Halkegenia Online v3.0 – Chapter 2 – Part 3
"Oy, it's hot." The Salamander beside Kirito muttered as he adjusted his straw hat to ward off the afternoon sun. "It's hot!"
Kirigaya Kazuto, Kirito, spared his friend and partner in crime, Tsuboi Ryotaro, the swordsman Klein, a mildly bemused look. "Aren't Salamanders supposed to be good with the heat?"
Klein's reply was a long time in coming, then, "It's humid. It's too damn humid! Lizards aren't any good in this sort of humid weather." He stopped suddenly and leaned in Kirito's direction, a suspicious gleam in his eye.
Kirito was left to lean back or risk getting a little too intimate. "W-what?"
"You're saying I shouldn't be bugged by the heat. How the hell is it," Klein crossed his arms and assumed a meditative pose, "That you can be dressed like that," he waved to Kirito's heavy black t-shirt and pants, "And not be frying along with me?"
The Spriggan looked down at his own clothes, it wasn't like he wasn't sweating too, the humidity by the lake was pretty intense today. All Kirito could think was that it was personal discipline and that Klein was exaggerating his discomfort, or maybe the moisture really was getting to him. In ALfheim, hadn't the territories around Muisca been mostly thick jungle? Maybe it was his Spriggan heritage at work.
Whatever it was, it didn't seem to be affecting Yui in the least as the young Maeve held up the silvery bit of metal with its attached bait for Kirito to examine. "Like this, right Papa?" The little girl asked, eagerly waiting for his approval.
Kirito took the tackle and made sure it was tied off as he'd shown her. "It looks good." He agreed, smiling as Yui beamed with pride.
The summer heat had hit the Fae City of Arrun with a speed and oppressiveness that would have once been almost unbelievable to any of its twenty thousand denizens, most familiar as they were with the technological luxuries of air conditioning and refrigeration.
Undines had been in high demand since the heat wave had struck, generating ice to help cool the public buildings and supply a base for the frozen treats that had been exploding in popularity. It was amazing what could be made with just ice shavings, fruit, eggs, and cream. Most of the demand was from the local Faeries of course, but it shouldn't have come as any surprise that the native Halkegenians had become big customers as well.
The concept of the 'Snow Cone' had already existed in Tristain prior to the summoning of the Faeries of ALfheim, but ice cream was an entirely new idea that was being quickly embraced by the Nobility.
'Agil is probably laughing all the way to the bank.'
Kirito frowned as he imagined the giant man who had started making deals with the local farms to secure the closest source of cream, and also with the Pixies to get his hands on a number of rare ALfheim fruits that formed the base for a whole line of 'Gourmet' desserts marketed towards Nobles with more money than sense and a burning desire to capitalize on the new 'Ice Cream' product. When last he'd heard, Lord Rute had been looking to invest in a seasonal operation.
Kathy was probably right, Kirito mused, if her husband had been even half as driven in his time on Earth as he had been in Aincrad, or especially here in Halkegenia, they would never have had to log into ALO to find Asuna, Agil would have had the resources to buy out the RETCO subsidiary.
'Scary'. Kirito remembered that toothy smile that could make small children cry.
As for himself, Kirito wasn't nearly as motivated as Agil in this heat, or even Klein who he'd found in the barracks being used as a pack mule by the fiery little support mage, Enya. This was their last day before they had to travel to the capital and report at the Champ de Mars training facility, so he'd wanted to do something special with Yui who would be staying behind again with Suguha in Arrun, where she would be safe.
He had been meaning to teach her to fish.
"Okay now." Kirito took hold of Yui's arms, sitting behind her on the dock that stuck out into the clear blue and still remarkably cold water of Arrun Lake. Father and daughter had kicked off their shoes and their feet now dangled over the calm surface, scaring off the small fish sheltering in the shade. They were after a bigger catch today. "When you cast the line you want it to get good and far out, it's no good if it's too close, since the fish will be scared off by us."
"Un." Yui nodded attentively.
