Chapter 28

{ Rising Tensions }

9th day of the 5th Month – HEC, 375
Norlangarth – Zakkaria

Leave Zakkaria after a week has passed, and make for Centoria. Neither Kirito nor the rest of his companions had forgotten the arrangements, and that was the plan as intended. There wasn't much else to do in Zakkaria now, as they'd seen just about everything it had to offer. It had been a splendid stay, for what it was worth.

But with things having escalated to the point that it's become now, there was absolutely no way they could do that now.

They'd known. Medina had warned them about the possibility, so from the moment they'd made the report to the guards, there was a feeling deep down that there wasn't a happy end to all of this. Even though no news was good news, it still left all of them on frayed nerves, not knowing what could possibly come out of all of this.

And then, it finally happened.

"Did you hear?" The hushed voice of a young lady from behind him had him turning his head just the slightest to catch a glance of the person. She was dressed from head to toe in such fancy clothing that indicated her status as a noble, and he quickly averted his gaze from her, though still listening. "Looks like someone reported that man from the Yureas family to the authorities."

"Ah, yes. I heard about that. Many in the noble families have been talking about that. Apparently, it's almost been an entire week since the report was made. And now he's looking to have the person who made the report be arrested. A little excessive, no?"

"You know how he is. Verily rough around the edges, and certainly an antagonistic sort. He won't accept this blow to his pride lying down."

"And what of the store he visited? The one where he apparently harassed one of the workers?"

"Last I heard, he pressured them into giving him names. Even though they don't know anything, it's not looking so good for them. And the guards refused to give him anything, as the persons who reported him requested anonymity."

"Actually, wasn't this case supposed to be kept under wraps? One of my colleagues told me that he'd made it clear he wanted no one finding out."

"Word has spread regardless. There's no hiding it now, at this point."

The group of young ladies continued discussing it even as they stood up, leaving the table. Their footsteps growing even more distant, until nothing could be heard. Kirito glanced back, making sure they were finally gone, before letting his head fall onto his folded arms with a groan.

"Coin for your thoughts?"

"Things have gotten so much worse," he mumbled, receiving a hum. "We've been staying here because we wanted to keep track of the situation here, but now that things have turned out to be like this…"

No one at the table said anything, and as he drew himself back to sit up straight, he could make out naked worry across everyone's expressions. Even Charlotte, for how much she could come off as mask-faced, had a frown on her face.

He sighed, taking a sip of his drink. With news of this incident getting out to the public, people weren't afraid to talk about the matter and keep one another updated. Heck, the person managing the inn they were staying at even told them about it this morning.

And it was even more concerning that the noble guy didn't seem to care going around town trying to wrangle their identities out of the people. A real pain in the ass, he is, but it didn't seem like he minded at all. If anything, he was making full use of his 'noble rights' to conduct his investigations. Bastard.

"What do you guys think?" His question had everyone looking back at him. "Think the guards will eventually cave in and give him our names?"

Medina shook her head. "I don't think so. One of the clauses in the «Taboo Index» prohibits the exposure of one's identity if they request for anonymity. And, you know, the «Taboo Index» overrules any other laws, so the guards will have to stick to their word. Otherwise, it would be corruption, and they'd be punished."

With death. He wondered if Medina knew that. He shook his head to dispel the thought. "Hoping you're right on that one… But he's been bothering all the establishments in the area, hasn't he?"

"Apparently so, though it's obviously pointless," Charlotte piped in. "At a time, tens to hundreds of people would frequent a store, so it would be impossible to place a name on a person."

"Still, it's trouble enough. And even the store we tried to defend is getting screwed over, despite it already passed. Talk about troubling…" He exhaled through his nose. "So, what do we do now, guys?"

"Well, considering the situation at hand, I doubt any of you are considering leaving until the situation is solved," he and Eugeo nodded back at Charlotte's words. Leaving things as they are now would bother him to no end. They needed to figure out some way to solve things, as unlikely as Medina once said. "Regardless, we should continue laying low for the time being. There's no knowing who could be watching us."

