Whether it is a part of me avoiding Central Cathedral unconsciously, curiosity about my life as the Crimson Emperor, curiosity in what I passed down to Slyvie, or some combination of the three, I convinced myself it was time to return to Obsidia. Unfortunately, I had to convince myself that I must avoid Eydis - or, more importantly, not to cause Eydis any trouble besides taking the Chaos Drake.

After my decree, Eolyne placed a call somewhere and sent Alice, Asuna, and Kureha to change into something besides the armor and clothes they wear. Alice's knightly armor and Asuna's heavenly armor would stand out, but not Kureha's. However, she wanted to dress up as well, an unusual showcase of her girly side, and they all came back wearing the standard issue Integrity Pilot uniforms. I'll admit they all look cute in the navy uniform and cap. It wasn't too strange to see Alice and Asuna in a navy uniform anyway, I've seen them in their school uniforms, but I had to will myself not to laugh at seeing Kureha in anything other than pink and white.

Kirito and I kept our clothes on, for we wouldn't stand out much. If anything, I'd look like some stuffy noble in my tunic and sword, but nothing Eolyne hasn't seen.

Despite being told that the mansion was safe enough to leave her prized armor within, Alice was not leaving the dragon eggs of Amayori and Takiguri in her belt pack behind. Before his fight with Subtilzer, Kirito reverted the sibling dragons of Alice and Eldrie Synthesis Thirty-One to a pre-hatched with Incarnation. I know Alice is eager to have them hatched, but she can't be in the Underworld at all times, and the only person I know who has experience raising dragons and that Alice could trust to leave them with is thousand of miles away. I could take them to Eydis, but that's Alice's choice, and I am avoiding Eydis for the time being.

We make our way out of the spooky mansion to the equally eerie woods and are greeted by two cheery voices belonging to two of three sets of heels snapping into place. "We've come with your ride!" The words come simultaneously from two girls in the Pilothood's uniforms, Stica Schtrinen and Laurannei Arabel. In the center is a silent boy their age saluting alongside them, Mathias Orthinanos.

"Huh?" Kirito yelps in surprise. "I assumed you were doing your real jobs today."

"They ought to be," Eolyne remarks with a sigh. "At their young ages, they're the aces of the Blue Rose Company. Ordinarily, they're as busy barracudas, between training new operators and testing experimental dragoncraft; they shouldn't be acting as chauffeurs, but they insisted, so..."

"Blue Rose Company," I murmur to myself. That's the name of Eugeo's Sword, but also that means the divisions of the Integrity Pilots were named after flowers. I believe Operator Second Class Elgia said she was part of Cattleya Company. Besides the company's naming, I feel weirded out as I glance at Mathias. No "Lycoris Company," huh?

"Lady Alice, Lady Asuna, Sir Kirito, and Sir Jaymes, it's so good to see you!"

"I'm so happy we got the chance to meet again!" Stica and Laurannei approach us excitedly. They hug Alice and Asuna and shake hands with Kirito and me. Before I could even introduce Kureha, they got all giddy and shook her hand too. Turns out Cordelia told her brother about our previous visit in detail, so they had already heard of Kureha.

In the meantime, I parted from them and walked over to Mathias, who strode to the second vehicle he must've driven. "Not eager for a meet and greet like they are?"

"I'm happy to see you all, but as the elder of the trio, I have to keep some reservations." He smirks and glances at the girls. Laurannei struggles to hold the brown leather bag of Kirito, Alice, and Asuna's swords, which were heavy for Kirito, Asuna, and Alice by the overall weight-heavy for Laurannei because of the high priority levels of each blade. However, Laurannei barely manages to keep the bag from touching the ground alone, and with Stica's help, they strained themselves to carry the bag over to the first vehicle.

"Impressive," I remark. "There are four high-priority weapons in that sack, and they carried it. Barely, but done."

"It is impressive for their age. They're just fifteen."

"Fifteen... Wait, fifteen? And they can do that? H-how old are you?"

"Eighteen, and before you ask, I could hoist the Lycoris Blade off the ground with two hands at their age. Cordelia could do so too."

Cordelia is the same age as Sylvie, meaning she's a year younger. And if I remember correctly, Medina was eighteen when she received the Mirage Blade from Cardinal and me. Tiese and Ronie were around the same age when they received their Divine Objects and achieved knighthood. "...Jeez. The Orthinanos, Arabel, and Schtrinen blood run strong, huh?"

"It's embarrassing when you brag like that, Big Brother."

"Pfft, that's nothing." Two new voices come from inside the car, both of which I'm well acquainted with. They exit the vehicle, one with excellent vigor, the other cold and restrained. I turn to Mathias, wondering why his younger sister and her best friend are with him now, but leave that question for later as I greet them both.

