~ Chapter 4 ~

[ Resolve ]

26th day of the 10th Month – HEC, 373

Rulid Village

"An Integrity Knight, eh..?"

The creature sat on its hind legs, watching him with wide, hopeful eyes. He met its gaze for a second before fishing out a jerk of meat that he'd kept on him. The sight of food was enough for the little thing to begin mewling in want, and he'd quickly given in, extending his hand towards its mouth with the meat in it. Throwing restraint out the window, it quickly charged in for the offered treat.

Despite being semi-occupied feeding the adorable grey-furred feline, it didn't do away with the dread welling up in him. And that, to him, felt odd; he liked to consider himself easy-going in most cases, so there should have been no way for him to feel this concerned.

It was the way that his leader's tone turned weary, something that left him feeling uneasy. Whenever Reyes speaks like that, it's reason enough to be concerned about whatever it is that he's taking so seriously, although in this case, he doubted an Integrity Knight deserved anything less.

"He didn't say a single thing to everyone," Cherise muttered beside him, hands clasped on her knees as she stared in the direction of the chieftain's house. She looked just as worried. "Only said that he has 'matters' to talk with the chief about. Think it's serious?"

"Probably not another violation. There's been no instance of—"

"And how sure are you of that?" Akos finally piped in, having kept quiet throughout the entire ordeal to understand the reason behind Fanatio's appearance. Now that they're away from prying ears, he could simply say everything he needed to say without holding back. "The last time it happened to the chieftain's daughter, no one even knew that they'd travelled to the mountain range. We all just assumed that she'd gone to the Gigas Cedar to meet her friends like normal… And then, the next day, one shows up to hoist her off like baggage."

Both Reyes and Cherise fell silent at that, and though he wished he didn't have to play the pessimistic role here, he couldn't be too certain as to what could possibly happen.

Once upon a time, the concept of breaking the «Taboo Index» was foreign to him. After all, from when they are children, they've been taught to always follow it to the letter. There was just no reason to go against it, so he'd assumed that everyone would do the same.

And then, three children manage to find some way to do just that.

That it was the chief's own daughter was a surprise to him. That it had been because they'd apparently traversed all the way into the Dark Territory was even more so. That the Kirito brat had actually tried to attack Deusolbert would have been an even worse outcome, but thankfully it never came to that, though that incident is permanently seared into everyone's memories at this point.

'And now, another Integrity Knight's showed up,' he broke off another piece of jerky and fed it to the cat. 'Bloody hell. This is as bad as a sign as it could possibly be.'

"Maybe it's about the monster issue?" Cherise offered. It had him looking up from where he was currently feeding the cat. "I mean, the timing makes sense, doesn't it? It's been a few weeks that we've had this supposed monster issue, and then all of a sudden, a knight shows up without any warning. He's likely hunting it as well."

He couldn't help but chuckle at that. "If that's the case, then it ought'a be a big help. We've had enough trouble trying to find it these few weeks. Having a knight on the case might just make it that much faster."

"And it might just make this monster that much more dangerous."

Both Cherise and Akos turned towards their leader. His face, often in a relaxed disposition, is now contorted into one of suspicion. With his lips pulled taut and his eyebrows furrowed, he looked far more concentrated than he ever had.

Akos was the first to bite. "What'cha mean, boss?"

"Fanatio Synthesis Two," his answer simply had them tilting their heads in confusion. "Do you understand what that means?"

"Err… It's «Sacred Language». I'm not too familiar with it."

"It's basically a number. One, two, three. And this one likely denotes one's ranking or position in the Integrity Knights order. She's number two," he scoffed. "Can you put together the pieces now?"

"Number two..?" The girl muttered, slowly growing pale. "T-That's… She'd be the second strongest knight in the order, then."

"Precisely. This monster, whatever it is, must be important enough that the Axiom Church opted to send its second ranking knight to hunt it down," those eyes of his hardened even further. "Which means that whatever we're trying to track down is much more dangerous than we'd initially assumed."

