Valkyria Chronicles: After

Prologue: Meeting the Gunthers

I always loved to travel. It's been something I always wanted to do as a kid. Seeing the world, meeting new people, and experiencing new things... is something that everyone should experience in their lifetime. That's my opinion, at least. Though this iCdea isn't originally mine, and in fact, it was my girlfriend who thought of this crazy idea in the first place.

"Hey Adrian! Let's travel the world together!"

She said that to me so suddenly I nearly died from choking on a piece of bread. I don't know what happened next, but soon enough, we began to do just that.

But that all changed on that fateful February. I don't like moping on the details, but to summarize things, she was shot. She was shot in her hometown when they were invaded by the Imperials. She was shot while I wasn't there to protect her.

But still, I never blamed myself for that. Her memory lingers on within me, and I still love her. Now, I travel the world in her name... well not really, but I'm doing it on her behalf.

"So this is Bruhl..."

I say as I stare at the wrecked windmill in front of me. Its skeleton is exposed like a dry fish while its propellers remain suspended and unmoving. This is the town's landmark. It's a simple town, but it's clean and the people seem nice. It's like any European city I've been to, not that that's a bad thing... however...

"My waaaaaaaallleeet..."

I fall to my knees and sigh in exasperation. Why did this have to happen to me? Of all the places to lose my wallet it had to be in a stinking train!? How the hell am I supposed to continue my travels now? I practically walked here, then when I check my pocket, my bags, and even my underwear, it turns out that my most precious resource is missing. This is depressing...

"Mommy... What's that man doing?" A little girl says in an innocent voice.

"Try not to look him in the eye, dear." A beautiful mother says in a concerned voice.

"That's mean, lady... Do I honestly look threatening to you?" I ask in a pleading manner.

The youthful looking mother, a brunette, takes a look at me once and says. "To me you're not, but it's a completely different story for my daughter."

".....you're a very direct person, aren't you? God, I hope your husband is a lot more composed than you."

"Heh, you wish... he's a lot more direct than I am." She shrugs her shoulders and says almost boastingly.

This catches my attention so I crawl towards the little girl and look at her in the eye. "Little one, be careful of your very direct parents. They might one day reveal to you what they did in order to make you---"

"HEY!!" The mother quickly gets down and covers her kid's ears. She has a worried look on her face, along with a pair of really red cheeks.

"I'm sorry, but I guess my hunger is making me delirious." I apologize sincerely and get up on my feet.

The mother retains her expression for a few seconds before sighing and standing up. She doesn't seem angry, and she seems to be a nice person. Aside from that, she's really beautiful. I bet her husband's a really lucky guy.

"By the way, the name's Adrian Wyncote. It's nice to meet you." I hold my hand forward and wait for a handshake. She looks at my hand for a moment with an expression of confusion before finally taking it. Is my way of introducing myself weird to you, perhaps?

"I'm Alicia Gunther, and this is my daughter Isara."

Gunther...? And her daughter's named Isara? Is this a coincidence? It's probably better not to bother her with asking that question.

"Ah... well then... that's that. You probably have somewhere you need to be. I'll be on my way then." I let go of her hand and give her a wink and a thumb up. It's best not to interrupt their daily schedule.

"Hey, wait."

"Hmm?" I stop and turn around.

"You said that you were hungry, right? How about sampling a loaf of bread for me?"

I didn't know what to say. But I knew that I was exceptionally grateful for her offer.

"Oh dear God, thank you for blessing me with this opportunity to meet this woman." I say to the blue sky, making the two girls look at me with a mixed expression.

Their little shop is located in the town square. It's small, but you can see that it's popular. A lot of people were waiting in line when we got there, and Alicia had to tend to them first, of course. I didn't mind the wait, though, and I merely ended up playing with her daughter. She must be really trusting, leaving her daughter with a stranger like this... I can say that that's both a good and a bad thing.

"Sorry to keep you waiting!" she walks up to me and presents me with an oddly colored loaf of bread. It's yellow.

"I didn't mind. Your daughter is a really interesting conversationalist." I take the bread she gives me, and cut off a piece.

"Oh? What did you talk about?"

