Sword XVIII: Twilight Maiden -Part Two-

December 27th -Morning-

"So th' dungeon was a bust," Argo summarized. "Not even a treasure chamber towards the back? Sorry for having ya waste so much time."

"Don't worry about it, we were still the first ones there and we got some decent experience and Col," Yuuki assured. "There were a couple of tougher enemies there though, so you'll probably want the battle notes I took. Also got you the floor data."

"Hot dog! Yer spoilin' me, girl!" the info broker exclaimed as she looked over what was going to become her most recent payday. "Managed to find anoth'r dungeon. Was gonna give it to ya regardless, but if ya give me data like this to trade, maybe I can pull some strings and get dungeon locations from my contacts before they go public."

"As much work as you can give would be awesome! Really!" Yuuki insisted. "All this fighting's going to be the perfect thing to get Ragna in the right mood."

"Right… mood?" Argo could've made a joke with Yuuki's all too innuendo worthy wording, but considering how Ragna had ended the team meeting yesterday anything concerning the Reaper was hardly a laughing matter. "…Ya really think it's ev'n possible ta get him there?"

"I won't know if I don't try. Besides, I have an at least decent idea of what I'm doing," the sword woman promised.

"Right, you were insistin' to us all yesterday that you'd be able to talk him through this." Argo and the others hadn't exactly conceded to the idea of Yuuki taking up Ragna's time for the foreseeable future, but unless something like a floor boss came up to bring them together out of necessity, they needed someone to keep an eye on the Reaper. "Speakin' of which, where is he now?"

"He said he wanted to try making some breakfast; it was expensive, but he managed to rent out a two-bed inn room for a couple of days that came with its own walk-in kitchen," Yuuki explained. "He told me not to expect much, but he at least seems to enjoy himself when he's cooking up a storm, even moreso than when he's fighting."

"Good fer him, I guess," Argo sighed. "And yer not gonna tell us where he is? Is that why you both started hiding your locations?"

"No offense, but you guys showing up might throw off what I'm trying to do. Just leave things to me until after New Years, I'll have a change in his tone by then."

"That much'll be a miracle, but I'll have to wait for any returns."

"You're just disappointed that you can't sell his location to his fanclub."

"Oh, so ya found out about that after all?" Argo shrugged. "Guess it was only a matter of time."

"…You know, I was just being facetious, but what are you talking about?" Yuuki asked, her curiosity thoroughly piqued.

"Jus' a little somethin' I dug up recently," the info broker began. "You wanna know, I'll charge have ta charge ya-"

"Whatever the price, just put it on Ragna's tab." Not even a second of hesitation.

"…I thought yer goal was ta put 'im in a good mood."

"He knows to expect this, but you can wait to give him the charge after I do my work on him," Yuuki playfully clarified. "So… this fanclub isn't mistakenly referring to us, is it?"

"Nah, that's what I wanted to make sure of first m'self; why the damn rumor was worth getting into the first place." Argo then tapped a few of her screens to bring up her inventory of all things and from there she brought out a piece of paper.

"…The fact that they're dedicated enough to have this in physical writing is already concerning," Yuuki said as she took the paper.

"Start readin', it get's worse." Argo didn't look like she was joking. For good reason too, as Yuuki had barely started before she' balked. "See?"

"Welcome to the first week's Issue of the Reaper's Order. I hope that this becomes a longstanding paper. For this week, we'll start with the most basic information for those of us who are hoping to join the cause. We're not a guild or a select team of players, just a group of dedicated fans to the best chance of getting us all through the death Tyap that is Sword Art Online. Though we've yet to replicate the splendor of his own outfit, we hope to start identifying our members… with uniformed coats of the Reaper. WHAT THE-!?"

"Keep goin', ya haven't ev'n touched the good stuff yet."

"Do I have to?" Yuuki asked. Argo only gave her a speculative look and the swordswoman couldn't deny how horrifically intrigued she was. "A-Ahem. Continuing. Let's start with the information regarding our subject of focus. The Grim Reaper's dedicated player name is Ragna, though in certain instances he's been known to go as Ragna the Bloodedge. While some may see such a name as needlessly edgy, we all know that he wouldn't care what anyone thinks of using it. There's no knowledge regarding his real name, but wouldn't it be something if that was his true legal identity? …Do they think his middle name is 'the'?"