"Cordelia, Sylvie. Hello again."

Cordelia, without hesitation, gathers me in an embrace. "Welcome back, Sir Jaymes! I'm sorry I wasn't home to greet you. We stayed the night in our dorm at the academy, and Kureha did say you wouldn't be here until about nine in the morning, but even then, I was there."

I shake my head as I get her to release me. "Pay it no mind. I've been here since seven-thirty. Right now, I was on my way to find both of you at the Swordcraft Academy. Well, you specifically, Sylvie." The princess of the Underworld lowers her brow unhappily at this but remains quiet.

Asking Mathias to introduce his sister to more of her legends, I stay with Sylvie for a private talk. I almost ask if she can indeed use the fast-travel art, but that somehow sounds rude to ask her for a favor so immediately. We aren't pressed for time, for it'll take Eolyne a while to get Kirito, Asuna, and Alice to the X'rphan, while Slyvie could get Kureha and me to the Chaos Drake in seconds. I can afford to take Philia's advice to get to know Sylvie as a person before as my daughter.

So I turn to the mass gathering, pointing out Kirito, Asuna, and Alice, the latter coming our way. "That's the Star King Kirito, Star Queen Asuna, and Alice the Osmanthus Knight."

"A-Auntie Alice?" Sylvie stares at Alice without a single blink as the knight joins us. Her lip shaking, Sylvie reaches out for Alice's hand, grabbing it with hers. "In the flesh, it's Auntie Alice. Mother always said you were a cutie, but you're beyond a cutie."

"Aunt... Huh?" Alice blushes uncomfortably. She glances at me, wondering what's up with the girl calling her that.

"She's...the daughter of the Emperor and Empress."

"Oh... Oh, that explains why you trust...her."

"Keep this a secret, please."

Alice nods and turns back to Slyvie, giving her a warm smile. "Y-you are indeed Eydis' daughter, without question. It's...nice to meet you."

"Ah... Aaaaaah!" Sylvie elicits a girlish yelp as she puts her hands over her mouth. "No, that face right now is super cute! I can't wait to tell Mother I met you!" I wish someone exuberated this happiness over meeting me, but then again, I challenged her to a swordfight before she knew who I was. She was somewhat more receptive after that, so maybe she was happy but didn't want to show it...much like her father.

"All right, Alice, you need to join the others," Kureha says, coming to the black sedan with the Orthinanos siblings while gesturing to the white van Kirito and the others enter. "Tell Kirito and Asuna not to cause any more trouble while roaming their former kingdom."

"I'll make the same request of a certain former emperor." Alice glares at me before bidding the Underworlders and Kureha farewell for now. Watching them leave, I turn to Mathias. My prior destination was Swordcraft Academy, but with Sylvie and Cordelia present, there's no need for that. Furthermore, I wanted to be far away from Centoria in case Sylvie did not know how to dampen her Incarnation, and we have no choice but to trigger the Incarnameters.

"Mathias, let's return to the manor for a moment. We have some time before Kureha and I have something to do."

"All right."

"So, Mathias, you're only eighteen. When did you join the Integrity Pilots?"

Mathias, seated beside me at the front of the sedan, hums in thought to answer my question. "To join the pilothood requires high marks at school, then high rankings at the Stellar Unification Combat Tournament, enter into the space or ground forces as an officer, then if you do well there, you can get a recommendation to test to be a pilot. I was thirteen when I won the tournament, sixteen when I joined the space force and became a pilot last year."

"Wow," I say while genuinely impressed. "What about Stica and Laurannei?"

"They were twelve when they tied for first place in the tournament three years ago. Of course, if you ask them who won, that's a different story. Commander Eolyne participated and won when he was sixteen."

I suspect the Stellar Unification Tournament is the successor to the Four Empire Unification Tournament that Adminstrator used to gain new knights. Even then, that's quite impressive for twelve and thirteen-year-olds to win it. I already knew the Orthinanos line was strong despite their adversity, but Ronie and Tiese's lineage is a force to be reckoned with too. I wonder if the Schtrinen line is great because of the potential genes of Tiese and her probable mate, Renly Synthesis Twenty-Seven, and beg the question of who Ronie found love with.

Then there's the first branch in my lineage, right behind me. I don't need a Stacia Window to determine her power - the sword at her waist, disguised with Incarnation, says it all. "You guys are great as pilots and swordsmen."

"Nothing in comparison to the commander. He soundly defeated the girls in a two-on-one duel, and, well, I rather not hurt the pride of my family in a fight that isn't winnable."

"It's because you're nothing more than a scaredy-cat, brother," Cordelia sneers. "Always hiding behind your 'Orthinanos pride.'"

The blue-capped redhead looks at his sister through the rearview mirror with a smirk. "I hear someone is currently second-seated at the Swordcraft Academy where I was first-seated talking."

