The sounds of the soldiers marching through the city could be heard late into the night.

Asuna was forced to stay awake as the doctors looked after the kids, it hurt her to see how some of the kids were covered in parasites, while others were so sick that it was a miracle that they hadn't died yet.

What was worse was seeing how more were coming, but they weren't alone, priests and nuns who Rafael, Kirito, and the guards had deemed to be innocent were sent to the mansion to help heal the kids.

She did know what was being done with the rest of the kids or what had happened to the people who were responsible for this tragedy.

Yet she couldn't allow herself to be distracted.

It was late in the afternoon when both Rafael and Kirito returned, but before she could say anything Rafael walked past her found one of the jars that were filled with wine, and drank it.

He did this over and over again until he couldn't stand and fell unconscious.

"Kirito what happened?" she asks her husband whose eyes seem to have lost the light that they had.

"We found basements filled with courses, nuns that were pregnant, and the names of the slavers who they were selling the kids to" Kirito answers her, by the way, that he is looking at her Asuna knows that there's a lot more that Kirito isn't telling her.

"Rafael has ordered that we inspect all of the merchants and houses t see if anyone else is doing something they shouldn't, but he said to ignore anyone that was stealing or doing anything similar." Kirito says to her.

Asuna doesn't like what she is hearing because of the implications of what Kirito just told her would mean.

"There's a high chance that we have a slave market in Aincrad, one that is grabbing the people here and selling them to the people outside." Kirito says to her.

"What about the ones responsible?" she asks Kirito.

"Rafael cut their hands off and sent a messenger from each kingdom head of them before he sent them back." Kirito answers her.

Asuna dislikes this because what Rafael did could start another war, but she doesn't like the fact that the man didn't torture and execute the ones responsible either.

][][][

The sound of the bells ringing could be heard throughout the holy city, as the news of what had happened within the Great Mountain spread through the land.

The Kingdom of Aincrad had proven itself to be a thorn in Rome's side and yet the mountain was something that had repelled the invaders of the east before they could do any harm to the people that now lived on the border.

The emperor read the letter that the messenger brought to him and he was tempted to tear it apart, to think that Rafael would dare to put sanctions on him because of what the priests had done.

the man was so weak that he hadn't killed the men responsible for committing these crimes in his lands and had instead chosen to send the trash back to him.

And yet he couldn't just send his armies to the mountain because the growing threat of the north was something that prevented him from doing so.

Then there was the other letter that had arrived, to think that the filth that had escaped into the mountain had become useful for the players was something that even he couldn't have imagined.

Granted that he would have preferred that they could have done the same under his rule but as long as they helped defend his lands what did he care?

The Holy Roman Empire had become one of the best places to live since he started sending criminals to the mountain.

The money that those men sent to their families was taxed so that the men paid to fix whatever they broke, it didn't matter if it was the people's faith in his control or a put that they destroyed the money that they sent would pay for it all.

The pope was publicly announcing that those responsible for the crimes that caused the sanctions were men who had abused their positions and he was excommunicating them.

The people agreed with his decision because the priests had targeted children, instead of adults who deserved to experience such things.

Still, he can't just simply ignore this obvious challenge to his rule, Even if Aincrad has helped strengthen Rome's power, he has to do something to make sure that Rafael doesn't get any bright ideas in the future.

He could order the walls that keep the dead from spilling into Aincrad to be destroyed but that wouldn't do anything other than allow the monsters living in the mountain to spread into his lands.

He could send assassins, but knowing Rafael's reputation and the reputation of his guards he knows that doing such a thing would be pointless.

Aincrad is dependent on the trade that the world passes through it and it's not like the mountain is lacking in resources, so he can't just order his men to surround it and force everyone in it to starve until its rulers surrender.

"What to do?" the emperor says to himself before he sees something or better said someone that he has chained to the wall next to his bed.

The woman was pleasing to the eyes, yet whatever poison had been given to her was quickly eating away at her mind, he would have used her but the thought of sleeping with such a thing was beneath him.

That was it, he knew exactly how he would return this slight that Rafael had done to him, he would dress this woman in the finest of silks and grant her the best Jewels before presenting her to Rafael.

This act would force him to go to the mountain himself, he would have to order his men not to enjoy themselves with the men and women of the mountain as he didn't want to start a war with Rafael yet.

Np going there himself would be too much as the mountain was a place where peasants and outcasts went, It was a perfect place for this woman who claimed to be Nero himself but for him to set foot there, no that couldn't be allowed to happen.

His mind changed and he decided to send the woman to the mountain along with others who were just as mad as she was, their madness would either end up killing them or they would cause so much trouble for Rafael that the people in Aincrad would begin to lose faith in him