The Right Eye Seal, May 380 He Part 2

"What your father taught you, Tiese, is what's called in Eng…I

mean, in the sacred tongue, the 'noblesse oblige.' It's an idea that

the noble, or the powerful, should use that power for the sake of

the powerless…It's a kind of pride, in a way."

Despite an entire year's worth of lessons in the sacred tongue,

Eugeo had never heard this phrase before, but for some reason,

the definition fit squarely into his mind. It made perfect sense.

Kirito's quiet voice rode the spring breeze. "That pride is more

important than any laws or rules. There are things that aren't illegal but should never be done, and sometimes there are things

that must be done, even when they are forbidden by law."

In a way, the latter half of that statement was a refutation of the

Taboo Index—and the Axiom Church as a whole. Tiese and Ronie

gasped. But Kirito fixed his unwavering stare on them and continued, "A long, long time ago, there was a great man named

Saint Augustine. He said that an unjust law is no law at all. You

must not put blind faith in any law or authority, no matter how

powerful. Humbert might not be breaking the Index or school

rules, but his actions are wrong. He must not be allowed to bring

an innocent girl to tears. That means someone has to make him

stop, and if anyone here is going to do that…"

"Right…that's us," Eugeo agreed. "But Kirito…who decides if

the law is just or unjust? If everyone decides for him- or herself,

then what becomes of the proper order? Isn't that why the Axiom

Church exists, to decide that for everyone?"

The Taboo Index did not determine the legality of every single

human action. That was how Humbert got away with unfairly

punishing his page. But just as Sister Azalia had scolded Zink for

his pranks, Eugeo and Kirito had the right to call out Humbert's

actions as his classmates. That was a completely separate principle from casting doubt on the structure of the Church itself.

God created the world, and the Church was the holy agent. It

had guided humanity correctly for centuries. It could not possibly

be wrong.

To his surprise, it was not Kirito who answered this question

but the previously silent Ronie. The quiet, shy girl spoke with a

force of will that took Eugeo aback.

"Um…I think I know what Kirito means. It's an important

mentality that isn't mentioned in the Taboo Index—meaning that

it's a type of justice that exists within ourselves. Not to blindly

obey the law but to consult the law in accordance with our justice

and think about why it exists. Maybe he's saying that it's more

important to think than to obey…"

"Exactly, Ronie. The mind is the most powerful tool a human

being wields. It's stronger than any sword or secret technique,"

Kirito replied, grinning. There was admiration in his eyes, and

something deeper lurked behind it. Even after two years of constant companionship, there were still things about Kirito that

Eugeo didn't know.

He asked, "But Kirito, who was this…Saint Augus-whatever

person? An Integrity Knight?"

"Hmm, more like a priest, I bet. Probably long dead," Kirito

said, smirking.

Once Ronie and Tiese had headed back to the primary trainee

dorm, empty picnic basket in one hand and the other waving

good-bye, Eugeo turned to look at his partner.

"About Humbert…do you have a plan, Kirito?"

Kirito frowned and mumbled, "Hmm…something tells me that

just commanding him to stop picking on the underclassman isn't

going to work. But on the other hand…"

"On the other hand…what?"

"Humbert's one thing, but his boss, Raios, is nasty, scheming,

andsmart. He came out as first seat, so he has to have good marks

in sacred arts, law, and history, too."

"True. Better than whoever ended up in sixth seat."

"You can say that about more than one of us," Kirito shot back.

They were on the verge of getting into one of their usual sniping wars, but Eugeo knew it was too important of a topic to get

derailed. "And…?"

"Raios shares a common room with Humbert, right? Don't you

find it strange that he would just sit back and allow this bullying

to happen? Whether he suffers discipline or not, eventually bad

rumors are going to get out, and that will affect the reputation of

his roommate. That seems like just as much of a stain on Raios's

honor as any punishment…"

"Still, it's a fact that Humbert is tormenting Frenica. Doesn't

that mean Humbert's so upset that not even Raios can rein him

in? If that's stemming from our duel, then I have a responsibility

to say something…"

"There. That's it," Kirito said, scowling as if he'd bitten a dried

tanglevine. "What if this is their clever trap designed to ensnare

you? What if you protest Humbert's actions, and they've set up

some kind of trick that will cause you to break the school

rules…?"

"What?" Eugeo asked, stunned. "You can't be serious. That's

not possible. Humbert and I are still disciples. As long as I don't

openly insult him, warnings and admonishment don't count as

acts of rudeness. I'm more worried about you, Kirito."

"Ah, well…good point. I'd hate to accidentally splash mud on

his uniform," Kirito said, straight-faced. Eugeo sighed. At the end

of the previous school year, Kirito committed that very act of

rudeness against First Seat Volo and had to undergo the punishment of a first-strike duel with real, live blades.

"Listen, when we go to Humbert's room, I'll talk first, got it?

You just stand behind me and look menacing."

"Sure thing, boss. I'm good at that."

"…Please, Kirito. We'll try to be diplomatic this time, and if

they don't respond to reason, we can petition the management to

change Frenica's placement. They'll at least ask Humbert what

he's getting up to, and that alone should have an effect on him."

"Yeah…good point," Kirito said, still looking a bit glum. Eugeo

slapped him on the back and started walking up the hill to the

elite disciple dorm. The righteous fury he felt over Tiese's story

stuck with him, quickening his pace.

A year ago today, when he was a newly assigned page with no

idea what he was doing, he climbed this hill to visit Golgorosso

Balto, an imposing disciple who looked to be in his twenties.

With Golgorosso's massive body, covered in rippling muscles,

and sideburns that bristled proudly like the mane of the lions said

to live in the southern empire, Eugeo had initially been afraid

that he'd wandered into an instructor's room by mistake.

Golgorosso gave the nervous Eugeo a single glance and ordered him to take off his clothes. That was shocking, but Eugeo

wasn't going to disobey, so he stripped off his gray uniform and

stood there in his underwear. He'd felt the piercing gaze scan him

from head to toe—and then Golgorosso smiled at last and said,

"You're in good shape."

Eugeo had put the uniform back on with utter relief, and Golgorosso admitted that as a common-born man who rose through

the garrison ranks himself, he had chosen Eugeo for his background. In the year that followed, his boldness was sometimes

troubling but never crossed the line, and he taught Eugeo much

about the sword in his own bracing way. Eugeo's success at the

disciple placement tests had as much to do with Golgorosso's Baltio style as it did with Kirito's Aincrad one.

On the day Golgorosso graduated and left the city, Eugeo summoned his courage and asked him the question that had been on

his mind all year: Why did he pick Eugeo and not Kirito, who had

come up from the same place?

True, I could tell during the entrance tests that his skill was a

bit above yours. But that's exactly why I chose you. I could sense

that you had further to go and were more desperate to improve

yourself, just the way I was. But either way, Liena was second

seat, so she got to pick Kirito first.

Golgorosso boomed with laughter and rubbed Eugeo's head

with his thick hand. Earn your way to being a disciple, and treat

your page well, he said. Eugeo nodded repeatedly, fighting back

the tears, and stood at the school gate until Golgorosso's imposing form was out of sight.

He had taught Eugeo that a disciple and page were not just a

simple instructor and servant. He didn't think he would ever be

as good a tutor as Golgorosso was, but he was going to spend this

entire year teaching Tiese as much of what he'd learned as possible. Wouldn't that be what Kirito had talked about—something

not written in the rules but more important than anything?

Humbert and Raios might not understand it. They'd probably

slacked off in the entrance exams to come in under the top twelve

so that they didn't have to be pages. But even so, he had to say

what needed to be said.

Eugeo put his hands on the door, pushed his way into the

dorm building, and headed up the front stairs, leather boots ringing against every step.

3

He knocked on the eastern door of the third floor, and after a few

moments, Humbert's voice asked who was there.

"It's Disciple Eugeo and Disciple Kirito. We'd like to speak

with Disciple Zizek," he replied, trying not to sound too aggressive. The sound of rough footsteps came from beyond the door,

then it hurtled open. Humbert glared at them and shouted loud

enough for anyone down on the ground level to hear:

"It is rude of you to call without a prior arrangement! Your

first course of action should obviously have been to put your request for a meeting into writing!"

Before Eugeo could answer, Raios Antinous's soothing voice

came from farther in the room. "There, there. They are our fellow

pupils and residents. Let them through, Humbert—though I'm

afraid we cannot arrange for tea on such short notice."