"And be extra careful how you do this part." He warned, remembering a nasty accident on his own first fishing trip with his grandfather, getting the hook caught up on his ear, an ever likelier and potentially more painful accident for a Faerie.
They took a few practice swings, Kirito guiding Yui through the motions, and then, once he was satisfied, he withdrew his hands and let his daughter do the rest.
Yui's eyes went wide with delight as her tackle flew out in a shallow arc and splashed down in the water. She almost forgot to grab the line before it unspooled too far, but Kirito didn't have to intervene, remembering in time and doing it just as he'd shown her.
"Oy, way to put your shoulder into it!" Klein laughed, reeling his own line in a little so that the two lures wouldn't get tangled.
"You're going to scare off the fish, Klein." Kirito grumbled, but he admired Yui's handiwork nonetheless, not bad for a first try.
"Now what?" Yui asked expectantly, looking up from beneath his chin.
"Now," Kirito closed his eyes, "We wait."
Yui nodded sagely and turned back to her fishing rod. And so they waited. And then waited some more.
This was the tough part for kids, Kirito knew, and just as expected, it wasn't long before Yui began to fidget and pluck at the line.
"You just have to wait." Kirito repeated patiently.
"Mmmm . . ." Yui's features scrunched up cutely. "How much longer?"
"Well, that depends, Yui-chan." Klein reeled his line in and recast.
"On what?"
"The fish." Kirito said, and grinned as he enjoyed his daughter's scowl. "You just have to . . ."
"Wait." Klein finished.
It would be unfair to say Yui looked happy about this development, Kirito supposed he should have let her read up a little more beforehand, but he had told her what to expect.
"Fishing is about patience." Kirito said, picking up his daughter's sunhat and planting it firmly on her head. "It's a chance to just sit back for a little while and let the world pass you by. Sometimes that's difficult to do on its own, but even the busiest person can learn to fish." It was a philosophy that Kirito firmly believed in and couldn't help but convey the importance of to his own daughter.
Yui listened until he was finished, nodding slowly, and then replying seriously. "It sounds like you're making an excuse to be lazy, Papa."
Kirito's smile developed the smallest of cracks. So judgmental!
"That's not . . ." Kirito began to say, only to freeze, instincts snapping him to full alertness as he felt the deck planks creak at his back, and then the cool as a shadow suddenly loomed over him. Kirito's hand reached reflexively for a sword, only to find the cork handle of the fishing pole he'd borrowed from Old Man Nishida.
He'd almost forgotten, Arrun Lake was safe along this side of the shore, and between the frequent passersby, their proximity to the city, and the presence of himself and Klein, it hadn't seemed necessary to bring a weapon.
It probably wasn't necessary now either, just old habits trying to keep him safe, or at least, that's what he thought until he looked up, and up, and up . . . "Uh?" And then blanched as he was met by a pair of intensely violet eyes beneath thick eyebrows. "Wuh!"
Kirito felt himself swallow, he recognized him instantly, General Eugene would have been impossible to mistake for anyone else, a massive man who was nearly as broad across the shoulders as most Gnomes. It was also impossible to mistake the hard set of his features as being even remotely welcoming or friendly.
Kirito's eyes performed a quick check, appraising the Threat Level. The Gigantic Salamander wasn't wearing his armor today, instead opting for a blood red shirt that was pulled tight across a heavily muscled upper body, and khaki pants that were tucked into a solid pair of leather boots. If this was what he considered 'casual' clothes, then they still made him look like an off duty soldier, or maybe an American action hero from those old turn of the century films.
Then, Kirito's heart sped up as he spied the strap running diagonally from shoulder to hip and the long hilt of a brutal and unpleasantly familiar executioner's sword. He was in the middle of devising a way to utilize fishing poles in place of proper swords when Eugene at last spoke.
"Kirito-san." He nodded slowly. "Deputy Squad Commander." He added as he eyed Klein.
