Prologue

The prologue to Underlord Vol. 1. Junsui arrives at the new world, and meets a new companion. She is in trouble, and he decides to help her out in return for her knowledge of the world.

Prologue

Part 1 - A New World

 

Scene 1

The morning air was cool and refreshing.  It blew gently over his far.  It smelled of oak and amber with a dash of autumn grass.

'That's not right,'  Jeremy thought,  'Why is the air so fresh, and so cool?'  It's supposed to be summer.'

That was right.  It was supposed to be mid-summer in the fortieth year of Almonds.  The air was supposed to be dry, harsh, and tasteless during summer in his home country, but the air he tasted now was a collection of scents that he never smelled in Baera.  The air in Baera only ever tasted of dust and aloe vera.

'Does that mean the transportation was successful?'  he asked himself once his mind had rebooted more fully.

It could be.

Jeremy opened his eyes.  A stream of bright sunlight greeted him.  He was laying on his back on the side of a hill, looking up at the sky.  A few puffy, white clouds dotted the sky here and there, and there was a slight breeze in the air.  It was, by all measures, a beautiful day.

'What a good way for this world to greet me,'  he thought.

He stood up, and felt that his arms and legs were slightly weak.  They resisted for a moment before finally lifting him off the ground and to his feet.

'That's to be expected.  A transportation spell like that does take a severe toll on one's body.'

He stretched, twisting his body this way and that.  He used the same motions to scan his surroundings.  He seemed to be in a slightly hilly terrain.  A few patches of forest could be seen scattered across the landscape, but by and large, it seemed to be open plains.

Slightly off in the distance he could see a road curling over and around the hills,heading to the north.  His eyes followed the road, and settled on what seemed to be a moderately sized city.  It climbed up from the outside towards the centre.  Three layers of walls divided the city into three different districts.

Jeremy dusted himself off, confirmed that his sword was indeed still hanging by his side, and headed off in the direction of the city.  His steps were light hearted and nimble.  Even if you listened carefully, you wouldn't hear a single sound when he put his foot down.  The plains and occasional raises of the land slowly rolled by, and the city grew larger to his front.

He could eventually see the main entrance, and took a deep breath to calm himself.  What he saw there was frightening.  By the sides of the gate stood two skeletons.  Jeremy could tell they weren't statues from the movements of their heads, and the small red dots in their empty eyes sockets, as they followed people moving in through the gate.  They had in their one hand, small shields, and their other, b*****d swords.  Around their hips hung a ragged cloth, and an equally ragged cape from their shoulders.

His heart palpitated slightly when he first saw them, but because he didn't see them up close when he they were first spotted, his heart hadn't jumped quite that severely.  He had good control over his body, so he was able to bring his heart rate back down to normal levels within a few seconds.

He closed his eyes, took another slow, deep breath which he held for a few seconds, and put his hand on the scabbard of his sword to make sure that it was indeed there.  Satisfied with his current state, he continued his approach.

To his surprise, he was able to pass through the gate without any problems.  Both of the skeletons broke their gaze from their previous targets, and glared at him as he passed through, but that was it.  Nothing happened further.

'Ooh...Scary,'  he thought,  'If they had made a move on me, I could have beaten them.  It really would ahve caused too many problems, though, and it's not like I want to cross swords with them.'

It was true.  He couldn't tell in grades such as levels, but he could tell that, whilst the guards were sufficient to combat normal citizens, and maybe even low level adventurers, they didn't pose a threat to him or anyone stronger than low tier adventurers.  That didn't mean that their gaze and presence wasn't intimidating.

The undead weren't something that he had ever encountered.  In his home country they didn't exist.  Storiess told that they once had, but the kind and the nobles had expelled them, along with most of the monsters within their territories, many years ago.  This meant that most people had never seen any of the monsters that the oldest among them told stories about.

This made it clear that Jeremy wasn't in his home country anymore.  He had left Baera.  What was even more surprising, was to see them guarding the city entrance.  Whilst the people who lived here seemed to be uneasy about their presence, they didn't act as if this was innatural or uncommon.

'What an interesting world,'  Jeremy thought.

The people around Jeremy kept their distance.  He didn't look like someone from around there.  It made sense, he supposed.  He was wearing a single piece suit of the purest black.  The cloth around his body, opper arms, and upper legs hung loosely, whilst the cloth on his forearms and lower legs were bound tightly with strips of the cloth, almost like bandages.  His suit had a high collar that came up to his chin, and on his left hip hung his pitch black sword, sheathed in its scabbard.

His sword was a katana, a simple 70cm, curved blade.  It was pitch black.  The hilt and guard was also pitch black.  The guard was like a sastika.  From each of the corners a thin piece of metal extended for two centimetres, before turning 90 degrees clockwise and continuing straght until just before it would merge with the piece coming out from the next corner.

His mood was bright, but his aura was cold.  He had the feel of one who could kill without thingking about it as anything more than stretching his muscles.  In a word, he was scary.  Just as intimidation, if not more so, than the skeletons standing at the gates.

Jeremy had long, should length black hair, neatly tied up in a topknot where the crown of his hair would normally be.  He left two bangs free to run down the sides of his face in front of his ears, to just below them.  his eyes were as black as his hair.  One couldn't distinguish between the iris and pupil.

He had a slender build, however he didn't look, on the face of it, particularly strong, which made his aura all the more intimidating.  This was was better.  He might attract a little attention, but he didn't mind that.  If they wanted to stare at him, then let them.  It made his life much easier in any case.

"Ara... Did you hear?  They say that the Kingdom's nobles have come together.  They now fully support the King,"  he heard one person say at the door of one of the inns he walked past.

"yes, they used to be split into two factions, but after seeing the might of Ainz-sama, and losing E-Rantel and the surrounding lands, they settled their differences,"  his companion agreed.

'Interesting,'  Jeremy though.

So there had recently been a change of lords?  Such an environment was very conducive to enterainment.

'Looks like I picked the right world to come to,'  he thought.

He continued his slow wander through the streets of the city.  He didn't particularly know where he was, nor did he have a destination.  But that was okay, he had only recently arrived, after all.  This was a completely different world from his own, and one he knew nothing about.  Thus being slightly lost here wasn't unacceptable, though he would have to change this soon.

