Solria, Edge of Middle District, 7th Squad Barracks (Aria POV)

“We’re almost there, Ky.” (Aria)

My cheerful voice rang out as I walked down the familiar, yet sparsely populated road holding a large box of armor in my hands, and I couldn’t help but have a beaming smile on my face as I heard the sound of Ky’s steady footsteps behind me. We made our way out of the crowded shopping district and into the middle district a while ago on our way to the barracks and it was currently almost noon. After a few moments, the familiar sight of a large metal gate greeted me as I came to a stop and took a deep breath.

Alright Aria, I know today’s been a great day so far. The sun’s shining in the sky, it’s nice and warm outside, and the cool breeze feels refreshing when it blows in your face. You finally got your brand new sword too, and…

I quickly twirled around to sneak a quick peek at Ky before I immediately turned back around to face the gate again. I looked down at the box I was holding in my hands while a slight blush began to spread through my face.

W-Would this count as a date with Ky? I mean he’s just helping me move some equipment, b-but we’re alone together, aren’t we? We walked through town together, and we’ll probably have lunch together after this too. So i-isn’t that just a date?...

Well anyway, even if it is, you can’t let it show on your face! I don’t know who’s here at the barracks today, but you definitely can’t let them see you smiling like an idiot. Come on Aria, you have a reputation to keep! Just act serious like usual. Think about work or something…

Argh! I can’t do it! This stupid smile just won’t come off my face!

I dropped the box at my feet with a loud thump as the armor inside clanked around. My hands squirmed all around my face as I tried desperately to force it from a smile back into a neutral expression, but despite my efforts, my face would just instantly revert back into the same goofy smile every time. After a few moments, I gave up trying to manually make my face return to a blank expression, so I took another deep breath while trying to calm myself down before suddenly, I heard the sound of Ky’s voice from behind me.

“What’s wrong, Aria? Did you forget your keys or something?” (Kyle)

My heart rate began to speed up as I heard the sound of another thump followed by some more clanging before I felt Ky’s hand softly touch my shoulder. My hands immediately shot back up and covered the bottom half of my face as I spun around to face him with a blush a few shades redder than before. Ky stared at me with a concerned look on his face and I averted my line of sight to the ground after making eye contact with him for a moment.

“No, seriously. What’s wrong?...” (Kyle)

What do you mean, what’s wrong!? You’re what’s wrong right now! How am I ever going to return to normal if you keep making my heart rate skyrocket like this!?

We stood there in awkward silence as I stared at the ground before speaking out in a quiet voice.

“Well, because I just got my new sword, along with… some other reasons... I’m a little too happy right now and I can’t wipe this dumb grin off my face no matter what I do.” (Aria)

“Eh? That’s it? I thought you were in serious pain or something with how suddenly you dropped the box. Anyway, you’re happy right now, right? You’re a person, not a rock. Just express it instead of bottling it up. Who cares if you’re smiling or not?” (Kyle)

“Well, maybe it doesn’t matter to you, but I have a reputation to keep around here! I’m a Knight Captain! I’m not supposed to be grinning like an idiot, I’m supposed to be stoic and resolute!” (Aria)

“Even if you’re supposed to be serious normally, it’s just a smile. It’s not like everyone will think any less of you for smiling every once in a while, will they? Even back in Delhurst, you were never too serious unless it was a fight. I mean I guess you could have been seen as stoic, but that was just because everyone was too scared to talk to you. What did you do to start the charade, this time?” (Kyle)

“Well… the first day the new recruits came in, some of them got a little conceited and pissed me off. One even challenged me to a duel for the position of captain. So I beat them all up to show them who was boss, but after that, I’ve been treating them decently. At least I think I have...” (Aria)

“... Well, at the very least, it looks like you haven’t changed a bit since our days in Delhurst. You might not actually be a rock, but apparently your social skills sure are at that level.” (Kyle)

“What do you mean by that? Back in Delhurst, you were just as much of an outcast as me, weren’t you? Hmph.” (Aria)

Ky took a seat on top of the boxes of equipment he placed on the floor earlier and let out a sigh while I crossed my arms and pouted at him with a slightly annoyed look on my face. After a moment, I looked back at him and opened my mouth to say something, but the moment I did he cut me off.

