Ayano Keiko

Ayano Keiko, better known by her in-game name Silica (シリカ), is a supporting character in the Sword Art Online anime.

In the Aincrad arc (Season 1), she is introduced as one of the players trapped in the death game. She is a young middle-school student (around 13 in-game age during the events, having started at 12) who became a Beast Tamer — one of the rare players able to tame monsters as familiars. Her companion is a small feathered dragon named Pina, which she treasures deeply and named after her real-world cat.

Silica wields a dagger as her primary weapon and operates mostly on the middle floors. She's portrayed as cheerful, sweet, kind-hearted, and somewhat idolized among mid-level players due to her cute appearance, rarity as a tamer, and adorable pet, often receiving party invitations.

In her key episode, she faces a crisis after a misunderstanding leads her to separate from a party, resulting in Pina's death in a dangerous area. She is rescued by Kirito, who helps her revive Pina, leading to a brief but meaningful friendship and adventure together.

Her real-world appearance closely matches her SAO avatar: light brown hair in short twin-tails tied with ribbons. (Her eyes are brown in reality but red in-game.)

She reappears in later seasons (such as in ALfheim Online as a Cait Sith beast tamer, still with Pina, and in Ordinal Scale and beyond), remaining a supportive friend in the group, often cheerful and loyal.