WARNING: This story includes mature and sexual elements. Readers, proceed at your own discretion.

Chapter 9: All as the Goddesses Will it

There was a saying; that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. He always assumed the phrase was invented by a rando who had accidentally pissed off a woman so much that she did something unspeakable to him once upon a time. Maybe burned his house down or something.

Well, he'd had enough experience with that single phrasing throughout his life. To this day, he would never forget that gruesome scene of his wife brutally killing Kuradeel in that valley. The only silver lining there being that their pain sense was greatly numbed. Had that been committed in this real world, he shuddered to imagine just how terrible it would have gone for him.

So anyways, why was any of that monologue important? Well, it probably had to do with the fact that a whole portion of Zakkaria had just been wiped off the face of the map.

And, looking at Asuna, the likely culprit, he didn't know what to feel.

With the dust settled and the site of destruction completely visible, everyone was completely still. The weight of the moment was almost choking, leaving him feeling lightheaded and unsure of what to say or do anymore. All he could do was stare out at the whole area of devastation.

"By the goddesses… It's all gone…" The Zakkarite noble whispered, shocked. "Almost an entire quarter—wiped away like it was nothing…"

"That beam of light… W-What was that?" The Aleas nobleman stuttered, gaze snapping towards them. "Who did that?! What did it strike?!"

"That was Harry Antinous's mansion," Kirito answered, all eyes shifting towards him. He nodded, grimacing. "I would know. I literally went there earlier today. Looks like his mansion and a good portion of the surrounding area got blasted away."

"T-That's… But…"

"Who could have done this..?" The lady whispered, pale.

"Who else could it have been if not for the goddesses?" Asuna hummed. The eerie calmness of her voice was bone-chilling, her remark far too nonchalant. "Besides, you had gone so far as to question their powers, milord. I suppose this is enough of a demonstration of the truth, isn't it?"

"Asuna, what are you—"

"So it really was them… The goddesses, they…" He took a step back. "I can't believe it… T-They..! They are punishing us! For our hubris!"

"Indeed. You were so assured that nothing could possibly come out of this, that you wagged your tongue and spewed insults towards the goddesses without thinking of the consequences," her words took a darker tone, eyes gaining an edge as she rounded on the older man. He, in turn, went pale in the face, sweating. "Harry Antinous had committed a crime. Petty thievery in our eyes, yet it was enough to warrant their punishment; by taking away all his mortal possessions in one fell swoop. Do you really think you would be free of such judgement as well?"

"That's enough, Asuna!" Kirito surged forwards, stepping in front of her and bowing before the nobleman. "Please forgive her, milord. She has overstepped her boundaries, I understand, but she's simply overwhelmed in the moment. I beg you, don't punish her, I—"

"No, she… she isn't wrong. She is merely speaking truth. I… Everything written in that letter was truth," his words caught him off-guard, eyes going wide as he stared at the man, who retreated into himself. "I have seen what a man's sin would do to him. I cannot lie any longer. I am guilty of every single charge. I… I have sinned!" He cried out. "I have committed far too many crimes! I am a terrible excuse of a human being!"

"B-Brother, please..!"

"I recognize that I cannot do anything to save myself from this, but if turning myself can spare my family of my faults, then I will gladly do so!"

"Lord Aleas…" The chieftain's expression, though filled with sympathy, hardened into steel. "Understood. Lord Aleas, by order of the chief of Zakkaria's guards, you are hereby under arrest, on account of your crimes in poaching. Any attempt to disrupt or escape our guards will not be tolerated."

"I understand… and I accept."

The moment those words were spoken, something in the air shifted. Almost electric, as every person in the room seemed to perk up. The hairs on his arms stood up, and he couldn't help but look around to figure out what that strange feeling was, equally bothered and… calmed?

Something bloomed to life. In the very distance, it was a single blotch of colour that contrasted so obviously against the blackened soil that his eyes were automatically drawn to it, witnessing a gradual blooming of flowers.