"Grrrr!"

I smile as the two siblings bicker, reminded just how easily argumentative Medina was. Even Matthew, their more distant ancestor, loved to fight. And it reminds me of myself and Kureha when we were...well, still to this day, we'd bicker like siblings simply because we grew up together as childhood friends.

"Hey, hey, Jaymes!" That's Cordelia, patting me on the shoulder excitedly. "Can you hurt my dearly beloved brother's pride by letting us see your Stacia Window?"

"Wh-what? You want to compare him to the Star King! You're lucky only I saw you open your window on him!"

"How could I not see it? His Authority levels were super high!"

"How high?" Kureha curiously questions. I have to admit I'm curious myself, but never found the will to ask Kirito. I haven't told him we practically dueled to the death once, and that ended in a tie, or I had him on the ropes. We'd never know because Asuna intervened, joined Kirito, and curb-stomped me by herself before I almost killed them both with Trojan Horse.

"Let's see... Star King Kirito had ID number NND7-6355. His Object Control was 29 and System Control was 07, which isn't impressive, but there was a weird looking '1' beside both numbers-"

"Guwah?" I cough up the air in my lungs as I hear Cordelia's report. I was chuckling in my mind to hear Kirito's OC and SC somehow dropped to the point he shouldn't wield either of his swords, yet hearing there's a '1' in front of those numbers stunned me. An OC of 129 and an SC of 107... I had never concerned myself with my authority level before, but I knew I matched Administrator when I faced her. Those numbers are beyond her, I assume, but most certainly higher than any Integrity Knight.

Kureha chuckles and rubs my head as she's seated behind me. "Ohhh, you hear that? Kirito is very powerful. No wonder I barely hear of the Crimson Emperor. Why speak of such a weakling?"

"S-shut up!" Jealous and curious, I draw an S with two right fingers and press down on the back of my left hand. A bell chime precedes a purple window appearing before us. I haven't opened my window in time memorable, so for all intents and purposes, this is the first time I've looked at my own authority levels since I logged out close to the year 100 Human Empire Calendar. Back then, I believe my OC was close to 60 and my SC was between 30 and 40. That's pretty strong for a pre-Administrator period; Quinella was only a child.

As Cordelia, Kureha, Sylvie, and myself crunch our heads together to view the small window, I take a look at my ID number, NAD1-901. If I remember correctly, that identifies me as coming from close to Centoria, just north of it, and I'm the nine hundred and first person "born" there. That would be untrue, I appeared as I physically am now (in which Administrator mocked me as 'another unregistered unit'), but since that number was given when I arrived in this world, it kinda works. My eyes scour down to the only two numbers that can be called stats in this world.

I almost spit at them, for I instantly see the large "33" and "25", but Cordelia quietly points to a small "1" hanging like an exponent between the first bracket and the first digit. OC of 133, SC of 125. I sigh in relief, then grin at Kureha. "Nope, I'm stronger."

"OC is not surprising; you both have always been equal in that regard. However, your SC is twenty digits higher, and you stalemated him in your fight, huh?"

"...So what? I'm higher than you."

"And? You always have been, so what? At least this time, you aren't lying."

"I..." Damn, she got me there. Knowing she does, Kureha opens her Stacia Window, nodding as she glances at her values. "Not too shabby. How good is about 60 for both?"

I nod approvingly. "That's pretty strong two hundred years ago. A threat for Administrator to come knocking at your door."

"Hehe, nice."

"But then again, you were already set high, right? So..." Kureha's glare is enough to shut me up, so I turn around and close my mouth. The Orthinanos siblings were snickering at my argument with Kureha, and I'm pleased they found some common ground. If I had to guess, they're high in authority levels, closer to Kureha. Maybe in the middle to late 40s, if I muster a guess.

I look up at the rearview mirror, sneaking a look at the girl in purple seated between Kureha and Cordelia. Sylvie sits silently; her head bowed as her window vanishes. Was she...comparing herself to me? I don't know whether to be nosey or remain silent. I can only say that there's little chance she'll raise her authority levels past one hundred. I defeated four high-level enemies to hit that level, not to mention the abundance of powerful monsters in my memorable time. Who knows what the one hundred and eighty-three years I lasted here did for my OC and SC?

Yet words flow from my mouth as I glance out the window. "Yeah, they're high and all, but Object Control doesn't mean anything in the long run. At Kureha's authority, you can wield any weapon you choose, but what matters there is skill. As for System Control...well, if yours is as high as 40, that's maybe 50, that's great. For a dark worlder, where the resource constraints must be much tougher than two hundred years ago, that's very impressive."

"You hear that, Sylvie?" Cordelia says with some competitive snark, "You're impressive...for a dark worlder, that is."

