Part 8
“Then… Please take care of Kirito.”
Alice said, gazing at each of the two girls’ faces.
Novice trainees, no, already independent swordswomen Tiese Shtolienen and Ronye Arabel straightened their backs and nodded forcefully.
“Yes, please rest assured and leave it to us, Alice-sama.”
“We will definitely protect Kirito-senpai.”
Replying to Alice, Tiese and Ronye gripped the newly constructed wheelchair’s handle with their left and right hand respectively.
Alice had used an Art to transform an extra full set of armor from the supply tent into the thin, long chair that reflected a grayish-white glow. It was not only lighter than the wooden wheelchair they had used in Rulid, it was guaranteed to be durable.
Even so, she could not do anything about the weight of the two swords that Kirito clutched onto. Alice worried in her heart over whether the girls could push them or not, but the duo inhaled and exhaled in collaboration, pushing the wheelchair straight in front of Alice.
This way, they would not be delayed even if they received an emergency retreat order. Even so, when the time came that they could not help but escape from the valley, it would also be the time when the Defense Army would be surrounded and destroyed.
In honesty, as soon as the battle took a turn slightly for the worse, Alice would take Kirito and flee towards the east. But it would only be delaying their fate by a few months — no, just a few weeks.
If the Defense Army was defeated, the four Knights protecting the Mountain Range at the Edge would also retreat, ordering citizens from each village and city to evacuate, and set up the city wall of Central Capital Centoria as the last line of defense. But that would only be pointless resistance. Eventually to be ravaged by the invading army, that beautiful city and its white Cathedral would be burned down. Within the wall-like, now sealed Mountain Range at the Edge, they would have absolutely nowhere to run…
Alice bent her knees down to Kirito’s height and gazed into his eyes.
In the five days since they arrived at the camp, whenever she had time, Alice would speak to Kirito, caress his hands, and hug him tight and close. But, up to today, he still failed to produce any response that was worth mentioning.
“Kirito… Perhaps, this is our last farewell.”
Alice murmured to the black-haired youth, trying to keep her smile.
“Oji-sama said that he feels you can decide the outcome of this battle. I feel the same way, since this Defense Army was set up because of you.”
In actuality, if it were not for Kirito and Eugeo, the ones embattling the Great Eastern Gate would be the Highest Minister Administrator and the entire Integrity Knighthood, and that ominous Sword Golem army.
If they had two to three thousand Sword Golems, known for their chilling fighting strength, the fifty thousand-strong Dark Territory army would indeed be not worth mentioning. But that would also mean the destruction of the Human Empire. Kirito and the others sacrificed a life and a heart to prevent that tragedy.
But if this continues and the Defense Army is defeated, a different kind of heavy tragedy would bear down upon and attack the people.
“… I will also try my best. I will burn and exhaust this Life you bestowed upon me to its very last drop. So… If I fall and use my last bit of strength to call upon you, you must stand up and draw that sword. As long as you can wake up, it wouldn’t matter if the enemy numbered thousands or tens of thousands. Evoke a miracle again, and protect the Human Empire… everyone. Because, you are…”
—The one who defeated even the Highest Minister, the strongest swordsman.
Silently murmuring in her heart, Alice extended both hands and tightly hugged Kirito’s emaciated frame.
After some time, Alice released the embrace, stood up, and noticed Ronye’s blue eyes, shaking with a complicated radiance, turned firmly towards them. Why would this be? She blinked a few times, and suddenly understood.
“Ronye-san. You… like Kirito, don’t you?”
After Alice said that with a smile, the delicate girl covered her mouth with her hands, her face reddening ear to ear. She looked down and replied in a feeble voice:
“No, it’s not, how can… How could I be so disrespectful…? Someone like me, I’m only a novice trainee valet…”
“What do you mean, disrespectful? Ronye-san, you’re the successor of a noble family, aren’t you? I’m just a civilian born in a border town, and even Kirito is a moneyless, incapable, unemployed person with an unknown birthplace…”
Suddenly, Ronye shook her head vehemently and interrupted Alice.
“No! I… I…”
With her left hand, Tiese gently supported Ronye, whose eyes were filling with tears and had stopped her words abruptly. Her reddish-leafy colored eyes also dampened as she began in a trembling voice:
“Alice-sama… You know of the Taboo that Kirito-senpai and Eugeo-senpai broke, right?”
“Yeah… I know. I heard that there was a conflict within the Academy… They murdered other students.”
Half a year ago, when Alice, still oblivious as an Axiom Church elite soldier, received the Senate’s order for arrest, she still remembered today the slight shock she felt then. There were never any records of that kind of major Taboo violation involving Central Capital Academy students murdering other students in the Church’s historical records.
“Then… Do you know why the Senpais broke the Taboo…?”
“No… About that, I…”
Just as Alice was about to shake her head, a wave of shouts resounded in her head.
That was what Kirito shouted at Alice, who did not need the help of a convict, when they were both thrown to the outer wall of the Cathedral…
“—As long as it’s not prohibited by the Taboo Index, it’s tolerable for completely innocent girls like Tiese and Ronye to be freely played around with by the Upper Elite… Do you think this way!!?”
Right. I heard the names of these two then.