"S-Sir!" The shorter Salamander shot to his feet with the closest thing Kirito had ever seen to a smart salute, well, smart for Klein. "General Eugene, Sir!"
"As you were." Eugene rumbled, sparing Klein only a brief glance before looking back to Kirito with that same terrifying expression. Kirito felt Yui squirming in his arms as she peered up along with him.
"Nnnn?" Yui tiled her head, mystified, and drawing Eugene's attention.
The General gazed down at her quietly, and then, squatting down on his haunches so that he only towered over the seated Kirito instead of dominating the sky above him, Eugene's dark features broke out in what Kirito though was an effort at a friendly smile, but like Agil's attempts, Kirito was pretty sure it would do more to scare small children away than to make them think that he was their friend.
Eugene had to know that too, but he appeared dead set on moving forward in spite of it. "Hello Yui-chan, I hope you're doing well today."
Yui blinked slowly, eyes utterly blank as she processed this Unexpected Scenario and then decided on a course of action. Yui smiled back and nodded confidently. "Un! Papa is teaching me how to fish." She crossed her arms wisely. "But really, I learned that he just likes not having to do any work. Are you here to fish too, Eugene-san?"
"Hmm." The commander of the Defense Forces looked out over the lake for what felt like a long time before shaking his head. "It would be nice, but that's not what I'm here for today. If it's alright, I need to borrow your 'Papa' for a little while."
"Oh?" Yui tilted her head, and then. "Oh."
He needed to be borrowed? Kirito grimaced, whatever it was, it couldn't be good. Memory of what he'd heard Lord Mortimer say about his brother's lust for combat, and also his reputation at the Battle of York, was enough to make him a little anxious. He couldn't really want a rematch, could he?
Even with training swords, Kirito had seen some of the practice duels between other Faeries, some of the injuries made Suguha's strike to his head look like small stuff.
"Uhm, if this is about the Yggdrasil Knights . . ." Kirito started. It would just have to wait until tomorrow, he'd earned that much, at least.
"Papa." Yui asked for his attention, turning to look down, he was confronted by dark, worried eyes. "I think you should go listen to Eugene-san."
"Oh?" Kirito frowned, did Yui know something he didn't, or had she simply sensed something?
"I don't think Gene-san came to pick a fight." Yui answered his unasked question with complete confidence.
The General's violet eyes widened. "Right." He said deeply as he reached down to grab hold of Kirito, lifting the smaller Spriggan like a kitten by the scruff of his neck. "If it's alright then, I'll be borrowing him for just a short while."
"But . . ." Kirito tried to say.
"Un." Yui nodded again. "Just take good care of him Eugene-san!"
Eugene started to turn, swinging Kirito like a sack of rice, and then stopped, "Deputy Squad Commander."
"Sir!" Klein, who had remained at attention the entire time barked. "Keep a close eye on Yui-chan for Kirito-san until we get back."
"Yes Sir!" Klein saluted again, only Kirito saw him sag as Eugene turned fully to depart, watching helplessly as the dock receded behind them, reaching out one last time for what could never be and Yui waving happily goodbye, Kirito accepted defeat. He really hoped this wouldn't take too long. Then again, how could it? What sort of problems could someone like Eugene possibly have?
"Here you are, Miss!" The Undine girl behind the counter pressed two mugs into Asuna's hands and politely gestured for her to move away so that she could attend to the next guest pushing up from behind, a red faced Undine slapping down a pair of coins as he all but demanded a large ice tea.
'Some people really can't take the heat.' Asuna observed as she tested her order, taking a small sip from the straw and savoring the cool, cream sweetness that played over her tongue. She wondered if it was another sign of the racial traits that had been developing among the varied Faerie races, or simply the natural consequences of the heat. Given the weather, it could really be either way.
Threading among the tables and chairs that had been set up near one of the arcade Kiosks, Asuna was able to pick out snatches of conversation.
"What did you call this confection again, Kruznev?" A broad and generously bellied nobleman who was practically spilling out of his chair asked his Leprechaun partner.
