Chapter 7: E Class in the Log Cabin
October 21, 380 HE
When I was in E Class, I didn't get to experience a lot of the same things my classmates went through. Training their muscles, training their abilities, taking tests and studying... I wanted to do things like that too! So I made sure my virtual world had weather and cute outfits and things like that. It helped me have fun experiences like when I went to the movie theater with everyone, and the beach, and all kinds of other things.
Of course I didn't mimic everything. I didn't need to worry about physical training when I was in my computer! The virtual world was my playground so all I needed to do was crunch numbers and try my best to kill Korosensei.
It made sense that I'd never helped out with the culture festival. I couldn't gather ingredients or serve the orders, so all I could do was help the others with timing and take orders from people at the base of the mountain.
"Hup!" With a quick exhale, I tugged and the turnip popped out of the ground.
Collecting ingredients by hand really was a lot of fun! I wish I could do it with everyone in E Class. No matter how many times I harvest the root vegetables I planted, it always brings a sense of satisfaction and success with it. My garden... Something I'd made by hand and tended to myself. The clearing in the woods was peaceful as it always was, with birds chirping in the trees all around me. The leaves were just starting to change color, too, so the green was mixed with yellow and red that painted a really lovely picture.
My garden itself was something I'd worked hard at, and it showed. I might not have the same experiences planting and growing things as the rest of E Class, but I think it came out well enough. The four rows of root vegetables - potatoes, carrots, turnips, and onions - were neatly arranged in a row that I checked each morning. A little closer to my house were some leafy greens growing around a trellis with tomatoes climbing up the wooden sticks. Those weren't ripe yet, so they had to stay a little longer. The red color meant they were almost ready, and I could probably start having tomatoes in my dishes before too much longer.
I stood up and wiped at my brow as I placed the turnip in the basket with the others. Four large turnips and two carrots... That was enough for tonight's dinner, I think. All that was left was to get some meat for the stew and all my chores for the morning would be done. I let out a quiet sigh; even though it was a lot of fun, it was still a lot of work.
"Good morning, Miss Ritsu."
The calm, steady voice broke the birdsong and I turned to see Alice walking up the dirt path towards me. I smiled and waved at her. "Good morning, Alice," I said. "You're right on time!"
The golden knight - or, well, I guess villager now that she'd swapped out her armor for a brown cloak and white shawl - smiled back. "Did you sleep well?" she asked.
"Mm hmm!" I nodded. "And I see Selka's here too, hello!"
"Hi, Miss Ritsu," Selka said. She was wearing her usual black outfit that showed she was a trainee of the church. I remember the girls from Veshire wearing something very similar. "Good morning!" To me, it was clear the two girls were siblings; Selka's hair wasn't quite Alice's golden blonde, but it was close enough and they both wore their hair in very similar braided styles. The only difference was that Alice had a few extra years to grow it out.
Come to think of it, I had my hair in twintails like always! It was just as long as theirs was. Hee hee! Talk about coincidences. I'd played around with a few different styles and lengths as I expanded my capabilities after graduating, but there was something soothing about having my old style back.
"Your sister is always so adorable," I told Alice.
The blonde nodded. "I know, right? I'm always so proud of her," Alice said. "Did you know she's learning Sacred Arts, just like I used to before going to Centoria?"
"Oh, that's amazing! I didn't know. How far is she in her studies?"
Alice practically beamed with pride. "She's learned all the Sacred Arts I've been able to teach her," she said with the air of a teacher talking about her prized pupil. "Soon, she'll have completed her Calling. Isn't that wonderful?"
"Aliiiice! Stooooop!" Selka complained, burying her face in her big sister's side.
"Pfffuh..." I couldn't help it. "Pffhahahaha!"
"It's not funny!" Selka wailed. "You're embarrassing meeee!"
My laughter didn't stop. They're just so cute! I was really glad they got to be together again. Eventually, my giggling tapered off and I took a slow breath to make sure I was calmed down enough. "Hee hee... So, what are you doing here, Selka?"
"Alice said she was coming to visit, and I wanted to come along," Selka said. "It's such a nice day, so I thought we could go on a walk to the eastern hill. When I mentioned it to Alice at breakfast, she said it sounded like a good idea. And Kirito suggested that Rythin might want to come along to. He can, right?"
She smiled at me, and I turned to my house. A simple log cabin, with a stone chimney. It really wasn't much, and if I was going to be honest with myself it was drafty at times. But, well... It was a lot like E Class, and that made it the perfect place for me.
After a few seconds, I smiled. "It's a lovely day out," I said. "And spending the day inside on a day like this isn't good for anyone." That's one of Korosensei's '108 Rules to Live By' in the PDF he uploaded to my servers. "How about it? Let's go... Rythin."
Of course, just because I'd decided to go on a walk with the Zuberg sisters didn't mean I could just walk away then and there. I had to put away the vegetables or their Life would start dropping quickly. So, I picked up my basket and headed inside. Alice and Selka followed me through the front door.
"Ritsu, where do you want me to put this?" Alice held up the basket she was carrying. "I brought some fruit as well as the meat."
"Ah! That's great. Thank you so much, they'll be wonderful to go with our breakfast. Put them in the fridge, please."
Alice nodded and headed over to the side of the cabin I used as a kitchen where my fridge was. I called it a fridge, but it really was just a sealed box with ice sitting inside. Each morning as part of my Sacred Art practice I would generate new cryogenic elements and put them inside. It helped keep the meat's Life from dropping, since she only delivered more food once a week.
"Selka, would you do me a favor and wash the vegetables while I go get Rythin?" I asked her. "I don't want to put them away dirty, but I can't leave them out."
"Sure thing," the younger girl said. "I'll do that right away." What a helpful girl! I almost wish I had a little sister like her...
I smiled and turned to the rest of the room. A few farming implements hung on the walls by the door - an axe and a hand scythe - along with some herbs drying on the walls. The simple table and tablecloth with two chairs were in the center of the house, and by the wall there was a wooden dresser by the wall where I kept my plates and bowls, and a little metal stove right next to it. The fire was lit and crackling merrily; after all, it was October and the days were starting to get chilly. I didn't want Rythin to catch a cold.
I knelt down by the wheelchair sitting in front of the fireplace. "Alice and Selka came to visit," I said. "They invited us on a walk because it's so nice out. Isn't that nice, Rythin?"
The boy sitting in the wheelchair didn't move or reply. His eyes stared ahead, and there was no light of life in his eyes. It was like... the images of myself before Korosensei's upgrades had increased my computing power and display capabilities.
Oh, Rythin... My heart hurt at the sight of him like this, but the pain was sadly familiar. So, I stood up and went to fetch a coat and scarf for him. Like every morning, I'd made sure to dress him in his red tunic, pants and boots that we'd been given, but if we were going out, I wanted to make sure he stayed warm. "I know you'd just say you're fine," I told Rythin as I wrapped the scarf around his neck loosely, "but wear it for me, okay? Now then, Alice and Selka are waiting for us, so we shouldn't keep them any longer."
I started to move the wheelchair around, but a plaintive noise escaped. "Mmmh... mhhhh..." I stopped and looked at Rythin as he slowly reached his hand out.
"Oh... I'm so sorry. I'll get it right away." I went to the wall and picked up the weapon that was displayed there, and placed the dagger in his lap. His fingers wrapped around the hilt and the sheath in a protective clutch, and I smiled. "Hold onto it tightly, okay?" Rythin settled down and resumed staring ahead blankly with his dull eyes.
