Cordelia leads us through the manor, introducing us to the maids and butlers that work there. Keeping my true identity secret, she simply told them we were "friends of the family." I guess, in this day and age, the Orthinanos family has regained more than the honor Medina fought for if mere strangers to the workers are bowed to. I wonder how much Mathias told his family after my previous visit.
We stop in the large, lavishly styled living room. I discarded the armor plates upstairs to be more comfortable, so I sink into one of the couches with ease. Kureha, who has more decorum than I do despite me being mentally older than her (she's two months my elder in age), sits in a chair with her hands placed in her lap. Cordelia joins me on the couch, nodding to a servant who places a pot of tea, several cups, and cookie-like snacks on a dark wooden table.
Based on the analog clock in the room (someone finally invented it) it's been twenty minutes since we arrived, but I no longer have plans to join Kirito and the others. This is just a safety dive into the world, so we're free to do as we please except enter Central Cathedral. Though unsaid yet implied by Dr. Koujiro's short remark to me, Obsidia Palace is also off-limits today. It sucks, but then again, I didn't go to Obsidia Palace last time. Eydis found out about me because Mathias got in contact with her. I didn't ask how, but I did create some communicative devices during the war. Maybe it survived to this day...and who knows, perhaps they'll be used to arrange a second meeting with Eydis again.
"Cordelia, may I ask a question?" Kureha starts as our host pours a brown-colored tea into the white teacups on the table. "Where's the rest of your family?"
"Hmm... Well, Father is a member of the Stellar Unification Council, so he's at the cathedral, and you know my older brother is an Integrity Pilot. He's at the base right now. As for Mother and everyone else, they're at the Uetra Valley estate."
"What about you? Do you stay here all day? You don't go to school?"
She smiles and glances at the hearth nearby, where Medina's old weapon hangs on display. "Oh, I do. I go to the North Centoria Imperial Swordcraft Academy." She says it so pridefully I hear a hint of her ancestor in her voice. My mind lets that go and remembers the academy, where Kirito, Eugeo, and Medina attended, followed by their pages Ronie, Tiese, and Ilia. I don't recall the latter girl as vividly as Kirito and Eugeo's pages; I didn't meet her until after the war, but I learned I helped her rise into the ranks of the first class of Integrity Knights free of Administrator's manipulation.
If I remember correctly, Kirito, Eugeo, and Medina were highly-ranked in their second year, though neither of them would finish it; Kirito and Eugeo were arrested by Alice for breaking the Taboo Index. Medina dropped out to join the Anti-Cedar Task Force right after I drop into the Underworld during the Ocean Turtle's invasion. Ronie and Tiese were with us during the ACTF and, later Ilia, during the Otherworlder War, but I don't know if they dropped out like Medina. I guess they did, for they'll be Integrity Knight trainees after the Rebellion of the Four Empires months later.
"What year are you?" I ask.
"Second year, second seat. Such a drag." She crosses her arms and frowns at the mention of such a great achievement. Kirito wasn't that high (probably because of his social standing rather than skill, though he defeated the first-seat Disciple in a duel at the end of his first year) and Medina, a second-class noblewoman, was seated lower because being a "defect" was worse than being a commoner. "I was so close to being the first seat like Mathias, but she won it."
If the Orthinanos style of swordplay remains, not many people can beat a master of the swift, agile katana sword style. I know that myself, I dueled Medina seriously once and couldn't beat her without resorting to Perfect Weapon Control - and back then, she didn't have the Mirage Sword then, but her father's sword. If Medina was judged fairly during her academy days, she would have been seated higher.
My curiosity gets the better of me, but I have no chance to ask my question as another butler enters the room and bows to Cordelia. "Lady Cordelia, Lady Sylvie is here."
Cordelia grumbles, "Speak of the devil," and tells the butler to bring her in. This Sylvie is first-seated, huh? I decide to reserve my question about how Cordelia's relationship with the newcomer to have her as a visitor and curse her name when Cordelia gasps in shock. She faces me, hands cupped over her mouth, eyes wide. "Oh no. No, no, no, no!"