"Thought that m'self."

"No one has reported ever seeing the Grim Reaper in the early days of Sword Art Online, but the first public knowledge of him was for a pairing duel that took place less than a week before the first floor's raid boss. His partner for the tournament was a young girl named Silica who has a growing reputation as the first Dragon tamer, and while our Grim Reaper got them both to the final round without issue, he self-disqualified and let his partner take the major glory that day. This would imply that Ragna the Bloodedge is a much more reserved type, almost becoming a myth among even the current frontline players. And they know that they're ruining that by talking about him like this? What's their logic at this point?"

"You really think they got any?"

"…Fair point. The most important event so far and the one that's put him on everyone's radar was his actions during the first floor's boss raid against Ilfang. Ragna was selected to participate in the back-up team that would be handling the boss's underlings, but it turned out he'd be needed for much more than that. After an unprecedented power-up that was (according to several Beta players) never in the game before now, only our Grimm Reaper could think of standing up against the monster. Which he did single handedly after saving the lives of countless players in the process. Shortly after that he founded the Final Rebellion guild with former Fuurinkazan leader Klein and is now its main leader. While he was involved in the third floor boss raid, he wasn't the main hero that day as the boss ultimately fell to Heathcliff, another powerful player on the frontlines. Still, fellow Guild leader Sakura of the Wing Maidens has stated before that she'd have died if it wasn't for the actions of Ragna and a guild member that he'd inspired. We've also heard from a lower ranked team that he'd saved them all on December 23rd before moving onto clear the fourth and deadliest floor of the game. It's unclear and widely debated if he had truly solo-cleared that dungeon somehow, but this writer certainly thinks he did. I mean... none of this is wrong really. A little weird that they went into all this reporting, but it's not nearly as bad as some of the groupies I've seen IRL."

"That's cause what ya've read so far is fact based, what's about to come up ain't," Argo insisted, letting Yuuki know she had more to go on the back of the paper.

"Two sides? Really?" Yuuki groaned as she turned the paper over. "Now we'll discuss the Reaper's appearance. Since the very first time we've seen him, Ragna's attire has been an appealing constant. He wears a stylized open red coat with a belt on the front, reaching only to his waist. Bellow he has a black hakama with white outlines. His main weapon is a large and scratched blade that puts any other two handed weapon to shame, but Ragna carries and wields it with ease. Most of the time in a single hand! Reports say that the blade can not only be used for both one or two handed sword techniques, but it can even turn into a scythe to make use of the axe skill tree. He has no record of wielding any other form of weaponry, especially not any shields. Every last piece of his attire is unique and has yet to be found anywhere else in the game. This isn't the only noteworthy thing about him as his regular appearance is just… fascinating. An appearance that we remind you, has to have at least the base of his real world self. He's an impressive 180 centimeters at least with a… slim build. He has narrowed features and… soft white… hair… Glowing… eyes…" Yuuki couldn't continue to read aloud as her face was growing crimson just by silently reading it.

"Keep goin'." Argo seemed insistent.

"R-Right. Um… let's just pick back up on the 'personality' section. Certainly not one to mince his words, Ragna can quickly be identified with his choice of coarse words and more than rude attitude. It's been made quite clear that he has little patience for the people that annoy him (we'll cover some of those instances in an upcoming issue), but there also seems to be vast kindness hidden just beneath the surface. From helping a caretaker trying to give the children trapped here a safe place to stay, saving lives while asking for nothing in return, and… constantly treating his team to meals, Ragna can often show his true character easily enough. We'll delve far more into those aspects of Ragna the Bloodedge sone enough, so stay tuned!" Yuuki needed a minute to process… all of that really. "I mean, it's nice that there's someone out there that's this much in Ragna's corner, but it's also really intense."

"Sub that fer insane and it'd be more accurate," Argo insisted.

"Like, they're putting him so high on a pedestal… Is this some convoluted way from Kibaou or someone to get him hated by the rest of the player base out of jealousy?"