"…You'd better be grateful for Raios's generous nature," Humbert snarled under his breath, then turned back from the doorway. Eugeo gave them a proper salute and walked inside, wondering what that little bit of theater was all about.

"What in the—?" Kirito started to say as he followed Eugeo in,

so the other boy had to loudly clear his throat to drown him out.

They proceeded to the couch in the middle of the room. The

room was the same size as theirs, of course, but the internal decorations, from the rugs on the floor to the delicate window drapes

rustling in the breeze, were of the highest quality.

Humbert sank into the right end of the couch, which was

about three mels long, silk-bound, and stuffed with soft cotton.

On the left end, Raios had parked his rear on the edge of the

cushion, his head back against the headrest and his feet up on the

table, such that he was very nearly lying down.

The noble heirs weren't wearing their school uniforms but

lounging around in thin robes. Raios's was red, and Humbert's

was yellow, both woven from lustrous southern silk and vivid to

look upon. The scent of the tea from the cups sitting on the table

suggested green tea from the east. Raios picked his up, gave a

leisurely sip, then looked at Eugeo at last.

"Now…what brings our friend Disciple Eugeo here to our

chamber on this free evening?"

There was another couch on the other side of the table, but

neither of them made any motion to invite the two guests to sit.

Eugeo considered that to be in his favor and glared down at them

from his standing position with as stern an expression as he could

muster.

"We've heard some rather unsavory rumors about your behavior, Disciple Zizek. I've come to deliver an anticipatory warning,

before you deal a grave blow to our school's reputation."

Humbert's face immediately screwed up to deliver a raging rebuke, but Raios reached out to still him. Raios grinned up at

them, his lips surprisingly red. "Is that so…?"

Through the rising steam of the cup in his hand, he continued,

"This is both a surprise and a welcome development. It makes me

proud to see you concerned with our academy's reputation. However, I cannot for the life of me imagine what these rumors are.

I'm ashamed to have to ask for an explanation."

"I've heard that Zizek has been inflicting vulgar instructions

upon his own trainee page. Perhaps that sounds familiar to you?"

"How dare you!" shrieked Humbert, rising from the couch.

"You—a miserable frontiersman without a name— dareto accuse

me, a fourth-rank noble heir, of being vulgar?!"

"That will be enough, Humbert," Raios said, waving his hand

again to silence his henchman. "We might be from different backgrounds, but we are all students under the same roof now. Here

at this school, no statement can be taken as an insult and breach

of decorum…but that will be a different story if the tale is found

to be without merit or evidence. Where did you hear this bizarre

rumor, Eugeo?"

"Let's not waste any of our valuable time, Antinous. You know

full well that it is true. We heard the story straight from primary

trainees who share a dorm room with Zizek's page."

"Oh? So I take it that Humbert's page has officially enlisted

you to argue on her behalf, through an intermediary dormmate?"

"…Well…not exactly…" Eugeo muttered, promptly at a loss.

They hadn't heard the story directly from Frenica's lips, so it

would be difficult to dig their heels in if faced with charges of

false accusation.

But he couldn't turn back now, not with Raios mocking them

from his lazy position and Humbert seething with barely contained rage. "So…you deny these charges? You deny that Humbert has been performing untoward acts upon his page, Frenica?"

"Untoward? That's a rather strange term to use, Eugeo. Why

not be clearer and state that they are against the school rules?"

"..."

He paused again. The school rules applied only on campus

grounds, but to the students, they were just as important as the

Taboo Index and Basic Imperial Law—no one would dare break

them.

Eugeo knew full well that Humbert hadn't broken the rules,

and that was what made this so despicable. He was doing whatever he knew he could get away with. Eugeo took a deep breath to

settle his nerves and said, "But…but even if it's not against the

school rules, there are actions that are clearly inappropriate for

an upperclassman—especially an elite disciple charged with guiding and tutoring a primary trainee!"

"I see. And what is it that you are accusing Humbert of doing

to Frenica, Eugeo?"

"…W-well…"

Eugeo couldn't answer that question. He hadn't wanted to

press Tiese and Ronie for details, so he didn't know the exact nature of the "untoward orders." Raios spread his arms theatrically

and shook his head from side to side.

"Good grief! This is starting to get ridiculous, I'm afraid. Humbert, do you have any idea what Eugeo is talking about?" he

asked. The other man, who'd been leaning forward and staring

daggers at Eugeo, threw himself back onto the couch.

"Not in the least! I have no clue what he is referring to! For

one thing, I've never done a single vulgar thing to Frenica in my

life. She's certainly never said 'no' to anything I've told her to do!"

Humbert reached up and slicked back his gray hair, putting on a

venomous smile. "At worst, I've only ordered her to provide a few

trifling services. As I'm sure you remember, Eugeo, after my miserable draw in our duel the other day, I've been putting myself

through harder training than ever before. I used to avoid exercises that added unsightly muscles, but no longer—and my body

has been screaming at me for it. So I merely had her massage my

sore flesh during my evening baths. And to save her the trouble of

a wet uniform, I've been nice enough to allow her to perform the

task in her undergarments. I fail to see what makes any of this

vulgar!"

As Eugeo watched Humbert chuckle delightedly, he sensed an

unfamiliar emotion surging up from deep inside him.

Was there any point in politely attempting to convince such a

person?

Was it really words that were appropriate now, or a striking

blow with a wooden sword?

Eugeo's hand twitched, preparing to draw his practice blade

and declare a duel on the spot, but then he realized he had not

brought his weapon. He inhaled and exhaled several times, and

with as level a voice as he could manage, said, "Humbert, do you

think…you will get away with this? There might be no rule against

demanding that of her—but only because it should not be necessary to point it out. Ordering your page to disrobe before you is

utterly shameless—"

"Ha-ha-ha! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!"

Raios abruptly broke the silence, glee on his face. It was as if

he'd been waiting for Eugeo to say exactly those words.

"Ha-ha-ha! I never thought I'd hear those words from Disciple

Eugeo's mouth! Ha-ha-ha-ha! Especially given that when he was

a page, that common-born giant of a man had him remove his

uniform every night!"

"Why, what a curious tale! The man who happily stripped to

his skin accuses others of being shameless for the same action!

Ha-ha!" laughed Humbert, joining in.

Eugeo felt his body tremble again with that unfamiliar urge.

He was about to launch an insult that would surely get him into

hot water with the school rules when Kirito loudly clicked his

heels, bringing him to his senses.

Golgorosso had indeed ordered Eugeo to take off his shirt once

or twice a month. But that was only to inspect his musculature

and provide more detailed instructions for exercise, nothing more

salacious than that. But if he argued to that effect, it would only

embolden them, and they'd start insulting Golgorosso, too. So he

did his best to hold in the emotion and spoke in a quiet, suppressed voice.

"My experiences are not the point here. All I know is that your

page is undergoing great stress because she cannot refuse your

orders. If her situation does not improve, I may be forced to petition a teacher to look into the matter. Keep that in mind."

Eugeo turned and left the room, while the other boys laughed

and urged him to go ahead with his plan. Once the door had shut

behind him, he clenched his fist, ready to smash it against the

wall—but he knew he had enough strength to put a dent in it, thus

damaging the life of the building. Intentionally destroying school

facilities or property clearly violated the rules and would be an

example of that "temper tantrum" he'd been warned about. For a

moment, he wished for that Gigas Cedar again, its bark so tough

that he could smash all his frustration into it without consequence.

As a pathetic replacement, he stomped as hard as he could toward his own room on the west end, when Kirito said, "You need

to calm down, Eugeo."

The sound of that familiar voice cooled the burning-red furnace of his mind ever so slightly. Eugeo exhaled. He slowed down

so that his partner could catch up.

"I'm…surprised. I figured that you'd explode before I did,"

Eugeo noted.

Kirito smirked and tapped his waist. "If we had our swords, it

would have ben a different story. But like I said earlier, I felt like

they were up to something, so I held it in and watched them

closely."

"That's right, I remember you saying that. Well, nowI do…So

what did you notice?"

"Humbert is one thing, but I can say for certain that Raios was

testing you. He probably figured that you'd heard about Frenica

from Tiese and Ronie and was prepared to level the highest possible disciplinary punishment if you crossed a line with Humbert.

You really can't underestimate the wicked cunning of the upper

nobility…"

"You mean…you think Raios let Humbert carry on because he

wanted me to come and argue about it? This is…crazy," Eugeo

mumbled, coming to a stop in the middle of the hallway. "And it

all starts with my embarrassing Humbert in that duel. How many

times did you warn me that nothing good comes from taking their

bait…?"