Shit… Akos had never thought of it like that. So every Integrity Knight is designated a ranking with number in the «Sacred Language»? The last one was Deusolbert Synthesis Seven. He wondered what that would be in normal human tongue.

"Say, Reyes," he began. "You knew how to translate «Sacred Art». Did you study it before?"

"Not enough to be a pro at it or anything," he admitted, stroking his chin. "My mother was insistent that I at least learn a bit, so that it isn't just my body strength and weapons that I have to rely on in a fight. Can't say that I regret it, although it's a bit of a shame that I've forgotten quite a lot of what she taught me. I can at least understand the numbers, though."

"Sheesh… You're strong as hell and apparently well-read. There anything you can't do?"

"Win a fight against Fanatio," he answered right away, surprising the two younger hunters. "It's not just his ranking. It's his aura; he's powerful, anyone can tell right away, but it's also the weapon that he carried with him."

"That rapier of his?"

"It's not a one-use throwaway, that's for sure. From what I do know, high-ranking Integrity Knights are usually granted unique weapons by the Axiom Church. I've got a feeling that that one is exactly the same. And you know what they say; the weapon reflects its wielder's strength," he patted his own greatsword to get the message across.

The young man hummed. Hard to say, considering Reyes's blade was nothing more than a typical greatsword—but with the countless of battles it had endured, it certainly deserves some respect. "That so..? Well, I suppose you would know. You've always been a good judge of people. And weapons."

"If you're hoping that would make me go easy on you when it comes to your weapon maintenance, then I suggest you reconsider."

"That wasn't my intention in the slightest!" It was totally his intention. "But if you've said all that… Then I guess it's both a good and bad thing that he's here then. On one hand, we've got a crazy strong knight watching out for us. On the other, it also means that whatever we're trying to find might just kill us if we're careless."

"Of that, there's no doubt. So, remember what I've always said—"

" Never think that you're the prey," his female companion recited with a grin. " You are the predator. By bow or by blade, hunt down the hunter and the hunted."

"Precisely. Even if it's strong, it's our job to protect our village, so we have to hunt down this monster no matter what. And if we stay calm and work together, nothing is impossible."

"Couldn't agree with you any less, Reyes."

"Sheesh. Someone's eager to please—" His words were cut off as a dainty fist was rammed into his gut at the speed of a flying arrow, getting him to hunch over and wheeze in pain. "Awgh..!"

Cherise, the devil she is, put on an innocent expression. Even if he couldn't see it, bent over as he is, he could feel that 'adorable' pout aimed his way. "Try not to be too careless out there, yeah? The big, scary beast might do much worse to you than just that," behind her, Reyes facepalmed at the exchange.

He struggled to catch his breath, but managed to nod all the same. "W-Will keep that in mind..!"

"Oh yeah, I forgot. What about that friend of yours?" Reyes' question had Cherise blinking back. "You know, that Charlotte lady."

"Fri—I-I wouldn't exactly call us that right off!" Despite what she'd said, the soft tinge of red on her cheeks and the happy smile said otherwise. "I mean, we only talked for a little bit. We hadn't gotten the chance to learn more about each other, so… you know…"

"Well, if you say so. Anyways, going back to what I was trying to say. You mentioned the other day that you asked her if she could help us out. Did she say anything back to you?"

"Oh, right," immediately, she deflated, joy sucked out of her being. Akos swore he could see the background behind her growing dark and sombre. "We hadn't gotten the chance to talk, let alone meet each other ever since. I'm actually not sure…"

"Hmm… Perhaps I'll go pay the chief's home a visit tonight and ask her if she's willing to help us, then," Akos did not miss how his friend visibly perked up at their leader's words. "We've dealt with wolves plenty of times ourselves, but it doesn't make her any less impressive. In fact, being able to protect five children from them all at the same isn't easy. Having her help us would be pretty good."