Elite students should be the students that Kirito cut down. Then, the ones who were played with, are—
To Alice, whose eyes opened wide, Tiese described in a quaking voice:
“… Elite Swordsman-in-Training Raios Antinous and Elite Swordsman-in-Training Humbert Zizek repeatedly issued humiliating orders to our friend and Novice Trainee Frenica Szeski. We raised objections to those two Swordsmen-in-Training and in our anger, carelessly used language equivalent to extremely disrespectful behavior. Because of that, according to Empire Fundamental Law, the noble class were able to exercise their right to punishment and reward…”
After that, just thinking about it would be extremely painful. Tiese’s voice had already became stuck, and Ronye began to sob softly, her head lowered.
Just as Alice was about to open her mouth and utter “You don’t have to say anymore”, the red-haired girl continued determinately:
“… To save us, who were dealt with unbearable punishment, Kirito-senpai and Eugeo-senpai swung their swords. If we had been a little more intelligent, that would not have happened. Our Senpais would not have fought against the Church to correct the law, and would not have perished because of that. We… have committed an unforgivable sin. Therefore… even if our mouths were ripped to shreds, we could not say that we like our Senpais…”
After sputtering out her heartfelt thoughts, hot tears finally streamed down Tiese’s face. Carrying hatred and humiliation too harsh for their age, the young girls hugged each other, whimpering softly.
Alice tightly clenched her teeth, looking up at the small skylight.
She also knew of the corruption of the Upper Noble Class of the Four Empires. Satiation, extortion, and adultery.
But the Integrity Knight Alice from before believed that dwelling on these acts would cause herself to be contaminated, so she turned a blind eye to the noble class’s misbehavior. No matter what they did, as long as they did not break the Taboo Index, they could be ignored — As to why, it was because she was a Protector of the Law summoned from the Spirit World. And she always deeply believed that.
But this kind of ignorance was the real sin. Not touching the Taboo Index that Kirito hated deeply was the actual major crime. Compared to her inactive self, the two girls in front of her were many times braver.
Alice inhaled and exhaled deeply, and said in a voice imbibed with strength:
“No, you’re wrong. You both have done nothing wrong.”
The one who raised her head, shocked, was Ronye. The girl who seemed to always hide behind Tiese stared with eyes tangled with intense light and shouted:
“Alice-sama… Honorable Integrity Knight Alice-sama cannot understand! Our bodies were played with those men, and our self-respect has been tarnished!”
“The body is but a container for the spirit.”
Replying like that, Alice forcefully thumped the center of her chest with her right fist.
“Only your heart… Only your spirit is the one true existence. And the one who decides the state of your spirit, is yourself.”
Alice closed her eyes and gathered her consciousness within herself.
When Rulid was attacked about two weeks ago, Alice once used the power of the heart —- that is, Incarnation, to recover her lost right eye. She personally felt that as long as she firmly, carefully prayed, she could induce changes in her physical body even without relying on Arts.
But now that was still not enough. Not just her physical body, even the clothes on her body must be changed by the power of Incarnation.
It is definitely possible. Didn’t Kirito do it before? He, who confronted Administrator holding two swords, flipped up an exotic, long black leather coat completely different from the clothes he wore up until now.
She can change back. She can change back to the Alice when she awoke in that huge, unfamiliar tower, before she blindly sealed her heart away with thick icy armor to eliminate the anxiety and loneliness from losing her memories.
—I’m the same as both of you, Ronye, Tiese. I was born as the child of a man, made many mistakes, bore deep sins, and now am here. If Eugeo killed someone because of you… Before now, if I had not broken that small Taboo when I was younger nine years ago, then Eugeo and the others would not have headed for the Central Capital at all.
Yes, that was my crime. Even if I have no memories of her, Alice Schuberg is not an unfamiliar stranger, but definitely me from before. The days I spent in Rulid taught me that much.
Even as her eyes were closed, Alice was still aware of the white, warm glow that wrapped around her body.
Alice slowly opened her eyes.
Because her head was lowered, the first thing she saw was the dress she was wearing. But that was not pure white, the color of the Axiom Church, but dyed azure blue, reminiscent of an autumn sky.
A plain white apron lay on top of her skirt. The golden armor and gauntlets had disappeared. As she felt the top of her head, her fingertips touched a large ribbon. Her hair also seemed to be slightly shorter.
Raising her head, she met eyes with the shocked Ronye and Tiese.
?
“…See, right? The body and appearance are merely dependencies of the heart.”
Of course, this transformation was temporary. The instant that concentration was broken, she should turn back into her original Knight form. But the meaning behind it should be able to be conveyed to the girls. Alice’s, Kirito’s and Eugeo’s longing.
“Your heart cannot be tarnished by anyone. Born in a border village, I was originally supposed to be raised this [9] way. But when I was eleven years old, I was taken to the Central Capital as a sinner, had my memories erased using Arts and turned into an Integrity Knight, and I have cursed that fate before…”
Alice was recounting a great secret that only Knight Commander Bercouli knew apart from herself. But she believed that these two people would be able to accept it, and continued:
“However… Even in that state, there are things I am able to accomplish and things I am supposed to accomplish; that’s what Kirito taught me. Therefore, I am no longer confused. I have decided to accept myself and step forward.”
Alice raised both hands and firmly grasped Ronye and Tiese’s hands.
“You have them too. A wide, long, and straight path belonging only to you.”
Several droplets landed onto the tightly clasped hands, dripping and dripping.
The tears that slid down the girls’ faces took on a spectral glow completely unlike before, shining beautifully.
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