"Don't be too hard on yourself," Kirito said, putting a hand on

Eugeo's shoulder in a rare display of tenderness. "We've got the

first testing matches coming up. You need to beat them to be the

school representative anyway, so you were bound to run afoul of

them at some point. I'm guessing that they're satisfied with this

for now. Just make sure that the papers to request the faculty's

involvement are all prepared, in case we hear that Humbert's still

harassing Frenica."

"Yeah…good idea. But if it came to that, I'd have had better

luck just breaking down and crying in front of him," Eugeo said,

patting Kirito's hand with gratitude. He felt the tension leave his

shoulders.

Humbert and Raios were both skilled swordsmen with good

scholastic marks as well. They got healthy allowances of shiacoins

from home each month, good for all the clothes or items they

could want, and if they got tired of the cafeteria food, they could

easily eat out at a restaurant every night. Eugeo couldn't help but

be jealous, given how he was making ends meet with his savings

from the Zakkaria garrison.

So why did they single out Eugeo at every opportunity, mocking him and attempting to dominate him? What did they think

this was getting them? Eugeo knew there were good and bad people in the world, but whether noble or common, they were still

human beings, weren't they?

The Axiom Church taught that "good" was the province of the

human realm, which was created by Stacia, while "evil" belonged

to the Dark Territory ruled by Vecta. That meant that no matter

the personality, every human being possessed a heart that was essentially good—even Raios and Humbert.

If they crossed swords in a proper, official match, not one born

of a grudge, and exhibited their techniques and skill to their utmost ability, surely they would find some common ground of mutual appreciation. Surely.

Eugeo opened the door to his room and went inside. Before his

partner could disappear, he made sure to announce, "Kirito, now

that the sacred arts test is done, you're going to practice with me

all day tomorrow!"

"You're not usually this excited about it."

"Maybe not…but I've got to get way, way stronger. Raios and

Humbert need to know that they can't just sit back without practicing and expect to win every time."

Kirito smirked and nodded. "In that case, I must impress the

hardships of training upon Disciple Eugeo."

"That's what I was hoping to hear. Well…see you at dinner."

They waved to each other and retreated to their rooms to

change clothes, but Kirito paused halfway, his expression serious.

"Be careful, Eugeo. You don't want to get heated if they say something to you when I'm not around."

"I—I know! Stay cool, right?" Eugeo said, remembering that

the sacred language phrase was both a calming reminder and a

parting statement. Kirito smiled in embarrassment for some reason, and then repeated it back to him.

Perhaps they had been satisfied with their triumph, because, during the morning lessons and afternoon classes, Raios and Humbert paid no attention to Eugeo whatsoever. Until last week,

Humbert had scowled with hatred every time he saw Eugeo, but

now he just looked right past him.

This came as no small relief to Eugeo, of course, but the real

issue was whether Frenica's treatment had improved. He and Kirito had filled out and signed the investigation request for the

school faculty last night. Once submitted, Raios and Humbert

and their pages would be subject to questioning, and they would

hate even the suggestion of any slight to their honor.

After the boring imperial history class—in which nothing of incident happened—Kirito went to the library to return a book, and

Eugeo headed straight back to the disciples' dorm to wait for

Tiese and Ronie.

A short while later, the four o'clock bells rang and the girls

showed up, greeting him with good cheer and getting down to the

cleaning. Eugeo sat in his chair and watched Tiese tenderly as she

worked.

He'd offered a number of times before to help her, but she always sternly told him that cleaning was part of her duty. With

chagrin, he recalled that he'd said something like that to Golgorosso, too. Eugeo tried not to mess up his own room too much in

the meantime, but she actually expressed displeasure at that, too

—she needed a certain amount of clutter to make the chore

worthwhile.

After thirty minutes of twirling around with the long-handled

rag, Tiese was done with the common room and bedroom. She

entered Eugeo's room, closed the door behind her, and clicked

her boot heels.

"Elite Disciple Eugeo, I have a report to make! Today's cleaning has been completed!"

Kirito must have come back, too, as he could faintly hear

Ronie's voice through the door. Eugeo decided that his partner

could be responsible for explaining the situation to her, so he returned the salute to Tiese and said, "Thanks for the good work, as

always."

"No, not at all. This is the page's duty!" she replied, as always.

He had to fight not to grin.

"Well, um…I need to talk with you now. Go ahead and take a

seat," he said, and then realized that the room had only the one

desk chair. If he motioned toward it, she would claim that she'd

rather stand, so he headed her off by pointing at the bed by the

window.

Tiese's eyes bulged briefly, then she nodded, blushing. "Wwell…if you insist."

She walked over and sat timidly on the corner of the bed.

Eugeo had to consult his memory to be certain that sitting on a

bed with a girl was not against the Taboo Index or the school

rules before he took a seat a comfortable distance away. He

turned his upper half toward her and put on as serious a face as

he could manage.

"About Frenica…I went to confront Humbert about it yesterday. I don't think he wants things to get ugly, so I doubt he'll be

making any more of those unreasonable orders. I'll try my best to

make him apologize for his actions, too…"

"Oh, I see! That's wonderful…Thank you, Elite Disciple. I'm

sure Frenica will be happy," Tiese said, her face shining.

Eugeo answered with a pained smile. "Just call me Eugeo after

you're done with your duties. Plus…I owe you an apology. As I

tried to explain yesterday, this whole string of events started with

my duel with Humbert. When I went to confront him, I realized it

was all a plot to inflict disciplinary punishment on mefor making

rude accusations…In other words, Frenica was just collateral

damage for Humbert's rivalry with me. I want to meet with her to

apologize in person. Do you think you can arrange that…?"

"Oh…I—I see…"

Tiese lowered her head, thinking hard. When she looked back

at Eugeo, she shook her head. "No, Eli…Eugeo. It's not your fault.

I'll tell her what you said. Um…do you mind if I come a bit

closer?"

"Uh…o-okay," Eugeo said, feeling a bit flustered.

Tiese leaned toward him, cheeks much redder now, and

shifted closer until he could practically feel her body heat. Then

she stared straight ahead at the wall and whispered, "Eugeo, I

was thinking really hard last night before I fell asleep, trying to

figure out why Elite Disciple Zizek would do such awful things to

Frenica, when he couldn't possibly hate her or have some grudge

against her…Kirito said that nobles should have pride. But…as a

matter of fact, I know that among the higher nobles, there are

some who…who toy with the women who live on their property…"

She glanced over at him now, with those eyes the color of an

autumnal forest after a long rain.

"I'm…scared. Not long after I graduate, I'll take over the

Schtrinen house and end up wedded to another family in the

same rank, or perhaps one higher. What if my future husband is…

is someone like Zizek? What if he doesn't have that noble pride

and he does horrible things to those around him? It's…it's terrifying…"

Eugeo held his breath as he gazed into her teary eyes.

He understood how she felt, but it was also impossible not to

be aware of the difference in social class between them. She was

Tiese Schtrinen, the eldest child of a sixth-rank noble family, and

he was just plain Eugeo, the third son of a pioneer farmer.

Because the harvests in little villages like Rulid were limited,

the population had to be carefully managed. Almost without exception, it was the eldest son who took over the house and fields,

so (depending on their callings) the later sons were typically forbidden to marry and were bachelors into old age. If he hadn't met

Kirito, Eugeo quite possibly could have led a life of nothing more

than chopping at the Gigas Cedar every single day. Just like Old

Man Garitta.

Now he was living in Centoria among nobles of every stripe—

but what would he do if he failed to be school representative after

graduating? He could try to get a position within the Imperial

Knights or a garrison in some other large town. He could even go

all the way back to Rulid to work for his brother. In any case, he'd

never need to concern himself with a noble estate.

So naturally, Eugeo was shocked to breathlessness when Tiese

leaned over and clung to his arm.

"Uh…Tiese…?!"

The noble girl stared right into Eugeo's bulging eyes from

point-blank distance. Her gray uniform gave off a faint scent of

solbe leaves.

"Eugeo…I, um…I want to ask you for something. Please, please

graduate top of the class, and win the Battle Tournament, and appear in the Four-Empire Unification Tournament."

"Um…well…that's what I'm hoping to do…"

"And then…um…" she said, trying to find the words, her face

as red as her hair now. "I-I've heard that if you place highly in the

Unification tourney, you can earn a noble title, like Miss Azurica

at the primary trainee dorm. So, um…Oh, geez, I really shouldn't

be asking you this…but…if you don't end up as an Integrity

Knight…will you…will you be my…?"