Blue, pink, yellow, green, red, orange, violet—

Like mushrooms growing in the rain, flowers sprouted alongside grass, replacing the charred land to bring back life to the area. It was nothing short of magical, defying the naturality of life itself as it instantly turned a scene of devastation into a beautiful artwork. Only the land belonging to Antinous remained charred; a reminder to the world that he was a sinner, marking his mistakes for all to see.

He could feel it. In this moment, the frenzy in the town must have come to an end, the people coming to a halt to bear witness to this single moment, speechless—and, perhaps, touched. This was an act of grace. A reward for Lord Aleas's ability to decide for himself what was right and stick to that, and thus they offered a promise that their wrath would not be invoked further.

Someone's knees hit the floor. And then, choked crying. "Oh, the goddesses…" The older woman moaned, clutching her hands in prayer. "Oh, how generous and kind that they are… Please, forgive us for our dastardly sins. W-We swear we will be better…"

"We shall…" Whispered her brother.

"So that settles that," Eugeo muttered, the three of them watching as the chieftain guided the nobles out of the room. Lord Zakkarite opted to accompany them, which left the three teenagers on their own. "That was… I'm at a loss for words."

So was he. Too many things had just transpired in the span of an hour that he almost fell over and knocked himself out on the wall. If only that happened, it would have spared him the headache. Because now…

His gaze shifted towards Asuna. And the girl simply smiled back, beautiful as she always was.

That… didn't really calm him much.

Today was going down in the history books for sure. Whether that was a good thing or not remained to be seen.

If capturing a criminal was hot news already, then this one was a situation where even the kitchen was burning down. Nothing could possibly beat this. Every single person in town (and likely from miles away) had seen the blast of light and the subsequent bloom. People had already begun dubbing this incident 'The Wrath and Beauty of Divinity', which he admitted was beautiful, but no less stressful for him.

The hours after that moment had been hectic. At least the panic had ended, replaced instead with a kind of calm that actually unnerved him. It was almost like they were in a drug-induced tranquillity. To his relief, there were still a couple of people dealing with the situation less than calmly, which wasn't actually preferred, but only made it more real in his eyes.

Nevertheless, he and all the other guards had been deployed for disaster relief, seeing to the wounded and keep track of those who had lost their homes. Temporary shelter would be offered to those affected, and it was a terrible thing to know that too many people had suffered from this. The range of the attack was not something to scoff at.

Standing at the edge of the blast zone and looking across the entire range, Kirito could only grimace at how wide it was. Had this been a typical virtual reality game, he might not have batted an eye; it would have been a spectacle, and nothing more. But, because all of this felt real, the weight of the damage felt much more severe to him.

The only silver lining of it all was that, even with how devastating that blast had been, not a single person died. Not a single injury either. It was a miracle.

Or, perhaps, that attack had been designed solely to destroy the environment, yet ensure the safety of all living people? He didn't know. He could only make assumptions on that part.

Five hours was how long it took. By the end of it all, he and his friends were utterly exhausted, yet they weren't allowed rest; they had to be assigned to guard the town's perimeters, the officials concerned that wild animals and monsters would be drawn to their town at a time of vulnerability. It was exhausting, but he wasn't the only one overworked (he could only imagine how much worse this was for the chieftain and Lord Zakkarite), so he swallowed his complaints and worked on.

But even through it all, his thoughts were far and away from his current job or the situation. Yes, the incident was terrible, but he had the benefit of hindsight on the matter, and as such, he was far more worried about two things.

One; the fact that Asuna had most certainly been involved in this incident, no questions asked.

Two; the shocking fact that Asuna was not the one behind this attack.

"Stacia is the goddess of creation. And yes, I can confirm that I do have the ability to move heaven and earth—" He dreaded to imagine what she meant by that. "—but that attack was a commandment of light itself. That isn't something I can do."

"Then that would be Solus, wouldn't it?"

"Mmhm."

Problem was, he didn't know who that could have been. While she'd confirmed that five more friends had joined her, she hadn't told him who was who. And he had a feeling she'd just keep it a secret for the fun of it.