“Oh. Well, there you go. Looks like you’re back to normal Miss ‘stoic and resolute’ Knight Captain. Now, where do you want me to put all this stuff?” (Kyle)

“Eh?” (Aria)

I held my face in my hands with some slight disbelief, but after a moment I confirmed that my face was back to a neutral expression again.

“Huh, you’re right. Anyway, just put all the stuff in the training room. Here, let me open the gate for you.” (Aria)

I watched Ky pick up the stack of boxes again and a warm, fuzzy feeling filled my chest as I unconsciously smiled at him again.

“Thanks, Ky. Ah…” (Aria)

Crap...

“... Well… just think of this as your subordinates learning about a new side of you I guess. It’ll, uh, promote friendship...” (Kyle)

Solria, Edge of Middle District, 7th Squad Barracks (Kyle POV)

A few minutes passed as I sat there taking in the scenery while Aria finally managed to plaster a stoic expression on her face again. I stopped staring at the dojo style barracks building and hopped off of the stack of boxes I was sitting on as Aria opened the gate before picking up the box she dropped on the ground earlier.

“Alright, follow me, Ky.” (Aria)

“Sure.” (Kyle)

I picked up my own stack of boxes and let out a small yawn as Aria led me through the open gate and down the small path leading up to the front door of the barracks. She pushed open the door with her leg and the slightly familiar sight of a large, but quaint lobby room greeted my senses as I made my way over to the hallway on the right side of the building before calling out to Aria who was closing the door behind us.

“If I remember, the training room was this way, right?” (Kyle)

“Yeah, just go straight and it’s to your right.” (Aria)

“Ok.” (Kyle)

I walked out into the courtyard with a faint smile, and a breeze blew past my face as I turned to my left to see the garden. The sunlight shining in beautifully illuminated the pond and garden in the middle of the courtyard just like the first time I saw it, but this time there was an extra. In the middle of the courtyard was a young woman crouching down by the garden. She had medium length blonde hair that reached down a little past her shoulders and her skin was slightly tanned while her light-brown eyes had a lively atmosphere to them. Her attire consisted of a white military uniform with black trims and yellow buttons, but she had a small watering can in her hands as she tended to the garden while humming a tune with a smile on her face.

It seemed like she noticed me right after I walked into the courtyard though because she looked up and made eye contact with me awkwardly for a moment before getting up and calling out to me.

“Umm, excuse me, who are you?”

“I’m Kyle.” (Kyle)

The girl stared at me in confusion, but after a moment, she placed the watering can on the floor and walked over with a suspicious look on her face.

“... So, is there something you need from the 7th Knight Squad?”

“Umm, I’m just here to drop off some stuff.” (Kyle)

“A delivery? Who’s it for?”

“Well, technically it’s for you...” (Kyle)

“For me?”

The suspicious look on the girl’s face flashed with a hint of surprise for a split second before immediately shifting into a serious expression.

“I didn’t order anything though. Please stop lying and tell me the truth, otherwise, I’ll have to apprehend you for trespassing.”

She took a few steps forward and it looked like she was about to attack when Aria walked into the courtyard hallway behind me and saw me standing still.

“What’s wrong, Ky?” (Aria)

“Ah! Captain Aria! Careful, there’s a suspicious intruder here!”

“Intruder? What are you talking about?... Did you do something stupid again, Ky?” (Aria)

“Why did it just default to it being my fault!? I just walked into the courtyard, I didn’t do anything!” (Kyle)

“Eh?”

The girl in the military uniform immediately dropped her fighting stance and the confusion on her face was back in full force as she stared at me and Aria standing next to each other.

“Aria, you did tell them that I was going to be helping you pick up the new equipment today, right?” (Kyle)

“... Sorry… I forgot...” (Aria)

I stared at Aria for a second before letting out a defeated sigh and turning to the girl in the uniform as Aria called out to her.

“Lillian, it’s ok, he’s not an intruder. He’s my friend who’s helping me pick up our new equipment from the blacksmith.” (Aria)

“Well, like I said before, my name’s Kyle. Nice to meet you.” (Kyle)

“I’m so sorry, Sir Kyle!”