That was an unsettling thought. It was possible, though. After all, they were dealing with nobility, whom they'd been taught growing up were rich to the point that none of them could even fathom. They might have spies keeping their ears to the ground. Or someone might leak info about them to the family in exchange for something.

…Okay. Maybe he'd gotten a bit too over-imaginative on that front. All those stories he read in Sulinea's collection had certainly been, uh, interesting. But who knows! They could be true.

For now, all they could do was just help however they could, as little as they may be. It wasn't like they had connections or power, or anything really, that could make things easier for them to solve this whole issue.

'Then again, Medina's a noble, but she isn't really trying to make use of her family to do anything…'

It was certainly strange. Then again, maybe she wasn't a high-ranking noble? He didn't recognize the Orthinanos name… or any noble families, really. Since their presence didn't extend to Rulid, he'd never seen the need to know any of them.

Regardless, Medina likely couldn't do anything because any action taken on her part would reflect on her family. And if things didn't work out? Well, the repercussions they would have to deal with would be too much. In fact, there would be a good chance that the Axiom Church itself might mete out punishment upon her family.

Hopefully, things wouldn't go that far. Medina was a good friend. There was no way he was going to drag her and her family into all these hot waters.

"Come on. Let's grab some food on the go. I'm thinking it'd be better if we just eat in our rooms."

No one argued with that. They stood up and he picked up the Blue Rose Sword, passing it over to Eugeo. He looked to the road, then turned his gaze away to join his friends once more.

They were being watched.

Per her duties as a spy of sorts, Charlotte had long grown used to having a level of perception beyond what most people would consider 'normal'. That simply came with the territory, aided by her innate ability that came with her arachnid biology.

The scent in the wind. The small taps on the ground far away. The colours.

Such skills had been utterly useful during her career, even if there hadn't been much danger she needed to face—prior to meeting Kirito and Eugeo, her job was mostly scouting around Centoria and the lands in her spider form, which was so tiny she practically went unnoticed by everyone and everything. Now, as a human, she needed to maintain far more caution.

Not like she needed to focus very hard to notice the stares her party were receiving from the people of the town, however. While they'd been here long enough not to fall under any form of scrutiny, they were still a relatively curious bunch, so there was bound to be some interest in them.

Charlotte hoped that all of that was just innocent curiosity, and nothing more.

It wouldn't be beyond the realm of possibility to imagine that one of the Yureas family's watchmen was out in the crowd, though. Maybe just to check every single head and figure out who could be a suspect—and wasn't that an uncomfortable notion? They'd need to be very vigilant…

"Wait up. Workers passing through."

She stopped right as Kirito said that, watching as a group of beefy men moved across them, carrying stacks of wooden planks. Once they were gone, they continued moving towards their inn once more.

Well, despite all her worries, things were looking relatively fine. The town isn't in a complete uproar; a single noble couldn't possibly shake everything up that terribly. So, in some way, everything was like how it's always been.

And that meant all the injustice still happening behind their backs.

She shook her head, frowning. 'To think that this matter is a daily matter that goes behind the scenes… Truly despicable.'

She could only imagine how Medina felt. This was her hometown, and for her to be forced to accept that this was simply the way things had operated for all these years was incredibly depressing. Kirito and Eugeo, especially, are likely experiencing one great shock, considering how they'd come from a place absent of prejudice or negative moments.

What a disgraceful thing. Nobility, she felt, wasn't something people deserved right away. They had to work for it. Prove themselves worthy of the title. And this Yureas fellow was not making himself seem worthy of his position whatsoever.

"Halt, you two. I'd like a word with you."

Charlotte paused abruptly, hands tense for combat. Sensing no one's presence nearby, she turned her gaze to search the source of the voice, only to spot a large man with a shaven head approaching two girls, both of whom turned their heads towards him with curious looks.

'Those two… How very young. I wonder what they're doing outside on their own. Could they be noble girls? And that man…'

"Forgive me for taking your time, but I'm currently asking around regarding milord's case. Alden, bodyguard of Sir Filips Yureas," he introduced himself with a professional demeanour, almost coming off as cold. "Pray tell, were the two of you available on the day when milord visited that shop? Perhaps you might remember anyone from there, so that we could narrow down names."