Kirito groaned to himself, sticking to his route with Asuna right alongside him. They were stationed a little closer to the border, but once they took a path that went a little higher, he could easily see the area of destruction. They'd taken to erecting torches surrounding the area, which formed a wide circle that glowed up to illustrate the total area. Several silhouettes moved about, and he could imagine if it were the curious townspeople, vigilant guards or some concerned merchants.

It was a while into their walk when the footsteps beside him came to a stop, prompting him to look over at his girlfriend. Her expression wasn't guilt, though it certainly came close to it, looking bothered.

"I'm sorry we had to do things this way. It was simply how we planned to do it."

The fact that she used we confirmed that this was something she and the girls had agreed upon. That didn't make it any better. "Why? I don't see what's the point in any of this. The fact that you'd gone ahead and destroyed so many other people's homes is a serious problem, Asuna."

To her credit, she looked guilty by that, though she still found strength to rebut him. "But it's all part of the plan, Kirito-kun. We didn't do this without thinking about it."

"Really? Your plan involved destroying the townspeople's homes?"

"Yes."

"For what reason?!" He hated that he raised his voice at his own wife. Seeing her falter tore him, but he pushed on. "Hundreds of people could have died from that! At that point, you would have murdered countless innocents—and all for what? To make a point? To punish some lowly thug? To feel like a god?"

"It's none of those!" She cried. "K-Kirito-kun, believe me, we had a really good reason for all of this! I swear! It's just…" She struggled for words, eventually shaking her head. "We… Kirito-kun, you'll understand it with time. I promise."

"Oh, really? Well, it wouldn't mean a thing because the damage has been done, and it'll be difficult to recover from this."

"We planned for this as well!" Her words made him pause. "It was our plan to destroy Antinous's house. And to destroy the area surrounding it. And to handle the aftereffects."

"What… You're serious about this?"

"We are! Kirito-kun, we did this knowing full well the consequence of our actions—and we're prepared to fix everything. It's all as we planned it."

Searching her eyes, he prayed not to find a hint of doubt. The honesty shocked him, however, and he found himself sighing afterwards. "Damn it, Asuna… That night you went to the Zakkarite manor. You met up with them, didn't you?" Her lack of a response was answer enough. "Ain't no way. You literally decided on this yesterday?"

"A-Actually, it was Sinonon's idea. And everyone agreed," Kirito blanched at that. He would have never though Sinon would go for the most terroristic approach. "But we only came up with it after news of Antinous's arrest was made public. There's a whole sequence."

The headache finally came. He massaged his temples, already exhausted by everything. The words 'it's all part of the plan' would have sounded better were it not to describe an act of terrorism—and he hated himself even more for wanting to trust her words.

Make no mistake, he was entirely cross with her and the rest of their friends. This would have never happened had they never been granted access to the goddesses' powers. This was why such power should never be put into the hands of humans; nothing but misfortune awaited them at the end of that road.

And again, he despised how hopeful he was that all of this wasn't going to end up blowing in all of their faces. Underworld wasn't a perfect world, but these people were real—and many of them were good. None of them deserved this kind of fate. And if the girls were absolutely certain that they could undo this damage, then he was banking on that.

Because if they didn't, then there was going to be a lot of hell to pay for.

"Whatever. I'm too tired for all of this. Come on, let's go."

"Okay. And, um… I-I'm so—"

"Sorry won't cut it this time, Asuna. You girls went too far, and I'm seriously hoping you'll be able to fix your mistakes. Don't break my trust on this," he sighed. "I dread to imagine what you have cooked, though. It better not be dangerous."

"It's legal."

Kirito paused again, trying to understand what she meant, before looking back at her. "What does that mean?"

She shrugged. "Just that. It's nothing illegal or dangerous. It's fine."

Kirito groaned, walking away. She quickly chased after him, and he had to wonder just what kind of masterplan the girls had come up with that somehow involved destroying an entire town. He really, really hoped it goes well…

When something big happens, it was going to catch a lot of attention; both the good and the bad. It was only a matter of time.

That wasn't different here, when three Integrity Knights showed up in Zakkaria at dawn, igniting the spark of concern in the residents. To be fair, they were already notified of Antinous's crimes, so they would of course be interested in paying him a visit.