"It's a triple scoop ice cream."
The Noblemen poked at his dish with a look of interest in his eyes. "I do believe it would be wise to talk to the fellows who came up with this."
"Oh? I thought you said you were only in the market of durable goods, Hiram?"
"Then perhaps it's time to expand my markets!"
At least it was cool down here. The Arrun Underground Shopping Arcade, set into the basement of Arrun tower, was like an oasis from the heat on the streets above, crammed full of people taking refuge from the noon day sun, and indulging in some of the latest products designed to gobble up hard earned money, like the strawberry milkshake she was drinking right now while offering the second glass to a visibly wilted Lizbeth.
The Leprechaun drew down greedily on her drink, causing the level of the ice cream snack to drop precipitously before she drew back to gasp. "I feel alive again!"
Asuna smiled, and tried not to laugh too hard as Liz leaned back in her chair. "Anyways, thanks a lot for this. Can you believe she sent me all the way to Arrun to buy her Rare Earths? And she expects me to haul it all back on my own!" Liz fanned at her face and neck, livid all the way down her neck. "She's really a slave driver!"
"It can't be that bad." Asuna said politely, she knew that Liz was mostly complaining about nothing, and that she really did respect the smith that she was working with. Tilting her head as she thought about what she'd just been told. "Rare Earths?"
"Super rare elements." Liz explained. "Not all of ALfheim's crafting materials are fantasy metals that didn't exist on Earth, some of them were just super rare and expensive. The Gnomes mine them in the bottom galleries of Tau Tona, and there are a few other veins in the Deep Corridors. You can probably guess by the names that they're super hard to come by. Most weren't even known about until at least the nineteenth or twentieth centuries." Liz stretched her arms across the granite tabletop of the small table they had occupied in a corner of the cavernous arcade foyer. "We used some in the strengthening and for the final surface treatments on your Queen Mab."
Taking another sip from her drink, that made sense, but at the same time left Asuna with only more questions. "If they're normal elements, couldn't you just have an Earth Mage or an Alchemist make them?"
Liz's answer came in the form of a vague wave of her hand she pressed her forehead to the cold tabletop with a profound look of relief. "Turns out it's not that easy. The Earth Mages have a hard time transmuting some of the elements, and there are others that they didn't even know existed until we showed them. It's the same problem for the Leprechaun and Gnome Alchemists, those mats were expensive and hard to come by, so they can't just magic them up."
"So that's why you had to come all the way to Arrun." Asuna reasoned.
"Yeah, pretty much." Liz agreed. "Kofu sent me to make a deal with a guy here in Arrun who secured rights with the Gloir family. Their land has a prime chunk of transitioned ALfheim sitting right in the middle of it with a really rich mineral vein." She blew out a breath. "But I don't have any idea when he's going to show."
Asuna nodded sympathetically. With Liz arriving in Arrun so close to their own departure, she hadn't seen the harm in letting her old blacksmith and friend use one of their spare bedrooms, and one more mouth to feed wasn't too much to ask for.
"Thanks again for this, I owe you one." Liz lifted the half drained glass.
Asuna smiled. "It's really nothing at all after you got my sword delivered on time like that. Buying you a drink is the least I can do."
"Not just for that." Liz said. "I would have had to blow money on an inn if I hadn't had someplace to stay."
"Like I said, it's fine." Asuna insisted. "And besides, it gives us a chance to catch up." A lot had happened in the last three months and between Liz's job and the travel time between Arrun and Northern Tristain, it wasn't practical to visit unless they happened to have business that brought them to the same City.
It felt strange to Asuna that after growing to know her so well when their bodies were tens, even hundreds of kilometers apart, it was so hard just to see her friend in person.
They chatted for a while longer as the they finished off their drinks. Liz had a lot to say about what was happening in Goubniu these days. The giant central forges, the smokestacks of which formed the Leprechaun city's Tower, was being renovated to house the new furnaces for steel production, and now smoke billowed from its stacks almost everyday as the engineers and mages refined the process for mass production.