I stood there as the girl in the military uniform started rapidly bowing to me with a panicked look on her face, and it was only after a few minutes that we finally got her to calm down and introduced herself to me, albeit with a guilty look in her eyes.

“My name is Lillian Leonora, nice to meet you, and once again, I’m sorry about accusing you before.” (Lillian)

“I’m telling you, it’s ok.” (Kyle)

“It’s not ok, I almost attacked an innocent person who was just trying to help, not to mention you’re manaless, so I could’ve ended up seriously hurting you!” (Lillian)

So she’s the 12th Knight Captain’s cousin, huh? Well, at least she seems pretty well mannered for being a member of such a wealthy family, a little too well mannered even... I thought she’d be a lot more snobbish.

I let out a dry chuckle as Aria walked past me towards the training room.

“We can talk all we want later, let’s just put this stuff down first.” (Aria)

“No problem, Captain Aria!” (Lillian)

Lillian quickly gave a traditional Raidion knight’s salute to Aria before turning to me with a determined look on her face.

“Sir Kyle, let me carry some of this for you! Helping you out a bit is the least I can do to make up for my blunder earlier, as both a noblewoman and a knight!” (Lillian)

“Eh? It’s alright. We’re just dropping this off at the training room.” (Kyle)

“Even so, I insist!” (Lillian)

Lillian pumped her fists together and stared at me with a stubborn glint in her eyes. I let out a sigh as I realized she wasn’t going to give up so easily and put down the boxes with a thump before handing her one.

“Fine. Then here, make sure you get a good grip.” (Kyle)

I took the top box off the stack and held it towards Lilian as she stood in front of me.

“You can give me more, it’s ok. Even if I don’t look like it, I’m still a knight, I’m sure I can at least carry more than a manaless civilian!” (Lillian)

“Uh, well just make sure you can hold this one first, it’s kind of heavy.” (Kyle)

Lillian stretched out her arms and accepted the first box from my hands with gusto, but the moment I let go, the box in her hands plummeted down and she almost fell over with a shriek.

“Uwah!” (Lillian)

“See… I told you…” (Kyle)

I looked at her with a dry smile on my face as she strained a bit to hold it before saying a small chant to activate her body strengthening magic.

“May the will of strength flow through my body!【Body Strengthening】!” (Lillian)

A moment later, she stood back up again and put on a fake smile to try and act tough while a bit of sweat dripped down her forehead.

“See, it’s no problem! Here, hand me another box!” (Lillian)

“Uh… I think I’ll be ok, just one box off me is more than enough. Thank you, Miss Lillian.” (Kyle)

“Wait! I swear, I can help! Just give me another box, Sir Kyle!” (Lillian)

I picked up the other two boxes again and caught up with Aria as Lillian scrambled to our side while rambling about how she could help more.

After a moment, we finally reached the door to the training room and Lillian ran in front of us to open the door.

“Here, let me help, Captain Aria!” (Lillian)

Lillian pushed against the door with her leg, and it opened up slowly to reveal the training room. About five large windows lined the wall on each side of the room and there seemed to be several practice weapons sprawled out on the wooden floor or leaning against the walls while directly across from the entrance was another large door that opened up to the yard outside. Standing in the middle of the room was a man doing practice swings with a two-handed battle axe which was almost as tall as him. He had short light-brown hair along with blue eyes, and he was also dressed in the same white military uniform that Lillian was wearing.

Lillian entered the room first with a confident smile on her face before Aria walked in right after her while I trailed in last. However, as we entered the room, the man seemed to have noticed us, and he stopped doing practice swings before looking over at Aria with a surprised expression while scrambling to do a sloppy knight’s salute.

“Urk. When did you get here, Captain Aria?”

“Oh, there you are, Alain. I just arrived. Where’s everyone else?” (Aria)

Aria walked over to a corner of the room and placed the box in her hands down on the floor with a thump before Lillian ran over and did the same as she spoke to Aria.

“Umm, I think Edward and Charlotte are out right now, and the rookie’s with his friends today so it’s just me and Alain here. Is there something important you needed them for, Captain Aria?” (Lillian)

“Not really. If they’re not here, then they can just pick up their new equipment when they get back.” (Aria)

The man put his axe against the wall as Aria finished talking and walked over to us with a confused look on his face as he stared at the boxes on the floor.