And because they would be coming to the barracks after meeting up with the town's ruling noble, the chieftain had alerted everyone to the fact, wanting them ready to welcome their arrival.

'Besides questioning the chieftain about Antinous's motives and the like, they'd likely try and find the cause of this. Good luck to them, though. The girls wouldn't be flaunting their powers any time soon.'

Plus, he didn't even know where any of them were. Were they still in Zakkaria, or had they already left? In fact, what if it was just one other girl who'd been here and caused the destruction, whereas the others were all across the Human Empire? But then again, Asuna had been clear on the fact that all of them had met up together to discuss the plan, so it was still likely that all of them were here…

Shaking his head, he cleaned himself up and got dressed in his armour, stepping out of his room with Eugeo in tow. Asuna and Medina were already dressed up as well, the group moving to the cafeteria.

"Three Integrity Knights. That's so many at a time," Eugeo grimaced as he said that. "Hopefully, nothing bad comes out of this. It'd be a shame if Zakkaria was to be punished for something they had no hand in."

"Probably not, though an equally morbid possibility is them arresting both Antinous and Aleas, then executing them," everyone frowned at that, and he shared the sentiment. It was a pretty drastic punishment for crimes that didn't encroach on human livelihood, but he supposed this was a world of utilitarianism; that the severity of the sin didn't matter, but that it existed at all. And because it did, then they were to be put to the chopping block. Depressing stuff. "We'll just have to wait and see, though. Won't know otherwise."

"Right…"

"…Do you think they deserve execution?"

"I… don't know," Eugeo said. "They committed crimes, I get that. But it wasn't anything like killing another person. I mean, poaching is bad, I get that, but still."

"I agree with you. It's far too severe of a punishment," hummed Medina. "Of course, I understand the necessity of punishments towards nobles being more severe because the moment we inherit our positions, we should already uphold ourselves to the highest standards to act as pillars for society. Anything less than that is just a sign of our folly, so us being punished makes sense. But again, this is just a little too severe."

This was a topic of morality and ethics that he hadn't expected to be diving into. Before they could continue their discussion even further, however, the sound of boots stomping towards them drew their attention towards the source, finding the chieftain approaching them with a disturbed look.

"Sir. Is something wrong—"

"You've heard about it, didn't you? That the Integrity Knights arrived in Zakkaria moments ago?" His question prompted a nod out of them. "I'd just received word from Lord Zakkarite that they'll be taking in both Antinous and Aleas. And the both of them were sentenced with execution."

Just as Alice had. He looked to Eugeo, who did his best to keep his frown down, but he could imagine this was reawakening bad memories. "Nothing we can do to convince them otherwise, sir?"

"Nothing. They're adamant about this. The both of them will be taken away in a couple more hours. A single knight seems to be making the rounds now, surveying the damage and preparing a report for the church," he crossed his arms. "I expect they will be questioning us to confirm the sequence of events, and perhaps to add some new information."

"Guess that's our cue not to say unnecessary, right?"

"Indeed. But be truthful. There's nothing we gain from lying or omitting facts."

There was a very obvious fear there in regards to lying. Guess he was still shaken by everything that happened yesterday. And even Lord Aleas had a change of heart, not willing to antagonize the goddesses even further. Asuna was just too good at manipulation there.

Well, not like there was anything to hide. Their testimony was going to be the same as everyone else's, barring Medina who hadn't been at the mansion with them, though they had given her a rundown of the situation after they returned.

He shook his head. "So, do we go on our shifts first, or wait for the knights?"

"You can remain here for now. After you've been questioned, you're free to begin with your duties."

"Understood."

Before they even arrived, the distant beating of wings was fairly audible in the air, heavy and rhythmic whoosh-whooshes that alerted him of their incoming presence.

Kirito tensed, putting aside the broom he'd been using to sweep the grounds outside of the barracks (he'd gotten bored with doing nothing, so he ended up occupying his time doing whatever he could, including these menial chores) before jogging over to the training grounds, where the silver-scaled dragon landed. It was a magnificent thing, with wide wings and a long tail and sharp amber eyes.

