Zastin had joined the war campaign under Gid Deviluke just five years before he would end the Great Galactic War for good. In that short time, he earned a reputation for his mastery of the sword, using his skills to climb the ranks. He could never hope to match his King, the Royal Devilukean's blood gave him strength beyond what any commoner such as himself could ever achieve, so he honed his skill instead.

When the war was over he was rewarded with the position of the Commander of the Royal Guards, the bodyguards of the royal family. It was a role he had served in an unofficial capacity on occasion during the war, and it was a role he was honored to accept. Keeping an eye on the rambunctious children of his King was often a headache, but he had fought for their ability to grow up without worries, not having an eternal war hanging over their heads. Their antics were a reminder that he had succeeded, and they could live their lives joyfully.

Though there were times when his patience ran low. Such as now, as he stomped through a small town on a backwater planet that hadn't even achieved interstellar travel looking for his runaway charge, Lala Satalin Deviluke.

The locals gave him strange looks. In terms of appearance, humans were not much different from Devilukeans. But he was wearing his Royal Armor and it stood out among the plain clothes of the inhabitants. He ignored them all though, eyes scanning the street for a flash of pink hair.

It wasn't like he didn't understand why Lala had run away. He didn't want to question his King, but in the privacy of his mind, he wondered what the King was thinking or how he could approve of these men. More than once Zastin had been forced to threaten violence to get a particularly pushy suitor to back down from making Lala uncomfortable. No one had truly tested him yet, but it had come close.

And it was those men he was most worried about as he looked for Lala. Lala was powerful, having inherited her father's strength, but she was by no means a warrior. Fighting just wasn't in her blood, and she was hopelessly naive about some things. Without him at her side, she was in danger of falling prey to those men or any other similar type that wished to harm or kidnap her. Planets like this were rife with hidden intergalactic criminals. It wasn't safe for someone like her.

So he searched, his worry growing as time passed without him finding her. He had his men watching her ship, making sure she didn't sneak off behind his back. Even with the warp drive obviously burnt out it could be used to stealthily move to another place on the planet, which would make the search for her even more difficult.

That is if she didn't somehow just fix it. The scan indicated the warp drive was completely ruined and needed to be replaced, but he knew better than to underestimate Lala's mechanical genius.

Still, he had expected to find Lala by now, almost a full day after she landed. Lala wasn't exactly the subtle type. Even just her appearance would stand out among these people, not to mention her inventions, prone to destructive accidents as they were. But there hadn't been a single sign of that.

And that worried him because there were a few potential reasons for that, and the only one he could focus on was that she had already been kidnapped, and was either being held captive here or was currently being ferried off somewhere else.

A beeping from his communicator pulled him from his paranoid thoughts. He glanced at the device attached to the underside of his forearm and gulped as he saw the message. His King was calling.

He ducked into an alley between two buildings, not wanting to have this conversation surrounded by locals, and accepted the call.

"Yes, your Majesty?" Zastin answered nervously. He didn't mention that he hadn't found Lala yet. He would have called if he had, and both of them knew that.

But Gid Deviluke was… relaxed? Zastin grew confused as he observed his King, who lacked the anger and urgency he had before. Instead, he seemed almost contemplative.

"You can stand down Zastin, she contacted me," Gid said, tone almost bored. "She found a boy she likes and I've decided to give him a shot at marrying her."

Zastin frowned. That… didn't sound good at all, considering the men Gid had been accepting so far. But he was too loyal to voice his doubts out loud. "What are my orders now then?"

"She'll be staying there on Earth for a while," Gid explained. "Giving her new suitor a chance to woo her. Or a chance to fail. In a few days, I'll be telling the others where she is to see if this kid can deal with a bit of competition. You'll be in charge of protecting Lala during that time, and enforcing the rules of engagement I decide on."

Zastin was once again not sure how to feel about that. This wasn't how he had handled things so far. Was there something different about this suitor? Or had Gid's patience run out, so he was shifting to a new strategy? Zastin wasn't sure, but he didn't need to be. He nodded, accepting his new orders. "Understood, your majesty. I will rendezvous with her as soon as I can."

Gid snorted. "How are you going to do that when you can't even find her?" he asked, amusement in his tone. "Never mind. She said she'll contact you, but I know my airheaded daughter, and there's a good chance she'll put it off and forget. I'm sending you the basic details on the Earthling she's staying with. Ask the locals where to find him."