"Wh-what is it?"
"I forgot Sylvie was coming today and...I was so excited seeing you that... What are we to do?"
"To do about what? It doesn't matter if someone else sees us, we got a cover."
"Sylvie isn't just 'someone'! She's-"
"I'm who?" Entering the living room is a young woman Cordelia's age. She has slightly dark skin, which I instantly hypothesize belongs to a person originally from the Dark Territory. Short, pale yellow bangs cover her right eye; her piercing left eye is bronze-brown. In her hair is a large black hairpin shaped in a fancy-styled "S". She wears a black sleeveless dress with purple accents. Matching gloves run the length of her forearms, ending just above her elbows. Hanging off her waist is a grey sheath with a simple hilt protruding out of it.
This Sylvie stands with her arms folded, staring down the Orthinanos girl. Cordelia, freaking out and unsure of what to do, clears her throat and stands up. She steps over to the newcomer and points to me and Kureha. "Sylvie, this is Jaymes and Kureha...friends of the family from up north. Jaymes, Kureha, this is Sylvie...the Princess of the Dark Territory."
Now it's my turn to freak out, though I internalize it. This girl...is my daughter? I had already thrown away the impossible argument, Not only was I told Eydis had a daughter, I'd been gone seventeen years. I logged out of the Underworld almost two minutes after Kirito and Asuna did, as one minute in real-time equaled ten years during the maximum acceleration phase. The remaining time sped the world up to the present, seventeen years later. I'm nineteen in the real world, and it's weird to admit I have a "biological" daughter two years younger than me.
She looks nothing, at first glance, like Eydis or me. Her hair color differs, for one, as Eydis' is silver to silver-brown, depending on the lighting. Mine is black as black can be. Her eye color varies too, but one can argue it's just a lighter shade of my brown orbs. Yet, despite the visual differences...I see the truth in her face. Her demeanor, if nothing else, is a mirror image of me.
Kureha, who has known me my whole life, whispers, "She looks just like him, too," confirming my thoughts. Cordelia walks back and sits down next to me, looking worried. She knows I don't want to be identified as the Crimson Emperor, for I am not truly that person now, yet the last thing I expected today was to be face-to-face with the daughter of the emperor. I may have been prepared if I went to Obsidia, not here outside Centoria.
"Family friends, huh?" Sylvie says as she sits down in a chair between Cordelia and Kureha. "Is that why you're slacking off from training, Miss Second Seat?"
"I told you not to call me that!" Giving nicknames based on a characteristic? That's what Eydis did to me when we first met after learning of my abilities, granting me the nickname "Mister Mage Knight." I see Sylvie adopted that mannerism. "Anyway, as I was saying, Princess Sylvie here is the first seat of the North Centoria Imperial Swordcraft Academy. She's also my childhood friend and rival. Despite being royalty, she has the mannerisms of a brute and the intelligence of a boar and wields a sword like an ignorant fool. How she got the first seat is beyond me."
"Hey!"
Kureha chuckles. "Cordelia, it seems I know someone who is also my childhood friend, with the same brutish, boarish, and foolish behavior. I wonder if..." She pauses right there, though it's too late, my heart is already stabbed from the back three times. Six times, really, because I infer what she didn't say as "'...it runs in the family.'" I glare at her, but it only serves to humor Kureha.
Cordelia, somehow, picks up on what Kureha meant and says, "Her behavior doesn't come from the empress, that's for sure. Lady Eydis is a kind, caring woman who always calls me "Cutie'. Meanwhile, Sylvie has been said to act more like her father."
Sylvie scoffs. "That's not a compliment. I can live another seventeen years not being compared to my father. Or having anything to do with him. He's only half the reason I was born and a troublesome burden to my future legacy. I'd slay him on the spot if he returned to this world from his own."