And stepping down from the beast was a regal set of armour; from head to toe, purple dyed his metal, face obscured by the slim helmet. A cape billowed from behind him, and what seemed to be a bladed weapon (too thin to be a typical sword, but it was no rapier either) sat sheathed to his hip. He held himself in a disciplined posture, hands behind his back and his figure straight.

This was an Integrity Knight; a supposed divine being from the heavens, if the stories were anything to go by, and easily the most powerful people here in the Human Empire. While reassuring to some, being in the presence of one was daunting, and he willed himself to maintain his composure before the man.

"This must be the guards' barracks," his voice was firm and deep, though there was a reverberation to it that was likely due to his helmet. "Correct?"

"It is, Sir Knight," he made to salute him, but the knight stopped him with a raised hand. "I am Kirito, trainee guard of Zakkria. If you'd like, I can collect everyone here to give their testimonies."

"That would not be necessary. The lord of this town mentioned that there was yourself, two of your companions, and the chieftain in his manor at the time of incident. I need only meet the four of you."

Kirito nodded, excusing himself to go and call for them. Thankfully, they weren't too far, having figured out that the knight was waiting for them already. They quickly returned to the knight.

The questions were thankfully easy. Stuff like where they were during the incident, how much area of Zakkaria had been wiped out, and the level of destruction. He recounted the number of families who'd lost their homes, having triple-checked with Eugeo and Asuna in the early morning after they got back from their work.

"It will be hard to recover from this. The costs to replace all lost architecture will not be cheap."

"Yeah…"

The knight hummed. "I will notify the church. It will take time—perhaps a month or so—but we will do what we can to provide you supplies. The ruling noble has been made aware of this."

"I see. Thank you. That would be appreciated."

But a month was a really time. These people needed the help as soon as possible. But that was the best that they were going to get.

"And our thanks go to you as well," Kirito perked up at that. "After all, you were there to catch Antinous. Had you not, perhaps this conspiracy would have slipped under our noses for much longer. Better we learn now and put an end to their operations before it could grow worse."

"I… suppose. But it's okay, I was just doing my job."

Somehow, his response seemed to please the knight. "You take after your duty well. Good. Very well then, we shall take our leave soon. Continue your good work. And may you succeed in your endeavours from here on out."

"Ah, right! Thank you. We'll do our best to meet your expectations."

Just as he said, the three of them—another knight was some middle-aged guy dressed in a bathrobe, of all things, whereas the other one was a young-looking woman with straight grey hair and an expressionless look on her face—departed from Zakkaria shortly after. And as far as first meetings with Integrity Knights went, that one wasn't too bad.

The only one he was worried about was Eugeo, though thankfully, his best friend seemed unaffected.

"It's in the past now. Plus, they were different. Had it been him, then maybe…" A short pause, then a shake of the head. "It's okay. I'm okay now," he smiled. "Thanks for worrying."

"Of course I'd worry. What're friends for?"

"To annoy the heck out of one another?"

"I think that just comes with the territory."

Asuna giggled at that while Medina rolled her eyes, though the ghost of a smile on her lips meant that she found it funny as well. Eugeo chuckled, looking much better than he did. "Then I couldn't ask for more. Come on, let's all get to working. The sooner we're done, the quicker we can get some rest."

The days since then had been completely uneventful, though work was still being done to figure out the housing situation. An entire week, in fact. And somehow, the divine display had worked to promote camaraderie between the townsfolk, families offering to share their living spaces with the victims. Some even helped share their supplies to get them through their days. It was honestly touching.

Still, that didn't mean everything was completely perfect, which was why he found it a little unsettling how quickly everyone else had accepted this. It feels like they'd just jumped right over the processes and went straight to acceptance. That isn't normal.

But if the people were happy, then he supposed that was it. Nothing more to be done.

They hadn't received any word yet regarding the disaster relief efforts that the church could offer them. The knight had warned him of such, though he supposed that wasn't too bad. The destruction had only affected the residential area, leaving all the surrounding farms unaffected. The local economy was thankfully spared.

He also had to wonder what Asuna was talking about when she said that they'd 'fix things'. How they would achieve that was beyond him, though that too would have to wait. He'd much prefer if they didn't have to, but complaining would get them nowhere, so he had to settle for trusting her words.