It wasn't really true that Jeremy was 'lost'.  He did kno more or less where in the broad city he was, what direction to walk to in order to get to back to the main gate.  He just didn't know what significance where he was, or had been, had.  He didn't yet know what district this was, what happened here, and so on.

He had gained from his little tour so far, that this was the business district of the city.  There were taverns, inns, craftsman's shops, and merchants all round.  Every next building had something different to trade, or the same thing to trade at a different price and quality.  Every couple of seconds one could hear the shouting of a merchant advertising his merchandise.  And around every couple of corners an escort or two could be seen trying to snare their next customer.

In a word, the city was bustling.  Everyone was going about their business at a pace that one could expect from what was clearly a trader's city.  There was a slight air of unease coming from everyone, but he supposed that was natural, given the kinds of security forces the city had.

"Ainz-sama,"  he remembered ther name.  It had been said by a couple of people in the past hour or two that he had walked through the city streets.  None of them had said the word with the kind of respect that the honorific would make one expect.  It was said as a title required of the citizens, but not accepted by them.  At the same time, he also sensed a tinge of fear from the people whenever someone said the name.

'This Ainz-sama, I need to find out who this person is,'  Jeremy thought.

The sun had been still slowwly climbing up from the horizon when Jeremy had begun his tour of the city.  It was now high up in the sky and slowly beginning to lower itself down again.  Jeremy had completed his slow wander down the main street that crled around the middle of the middle ring of the city.  He was now back at the road that came from the main entrance to the city, and made it's way through the inner wall to the central district of the city.

he turned to the middle gate, and beyond it in the far off distance, the outer gate, for a oment, and then turned his back on it, proceeding to the centre.

The buildings here were slightly different from the outer and middle rings.  He gathered that the outer ring was filled with military buildings.  Human and undead personnel could be seen moving there all the time.  The middle ring seemed to be the main housing and business area fo the city, whilst the middle appeared to be where most of the administrative services were.  Likely government tax collectors, local headquarters, and so on.

The inner city was closely guarded, and patrols of the undead and the living could be seen passing by every couple of minutes.  From their strong presence here, it was clear that the city had only recently changed hands, and not very willingly.  Tensions were high, but he didn't see any attempts to rise up, or small brawls with the officials.

Jeremy supposed this was because the forces were largely undead.  They would kill, without mercy or restraint, anyone that raised a hand or a weapon against them.

'So the peace here isn't very stable, and it maintained by fear? - hoho, how interesting,'  Jeremy thought.

"Good afternoon sir, can I help you?"  a soft, yet confident, voice asked.

Scene 2

Shayla was outside the district office, enjoying her fee hour at lunch, when she saw a strange man walking up the street.  He was rather tall, with black hair tied in a knot on the top of his head.  His eyes were pitch black, as were his clothes, and even his sword.  He seemed to be lost as much as exploring.

'What a strange man,'  she thought.

Shayla was one of the admin officials of the local district headquarters.  She handled all the paperwork for one of the five regiments stationed in and around the city.  She was still getting used to everything, having only recently been promoted to the rank of Sergeant-Major.

Before the Sorcerer Kng known as Ainz Ooal Gown took over, most of the city's security was dealt with by only a small token force.  They mostly just guarded the gates, and the various military and government buildings within the city.  The suppression of monsters and most internal disputes were handled by the local adventurer guild.

The Sorcerer King had changed all of this.  All matters regarding the safety and security of the people within the city was to be handled by the miilitary.  Adventurers were free to take quests from the guild headquarters, but only for jobs that would not make them interfere with his forces.

Due to this increase in responsibility, the defence forces were greatly expanded.  They had quintupled from one regiment, to five, whilst the regiments themselves were nearly one and a half times larger than under the rule of the king of the Re-Estize Kingdom.  This meant that admin work also increased exponentially, and new officers were recruited.

Originally the adventurers had been very way of the Sorcerer King and didn't want to associate with him.  However, the forces under his command that were not undead, were paid handsomely, and recieved excellent benefits.  As such, it wan't long before many of the mid and lower ranked, mostly iron and bronze plate, adventurers joined the forces.

Shayla was not one of those.  Whilst combat roles such as field officers and the like, were only open to adventurers, non-combat roles such as admin officers were open to everyone.  Of course, it required that one had been educated to a certain level, but luckily Shayla had been.  She thus enlisted as an admin officer when the recruiter came around to her village.

The work was hard, but the pay was good, and she was generally happy.  In the two weeks after she had joined, she had worked non-stop to learn the formats of all the various reports and documents, and to understand all the procedures involved with her job.  Today she had graduated from her course.  She had been given a week of leave to return home and see her parents and family before returning to assume her post as a full fledged admin officer.

It was on these things that she was thinking, when she saw the man walking past.  Due to the young age of the new country, a country that had yet to be named, the threat of spies was great.  It also meant that a lot of spies would only now try to infiltrate the system.  As such every officer was given strict instructions to be on guard for suspicious looking individuals.  The man that walked up the street now, was one that looked suspicious.

He looked intelligent in the slyest, and most dangerous way possible.  And despite his youth - he appeared to be only 21 years old - he gave off an aura of experience in battle and the art of killing.  Shayla hesitated for a few moments, during which time the man passed her, and started heading away, but resulved herself and turned towards him.

"Good afternoon sic, can I help you?"  she asked.

The man stopped, and slowly and casually turned around.  As he did so, Shayla couldn't help but take in a sharp breath.  The man had the most amazing face.  His skin was tanned, yet it glistened as if never touched by the sun.  His eyes were pitch black.  They were so dark it felt as though one could fall into them and get lost.  His face was slender, yet strong.

"Good afternoon, madam,"  the man answered.

His voice was incredible as well.  It had an amber to it, a certain woodiness that made one's stomach churn, yet at the same time, it was as sweet as honey, and as smooth as silk.  It was indescribable.  Certainly, if ever there was such a thing is a god, this being that stood in front of her now, was one.

Shayla shook her head to collect herself and bring her back to the physical world, and answered.

"You seem to be lost, sir,"  she squeezed out the words.

"Not so much lost, madam, as exploring,"  his answer came.

'He is certainly no irdonary person,'  Shayla thought,  'He perfectly avoided revealing his true state.'

She looked at him for a moment.

"Are you new around here?"  she asked.

This time the man didn't answer, but only nodded.

'D****t!'  she thought,  'Not only is he avoiding revealing anything, but he's also making me do all the talking!'