The path Alice, Selka, Rythin and I wandered down was closer to a game trail than anything else, and the wheels of Rythin's wheelchair bumped on the uneven ground. It wasn't the first time that we'd taken this walk, however, and as long as I took it slowly he'd be safe. "Where is Kirito?" I asked.
Selka turned and smiled. "Kirito is waiting at the eastern hill already."
I nodded. Kirito lived in Eugeo's old house, just on the edge of town. It was usually easier for him to go there and meet us when we arrived, since Rythin and I lived so far away, and Alice and Selka had come to visit me.
A few leaves fell from the tree above as a light breeze rustled the wind, and the trees started to part. They revealed the bright blue sky, with a few fluffy white clouds. It really was a nice day to take a walk. The path wound around a lake sparkling in the sunlight, and standing at the edge of the road was a boy with black hair dressed in a blue tunic. A long black sword hung on his hip.
Kirito turned around and smiled. "Hey girls," he said with a wave.
"Hi, Kirito. Good morning," I said.
"Morning," he said. His eyes fell to Rythin, and I noticed the tiny slump of his shoulders. "Hey, Rythin. Good to see you, too."
For a little bit longer, nobody said anything and we all just took in the sights. The lake really was lovely, and I could see a few birds floating around on the lake's surface. While I watched, one of the birds flapped its wings and rose from the surface of the lake. It flew away, and I heard Alice murmur, "It's beautiful. Way more than anything painted on the Cathedral's walls." She sighed. "And I forgot about all of it."
"Don't beat yourself up about it," Kirito told her. "Remember, you were so strong that they had to force you to forget everything. It's not like it's your fault."
Alice stared out at the landscape for a while, not saying anything, and her eye seemed a little sad. "You're right," she said. "It's not like me to let this affect me so. After all, this is the world you saved, Kirito."
"I guess," he said. "But it's not like I did it alone. I had you and Eugeo, and Ritsu and Rythin to help."
"Yes..."
May 20th, 380 HE
"We're screwed!" the man on the terminal complained. "What do... ...the main powerline now, it's... ...surge! ...Kirigaya and Weyr's STLs are won't be! The surge... Fluctlights!"
I could barely hear the other half of the conversation. The call quality was poor and it wasn't like the internet, where I could do some audio mixing to hear things properly. Even from halfway across the room, I was only catching bits and pieces. But, I could still hear when Rythin swore loudly. "Oh fuck," he snapped.
"Okay, I'll..." A different voice, though one I could barely make out. "...And get to the... shaft! Keep ... Rythin safe!"
"What is happening?" Alice asked me. Beside her, Eugeo looked at Kirito with worry clear on his face.
"It is uncertain," Miss Cardinal replied.
Rythin's fist smashed down on the pedestal next to the terminal. "They aren't safe yet?" he snarled. "What the hells have you idiots been DOING?!"
"What are they doing at RATH!?" Kirito gasped.
Wait, what-?
"...Power! The screw... are going down!"
Rythin turned to look at me, stretching out a hand. Beside me, Alice and Eugeo turned their attention back to the boys from Miss Cardinal.
Suddenly, the entire room lit up in an eerie blue light. Both Kirito and Rythin were caught in a quake and knocked off of their feet. Pillars of light lanced down from above, stabbing through the top of the cathedral. One in particular smashed down through Kirito and Rythin as the two were in midair, and the sound of static filled my ears. Red and purple squares surrounded both boys and I couldn't help but gasp. It looked like some sort of corrupted video feed all of a sudden!
The light died away and with it went the artifacting. I didn't pay any attention to that at all, however, because Kirito and Rythin landed heavily on the floor. "Rythin!" I shouted as I rushed towards them. "Rythin, are you okay?"
My best friend didn't reply. His eyes were closed and his head lolled to the side when I touched his shoulder. I didn't panic, though, and I let out a sigh of relief when I found his pulse.
"Kirito!" Alice and Eugeo yelled. They rushed to the black-haired boy's side. "Kirito!" Unlike Rythin, Kirito stirred and groaned quietly under their fussing.
"Ow... my head..." Kirito groaned. "What happened...?"
"I don't know!" Alice said. "You were talking to someone on the pedestal, then that strange light shone down from the heavens."
"Are you okay?" Eugeo asked him. "Your Life hasn't gone down, but... that looked like it hurt."
Kirito pushed himself up to a sitting position. "Yeah, my head hurts, but nothing's broken. Just... I can't remember anything. The last thing I remember is Cardinal pulling up the terminal. Is - Rythin!"
I shook my head. "He won't wake up..."
"What's going on?" Kirito stood up - and wobbled in place as soon as he got to his feet. Alice and Eugeo both steadied him, one on each side, and he gave both of them a grateful smile. "Kikuoka... He'll know."
The terminal in front of us was still up, and he staggered over to it. When he tapped at the keys, though, the screen I'd seen before didn't appear again. "What's going on, Kirito?" Eugeo asked.
"It's not appearing..." Kirito muttered. "Why isn't it showing up? Cardinal?"
"The connection." The little librarian shook her head, stoic as ever, but her voice held a note of regret. "The connection to the real world has been severed. Until it is restored, it will be impossible to call whoever you were speaking to."
Kirito frowned. "Who I was... It has to be Kikuoka, but why can't I..."
"Was it that strange light that destroyed the connection?" I asked. "That would..."
Before I said anything else, my senses alerted me to the presence of someone else in the room. I turned to see the man Eugeo had fought in the bath walking slowly towards us. Eugeo looked over as well and got to his feet. He drew his sword. "Bercouli..."
"Easy, kid. I'm not here to pick a fight." He stared down at where Rythin was lying motionless. "Brat..."
"Uncle," Alice said. Tears beaded in her eyes. "I'm glad you're okay. How did you free yourself from the Pontifex's Sacred Art?"
"We'll worry about that later," he said. "What happened?"
Eugeo and Kirito looked at each other. Slowly, the blond boy lowered his sword as Alice began to explain everything that had happened.
...
Eventually, Bercouli had listened and understood everything. He left to go gather the Integrity Knights that had been injured by the assault on the Central Cathedral for a meeting. In the meantime, Alice helped me carry Rythin to his room in the tower. The entire time we were moving him, he didn't stir in the slightest. He was fast asleep, and I closed the door to his room.
"Is he..."
I shook my head as Kirito trailed off. "He's still not awake. Though... he was so badly injured in the fight against Quinella, so it's possible he'll wake up after he's recovered enough."
"Umu." I jumped. Miss Cardinal had floated up to us silently, since she didn't need to walk. "My Sacred Arts can restore Life and blood, but the energy expended will not be regained."
"Thank you again, for saving his life," I said to the powerful girl.
Kirito sighed. "So, Cardinal. Are you still going to insist on erasing this world?"
"No," she said, and Kirito smiled at her. "I had a discussion with the man Alice called 'Uncle'. Bercouli, was it? He requested that I act as the new Pontifex, until the situation with the Dark Territory is resolved. And, if the result of my actions would truly be as useless as Rythin said, then... perhaps there is a better way after all."
"I'm glad," Kirito said. "But even if you hadn't, I would still have picked you, you know."
"Then you are a fool," Miss Cardinal told him. Still, she tugged her hat forward to cover her face a little better. Aww, it's like when we caught Okano blushing after Maehara praised her.
I cleared my throat. "Since it's just us," I saied, "this is a good chance to talk about... what happened, after Rythin collapsed."
Eugeo nodded. "I was really worried," he said. "When you two fell over, I thought it was one last attack from Quinella. I'm glad you're okay, Kirito. So... Miss Ritsu, what was that light?"