She couldn't finish that sentence. She just stared at the ground

and trembled. Eugeo stared at her petite head, dumbfounded.

It took a little while for him to recognize what she was asking.

With understanding came a tiny echo of his own voice inside his

head.

The reason I'm trying to get to the Unification Tournament is

to be an Integrity Knight and find Alice. That's all. That's all…

But he couldn't explain that to Tiese now. He would lie to her

if necessary—she was a sixteen-year-old girl fearing the uncertainty of her future for probably the first time in her life. Yet he

could sense that spurning his page's desires at this moment

wasn't the right thing to do.

Eugeo lifted his left hand and awkwardly rubbed her head.

"Yeah…I know. When the tournament's over, I'll come see you."

Tiese's shoulders quivered, and she slowly, timidly looked up.

Tears glistened on her cheeks, and she wore a smile like the budding of spring. "I…I'll get stronger, too. Strong enough to be like

you…and say the right things when they need to be said."

4

When the sun dawned on the twenty-second day of the fifth

month, they had the first instance of rough weather that spring.

Large drops lashed the windows, hurled by the occasional gust

of wind. Eugeo paused from his sword polishing to consider the

gray sky—which was already losing Solus's light, despite it being

only the end of class.

The layers of dark clouds writhed like some living creature,

blasts of purple lightning sneaking through the gaps here and

there. Back in Rulid, spring storms were a bane on the villagers,

as they would flatten or uproot the fragile young stalks. When

Alice had learned the sacred art of weather forecasting, it practically set off a festival celebration. Sadly, they had only two years

to make use of that gift before…

It wasn't until he started learning sacred arts at the academy

that Eugeo truly understood the immensity of Alice's talent for

them. Spells that made use of the laws of nature like weather and

geography were some of the most notable higher arts, whose

chants could extend over a hundred lines, and Eugeo couldn't

even predict if the next day's weather would be sunny or cloudy.

Alice had been able to predict the coming of a storm a week ahead

of time; by now, she had to be able to manipulate the weather itself. Perhaps this angry storm was a manifestation of her own irritation that Eugeo still hadn't come to get her…

"Ahhh!"

He pushed out that frustration with a groan and resumed polishing the cloudy silver of his blade with the oiled rag. He'd never

missed his weekly upkeep of the Blue Rose Sword, but since he'd

gained admittance into the academy, these were essentially the

only times that he pulled it from its sheath. Everyday practice was

with a wooden sword, and for the test matches, each student was

given an identical sword to ensure fairness. Compared to the divine object in his hands now, those school blades were much

lighter and seemed like they might fly out of the handle if he

swung hard enough, but he understood that he couldn't go waving around this tremendous blade in case it destroyed someone's

iron sword with a single blow.

The only thing I can imagine freely clashing against with this

sword is something similar tothat, Eugeo thought as he looked

up at the black longsword being polished by his partner on the

other couch.

The Gigas Cedar had loomed over the south of Rulid for three

centuries, and when it fell at last, they broke off its top branch

and lugged the lead-heavy thing with them all the way to Centoria

—Kirito often joked that they should just plant it on the side of

the road. They took it to Sadore, a metalworker and old friend of

Garitta's, and it took an entire year for him to fashion it into this

sword.

Sadore, who was practically the dictionary definition of eccentric, grumbled that the blade had ruined three blackbrick grindstones that were supposed to last a decade, but he didn't charge

them, as it was a once-in-a-lifetime piece of work for him.

The finished sword shone with such a deep, rich light that it

was impossible to believe it was made out of a tree branch. Kirito

had used it in his duel with Volo Levantein two and a half months

ago to achieve a draw, but he hadn't taken it out of its sheath

since then except to polish it.

Eugeo was starting to think that they'd never have an actual

use for these particular swords during their stay at the school.

They couldn't be used in official matches, and it was hard to

imagine any other students challenging them to a duel using personal weapons.

So if he wanted to fight with the Blue Rose Sword, he needed

to be chosen as school representative and earn entry into the Imperial Battle Tournament. That was the whole idea of being here,

of course, but he wasn't entirely sure that he could master this

heavy sword within a single match—and on such a huge stage, to

boot.

Rather than a student, he'd be facing some veteran of the Imperial Knights or a famous sword-bearing line, with an equally

impressive blade of his or her own. Fighting with real blades

meant that a blow in the wrong spot could put him in the hospital

for a month or two.

As a matter of fact, both Volo Levantein and Sortiliena, the last

year's school representatives, had fallen to the knighthood's representative. Liena's whip had been sliced and knocked from her

hands, but Volo's left shoulder had been crushed and broken.

Normal sacred healing arts were enough to seal the skin and prevent the dropping of his life, but it couldn't repair the bone—he

was probably still undergoing treatment.

According to the newspaper that was pasted on the bulletin

board once a week, that representative of the Imperial Knights

was from one of the most elite imperial noble families of all: the

first-rank Woolsburg line. He won not only the Battle Tournament but the Four-Empire Unification Tournament in April and

was invited to the holy garden of the Axiom Church to be honored.

Perhaps it was no surprise that Liena and Volo would lose to

such an opponent—but Eugeo hadto win, no matter whom he

faced. At next year's Unification Tournament, he had to emerge

triumphant, like this year's Norlangarth representative, and pass

through the gate of Central Cathedral. There was no other choice.

I'll need your help. Please lend it to me, he prayed to his sword

as he polished the tip. Meanwhile, Kirito was sliding his blade

through the folded rag. Eugeo stared at that pitch-black sword,

shining in the lamplight, and said, "Hey, Kirito."

"What?"

"Have you come up with a name for your sword yet?"

It was the fourth time he'd asked since the sword was finished,

and the answer Kirito gave him was again the same: "Erm…

nope…"

"Just name the damn thing already. You can't keep calling the

poor sword 'the black one' forever."

"Hmm…well, at the place I used to live, the swords' names

kind of came with them…um, I think," Kirito mumbled vaguely.

Eugeo was going to tear into him again when Kirito's hand shot

up all of a sudden.

"Wh-what?"

"Hang on. Was that the four-thirty bell?"

"Uh…"

Eugeo paused and listened. Through the howling of the wind,

he could hear the faint sound of bells ringing.

"You're right. That late already? I didn't even hear the four

o'clock chime," Eugeo muttered, looking out of the darkened window.

But Kirito's expression was hard. "Ronie and Tiese are late."

Eugeo's breath caught in his throat. Tiese and Ronie hadn't

shown up later than four o'clock to clean their rooms once. Eugeo

shrugged, trying to fight back the creeping sense of worry.

"Well, the storm's pretty bad. Maybe they're just waiting until

the rain stops. It's not like there's a rule about when they have to

start…"

"Do you think rain would keep them away…?" Kirito asked,

looking at his hands in thought. "I've got a bad feeling about this.

I'm going down to the primary trainee dorm. You wait here, just

in case I miss them by accident."

He slid his black sword into its sheath, placed it on the table,

and got up. There was a light rain jacket nearby that he fastened

with his left hand while opening the window with his right.

Eugeo screwed up his face against the burst of wind and rain

and said, "Um, Kirito, shouldn't you go out the d…"

But his partner had already leaped from the windowsill to a

nearby branch and slid down out of sight, leaving only the sound

of rustling leaves. Eugeo sighed, exasperated, and shut the window behind him.

With the sounds of the storm at bay, suddenly the burning of

the lamp on the wall seemed much louder. Eugeo returned to the

couch, picked up his sword, and sheathed it, disquiet steadily

building in his chest.

Higher sacred arts could tell you the location of a person, but

they required a lot of spatial power and thus a catalyst. And on

the school grounds, any arts that targeted another person were

forbidden, even if benign. All Eugeo could do was sit on the couch

and wait for something to happen.

After several long minutes of nothing, there was a small knock

on the door.

Eugeo exhaled a huge breath. See? Of course you'll miss them

if you jump out the window, he thought, getting off the couch

and crossing the room to the door.

"Thank goodness, I was wor—"

The words caught in his throat. It wasn't the familiar red and

dark-brown hair he was expecting but a light brown tousled by

the wind.

A strange girl was standing in the hallway, neither Ronie nor

Tiese. Her short hair and gray primary uniform were wet from

the rain, and her dripping cheeks were pale. Her large, doe-like

eyes were full of impatience and panic, and her lips were trembling.