Sylvie straightens up and glares at the girl to her right. "And your levels are unimpressive for someone of 'Orthinanos pride.' Maybe you're another defect in the family."

"Who are you calling a defect, you goblin-faced whelp!"

"Now, this is normal," Mathias humorously states as we turn off the main highway to the road leading to the manor. "Two hundred years later, despite Medina's redemption of the family, the label of 'defect' still stings. Though many are wise not to insult us with that word openly... Did my ancestor and Her Majesty act like this?"

I shake my head. "No. They got along well from the beginning, which is what I cannot say about Eydis and me. When we first met, she drew her sword on me for entering Alice's tent. As for Medina, she had plenty of conflict with Alice." I grimace at the similarities between my first meeting with Eydis and my first meeting with Sylvie. Both times we attacked the other verbally and physically. Eydis and I didn't fight, for Cardinal stopped us before her sword and my fire arrow struck. "But they did have one fight amongst themselves, though not openly."

"What was it?"

"...A certain male."

"...Ah. It was said that Medina loved you, but I thought it was talk." A wistful smile forms on his face as his eyes draw up to Sylvie's reflection. "In the end, Lady Eydis won. Probably for the better, Cordelia's head would get too big if she was your descendant. Sylvie, however, manages it well for being the princess of a fabled Integrity Knight and the legendary Crimson Emperor. But it hasn't been easy." I turn to Mathias attentively, silently coercing him to continue. "In the Dark Territory, power is still everything as it was two hundred years ago before the worlds coexisted in peace. The power hierarchy of the Imperial Dark Council was firm during your reign. You and Lady Eydis as emperor and empress, then a Supreme Commander underneath you two as head of the Dark Council and the equivalent of the Unification Council's chairman. But once you left...there was a hole of power, so to speak, and some sought to fill it."

"...I see."

"Lady Eydis and her dedicated warriors, the Kureha, silenced those holes. You see, you never made the Rule of Power illegal. You changed it to prevent death should someone challenge another, but you welcomed any challenge should it come. Through the Rule of Power, Her Majesty defended her spot as Empress challenger after challenger, but it made it all too aware of what they thought of her. The upper echelon of the Dark Territory, knowing Her Majesty's gentler spirit, never feared her as they feared you. And Sylvie's life provides a weakness in the empress."

The Rule of Power, the Dark Territory's equivalent to the Human Empire's Taboo Index, kept Administrator's rule uncontested. I don't know where the line differed between them, but I know Yanai's code somehow got integrated into the Dark Territory's society. As it kept the humans under Quinella's control, the Rule of Power made the dark worlders loyal to Emperor Vecta. I don't know if that allegiance was upheld strictly before Gabriel Miller assumed the role, but no one dared declare themselves emperor before his arrival.

One of the laws the Crimson Emperor spoke of was a dueling rule for leadership, which usually resulted in death matches. As Mathias said, I eliminated the act of killing but kept the tradition in place, even welcoming anyone to challenge me for the throne. Early on, when I first assumed the throne, I did have such challenges, so I'm sure they kept coming again and again if Eydis had her fair share after my departure.

Another thing to apologize to her for.

He sighs, then his eyes narrow as if they'll cut through the glass window before us. "Her Majesty's rule is soundly secure nowadays, but I don't believe she has many loyal allies outside the Supreme Commander Auratum, the special forces Commander Zancale, and those in the special forces in service to her. The high houses are just waiting for Eydis to abdicate the throne to Sylvie, then..."

I bow my head, feeling a weight on my shoulder that doesn't belong to the current me but was passed to me by the more responsible party. "I wish I could do something about it," I whisper.

"There's nothing to be done about it," Mathias states. "It's not your fault. In truth, they were waiting for you to leave, I believe. After the Star King and Star Queen disappeared, it was a thirteen-year waiting game for those snakes. And now they waited seventeen more years. Because of it, she grew up with nearly no friends in her homeland, save for Dorothy, heir to House Zancale; Notte Arcan, the daughter of a powerful noble family; Rano, who I believe is noble born, but not as highly ranked as the others; and Log, the heir of House Auratum; and, most importantly, Cordelia."

Once more, my eyes look at Sylvie's reflection. She now casually chats with Kureha and Cordelia, unaware of our conversation at the front of the mechamobile, looking somewhat happy. But that's not who I see now. I see a girl whose path in life, determined from birth, has few other routes. I see a young girl ousted by others for her position in life. I see a growing girl with no one to rely on except for a few other kids truly, and those kids indeed became her friends. I see that young girl eventually separated from her friends but finds trust in another person in a world far from home and unfamiliar. And through it all, there's that young girl who seeks something from her father...but she doesn't know what it is.

I can see those things in Sylvie because I see my past in her.