“Wait, new equipment? When did we get this?”

“I just picked it up from the blacksmith earlier. The new gauntlets you wanted should be in one of these boxes, Alain. Ky, just leave your boxes here next to mine, I’ll go grab something to open them with.” (Aria)

“Eh? Sure.” (Kyle)

Aria left the training room while I put down the rest of the boxes in the corner too as the man turned to Lillian with a confused look on his face.

“By the way, Lillian, who’s this?”

“Alain, this is Sir Kyle. He helped us bring all the new equipment back to the barracks. Sir Kyle, this is Alain. He might be a bit... weird sometimes, but trust me, he’s a good guy on the inside.” (Lillian)

Lillian introduced me to the man with a wry smile on her face and he stood there for a second before extending his arm out with a friendly smile for a handshake.

“Nice to meet you, Sir Kyle. I’m Alain Reidson. You can just call me Alain though.” (Alain)

Weird? I mean, he seems pretty normal to me, kind of a nice guy even.

“Nice to meet you too. Also, ‘Sir Kyle’ feels a bit stiff, so just call me Ky. It’s fine.” (Kyle)

“Then you can call me Lillian too.” (Lillian)

I smiled at Alain and Lillian as I accepted the handshake. A warm friendly atmosphere filled the room, but it didn’t last long as the moment Alain and I finished shaking hands, he walked up close to me with a grave look on his face. Lillian stared at him with a demoralized look on her face as a passionate fire lit up in his eyes before he spoke to me with a serious tone in his voice.

“Alright, now that the introductions are over with. Ky, I need to show you something really important.” (Alain)

Eh?

I stared at Alain with a puzzled smile as Lillian let out a defeated sigh in the background. I watched in bewilderment as Alain reached inside the inner fold of his uniform jacket, pulled out a small slip of what seemed to be paper, and showed it to me. On the small slip of paper was a picture of a young girl that looked similar to Alain. She looked like she was around the same age as my students, and she had a head of brown hair tied into twin tails along with blue eyes that were the same shade as Alain too.

“Now, Ky. Tell me what you think of this girl here.” (Alain)

Alain stared at me with a ferocious glint in his eyes as I started getting more and more creeped out.

“Um… well, she looks very, uh, nice.” (Kyle)

“You’re goddamn right! Just look at how cute she is! Her eyes are as blue as the vast open sky, you could just lose yourself staring into them! And her hair flows smoother than the finest silk!” (Alain)

“Uh... could I ask who this is?” (Kyle)

“She’s my pride and joy, my one and only little sister, Lucy Reidson! Isn’t she the cutest you’ve ever seen? I can say with absolute certainty, nobody in this whole entire world is cuter than my little Lucy! She’s a pure angel, and mere mortals like us don’t deserve her, but she’s kind enough to let us stay around her anyway. So, I’ll make sure at least that the people around her are good! If anyone thinks they can mess with her, they’ll have to get through me first, understand?” (Alain)

Ah, I see. So he’s a super sis-con...

I glanced past Alain with a dazed smile and locked eyes with Lillian who was panicking a bit as Alain finally took a step back and returned to his friendly smile from before. Lillian walked up to me with a sorry expression and apologized for the incident as Alain stared at the picture of his little sister before putting it back into the inner fold of his uniform jacket.

“Um, sorry about what happened with Alain… he’s like this with everyone he meets at first, but I swear, he’s still a good guy, just a little bit… obsessed with his sister...” (Lillian)

How did I just know there was gonna be at least one weirdo here… I mean I can understand loving your family, but this is a little too far isn’t it? If Alain has this much of a sister complex, everyone within Lucy’s vicinity will probably have to watch out for their lives!

“I think this constitutes a little more than obsessed…” (Kyle)

“Yeah… you could say that...” (Lillian)

Lillian gave me a dry laugh as the door opened again and Aria walked back in. She didn’t have her new sword on her anymore, but had a crowbar in her hands instead.