She was irritated, but it didn't show in her voice.

"What are you looking for?  I myself am not very well acquainted with the city, but maybe I could help you find it?"  she inquired.

The man bowed politely before answering her.

"I come from a far away land.  I have been travelling, and searching for a place where I can settle down and have an adventure."

"Then you have certainly come to the right place.  Things are very busy here lately."

"I can see that,"  he answered, looking at one of the patrols passing them by.

"If you are looking to work as an adventurer, you will have to register at the local guild."

"Is that so?  I have not seen such a place yet.  Could you be so kind as to point me in the right direction?"

Under normal circumstances, Shayla would not have been able to do this.  She had only been in the city for two weeks, and had spent most of that time either in her dorms, or in the office recieving her training.  However, one of her duties as one of the admin officers of one of the regiments in the city, was to handle the reports and liaise with the local adventurer's guild.  As such, she had been shown where it was in order to be able to deliver documents and such to them when necessary.

"Please follow me,"  she answered and turned to head towards the guild headquarters.

The man caught up with her and began walking alongside her.  He kept a respectful half a metre of separation between the two of them, as if he was a guard escorting his mistress.

"You have my sincere gratitude, madam,"  he said, nodding his head to her.

Shayla blushed slightly.  She had never been called madam before.  Miss, yes, but madam?  This was too embarrassing.

"P...Please call me Shayla.  It's too embarrassing to call me madam,"  she uttered.

"Very well then, Shayla-san.  My name is Jeremy.  It's a pleasure to meet you,"  he answered, once again nodding his head.

'He is very good with etiguette.  Could he be a spy, or perhaps a foreign noble?'  wondered.

She resolved to report this encounter to her superior as soon as she returned.

- - -   - - -   - - -

The two continued on their way to the adventurer's guild, and were there within twenty minutes.  Jeremy looked at the building that greeted him as they turned the last corner.  He hadn't come down this street, and so he had completely missed it.  It was a tall building, but stood just one story taller than the ones surrounding it.  This meant that it didn't stand out too much.

The officer, who had intriduced herself as Shayla, brought him to the entrance.

"This is the adventurer's guild.  I am certain you will be fine from here?"  she asked.

"I will be just fine.  Thank you, Shayla-san,"  he answered her.

He bowed once more.  The woman turned a soft shade of pink and quickly turned around, heading off.

"Ara, I suppose she isn't used to such politeness,"  he said to himself.

He would have to pay more attention in future.  He wanted to make good impressions, but he also had to avoid standing out too much just yet.  He needed to slowly build up a reputation for himself, but if he did it too rapidly, then he might be suspected of being more than he was letting on.  He couldn't let this happen.

A sly, almost evil, smile sneaked over his face.  This was a lot of fun.  The old world had gotten so boring that he decided to move on.  He had spent many years developing a spell that would allow him to cross over the boundary between worlds.  Several years earlier he had finally perfected it, but it required a lot of rare items to work.  The following years he spend hunting down and getting these rare items.  Then, on one warm summet night, he cast the spell, and woke up here the following morning.

Not only did he now have a while new world to explore, but he also had a goal again, and a challenging road to walk to get there.

"This is so exciting!"  he chirped.

He took several steps forward, and pushed the door open to the inside of the adventurer's guild headquarters.  The inside was rather plain.  It had about a dozen or so tables in it, and at the furthest end was a reception desk.  The people in the tavern part of the hall, between him and the reception desk, didn't seem to pay him any heed.  He supposed it wasn't so strange for adventurers to meet people from different places, so he didn't think much of it.

He walked to the desk, passing by the talking people, and was greeted by a young lady.

"Good afternoon, sir.  How may I help you?"  the lady behind the desk asked politely.

"Good afternoon,"  he replied in his usual, cordial manner,  "I would like to register as an adventurer."

"Ah, of course.  Please fill out this form."

Jeremy filled out the form.  When he came to the spot where he had to write his name, he hesitated for a moment.  He had given Shayla his old name, but perhaps it was time to take on a new one?  A new world was, after all, a chance for a new identity.

'Junsuiken ("™剣)', 'pure sword'.  It was a good name.  Yes, that would be his name from now on.  He filled in the name, and handed the form back to the receptionist.

"Your plaque will be ready by tomorrow mid-mirnong, please come and fetch it then.  You will not be able to undertake quests without it,"  the woman answered,  "You can also either pay the fee of seven copper now, or when you come to take your plaque."

"I will pay tomorrow, thank you very much."

The woman bowed, and Junsuiken, Junsui for short, headed out of the building.  The first step was now finished.  He had registered to be a member of the adventurer's guild, and beginning tomorrow, he would distinguish himself as a strong and capable fighter.  His hands trembled slightly with excitement, and he couldn't stop grinning.  This was going to be a lot of fun. 

Scene 3

The night sky slowly came closer.  The sun, growing eer more tired, was returning to bed in the western sky.  The building shone as if covered by a fine layer of gold dust.  The wooden pillars and struts visible in the outer walls of the buildings seemed darker against the glowing walls and roofs.  The people bathed in the light joyfully.  Even when living in constant fear under their new king, the undead Ainz Ooal Gown, the Sorcerer King, they still found happiness in the beauty of their city.  It was truly a breathtaking sight.

To Junsui it was beautiful, but not exactly extraordinary.  In the dusty oceans of san in Baera where he had grown up, it was a daily sight, so he continued on his stroll in an unperturbed manner.

Junsui didn't have a single penny with him.  He had only brought his mind, body, sould, clothes and sword with him.  Everything else had been left behind.

'It's just as well,'  he thought,  'It's not as though the money from my world would have any value here.'

He continued his slow stroll through the streets.  He wasn't just wandering around aimlessly, even though it seemed that way to any bystanders, he was actually looking for a good rooftop to sleep on.

Junsui had grown up in abject poverty.  He was an orphan, and had thus no rights or value toBaean society.  He was just a burden, a toy to be tossed around and thrown away when grown tired of.  But he had shown them.  He slowly climbed the social ladder, first as a trader, then as a soldier, and finally as a politician.  He kept climbing and climbing until he stood at the top.  However, eventually life there bored him as well.  And so he set about finding a ay to move to a new world, to start over and play the game once again.