"He ain't crazy or smart enough ta try it," Argo refuted. "'Sides, it ain't working. They've got a group that ya can join, and sum 're probably joinin' out of curiosity since ya can go in anonymous, but the member count don't lie. 27 members an' rising last I checked. Even got a small message board fer fun."

"M-Message board!? That's a huge investment to open! I don't think I've gotten that amount of Col over my entire time in SAO! And they take monthly payments to keep up!" Yuuki then looked at the paper. "I… should I even show this to Ragna?"

"Even if I told ya you shouldn't, which I won't, you'd still show 'im, right?" Argo asked with a knowing snicker.

"Yeah, but… it's so trite."

"Never said it wasn't."

Later -Ragna and Yuuki's Room-

Ragna held a steady breath as he looked down at his final challenge for that morning… so long as everything went well. Three eggs were already cooking sunny-side-up in the pan, so he didn't have a lot of time to waste before they started burning. All of his previous experiences with cracking the shells, all of his failures, all of the little adjustments he was making was running on repeat in his mind. He'd finally done it; cracking the formula to cracking a perfect egg. Once was chance, twice was a coincidence, thrice was a pattern, so this should finally seal it. Going for it before he could hesitate any further, Ragna made a quick crack on the shell before parting it with one hand. As the white and yolk fell in, he held his breath as searched for eggshell bits… and didn't find a single one.

"Finally…" His tone made it sound like he was infuriated beyond belief, but in truth he couldn't help smiling like an idiot. Not wanting this work to go to rest, he placed all of his focus on cooking the eggs. His focus remained unbroken until the confections were finished and he plated them up and seasoned them with a dash of pepper. "I knew that getting the hang of cooking head on was just what I needed to do! Totally worth it… Right?"

Turning his head, the large pile of empty cartons upon empty cartons of eggs said otherwise.

"That… was a lot of Col I just blew through… These aren't going to go cold before Yuuki comes back, are they?"

Hearing the inn door as it unlocked, opened, then closed, Ragna had the sense that luck was on his side for once. Smirking just a touch, he unequipped the apron he was wearing and took the plates out of the walk-in kitchen and into the small table that their room came with.

"Heya roomie!" Yuuki greeted him with a bright smile, and that was before she saw the plates he was offering. "Wow! That looks amazing!"

"It's basic, but it'll be filling and maybe even a bit satisfying," Ragna informed as he set the plates down. In addition to the two eggs on each, there were also some cured pork slices, some baked and seasoned potato wedges, two slices of toasted sourdough bread with a selection of spreads, and half an orange.

"You're kidding! I had no idea you were cooking up this kind of a-!" The sudden collection of shattering from the kitchen forced her to pause. "Uh… what was… that?"

"Just the leftover materials. Don't worry about it," Ragna brushed aside, fully knowing that it had been the countless egg cartons he'd gone through. "Come on, let's not have our food go cold."

"Right!" Yuuki agreed easily enough before fully digging into every part of the meal laid before her. "Wow! This is really good!"

"…You'd don't have to lie; I know the taste is still basic as all hell."

"Maybe, but I'd argue that it was still cooked perfectly. If you've got your foundations down then the rest will come in time," she insisted. Ragna gave her an unchanging look of apathy. "Okay! Okay! Yes, it's completely basic. Are you happy now that I've finally insulted your cooking?"

"No, but at least I've got you honest."

"I was never lying! It's really good because I can tell it was made with love!"

"Uh… Love?"

"L-Love for cooking! Obviously!" she shouted, a blush slowly starting to rise. 'Oh gods, if I don't watch my words and someone overhears, I might be in their next article.' Judging from Ragna's reaction it was clear that the Reaper didn't think much of it. Instead heading into his menu, he brought out a steaming thermos before taking a long sip. "Didn't know we had thermoses in SAO."

'Dammit, I'm really getting careless.' "I haven't been able to find any more, not that I was really looking in the first place. In fact, I can't even remember where the hell I picked these up anyways; they just showed up in my inventory one day filled with coffee."

"Weird. So how is it?" she asked before cutting into her second egg and letting the yolk ooze out.