That's certainly true. As a huntsman himself, he'd gotten used to the concept of picking off his prey one by one as stealthily and quickly as possible. Never could he say with certainty that he'd be able to handle a mob of animals all at the same time on his own, all while trying to protect people, just as Charlotte could. So having her help would certainly be great.

Though, as his gaze moved towards the Zuberg's house, unhelpfully reminded that there was an Integrity Knight in their village at the moment…

If worse comes to worst, then there was just no knowing if the situation might go much more out of control than he'd initially expected. Hopefully, no one has to deal with the consequences. But if it does somehow come to that?

Goddesses, he hopes this entire ordeal sorts it out soon.

"Seriously? He showed up here because he's hunting down the same monster that Sister Azalia said she saw that one time?"

"Apparently so."

Sensing no deceit in the older woman's tone, Kirito planted his face into his hands and let out an audible groan. "Just great… I could have drawn up one hundred possible scenarios, and I would have thought this would be how it goes."

"You're not wrong…" His best friend sighed. "If this monster managed to get the Axiom Church's attention, enough to want to send an Integrity Knight, then we might be in a whole lot more trouble than we first thought."

A slight breeze had him shivering for a moment, but he refused to take this conversation inside. There was no knowing if the Integrity Knight might be able to hear them since they're sitting outside of the Zuberg's house, but he'd rather that than be in the same room as the knight and openly talk about what should be confidential matters.

He'd remembered the sheer rush he'd been, trying to get to the village as quickly as possible with Eugeo. Everything had felt like a replaying memory. Like a prank from some ethereal being who got a kick out of seeing him, his best friend and everyone in sheer panic.

The knight hadn't said anything to them. He'd simply excused himself into Selka's house to speak with the chieftain and his wife regarding the issue, leaving everyone on edge as to what was going on. Certainly made him worried as hell.

He might have had an opinion regarding eavesdropping, but he'd be one hell of a hypocrite to tell Charlotte off for doing it since he was pretty sure he'd done enough of that in his life. Plus, he certainly appreciates it because now, they have confirmation that Fanatio hadn't come here to arrest anyone. They were in the clear. But it doesn't feel any better to have it be related to this monster incident.

"My thoughts exactly. It seemed that the Axiom Church had been trying to hunt down this particular beast for a long time now. Their search began a month ago, and it had apparently migrated here from Lockiss Rocks."

"Lockiss Rocks..? Oh," Eugeo blinked. "It's somewhere 'round the south-eastern part of Norlangarth. Sort of."

"Indeed. If you are to refer to a map of Norlangarth, there is a point where the road leading southwards from Zakkaria branches off to the east. This particular route takes you into the forests, and soon Lockiss Rocks. It is an isolated area with a springwater lake that has become a popular fishing locale, although restricted only to those with the appropriate calling. The surrounding forests themselves are home to several uncommon species of medicinal herbs and fungi as well."

"…Wait wait wait, really? Then if it's popular, that means a lot of people go there. So wouldn't people have noticed it before it got all the way here?"

"An astute observation, yet it's been described by Fanatio as being highly elusive and tricky. None of the knights had managed to properly trap it, so if it's managed to hole itself here for a long time without getting detected by your village's hunters, then it wouldn't be so unthinkable for it to have evaded the fishermen as well."

Sheesh. No wonder an Integrity Knight had to be dispatched here. It's a lot more worrisome than he'd initially thought, and now he wasn't sure if he should feel glad that he's on the job or not.

It spoke of the monster's intelligence to have somehow evaded the radar for this long, much less so the Axiom Church's (after all, they have their incredible spy system that had accurately pinpointed Alice's location that fateful day, and transmitted that information straight back to the church). Either that or it's been blessed with some sort of natural, biological function for evasion; either it travels beneath the ground, thus completely escaping everyone's attention, or it has some unique camouflaging ability. Certainly troublesome.

And it meant that it might be a lot tougher than their hunters, who'd only experienced hunting game and the occasional wolf, could handle.

That particular thought worried him greatly.

"And to think that he'd be staying with you…" Eugeo muttered.