Now he was here.  After years of research and searchng he had perfected the spell, and cast it.  It had brough him here, and he was once again playing the game he loed so much.

Darkness fell on the city.  The street lights lit up and Junsui found a place to sleep.  Due to his poverty stricken childhood, he was used to sleeping on roofs, in alleys, and around corners where no one else would tread.

He scaled the building in silence and sat down.  He gazed out over the dark blue hues of night time E-Rantel.  The roofs appeared extra dark, a juxtaposition against the lit streets below.

"I still have a little dilemma,"  Junsui whispered to himself.

It was true.  He still needed to find seven copper pieces before the next morning in order to pay for his plaque.  He couldn't pay for lodgings, foor, or for the plaque as things were now.  He was utterly penniless.

'What to do, what to do...  Maybe I should rob or kill someone?  Hmm, no.  That would put me at odds with the guys I'm trying to use...  Such a dilemma.'

His problem, however, was solved when he heard a couple of gentlemen marching his way.  'Gentlemen' wasn't really the right way to describe them, though.  They were thugs, bulkheads with not a single braincll in their entire body.  It seemed to him that they were dragging a child by the hair.  She was yelping and trying to fight them off.

"We'll have some real fun tongiht,"  one of the four said.

"Yes, we'll be all pooped out by tomorrow,"  a second agreed.

Junsui sat in silence, watching the scene unfold.  There was no point in rushiin in too early.  He really needed them suitably deep into the alleyway.  He also wanted to move with just the right timing.  An impression made here, was an impression kept.

The four men dragged the girl deeper into the alley, and finally plopped her in a corner.  She yelped from the pain as her head hit the wall, but didn't fall unconscious.

'She isn't as weak as I thought,'

"You b******s!  If it wasn't for this collar you'd all be dead!"  the girl yelled at the men, furious.

'That collar, huh?  Does it somehow limit your powers?  Interesting...'  Junsui smiled evilly.

He was liking this world more and more.  The possibilities for entertainment were growing by the day, and he liked it.

One of the men approached her and leaned close to her.

"You certainly have a big mouth for such a petite little flower,"  he laughed.

The girl didn't say anything.  She only glared at him with a red face, and two small tears formed at the outer corners of her eyes.  The pupils and irsises of her burned with a fury so intense it would have made anyone retreat.  The men were confident in the restraint they had put on her, and didn't move.  They only smirked and closed in.

"N-no!  Stay back, you animals!  You monsters!"  the girl yelled.

The closest of the four grabbed her dress and yanked on it.  The top of her dress tore off, reealing her undergarments.

"No!"  she yelled, fully realising what the fire in her captor's eyes meant, and what was to come.

- - -   - - -   - - -

"No!"  Claire yelled when her dress was ripped off.

She finally understood what was happening to her.  She writhed internally, and tears spilled over her cheeks.

"Please, no!"  her voice escaped again.

In that moment a shadow descended from the heavens.  Her eyes were unable to follow it, yet she sensed its presence.  It was cold and heartless, yet not filled with the blood lust that these monsters in front of her were.

"Ugu!"  the man directly in front of her grunted.

A moment later he collapsed, a pool of blood rapidly forming from his mouth.  The remaining three turned around, but found the alley empty. The shadow was gone.

"You have no shame or self respect, do you?"  a voice asked from the shadows, somewhere up one of the walls.

Claire tried to follow where the presence was coming from, but it was dispersed throughout the alley.  She was completely unable to pinpoint it.  The shadow's aura made her shiver.  It felt as if winter had descended in the alley.  She felt cold, alone, and frightened.  It was a horrible feeling.  She didn't know if she feared the fire of the monsters, or the ice of the shadow more.  She didn't exactly have much of a say in the matter, though.

"Where are you?!"  one of the three thugs yelled.

"Show yourself, you coward!"  another echoed.

"You don't exactly have the right to call me a coward, now do you?  I can see your pants shivering from way over... HERE!"

As the last word came out from the shadows, the centre of the three monsters' head exploded into a fountain of blood.  The red liquid covered the ground beneath him, and his comrad that was standing right next to him.

The four had now been cut in half, and only two still remained.  They gasped in horror and tried to make a run for it, but in rapid succession the two fell to the ground.  They looked back, and found their legs lying a couple of metres behind their bodies.

"AAAHHHH!"  their two voices rang out in pain.

Howls and shrieks emerged from their mouths as though they had truly turned into beasts.  The pain could be felt in their voices.  Claire winced.  She felt her stomach churning, but she couldn't look away.  her eyes were glued to the scene of horror in front of her.

"The first two to fall were the lucky ones, don't you think?"  the shadow asked as it approached the two lumps of flesh.

They were desperately trying to crawl away from him, but their nails only scraped across the ground, leaving a few behind as they did so.  They whimpered in pain.

"P-Please, spare us!"  the two yelled in unison.

"Tch, tch, tch..."  he clicked his tongue,  "I didn't see the four of you stopping when the lady oer there asked you to, so why should I?"

Claire whimpered softly when she heard a reference to her from the demon near the entrance.

"N-no!  Please!  AAAAHHH!"

The first screamed as a blade pierced his abdomen.  It slowly made it's way up his body, until it reached his chest.  By that time his screams had faded away, and his glassy eyes sstared out into the street.

The other whimpered, unable to speak anymore.  His turn came along shortly after.  The blade scraped over the stumps that were left of his legs, cutting off a slice at a time.  It was like watching a butcher go to work.

Claire watched, unable to move out of fear.  The man's body disappeared slowly, bit by bit.  His screams filled the alley with each swipe of the blade.  Dread seemed to ooze from the walls like a thick goo.  After nearly a full minute, the man finally fell silent.

At that moment, Claire realised that the alley had been much darker since the shadow appeared.  She realised this because the lighting returned to normal, and the oppressive atmosphere vanished.  The cold aura that filled the alley previously, was suddenly a single point near its entrance.  She felt relieved, but only for a moment.  She realised that the point was coming closer.

"N-No,"  she whispered, unable to manage anything more than that.

A moment later the figure emerged from the shadows, and she felt her heart lurch.  She couldn't consolidate what she saw coming towards her, with what she had just experienced.  The figure that came towards her looked exactly like a figure from a fairy tail.

He had beautiful, black har, pitch black eyes, and the gentlest, warmest smile on his face she had ever seen.