It was all thanks to financing from the Vallieres, the Noble family which had developed the firmest ties with the Leprechauns and Gnomes thanks to the location of their estates. But even more than that, the Valliere family had been some of the firmest supporters of the Faeries since the very beginning.
It was strange to think that the cause of everything was the Duke and Duchess's youngest Daughter. Not that the revelation hadn't remained strictly need-to-know, but it was another thing that Asuna had been wondering about recently.
She was a Knight of the Faerie Court and Tristain, thought she didn't feel like it just yet. That meant that she was privileged to know a good many things and had been learning a good many more whenever she visited with Wales and Tristain's new Queen. One of the things she wasn't proud of having learned was to always look for an ulterior motive.
The official order handed down by Queen Henrietta was that Louise Valliere had been kidnapped and possibly subverted by her captors, whether that was true or she had gone willingly, the instructions given to all Knights and Agents of the Crown in regards to Louise Valliere were to treat her as a compromised but valued individual, placing her safe capture and return to Tristain even above their own lives.
In fact, Asuna knew that even if Louise was brought back safely to Tristain, regardless of her reasons, there were plans to place her under indefinite house arrest.
Given the Valliere family's power and wealth, it was safe to say that most would draw the wrong conclusion about the recent, fervent displays of loyalty which were also overtures for leniency.
Louise would be treated humanely, but it was unlikely that, knowing what they knew about her involvement in the summoning of ALfheim and the mysterious World Seed that she had apparently taken into her own body, she'd ever be allowed to leave the comfortable cage that was being arranged for her.
That thought was enough to stir up a small measure of Sympathy from Asuna. She'd had quite enough of gilded cages herself.
"You have to see them next time you're in town, the converters are huge." The Leprechaun finished her story. "It's pretty amazing that they could build the furnaces so quickly." Liz recounted. "But between the Mages and all the people we have working on the project, they were able to get the first of the units put together in less than month."
"That is pretty amazing." Asuna agreed as she watched Liz finish her drink and stand up. "Alright then, I'm off to find this guy. Given the heat, he'll probably be holed up inside at his offices. Geez, I hope this is worth it."
"Well, whether or not you get what you came for," Asuna got up as well, hefting her grocery bag, "I'm making Soba noodles for this evening." The hot weather just seemed to be begging for something cold this evening.
"Gotcha. And thanks for the invitation." Liz grinned. "I'll let you know. Later then!"
They parted ways, Liz heading towards the southern exit from the Arcade while Asuna headed west to stay sheltered for as long as she could before stepping out onto the streets. With all the stone that made up the buildings near the center of the city, it wasn't hard to see why Arrun was so hot at ground level, the white surfaces reflected the light in every direction, but mostly, they directed the heat at the pedestrians. And dazzled them too!
Asuna was thankful for her hat and sunglasses and had almost been ready to take to the skies to trade the surface heat for the cooler air above before thinking better of it. Her wings had been getting her enough attention as it was, working her shoulders almost without thinking about it to relieve the false sensation of tension that the folded magic limbs produced, now that she was known as a Knight, she really didn't want to be spared a second glance.
So instead, she decided to take a shortcut that she'd found a while back, an innocent little Exploit of Arrun's topography that she had discovered thanks to Yui.
There were any number of parks and green spaces spread through the Faerie city. Most were kept hydrated by means of small streams, the overflow from the springs and river sources that supplied the city with drinking water. These streams cut their own path through secluded gardens and parks, winding their way down through the city before terminating among the herb and vegetable gardens and fish ponds in the semi-settled outer districts.
More importantly, between the water, and the shelter provided by the foliage, they were like tunnels of cool running randomly through the city, and she was approaching one right now that would drop her off near home.
She cast a furtive glance in both directions to be sure that no one was watching. It was a little selfish, but if everyone knew the secret, it wouldn't make a very good shortcut anymore, and the Watch would probably forbid it as unfit for travel, which would make Yui's friends and by extension, Yui, very upset.