Zastin pulled a lightweight data tablet out of his cloak and opened the file that his King had sent to find a rather sparse dossier. Saitou Akihiko, no address, vague age, race is-

"He's half-Charmian?" Zastin asked out loud in surprise.

"Apparently," Gid answered, tone unreadable. "He claimed his father was an escaped slave. Unfortunately, we have no idea who, there aren't reliable records from that time."

"Is that why you approve of him?" Zastin asked, hoping that his King was able to choose suitable suitors after all.

"No," Gid replied. "I agreed to give him a chance because of his eyes."

That threw Zastin for a loop. "His eyes?" He took a closer look at the image. Aside from the pink hair that was iconic for any Charmian or half-Charmian, he looked like any other human Zastin had passed by while searching for Lala. His eyes specifically seemed focused and his expression determined, but not especially so. "I'm afraid I don't see it."

Gid grunted. "Doesn't matter, I saw it. By all appearances he's a normal kid… but normal kids don't have eyes like that. Keep a close watch on him when you're protecting Lala."

Zastin frowned. "If he's that suspicious-" he started.

But Gid cut him off. "That's not it," Gid denied, a hint of irritation in his voice. "It's too early to say if he's suspicious. Eyes like that could simply mean he has what it takes to succeed me. Or it means he's up to something." Gid locked eyes with Zastin. "Your job is to figure out which one it is."

Zastin couldn't say he understood what his King was picking up on, but watching a young boy in order to find out if he was worthy of Lala and Deviluke was an order he could understand. He slammed his fist over his chest in a salute. "Yes, your Majesty!"

Gid didn't bother replying, he just nodded and cut off the feed. Zastin waited a moment before allowing himself to relax, following it with a sigh. He was glad that Lala had found a boy she liked, but this whole situation was turning into an even bigger headache than it already was.

He shook his head, clearing them of such thoughts. His duty was to Deviluke and the Royal families. He'd protect Lala and her happiness, even if it meant cleaning up after the other suitors who would undoubtedly start arriving within a week.

He brought up the image of the boy, Saitou-san, and examined it again, wondering what made him so different from all the other men, and how he earned Lala's affection. But he shook his head. Understanding Lala was difficult even when he had more information. The best way to judge Saitou-san would be to see him with his own eyes.

So he did as his King instructed and started asking the locals if they knew Saitou-san. Most people didn't seem to know the boy. That or they didn't trust Zastin. He was also asked several times if he was cosplaying, a question that tested his patience. He had to repeatedly remind himself that it was not their fault they were not aware of the cultures of the galaxy.

It took a couple hours of asking, but he eventually found luck. Ironically, telling a story that was close to the truth, that he was the guardian of a girl who had run away and who someone saw hanging out with Saitou-san, was enough to convince one woman to draw him a map to his residence.

The map was not exactly a cartographical masterpiece, but he had no choice but to trust it. The woman had seemed to empathize with him, so he had no reason to believe she was misleading him.

He arrived at the house without much trouble though. He checked the number on the house and it matched what the old woman wrote on the piece of paper she had drawn her map on. So he put the note in a pocket before going up to the door and knocking on it.

…

…

He knocked again, louder this time and with a frown on his face. Still, no response. He growled in frustration and came to the assumption that they had left. He couldn't possibly guess where to either, they could be anywhere in town doing anything. He could go searching for them, blindly hoping to coincidentally come across them.

But, truth be told, he had been doing that for the past day, and he was sick of it. So instead, he decided to wait here for them. They would return sooner or later.

A mischievous thought entered his head. As Gid had predicted, Lala hadn't made any effort to contact him. So she couldn't complain if he ambushed her, right? He was just being proactive as a bodyguard.

He took a small tool out from under his cloak and pressed it against the lock of the front door. He felt it vibrate in his hands as the nanites inside of it reached into the keyway and unlocked it. Physical locks were still fairly common throughout the galaxy. Electronic ones were more secure, but also more prone to failure and other issues, and more expensive. Physical locks were useful for less important things, or things that tended to not receive regular maintenance or power.

What Zastin used was a common tool for getting past physical locks, and after just a few seconds of work the lock clicked open and the device shut off. Zastin pushed the front door open and stepped into the empty home.

He looked around, figuring out the layout of the house. Despite not being familiar with Earth culture, the house itself didn't feel foreign. Most aliens were bipedal after all, with similar physiologies, and they all tended to design their homes in similar ways. So a house like this was a little old-fashioned from his perspective, but not unfamiliar.

