"It's over. I want to go to Akira and play." Ais muttered softly, swinging her beloved weapon, nearly as tall as her, before wiping away the blood.
She slid the blade back into its sheath—
Bang!
"Aahh!?"
A heavy fist landed atop her head.
"What do you mean 'over,' you idiot?! Orario is still a battlefield, more dangerous than the dungeon! Don't act so rashly!" Riveria's furious scolding thundered over her.
She began lecturing the naughty girl who refused to listen.
"..."
Ais, covering her head with both hands, looked at Riveria with teary eyes. Her pitiful demeanor stood in sharp contrast to the fearless fighter she had been mere moments ago, showing the child within.
If Loki had been here, she would have squealed, kissed her cheeks, and shouted, "She's so cute! I want to bundle her up and take her home!"
"There's no use glaring at me like that. Why won't you listen, Ais?!"
"I defeated all the enemies by myself…"
"You're really…!"
"…and Riveria, you're injured."
That line stopped Riveria in her tracks. Clad in her combat gear, staff in hand, her body was still covered in gauze and bandages, clear proof of severe wounds.
Looking up innocently, Ais spoke plainly, "That's why I thought I had to fight. I don't want to see Riveria get hurt."
Her words were stiff and her expression minimal. And so, the young girl could only lay bare her truest feelings in simple form.
Riveria closed her eyes for a moment, then knelt on one knee. "Ais, I appreciate your concern. But remember, I have the same feelings toward you."
Meeting Ais' golden gaze with her emerald own, she spoke earnestly, "When you're hurt, it pains me more than being injured myself."
"…Yes. I understand, Riveria."
A short exchange but the two nodded to one another, finding balance.
"Come here. I'll help clean the blood off your face."
Hearing Riveria's softened tone, Ais realized she wasn't angry anymore and stepped forward with tiny, careful strides. Her face was gently wiped with a clean white cloth, obedient, like a kitten.
Seeing Ais close her eyes, allowing her round cheeks to be wiped, Riveria smiled softly.
Then came Ais' request, half flattery, half plea, "Riveria, can I go play with Akira now?"
Riveria instantly regretted letting her spend so much time with Akira.
Now all she thinks of is Akira. What kind of spell did that brat cast on her!?
Riveria tugged the girl's cheek.
Meanwhile, Akira, Alise, and the others had just reached the shelter, laughing lightly among themselves.
But the residents of Orario stood before them like a wall.
"What's wrong with you all?" Lyra asked in confusion.
Some of the people glared at them like enemies.
"Aren't the Astraea Familia supposed to be a righteous familia?" someone muttered.
That quiet voice quickly became the spark to vent collective despair.
"Didn't you promise to save everyone!? Didn't you swear you'd protect us!?"
"You damn liars!"
The Astraea familia members froze, eyes wide with disbelief. Their sleepless efforts, their desperate battles, only to be repaid with accusations.
The next moment, the people broke down, hurling stones at them.
"Why do we have to suffer like this!?"
"You're adventurers, do something!"
"Find a solution, damn you!"
"What kind of justice do you stand for!?"
"It's all your fault!"
All the bitterness, fear, and grief spilled out. Families lost, lovers buried, homes destroyed, when people's foundations crumbled, their grief turned into hatred.
So much so that even the adventurers risking their lives became targets of resentment.
In this tense atmosphere, the very air felt suffocating.
Without warning, stones came raining down from above, a crude storm born from fear and anger.
Alise and the others instinctively raised their arms, bracing to shield their faces from the sharp edges.
Buzz!
The next instant, the rain of stones came to a sudden halt. As if striking an unseen wall, each one froze in midair, no longer able to advance. Time itself seemed to pause, and then, as though drained of strength, the rocks floated downward softly, landing without harm.
Silence followed.
It was so quiet, so abrupt, that the people only now awakened from their haze of grief and fury. Their eyes widened, and realization finally struck.
The girls standing before them were not ordinary. They were adventurers, warriors who had stared down death countless times, protectors of Orario itself. Compared to them, they, the powerless citizens, were fragile, weak beings who could do nothing but cling to the shields others raised for them.
Even if the girls could not act here for reasons none of the onlookers could understand, everyone knew, no one could predict what might happen next. And that knowledge alone was terrifying.
"What the hell is this nonsense!?" someone screamed hoarsely. "Do good people have to be pointed at with stones and blades too?!"
His voice cracked as he slammed a fist against the ground. "Once you anger them, once these battle-hardened adventurers turn on us, what chance does an ordinary mortal like me have?!"
But the words, though laced with fear, did not soothe the ache burning in their hearts.
The truth was simple, every single one of them carried pain too deep to bear. The homes they had lost, the loved ones who would never return… their wounds had festered into despair. Grief had rotted into fury.
When sorrow becomes unbearable, what is there left to fear?
That was the thought driving them as their trembling hands once more gripped stones, their eyes burning with determination, with the desperate need to vent every ounce of resentment swelling in their chests.
And so—
"You lot…" Ryuu's calm mask cracked, her voice shaking with fury. She was not the only one.
The Astraea Familia members, led by Kaguya, had reached the limits of their patience. Hands went to hilts, blades half-drawn.
Kaguya herself grasped her sword tightly, ready to strike the incoming rocks from the air and teach the fools before them a lesson they would never forget.
But just as the blade was about to be unsheathed, a figure stepped forward and stopped her hand.
"Captain?"
It was Alise. She stepped past Akira and the others without hesitation, her back straight, her expression unreadable.
"Wait! If we move forward now—" Kaguya's panicked words were cut off.
Because Alise had already walked straight into the rain of rocks.
A sharp stone cut through the air, aiming directly for her forehead.
But before it could strike, a hand intercepted it. The stone crumbled into dust within the palm that caught it. The fragments scattered harmlessly, vanishing into the wind.
Akira stood there, his expression as cold as ice, his eyes locking onto the man who had thrown it. He did not speak. He did not need to. His silent stare alone pressed down on the man like a mountain, suffocating him until his knees nearly buckled.
Alise, noticing, tugged softly at Akira's sleeve, a silent plea for patience.
Then, lifting her head, she spoke, "I'm sorry."
Her voice was quiet, but it spread through the crowd like a temple bell, resounding in every ear. There was no anger in her words. No resentment. Only a pure, honest apology that cut deeper than any blade.
The people froze, stones still clutched in trembling hands.
"We were not strong enough." Alise's eyes dimmed with grief. "We failed to protect your homeland and the people you loved."
"!!!"
"I'm… truly sorry."
The fire of wrath that had been fanned into a blaze only moments ago was extinguished in an instant, doused as though cold water had been poured over their hearts.
The wails, the twisted expressions, the cries of rage, all of them faltered. Because no matter what mask they wore, every one of them carried regret buried deep within.
And when faced with Alise's words, with her confession, their anger lost its outlet. Their sanity returned in trembling fragments.
For in that moment, they saw that the one who could not forgive herself more than anyone else was the girl standing before them.
(End of Chapter)
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