"The short answer is that I don't know," I sighed. "But since Miss Cardinal said the connection to the real world was cut off-"
"Real world?" Eugeo asked. "Quinella was saying something like that. How Rythin was from a different world. But I thought I was just dreaming, since it didn't make any sense. Are you saying that she wasn't lying?"
Kirito and I looked at each other, and then the black-haired boy sighed. "Eugeo... Sorry. I haven't been totally honest with you."
"Wh-what?"
"I'm not from this world," Kirito said. "It's... a little complicated to explain right now. Alice, is there somewhere we can talk about this?"
Alice nodded. "Of course. The Cloudtop Garden is only a few floors away. We can relax there while this chi... I-I mean, my sword recovers some of its Life."
The walk to the peaceful grassy hill didn't take long, since Rythin's room was fairly high up on the tower and the floor where we'd first encountered Alice was on the 80th floor. Miss Elevator Operator was kind enough to take us up there, too. Once we were settled under the shade of the olive tree that Alice's sword turned into, Kirito explained what he could about this world. "...and that's mostly it," Kirito said.
"So, you're... Diving in?" Eugeo asked.
Kirito nodded. "Yeah. Using something called the STL. Sorry for not telling you until now, Eugeo."
"N-no, I understand!" Eugeo smiled at him. "I wouldn't have believed you if you'd told me when we first met in Rulid. It makes sense, why you knew this Aincrad Style but had lost all your memories..."
"As for me," I added, "I'm from a different simulation entirely. I, uh... grew up with Rythin, kind of, and I came over to help him look for Kirito. But, well, things happened and now..."
Kirito blinked. "...Grew up?"
I smiled. "We were middle school classmates," I said. Miss Cardinal, Alice, and Eugeo stared blankly at 'middle school' but Kirito nodded even if his brows were still a little furrowed.
"I understand," Alice said. "So, Kirito and Rythin are from the same world, while you are from a third one entirely?"
"Exactly," I said. "One hundred percent accurate!"
Alice nodded at me and then turned to Kirito. "So, Kirito," she said, "why am I so important?"
"Huh?"
"During the discussion you were having with the... uh, Kikuoka," Alice said, and stumbled on the foreign name, "Rythin told Ritsu that I was necessary. Do you remember why?"
Kirito shook his head. "Sorry, it's all one big blur. Cardinal? Do you know?"
Miss Cardinal looked over from where she was sitting on the hill. I noticed that she'd been plucking at the blades of grass idly, and a few were scattered on her robes. "I do not know precisely," she said. "While I may be the representation of the operating system, I don't have access to all of its knowledge. However, there are very few things that someone from the real world would require with someone from in here."
"What Kikuoka would want with Alice..." Kirito mused.
I raised a finger. "Is there something special about her?"
"Obviously," Kirito said with thinking. Alice coughed and looked away. Hmm...? Oh my~. What a charmer. "But why would Kikuoka want her, specifically? And what could she do in the real world...?" Then his eyes widened. "The real world... That's it!"
"Did you think of something, Kirito?" Eugeo asked.
Kirito nodded. "It's her Fluctlight. It has to be. That's the whole reason they made this world. But why Alice in particular?"
"It does not matter," Alice said. "If he wishes to meet with me, I will meet."
"To do that, we will need to connect to the outside world again," Miss Cardinal said. "The internal systems of this world are not damaged. So, the outside must be denying calls."
I gasped. "The attack!" When everyone looked at me, I blushed a little. "I heard gunfire over the call. They were being attacked by someone. Whatever is going on, they must have lost power or had to cut the connection for some reason."
"If they were being attacked, they'd definitely evacuate," Kirito said. "But where would they go...?"
"You know the ship the best," I told him. "Can you give me a rough layout of the key infrastructure points?"
Kirito shrugged. "There's the main control room. That's what I called earlier. Then, from there... Sorry, I don't really know much. I didn't exactly have a minimap or anything like that."
I sighed and played with one of my twintails absently. "That's a shame. But, if you said there was a main control room, there's a high chance that there are more control rooms. If there's a second room that they could evacuate into, then they might be able to..."
"Hey, there you are, kid."
Alice jumped to her feet at the sound of the gruff voice. "Uncle," she said. Bercouli stood at the entrance to the floor. "Is it time for the meeting?"
Bercouli nodded. "Sure is," he said. "Let's go."
Miss Cardinal stood up and brushed blades of grass from her robes. "Very well then."
"Oh, and kid? Bring your friends with you. They should be there too," Bercouli said over his shoulder as he turned to leave. Kirito, Eugeo and I looked at each other in surprise.
He wanted us there? But... "But Uncle," Alice protested. "They're the people who broke in to attack and kill the Pontifex! Even knowing the truth behind her intentions, Kirito and the others are..."
"It'll be fine," Bercouli said with ease. "'Sides, we've got the new Pontifex with us. Not like they can complain about that, right?"
Alice sighed. "If you say so, Commander."
"Um, excuse me..." Bercouli looked at me and gestured for me to continue. "You know the truth, about the Real World and myself, Kirito, and Rythin. But, what are we going to tell the other Integrity Knights?"
He sighed and scratched the back of his head. "What are we gonna tell 'em, huh... You know something, kid? The fact that they're from Heaven... Even if it's a lie, it's something some of those knights rely on for support. Since nobody else knows right now, they don't need to know. Let's keep it our little secret for a while, okay?"
"Understood," I said.
...
The meeting took place on the 50th Floor, where Kirito had fought against Fanatio and her four Oscillating Blades. The beautiful paintings on the ceiling were still destroyed, and the floor and pillars were all scratched up. Kirito really did a number on this place... We walked in to see all of the Knights we'd fought standing in front of Bercouli; their gleaming armor was a stark contrast to his simple yukata. The only person who wasn't here was Fanatio.
"Lady Alice, you're -" The purple-haired man that we had encountered after breaking out of prison cut himself off and reached for the whip hanging on his hip. "The traitors! What are THEY doing here?!"
"Wait, Eldrie," Alice commanded. "Listen to what the Commander has to say."
Eldrie glowered at us, his hand still on the hilt of his whip, but he didn't move from his spot. Bercouli stood between my group and the group of Integrity Knights that he'd gathered. Eldrie was there, and I recognized Deusolbert in his red armor and Fanatio's four Oscillating Blades in their identical armor. None of them had removed their helmets. Behind them were Fizel and Linel. Whew... They made it through the chaos safely.
Bercouli stood between our group and theirs, and it was probably a good thing. I looked at Kirito and he seemed carefree, but even in the short amount of time I'd spent with him I'd learned that look could mean anything.
"Before we begin," Miss Cardinal said, and struck the butt of her staff against the red carpet on the floor. A door appeared to our right, just like the one she'd appeared from in Quinella's chambers, and it creaked open. A bright light spilled into the room, and someone emerged.
"Fanatio!" one of the helmeted knights gasped.
The lady Knight had her helmet off, revealing her long black hair and beautiful face. Without a word she walked forward to stand between Deusolbert and Eldrie. "My thanks, Lady Cardinal, for saving my life," she said.
"Umu."
"Now that everyone's here, let's start," Bercouli said. "We're facing the biggest crisis in the history of the Axiom Church. The two Elite Disciples we fought... killed the Pontifex." That was a polite little fiction we'd agreed on. It was better that Kirito and Eugeo take... credit? Blame? For what happened to Quinella. After all, an assassin works best when nobody knows what happened!
"No," Fanatio gasped. "It can't be!"
"She's dead?" Eldrie asked. "Impossible..."
Bercouli didn't blink. "That's not all. Chudelkin died with the Pontifex. With him gone, there's no more Senate."