"Really damn good honestly. I'm not much of a coffee drinker, but even I can tell that this stuff's high quality." Apparently there was a reason Sanae was always drinking the coffee he made.

"Mind if I have a taste then?" Ragna did so and handed the thermos over. As Yuuki took a sip (making especially sure not to touch the same area Ragna had been drinking from) the flavors seemed to wash over her all at once and caused her eye to go wide. "Whoa! And that's not with anything added!?"

"I don't think so. Just how the stuff came. Got a kick to it, huh?"

"A really good kick! I certainly don't drink the stuff, but I think that's the best thing I've tasted my entire time in SAO." …Ragna tried not to let that bother him as he continued to eat through the breakfast he'd slaved over that entire morning with middling results… after reading a cooking book… and buying that apron to help his cooking skill. "What?"

"…Nothing," he sighed as he took the thermos back. "Anything from Argo?"

"Next dungeon for us to hit today and… some other news."

"Is it about time to ruin my day already?"

"Ha ha… maybe?" Ragna was slowly starting to lose what little appetite he still had for his own cooking. "Uh… how would you feel about having a fanclub?"

"Excuse me?" Not what he'd been expecting. Yuuki gave him the paper she'd gotten from Argo. In the tense minutes that followed, Ragna barely had any of the food he cooked, it law nearly forgotten as he had to constantly double check whatever the hell he was reading. Yuuki had finished long before he was done reading and had to wait as he read through the last bits and process everything. Finally setting the paper down next to his breakfast that had clearly gone cold by now, Ragna gave a deep facepalm as he exhaled. "Talk about trite."

"That's what I said! Great minds!"

"Who even wrote this?"

"Someone who thinks that you're quite the hero. Maybe, just maybe, you can take it as a complement?" Ragna's look was of sheer incredulity. "Worth a try."

"Was it though?" Ragna had to keep himself from burning the document before handing it back to Yuuki for… whatever she was holding onto it for. "It's not like I want any recognition for this crap; like to operate with eyes off me, if you haven't noticed."

"I have, but to be fair you're kind of bad at it with all of the stunts that you pull. I mean, I get that it's necessary saving lives and all, but you really never struck any over us as the sneaky Reaper. And the way you act, you're pretty unforgettable." Ragna couldn't help but scoff. "What? Did I say something funny?"

"Inside joke," he answered with a laugh. "Is Argo trying to find out who wrote this stuff?"

"Didn't sound like it, but it might be impossible to avoid with all the members that this are supposedly gathering. Didn't you get that black rain poncho back from Sinon? Maybe you could hide in… no, that'd make you look just as Reaper-like. And they can copy that one."

"Dear Amaterasu, this is going to be a whole damn thing, isn't it?" Ragna groaned before looking down at the rest of his cold breakfast. Unlike Yuuki, he still had to eat. Digging into his thoroughly ruined breakfast, the Reaper ate quick. "Please tell me no one else knows about this? You said Argo's the one that found out."

"And the club itself is still small, but it's apparently growing. Not by a lot, but it's still going up. You might just have to expect that everyone's going to find out at some point."

"Even-?"

"Everyone."

"…This has to be the most trite thing I've ever read," Klein said while the rest of the guild had their breakfast. "…I guess it's at least a little cool that I'm important enough to be mentioned in our guild's founding."

Meanwhile -Floor Three-

"You sure that this is the best place for us?" Liz asked Alba as the two stepped off the teleportation platform in the town center. "I mean we have two full floors ahead of us, shouldn't we at least try hunting a floor up?"

"Not with how dangerous it was; low level players who thought they could take on the basic field monsters made for the earliest deaths there," Alba explained. "Besides, I'm still a little rusty since the last time I've been out and it's just the two of us instead of a proper team. If anything, since the experience needs to be shared between only the two of us it shouldn't be too hard to get some well needed levels."

"I'll have to settle for that then," Liz sighed. "Thanks for helping me out at the drop of a hat though. Leafa didn't insist on tagging along?"

"Once she heard I was going with you, she was fine with leaving me before heading out with Asuna and trying to cover some of floor Five's fields. We could've headed out with them if you want more rewards, in fact we can still message and try joining up."