"Are you alright, madam?"  he asked.

'That voice!'  she thought,  'No! He just killed those four in such a horrible way.  He is not a man to trifle with!'

"I-I'm fine.  Just get this collar off me and I'll be on my way,"  she said, some confidence returning to her voice.

"Not like that you're not,"  the man answered.

Claire looked down, and her face rapidly switched through several intensifying shades of pink, and finally red.  The intense atmosphere, and the shear dread she felt until a moment ago, had made her completely forget that her dress was torn and that she was basically in her undergarments.

The man removed the jacket off one of the soldiers, slipped something out of the pocket, and stowed it away.  He brought the jacket to her, and draped it over her shoulders in a manner so gentle that her head spun.

'How could this guy right now be the one that killed those four?'  she thought.

"Where's your home?"  he asked in a gentle voice.

Part 2 - A Rooftop Liaison

Scene 1

The evening air was cool, and there was a slight rustle in the leaves of the trees growing on the grounds.  It was a large plot of land, crealed out from the surrounding forest.  Surrounded by a tall, metal palisade fence, tood a complex of four buildings.

In the eastern corner of the plot stood one of the buildings.  It was L-Shaped, and littered with small windows.  Spread over the three floors were a total of 120 rooms.  They were no bigger than two by three metres.  Each had a single, small window that looked out onto the grass and gardens outside.

On the north western edge of the land was a long building.  It spanned nearly two thirds of the plot's length.  It was a series of stables.  At its most northern tip was a farrier and iron smith's workshop.  The horses stood side by side within the workshop as they were worked on.

In the southern corner of the plot stood another L-shaped builing.  This one was three stories tall once more, and had only the sparsest windows, all very small and set on what was roughly the hight of the third floor.

In the middle of the plot, occupying roughly one ninth sqaure of the entire surface of the plot, stood a massive, four story tall mansion.  It's shape was only roughly that of a square.  It had various protrusions and morphing lines due to round rooms on the edges, and glass interior gardens.

The garden outside was quite reminiscent of a British tea garden.  Carefully cut and maintained hedge mazes littered the grounds.  Finely planned and planted gardens lined and divided the great expanses of grassy fields.  There was even the occasional pond and stray oasis.  It was the symbol of perfection.  Across these gardens cut winding foor and hore paths, carefully laid out for a liesurely stroll, and effective transport.

The lights to the storehouse and the stables were off.  They were only visible as two shapes in the night sky where there was a peculiar absence of stars.  From the mansion only a few dim lights, from as many windows, cast their shadows onto the garden outside.  The staff lodgings were equally sparsely lit.

A figure could be seen pacing up and down in one of the windows of the mansion.  He held his hands behind his back and looked down worriedly at the floor.  The taps of his shoes on the wooden floor were rapid and uncertain.

"Come to bed, honey.  I'm sure everything is just fine,"  a gentle female voice came from the stairs.

"I can't calm down enought to sleep, love.  I have a very bad feeling about all this.  She shouldn't have gone off on that mission.  She should have stayed at home and taken over the family business.  Farriering is such a lucrative business.  Even now, with the military having moved out, we still get more customers than we can keep up with,"  the man answered.

"Honey, you know that's not her dream.  We agreed that we would let her pursue her own path,"  the woman lectured.

"I know, I know.  It's just, it's such a dangerous dream, and such a treacherous path..."

"Have faith that she will meet people that can support her and aid her on her journey.  Besides, she's way to free-spirited for a life spen in just one place."

The man sighed and walked over to the woman.

"You're right, love,"  he said,  "We should be proud of having such a daughter.  She's truly a blessing."

His wife nodded.

"Now, let us return to bed, honey."

The man nodded and the two moved up the stairs into a room, who's lights were turned off shorly thereafter.

- - -   - - -   - - -

Junsui and Claire were walking down the treets of E-Rantel.  They had completed nearly a quarter of a circle around the inner wall of the city.  They had started near the southern edge of the middle district, and were now in the eastern quadrant.  It wasn't that they had to talk this far to find an inn with space for them, but that they didn't want to spend the night so close to where the whole incident had unfolded.

Originally Junsui had insisted on taking Claire to her home, but she had resisted without end.  Her refusal had been made on two grounds.  First, that it was too far out of the city for them to make the trip this late at night, and second, she refused to return home in such a dismal state.

Junsui hadn't understood what she meant at first, but upon looking at her collar, he grasped the situation.  He had relented, and now they were looking for an inn to rest the night.

Their destination slowly came into view.  It crept around the curve of the road, a four story building, one of the largest ones in the eastern quadrant of the city.

"The Golden Boar,"  Junsui read as they approached.

"It's rather famous, or infamous.  It depends on whom you ask,"  Claire explained.

The two entered the inn and found inside a clean, ordered interior.  the tables were all spotless, and set in neat rows that that seamed more at home in a museum than an inn.

The two continued forward, and eventually reached the reception desk.  Behint it sat a small lady.  She was probably late in her sixties, or early in her seventies.  She had a mop of snow on her head, and one struggled to see her eyes amongst the wrinkles.  She had a sweet expression on her face though,and her voice sounded like Christmas bells when she spoke.

"Good evening, youngsters.  What can I do for you?"  she asked, opening her eyes by only the slightest margin.

"We want to book a room for the night, please.  Two separate beds,"  Claire answered before Junsui could.

The woman stood up at an agonising pace, and turned around.  She moved to the shelf a few steps behind her and reached for a book.  her movements were glacial, and it seemed that the two of them were watching paint dry.  Eventually she returned to the desk with her book in tow.

She paged through several dozen pages, one at a time.  She stopped at each to see if it was the one she was looking for.  The process took them a total of seven minutes, but finally they were at the final page.

"Ah, here we are,"  she said in a slightly swaying voice,  "A room for two.  Two beds.  Fourth floor.  Fifth door on your right.  That'll be eight copper for the night for each of you."

Her words were as slow as her movements.  Each took several seconds to form, and a breath followed after each set of three or four words.  Junsui had to fight to keep his eyelids from shutting by the end of her little monologue.  He reached to withdraw his share from his pocket, but was stopped by Claire.

"No no.  I will be paying,"  she said, shaking the index finger of her other hand at him.

"I can't accept that.  If anything, I should pay your share as well,"  he protested.