"Uhh…" Both girls looked at one another, then back at him with shrugs. "No, we never went there. And, um, what is this about?"

"On the fourth, milord had… unfortunately caused some trouble at a local establishment," he sounded displeased, though whether it was at his lord or at having to explain the situation, that was anyone's guess. "And some people had reported his actions to the authorities. He received stern warning and even a fine. Right now, he is searching the people who reported him. They requested anonymity, however, so it's difficult to ascertain who they are."

"S-Sorry, we don't know anything about this. Let alone who could've reported your lord…"

"I see. Then forgive me for bothering you," he bowed at them. "Have a good day."

He left soon after, and the two girls exchanged confused glances before going off on their way. Charlotte watched the whole interaction that whole time, genuinely relieved that he hadn't pushed them any further. Much more clear-headed than his master, that was for sure.

"Hey, Charlotte," she perked up, looking back at Kirito. "You alright? Need to get anything?"

"…No. Nothing like that," she shook her head. "Come, let us return to our rooms. I am not particularly in the mood to stand out all day."

Heading back to the inn they were staying at, she and Medina had excused themselves to refresh themselves, the boys doing the same. Afterwards, everyone met once more in the boys' room. The girls took to the bed while Kirito leaned against the door, Eugeo seated at a chair closer to the wall.

"So, do we have any plans for tomorrow?"

"Nothing in particular. Really, we're just trying to make sure we don't accidentally stand out, bad reason or no."

"There's literally not much in the way of finding a way to solve the problem. The best we can hope for is a lack of interest over time, though that isn't exactly a solution to the entire matter."

It would certainly be delightful to find some way of putting an end to this nobility problem, but Charlotte had a feeling that attempting to tamper with the system could bring about a much worse consequence than now.

The best method would have to be the direct one; heading straight for the Yureas household and requesting an audience with the heir for a discussion.

'Although, I have a feeling that any attempt of discussion between us and them would end poorly.'

"Maybe we could all split up and check around town? Help wherever we can, try to mitigate the damage. If we're lucky, we might come upon an idea of what we can do to stop this," Eugeo chuckled at his friend's words.

"If you somehow manage to figure out a way, that would save all of us. And I really hope you do; you always manage to get things done somehow."

"I'm no miracle worker, brother. Just exceptionally lucky only when it counts—and even then, I've usually got crappy luck," he sighed, sounding exasperated. "In any case, everyone needs to be careful. No one could've possibly recognized us and slip our name to the Yureas guy, but if we accidentally mention it out in public, then we're screwed. Let's try and make sure that doesn't happen, yeah?"

10th day of the 5th Month – HEC, 375
Norlangarth – Zakkaria

Today, things were going to be no different than before. Even if they'd all agreed to think hard on some way to handle the matters, they knew there wasn't much that they could realistically do.

But if there was one thing that anyone knew about him, he simply wasn't the kind of person who sat by and did nothing. If there was a will, there was a way—and he was going to figure out what that way was meant to be.

"Uhh. I don't know if this is a good idea."

"Don't worry about it. We won't be doing anything dangerous. Just a little espionage."

"What does that even mean?"

"Spying, buddy. And I do mean what I said; we're just heading around town and doing a little careful watching," he answered. "No need to intervene unless things escalate really terribly. And even then, we just help in little ways. Nothing drastic."

That seemed enough to placate Eugeo, who agreed to follow him for the rest of the day as they walked around Zakkaria. At this time, Medina and Charlotte should be elsewhere, perhaps going on a shopping session together. It'd be much better this way. No need to get everyone in trouble.

With Zakkaria being a fairly sizable town, covering the entire place in a single day was simply unrealistic. As such, for today, they'll try covering the whole southern part of town, followed by keeping their ears and eyes open for any particular rumour or hearsay.

So far, nothing all that different from the norm. The guy that's been causing all the trouble hasn't really been as active as he had been, though it seemed like his bodyguard had been making the rounds as usual—thankfully, he was much more cool-headed than his boss, so there'd never been any incidents of property damage or near-violence when he was involved.

After almost an hour with not much news of the like, the two decided to take a break at an open space with several wooden benches lined up in a row. They even purchased some bread from a local bakery using the money Charlotte had given them.