In a quavering voice, she said, "Um…are you Elite Disciple

Eugeo…?"

"Uh…y-yes. Who are you…?"

"I…I'm Frenica Cesky. I-I'm sorry for visiting you without

making arrangements first. B-but…I just don't know what to

do…"

"Oh…you're Frenica?"

He gave the short girl another examination. She had a delicate

body that seemed ill-suited to swordplay and tiny hands that

looked more like they were meant to weave crowns of flowers. His

rage at Humbert rose anew.

But before he could say anything else, Frenica clutched her

hands to her chest and pleaded, "Um…Disciple Eugeo, I'm so

grateful to you for what you've done about Humbert Zizek and

me. I'll spare you the details of what's happened to me, as I'm

sure you already know. But…tonight, he ordered me to perform

some tasks that are…d-difficult to explain here…"

Her face was deathly pale and tense, and Eugeo could sense

that the shame of those words had to be burning her alive on the

inside.

"I…I admitted to Tiese and Ronie that if I had to keep following those instructions, I…I'd rather quit the academy. Instead,

they rushed off to plead to him in person…"

"What?" he rasped. He felt his fingers gripping the white

leather scabbard going cold.

"But I just kept waiting, and they never came back, and I…I

just don't know what to—"

"When did they leave?"

"Um, I think it was right after the three-thirty bell."

That was over an hour ago. Eugeo held his breath, looking

across the hallway toward the far door. The girls had been here,

on the third floor of the disciples' dorm, this whole time. That

was far too much time for an argument or petition.

He turned back to the storm-beaten window, but Kirito was

not about to return through it. It would take at least fifteen minutes to visit the primary trainee dorm and come back in this

weather. There was no time to wait around.

"All right," he said to Frenica quickly. "I'll go check it out. You

wait here in this room. And…if Kirito shows up, tell him to come

to Humbert's room, will you?"

She nodded uncertainly, and Eugeo left the room. After a few

steps down the parquet hallway, he realized he was still holding

the Blue Rose Sword, but he didn't want to turn around to put it

back. He let it hang in his left hand and walked east down the

curving hallway. With each step, the mass of anxiety in his chest

grew.

The reason the girls had gone to argue their case directly was

clear. Eugeo and Kirito's first argument had not been successful,

and Tiese had admitted her wish to him the night before—she

wanted the strength to say the right thing, and now she had a

chance to test that resolve.

But perhaps…that was…

"Was that the intent from the very start…? Not us but the

girls…?" he muttered under his breath as he ran.

Between trainees and disciples of the same rank, you could

speak freely without problems. But a primary trainee and an elite

disciple was a different matter. They'd have to choose their words

very carefully to avoid breaking the school rule on politeness. If

they crossed the line, the disciple could choose to enforce disciplinary punishment in the place of a faculty member. Kirito had

learned this lesson the hard way with Volo Levantein.

Eugeo consulted his memory of the school rules.

When an elite disciple hands down disciplinary punishment,

one of the following three types of commands is allowed. 1)

Cleaning the school grounds (see area limits). 2) Training with a

wooden sword (see regimen). 3) A duel with the disciple (see

rules). In all cases, higher law takes priority.

"Higher law" meant Basic Imperial Law and the Taboo Index,

of course. In other words, the taboo against reducing the life of

another without reason still held priority over the disciplinary

punishment. If Humbert commanded Tiese and Ronie to accept a

duel and insisted it be first-blow rather than stop-short, he would

not be allowed to physically harm them if they did not accept. So

there shouldn't be too much to fear about Humbert's punishment.

But the worry and dread that stabbed at his heart would not

abate.

At the east end of the circular third-floor hallway, the door was

closed. Eugeo didn't even wait to gather his breath. He slammed

his fist against it.

After a few seconds, Humbert's muffled voice answered. "Well,

well, you're late to arrive, Elite Disciple Eugeo. Please, do come in

and grace us with your presence!"

It was as if he'd been waiting for Eugeo to come, a realization

that only quickened his pulse. He yanked the door open.

The fancy lamps they'd installed were dimmed, making the

shared common room much darker than the last time he'd been

here. There was some thick eastern incense burning, hazing the

air in the room. Eugeo grimaced at the smell, looking around.

At the couches in the center, wearing the same thin robes as

yesterday, were Raios and Humbert. Raios sat with his back to

Eugeo, legs up on the table again, glass in his left hand. The contents were dark red, probably wine. Alcohol was allowed in the

disciples' dorm, with certain restrictions, but drinking on a normal day was frowned upon.

Across from him, Humbert was clearly intoxicated already.

There was a slack smile on his reddened face as he leered, "Don't

just stand there. Come here and sit, Eugeo. We just opened a

fifty-year vintage from the western empire. Common folks rarely

get a chance to sample such fine drink!"

So Humbert wasn't just offering him a seat but a drink as well.

Eugeo silently looked around the room, feeling even stranger.

Gloomy though the room was, he could see no one else was there.

Had Ronie and Tiese already left? Had they even been here? If

they'd come and gone, why didn't they at least stop at Kirito and

Eugeo's room on the other end of the hall? Questions raced

through Eugeo's brain, but the girls' absence did at least remove

some tension from his shoulders.

"No, I don't drink alcohol. More importantly, Disciple Zizek,"

he said, moving forward and choosing his words carefully, "did

you perhaps have a visit today from my page, Tiese Schtrinen, or

Disciple Kirito's page, Ronie Arabel?"

It was not Humbert who answered him but Raios Antinous.

He looked over his shoulder, still holding up the glass, eyes narrowed.

"…Disciple Eugeo, you look pale to me. Why not take a glass to

revive your spirits?"

"No, thank you. Will you answer my question?"

"Hah, what a shame. I'm only thinking of you—as a friend."

Eugeo could sense the slick sweat in the palm of his hand as it

gripped the sword sheath. Raios gazed at him like he was a snack

to go with his drink, took a tiny sip, and set the cup down on the

table.

"Ahh. So…those were your pages, were they?" he said easily,

licking the moisture from his lips. "They are bold trainees, to pay

an unannounced visit to the first and second seats who stand

above all other students in this academy. Small wonder they're

yours. But you ought to be careful—sometimes boldness can spill

into rudeness and disrespect. Don't you agree, Disciple Eugeo?

Oops…pardon me. I suppose I'm wasting my time lecturing you

on the courtesy of the nobility. Ha-ha, ha-ha-ha…"

So Tiese and Ronie had come here.

Eugeo could barely resist the urge to grab the collar of Raios's

robe. His voice was low and tense. "I will hear your lecture on another occasion. Where are Tiese and Ronie now?"

This time it was Humbert who languidly poured more wine

and said, "Eugeo…was the burden too much for you to bear? How

is a mere lumberjack from the most distant lands supposed to in-

struct a noble girl, even one of the lowest rank? Ha-ha-ha…you

couldn't. You didn't know enough to teach them not to hurl disrespectful accusations at a fourth-rank noble like me. Distasteful as

I found it, I had no choice but to fulfill my grand duty. It is the

role of the upper nobles to correct the lower."

"Humbert, what did you…?!"

Eugeo stopped short when the man held out his free hand,

drained the glass, and got to his feet. Raios stood next and took a

few steps farther toward the back of the room. Standing together,

the nobles looked like brothers, wearing wicked grins as they

shared a glance.

"Well, Raios…shall we have Eugeo indulge in the finest pleasure of the evening?"

"Indeed, Humbert. We're missing one other audience member, but I'm tired of waiting. I'm sure he'll catch up soon."

"Pleasure…? Tired of waiting…?" Eugeo repeated, numb.

Humbert jutted out his long jaw, mocking him. The two disciples

turned, robes fluttering, and headed to the bedrooms on the west

side of the room. Eugeo walked unsteadily after them.

Behind the door Humbert opened, the darkness was absolute,

choked with the smoke of incense. Raios walked through first,

followed by his partner.

Eugeo stopped when he saw the lavender smoke wisping along

the floor. The trail felt like the smoldering of true evil, a thing that

should not exist at the academy—should not exist in this vast empire. It was even worse than the smoke of the campfire lit by

those wicked goblins in the far northern cave years ago.

His reflexes wanted him to turn away, but something in the

smell caught his attention, something clean. A note like the familiar scent of solbe leaves.

The smell from Tiese's uniform.

"…Tiese…Ronie!"

He raced forward into the bedroom just as the lamp came on.