"Insects. Bugs. Nature. Bread." I tell her just before taking a nip at the bread. That was when... my mind exploded with absolute pleasure. "THESE ARE DELICIOUS!!"

My eyes were opened wide open and my mouth was hanging. This bread is amazing. And this is just a sample? I can't wait for the final product.

"Hee hee, I'm glad you liked it." Alicia smiled at my expression as I continued to consume the bread. "Wait... you're not charging me for this, are you?" I look at her seriously. "I really don't have any money with me right now."

She waves her hand. "Don't worry about it, I asked you to sample it, remember?"

"Hmmm... good point. You're a very good natured person for that. But alas, I can't stay much longer." I should find a way to get some money and find a place to stay. I can't ask this woman for anything more now, it would just be inappropriate.

"Oh? You're leaving already?"

I stop. She's looking at me with a calm expression, but that question is strikingly serious.

"Ye---Yeah... I wouldn't want to impose too much. Thank you for everything you've done for me, no matter how simple they may be."

"I can see that you're still up to your usual antics of helping people, honey."

That voice probably belongs to her husband. I look in the direction of the voice and see... a handsome man in his mid twenties sporting a large bag. His hair, his eyes, his body build, his face... There's no mistaking it.

"Welkin!?"

"Huh?" The idiot tilts his head.

"I knew that there's no way in hell that this was a coincidence! You're Welkin Gunther!" I must have looked really eccentric as I raise my hands and run at him, embracing him in a tight hug. He reacts expectedly. While at the corner of my eye I see his wife looking at us with an expression mixed with jealousy and confusion.

"Do I know you from somewhere?"

I pull back while still holding his shoulders.

"You honestly don't remember me? Did being crowned a Hero of War make you forget about your old university buddies?"

He shows me that priceless expression of deep thought. He looks at my face and body before saying, "I'm sorry but I really can't---"

"Adrian Wyncote."

"Adrian!" Then a spark goes off in his head almost instantly. He snaps his fingers and looks me in the eye. "I can't believe it! How have you been?"

He pats my shoulder with a heavy arm.

"I'm still doing the same, going around, and traveling the world."

"Ha, ha, that's really good to hear." He smiles a warm smile.

"Well, what about you? Settling down with a gorgeous wife and a cute daughter, you're living the dream you always wanted." I can't help but grin. He really looks happy as he laughs at my statement. His wife blushes a bit while their daughter looks at us adults cutely.

"Excuse me. You know each other?" Like an elementary student raising her hand for recitation, Alicia Gunther asks us a question.

"Yep, he's someone I've known in college. But he mysteriously disappeared one day when he decided to travel around the world..." ...with Trisha.

"Ah... I see..." Alicia narrows her eyes into thin lines. She doesn't seem all that entertained by this revelation.

"...is something the matter?" I ask.

She places her palm against her face and sighs. "It's nothing, it's just really... odd... how all of Welkin's friends from college seem to be so..."

"...eccentric?" Like a proper husband, Welkin finishes his wife's sentence.

"Yeah! Eccentric!" She rubs her temples with her finger, looking very troubled.

"Ha! If you think Welkin's eccentric, then you should wait until you get to know me better." I exclaim and point at myself. This easily catches the attention of nearby bystanders, but who cares about them. "I'm so eccentric, Welkin thought I was eccentric."

She looks at me with a deadpan expression, clearly showing that she doesn't think of this as a good thing. Welkin and I laugh at her expression of disbelief. It's almost she's thinking, 'this guy is going to be trouble.'. Of course, I am in no way offended by that. I'd probably be thinking the same thing.

"Well then, I guess there's no helping it." Then Welkin says something interesting. He walks next to his wife and places his hand on her shoulder. "I overheard you guys a while ago, 'heard that you have nowhere to stay. Why don't you stay with us for a while?"

The angels sing and God shines his light upon me. They're both smiling, such a lovely couple. I'm sure that they won't mind me being there just as long as I keep myself composed. Well then, when God gives you lemons, you somehow make apple juice.

"Alright then, even if I said no, you'll insist either way, right?"

Prologue: End

A/N: This is just the prologue, more's waiting just around the corner. So please review, okay?