in the deepest part, right?"
Heathcliff told him about it.
This made Rozen frown, but he wasn't surprised.
"Aiya, I was still discovered by you."
Rozen said without any tension.
In response, Heathcliff just smiled faintly, revealing the secret in Rozen's heart.
"No matter what, I still know that you used the management device to enter the management system and find the list of administrators."
Yes.
The day after Kurumi's memory was restored, Rozen returned to the underground labyrinth of the Black Iron Palace. After a lot of effort to avoid the pursuit of the Sickle of Fate, he finally returned to that room and used the management device left there to find the list of game administrators.
Although to use the management device, one must log in to the administrator account, but Kurumi had the administrator authority to complete her duties through the system when necessary.
So, Rozen asked Kurumi to provide him with the administrator account to log in to the management device.
This was a very dangerous thing.
According to Kurumi, the system has a self-check function, and if the user uses the administrator's authority to do something that's not allowed, the user's account may be deleted. Since SAO has become a death game, it's equivalent to instant death.
But what Rozen did wasn't against the rules. He just searched for the administrator accounts in SAO.
Then, Rozen smoothly saw an ID with administrator privileges at the top of the list.
His ID was Heathcliff.
It was Heathcliff.
At this point, Rozan Can confirmed Heathcliff's identity.
As the person with the highest administrator authority in this world, Heathcliff naturally noticed this.
This was the biggest reason why he chose to reveal his identity at this time.
Heathcliff really wanted to know.
"After confirming my identity, why didn't you expose me?"
Heathcliff asked again.
Of course, Heathcliff didn't know that Rozen also had his own considerations.
For example, Rozen's purpose in this world was to collect powerful Tamed Monsters.
With this purpose, exposing Heathcliff's identity might cause unnecessary trouble.
After all, Heathcliff was invincible in this world.
If he really used the administrator's authority to do something shocking because his identity was exposed, then only Rozen would suffer.
Therefore …
"I want to fight with the 100th Floor Boss and kill it with my own hands."
So Rozen didn't know if it was true or not, but he said it with a faint smile.
Then …
"Is that so?"
Heathcliff smiled.
It was different from the indifferent and calm smile from before. Instead, it was as if he had heard an unexpected and interesting answer, and he laughed heartily.
Then …
"If that's the case, I will fulfill your wish."
The smile on Heathcliff's face began to make people's heart palpitate.
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