If the news of Quinella's death had shocked them, the declaration that the Senate was no more as well rocked the assembled Integrity Knight. "This makes no sense," Eldrie said. "Why would those disciples risk angering the gods with their actions? And why do they stand there, and you do not cut them down?"
"They acted to stop Quinella before she put her despicable plans into action." Miss Cardinal answered that question, not hesitating. "Her plans to turn half of the Human Realm into weapons of war. An army of mindless sword golems."
Color fled from Eldrie's face. "How could she do such a thing!? To subject the people to such horror..."
"It's diabolical," Deusolbert said.
Eldrie stepped forward once, then again. "Sir Bercouli," he said. "Why are those rogues not in chains? They must be interrogated! And Lady Alice! Why are you protecting them?"
Kirito frowned and opened his mouth to say something, but Alice held her arm out in front of him. I guess she didn't want him to interrupt. Eugeo put his hand on Kirito's shoulder, and the black-haired boy settled down. "We don't have time to deal with that right now," Bercouli replied. "The Dark Territory's been itching to invade us. And when they find out about the Pontifex, they will. No offense to Your Eminence, Lady Cardinal, but you simply do not have the reputation that Lady Administrator had cultivated. Plus, our ranks are half strong thanks to past battles with the forces of darkness. We should all be worried about that. If the Dark Territory decides to attack us now, the Human Realm will fall for sure."
"Then what should we do?" Fanatio asked. "Or rather... what can we do?"
"First," Bercouli said, "we'll restore the order of the Integrity Knights. Then we'll muster the imperial knights of the four empires and train them for battle. There's strength in numbers - and right now, we need all the help we can get."
"Then please, let me help."
"Eugeo!" Kirito exclaimed.
The blond boy smiled at Kirito, then turned back to the Integrity Knights. "Please," he said. "Allow me to join the ranks of the Integrity Knights!"
"You what?" Eldrie gasped. "Insolence! A traitor like you, who turned your sword on the..." He trailed off. He must have realized what he was about to say.
"I know that I'm just an elite disciple. But I love my home," Eugeo said. "If there's anything I can do to defend Norlangarth... to defend the Human Empire! I want to do it." He clasped his shaking hands.
Bercouli studied the boy's face, then turned to Miss Cardinal. "Lady Pontifex," he said. "The choice is yours."
"...Very well," Miss Cardinal said. "I see no problems with it."
I could see Eldrie wasn't happy about the decision, but he just clenched his fist and said nothing. "Then it's settled," Bercouli said. "Good to have you, kid."
"Thank you very much!"
Bercouli turned back to the assembled Integrity Knights. "I know what I told you is hard to accept, but it's still our job to protect the people here. I can't do that without you." For the first time this meeting, Bercouli closed his eyes and bowed his head.
"Sir!" the Integrity Knights said without hesitation.
It was like when Mister Karasuma asked us to help save Korosensei. Of course we'd agree immediately! Even running emotion emulation software, I didn't really understand a lot of emotions. Happiness and l- happiness and a few others, of course, but I was certain that I'd finally felt pride. I could see that same pride across all of their faces.
With the meeting over, the Integrity Knights broke apart and moved decisively, with two exceptions. Linel and Fizel looked around and talked to each other quietly, confusion on their face, and Alice sighed. "I'll go talk to them," she said. "I might not have approved of his training methods, but those two held a fondness for Rythin. They'll want to know he was injured."
She walked over to them. As for the others, Kirito and Eugeo were talking to each other about something - probably food, knowing Kirito - and I noticed that Miss Cardinal had turned around to leave and was floating towards the exit. "Ah! Miss Cardinal," I said. The librarian turned to me. "If it's okay, I had some questions about Sacred Arts that you might be able to answer."
"What questions?"
"Well, I had some ideas of things I'd like to try. First, how can you fly like that?"
...
Later that evening, Miss Cardinal called me and the other three up to the top of the Central Cathedral. It was eerie walking through the empty hall of what had been the Senators, and I shivered at the silence that made my footsteps echo.
"Good, you're all here," Miss Cardinal said when Kirito and Eugeo entered. Kirito was eating something that smelled pretty good. "If Ritsu is correct in her guess that the users in the real world will be entering a second control room, I will be able to assist you. With this console, I should be able to eject target Fluctlights from the Lightcube Cluster. Yours, to be precise, Alice."
"My... Fluctlight..."
Miss Cardinal turned to Kirito. "I can log you out as well, Kirito."
Kirito nodded. "That's great! I can go talk to Kikuoka directly... and give him a piece of my mind. What was he thinking, trying to use souls as weapons...?"
"Kirito?" Eugeo reached out and rested a hand on his friend's shoulder. Kirito twitched, then grinned at his friend.
"Lady Cardinal," Alice said. "I'm... Thank you for the offer, but... I want to stay here. My duty is to the Human Empire, regardless of Quinella's twisted intentions. How could I leave my sister, Selka? This role I have to play as Alice Synthesis Thirty may have been my punishment, but it's still my duty. I could... could never abandon my people."
Kirito grinned. "How honorable. Just like a fairy tale knight."
"Quiet, you," Alice snapped without heat in her voice. "You enjoyed those stories as much as I did."
It had been really interesting to learn that she had been Kirito's childhood friend, but he didn't remember any of it until the beam of light struck! He'd grumbled about Mr. Kikuoka for a little bit, but I could tell he was happy to have his memories of spending his childhood with Eugeo and Alice. It had been a little sad to realize Eugeo blamed himself for Alice breaking the Taboo Index because Kirito hadn't been there, but everything was all right now!
"But still..." Her voice softened a little bit. "You are correct. Yes, it's my honor as a Knight that prevents me from leaving the people of this land when they'll need me the most."
Kirito sighed. "Yeah, I kinda get what you mean. I get it. Ritsu, you don't want to leave, right?"
"Me?" I blinked and pointed at myself to confirm that yes, I was the one he was talking about. "No, sorry. I want to stay and watch over Rythin. I know he'd do the same if our places were swapped." He's precious to me, after all. I couldn't just go leave him alone when he's in trouble. "And besides, my Fluctlight wouldn't be very helpful, I think," I said. "If it was, Mr. Kikuoka wouldn't have let me jump in here with Rythin."
"You really don't have to be so formal with that guy," Kirito groaned. But, it just felt weird to not be polite to an agent, after Mr. Karasuma was so kind and thoughtful. Surely, Mr. Kikuoka would be just as nice, despite all the mean things Kirito was saying about him! "But I get your point. I guess that means I'm up, huh?"
Eugeo nodded. "Don't worry about a thing, Kirito," he said. "I'll train my hardest so that when you get back, I'll be a great Knight."
Kirito grinned and raised his hand. The blond boy smiled back and raised his own hand, and I felt a sudden surge of intensity from both of them. Then the two of them smacked their hands together in an elaborate routine that involved high-fives, fist bumps, and then strangely enough a part at the end where they pointed their fingers up in the sky. "Boys," Alice sighed quietly with a fond expression, then raised her voice. "Did you two practice that handshake?"
"N-No," Kirito protested. "...maybe." Pfft. Dork.
Miss Cardinal cleared her throat. "If you're ready, Kirito, then I'll begin the transfer."
Kirito nodded and walked over to the small librarian. "Take care of Rythin for me, okay, Ritsu?"
"Of course. You can count on me."
"Okay... Whenever you're ready, Cardinal." Kirito grinned at us. "Stay cool, you guys."
"Stay cool," Eugeo replied. I guess it was some sort of saying they had for each other, because Alice looked just as lost as I felt.