"No, that's fine. I'd probably just end up slowing everyone down and getting them worried about me," Liz had to admit. "With all the time I've spent in my forge, I've been falling behind in terms of levels so it's better that we stick to what I know I can handle. Besides, my equipment might be top of the line, but even it can only do so much to make up the difference."

"True, better safe than sorry." Alba could understand that line of thinking only too well after she'd lost her last group. "You just want to focus on taking down as many field monsters as we can? Not sure I want to head into any dungeons for at least a while."

"Fine with me," Liz agreed as she brought her mace and shield out as they two headed to the city limits. "Perfect time to give these babies a test run at least, you liking your new gear?"

"I didn't participate in the Christmas Eve tournament, so I can't comment. Guess it'll be a test run for the both of us," Alba answered as she followed suit. "Kind of strange that we're going to both be playing tanker today..."

"At least it means that our defense will be high enough that neither of us will really be in danger. I also have some info from Argo on the best grinding spots we can hit for levels and since this floor is two levels down, we shouldn't have to worry about them being overflowing with other players."

"Good thinking, but that still doesn't explain why you're so worried about levels in the first place," Alba had to note. All of a sudden, Liz went silent and was avoiding direct eye contact with today's partner. "Hmm... so it's a small feeling of inadequacy?"

"Damn. REAL hard to hide anything from a therapist, isn't it?"

"Just a college student studying to become one; I'm not that good just yet. Still, your reaction tells me that I'm at least on the right track, so how about you come clean with what this is really about? It's not just feeling helpless in fights, is it?"

"Part of it, but not all of it," Lisbeth admitted. "I need to be able to take care of huge orders like my Christmas Eve sale if I'm going to stand a chance against Midnight Anvil or any other smithing guild and that's going to take higher strength parameters which I can only grow with better levels. Aside from that, almost running out during my spree tells me that I need to keep a better stock of materials on hand to take care of orders, and I can't have you guys taking time out of your own schedules for material gathering."

"You know that the rest of your guild wouldn't hesitate to give you their extra materials; after all you're the one that's making a point to grow her skill so much that it's ready for them," Alba reminded. "For now, I think we should just settle for giving hell to whatever monsters we come across."

"I can settle for that; lead on!" Lisbeth agreed as both girls passed through the last vestiges of the safe zone and ventured out into the fields proper. In spite of her own advice to the blacksmith, Alba couldn't keep from hesitating as she took her first steps out into the dangers of SAO since it had robbed her of her Academy friends. "Hey, you alright?"

"Just… making sure I'm ready; I'm fine. And more than that, I'll take point." Liz nodded as the two began their search for their first monster group.

They didn't have to go far; three Ragged Scarecrow enemies with rusted swords stood in their path and they quickly targeted the two. Alba and Liz didn't charge the monsters, instead Alba stood at the front and took all of the attacks head on with her shield, managing to effortlessly hold them back thanks to the armaments size and stats.

"Switch!"

At the lead tankers call, Liz then rushed in and slammed all the of the opponents away with a wide, skill charged mace swing which sent them all stumbling back. Liz then went for a follow up on the closest opponent and brought the hammer down right on its burlap head, taking the monster down. Alba meanwhile follow the first attack with a lunging sword stab to pierce one through the chest and finish it. Before the final monster could recover, she slammed her shield into it and earned the duo a swift victory with the bash.

"Man, that took hardly any time at all!" Liz said with glee as the results screen came up. "My gear upgrades MUST be good if we did it that quickly!"

"You went from feeling of inadequacy to ego pretty quickly there; I must be good at my craft," Alba said slyly before she went into the results screen. "Not a lot of reward really, but the fact that it's only split between the two of us really makes up for it. And like you just said, it's quick, safe, and we can cover a lot of ground easily."

"Right, I'll message Argo for some good grinding spots and we can stick to this area until then. Next time, I'll take the lead and you switch in after my shield does the work. But how did you learn the Shield Bash technique? I've been looking around for that one."

"Well first…"

Later -Floor Four: Emerald Root Maze-

"This damn undergrowth is getting on my nerves," Ragna grunted as he dodged the bear's claw attack before impaling it through with the Aramasa. Ripping his sword up, he managed to caused enough damage to finish off his targets health bar and got it to shatter into glass shards. Through the explosion, he noticed an attack hoping to strike him through and he managed to block the strike before blasting the second opponent back with his bare fist. 'And then there's these… this just feels weird.'