“Alright, here we go.” (Aria)

Aria walked over and pried the boxes open as we all gathered around to see what was inside. Lillian glanced around before she pulled out a couple of daggers from it with a smile, whereas Alain walked over to another box and pulled out a pair of metal gauntlets with a strange metal square on the back into which he promptly mounted two pictures of Lucy that he pulled out from his jacket. I did my best to ignore Alain hugging the pair of gauntlets behind me as I watched Aria pry open the box she was carrying earlier and toss the crowbar aside before lifting a few pieces of light metal armor out. Lillian and Alain gave her some space once they got their equipment and tested out their new stuff in the background as I walked over to Aria with a curious expression.

“Did you get a new set of armor too?” (Kyle)

“Yeah, I don’t really wear armor all that much anymore since we stopped adventuring, but since some parts of my old armor are broken, it doesn’t hurt to have a new set just in case I need it. Here, hold this while I try it on.” (Aria)

Aria handed me everything she was holding except one gauntlet which she wore on her right arm before gripping her hand a few times to test out how easy it was to move. After that, she started taking pieces from me one by one and trying them on until she was only missing the chest plate. The shiny new set of armor consisted of two shoulder plates, gauntlets that went up to her elbows, a pair of metal boots that went up to her knees, and finally the chest plate that I was still holding. Aria grabbed the chest plate from my hands and tried to put it on before realizing that she couldn’t completely reach behind her back with her shoulder plates on. She turned to me with an embarrassed look on her face and handed the chest plate back to me before asking me for my help.

“Ky, I can’t reach with the rest of this armor on. Could you help me strap on the last piece?” (Aria)

“This is why you always put the chest plate on first… I know it’s been a while, but you’re still technically an A-rank adventurer, aren’t you? This is like the basics of the basics.” (Kyle)

“I got too excited to try on everything and I forgot, ok? You’re not exactly some expert adventurer either, and you’re a B-rank adventurer, aren’t you? Anyway, it’s not like it’ll hurt you to help this one time, will it?” (Aria)

“Alright, alright, I’m sorry Miss Crimson Rose. Won’t a famous A-rank adventurer like you have some mercy on a poor support character like me?” (Kyle)

“Don’t call me that embarrassing name again, or I really will make you suffer this time. Hmph.” (Aria)

I let out a light chuckle as Aria turned around and hugged the chest plate against her chest while she pouted with an embarrassed blush on her face. I tightened the leather straps on the back of the chest plate and tugged on them lightly to see if they were good before taking a step back.

“Alright, it should be ok now.” (Kyle)

Aria stopped hugging her chest plate and let go before slightly flailing her limbs around and sending out a few punches and kicks in the air to test the armor. After a few moments, she turned to me and faintly smiled before starting to take off her gauntlets.

“Yep, it fits perfectly. Thanks, Ky.” (Aria)

“No problem.” (Kyle)

I smiled back at Aria as she placed her gauntlets back into the box before turning around to see Alain and Lillian staring and pointing at me in shock from a corner of the room. They both looked slightly pale and whispered intently to each other as I walked up to them with a confused look on my face.

“What’s wrong? Are you two ok?” (Kyle)

Alain and Lillian stared at each other for a moment before each of them grabbed one of my shoulders and dragged me outside as Lillian called out to Aria in a shaky voice.

“C-Captain Aria, we’re going to borrow Ky here for a moment.” (Lillian)

Once all three of us were in the courtyard hallway outside the training room, Alain and Lillian cornered me against the wall as they both stared at me for a moment before Lillian spoke up with a serious tone in her voice.

“Ky, just who exactly are you?” (Lillian)

“Me? I’m Aria’s friend.” (Kyle)

“There’s no way you’re just her friend. You’re definitely more than that.” (Lillian)

“More? Well, I’m also a professor at the Roya-” (Kyle)

“No, I mean what’s your relationship with Captain Aria? How do you know her?” (Lillian)

“Oh, that’s what you meant. We used to be partners back when we were both adventurers.” (Kyle)

“Wait, adventurers? How? I don’t mean to be rude, but how could you have been an adventurer? You’re a manaless, aren’t you?” (Lillian)

“Well, you see, I was really more of a supporter than an actual adventurer. Back when we were in a party together, Aria basically did all the fighting while I just sat in the back and took care of everything else like cooking food or setting up camp.” (Kyle)

“But, even disregarding your eligibility as an adventurer, you have to at least be a little more than just ex-party members. I’ve never ever seen Captain Aria smile before. I can’t even think of a single time she’s showed us even a hint of a smile, no matter what we did. Right, Alain?” (Lillian)

“Yeah, it’s like talking to a rock. Until just now, I was 100% certain that she was incapable of showing any emotions besides anger. Her face didn’t even budge an inch when I showed her every one of my top fifty pictures of Lucy last week!” (Alain)

… I’m more surprised that Aria managed to sit through it all with a blank expression instead of immediately glaring at you with disgust...