The first thing he saw was a large canopy bed with two girls

lying on it. No, laid uponit. Both were tied up with bright-red

ropes on top of their gray primary trainee uniforms. Their eyes,

red and brown, were staring absently into space, their minds apparently dulled by the thick incense fumes.

"Wha…? Wh-why…?"

Eugeo rushed toward the bed to at least untie the ropes first.

Then Raios cried, "Not so fast!" and thrust out a palm into his

face. Eugeo glanced over at the man and rasped, "Wh-what do

you think you're doing, Raios?! Why are our pages being treated

like—?"

"This is a necessary measure, Eugeo."

"Necessary…measure…?"

"Indeed. Primary Trainee Schtrinen and Primary Trainee Arabel visited this bedroom without a prior arrangement and displayed brazen disrespect for us."

"What kind…of disrespect?" Eugeo repeated.

Humbert leaned away from the wall, leering. "You should have

heard the things they said. You wouldn't believe your ears. Those

lesser nobles dared to accuse me of mistreating my page, without

reason, to fulfill my own desires— me! When I, as second seat of

this fine academy, am merely and rightfully guiding Frenica!

Even a generous, understanding man such as I could not overlook

this slight."

"And that's not all, Eugeo. They also claimed that, as I share a

common room with Humbert, I am complicit in the actions they

accuse him of committing. And when I said I did not understand…Can you believe it? That sixth-rank noble girl asked me, a

third rank myself, if I had no pride as a nobleman! My goodness,

what a question."

Humbert and Raios shared a look and chuckled. It was clear

now that they'd orchestrated the situation to produce this exact

result. Humbert knew that Frenica was close to Tiese and Ronie

and intentionally disgraced and humiliated her—until the other

girls came directly to argue on her behalf.

The girls would have minced their words at first, of course. But

Raios and Humbert were too slippery, too coaxing to keep them

on safe footing. Eventually, they would have said something that

could be taken as rude and protocol breaking.

…However.

"But Raios, even if this is all true…tying them up and locking

them in your room is clearly beyond the bounds of the disciplinary punishment powers we possess!" Eugeo snapped, just barely

holding his thunderous emotions in check.

The girls were tied up over their uniforms and didn't seem to

be wounded. But the only punishment allowed for acts of rudeness were cleaning, training, and duels. Abduction with restraints

did not match any of those options. Raios and Humbert had to be

breaking school rules—

"Disciplinary punishment?" Raios murmured, leaning closer

to Eugeo. "When did I say that I was making use of that childish,

limited power?"

"Wh-what do you mean? The school rules are quite strict in

how they define the allowed types of punishment for trainee

breach of protocol…"

"That's where you've made your mistake. Have you forgotten

thispart of the school rules? 'In all cases, higher law takes priority.'"

Raios's expression swiftly changed. His red lips curled upward

at the ends, turning sadistic to a degree Eugeo had never seen before.

"Higher law means the Taboo Index and Basic Imperial Law.

That means I cannot directly damage their life. Those ropes are

made of fine eastern silk, very stretchy…They will not harm what

they hold, no matter how tightly they are tied."

"B-but…there's no way you can tie up a student for punishment, no matter how fine the ropes are…"

"Don't you get it yet, Disciple Eugeo? If higher law takes precedence, that means it's not disciplinary punishment I'm inflicting

on this sixth-rank girl for talking back to a third-rank nobleman…

it's my judicial authority as a noble!"

Judicial authority.

Eugeo instantly recalled his conversation with Tiese in the forest the other day. Only fourth-rank and higher nobles had the

right to wield judicial authority, and the ranks below that were

subject to its powers…

Raios waited, clearly savoring the dumbfounded expression on

Eugeo's face. After a few moments, he spread his arms theatrically and declared, "Judicial authority is the greatest of noble

privileges! It only applies to fifth- and sixth-rank noble families

and the common people who live on our private estates, but the

contents of the punishment are up to us! We must follow the

Taboo Index, of course, but as long as it is not a taboo, we can do

anything!"

Eugeo recovered from his shock at last. "B-but Raios! Just be-

cause you can choose your punishment doesn't make it right to

tie up teenage girls like this! It's too cruel…"

"Ha-ha…ha-ha-ha, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!!" Humbert cackled. He

doubled over, yellow sleeves flying. "Ha-ha-ha! This is too rich,

Raios! Disciple Eugeo thinks that our judicial review is merely to

tie them up with ropes!"

"Heh-heh. Can you blame him, Humbert? He's fresh down to

the big city from his home up in the hills, and the disciple he

served was just as common as he is! But I think after today,

Eugeo will finally understand just what sort of power we nobles

wield!" Raios said, and turned away.

He strode up to the bed where Tiese and Ronie lay and knelt

atop the mattress. The frame creaked, and Tiese blinked blearily.

Then her red eyes bolted open and took account of Raios as he

descended upon her. Her frail voice filled the room. "No…no…!"

She twisted, trying to escape, but could do nothing with her

limbs bound. Raios extended a pale, clammy hand to trace her

cheek. Next to them, Humbert climbed up as well, running his

hands along Ronie's legs. She awakened, too, took stock of the situation, and gaped silently.

At last, from barely three mels away, Eugeo understood the

nature of this judicial "decision."

Raios and Humbert were going to defile Tiese and Ronie with

their own bodies. They were going to forcefully perform the act

that Stacia granted only to a husband and wife—or so Eugeo believed—as a means of noble authority.

In the instant of understanding, Eugeo screamed, "Stop!!"

He took a step toward the bed, and Raios bolted upright, his

eyes gleaming.

"Stay back, commoner!!" he commanded, pointing at Eugeo

with one hand while his other fondled Tiese's face. "This is the

just and absolute right of nobility, as ordained by Basic Imperial

Law and the Taboo Index! Interference with our judicial authority is a crime in itself! One more step, and you will be a criminal

in violation of the law!"

"That's…"

That's not my problem! Get away from Tiese and Ronie!he

wanted to shout. He wanted to leap onto Raios as he screamed it.

But suddenly his legs came to a stop, as definitely as if they'd

been nailed into the ground. The halt in momentum was so sudden, he fell to his knees. His legs wouldn't cooperate, wouldn't

help him stand up again.

Inside his head, the phrase criminal in violation of the lawrepeated over and over. Eugeo didn't care about the law. He didn't

care about anything other than helping Tiese and Ronie, but he

was subject to the whim of a voice that was not his.

The Axiom Church was absolute. The Taboo Index was absolute. Disobedience was forbidden. It was forbidden to all.

"Hrgh…gah…!!"

He gritted his teeth, gasped, and raised his right leg. It felt as

though his familiar leather boot—and the foot inside—was as

heavy as lead.

Raios watched this display of will and hissed, "That's right.

Stay there and watch like a good boy."

"Rgh…rrrgh…"

He ignored the taunt, desperately moving that foot back to the

ground, but he could do no more. Even now, Raios's filthy hands

were reaching for Tiese and Ronie on the bed.

"…Eugeo," came a fragile voice. He moved his eyes, the only

part of his body he could control.

With Raios moving to mount her, Tiese had her face turned to

look at Eugeo. Those apple-red cheeks were pale with terror, but

her eyes shone with a meaningful willpower.

"Don't move, Eugeo. I'll be…fine. I've earned…this punishment," she said, her voice halting. Then she nodded and rolled

her face upward again. She glared at Raios in defiance, then shut

her eyes. Ronie had her face buried in Tiese's shoulder but was no

longer shrieking.

Raios seemed a bit surprised, taken aback at the strength of

their will. Then he grinned venomously. "Very impressive resolve

for a sixth-rank noble girl. It'll be interesting to see how long they

can last, eh, Humbert?"

"Let's see which will break down into tears first, Raios!"

There was no nobility or pride in their actions now. Their faces

were full of vulgar excitement and lust.

He'd seen that look before. Through dulled wits focused on

moving his stonelike legs, Eugeo tried to remember. Yes—it was

the expression the goblins wore back in that cave. They were the

spitting image of the denizens of darkness who attacked Kirito

and him with their scimitars.

Raios and Humbert reached to touch the girls' faces at the

same time, running their fingers down foreheads and cheeks, savoring the fear and humiliation. They deftly avoided touching the

girls' lips, as physical contact there—before the kiss that sealed a

marriage—was forbidden. But if that was forbidden, how could

the law allow this kind of assault on an unmarried woman? What

purpose could there be in such a law?

Throb.