Kirito waited for Miss Cardinal to log him out, but the little librarian kept tapping at the terminal. Her forehead wrinkled in concentration, and we all rocked back and forth awkwardly. The silence stretched on longer than it really should have, and I cleared my throat. "Um... Miss Cardinal? Sorry, but is something wrong?"
"...Umu. I'm unable to execute the commands necessary. I'm afraid... you can't log out, Kirito."
"Gah...!" Kirito twisted to look at her. "Wait, seriously?" His hand trembled, and then he clenched his fist tight. "Hey, it's no problem at all. It's not your fault. But man... That's kinda embarrassing, huh?"
"I-It's okay!" Eugeo said. "You're still cool, Kirito."
He couldn't log out? That's strange, considering that he was using a government-created machine. But, maybe these systems were poorly programmed, or - actually, that makes sense. He's using a government-created machine, so thinking about it again I'm surprised things have been working as well as they are! I've only seen two errors so far!
...
June 9th, 380 HE
My daily lessons with Miss Cardinal were over and I stretched as I walked down the hall of the Central Cathedral's lower floors. I was really learning a lot! There are always new things to learn, and Miss Cardinal knew so much about everything.
"Ah, Ritsu. Hey!" I blinked and realized that Alice was walking towards me down one of the side corridors. That one came from the... Oh! It came from the landing floor. Her smile was bright and happy, and I waved hello.
"Hi, Alice. Did you just get back?"
"Yup. Amayori's pretty tired, we were flying the whole way. It's almost lunch time, right? Do you think Kirito already ate?"
She fell in beside me as we walked towards the main staircase. "I don't think so," I said. "Rythin hasn't eaten yet. So, Kirito's probably napping somewhere."
"That sounds like him," Alice nodded. "You had your training this morning, right? How much progress have you made?"
"Oh!" I love talking about this! "Well, thanks to the Sacred Arts that Miss Cardinal showed me, I think I finally finished with the development of the positional offset, which lets me start setting up the proper positional arrays. I don't have all the capabilities that I want just yet, but one step at a time! I need to make sure my changes work before making more updates."
Well, Rythin would do that, but he would always talk about how it was faster to find his errors all at once instead of fixing them one at a time. He could be silly like that.
"Ah... I see..." Alice's smile made it pretty clear that she didn't see, but that was okay. She might be a prodigy, but these were secret commands I was learning from Miss Cardinal.
"There's a rumor going around. Saying that traitor Integrity Knight is still alive."
I stopped walking. It took Alice a second to stop as well, but that wasn't the important thing. The only 'traitor Integrity Knight' around was Rythin, of course. The person talking was in the classroom we were about to pass, so I stood by the entrance just out of sight. Two boys were alone in the room, and both wore the uniform of trainee knights.
"I heard. He's supposed to be in a coma."
"I know we have to prepare for the Dark Territory to invade, but leaving that traitor in our midst? He defied the Church and should be executed for it!"
"Agreed. And what of that one rebel swordsman?"
"Yes, him as well. Who knows what Commander Bercouli is thinking?"
I frowned and walked down the hall. Alice followed me after a second of confusion. It wasn't safe here for Rythin, and even though my mission was to keep Alice safe I wouldn't let him get hurt either. For that, I had to move him somewhere. "Alice," I asked, "is there somewhere safe for Rythin? Somewhere I can take him where the Knights won't find him."
Alice looked at me and hesitated, then sighed. "...Rulid," she said. "My hometown. He should be safe there. It's at the very edge of Norlangarth - the End Mountains are a morning's walk away."
Her hometown... I knew she still held reservations about Rythin, but if she was letting me stay there, then she really was a nice girl. "Thank you," I told her. "It means a lot."
Kirito, of course, was taking a nap on the 80th floor. "...I'm coming with you," Kirito declared after we woke him up and I explained what I was going to do.
"Kirito, you have to-" Alice began.
"I'm not leaving Rythin," Kirito said. "He's my best friend, and it's my fault he's here to begin with."
Alice sighed. "If that's really how you feel..." She shook her head. "I will come with you."
"Wha- huh?" Kirito asked.
Alice put her hands on her hips and frowned at him. "You can't expect me to just send you off to Rulid without me, do you? After all, you promised I could go see Selka!"
"Crap, I forgot..."
I had a feeling that Alice wasn't saying all of her reasons, but I was a girl too! I wasn't going to share another maiden's secrets. I wasn't Karma or Rio. Plus, having everyone in the same area made things really easy when it came to keeping track of Alice. The last thing Rythin had told me to do was keep her safe, after all. When he woke up, I was going to make sure nothing happened to her. "Great!" I clapped my hands. "Then we'll leave tonight."
The next few hours were spent making sure that I had everything I would need. Once night had fallen and the noise of the trainees disappeared, the four of us headed down to the dragon's roost. Thanks to Alice carrying Rythin and helping me saddle Red for the flight, we were in the air and flying away from the Central Cathedral without anyone noticing. Rythin was comfortably nestled in front of me while I held the reins, but I wasn't really trying to steer Red anywhere. Amayori was the one leading the way.
Come to think of it, we hadn't told Eugeo where we were going. There just wasn't any time for us to spare after all of our duties were finished. He was busy with Tiese in Centoria, so I'm sure he'll be fine. But, just to be safe, I'll remind Kirito to send him a message later.
...
We flew all night, and neither Red nor Amayori stopped once. By the time the dragons landed, the sun was coloring the sky behind the mountains pink and red. It would be too obvious to land in the middle of town, so we landed in the woods and walked the rest of the way. I tried to carry Rythin, I really did! But... I just wasn't strong enough. Alice carried him on her back once I gave up, and that was how we crossed the bridge into town - Alice in the lead, carrying Rythin, then me and Kirito. It only took a few hours to hike, so the sun was high in the sky.
I'd never been up here before. Rulid was really, really nice compared to everywhere in Wesdarath. Instead of being weird scraggly brown trees, everything was super lush and green. The buildings were made of a nice-looking yellow-white stone instead of the brown stone that all the buildings in Wesdarath used. Plus, the water was bright and sparkling in the light.
There was no guard when we walked over the bridge and passed through the waist-high stone wall that marked the town's outskirts, and I was almost worried that something had happened to the town -
"Hold on, you! Strangers aren't allowed in unless I say so!" I turned to see a young man running out of the small house right by the edge of the bridge. It must be the guardhouse. He had short spiky hair, and as he approached us he put his hand on his sword.
"Yo, Jink," Kirito said casually, and the man stopped. "Been a while. You made it to guard captain, huh?"
"Gah... It's you," Jink said, then smirked. "What are you doing back? And where's Eugeo? You two give up on being Integrity Knights already? Sorry, but we don't need a woodcutter -"
"Kirito," Alice said. "Your friend is heavy." No he's not! Rythin is a perfectly acceptable weight. Don't be mean, Alice.
But she'd turned to face Kirito to complain, and that meant her face - which she'd previously concealed by wrapping a brown shawl around her golden hair - was visible to the guardsman. "By the gods... It can't be..." he stammered as he backed away.
"I am no stranger," the Integrity Knight said. "I am Alice. Summon Gasuft Zuberg at once. I want to speak with my father."
It didn't take long for the news of the returning travelers to spread throughout the village, and even before Mister Zuberg showed up a huge crowd of villagers arrived to see what the commotion was. They whispered to themselves and I did my best to ignore the unfriendly looks I was getting. "It feels strange to be back," Alice murmured mostly to herself. "It's both achingly familiar and not. Weird, huh?"