Kirito tutted at that. Sure, he respected the chieftain and his wife's generosity and hospitality, willing to allow even another person under their roof when they're already having a guest. But it would probably make it that much more awkward for the Zuberg family, what with having a knight sharing their living spaces.

He sighed. Sounds like a pain.

Charlotte didn't seem to mind as much, shrugging nonchalantly. "I doubt there will be an issue. After all, Sir Fanatio has affirmed us that he is not here to arrest anyone, so there will be nothing to worry about. He wouldn't be allowed to arrest anyone without any substantial evidence or reason."

That logic trail made some amount of sense. Charlotte herself isn't a criminal, and no one else had committed any wrongdoings, so they would technically be safe.

His attention was drawn towards Eugeo, who patted him gently on his arm with a little smile. "Seriously, you worry too much. Your hair will grey faster than everyone else's. Seriously, Charlotte-san's already said that everything will be fine, so let's just put that behind us, okay? We just need to be on our best behaviour. Once he's caught and killed this beast, he'll leave our village and we'll never see him ever again."

"…Well, when you put it like that, it's hard not to feel any better," he chuckled back. "You're right, though. He's not staying with us forever. This'll all solve itself somehow. We just need to be patient."

"Mmhm!"

"Agreed."

Kirito certainly felt a lot more relaxed hearing that from his best friend. Leave it to him to be the voice of logic to keep his haywire thoughts and emotions under check. It'd be a temporary hiccup that they'll get over someday, and when the time comes, he'll be able to think back on today and laugh at how much of a worrywart he'd been.

…But of course, often times do people say that children's honest hearts are the true answers to many things in life. Kirito, especially, never thinks too logically regarding situations, relying more on his own feelings than anything else.

Most people would scoff at that and call it a weakness on his part. A manifestation of naïveté, some would say, which he's excused off for being a child. Others recognize it as a part of his charm, and a few others hold faith in his unshakable will.

And Charlotte knew just how much she agreed with his concerns regarding this very situation.

After all, she is a conspirator. She, and her benefactor, who have been working in the shadows for tens of hundreds of years, are in direct opposition with the system that the Axiom Church's head has established. And all allies under the church's banner are her foes.

'To live in the same house as my own enemy…' She chanced a glance up towards a part of the house that she recalled being the area where the knight would be staying in. Onyx eyes narrowed slightly. 'That would be incredibly dangerous…'

It's one thing to be a wandering hunter who'd stumbled across this village and had been a part of an incident that almost took the lives of several children. That much, anyone could buy. But the Integrity Knight is a sharp one. Likely would see through any flimsy lies on her part, and drawing attention towards herself would be the last thing she'd need.

She tensed at that last thought. It would be highly dangerous if she were discovered as an enemy. That would be a major setback, as her time here has granted her much opportunity to gather data on the church's goings-on from a distance, as well as the state of the empire. Getting discovered would mean she'd have to escape…

That did not sit well with her at all, for reasons she wasn't too sure of yet.

"You boys should be careful as well," she said after some thought, getting them to look at her. "There's no promise that the knight won't be in your vicinity as you're doing your calling. If he is to spot you wielding the Blue Rose Sword, he would certainly interrogate you on how and where you'd acquired such a powerful weapon."

The mention of the sword in question has both of them tensing. "Y-You're right," Eugeo muttered. "It'd be really suspicious for a bunch of kids to have some strange sword. And it would be much worse if he found out that we'd travelled to the mountainous range… We'd all be in big trouble."

"But the «Taboo Index» specified that we're not allowed to go beyond the mountain range," Kirito chimed in. "So going just inside the caverns wouldn't really be a problem, right..?"

"Even so, it would be risky to reveal that to him. He might ask you if you'd gone with an adult or not, which would complicate your situation a lot more."

"Then why don't we just say we went with you? That did happen."