"Such a rare thing to see such gentlemanly conduct from one as young as yourself,"  the old lady interjected in the slowest manner.

In the time the two spent listening to her interjection, Claire had removed the money and plomped it into the lady's hand.

"However, you shouldn't argue with a lady either,"  she said, taking the money.

She smiled brightly, and the handed them the key to their room.

"Breakfast is served at six in the morning,"  she said from her seat as the two headed for the stairs.

The two climbed up the flights of stairs, ascending the floors one by one, until they were at the top floor.  The stairs continued on for another two flights, heading towards the roof, but that was not their destination.  They headed for the door that lead to their room.

The entire inn was designed as an antique.  It had old, gothic hallways, thick, sturdy walls, oak wood floors and dark ebony furniture and doors.  The building felt almost like a dungeon.  It was monolithic, and yet somehow felt welcoming, warm, and friendly.

Claire unlocked the door to their room.  The heavy, solid wooden door swung open slowly on its hinges, yet it was surprisingly silent.  What it revealed inside was a spacious and well lit room.  There was a single, small cupboard in the room, and two beds at opposite walls.  Directly opposite the entrance was a two metre wide window that looked out onto the stet in front of the inn, and to the right was a door that led to the bathroom.

The beds themselves were heavily built, also from solid wood.  In the world from which Junsui came, having anything that was made of natural material was an extreme rarity.  Natural resources simply weren't availible anymore.  Everything was synthetic.  Only the richest of people could afford something made from, say, solid wood, and such pieces of furniture, however crude the design, were considered status symbols.

In this world, however, there was no way to make anything synthetic.  Plasitcs didn't exist.  Everything was natural, and luckily, so far the world was able to keep up with the consumption of these natural resources by its human populace.

junsui sighed and walked over to one of the beds.  The mattress wasn't very thick, but it was made of goose feathers, or some other bird's plumage.  It was soft.  He sat on it and closed his eyes.  It was wonderful to be in the presence of something authentic.

Claire watched the man's actions from the door for a couple of moments.  She didn't understand what he was thinking, or what motivation their could be for hi action and behaviour.  He was interesting, perplexing, and very scary.  She felt something forbidding from him, and yet, at the same time something enticing that she could not resist.  She needed to know more about him.

She walked in and sat down on the bed opposite him.  A moment later Junui opened his eyes and their gazes met.  They stared at each other in silence for several moments.  Just as the atmosphere was on the edge of becoming uncomfortable and awkward, they both broke out into soft laghter and collapsed backward on the beds.

"Thank you,"  Claire finally said as the laughter died down.

She stared up at the ceiling.

"There's no reason to thank me just yet,"  Junsui's reply came a few moments later.

"You saved my life."

"I simply saw an opportunity to solve a little financial problem I had."

Claire sat up and looked at the man on the bed acros from her.  He had finely woven clothes, made of what was quite clearly very expensive material.  He carried with him a blade of a design she had never seen before.  It was black, as were his clothes.  It was made from a metal she did not know anything off.  No matter how she looked at the situation, there was no explanation as to why he would be in any financial problems.  At least not to the extent that taking the money of a couple of thugs would make a measurably difference.

"Besides,"  he continued,  "I haven't solved the problem of your collar yet, not have I?"

Scene 2

Claire woke up.  The room was pich black.  She rolled onto her side and reached into the darkness.  Some fiddling and sratching could be heard, and a couple of moments later a single, dim light lit up the room.  Everything in the room was still in place, save for one thing.

The bed across from her was empty.

The covers were ruffled and opened to reveal a triangle of the mattress beneath.  There was no occupant, however.  There should be the body of a young man lying there, one with black eyes and hair.  There was nothing.  The bed was empty.

she slowly stood up, not thinking about it too much.  She pulled on an overcoat, and headed to the door.  She did this lowly.  Her body was still returning to life from its slumber, and the limbs were slightly sluggish.  The door slid upon, as quietly as before, and she stepped outside.  She closed the door behind her, locking it, and headed for the stairs.

THe hallway was devoid of all sound, save for her breathing.  As she walked she could hear the slight rustle of her clothes.  Even the flickering flame of the candle she hend in her hand seemed to be sounding it's presence.  The inn wasn't empty by any measure, around ninety percent of its rooms were booked.  It was just that time of night.  Everyone was asleep.

She reached the stairs and headed upwards.  She ascended the remainint two flights slowly.  Her eyes moved around rapidly as she tried to discern where the edge of the next step was.  The candle provided enough light for a walk down a corridor on a flat floor, but it was inadequate for stairs.

'If only I didn't have this collar on me,'  she thought,  'I would have been able to sense the stairs without the need for a damn candle.'

Her inability frustrated her extremely.  She was a gold plaque adventurer, for crying out loud.  She had refined and improved her skills to a level that only about two hundred advernturers in the entie Kingdom could match.  She may not be the best yet - far from it, she still had a long road ahead - but she had come a long way.  She was recognised as one of the most powerful adventurers right now.  Not because of her power per se, but because of the speed with which she had ascended to her current rank.  She was just 18 years old, and already she was nearly halfway up the ranks.

Right now, however, she was just a timid, weak little girl.  The collar she wore was a golden Collar of Penitence.  The collar suppressed ninety percent of her strength, and made it impossible for her to wiel any weapons, or use any arts.  This collar had undone all her hard work.  It made everything she had done so far, pointless.

The only was she would be able to undo this, was to remove the collar.  But she couldn't do that in her current state.  It was impossible for her to find one of the Golden Keys as she was now.  They were locked away in dungeons scatered around the world.  These dungeons would be hard for even a four man platinum adventurer group to break into.  In her current state, there simply was no way she was going to undo the calamity that had bafallen her.  It was the presence of these toughts that had woken her.  She was unable to sleep with so much to think and worry about.

She reached the top of the stairs, and tried to open the door.  To her sirprise it wasn't locked, and opened as slowly and heavily as her room's.  The cold, fresh air flodded in nd down the stairs.  It blew out the candle, but the star- and moonlight was more powerful.  She stepped outside and took a deep breath.  it felt god.  The cold air in her lungs seemed to reinvigorate her body and soul.

She walked over the roof to the edge opposite the door and leaned on the railing.  She bathed in the grey light like a Moonflower.  The city lay stretched out in front of her, bathing in the moonlight in exactly the same way.  It was in the middle of the night, under the caring gaze of the stars, that the city showed its true beauty.