Walking along the bastion, he scanned the distance. The plains stretched as far as the eye could see, a mountainous range extending from the western side and forests growing far and away. He could spot a flock of large Norlan Birds sprinting towards the horizon, a small cloud of dust trailing right behind them.

Monsters in this world operated like any wild animal in the real world, preferring to stick to the wilder territories than approach human civilization. Even on their journey to Zakkaria, they hadn't been harassed by any creatures, which was a good thing. He still worried of the rule within the «Taboo Index» that forbade hunting. Would killing monsters in the name of self-defense still be considered hunting?

His wandering mind was brought back to earth by the sound of rolling wheels from afar. He followed the source of the sound, witnessing a couple of carriages heading towards the town. Three of them. Must be traders. Or at least, he assumed they were, until he noticed a couple of strange details about all three of them; they were all decorated rather nicely, with gold trimmings across the wooden chassis, indicating nobility. And all of them bore a dark purple flag with a black emblem of a flower. It… looked sort of spindly, reminding him of a spider lily.

'Huh. A noble family coming to visit? Or maybe they're passing through to go to Rulid?' Would be odd, since there was not much there to begin with, no offense, but that was their business.

They passed the gates and moved deeper into town. Kirito hummed and resumed with his patrol, and the moment passed just like that. He thought that was it.

But, as the past few days had proven, things had been way too eventful here. One thing after another. And in a few more minutes, it seemed like he was being drawn into the thick of it once more.

A messenger came running at him sometime around an hour since he'd begun patrolling, looking out of breath. "Ki… Kirito..! You are being summoned… for a..!"

He broke into a coughing fit afterwards, Kirito wincing. "Whoa, calm down. Catch your bearings first. Here, have some water," he offered his canteen, which the older man accepted with a breathless 'Thank you..!'. He downed the drink greedily, and the boy waited until he was done before he spoke up again. "Were you running around looking for me?"

"I… Yes, I was. That would be my fault. The chieftain had been specific on which route you would be patrolling today, but I neglected to follow his words correctly," he sighed, returning the canteen. "Regardless, I am here to inform you that there has been a summon for you. You are requested to make for Lord Zakkarite's manor right away."

The moment those words left his lips, the ravenette felt his body go stiff, teeth gritted. "What..? What do you mean?"

"I do not know the specifics, but it seems that there is someone who wishes to meet you."

"And that would be..?"

"She did not grant us her name. However, she introduced herself as the ruling lady of House Asuka from Southacroith."

Southacroith… the empire of sand. It was named as such because it mostly a desert, if he wasn't mistaken. Merchants spoke of how crushing the heatwaves could be, and the nights were bitingly cold, requiring a strong mental fortitude and ample preparations to travel across the place, much less so to live there.

And some noble house had come all the way from there to meet him..?

Paranoia struck him right away. Had they learnt of Antinous's and Aleas's fates? That couldn't be it! It had only been a week. There was no way news would have travelled to an entirely different empire in such short timing. That just made no sense.

And yet, the timing of all this was, yet again, too suspicious. Two nobles taken out of the count. It was a massive blow to the nobility that it would cause a ruckus in society, the two factions of both commonfolk and nobility likely to war with one another. And now, some noble house wanted to meet him.

Was this some plot for revenge, then? He couldn't discount the possibility. Perhaps they couldn't outright attack him, but that wasn't to say that they couldn't force him into a binding contract of sorts that would push him into a non-favourable situation, and win them much favour.

'Troublesome… Where do all these bastards come from? Hasn't enough happened already?' He cursed to himself, then nodded back at the messenger. "Thanks for letting me know. Sorry you had to come all the way here just to give me some instructions."

"It's fine. It's just my job," after a while, the man spoke up once more. "And take care. I pray everything goes well for you."

"You and me both. You and me both…"

He didn't bother staying for much longer, bidding the messenger farewell and heading for the Zakkarite manor. Though this was only going to be his second time being there, he'd already grown tired of seeing it. Not like he had anything against Lord Zakkarite, but it feels like being in this town was just an opportunity for the world to heap all the hassle onto him and his friends. He really didn't sign up for this.