She shook her head at that. "Far too dangerous. While it is true, who's to say that he would not try and question the other villagers here? No one but the three of us know of this, so if he is to learn the fact that no one knows about this, it would draw suspicion towards you and your credibility. I'd wager he'd even attempt to confiscate the Blue Rose Sword as well."

"Ack… We can't let that happen…" Grumbled Kirito, crossing his arms. "That's our one shot at cutting down the Gigas Cedar. If we lose that…"

Neither he nor Eugeo looked very pleased by that prospect, and even Charlotte felt like she could understand their chagrin. After all, years of countless people toiling away at a tree that refused to budge, followed with them to finding the key to solve their issues, only to have it be taken away from them? Anyone would be incredibly frustrated.

"Well, guess we'll have to keep the Blue Rose Sword in the shed until Fanatio's gone back to the cathedral then," the ravenette said. "But we'd need to keep it somewhere secure so that he doesn't find it if he does end up checking the shed out."

"Maybe under the floorboards?" The blond suggested. "Some planks are loose, so if we shift them and bury the sword beneath the floor, then it would be really unnoticeable."

"Ooh! Good thinking. We'll have to do that first thing tomorrow morning, then."

Charlotte nodded in agreement. "Good. It is paramount that we be careful while Fanatio stays with us. There's no telling how anything might go, so we need to be extremely careful. And with this monster piled on, you boys best be careful when you go to the Gigas Cedar. If anything seems off—"

"Run, and alert everyone," she nodded at Eugeo's answer.

"Indeed. Do not rush headlong into a situation that you might not be equipped to dealing with. It is never shameful to seek assistance from others."

"Sheesh. Sounding like a drill inspector or something there, Charlotte…"

Charlotte let that little comment go, albeit not without a single good poke into his side—Kirito's high-pitched yelp was highly amusing to her.

Yet once more, her mind drifts towards the Integrity Knight. Fanatio Synthesis Two. As to why the second-ranking knight in the order of all people was sent here, that was anyone's guess. But that made her just as good of a temporary ally as a potential opponent should they ever clash.

She'll definitely have to play cautious with this one.

The three of them stayed outside of the house to talk a little longer about their current situation before the boys opted to return home. Charlotte bade them farewell and watched them leave before she, too, entered the house that she was staying in.

It was incredibly quiet. No sounds of chatter or movement. Selka's likely taking her bath, and she'd seen Gasupht and Sadina outside tending to things.

That left her in the same house as a young girl she'd gotten to befriend as well as her enemy.

'Calm down. Fanatio will not act out against you, so long as you long as you do nothing to draw his attention towards yourself.'

Slowly, she allowed herself to calm down. It would be foolish of her to let herself succumb to panic when absolutely nothing was going on. Always, people attribute overthinking to be the main perpetrator behind failure. Experiencing that very situation at the moment right now, she could attest to its sheer effectiveness. Plus, she'd be setting a poor example if she'd told the boys to stay calm but lose her own nerves. Not exactly a beacon of confidence there.

Without anything to do, Charlotte simply helped herself to the living room and took a seat at a couch. She supposed she could wait until everyone finally gets back. A part of her sort of hoped that Fanatio wouldn't join them for dinner, but even she recognized that it would be rude to think that. Just as she is a guest of this house, Fanatio is as well.

It certainly is risky, but it might give her an opportunity to question him on certain things. That would give her an edge.

'And I would have to be careful not to give away any details that could potentially come back to bite me. The less the information I give him, the safer I would be. There would be too many holes in the information I can provide that he can use against me. More importantly than anything else… I mustn't ever let her know that I work for—'

"Charlotte-san?"

Gentle and curious. Charlotte hadn't realized that she'd been holding her breath until she'd finally let it out, watching as a little girl walked down the stairs. It was absolute relief to her that it was Selka who'd come down first, her hair slightly damp and let down from her earlier bath. She was dressed in her nightclothes already, a towel hanging around her shoulders.

"Selka, hello," she greeted. "You are done with your bath?"