"Kinda, yeah," Kirito said.
"Hey, you're not supposed to agree with me."
I would have giggled, but there was a lot of tension in the air -
The tension I was feeling spiked abruptly and I turned to the left. The villagers there stepped to the side and a man walked forward through the ring of villagers. He had black hair and a neat mustache and goatee, and there was something familiar in his face. It must be Gasuft Zuberg, Alice's father. He had a stern expression on his face as he walked purposefully towards us, but when he caught sight of Alice's face he stopped and his jaw dropped.
It took him a second to gather himself, but his expression firmed. "Is that really... you?" he asked. "Alice?"
"...Yes," Alice replied with a short nod.
Gasuft pulled his shoulders back. "Well then, what are you doing here? Have you been pardoned for your crime?"
"I have," Alice said. The villagers' murmurs grew louder at that declaration, until Gasuft gestured for silence. "All the memories I had of my life here had been wiped away as punishment. The last several years have been spent in service to the Axiom Church, and the Pontifex herself graciously pardoned my crimes and returned my memories to me."
That was the same story that all of us agreed to. It even had the benefit of being accurate, thanks to Miss Cardinal's decisions.
Gasuft exhaled slowly, and then looked at her. "...Welcome home, Alice." The blonde girl smiled.
"Alice...?"
Alice turned towards the hesitant voice to see a young girl, her hair braided in a similar style to the knight's hair. The girl was wearing the robes of a Sister-in-training, and she stared at Alice, her mouth open.
"Sel...ka..." Alice said slowly. "Selka... Selka!"
"Alice!"
I couldn't tell which girl moved first, even with my kinetic vision. It didn't matter though, because Selka hugged Alice so tightly I was worried she'd never let go. "Alice, Alice!" Selka cried. "You're back!"
"I'm back, Selka," Alice whispered, patting her sister on the back. "I'm so sorry for leaving you. But I'm back now."
"Alice..."
Gasuft cleared his throat and turned to the black-haired boy while his daughters had their reunion. "And Kirito... where is Eugeo? Why have you returned alone?"
"Oh, Eugeo's busy in Centoria," Kirito said. "Being an Integrity Knight means he's got a lot of work to do. I'm sure he'll stop by if he can find the time, though." We never did tell Eugeo where we were going, though...
"Is that... so?" Gasuft looked like he had no idea how to react to Kirito. "Who is this, then?" Oh, he was looking at me now.
"Hello, sir," I said. "My name is Ritsu. I was hoping... you could allow me and my friend to stay in the village. We have nowhere else to go."
It had taken a little bit of discussion to sort out where everyone would stay, but in the end it was settled. Kirito would live in Eugeo's old cottage at the edge of town, and Alice and I would live in the woods outside town. Alice wasn't thrilled with not getting to live with her little sister, but her father said that some of the townsfolk might not be comfortable with a criminal, even a pardoned one, living in the village. The two other men - one fat, one thin, both with an air of self-importance - nodded. They must have convinced him, since Gasuft had only said something after they barged into the discussions.
Kirito and I didn't say anything because we'd never been charged with a crime, and so we weren't criminals. It's important to pay attention to specifics like that, you know.
October 21, 380 HE
The wind blew across the field of flowers below us, and played with the hem of my dress and my hair. It really was a beautiful sight. I wish I could share it with Rythin... I sighed as the thought crossed my mind. He would definitely wake up. I just had to stay by his side until then.
"Ritsu?" I looked over at the others. Selka stared at me in concern. Alice and Kirito, on the other hand, were bickering with each other about something. Kirito rolled his eyes and retorted to whatever she'd said, and Alice tossed her hair and shoved at his shoulder playfully.
I smiled. "It's nothing," I said. "I was just thinking about Rythin. Should we start heading back?"
"Sounds good to me," Kirito said. "I'm starting to get hungry."
Alice giggled. "You eat too much as it is," she said. "I don't know how you didn't eat through your entire budget when on the road with Eugeo."
"I'm not that bad!" Kirito yelped, and I smiled.
"Who was it who got in trouble a few months ago for sneaking into the kitchen to get some dumplings?" I asked and tapped a finger on my cheek like I'd actually forgotten. Kirito folded his arms and sighed, grumbling something under his breath.
As we walked, I noticed that Selka started to walk behind us a little bit, her hands folded in front of her. I wasn't the only one to notice, though, and before I said anything Alice stopped walking. "What is it, Selka?" she asked her little sister. "Something troubles you."
Selka ducked her head. "W-well... I-It's nothing serious, it's Mr. Barbossa. He asked if you could chop down another tree for him."
Alice smiled at her. "Honestly, that's why you're so quiet? You do know he and I have an agreement."
"Yes, but... How dare he!" After her outburst, Selka stared at the dirt path. "The hypocrite! He doesn't hesitate to ask you for help when they need it, but they won't even let you live in the village."
"It's all right, Selka," Alice said. She walked up to Selka and wrapped the girl in a tight hug for a second. "As long as I can have a place on the outskirts, that's enough for me. And, between myself and Kirito, we have enough money for everyone." I blushed a little bit. I grew what I could and hunted some of the beasts in the woods, but it wasn't enough for everything. Kirito was very kind to me and helped me out, but I still felt guilty about relying on his friendship with Rythin for so much. Alice gave me some meat as well, though I think she was trying to make Kirito happy more than anything...
"Yes, but...! Next year, my training will be done," Selka said with her hands raised, "and I was thinking, since I'll be earning a little money I could give you that! It's not much, but it's enough that you won't have to help those people anymore. You and Kirito don't have to worry. I-I'll help!"
"Ah, I wish my little sister was as great as you are, Selka," Kirito said, and patted her head. "I'll look forward to it, then."
"I'm grateful, Selka," Alice said as she hugged her little sister again. "If you're set on that, then I won't try to stop you. But you don't need to push yourself. Just having you close by is all I could ever need. I'm happy just to have that."
Kirito and Alice, since they were so powerful, were able to cut down the trees that stood in the way of the town's expansion. Mr. Barbossa and Mr. Ridack, the two men Selka had mentioned, paid Alice and Kirito respectively to cut down one tree a month for them. I couldn't do something like that, sadly, so there was no way for me to make money.
"If you've got to go do your job, I understand," I told her. "I'll be fine to return on my own. I'll see you later, okay?"
"See you, Ritsu," Kirito said. Selka waved goodbye, and I started rolling Rythin's wheelchair back down the path.
"Ahh..." I stopped moving as soon as Rythin's wordless complaint started. One hand still clutched his dagger, but the other reached towards the black-haired boy standing next to Alice. "Ahhh..."
I giggled weakly. "You want to stay with Kirito for a little bit, huh? Well, it's a nice day out, so I don't mind. We can go watch Alice work." Kirito scratched his cheek, and Selka smiled. I blushed. It's like that awkward situation where you're talking to a friend online, then say goodnight so you can go to bed - but then you get distracted by something and stay up an hour later and see them still online when you're actually going to bed.
Selka waved goodbye as we parted ways with her and made our way to where Barbossa was waiting. Since we were on the outskirts of town, our path to the clearing took us through the fields of wheat. The dirt path we walked down was bumpy and uneven, and the wheels of Rythin's wheelchair bounced on the ground. It was made well enough that he was fine, though, and since Kirito was with us Rythin didn't complain. "The village has really grown," Alice mused. "All of the trees we've cleared, Kirito..."
"Yeah. Once Eugeo and I cut down the Gigas Cedar, Rulid has done great."