Knowing it could be some time before the two of them returned, Zastin entered the living room and sat down in a seat. He specifically chose one that had its back to the entrance so he could stand up and dramatically turn around when they returned.

He grinned as he imagined it, pleased with the scenario. Yes, that would be sure to surprise them, and it would leave a good first impression on the boy. That is to say, it would suitably intimidate him and ensure he didn't get any funny ideas. And it might even provoke a response that would give Zastin a better feel for the kind of man he was.

So Zastin sat, and he waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

It was four hours later that he finally heard voices approach the front door. They were too muffled to make out, but he could tell that there were two of them- a boy and a girl. He straightened up in his chair, having started slouching as he waited. He quickly made sure he was presentable and his cape wasn't bunched up as the front door opened.

"So, you've finally arrived," Zastin said in a deep and commanding voice. He could hear the two people who entered stop at the living room entrance, falling quiet. He grinned in satisfaction before schooling his expression into something more serious.

With a flourish of his cape, one he had spent an embarrassing amount of time practicing, he stood up and turned around in one smooth motion.

"Saitou Akihiko and Lala-dono, I have- eh?" Zastin dropped the speech he had prepared as he laid eyes on the boy and girl, neither of whom had pink hair. The boy was roughly the same age as Saitou but had brown hair and a dull face. And the girl was a little younger, with a shorter and slimmer build.

Zastin had no idea who they were, but they definitely weren't Saitou and Lala.

A moment of silence passed as the three of them looked at each other in surprise, and Zastin felt dread creep over him.

"You… are not Saitou Akihiko, are you?" Zastin asked, voice no longer booming and instead very nervous.

The two of them wordlessly shook their heads, still in a state of shock.

"Does- does he live here?" Zastin asked.

Another synchronized head shake.

Zastin took out the map the old woman had drawn for him, now slightly crumpled, out of his pocket. He looked down at it and sighed. "It appears that I've been given the wrong address. Do either of you happen to know where Saitou Akihiko lives?"

"R-right next door!" the boy stammered. The girl's eyes widened as she elbowed the boy in the stomach, and a flash of regret passed over the boy's scared face.

"Ah, don't worry, I don't mean him any harm," he tried to reassure the two humans. "My charge is with him though, and I need to meet with her." Neither of them responded, and neither looked like they believed him. Zastin averted his gaze, embarrassed. "I'm sorry for the intrusion. I'll see myself out."

He stepped towards them, seeking the exit of the house. The boy pushed the girl behind him and backed away from the entrance to the living room, giving Zastin room to pass. He strode past them, struggling to keep a straight face and not curl up in shame, and left the house.

For a moment the Yuuki siblings, for that is who they were, didn't move. They simply stared at the door like they expected the strange man in sinister armor to come back. But when it became clear that he wasn't coming back, they relaxed slightly.

"Should… should we call the cops?" Mikan asked, whispering for some reason.

Rito wasn't sure what to do in a situation like this. "Let's see what he does," he replied instead. Mikan nodded in agreement, and the two of them approached the door quietly. They opened it and peered out, spotting the man almost immediately. He was standing still in front of their gate, head in his hands, obviously shamed.

They watched as he forced himself straight and shook his head. He strode to the house next door and… knocked on the door. After a few moments, it opened and revealed a woman, Saitou-san. Rito and Mikan couldn't hear them from their door, but they watched as she talked to the strange man. She smiled and invited him in, and the door closed behind him.

Rito closed his front door, utterly bemused. But he turned to Mikan. "It seems like it's okay?"

Mikan's expression mirrored Rito's. "I guess?" She shook her head. "We'll ask Aki-san about it later. He's gotten wrapped up in something weird I bet."

Rito nodded in agreement. "I'll ask him at school tomorrow."

"Oh? You sure you won't be too busy with your new girlfriend?" Mikan teased with a grin.

Rito blushed. "They're friends too, so I can do both!"

Mikan just laughed and headed for the kitchen. Rito frowned but was quickly distracted by thoughts of Haruna. He made his way to the living room and pulled out his phone to message her as he had been doing constantly since they started going out.

The daily life of the Yuuki siblings continued normally, both of them already over their strange encounter, unaware that they would have many more in the near future.

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This is the story-only edit of a Quest I run over on Questionable Questing! If you'd like to participate in the Quest and vote on decisions the character makes, head there!