"Mmhm, yeah," even with an Integrity Knight in the house, she didn't seem to be bothered by it. Either that or she was doing a really good job of not showing it. "Are you not going to take one?"

"I… suppose I can take one later. After dinner."

"Ehh..? Well, if you say so," she then put both hands on her hips. "But you have to be absolutely sure to take one after we eat! I remember that one time that you didn't do it because it was really late in the night. That's not an excuse to skip your baths, okay? I heard that taking bathes at least an hour or so before you go to sleep improves your sleep."

Despite the obvious attempt at chastising her, Charlotte couldn't help but be amused. "Is that so? Very well then. I'll take that into consideration."

"Good!" Afterwards, she skipped over to sit beside her, smiling all the way. "So hey, I was thinking. If you're not busy tomorrow, could we continue our knitting? We didn't manage to get any done today because… well, you know."

"I wouldn't mind. Truth be told, it felt like I'd missed a routine, so it was a little strange."

"Right? I always feel that way whenever I don't do something I'm always doing all the time! That's—" Both of them paused when the door to the house swung inwards. She perked up at the sight of her parents. "Father, mother, welcome home. Was everything okay?"

"Selka, Charlotte," he nodded at them. "Yes, I suppose you could say that," and by the way he tried to avert his gaze, it probably isn't that way. Or, at least, not to the full extent that she'd hoped for it to be. "Everyone are… a little tense, but overall not any worse for wear. They're being patient."

"It can't be helped," Sadina frowned a little. "Not everyone likes surprises. And no one enjoys unpleasant surprises. Not to fault Sir Fanatio, of course. It's just a matter of circumstances."

"Certainly. And Charlotte," the woman in question perked up. "Someone wishes to discuss something with you."

"Hmm? Who could it—"

She sensed his incoming presence before she even heard or saw him. Her head moved towards the door, and though there was no visible window or glass to see through, it seemed as if whoever was standing outside towered over the door's height, which she felt should have been impossible considering how—

And then, as the door is swung inwards, the first thing she sees is complete obstruction of the doorway. Her eyes widen as the individual has to crouch a little to step inwards, bringing his whole being into view.

A mountain of a man. Were four words enough to describe someone, she would have settled for those, for the hunter that has entered the house is incredibly massive. He was easily two heads taller than Gasupht, with rugged black hair and kind eyes. A few scars littered his face, as did his arms, though they only served to give him a far more powerful look. Even his vest was being stretched outwards by the mere breathing motions of his chest.

"Greetings," he raised his hand at her in a friendly gesture. "I don't think we met before, but that's fine, aye? The name's Reyes. More or less the one who captains all the hunters here."

"He's served our village for a very long time. Sixteen years, if I'm not wrong."

"Hah. Well, it was what I trained for. Not good for much else besides hard labour, but I'm glad that my training wasn't for naught," chuckled the hunter. "In any case, I'm here for two things. First off, I'd like to thank you," when she tilted her head, he simply smiled a little wider. "My kid is friends with the orphans, and she really appreciates you saving her friends. Always bugged me to pass on her thanks to you, and I wanted you to know I'm just as grateful."

"Ah, that," she shook her head in response. "You needn't thank me for that. Anyone else would have done the same."

"Hard to say, considering that not just anyone could have done what you did, but I'll let you have that," he laughed good-heartedly. "Gotta' say, for someone who'd handled such a difficult situation, you look nothing like I imagined you. Ah, but it's no problem or anything. Appearances can be pretty deceiving at times. I can see for myself that you're plenty skilled yourself."

"You honour me with your kind words," she bowed a little. "I wouldn't dare say I am the best, though I try my best every single moment. I think that's the most we can hope for, is it not?"

"Sure is," he said. "Either way, the main reason why I came here is to ask you if you don't mind helping us with our hunting."

Oh? She looked to Gasupht, and seeing the lack of surprise in his features, he likely saw that coming. "This must be regarding the monster."

