Alicization: Steel and Lycoris

Your Feelings or What's Important

Mildea Plains, Wesdarath

Medina continues to be silent as we enter the Wesdarath region on horseback. Since it’s just us two, I thought she’d eventually open up to conversation, yet her downing mood persists. I may have a right to say something, but for once I decide to let her handle her own demons. As long as she can help me, I’ll let her be.

We arrive at the Mildea Lighthouse around noon, making good time on our mission. I drop to the ground and walk over to the lone man looking at crates and barrels. “Sir, is something the matter?”

“Yes,” he says as he turns to us. “Water pollution killed off all the fish, which is pretty damn inconvenient. The sentries won’t do anything about it, since they say their job is to watch.”

“Well, we’re with the ACTF, and I am certain I know the source of this issue. Tell me, have you seen a weird plant appear somewhere close to the water?”

“Now that you mention it… I saw something like that on an island a bit far from here, to the northwest.”

“Perfect. We’ll be done in a jiffy.” I walk back to my horse and out over the land. North of the lighthouse, the land slopes down to the sea. There are a few visible islands, but I cannot visualize the purple streaks that mark the presence of a Clamp. “Cool, let’s go check out that island for our Clamp.

“Very well,” Medina says almost nonchalantly as we ride off, yet a bit of her current mood seeps into her voice.

I wish I wasn’t concerned, but old instincts are hard to keep down. “You okay, Medina?”

She nods, if only to brush past the subject. “I’m fine. I will execute my duty as a member of the ACTF. Nonetheless, I am defective, and the task force would be no worse off without me.”

I swear to the god of my world I must be cursed to deal with Kurehas forever. “What do you mean by that? You’re a HUGE help and...well, everyone in our group loves having you with us.”

“If you truly think so, then why… Apologies. Let’s keep moving.”

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We’re forced to fly across the islands, and once we come to the correct one, we eliminate the Clamp and the monsters that come with it. The fisherman was happy to know the problem was solved, so with our task in Wesdarath (for now), Medina and I ride back to Centoria. “I hope we get a few days’ rest out of this. Bercouli must be mad to send us back out after we just returned… Medina?”

“Y-Yeah… Sorry, I was lost in thought for a moment.”

“You okay?”

“Yeah, it’s nothing.”

I don’t know what I did back home, but I swear Momiji is here to haunt me in a new form. Clearly there’s something wrong, and I believe I know what it is, so why can’t she just tell me. And I did promise to explain it once we got back. “Medina… Let’s talk about what Kirito did.”

She shakes her head. “You don’t have to say anything for him. And no, I don’t want to hear the first-hand account either.”

“But shouldn’t we talk about it?”

“It wasn’t exactly something that needed to be discussed with students, correct? I didn’t have the right to that information. Maybe someday I’ll earn it.”

I sigh. “You know that’s not why we didn’t say anything…”

“So you don’t need to do me any favors, or let me in on any privileged information. I’ll keep working hard in the ACTF until I’m important enough to know those things.”