"This really does feel like we're doing nothing useful," Eugeo said after a while, taking a bite out of his meat bun.

"No kidding. This is so out of our comfort zone. At least with the Million-Eyed, we could at least cut it down and shiz. This is nothing like that."

"It's a far more delicate matter, yeah… Hey Kirito?" He hummed back. "I'm not trying to sound defeatist or anything, but like… do you think we shouldn't be digging into this?"

"We shouldn't, but if we don't, then things won't change for everyone here. Considering how Medina said it, this kind of practise has probably been here since long before we were even born. And I'm betting other towns have this sort of thing too."

"That would be awful…"

It would be. The fact that this is just how people born into the nobility seem to treat all those below them without a care like this just felt wrong. Are they just so determined to make everyone else's lives a living hell while they got away with all because of some dumb laws?

Kirito sighed. No, that was probably a dangerous line of thinking. The law was obviously in place to protect them—the clause preventing entry into swamps that were acting as a source of diseases was obviously to make sure no one accidentally contracted any illness and brought them to their home. He understood that.

But that still didn't excuse the fact that one such law was practically giving the nobles the leeway to enact their punishments and judgements on the common folk. That they could extend to property damage and verbal abuse wasn't right.

'If only we could just change everything…'

"Gah! Watch where you're walking!"

The two boys looked up in unison, spotting a young girl with ashen hair having fallen to the ground. Some massive brute of a man scoffed and walked away, leaving her to scramble and try to scrounge for the produce she'd accidentally dropped due to her colliding with him. Others watched her for a moment before leaving the scene, perhaps busy or simply not wanting to have anything to do with her.

Clicking his tongue, he stood up and approached the girl. From this close, he could make out what seemed like a nun's habit, indicating that she was of a task pertaining to the church. The thing that made her stand out, though, was the long dark grey hair, tied up into a ponytail with a black hair ribbon. Ruby red eyes looked down with a worried accentuation, her lips curved into a frown.

"Those are no good," he said, making her yelp in surprise and turn her head around to stare at him. Kirito winced. "Er, sorry. But uh, most of those vegetables don't look like they'd be in any good condition for long, especially the cabbage."

"I… I know that, but there's not much else I can do," she muttered. "I'll just have to make do."

"You planning to cook them soon?"

"Sort of, yes. I, um, I came here from Centoria," all the way from the central city? The surprise must have been evident on his face for her to pick up on it. "Yeah, I know. Kind of crazy. But er, I requested temporary leave to come here for a bit, continue my studies away from the cathedral."

"You're from the cathedral?"

"I am," she bowed a little. "Edith, a servant of the cathedral, currently studying Sacred Arts. And you are…"

"The name's Kirito, and this here is my friend Eugeo. We're from Norlangarth, which is the village all the way to the north."

"T-That's quite far. What are you here for?"

"Hmm. Well, let's talk a little more after we've gotten your vegetables replaced. Maybe find a place to sit while we're at it."

"E-Ehh? No, you don't need to! It's fine!"

"Pssh, it's okay. We don't really spend much, so don't worry about having to pay us back or anything. Come on, let's go find the market."

Despite her insistence, Kirito bullishly pushed onwards, his brother apologizing for his attitude. Heh. Well, this was the least they could do for her. Oh, he could certainly chase down that dastard from earlier and give him a what-for, but that would bring about a whole slew of problems, so might as well not.

Two cabbages and three tomatoes. It was a shame that they got damaged from the fall at all, but at least now they managed to get her some. With more to spare, they even got her a couple of chicken meat, which would be perfect materials for… stew.

And now, he was recognizing the fact that he lacked much diversity in dishes. That was embarrassing.

Once they got some new ingredients, he lead Edith and Eugeo to a fountain in the middle of town. He sat on the edge of it, picking out a meat skewer from a paper bag that they'd bought from a vendor nearby. The scent of herbs on it was incredibly pleasing.

"Kirito, we literally ate earlier. How are you still able to eat more?"

"It's called being a healthy grower. Don't judge," Edith giggled at his words. "So, as I was saying earlier, we're heading for Centoria soon. This is just a temporary stop, and we've been sightseeing the whole time."