"Yeah. From what I can tell, I'm betting good coin that Sir Fanatio came here just for that too. Right, sir?" Gasupht didn't answer his question verbally, though he did give a subtle nod. She doubted he'd told anyone about that. He hadn't even told her. "And Cherise, another hunter, spoke well of your abilities. No one here is a stranger to your feats from that night as well, so having your help would be great. That's if you don't mind, of course."

"That's fine. I'd be pleased to help in some way or another."

"Oh? You really don't mind?"

"Not at all," she shook her head. "I had asked the chief for his permission before, though he'd requested me to wait."

"And seeing that Reyes himself has asked for your assistance, I can't exactly stop you from doing anything," Gasupht's sigh lacked any annoyance. "We... We'd appreciate the help, Charlotte."

Reyes grinned. "Good to hear that. You don't need to worry about tonight, though. We'll begin tomorrow, after the seventh bell. I've got a feeling that Sir Fanatio will carry out his scouting during the day, so we'll leave that to him. You good with that timing?"

She was just about to give her answer before she remembered something else. Quickly, her gaze shifted towards Selka, who looked back at her questioningly. Gasupht noticed it as well, watching on in curiosity.

Eventually, she realized the silent message she was giving her, and she just shrugged back with a smile. "It's okay. I mean, we can still do it together during the day, right? You should focus on hunting down this monster, too. The sooner it's gone, the better it'll be for us!"

Charlotte nodded back, grateful for the young girl's patience. They do tend to knit together for a pretty long time, all the way to the evening at times, so this change of plans would have to shorten their time together. She'll have to make it up to her sometime soon. "Then," she looked back to Reyes. "If you will have me."

The man offered his hand to her, and she shook it. It was such a strange experience; to have her hand dwarfed by his. And the firm grip in his hand indicated the strength he possessed. "We'll be in your care as well."

If there was ever a reason for him to hate an Integrity Knight, it was more or less the anonymity. Their inability to show their faces to the common people. Why? Because they were secretly beings made of light or some other thing? Or were they supposedly so scary-looking that simply witnessing their visage causes the average human to faint from shock?

In truth, he doubted he actually hated them. If anything, he was simply wary of them. There was no need to explain the reason behind that—that would be redundant at this case—but it's a form of paranoia that he can see himself dealing with for a very long time.

Looking past the window of his shared room with Eugeo's, he couldn't help but wonder if it was just him that was imagining the Integrity Knight in his own room—a part of himself wondered if he'd just sleep in his own armour. Pfft. That would be silly. He was a human too… or is he? That was something he couldn't confirm just yet, but a part of him still felt that he'd likely be human- ish enough to be uncomfortable sleeping in his metal armour.

A soft tap against his cheek pulled him out of his thoughts, gaze drawn to the green eyes of his best friend, who watched him with a little smile. "You're overthinking again. Not exactly doing very good of 'staying cool'."

"I'm on edge, yeah, but can you blame me? This isn't what you'd call a 'good' thing."

"No, I suppose it isn't," pulling a seat beside him, Eugeo sat down, making a little sound. "Honestly, this is the first time I've seen you so worried over something. Besides Alice's case, I mean. You're like a cat preparing for a fight or something."

"I am so not a cat. And no way in heck am I preparing for a fight," a memory of that fateful day replayed itself in his mind, making him bristle in chagrin. "I'd lose right off the bat."

It was a not-so-subtle reminder of the event that transpired what felt like a lifetime ago that even Eugeo found himself frowning a little. Sensing this, Kirito patted him good-naturedly on the shoulder, knowing for a fact that he must be feeling guilty over dredging up bad memories.

But even then, Kirito wasn't a fool anymore. He'd remembered just how easily Deusolbert had knocked him out cold without even needing to lift a hand. Fanatio strikes him as an individual just as strong, so any altercation would end poorly for him—he really didn't need to make himself a reputation of picking fights with Integrity Knights.