A sharp pain jolted deep inside his right eye. The odd, familiar

pain from whenever he questioned the law or the Church.

Ordinarily, Eugeo would instinctually stop thinking when he felt

it. But this time, this one time, as he crumpled to the floor,

Eugeo's mind kept racing.

All the laws and taboos existed to ensure that every resident of

the human realm could live in peace and happiness; it had to be

so. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not harm. Thou shalt not disobey the Axiom Church. The obedience of the masses was how

the world stayed at peace.

But then, why did the many laws only "forbid"? Why create

hundreds of pages of rules forbidding this and that, when you

could simply write, "All human beings shall respect their fellows,

treat them with courtesy, and act with good faith and benevolence"? One simple sentence in the Taboo Index, and these men

would never have laid this trap to torture Tiese and Ronie.

Because it was impossible. Even with the absolute authority of

the Church, it was impossible for all people to act solely out of

goodness. Because…because…

Because all people embody both good and evil.

The Taboo Index was merely suppressing a facet of human

evil. That was how Raios and Humbert could easily slip through

the loopholes of the law—in fact, to usethe law to their advantage

—to prey upon the innocent like this. And Eugeo had no ability or

right to stop them. At the moment, the law allowed them to do

this and forbade Eugeo from preventing it.

The nobles had completely forgotten about him by now, their

eyes gleaming with lust and power as they surveyed their helpless

victims. They undid the front of their robes, growing closer to

performing the final act.

Tiese's and Ronie's faces quaked in even greater terror and revulsion as they sensed the men approaching. They shook their

heads back and forth in futile resistance, but even that action only

added fuel to the predators' enjoyment.

At last, Ronie gave in and begged, "N-no…no…no…!"

Hearing her friend whimper broke down Tiese's last bit of

bravery. Tears spilled onto her cheeks as she wailed, "Please…

help…help, Eugeo! Eugeoooo!"

Tiese and Ronie had summoned all their courage to step up for

the sake of their friend Frenica—and the law blessed this hideous

treatment of them.

Raios and Humbert had plotted and schemed to ensnare the

girls so that they could humiliate them and steal their chastity—

and the law did nothing to stop them.

Was it an act of goodness to uphold this law?

"I…"

With every last ounce of will, Eugeo lifted his leaden body off

the ground, stretching his arm across his side to pull the hilt of

the Blue Rose Sword. The pain in his right eye had transcended

into a lump of burning fire, turning his vision red. He ignored it

and squeezed.

Once he drew the sharp steel sword and turned it on the two

men, Eugeo would lose everything he'd gained at this school—his

fifth-seat position, his enrollment, his dream of being school representative and appearing in the Imperial Battle Tournament.

But if he stood here and watched as they committed these acts,

he would lose something even more precious—his pride as a

swordsman…and his human heart.

In the woods the other day, Kirito had said there were things

that had to be done, even if they were against the law. Things

more important than the law, than the Index, than the Axiom

Church.

It all made sense now.

He knew why Alice had touched the dirt of the land of darkness all those years ago. She had gone to help the dark knight

whose chest the Integrity Knight had pierced. She did that to protect what was precious inside her.

Now it was Eugeo's time. He couldn't put what that precious

thing was into words—in fact, most of the people in the world

might even think of his action as evil.

"But…I have to!" he screamed, the words inaudible. He tried to

pull the sword from its sheath.

Ka-ching.

But it was as though both sword and sheath, and perhaps even

his arm itself, had turned to ice. His right arm simply stopped

moving. A tremendous jolt of agony shot from his right eye, back

to the center of his head. Sparks burst through his bright-red vision. His mind took flight.

…What…is this?

...Actually...it's like back then.

Eight years ago. In the clearing out in front of the church in

Rulid. When he tried to stop the Integrity Knight from taking

Alice away.

Unable to move, unable to speak, sword a few measly milices

loose.

His legs felt rooted deep into the ground, impossible to move

even the tiniest bit.

Raios and Humbert sensed something happening and turned

to see him humiliatingly frozen in place, hand on his sword. They

leered at him, then slowly, theatrically, lowered their waists toward their wailing victims, watching his reaction.

An odd phenomenon then happened between them.

In the center of his right-eye vision, now dyed a pale red, was a

shining circle of sacred letters in the color of blood, rotating to

the right. It said, SYSTEM ALERT: CODE 871, but he had no idea

what it meant.

But Eugeo could sense that this was some kind of seal. A magical seal placed deep in his eye that prevented him from moving,

now and eight years ago, forcing him to comply with the law. This

was why he had only been able to stand and watch as Alice was

taken away.

"Urgh…hrg…aaah…!"

He desperately clung to his consciousness, trying to prevent it

from leaving him altogether as he concentrated on the crimson

seal. And on the other side of that vision, the sight of Raios and

Humbert, preparing to pierce the bodies of those girls with their

own.

It was unforgiveable. Absolutely unforgiveable. He turned that

hatred into the strength to move his arm. The blade slid along the

sheath. As it did, the sacred letters grew larger and rotated faster.

"N-nooooo! Eugeoooo!!" Tiese screamed.

"Rrraaaahhhh!!" Eugeo roared.

A silver light exploded in his right eye, and the eyeball burst

from the inside with a squelching sensation.

Even the loss of half his sight did not register to Eugeo as he

yanked on the hilt of the sword. The blade was glowing bright

blue, even before it came out all the way—the Aincrad-style secret

technique Horizontal.

Raios caught its lightning flash out of the corner of his eye and

dipped down just in time. The sword caught his hair as it

dropped, slicing the fibers free.

But behind him, Humbert was too slow to react. He halted just

before he entered Ronie, swayed left, and then gaped at what he

saw.

"Aah…"

A brief shriek was cut short as he raised his left arm in reaction—and the Blue Rose Sword caught it directly on the elbow.

There was no physical feedback. But the blade cut straight

through Humbert's left arm, the loose half spinning through the

air until it landed on the fine carpet.

No one moved or made a sound. Eugeo paused at the finish of

his swing, feeling the pain in his nonexistent right eye.

After an eternity, the raised stump of Humbert's arm sprayed

a gush of blood. Most of it landed on the shining sheets, dyeing

them red, but some of the liquid landed on Eugeo's left side, spotting his dark-blue uniform.

"Ah…aaah… aaaaaah!!"

The guttural shriek burst out of Humbert's throat. His eyes

bulged, staring at the blood spurting out of his severed elbow.

"My…my arm…my arm! Blood…all the blood…! My life…my

life is draining away!!"

At last he had the presence of mind to squeeze the stump with

his remaining hand, but that did not stop the blood. The liquid

continued gushing onto the sheet, seeping over toward Raios next

to him.

"R-Raios! Sacred arts! No…the normal kind won't work in

time! Life…Share your life with me!!" he pleaded, reaching out

with his bloodied hand. Raios ducked away from it and got off the

bed. Tiese and Ronie were unable to process what had happened

and lay on the sheets, expressions blank.

"Raios, give me liiiife!" Humbert wailed, but Raios merely

looked at him in surprise and cold impassivity.

"Stop squealing, Humbert. You're not going to lose your life

over a single arm…or so the readings suggest. Tie up the wound

with that rope to stop the bleeding."

"B-but…"

"More importantly, did you see that, Humbert?"

Humbert was trying to wind the two ropes holding the girls'

legs together around his arm now, expression desperate, but

Raios turned away to look at Eugeo, who was kneeling at the end

of his swing. The nobleman's tongue flicked out and wet his lips.

"That country bumpkin there cut off your arm. It's tremendous, fantastic…I've never seen someone break taboos this way. I

was hoping for an act of rudeness at best…and I got a violation of

the Taboo Index itself!! Truly fabulous!!"

Raios spun around, his open robe swaying, and walked to the

wall on the other side of the bed. He pulled down a large

longsword in a red leather scabbard. "Ordinarily, only lower nobles and residents of our holdings are the targets of judicial authority…but certainly that limitation doesn't apply to a taboobreaking criminal!"

He looked even more excited now than he had when he was

about to attack Tiese. Raios drew his sword. It gleamed like a

mirror as he held it up with his right hand.

Outside the window, an especially loud blast of thunder

sounded. Purple light caught the blade and glinted in Eugeo's left

eye. It was clear that Raios Antinous intended to render Eugeo's

judgment with that sword—to kill him. But Eugeo couldn't move.

Even after violating the Taboo Index, with his right eye blown out

by that mysterious seal, he was too shocked to hold up his sword,

or even move, after the stunning impact of his attack on Humbert.