The almost concerning opponent was a large bipedal squirrel which stood at about four feet tall. In spite of its almost cream colored brown fur, the creature could hardly be considered cute or cuddly. Its fangs were nearly at needle point and it moved and snarled with a feral disposition. Ragna might not have known Noel's close friend Makoto Nanaya all that well, but he knew she'd been an invaluable friend to her and a stalwart ally at least… also he still kinda wanted to pet this thing's tail and ears, even while it was trying to kill him. He couldn't stay focused on that for long, as Yuuki rushed past him and impaled the creature in the head with her sword skill, finishing it off and ending their encounter.

"You know that you're supposed to call out a switch, right?" Yuuki asked as she sheathed her sword and Ragna reset the Aramasa on his back. "You weren't doing it a lot yesterday either; so what the heck happened to your team up with Argo?"

"Most of the time I wasn't switching and just took the fights head-on while she took notes so she could sell them as info later," Ragna recounted as he went over his results, not that there was a lot interesting waiting for him. "Remember, Argo's not as much of a fighter as you or I. Her best use is usually off the field trading info and digging up secrets… my own included I guess."

"So… were you ever going to tell us?"

"I dunno. Maybe I would have if I ever felt things were getting close. Or maybe I just would've gone into isolation and tried to go out rushing on ahead as far as I could possibly go." Ragna shrugged. "Either way, not worth worrying about now."

"I guess not," Yuuki answered, though it was clear she didn't exactly believe that. Putting on the best smile she could, she was about to lead the two onward before pausing as she heard sounds of fighting coming from on ahead. "Is… is someone else here?"

"If they were, they'd have to had beaten us here by quite a bit," Ragna answered before the sounds of fighting stopped. Growing worried at the silence, Yuuki took off running. "Hey! Hold on!"

Ragna followed Yuuki closely behind until the two came across a bit of an opening in the undergrowth. What awaited them was a redhead dressed in light armor and wielding a spear. She was a woman that both of them recognized; Yuuki from the Christmas Eve tournament and Ragna from the Third Floor Raid party. Resting her spear on her shoulder, she turned to face them both with a wicked look in her eye (the one that wasn't covered by her hair).

"Uh… Roselia, right?" Yuuki asked before looking at her character info above. "Yeah, that's you."

"Been a little while since I saw you in the tournament. You caused quite a number of upsets there," she said. Ragna was having a hard time telling if she was complimenting Yuuki or belittling her. "Though… not as much as you did, all by not showing up. And that was even BEFORE the fourth floor was finally cleared." She scoffed. "Maybe you were trying for that fanclub after all."

"Not likely," Ragna grunted. "How do you know about that?"

"Joined, only out of morbid curiosity of course. It was amazing for a least a laugh… even if the writing was utterly trite." They could all agree on that much. "Now, what brings you both here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," Ragna unyieldingly answered.

"Had the day to myself, so I decided to come here on a bit of a hunch that there'd be a dungeon to find. Guess I was right. And if you're just wondering about my team; I'm pretty sure Heathcliff is doing some sort of work with that Diabel guy. Check in with them if you're truly that curious."

"Okay, but what about that guy who was working with you?"

"Kuradeel? I don't know or care about that one," Roselia retorted with a bit of a laugh. "He won't be working with me unless his Heathcliff-Senpai orders him to; his pride took quite the blow when I beat him so soundly in the tournament." She caught notice of Ragna's scowl seeming to tighten. "What? Do you have a problem with that?"

"…I might. Remember anything about telling a certain player to stay instead the walls after you beat them in a match?"

"…Does ring a bell," she said casually as she tapped her chin. "Why? Are they a friend of yours?"

"Not anything now, they're dead; their entire group was wiped out." Ragna didn't raise his voice or stress his tone, staying eerily even and calm.