"Huh. I've heard that before, too," Kureha sings while bringing her cup to her lips. I have half a mind to blast her with a heating element while the other half deals with Sylvie's words. I understand her feelings. To her, Jaymes the Crimson Emperor left her and her mother behind seventeen years ago, with no signs of returning...at least she doesn't seem to know who I am or that I was back a month ago. I also relate to her on a personal level, as for many years of my life, I despised my own father, though not to this extent and for a different reason. But I wonder...can she can actually kill me?
"You think you can kill your father?" Those thoughts slip out of my mouth unintentionally and not in the tone I would have taken if I did say something. Instead of sounding weirdly hurt by those words, they came out with a backhanded voice that made it seem like she had no chance of beating her father. No, I think the "brutish, boarish, foolish" part of me found it humorous that the daughter of Eydis believes she can beat me.
Sylvie takes offense to my statement and glares at me. "You... Your name is Jaymes. You don't think that I, the daughter of Empress Eydis, trained by Her Majesty personally in sword-fighting, can beat the person who could never beat my mother? I was told she had him dead to rights once, so if she can do it, so can I."
According to the emperor, Eydis did have me dead to rights once (thank you for saving me, Medina and Ilia), so I can't fault her for thinking as she does. But once again, my competitive streak speaks for me. "I don't think that the emperor, whose legend must've spread as far and wide as the Star King and Queen, would fall to you so easily, Princess."
"You what?"
"As a matter of fact, I put my skills as a swordsman on the line that you couldn't fight him if he appeared right now in front of you." I should really put a sock in it, but now I'm standing one head taller than Sylvie, smirking with a challenge while she snarls at me. Cordelia looks at us nervously while Kureha holds her head with her hand.
Seething, Sylvie looks down to my waist, eyeing the sheathed Falchion, then reaches for her sword, only gripping the hilt. "Cordelia, can we head out to the training grounds? I want to put this idiot in his place, and you have no choice but to accept my request! Do you need a reminder as to who I am? I am Princess Sylvie-"
"Of the Dark Territory, daughter to Empress Eydis, left behind by her daddy, and a first seat at the Swordcraft Academy. Yeah, I know." Okay, all that hurt to say, but it's too late for me to show remorse to myself. "I accept your challenge. If you beat me, I'll acknowledge you have what it takes to beat the emperor. If not, you don't."
"And what makes you such a grand authority on if I can beat him or not?"
"You'll understand once we duel...but after we finish tea here."
xxxxxxxxxxx
After finishing our teatime and learning more about the current era, Cordelia, Kureha, and what must be every servant in the Cordea Plains manor surround the training grounds as Sylvie and I stand several meters apart. I take a moment to glance in the direction of the Central Cathedral, knowing I've seen it a hundred times yet remained in awe of its splendor a hundred times more. The Bells of Time-Tolling at the cathedral begins to ring, signaling the beginning of the half-hour. Now that I think about it, I don't remember ever seeing Obsidia Palace. My vivid memories of this world ended right after I fell asleep in Medina's lap hours after the war's end.
"You done sightseeing?" I look over my right shoulder to the impatient light blonde behind me. Her irritation really does mimic mine. I shrug and turn my body to face hers, slowly making my way to the middle of the brown-colored grainy field used to practice sword-fighting.
With Vindica held by Kureha, I decided to duel with Falchion alone. It's almost unfair, given that my opponent has only a standard steel sword. I was willing to trade it for a blade of equal standing, but I was told by Sylvie to keep mine. If I win easily, it's due to the hubris of this child. I begin to circle her as I draw Falchion, letting its brilliance shine to the world once more. The eight gems, representing the eight elements of the world, hum with power as I smirk at my opponent, not taking any stance yet. "You ready, Princess?"