"A beautiful sight, is it not?"  a voice asked from somehwere behind her.

She turned around quickly, but relaxed when she saw the figure sitting on the roof above the door to the stairs.

"It is,"  her simple answer came after a moment of silence.

The figure dropped down and walked to her slowly.  His body seemed to sway in the moonlight, and his skin glowed.  Claire secretly gasped.  It was like an angle was in front of her.  It felt as though the world burnt under the presence of this man.  He felt untouchable.  His existence was on a plain that this world could never truly understand.  He radiated a gentle power that was intoxicating.

He came to halt beside her and gaze out over the city.

"Do you enjoy coming out onto the rooftops at night?"  he asked.

His voice jarred Claire into a deeper world of contemplation.  She was brought back to reality by a slight flick on her forehead.

"Hya?!"  she yelped and held her forehead with both her hands.

Junsui's face had a gentle, slightly concerned, expression on it.  Claire collected herself and turned to face the world beyond the edge of the roof.

"I do,"  she finally answered,  "I feel like the world only unveils its true beauty under the gaze of the stars."

"I agree.  There is a beauty to this world that I've only scene in a few places back home."

She looked over at him.  His use of the word 'world' was out of palce, and yet it didn't seem like he had misused it.  What did this mean?  She couldn't dwell on it, however, for he asked another question.

"How is it that you came to be wearing that collar?  I don't think just any lady wears such an expensive, and rare, piece of jewellery,"  he inquired.

Claire brought one hand to her ned and gently placed it on the collar.  It was cold and hard to the touch, yet it wasn't uncomfortable to wear.

"Those thugs you fought earlier,"  she began her account.

Junsui turned his body to face her, and leaned on the railing with his right arm.

One of them had pretended to be a street pedlar, and offered to sell her the collar she was now wearing.  He had said it was a power enhancer.  Claire's appraisal skills weren't yet very good, but she could tell it was a very powerful item.  She couldn't, however, tell what exactlyt it did.  The pedlar insisted that"it was just made for" her, and had her try it on.  The moment it shut closed around her neck, she felt all her power leave her.  She felt weak under the wait of her armour, and collapsed.  The pedlar jumped forward and quickly pulled her into the alleyway right behind him.  Her armour was quick to be removed.  Just as the lasst piece, along with her sword, were taken away, three others appeared.

She told him of how they had stashed her in a small room that was accesible from a door in the alley.  It appeared they were waiting for someone to meet with them.  The didn't touch her or pay her any heed for the remaining hours of the day.  They simply played cards, betting pieces of her armour, and her sword, in the games.

When sunset approached, she was dragged out.  There were no cuffs or other devices that prevented her from running.  The collar weakened her so much she didn't have the energy for an escape attempt.  They stood jut around the corner of the building she had been stashed in, at the edge of the street.

No one showed up, and shortly after the last blue light turned black in the night sky, they dragged her back into the alley.  From here Junsui new the rest of the story, and she didn't need to continue.

"The question then becomes, who ordered them to capture you?"

Clair winked her eyes shut several times.  She was trying to understand what logic had lead him to this question.

"What do you mean?"  she finally managed to ask.

Junui smiled.  His smile, besides being dangerously intoxicating, reminded her of the smiles her mentors had when she had asked them a question about a technique or weapon.

"Clearly you weren't just some random lady they decided to target.  If so, they wouldn't have stashed you in their safe room.  They would have stripped you bare of whatever they wanted, and left.  It's also clear that you weren't chosen as their target for your abilities, otherwise they wouldn't have held you outside at sunset."

He turned back to the city.

"No, they didn't harm you before sunset.  They must have been ordered to capture you by someone.  Presumably they were supposed to hand you over at sunset.  The person didn't show, obviously, and that's when their plans changed."

When he explained it like that, everything made sense.  Claire had wondered why she hadn't been harmed in any way initially.  Why, at sunset, did they suddenly turn around with the full intent of using her body for their own satisfaction?

"Logically, the next question to ask, then, is who ordered them to c apture or kill you?  he asked the question again.

Claire could do nothing but shrug.  She didn't have the slightest idea who could want her captured, much less what their reason could be for wanting this.

"I propose we solve this question,"  he said  next.

She looked at him in surprise once more.

"What do you mean?"  she asked.

"Well, I think it is only logical that the person behind this would have the key to unlock that collar.  Why else would he order its use?  I took a look at it while you were sleeping, and there's no way to remove it without the key.  We are left with only the option of finding the key.  Since it is held by the person who ordered your kidnapping, if we find him, we find the kay.  It therefore makes sense for u to solve this mystery, solving it, will mean finding the one behind it, and the key which he holds."

She understood that.  What she didn't understand, was why he would want to help her out.  He stood to gain nothing from doing this.  she didn't have any money to give him in recompense.

"But why?"  her voice asked once again.

"Why help you?"  he returned.

She nodded.

"You don't stand to gain anything from his.  I can't offer you a reward, I don't have power or influence in politics, nor do I have any rare items to offer you in return."

"You do have something I want,"  he countered.

"What is that?"  she asked.

Junsui smiled.  He turned to the city.  Its walls and roofs were ivory under the starlight, and beyond it the hills and forests answered its call in their own pearled glow.  He pointed to the city, and then gently waved beyond it to the world outside.

"Knowledge."

Scene 3

'Knowledge?'  Claire thought as she laun in bed, staring up at the roof somewhere above her head in the darkness,  'What knowledge could I have?'

What knowledge between the two of them was uniquely hers?  What knowledge did Claire have that Junsui both didn't have, and desired?

'When he said that, he motioned to the city and the forest beyond it.  What could this mean?'

These thoughts drove Claire mad for the rest of the night, and she was unable to sleep at all.

Eventually the room lightened as the sky outside slowly turned from black, to dark blue.  One could only just barely make out the presence of objects in front of one, when she heard a rustle from the other bed.  She looked over as discreetly as she could, and saw Junsui getting out of bed.  Through the darkness, she was able to make out that he wasn't wearing a suit, instead he was in only some tight fitting version of knee length pants.  He had on no top.

Claire was so stunned by what she saw, that she completely forgot about eeling uncomfortable, or blushing. Instead she simple stared blankly at Junsui as he made hi bed.  His entire body, every nook and cranny of his skin, had a scar on it.  some were small blotches, around the size of a n****e,  and others were long scars.  Some looked like healed burn wounds, and other looked like the skin had been patched rom somwhere else on his body.