When the guards saw him, they saluted him, granting him passage into the manor. He retraced his steps to get to the meeting room, though a servant had asked him to find Lord Zakkarite and the visiting noble in the garden which, if he was completely honest, he didn't even know existed. Fool on him, though. That's like a-must when it comes to fancy architecture; having a garden, that is.

Moving down multiple corridors, Kirito eventually reached the backside of the manor. Pushing past the oaken doors, he was presented with a little garden, which he had to admit was beautiful; hedge bushes formed a perimeter, pink and purple flowers blooming from between the greens. A single gazebo stood in the middle of the garden, vines growing from the roof and hanging downwards, soft little flowers growing out of them. And judging by the number of people at the gazebo, he supposed that was where he was meant to go.

Slowly approaching the gazebo, though making sure his steps were measured and loud enough to alert them of his presence, Kirito's apprehension turned into surprise when he noticed the familiar faces. "Eugeo? Asuna? And Medina too? What are the three of you doing here?"

"Seems like we were invited too," Asuna told him, smiling. "Did you have to walk far?"

"Oh, no, I was just close by," he faced Lord Zakkarite, bowing. "Milord."

"Kirito. Good to have you. I would offer a seat, but we seem to be a little underprepared."

"It's fine, milord. I don't mind standing," he reassured. And then, he looked to the person sitting opposite of him, and his cautious nature flared once more.

Leader of House Asuka. It sounded remarkably Japanese, which was a sharp contrast to the typical medieval feel of this entire world. That left him to wonder just who this person was, which was hard to tell because she had a parasol over her head (and even that was all frills and fancy, unsurprisingly enough). Her hair ran down, long and as braided pigtails on either sides, purple intertwining with pink. Her dress was very reminiscent of old European dresses worn by rich women, with vibrant purple cloth and a sash hanging around her waist. Pearls were tied around her left wrist, hands clad in semi-transparent gloves with flowery patterns. And a trace of perfume lingered around her being, almost similar to lavender.

She wasn't the only one interesting here, though. Standing close by and almost surrounding her were eight guards, their faces hardened and strong. They were clad in shiny, jet-black armour with the flower crest imprinted upon their shoulder pads, looking every bit like knights. Fitting for a rich family to have a strong security detail of its own.

He gulped. This wasn't looking very good for him. If their master had gone out of their way to bring guards with them, then there was a chance for things to turn bloody. No one showed up to what should have been a peaceful meeting with this many guards if there was no intention to use force. So had his theory been true, then? Were they here to avenge Antinous and Aleas? Here? In broad daylight? Was that the height of stupidity—or a declaration of confidence?

And if this broke into a fight, he doubted he could win. Not even with Eugeo and Medina and Asuna (although, if she decided to say 'fuck it' and utilize her goddess powers, then the entirety of the Human Empire was screwed either way).

Now, things suddenly looked far worse than he'd anticipated. That meant that he'd have to handle things much more delicately. A single mistake, and it'd be the end of the line for him.

He bowed first, knowing how seriously etiquette was treated in this world; that being almost akin to the holy gospel. "Greetings, milady. I am Kirito, of Rulid Village. Currently, I am a trainee guard serving Zakkaria for the time being alongside my friends. You requested my presence, did you not?"

"Indeed," one of her guards answered in her stead. "Our master travelled all the way from Southacroith to meet you, Sir Kirito."

"Sir..? Er, in any case. I don't know if I've done anything to offend you, so I will apologize if I did," he bowed once more as he said that, hoping his sincerity carried through. "I assure you, I bear no intent to be of trouble to you. I truly hope this meeting can be a peaceful one, but if it would reassure you, I am willing to accept any form of punishment. I merely ask that my companions be spared of such treatment."

The guards exchanged glances. Then, the one at the foremost looked at him once more. "You believe we are here in relation to Antinous and Aleas, correct? A fair assumption, but our master does not bear any connections with them; rather, our intentions are here solely to assist Zakkaria with its reconstruction efforts."