"Oh… my condolences," Roselia answered, at least appearing emphatic. "But… I can't really say that it's my fault it happened; I told them to stay inside the walls and they rushed off to bite off more than they could chew." She glared straight into Ragna's eyes, not something most were capable of doing so easily. "But if you really are blaming me for that… I think you'd be causing far worse issues."

"What? But Ragna hasn't done anything like that to the players," Yuuki cut in, quickly coming to her friend's defense. "If anything, everything he's done has only inspired the players to do better."

"Yeah, that could be one result… but it might not be the only one. As opposed to my own tough love, your own actions might bring out some feelings of jealousy or even inadequacy amongst the other players. Oh, if that guy could do it singlehandedly surely the rest of us can manage just fine… You might not remember, but there were a few teams that died out on Floor Two shortly after your performance. Two of which I personally knew."

"I'm sorry to hear that and it's beyond tragic, but we don't know for sure if Ragna's what caused that!" Roselia had to pause as she took a good look at Yuuki.

"Sounds like the article was wrong; you've got a shield after all." Ragna wasn't amused. "I'm just answering your accusations with my own; fairs fair if one of us is being put on trial here and all."

"I was just making it clear you should know," Ragna answered evenly. "And it's not like I asked for any of this attention."

"Well… with any luck my own boss will be making enough waves that you'll have all of those pesky eyes off of you. It's a win-win that way," she answered with a smirk. "There's no boss chamber or treasures in the back, but feel free to look around at your leisure, of course. Dungeon's all yours."

"See you around then." At Ragna's reserved parting words, Roselia started walking the same direction Yuuki and Ragna had just come from.

"…Well, that was something," Yuuki obviously noted once their antagonizing spearwoman had departed.

"She was here alone," Ragna observed.

"Yeah, you're right. Meaning she can handle these monsters just fine herself. In that case, she's pretty tough then. Back in the tournament, no one could touch her until she had a bad draw and went up against Heathcliff, then it wasn't even a matter of debate."

"Maybe he'll finally get a fanclub and I won't have to worry so damn much about mine."

"Was… was that a joke?"

"…Maybe," Ragna answered, finally breaking his scowl to shoot her a smirk. "Come on, you still promised Argo that map data and there's the chance that she missed a chest or two along the way."

"Gotcha, can I lead?" Ragna gave a shrug so Yuuki led them forward and took point. "That stuff she was saying Floor Two."

"Damned if I did cause that, damned if I didn't beat that monster." 'Even though I was the cause of that… here's hoping Sanae can actually track the rest of those Interference monsters down when I need to face 'em.'

"You're right; for now we'll just have to hope that you can make more of those inspiring stories soon enough," Yuuki assured. "But what about what she was saying about Heathcliff and Diabel? Did you know anything about that?"

"I got an invite from both of them to some meeting right after Christmas, but I didn't respond. I was more worried about setting things straight with you guys."

"Right, and you already did that. Don't think anyone there is ever going to forget that one." Ragna nodded, already resigned to his fate. "But you should probably see what they want with you; it's pretty clear that they're some of the most capable players with everyone's best interest in mind." She interrupted Ragna before he could say anything. "You don't have to worry about me; taking a couple of hours from our time together is probably worth it if it's so important to clearing the game."

"If it really is so important, they can just message me. I'll still see 'em in person, but only after New Years. You're still stuck with me until then."

"Wouldn't have it any other way; someone still needs to keep your brooding side in check." Ragna didn't have a suitable comeback. "So, gonna pick up something special to make for dinner? I don't really think going out's an option for you right now."

"I guess I have some ingredients left… might as well give that stew another try."

Author's Note

Yeah, that makes two shorter chapters in a row for this story, but I promise that things are going to start picking up again in the next update I give this. I need to have two chapters out by the end of the year, so you shouldn't need to wait too long for the next one. Anyways, here's the review responses.

Wlyman2009: If Ragna's known for one thing, it's his stubbornness.

ArmantusCumPinnae: Yeah, I've seen the Purple Eyes parody and with spectacles of Eros would be a good match here. Maybe for something down the line.

The Unplanner: Yep, sheer willpower has gotten him through plenty.

P3R50N4: And maybe some of that will be addressed here (HINT HINT)

NiceScourge: Yep, much more development to be had there.

See you guys soon!