Sylvie whips out her sword and takes her stance. Her posture is mostly erect save for the slight bend of her legs, and she stands with her left side forward. Her sword is held at a seventy-degree angle perpendicular to her body, both her hands at the hilt. I recognize the stance as Eydis', which makes sense, but while the empress wields a katana, the princess has a longsword. It seems unweighty to take that stance, but Sylvie doesn't have any problems. Her mother and father are powerful swordfighters; why wouldn't she be?
She keeps a cold, focused expression. She takes her duels seriously, huh? That comes from both her parents. "Are you ready, whoever you are?"
"Let's keep this clean: no sacred arts, just pure sword skills. The first to be disarmed is the loser. Let's begin." I stand tall and circle Sylvie again as I encroach on her. My sword is held at about forty-five degrees forward, allowing her to take the opening move. She takes the bait, so I parry and slide to the left quickly, thinking we'll continue feeling each other out. What I did not expect was her speed because as soon as I came to a halt, she swung furiously at me.
I must remember I'm fighting a trainee of Eydis, someone whose abilities are equipped with speed and precision, not slow and methodical like myself. I bring up my other hand to the hilt as I deflect Sylvie's rapid flurry until we get into a lock. My daughter's eyes have not changed a bit; an over-confident person would start mocking their opponent after such an early offense. Eydis did well in teaching her daughter not to seek victory early on.
I lower my brow to get serious and slash out of the lock. I pivot on my right foot to the right and catch Sylvie's blade. I bounce off and use that momentum to pivot back to the left with a quick slash. If I was a couple of inches closer or she didn't step back and duck, I'd beheaded my daughter.
We come to a pause in combat, Sylvie recomposing herself while I nod my head. "I see why you're the first seat. You're good, Princess," I note with a lecturing tone, "but overly aggressive. The Human Empire produces power or technique fighters, so someone like you has an advantage with a skill set they're unfamiliar with. I bet you know that for only a few sword styles can compete, like the Orthinanos style. But that doesn't mean you're invincible."
"What do you know?" Sylvie masterfully adjusts her body. Her body is slanted as before, with her sword held at medium height and inclined at a forty-five-degree angle. I think it's called Lightning Slash in the Underworld, but for me, it's called Vertical. Because I knew what was coming, I effortlessly dodged the blue-hue vertical slash. Just as quickly take a similar stance except holding my sword about forty-five degrees behind me and level, then swing forward for the two-part skill Horizontal Arc.
Previously locked in the post-skill delay, Sylvie sprouts back to action to move her sword from the first strike and counter with a pinning maneuver as I complete the second part. Unable to move for a moment, I'm at her mercy as her amber eyes pierce my soul. "No, the better question is, how are you so skilled? You don't look much older than me, and your sword shouldn't stand up to a Divine Object, yet it is!"
"Huh?" I should be the one saying that. She has a mere steel sword; I possess one of the strongest weapons in the world. According to Cordelia, Divine Objects are rare in sight, and the Integrity Knights (Eydis and Alice exempt) are sealed away. So why is she talking about a Divine Object? Wait a minute... Cordelia said that she's only seen four. Falchion, Eydis' Dark Slash Sword, Medina's Mirage Sword, and the princess' Divine Object... Don't tell me the sword she's wielding is one!
Whether she notices my lack of focus, Sylvie retakes the upper hand aggressively, ending with a spinning kick to my face. Knocked down to kneeling at the southern edge of the dueling ring, I shake off the pain and turn to Sylvie. She stands tall with her "steel" sword held upward, looking down at me with disgust. "Admit defeat, fool."
"No."
She frowns and moves her body, bending at the knees with her left side forward as usual. But she does something different this time; she twirls her blade to chin level and holds it there. Is she going for Vorpal Strike? I prepare myself to dodge it when I realize all too late what stance she's truly in. It's not until her sword radiates in a deeper red light than Vorpal Strike that I notice it belongs to a skill Sylvie should not know.
Alarmed, I move quickly and leap into the air, executing Sonic Leap to boost myself to close the distance. Once Sylvie, who hasn't executed her skill, is in range, I swing down upon her sword...just to hit nothing but air at the very last moment.