"Hah…heh-heh-heh! It's too bad, Disciple Eugeo. I really was

looking forward to facing you at next month's testing match. Who

could have seen that our parting would come in this manner?"

Raios said, his voice lilting with mad joy. He stepped forward.

Then again.

Through his blurred left eye, Eugeo saw the sword rise high.

He had to move; he had to avoid his almost certain death. But

on the other hand, another voice told him it didn't matter anymore. The dream of being an Integrity Knight and seeing Alice

again was dead. His sword had tasted human blood, and he was a

criminal. But at least he saved Tiese and Ronie. Neither Raios nor

Humbert would try to hurt them anymore. So at least his terrible

crime had achieved one meager good.

"Heh, heh-heh…even I have never cut off a man's head with

my sword before. I doubt even Father or Uncle has done it. This

will make me stronger…far stronger than even that cocky Levantein heir."

Again, Raios's sword and face glowed, followed by another

burst of thunder. On the floor, Humbert was cradling his lost

arm, but he looked up, briefly forgetting his pain, while, trapped

on the bed, Tiese was trying to say something.

Eugeo smiled back at the primary trainee who had worked so

hard at being his page for the past month, then hung his head.

"Disciple Eugeo—no, Eugeo the Guilty!! I, Raios Antinous,

third-rank noble son, hereby sentence thee to judicial authority!!

Give up all of your life to the gods…and do penance for your sin!!"

Raios announced. His blade roared.

Gwiiing!A metallic crash. Eugeo waited, but no sword landed

on his neck. He raised his head—and saw.

Right in midair, Raios's sword had met another…a pitch-black

blade that held it in place. The sleeve around the arm hanging

over his head was also black. The intruder's hair, slick with rain—

black.

"Kiri…to…" Eugeo mumbled. He'd gone all the way to the primary trainees' dorm to look for the girls, and yet he was here. His

partner mouthed the word Sorry. Then he stared forward at his

opponent.

"Remove your sword, Raios. I won't let you hurt Eugeo."

Raios sneered hatefully as he recognized his foe, but the smile

eventually came back. "At last you arrive, Disciple Kirito. But

sadly, you are too late! That bumpkin there is no longer even a

citizen of the empire, much less a student here. He is guilty of

breaking the Taboo Index! I, Raios Antinous, third-rank noble

and first-seat elite disciple, have the authority to pass judgment

on his crime! So stand back and watch as this criminal's head

falls from his shoulders…just as your flowers fell!!"

In contrast to Raios's long and haughty speech, Kirito's response was far shorter and heavier.

"I don't care about your taboos and noble rights."

His eyes gleamed as they stared at Raios. He didn't bother to

wipe away the water dripping from his bangs. "Eugeo is my

friend. And you are scum, lower than the goblins of the land of

darkness."

Shock appeared first on Raios's face, followed by hatred, then

a savage joy. "My goodness…What a shock! So both of you hayseeds were agreeable enough to commit treasonous crimes together! Now I can eliminate the both of you. What a glorious

day…Truly, Stacia smiles upon me!!"

He pulled back his sword and held it high again. This time, he

clutched the handle with both hands and turned sideways, long

robes rustling. When he crouched, the blade glowed a blackened

red color: the High-Norkia secret technique, Mountain-Splitting

Wave.

Without realizing it, Eugeo tried to get to his feet as soon as he

saw the stance.

During his duel with Volo Levantein a few months ago, Kirito

had bested that same attack with the four-part Aincrad skill Vertical Square. But Raios's attack seemed to swirl with a wicked,

twisted energy that he'd not seen before. It wouldn't have the skill

that Volo's technique did, but Raios's burgeoning noble pride was

feeding it a terrible strength of its own.

Sensing that even Kirito couldn't handle this alone, Eugeo desperately tried to get up, but he could not will any power into his

legs.

Suddenly, he felt his partner's hand push on his shoulder. "It's

all right," Kirito murmured, moving Eugeo against the wall. Once

back in place, he gripped his sword with both hands, like Raios

did.

This action stunned Eugeo, even through his quickly fading

wits. Like the Zakkarite style, Aincrad style was almost entirely

one-handed—and none of the secret arts were two-handed. Besides, both Kirito's sword and the Blue Rose Sword didn't have

the handle length for two…

"...!!"

Suddenly, understanding struck, and Eugeo gasped.

The handle of Kirito's black sword grew, emitting little tinging

noises. In fact, it wasn't just the handle—the blade itself was expanding in both width and length. Not as big as Raios's massive

sword but a good five or six cens longer than Eugeo's.

Kirito held his enlarged black sword above the waist on his

right side. It buzzed, vibrating the air, and glowed a jade-green

color. That wasn't Aincrad style. It was the Serlut style's Ring

Vortex—a move he'd seen at the testing matches last year.

"Kah! Ka-ha-ha…So in your desperation, you turn to mimicking the work of others?! My greatest technique will shatter your

measly attempt!!"

"Come on, Raios! You've earned enough debt; now it's time to

pay up!!"

Both swords roared with power, lighting the small bedroom in

red and green.

Humbert, huddling on the floor in the back; Tiese and Ronie,

now sitting up on the bed and clutching each other; and Eugeo,

kneeling along the wall—all silently watched the two swordsmen.

It was a fight between elite disciples—a showdown they would

have seen at next month's testing match, if not for today's events.

The next bolt of lightning was the signal to start.

" Kyeaaaaa!!" Raios screamed, and brought his sword down.

" Seyaa!!" Kirito belted, slicing upward on a diagonal.

Red and green trails of light clashed in midair, rumbling the

floorboards and blowing all the glass windows outward. As he

stared at the intersection of the black and silver blades, Eugeo

understood why Kirito hadn't used the Aincrad style.

The speedy but light single-handed attacks would not be

enough to stop a double-handed High-Norkia technique. It would

require leaping away at the moment of impact to disperse the

shock, then chaining together more swings after that, but that

wasn't possible without the space of the training hall. Maybe in

the common room next door, but Kirito had no choice but to fight

here to protect Eugeo. That was why he chose to use the Serlut

two-handed Ring Vortex.

"K-Kirito!!" Eugeo gasped, his throat parched, right as Kirito

fell to his left knee. The black sword was being pushed backward,

creaking with the pressure. Raios's eyebrows and the corners of

his mouth had risen as high as they could, and he screeched with

triumph.

"How's that…? How do you like that?! You miserable, inferior

peasants!! Why would you ever think you could get the better of

Raios Antinous?! You might be able to bring dead flowers to life

with some occult arts, but your parlor tricks will not affect

mysword!!"

The glow infusing Raios's blade shifted from red to filthy

black, spreading from the weapon up his arms and around his

body, his robes and golden hair rippling. Kirito's position was

pushed back near to his original stance, the green color on his

sword flickering weakly.

"Kiri—" Eugeo started to say, then stopped.

Ring Vortex, overpowered by Mountain-Splitting Wave—he'd

seen this exact sight before.

Yes, from this March, at the final match of the previous elite

disciples' testing tournament. Volo's powerful sword had pushed

Sortiliena down to one knee, just like Kirito was now…and then…

"Hraaahh!!"

Kirito roared again. The brilliant jade color flashed through

his black sword once more, brightening the room. It was a combination of two single-use attacks.That was how Liena had defeated Volo in the end.

Normally, all secret techniques came to a halt if their form was

broken. The only extension to their power came if the sword was

pushed back along the same trajectory it initially followed. Liena

saw it happen during Kirito and Volo's duel, then mastered it in

just half a month—a dual use of the Serlut style's Ring Vortex.

Kirito had been Liena's page, but since she graduated right

after the final testing match, he couldn't have had time to learn

this right from her. He had made her technique his own, just

from seeing it performed.

This was the proper way of a disciple and page.

This was the true nature of the sword.

Tears welled in Eugeo's left eye. They were tears of admiration

for this incredible feat and tears of longing that he could have

learned more in his short time. Through his blurred eye, he saw

Kirito's second Ring Vortex snap Raios's sword in half…

And then it severed the first seat's hands, well above the wrist.

When Raios toppled onto the carpet, landing on his behind, he

stared dumbfounded at his nearby broken sword half and the hilt

piece, still clutched in his two loose hands. Eventually, his eyes

traveled back to his own arms. They extended from his red

sleeves, severed clean before the elbow. Jets of blood erupted

from the sheer cross-sections, spilling more red on his chest and

belly to match the color of his robe