"I see, I see. That certainly sounds fun. Have you done much?"

"You could say that. We mostly walked around, eat the stuff here—there's all kinds of dishes here, apparently! Though, to be fair, they do import a lot of materials from other towns and villages. And then, we even visited the meeting venue, where they have those annual tournaments. Haven't had the opportunity to fight anyone there, though."

Eugeo sighed. "Because they think we're not particularly worthy enough to step foot on the stage."

"Aw, that's a shame. I mean, you two are swordsmen-in-training, so it wouldn't be fair to keep you away from any opportunity for hands-on practice."

"I agree."

"Well, if you and your friends will be going to Centoria, I'd love to tag along. I only managed to get here on my own because I hitched a ride with a merchant. I don't know if there will be any travelling to Centoria from here any time soon…"

"Sure. But there'll be plenty of camping in the outdoors. You good with that?"

"I don't mind," Edith grinned. "If anything, that sounds very fun. Getting to sleep under the open sky, bathe in the rivers…"

"Deal with wild animals, worry if it'll rain or not," Kirito's words made the girl falter. He chuckled in turn. "Don't worry. It's not too bad. Trust me, you'll enjoy it. It's as you said, it's a whole lot of fun—"

'Kirito, Eugeo. I sense a commotion west of here.'

The ravenette halted mid-speech, looking in the direction she spoke of. Eugeo did too, prompting Edith to look at them in confusion. "Um, is something wrong?"

"…Hey, Edith. Mind coming with us for a short bit? We wanna' check on something for a bit."

"Um, sure! Where are we going?"

No idea. Still, the group got up and proceeded west, towards where Selena was directing them. It was a good thing that she'd noticed anything at all, since there wasn't any particularly loud noise that had been enough to catch their attention.

Eventually, their short walk brought them before a crowd of people outside of a shop, many of them looking among one another and chattering in hushed voices. The three of them exchanged glances, then quickly moved closer.

It was a restaurant they had seen once but never visited, with a cherry pink exterior and large stained windowpane that gave view of an organized interior. One of the locals had recommended this place for their masterful cakes and patisseries, but those were the last things on his mind at the moment. If anything, he was more worried about why there were so many people were grouped up outside here.

"It's him again…"

"Bothering another shop this time… When will he stop?"

"I swear to the goddesses, this guy has nothing better to do…"

"To think the Yureas boy is still going around bothering all these shops. The guards really ain't doing anything about this, huh..?"

"Wait, I don't get it…" Edith whispered. "What's going on here..?"

"Long story short, a person from a noble family bothered the workers at a shop almost a week ago and got reported to the authorities," Eugeo began explaining to her. "Unfortunately, it seems like he's been going around and bothering local shops to tell him who they were, which is difficult since absolutely no one knows."

"Really? That's awful…"

"Yeah, it's—Eh? Kirito? What are you doing? Kirito!"

Pushing past the crowd and almost missing Eugeo calling for him, he was brought to a scene of a dozen people or so people or so looking at the centre of the room. Some were standing, others were doing their damnedest best to ignore the commotion, and the waiter standing behind the counter looked like he wanted to rush out to help his colleague.

Fear kept him in check, however, his face pale and trembling hands enough of an indication of how much trouble they were in.

"…and I know that you're attempting to hide their identities from me!" Kirito's eyes fell upon a familiar man with long grey hair, his very being radiating with anger. "And you have the gall to try and do so despite knowing who I am?"

"S-Sir, I promise you, I have no idea who these people are…"

"Lies!" He barked at the shaking man. "I swear, I'll have your establishment reported and your license revoked!"

"You can't just do that!"

Okay, now this was a familiar situation. This was like all those days long ago, when he stepped up for some random kid from being bullied by Jink and his lackeys—and they always did end up with him getting away with it because he'd managed to get the punch in (through official duels, of course, which he now saw as a sort of exploitation of the rules…). This, though? This was a lot more difficult.

