Progressive Factor II: Lacrimosa Of A Reaper

Defending Yofel Castle

Mito

The next two days passed quickly as Mito and her group undertook the "Lapis Key" questline. They weren't easy, but their numbers, recently increased level, and Kizmel made up for any difficulty that came their way. The series of quests just ended after the team of six found an underwater dungeon, defeated a dullahan boss, and gained the second of six keys. They were back at Yofel Castle in time for dinner and to report their success to Viscount Yofilis.

"Mmmm...Well, we managed to get the second key right as planned. The viscount put it away in that little chamber behind his desk. I wonder if the first one's in there, too," Kirito murmurs while stretching his arms.

Kizmel answers him. "That's right. That means if the Forest Elves managed to reach the fifth floor of the castle, it's quite likely they might make off with the keys. Viscount Yofilis might be excellent with the rapier, but he cannot be forced to fight in his sickly state..."

"Don't worry, Kizmel. They won't even step onto the dock, much less reach the fifth floor," Asuna confidently states. She's been in high spirits since they met with Kizmel, even more so during their questing. "Whether they come with ten or twenty ships, we'll sink them all!"

"You're too confident about that," Jaymes says while stuffing his hands in his pockets. "We don't know anything about the enemy besides they're building ships. Their numbers, true strength, strategies, we have no-" A slender finger silences him from Koharu on his lips.

She lowers it once he gets the message. "That's for you to figure out later then. For now, we've done all we can, right? Don't worry, Kizmel, we'll succeed in driving the Forest Elves back."

"Ha-ha, I am glad to hear it... Kirito, Asuna, everyone, the fact that we have recovered the Lapis Key in just two days is a sign of not just your own strength, but that of your ship. And what makes me happiest of all is that you chose to give such a beautiful craft my sister's name..." Kizmel strides over to the large window nearby and gazes down to the lake surrounding the castle. It faces north, so the setting sun is to the left, and the front of the castle, including the gate and the garden behind it, and the dock with nine gondolas are visible. One of those gondolas is not painted black but white-that of the Tilnel. "My sister loved to swim, ever since she was young. She and I often rode on a little pleasure boat in a city on the ninth floor. Looking at the Tilnel brings back old memories..."

Asuna and Koharu step up to opposite sides of Kizmel, joining her at the window, while Mito, Jaymes, and Kirito hang back. Mito looks away from the other women to Kirito with a slight expression. She whispers to him, "You're thinking too hard."

"H-Huh?"

"Right now, you're thinking about how everything Kizmel says, including her sister, is just flavor text to beef up her character. I know it because you, me, and Mister Tough Guy back there are longtime gamers. We follow whatever an NPC says, picking up on important cues to the quest. But for those two," she gestures to the black-haired and light-browned-haired girls in front of them, "this world is just another world. It is a game, yet at the same time, another reality. To Asuna and Koharu, Kizmel is...a person."

"A person, huh?" Jaymes remarks though it isn't a biting remark for the first time. His tone doesn't sound convinced, but it isn't arguing the matter either. "Calling an NPC a person is saying they're to be held in the same regard as one of us."

"Is that wrong?"

"There is a law that gives some human rights to AIs, but that begets the question of what makes them human. Some people argue that, while they don't have human DNA, it is their soul."