Thinking back on it now, he wondered why he'd even charged at Deusolbert as he had that day. Surely he must have known that he wouldn't have been able to change anything, right? He was just a kid, and Deusolbert was a shining paragon of the Human Empire. A representation of the strongest souls to ever exist. It likely had to be a result of stupidity…

Sighing, he looked back out the window. It was dark out, and he had no doubt that everyone were likely heading home to sleep the hours away. He and Eugeo should be as well, but they'd been up talking late into the night. He had a good feeling that the rest of his friend's family are asleep at the moment.

"You know," he began, either to break the silence or just to say something. "Even with Fanatio in our village, I have a strange feeling that nothing amazing will really happen."

Eugeo hummed a sound of agreement. "That is true. Even after Alice got taken away, people just… got used to it. I think we both did, too. We sort of just," he paused, a brief inflection of pain. Only barely, however. "Accepted it."

"That sure is weird… I don't know if I should be happy about this or concerned."

"Being too careless is a pretty bad thing, I agree. But fretting too much over it wouldn't really be productive either. I guess the best we can realistically do is just ignore it and go on with our day."

"I suppose," it made sense. This was a situation completely out of his control, so leaving it to them would be the right move. Even so, why did it make him feel so unsatisfied? "It's all about waiting it out. This whole situation will eventually be over with, and we'll be none the wiser."

"I'm really hoping it does end up that way, because I'm not sure I'm ready to deal with more headaches…" Neither was he, honestly. After all the crap they've already had to deal with, he would really appreciate it if no other issue springs up after this.

Once more, they fall into silence. A comfortable one, he notes. Having nothing to talk about at times is pretty nice; no need to force each other into a conversation that they likely wouldn't be paying attention to. Just enjoying each other's presence the way they are now. It helps that, with how quiet it is now, it's incredibly relaxing.

And still, his heart continues to mourn. Still in a state of unrest, his mind wondering if all of these circumstances are just preluding a worse outcome.

Once upon a time, Kirito dreamed of cutting down the Gigas Cedar. He would be beside his best friends for the rest of his life, and that would have been enough for him. He would have been the happiest person in the world.

And now, as his dreams are unmade and reality sets in, he's left to wonder if he has the strength to weather the coming storms.

'No other choice but to do it.'

His hands clasped above his lap, his side leaning against the window. His gaze out the window and up to the light of Lunaria, whose illuminance never fails to soothe his rampant thoughts. At least, just for this night…

Maybe it'll be a restless sleep, for once. Maybe this'll all be over tomorrow, and he would have been worried for nothing. Maybe then, he could just scoff at his own idiocy.

Under the star-dotted sky and the chirping of crickets, his sleep is quiet that night.

Author's Notes:

In the world of 'Project Alicization', there are two languages used; one is the «Common Tongue», which is the basic language that everyone in the world speaks. This is typically in Japanese, long story short. The other one, «Sacred Tongue» is in English, and it's the language the characters use to chant «Sacred Arts». I separate the language by using guillemets (that's the fancy double less-than and more-than signs) for specific terms, but for the 'Integrity Knight Synthesis...' bit, I'll go without.

Regarding the politics of this world… ehh, not much to go off of. The side stories Moon Cradle and the videogame Alicization: Lycoris shows that there are actual emperors—some suspicious old man who rebelled against Kirito's ascension in the former (which I got to experience a bit playing Rising Steel) in the former as well as Kayode Norlangarth in the latter.

Granted, the best way to describe the Human Empire is a theocracy, which is basically a ruling system centralized around a religion. It's fitting since the Axiom Church itself is at the top chain of commands. Considering the usage of 'empire', there is also a system of emperors and empresses that answer to the Axiom Church, so that's the basic setup we're going with; four empires ruling each cardinal direction from the cathedral, with the Axiom Church acting as the true ruling head. There is also aristocracy, considering the existence of noble houses and commoners.

And finally, the numbering of each Integrity Knight indicates their position, not their strength; after all, it's already established that Alice is the second strongest knight, despite being assigned number thirty. It just means she was the thirtieth knight to be recruited.

Not much to this chapter besides filler.