"What?" I land on my feet, stunned by the latest development, more so that it exists rather than it happened in front of me. But of course it exists - the Crimson Emperor perfected it in his third year present in the Underworld and taught it to his apprentice. But that was two hundred years ago, and I - as just Jaymes, not Crimson Emperor Jaymes - never used Hyper Awareness.
And as for the skill I hear roaring behind me, that's my trademark skill from SAO, Dragon's Fury, rebirthed as my Original Sword Skill from ALO, Koharu's Fire. "It's over!" The skill initiates, sending Sylvie towards me - just for her blade to collide with the same red glow surrounding my sword. Blow for blow, the simultaneous unleashing of Koharu's Fire cancels each other out until the ninth and final strike. It's usually a strong horizontal strike, but I adjust my wrist to add upward angularity to the swing. It proves beneficial as my sword knocks Slyvie's from her grasp. If I had my shield on me, it would have ended the sword combo with a shield bash, but forgetting that I don't have it on me, I unintentionally elbow Sylvie in the face.
She plummets to the ground, her sword landing within her right arm's reach. I kick it away, then plant my foot on top of her to keep her from moving to retrieve it and to tease her. She squirms with resistance. "Geh... Get off me!"
"Huh, Eydis trained you well, but I can tell you never beat her. But how the hell did you know my moves?"
"What do you mean 'your moves'? As much as it angers me, recordings of my father taught me those moves! I should be asking you how you know that same art! And how dare you to speak my mother's name so informally like you know h-" Her mouth forms no more words but hangs open in an oval shape. Hearing my words replayed in my head made me realize my mistake, and I hoped she would gloss over it, but she's sharp like her mother and father. "...No... No way..."
"Uh..." So awkwardly, I step off her and give her my hand. Begrudgingly, she takes my hand, so I stand her up and properly (and awkwardly) look her in the face. I try looking away, glancing at Kureha, who has a "you better say something" look. I have no clue what to say, so my brain spills the first thing that comes to mind. "I...take you to realize who I am now, but... You didn't know my name or my sword?"
"...No, I know your name, but Mother rarely speaks it, and it is unofficially forbidden to say it. It's like the situation with the Star King Kirito and Queen Asuna here in the empire for a different reason. I merely thought it was a coincidence. As for your sword, I know its name is Falchion, but I've never seen any representation of it."
"I see... Well, in your case, Eydis did not speak of you when I met her a month ago. I learned of you from...well, that's complicated to explain." A desire fills me to escape the weirdness, so I walk over and pick up her sword. Immediately I sense the power of Incarnation over the blade. "Why hide the true identity of your sword with Incarnation?"
She takes her sword from me and clutches it like a baby with a treasured toy. "It's one of three things my father...er, I mean, that you left for me, along with the crystal recordings. The other is this hairpin, made of thinly crafted obsidian. I've been wielding it since I turned fourteen and had the authority to hold it effortlessly. Growing up, Mother hammered me with training whenever she could, or I studied with the captain of the knights, Commander Zancale, so that I could own this one day. But because of the lack of divine weapons and the obvious advantage they have, I hide mine. People already think I'm highly favored at the academy because of my social standing, so imagine me having a rare weapon. Of course, Miss Second Seat knows because she's my best friend, and friends shouldn't hide things from each other."
"Hey!" Cordelia shouts with a frown, "My brother told me not to say anything. Blame him!"
"You should have told me anyway! You always knew I wanted to mee - I mean, give my father a piece of my mind." Sylvie also makes a face, and seeing them standoff like this reminds me much of Medina and Eydis back in the day. For a moment, I have an inkling to disobey and ask Dr. Koujiro for forgiveness later, to take Kureha and Sylvie on a short trip to the Dark Territory, and to see Eydis once again. It's what the part of me that, although an amnesiac for most of my time here, remembers the six months I spent with Eydis and Medina. I, Joshua, admittedly fell for the Integrity Knight. Of course, the man Eydis knows is lost to both of us, its remnants on a USB and fragmented in my soul, but I'm sure his feelings and mine are forever the same.