What on earth could he have been through to make him look like that?  At first Claire thought he had been in a single event.  But when she saw several scars overlapping others, double layered scared, she understood that this had taken time.  His wounds had been accumulated over the years.  That only puzzled her even more.  What kind o life had he lived that would see him so covered in scars?  And even more disturbing, how young had he been when this all started?

Claire was still mulling over these questions, when Junsui left the room.  Claire waited for him to close the door, which he did soundlessly, and grabbed a blanket.  she hurried to the door, not caring that she was in only the thiing nightgown the inn provided.  she slowly opened the door, and sawy him beginning his ascent of the stairs.  She exited the room, closing the door and locking it behind her, and dashed down the hallway, following him.  She waited at the bottom of the stairs until she heard the gentle clip as the door to the roof closed.  At the same pace with which she had come down the hallway, she ascended the stairs.  Her feet only caught every second step, and occasionally she missed a step.  This sent her flying back several as she grabbed for the railing.

Soon, however, she was at the door to the roof.  She peeked through the keyhole, but couldn't see anything.  She did, however, hear grunts and exclamations every couple of seconds.  She stood up straight, tugged the blanket neatly and tightly around herself, and opened the door.

On the outside, she found Junsui on the rooftop.  He had his sword clutched in his hands.  He was in a stance that Claire had never seen before.  His sword extended in front of him at about 30 degrees of inclination.  His feet were shoulder width apart, the left in front, the toes slightly bent in.  His knees were slightly bent, and it seemed his centre of gravity was well beneath his hips.

"Good morning,"  he greated her.

He didn't look in her direction, nor did any movement catch her eye.  It didn't even seem as though his mouth had moved.  The words simply came out of the gap between his lips, already perfectly formed.

"G-Good morning,"  Claire returned.

A moment later she notices his scarred boty again, and found herself staring once more.

"Enjoying the view?"

Junsui said this as he broke his stance.  He turned towards her and sheathed his sword.  He gently smiled at her, tilting his head slightly to one side and closing his eyes as he did so.  Claire blushed in embarrassment and looked down.  She didn't know how to answer someone who was so blatant, and shameless of their body.  Even more so when their body was in that condition.  She didn't ind it disgusting, or anything of that sort, she just didn't think someone would essentially show off their scars as he was doing right now.

"I-I noticed you leave the room, and wondered what you were doing so early in the morning, so I followed you here,"  she inally managed to mouth, still looking down.

"Ah, so I wasn't quiet enough,"  he said in a disappointed tone,  "I apologise.  I'm sorry I woke you."

"N-no!"  she immediately responded,  "I was already awake."

"Oh?  I see."

His answer came in a slightly deeper, more thought filled tone.

"What is he thinking?!'  Claire thought, stressed.

Junsui's face quickly turned back into a smile, however.

"Well, since you're up already, would you like to train?"  he asked brightly.

"Train?"  Claire asked shocked,  "How am I supposed to train?  This collar prevents me from wielding any weapons."

Junsui nodded, but his facial expression didn't change at all.

"That's true, but only for weapons."

"What?  What do you mean?"

"The collar only prevents you from wielding weapons.  It isn't a problem when you're using something else."

"But it takes all my physical strength when I try to punch or kick, well, fight in general,"  she tried to counter once more.

"But you won't be trying to do that now, will you?  Just training, as long as it's not with a weapon, should be fine."

Claire was out of objections.  She couldn't think o anything else to use to counter his insistence.  She could say that she was in her nightgown, but she had completely forgotten about that.  She relented, and dropped her head slightly further.

Junsui smiled and walked over to the door.  He picked up what appeared to be a broomstick, and handed it to her.

"Now we can train,"  he smiled.

Clare stared at the piece of wood in her hand.

"A broomstick?"

"I don't see anything else it could be,"  Junsui answered, playing dumb.

"No, I can see what it is, what I mean is why?"

"Well, we just talked about that you can't wield a weapon, right?"

"Yes...?"  Claire answered, unsure of where he was going.

"Well, a broomstick isn't a weapon, but a tool component.  There shouldn't be a problem if you swing this around."

Ouch.  Junsui had said the words with his same, patient, bright tone, but Claire felt a sting in his last sentence.  He said it like an elder would to a child,  "You swing that around and have some fun,"  was what she felt he meant.

"What are you saying?  You're not much older than I am.  HOw do you get o talking to me like I'm a little child?  I'll show you!"  Claire resolved herfelt.

"Just don't get in the way of my 'swing'.  I might hurt you,"  she said, cheekily.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine."

The two of them practised for nearly an hour and a half.  The sun was just peeking over the eastern forest, and bathing the city in its warm sunlight when Junsui finally called a halt.  The air was cold, you could see your breath in front of your face, but the two were covered in sweat, and panting heavily.

"That... was... some... workout!"  Claire uttered between pants.

"It wasn't bad, but it should suffice for today."

Junsui was panting as well, and equally covered in sweat, but he managed to get the sentence out in one go.  This gave Claire the impression that he was in a slightly better condition than her.

'D****t!  He beat me!'  she muttered internally,  'I'll be the winner next time!'

Claire didn't understand why she was being so competitive.  Something about Junsui just riled her up.  Maybe it was the way he had said 'swing it around', or perhaps it had been his proud scars.  Whatever it was, it pushed her buttons.

"Well, that should be enough for today.  We should get a shower.  The four thugs' bodies will be discovered soon, and we need to stop by there before that happens."

"Why?"

"Well, we're going to solve your collar issue, aren't we?  We should go through their belongings and check out that room for any clues."

D****t.  Claire had forgotten about that.  Why was he constantly one step ahead of her?  This needed to change, she had to fix it.

"Alright,"  she answered.

Junsui flashed his devilish smile once more, and then headed to the door.  Claire felt her heart wince slightly at the sight of his smile.  Not only was he a fatally handsome man, he was smart, strong, good with the sword, and sly.  He was her senpai in almost every way.  Despite all of this, he was still kind, and had a gentleness about him that could frighten off a teddy bear.

She didn't like it.  She had to keep her head clear and empty of such thoughts.  She shook her head to get rid of them, and followed suit.