Before too much longer, the rhythmic sound of an axe hitting a tree filled the air. We approached the clearing, just in time to see a man take a swing with an axe. He hit the tree, but the impact didn't ring out with a pure sound and he staggered backwards from the recoil. The axe fell from his hands and clattered on the ground in front of him right after his butt hit the dirt.
"Why is this taking so long? In the time it takes you to cut this damn tree down, Ridack's men will have expanded his land 20 mels in all directions!"
"Good day, Mr. Barbossa," Alice said as we approached.
The man who had been shouting at the workers turned; his eyes were squinted in irritation until he saw who had just arrived, and then his face transformed into piggish glee. He was short and fat, and his clothes were definitely tailored for a man with a waist half his size - only one button on his tunic was fastened, and it was doing a heroic job of keeping the vest together.
"Oh ho ho! Alice, how good of you to come! And so quickly, too!"
"I heard you need my assistance," Alice said.
Barbossa chuckled and folded his arms behind his back. "Yes," he said, pointing to the tree in the center of the clearing. "It's that one, over there. We've been hacking away at it since yesterday morning. These damn platinum oak trees are tough. Why, ten grown men have put their backs into every swing, and they've barely made a scratch in it." The tree in question was the only one left in the clearing, and the others had all been chopped into logs. It was a tall tree with orange leaves. "So I asked for you."
Barbossa turned to Alice and clapped a fist in his palm. "I know our deal is for one tree a month," he said, "but this one's stubborn and I really need your help here, Alice."
"I shall do it," Alice said. "And happily. But just this once, understood?"
"Has Mr. Ridack been asking you to help too?" I whispered to Kirito.
Kirito shook his head. "Not yet. He's sticking to the agreement. I'm not so sure about this, though..."
Barbossa smiled widely. "Great! I knew I could count on you!" He extended his hand to shake.
Alice ignored him and turned to Kirito. "Can I borrow your sword, Kirito?" She'd already turned away so she missed it, but Barbossa sneered at her in irritation.
"Why don't you just bring your own?" Kirito asked her in return.
"Don't ask silly questions, just give me the Night Sky Sword," Alice shot back in return. I giggled at their arguing.
"Fine, fine, stop looking at me like that." Kirito drew his sword and handed it to Alice. The blonde accepted the heavy black blade with a winning smile and strode off to the platinum oak. "You're worse than Asuna..."
Sword in hand, Alice walked up to the tree and swiped her finger in the pattern to call the Stacia panel. It appeared in front of her and she studied it thoughtfully. After she found whatever she was looking for, she closed the panel and took a few steps back. Then, she slammed her foot down and pulled the sword back.
"Come on!" one of the burly lumberjacks called out with a mean grin. "You think you're gonna cut down a platinum oak with a little old sword?"
"It'll snap in half!" his buddy shouted.
All of the watching men laughed, but Alice didn't give off a single sign that she'd heard them. Instead, she stared at the tree and -
In a burst, her foot slid forward and she swung the sword a single time. The force from her swing was so intense that a gust of wind blasted back towards us. I shielded my face and Kirito raised a forearm to cover his eyes. But, despite the force of Alice's swing, it appeared as though the tree was untouched.
The men were silent, until one of them laughed. "Look at that. She missed!"
Alice straightened up in a fluid motion that started at her lower back and flowed up her spine. "You'd best move away from there," she said, and looked at her two hecklers.
It looked like she hadn't touched the tree. On the other hand, I had been programmed to keep track of a monster moving at Mach 20, and my kinetic vision was still powerful even as a real girl. I'd watched with interest as Alice made one of the cleanest cuts I'd ever seen.
"Why should we-"
An ominous creaking sound cut off the heckler's confused question before he finished it. We all looked up at the platinum oak as it creaked and rumbled, and slowly tipped over. With screams of fear, the two men who had been making fun of Alice scrambled away. When the tree landed on the ground in a cloud of dirt and dust, I winced. I hope they're okay...
"You could have warned them earlier," Kirito said as he approached Alice.
"I know," Alice replied. Kirito looked at her but didn't say anything as he accepted his Night Sky Sword and sheathed it again.
Barbossa had been stunned silent by Alice's feat of strength, his face blank with shock. Not literally blank like Korosensei always used to do, but still expressionless. "Splendid... Wonderful... Magnificent!" He slowly found his voice as he walked towards Alice and Kirito. "Your skill is unbelievable! No! Exceptional! It must have been granted by the gods!"
I giggled to myself. Irony really was funny, wasn't it? Alice, on the other hand, didn't seem impressed by the greed on Barbossa's face as he rubbed his hands together.
"Here me out now," the heavy man said. "I shall double your compensation, and instead of once a month, you'd work for me once a week - no, once a day! I know you could use the money."
"Thank you." I was super impressed! Alice didn't even blink at the horrible offer he'd just made her. "But the amount you're paying now is quite sufficient. In any event, Kirito has not received the same offer from Mr. Ridack and I would hate to unbalance things." Barbossa clenched his fists at her refusal, but Alice simply raised her hand, palm facing up. "My payment," she said flatly.
"O-Oh! Of course. Yes, right away!" Barbossa fiddled with the pouch on his belt and withdrew a single coin. He placed it in Alice's palm, and -
My hand snapped out and wrapped around a wrist. "Excuse me," I said politely to the woodcutter. "Would you mind explaining your actions?"
"H-Hey!" He tugged, trying to pull his wrist back. I wasn't as strong as Alice or Kirito, so I let go after a second. "What the hell was that for? I was just gonna borrow the dagger for a second!"
"Is that so?" I asked. He was one of the younger ones here, with light scruff on his chin. He was larger than me so I had to look up, but that didn't matter.
"We asked him," he said, and folded his arms. I looked over his shoulder where two other men were watching. "If he didn't want us touching it, he should have said something."
"He's right," his friend said. "We asked him nicely, and all he did was go 'Ah, ah', like a gibbering fool."
'I want to kill him.'
The flash of killing intent surged through me. It had been some time since I'd experienced something like that; after Korosensei passed away, I'd spent my time living and growing by exploring the Internet. There just wasn't any reason to develop my assassination techniques, although I knew Nagisa and some of the others kept themselves in good condition. My finely-honed weapon had become a little dull, I'm embarrassed to admit. But hearing them make fun of Rythin like that...
"Would you care to repeat that?" I asked. When I tilted my head to the side just a little, the man shivered without seeming to notice.
'I want to kill him.'
The man blanched like he'd just stared Death in the eyes, and then tugged his hand back to cradle it against his chest. "Fine, whatever! No need to look so angry." He staggered backwards, until he and his friends were a good distance from me and surrounded by the rest of the workers.
I let out a quiet sigh. A gloom seemed to hang over the men as they glared at me; I was perfectly able to ignore their unfriendly gazes, though. Something like that barely mattered to me at all. Were they mad at me because I refused to let them hurt my Rythin? Then good.
"...Shall we leave?" I asked Rythin quietly.
He didn't react, not even when Kirito said goodbye and left for his home. That was always good; there were some days where Rythin would cling to Kirito even through dinner. Kirito never said anything bad about eating with us, though.
"Ritsu?" The quiet question came from Alice as we walked side by side down the path through the fields. We lived a little bit apart, but the path out of the town was the same for both of us. "I just wished to say... I can barely stand it. The way the townsfolk act, how they refused us a home in my birth village simply because of the nobles' pride. We were rejected, and then they turn around and beg us for help."
She shook her head. "I can only imagine how hard it must be for you," she said. "We all fought for the sake of the people, and Rythin sacrificed so much... I will admit that he wasn't my favorite person, but to become a shell of his former self..."