The entire shop went silent. He knew they were all looking at him now. The nobleman, too, had lost focus on the shop worker, the single most acidic glare he had ever seen in her life shifting to him instead. His dark grey eyes were framed by wavy grey hair that lacked any sort of roughness, and his dress shirt was pressed and clean, indigo in its shade and with dark trousers that likely costed more than anything he could ever afford in a lifetime.

"And who are you supposed to be? Wait," he said suddenly. "Don't even tell me. Judging by your strange attire, you must be an outsider?"

"So what if I am?"

"Then I don't deem you worthy of knowing my name. And I don't particularly care to know yours either," he scoffed "Begone, brat. This does not involve you."

Brat? Sure, he wasn't the tallest, but it's not like he was a little shrimp back in the day. He pushed that particular annoyance down, though. "Fine, okay, I'll let you have that. But you can't just keep bothering these people. You're making it hard for business!"

"Like I should care. These people obviously know who sullied my good name, yet each refuse to speak a single word. And for what? Good faith? Duty?"

"They don't know, man. Poor guy's already said that he doesn't know anything, right?"

"And this is the face of a liar!"

He looked at the face of the worker; afraid, close to tears. Right, sure. 'Liar'. "Man, why you've got to be like this… Look, no one knows who reported you to the guards. Even you don't have any proof that the people here have even met those guys. And even if she were to falsify a testament simply to sate your demands, the best she could do would be to accuse an innocent. Is that really something you would allow on your conscience?"

"You… Just…" He eventually let out an explosive breath, sounding infuriated. "Enough of this. Clearly, someone of your lowly placing would be too short-sighted to understand the matter," the man shook his head, turning away. "I don't have time to be arguing with you. I need to find the people who falsified my wrongdoings."

A single step is taken.

"Sheesh… And I thought you were actually noble, like your position claims. Guess you're not."

Not another is taken.

Instead, the man suddenly stops in place, a chilling aura being exerted. "What..?" His voice came out forced, almost challenging.

Most would likely have blanched before such pressure. Kirito merely crossed his arms with an unpleased huff. "Dude, you were reported because you mistreated that worker at the restaurant. Heard you verbally abused them and even broke their property. Not exactly the image of nobility anyone would hope for."

"They're lies!" He roared, finally turning his gaze back, face red like an apple. Sheesh. Is that healthy? "And what I do now is simply an act of reprimanding! These people seek to conceal vital information that would ruin my image!"

"Ehh, not much left to salvage, though. I'd say it's pretty shit at this point."

"K-Kirito!" Edith suddenly rushed to his side, trying to pull him away. "Stop! You don't need to pick a fight with him..!"

"I know. I'm sorry. But look, if he's so stubborn and refuses to accept his own faults, then someone's got to knock it into his head. I'll do it if no one else will."

"Kirito, please, don't do this!"

Footsteps moved forwards. A hand shoved his friend back, making her cry out. The Yureas man brunched up his collar, a visible vein popping on his head.

"Enough!" He roared. "I won't have an outsider like you making a fool of me! You will show your due respect! I demand it!"

The tension in the air was so thick now. No one moved in the slightest—from the workers to the other customers—all too afraid as they watched the moment unfold before them. The distant toll of chimes by the door was the only thing that cut through the moment, louder than anything else.

But none of that seemed to matter to him in this moment. Not even the livid expression boring down on him seemed to trigger a sliver of fear in him. No. Only a single emotion reared its ugly head within him.

One hand grasped the noble's wrist—and clenched tightly, almost enough to break it. The man gasped, suddenly attempting to wrench his hand back but failing to do so. He even tried to pry his grip open with his other hand, to no avail.

"Apologize."

"W-What?!"

"Apologize!" He yelled, anger he'd tried so hard to bury coming to the fore. "You don't just hurt my friends and get away with it, you piece of shit! Apologize!"

'Kirito, stop!'

'Kirito!'

It was only after a few more seconds of seeing him squirm and curse did he finally let go of his hold, watching with some satisfaction as the man took a couple of steps back and away from him. He massaged his wrist, trying to work his sore muscles and glaring hotly at him.

Hah. Shame on him for assuming him to be some weak kid. Years of woodcutting and training with the Blue Rose Sword had built his physique, and something like grip strength was just a cinch for him at this point.