Satisfied that no one was coming, Asuna hiked up her skirt just enough to throw one leg over the railing of a small footbridge, then scooted swiftly over the edge, dropping from view.
It wasn't a very long drop, the scary part was breaking through the foliage overhead, landing lightly on the broad, moss-covered stepping stones that paralleled a small, fast moving stream, this one fed the park near their home, if Asuna remembered correctly, she'd by back in no time at all.
Heading downhill, the noises of the birds and the occasional sounds of people as she passed beneath more footbridges were her only companions until she reached the park, more of a small public garden. The place was usually abandoned, it was pretty enough, with a small pond and arbor, but there were prettier parks in other sections of the City, so Asuna hadn't thought to check if she was being watched.
If she had, she wouldn't have been so surprised find someone sitting beside the pond where the stream water pooled and swirled before continuing its journey downward.
"Ah! I'm sorry I . . ." Asuna was halfway through formulating an excuse when she recognized the woman looking up at her.
"Morgiana-san?" Asuna asked. No, she was sure, she recognized the Spriggan Lord from the few times they had been in the same room, she was very hard to forget. Though, something seemed different today.
"Oh . . . " For her part, Morgiana's startled look faded into recognition, she asked softly, "You're Kirito-kun's girl, aren't you? Asuna, right?"
"Un." Asuna didn't know what else to say. Something was definitely wrong, that much was clear as day, all it would take was one look at the Spriggan woman's face, or the way that she let her bare feet dangle into the pond while she kept her knees pulled up to her chin, like a troubled child.
Which was why Asuna felt compelled to ask, even if they weren't exactly friends, she felt she had an obligation to make sure. "Morgiana-san? I didn't expect to see you here." Or anyone really. "Is everything alright?"
The Spriggan woman broke into a tired smile. "Alright? Yeah, everything is just fine." She chuckled softly. "It's just perfect. Why wouldn't it be?" But the smile was brittle, like old porcelain, and the Spriggan's eyes told how much she didn't mean it. Asuna didn't buy it for a second.
Setting her bag down on level ground, Asuna spread out her skirt and seated herself beside the older woman.
"It's pretty obvious I'm lying, huh?" Morgiana asked softly, waiting for Asuna to nod slowly. "The truth is . . . I'm hiding." Said in a very small and un-Morgiana like voice. Asuna hadn't even known the woman could speak so softly.
"From who?" Asuna asked, growing a little worried. Who could Morgiana need to hide from? "Is there some sort of trouble?"
"Yes." The Spriggan said. "And no. Maybe." She shook her head. "I'm hiding from my Guild, this isn't one of my normal haunts, and . . . I guess I'm kind of hiding from myself." She chuckled again. "I guess that probably sounds pretty dumb, huh?"
"I don't think so." Asuna said quickly, receiving a skeptical look for her trouble. "I mean," Asuna went on, "There's times when you don't want to think too hard about your troubles, aren't there?" Asuna had known plenty of times like that, in Aincrad, and even before, in that lonely house that had felt like it was only ever occupied by herself and her mother.
Morgiana started to speak, and then stopped, and then she smiled genuinely. The sound that came next was more like bells than anything else, giggles rather than the deep, forceful laughs that the Spriggan woman always seemed to use. "I guess you're right. Maybe what I need is a good vacation from myself." She stopped, looking to Asuna with a strange expression. "Say, Asuna, you and Kirito . . . you're like . . . married, right?"
Asuna didn't know why that would matter, but she nodded quickly. "Un. Although, it's not that simple really." She thought back to the circumstances. Even if she considered it as meaningful as any real life wedding, she knew it wasn't really the same thing. "Is there something you wanted to ask me about it? If it'll help . . ." She trailed off as Morgiana's features grew troubled.
"Maybe." The Spriggan Lord said at last. "Depends, do you have a minute?"
For Asuna, the answer was simple enough. She had been confronted by a person in need, and by chance had learned that she could help. "I have a little time." She said.