Alicization: Steel and Lycoris

Noble Annoyances

Centoria, days later...

"Oh dear, Ms. Orthinanos, I never said I was talking about you, did I?"

"But if you thought I was, perhaps I struck a chord with something I said?"

"You've gathered your little gaggle of geese, but a defect's still a defect."

"If you think you'll convince the Axiom Church to accept you, you're dreaming-Ah!" Two cold, crystalline spears each linger against the necks of the noble swordsman and his archer friend, enough to not leave a mark but threaten them with the fact their lives could have been severed at that very moment quite easily. I step between them, eyeing a furious Medina first then the frightened nobles.

"Hey, if you've got time for all this talk, why don't you get back to work?"

The swordsman swallows everything but his noble pride. "You nearly assaulted us, you commoner! Do you not know the Imperial Law?"

"That's hilarious. What would the acting Pontifex say if she heard you threatened her right-hand man? Now scram." I disintegrate the spears and watch the men walk away in anger. Sighing, I brush my hair back. "Wow, there really are nobles like that in the ACTF. I guess all nobles are jerks, especially the highborn ones. Present company excluded, of course."

"You're right. I'm not like them at all. Not my family, nor my upbringing."

"Medina, did you bring these wayfarers," Alice asks as she looks around Medina's secluded camp. She moved farther away from the main site of the ACTF on the academy grounds with Bercouli's permission, so she nearly has an entire section dedicated to herself and her wayfarers. "I thought they were staying down south."

"They said they wanted to come, so I decided to bring them here to help us.

"YOU decided? Not them?"

"Yes, it was my decision."

"I see…" Alice looks to argue further, but one look from her "big sister' tells her to quell it. "Just be sure not to ask too much of them."

"Need them, we will," I tell Medina. "Bercouli just gave us our next assignment. Trouble in the north with children going missing. If there's a Clamp involved or not, I want to investigate this anyway. Bring as many wayfarers as we may need, give the others orders to patrol the south or something. Make them useful." Medina nods and leaves to gather her followers. Now to address the other troublesome woman. "Alice, you… Oh, she's gone."

Eydis nods as she stares at the departing girl in golden armor. "I sent her to get Sortiliena and your apprentices. You sure about bringing them?"

"Yeah. Alice and I are the only ones who can cut the Clamps, but the more help with the beasts, the better. Maybe even the wayfarers can help with culling the flowers. Cardinal said she'll handle Kirito, so there's nothing for them to do here. And...despite Cardinal’s warning, I believe they need to know the truth to help in our mission."

Eydis folds her arms and looks up to me as we walk away from Medina's camp. "You're sure about that? You haven't told Medina."

"Oh, I'm not sure about anything, but they're close to Kirito and Eugeo, so maybe they won't freak out."

"Hmm... Well, as planned, we'll head up to Rulid Village. That will take us through Zakkaria, the most populated town in the north. It's a two to three days trip to the far north, so if we make good time, we could be in the area of the Sustnel Mountains by tonight."