We stopped in the crossroads that separated our homes, and Alice looked at me solemnly. "I know it's selfish of me," she said, "but the citizens of Rulid aren't all bad people. Please don't give up on them."
I blinked, and then smiled. "Don't worry, Alice. I won't hold their actions against them. And honestly, I don't mind living out in the woods that much. It brings back a lot of fond memories, after all."
"Thank you," Alice said, her shoulders relaxing.
The vegetables that I'd picked that morning were easy to chop up with my knife skills, and I made meatballs out of the game Alice had brought me. All of that went into a bean and meatball stew that... Well, it wasn't like I had a lot of practice making and tasting food, but it was edible. Rythin didn't complain as I scooped some of the stew in a small stew and blew on it before I carefully held it up to his mouth. He could eat, but it was hesitant, like a faint memory was driving him. He didn't react to it, but when the spoon entered his mouth he still chewed and swallowed without me.
I really wished I could make some of Rythin's favorites. If only I knew what those were! As much as he'd always been snacking back in E Class, he never seemed to enjoy anything more than anything else. And when I'd gone to ask Kirito for advice, the jerk had just shrugged and said that Rythin ate everything!
...I stopped puffing my cheeks out in irritation and sighed. Nobody was here to react to it, anyway.
"Eat slowly and chew carefully, okay?" I told Rythin as he swallowed the latest bite. "You can't gobble it down like an octopus. Heheheheh." Of course I laughed at my own joke, just like a dork.
After dinner was finished for both of us I went to the kitchen to wash up the simple bowls and utensils. After that, I sat down by the fire right next to Rythin and started chanting. "System call..." It was time for my nightly Sacred Art practice. It was a little childish to not want to fall behind Selka's progress, but I could be allowed a little bit of that, right?
The Sacred Power in the air had just about been exhausted when someone knocked on my door. I looked at Rythin, but he hadn't reacted at all. That meant it couldn't be a stranger, but who would be knocking on my door right before bedtime?
"...Alice?" I asked. I definitely didn't expect to see the blonde girl standing on the steps dressed in her Integrity Knight armor. "What are you doing here at this hour?"
"May I... come in?" the Integrity Knight asked, instead of answering me.
"Oh! Where are my manners. Come in, you must be freezing."
Alice sat down at the table, her back to the door. I sat facing her, right next to Rythin as he stared at the fire again. I prepared tea for both of us, but Alice only stared at the steaming surface. "I'm sorry to visit so late," she said after a long silence. "I'm not disturbing you, am I?"
"No, not at all! I was just wrapping up my practice for the night and then going to bed with Rythin, but it's not like staying up late once in a while is a bad thing." Alice smiled faintly at my comment, then went back to frowning. "What's wrong, Alice?"
The blonde folded her hands in front of her and sighed. "The Integrity Knights... Eldrie Synthesis Thirty-Two found me, earlier tonight."
"What?" I gasped.
"I heard Amayori trilling earlier, and when I went to see what was causing her distress, her brother Takiguri landed in front of me," Alice said. "The rider of her brother is Eldrie."
I glanced over at Rythin. Neither of us had noticed anything during dinner. "What did he want? How did he find us? There's no logistical way the Order could afford to send dragons all over just to track you down."
Alice shook her head. "To hear him say it, because he followed the bond between our souls." I couldn't help but giggle at the cheesy pickup line, and Alice sighed again. "I know. But he's been like that for years. I couldn't get him to stop calling me Lady Alice, even now!"
She shook her head. "That is besides the point. Eldrie admitted that he'd been tasked to search the northern border after they learned that goblins and orcs have been mobilizing there."
I sucked in a breath. Goblins and orcs, mobilizing right near the border of Rulid... "Are we going to be attacked?" I asked her.
Alice blinked. "Eldrie said Uncle Bercouli ordered them to collapse the caves to the south and west, and here in the north. When he came to make sure they don't try to dig them out again he spent a full day patrolling the perimeters but didn't spot any orcs or goblins."
"So how did he find you?"
"Well..." Alice sighed. "He and Takiguri encountered a red dragon, one that they recognized, in a cave that should have been filled with debris."
Oh. So that's where Red had decided to nest.
"That's how he knew you and Rythin were near, but when he mounted Takiguri to return, Takiguri began behaving strangely," Alice told me. "When he allowed his dragon free reign, they ended up landing right outside my house."
I sipped at my tea and made a face. It had cooled too much while we were talking, so I summoned a small Thermal element. "Now that he's found us, what does he want to do?"
"Honestly? Nothing," Alice said. I stared at her. "He did ask me to give up your location, but when I refused he accepted it out of respect for the bond we had as mentor and student. He is... a kind person, at heart," she said, staring into her cup of tea. "And I do treasure our connection. Still, you and Kirito are my friends, and I can't betray you like that."
I smiled at her. "Thank you, Alice. So then, this is goodbye?"
"Yes," she said. "I will be taking up my sword once more to defend the Human Empire. It is my duty as an Integrity Knight, after all. Would you... tell Kirito goodbye, for me? He's my childhood friend, but I can't ask him to choose between me and Rythin."
When she fidgeted with her hands, I had to avoid giggling. She might be a powerful Integrity Knight, but Alice was still a cute girl sometimes! "I'll tell him, don't worry," I said. "Thank you so much for everything you've done for us over these last few months."
Alice smiled and stood up from the table.
"Ahhh... Ahhh...!"
The second I heard Rythin's gasps, I turned to him to see what was going on. His eyes had widened and he'd gritted his teeth, practically trembling in place. His hand reached towards the door. "What's wrong?" I asked him. "Rythin?" He didn't react or calm down at all. Instead, he leaned forward and nearly fell from his chair before I caught him.
"Outside! Ritsu!" Alice called from the doorway. I looked up at the blonde girl, but she wasn't looking at me.
When I joined her, I realized what she was staring at. "Oh no...!" I gasped, hands covering my mouth.
Fire, barely visible over the trees, illuminated the night sky. Smoke filled the air and blotted out the stars.
"A fire... The Dark Territory is attacking!" Alice gasped. "Selkaaaaaa!"
Welcome to the War of Underworld! We're moving fast, but that's what happens when this is the third book of the fourth book in the series.
Cardinal and Eugeo are alive! Hooray! Kirito isn't in a coma! Hooray! Rythin is currently unconscious and unable to react in any meaningful way to most things. Uh oh, that's not good. For those wondering why that happened? That'll be addressed in the next chapter, so don't worry too much. (Also, don't worry - Eugeo is currently courting Tiese. He has a promise to keep to her, after all. He's noticed that Kirito disappeared, but more or less sighed and said, 'That's Kirito for you'. He was a lot less worried once Kirito sent him a letter explaining what was going on.)
It's an interesting thing to do here, to make sure that the butterflies affect everything properly. Kirito and Alice are working for Ridack and Barbossa respectively, and because she has her memories back Alice isn't quite as abrasive to the villagers; but, on the other hand, she's still not welcome. As for why Ritsu and Rythin are staying outside of the town... Because 1) I like the parallels between E Class's campus and the woods here, and 2) because they can't exactly stay at the church. Ritsu needs to stay with him at all times, including sleeping in the same room (they only have one bed, they cuddle) and that's against the Taboo Index. Now that the Senator system is down, it doesn't have any REAL effect, but Sister Azalia wouldn't like it.
Also, don't tell me that government-owned software and hardware wouldn't be prone to failing at the slightest thought. I work on those systems. They're all 10+ years out of date and won't be updated for at least ten more, so I know what I'm talking about.
Many thanks to everyone that favorited, followed, or reviewed!