His words drew more than enough surprise from the rest of them, Lord Zakkarite speaking up. "Truly? I didn't know this was the purpose of this visit."

"Forgive us. We did not intend for secrecy. Milady would have brought up the matter later on, though there is no issue with informing you now," wait, wait, wait. They were being serious, weren't they? That's just… Wow. For once, something good was actually happening for a change. Talk about a breath of fresh air. "To be more particular, milady seeks to pay for the entirety of the damage costs, up to and including housing construction, relief packages in the form of food, clothing, and even some funds."

The disbelief struck him like a boxer's jab, making him reel back. Not a single person there dind't share his sentiment. Courtesy went out the window because this was way more important. "Seriously?! That's insane! But why?"

"That is partly because of her generosity, and because… well, I shall allow her to explain," with that, he moved to his right, dipping low in a sign of respect. "Milady."

All the guards bowed low as well, an act of synchronicity that surprised him. The girl rose from her seat, proving to be a head shorter than him, it seemed like. He really wanted her to move that parasol of hers, if only so that he could actually see her face and not continue thinking who this person was.

Because there was no sane person in the world who would willingly donate so much for the sake of being a good Samaritan. Everything was done with the intent of gaining something in return, and it shouldn't be any different here—and it terrified him to imagine just what kind of compensation she could demand from them in turn…

But he'd made his stand. He wouldn't back out of it. Not if it meant someone else would have to suffer for his actions—

A soft sound broke out, making him pause. He looked down at the girl, who went still for a moment. And then, there were subtle movement in her shoulders, akin to shuddering.

A quiet snort, an inhaled breath, before it turned into complete laughter.

Kirito was taken aback by the suddenness of the moment, watching as the girl laughed behind her parasol. He looked back, sharing confused glances with his friends—all except Asuna, who had this knowing look in her eyes that was suspicious. She was even grinning along, taking far too much pleasure in his befuddlement.

"Hahaha..! Maaan, I didn't take you for the kind of person who could talk so posh-like, Kirito! It's sooo not you! Haha!"

"Wha… What do you mean, milady?"

"That! You wouldn't call a person milady in a million years, and hearing you say it now is just nuts!" She giggled, twirling her parasol. "But… you do sound cool. Maybe we should get you in a suit and see how you turn out. Then you'll look and sound the part."

"Uhh…"

The girl paused, then snorted. "Oh man, you're really clueless, aren't you? I was thinking that you'd recognize me, but I guess that's okay. We hadn't seen each other in a while now."

His companions perked up at that. "Seen each other..? Do you know her, Kirito?" Eugeo asked.

"What? No! At least, I don't think so… I don't recall a House Asuka before. And we've never had any noble families visiting Rulid before. There's just no way we would have met before."

"That's fair. Okay. Then try and tell me if you recognize this face."

She moved her parasol away from her face, light moving down onto her. A cheeky grin adorned her youthful face, those ruby eyes peering at him with amusement. Her hair framed her face on either side, and there was a white hairband and golden earrings. Her skin was copper, perhaps tanned from the harsh sun of the desert. And on her forehead, there was a small marking, as if she was born with it. Overall, she was a pretty young girl.

Kirito stared at her, taking in her features, and it took an embarrassingly long time to realize just who he was looking at. The moment it hit him, however, his eyes widened, his mouth going agape. "Wha… Y-Yuuki? Is that you?"

As if she'd hit jackpot, the girl gave him a peace sign, snickering. "You bet'cha! Yuuki, in the flesh! It's great to see you again, Kirito!"

Deep in his mind, Kirito screamed in frustration.

Author's Notes:

Ayo! We had a brief introduction with Leafa, and now Yuuki's taking centre stage? You go, girl!

Gotta' admit, when they dropped the trailer showcasing Yuuki / Gladia in Last Recollection, I did not expect them to make her tanned. But hey, I ain't complaining. She looks good regardless.

Soon enough, we'll be entering the school phase, so no worries about this staying in Zakkaria for too long. And soon enough, we'll get to see everyone else too, so hope y'all stick around for that. And thanks again for anyone who's been giving this story a read. Here's to more nonsense.