Still, he recognized that getting riled up by something like that was just embarrassing. But the sight of Edith getting pushed aside just like that was just too upsetting.

Shaking his head, he turned his gaze back towards Edith. "Edith, are you alright? Did he hurt you?"

"U-Um, no. I'm fine," after a moment, she muttered: "Thank you…"

"Enough!" The Yureas noble's scream got all of them looking at him once more. "If this is the level of disrespect that you seek to treat me with, then I will not hold back on seeing you rightfully punished! Alden!"

The first thing that came to mind was how childish he was being. Calling for his servant to clean up his mess first thing after someone embarrassed him? Heh. Typical spoiled brat behaviour.

The next thing was how big the guy that showed up was. He cut for an imposing figure, with a chiselled body clearly meant for hard labour or combat. A sword hung from his waist, looking like a broadsword that required both hands to swing due to its size. Seriously, how had he not noticed this guy earlier?

"If you seek to belittle my position, then I will ensure that you are disciplined!" A smirk came upon his expression. "And what better way than a duel?"

"Milord, I feel like this is unnecessary," the bald man said.

"Nonsense! If one insults a noble and gets away with it, it'll give these common rabble the wrong idea that there will be no retribution for such misconduct!"

"Even if you say that—"

"Eugeo," the two looked at him. "Sorry to always ask you this, but can I borrow your sword?"

Standing off to the side, his best friend let out a sigh—and not of disappointment, as some might assume. "You do know its as much yours as it is mine? Heck, I think it fits you better than it does me."

'Sure. Keep saying that. And also, you're not trying to stop me?'

'You didn't hear this from me, but I really want you to knock him down a peg. Show him what you're made of.'

Heh. If even his brother despised the man enough to give him the go-ahead to beat his ass, he was definitely going to take it. "Okay. I'm down for a fight. We'll take this to the meeting avenue. But I'll tell you here and now that I won't hold back even the slightest. Knowing that, are you still willing to go through with this?"

"Attempting to put on a false bravado, boy? Bah. I'll see how long that'll last when you take to the battlegrounds."

"Oh, trust me, it's the real thing. Nah, I'm more than that; I'm excited," shit. He was grinning even wider now. Even baring his teeth like an animal bares its fangs, wasn't he? "I've never tried my sword against anyone outside of my brother and mentors. I'm ready to see just how far I've come—and make my first ever duel a victory, no matter who I go up against."

His gaze moved back towards his opponent. Though he kept quiet through it all, the challenging look was not missed. This was the pride of a fellow swordsman that truly fuelled his blade, unbidden by his master's wrath and more so by his own desire to clash swords.

Even as Edith whimpered about the dangers of the moment and Eugeo shook his head, all he could think of was the upcoming fight. And man, was this going to be good.

'Charlotte, Kirito got into trouble again!'

Elsewhere, both Charlotte and Medina were enjoying a nice little tea break together. Hearing this, the servant of Lady Lycoris she set down her teacup on its platter—before proceeding to bury her face into her hands, much to her younger companion's confusion.

"C-Charlotte?"

"Be patient, Charlotte. It's very likely that he has a very good reason for what's happened… maybe…"

She ended up groaning for a solid moment there, then staring up at the sky with something almost close to annoyance. Honestly, what could he have possibly gotten up to this time?

Author's Notes:

Poor Charlotte, lmao. Kirito getting into trouble is probably just par for the course at this point. And trust me; as the author of this series, he'll definitely be getting into a lot more trouble in the future.

Also, my apologies if this particular chapter felt a little rushed. I was struggling with how I wanted to advance the plot, so I went for something like this. Hope it's okay.

Update on The Last Recollection came recently, and I was a hundred percent expecting Yuuki to be revealed as Lunaria. That was literally the remaining goddess within the canon story that hadn't been explored or revealed properly, as far as I can tell.

And then, they go out and reveal her as Gladia, the goddess of the sword.

…You know what? I'm not going to complain. Sure, it came practically out of nowhere, but ah well. It'll be interesting. Sort of like a goddess of war or something. And it definitely fits her, considering she's meant to be the best swordswoman, lmao.