But the weird union of father and daughter was cut short. From Cordelia's pocket comes a cellphone-like object, which she answers immediately. "Hello?... Oh, Big Brother! Guess what! Emperor Jaymes is here, and... Huh? Whaaaaaaat?"
I walk over to my partner and the young Orthinanos girl, curious more about the cellphone than the message she's receiving, but she stares at me with shocked eyes. I sense some trouble, and somehow I feel it's not the kind I can ignore. "What is it?"
"The Star King... The North Centoria Imperial Guard arrested him!"
As if we shared the same thought, Kureha and I glance at each other and sigh. "...Ugh."
"He just had to get in trouble... What do you want to do, Momiji?"
Kureha shrugs. "Eh, our time is almost up anyway. He'll be fine, right?"
Cordelia nods. "He used an Incarnate weapon without authorization, breaking Basic Human Law. Mathias says Stica and Laurannei are going with Commander Herlentz to retrieve him. He's the Star King, right? So it shall be fine."
I glance in the direction of the capital. Since I was told I ruled the Dark Territory, plus my last memory of Eydis asking her to come with me to make that realm better, I know my identity as the Crimson Emperor is true. However, Kirito and Asuna deny being the Star King and Queen. I have a mind to tell them the truth later on, but even then, our mission is meant to be undercover. However... "Sylvie."
"Y-yes?"
"I'm sure you have many questions for me, but Kureha and I are returning to our world in a couple of minutes. So I have a favor to ask of you. You too, Cordelia." Both girls look at me in anticipation, so I point to the ivory tower in the distance. "In three days, we need to get into the city."
"You can't use your teleport ability then," Sylvie announces. "Trust me on that. It's not worth the trouble of dealing with the guards. But we'll think of a way...but why?"
I look at Kureha, wanting her permission to answer. After a silent five seconds, Kureha does it herself. "We may need your help. We'll explain on our return."
Cordelia nods. "We'll think of something. But that means I may meet the Star King and Queen too." She glances up to the roof of her house, where two white flags wave in the air. One of them has a red sword perpendicular to a flower. I don't recall ever seeing the symbol before, given that this house belonged to another noble from what I remember, but I easily deduced it belonged to Cordelia's family. The second flag has a blue symbol, a large circle bisecting two dots at the upper left and right corners, and another dot in the middle of the circle. I saw the same symbol on a banner inside the house, and Cordelia told me (while Kureha had Sylvie distracted) that it symbolizes the Stellar Unification Council. On the tapered end of the banner inside was a pair of swords wrapped by a flower, the symbol of Kirito the Star King.
Back to the dots, the circle symbolizes the orbit of Cardina and Admina, the twin stars that the bisected dots represent, and the middle represents Sinon-no, Solus. It's crazy that Asuna, Kirito, and I changed the world so much that they know of space and stars, but...why name them after Cardinal and Administrator?
"On our black flags, there's a red sword with five circles hovering around it, representing the five races of the dark realm and the throne," Sylvie answers another question in my head, then frowns at me. "Mother says you insisted on the color scheme. I see why."
If I gathered money from the number of women who had a problem with my preference for black and red schemes, I'd be rich enough to forget my family's wealth. But hearing from my daughter makes me feel shame for once. "...Did I now? That sounds like me... Speaking of your mother, do me a favor. Don't tell her I was here. She'll hurt me if she finds out I came and didn't see her and kill me for not delivering Alice to her. Not to mention I dueled you. I rather not find out what she'd do knowing that."
She crosses her arms and turns away. "Hmph, I'll think about it... Are you sure you're coming back in three days' time?"
"I will."
"...Well, I was told you always kept your promises, so I'll believe you. But if you don't, Mother will make you wish you were dead."
"...I promise."