Alain held his chin up and nodded repeatedly to affirm his own thoughts as I stared at him a creeped out before Lillian cleared her throat and put the conversation back on track.

“Ahem. Anyway, the point is that we’ve never seen her even show any emotion even remotely close to happiness, so how did you manage it?” (Lillian)

“Yeah, what did you do?” (Alain)

Alain and Lillian stared at me with curiosity and started slowly closing in on me before I leaned against the wall, let out a sigh, and muttered to myself.

“I didn’t think Aria would go this far with this dumb facade again.” (Kyle)

“Wait, facade? What are you talking about?” (Lillian)

The curiosity on Alain and Lillian’s faces was replaced with confusion as they took a step back and looked to me for an explanation.

Crap, I didn’t mean to let it slip like that. Well, should I tell them?... Ah, screw it. They already heard it, and even if one of them is a little… strange, as long as it doesn’t involve his little sister, it looks like he’s pretty normal. Anyway, they both seem like they actually care about Aria, and it’ll probably help her get along with them better if she doesn’t have to keep pretending to be emotionless. I think that she deserves at least this much… more than I do anyway.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before facing Alain and Lillian again as I asked them a question with a soft tone in my voice.

“So... how much do you guys actually know about Aria? Has she ever told you anything about herself?” (Kyle)

Alain and Lillian looked at each other for a moment as they racked their memories before turning to me with serious faces.

“Well, besides the fact that she’s insanely strong, almost nothing. I can still remember the first day we met her she beat us all up because Edward challenged her to a duel and made her angry, but nowadays, she treats us pretty well as long as we listen to her. She hasn’t personally told us much about herself and I heard from my cousin that none of the other Knight Captains besides the Head Captain know much about her either. It’s kind of hard to hold a personal conversation with her too, right Alain?” (Lillian)

“Yeah, it feels like it’s impossible to find something to talk about that isn’t related to training. I don’t think that even Edward has had an actual non-work related conversation with Captain Aria yet.” (Alain)

“So she really hasn’t given you anything at all to work with, huh? Alright, well, you two seem like you actually care about becoming her friends, so I’ll tell you about Aria if you want, but promise me you two will keep what I tell you a secret.” (Kyle)

“Will do. I swear no one will hear a word of it from us.” (Lillian)

“Yeah, I won’t tell anyone. At the very least, I’m a man of my word.” (Alain)

I smiled kindly at Alain and Lillian as they made their declarations with confidence before I began to narrate what I knew of Aria’s past. A few minutes passed as they listened to me intently while I told them about how I met Aria, her promises with her father and Max, our days adventuring in Delhurst, her fight against the dragon, and what happened once she returned to the capital. When I finally finished, it was silent except for the sound of the gentle breeze and some sniffling from Lillian. A few tears rolled down Lillian’s face before she wiped them off, and Alain stood there with a somber expression before Lillian’s sad voice rang out first followed by Alain’s solemn one.

“...I never would have thought so much happened to Captain Aria... I can’t believe she made it through all that. We’re about the same age too, but I wouldn’t know what to do if any of that happened to me.” (Lillian)

“Yeah… I always knew Captain Aria was strong, but it looks like she’s even stronger than any of us thought. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to just travel alone to the edges of the Empire like that, especially if my father had just passed." (Alain)

A gloomy atmosphere began to spread through the courtyard hallway as Alain and Lillian stood there lost in thought for a moment before I smiled at them with a tint of melancholy. My line of sight moved up to the clear blue sky behind them as a sense of nostalgia overtook me and I started to talk in a gentle voice.

“You know, when I first met Aria, I thought she was just a violent woman by nature. She and I would always argue over this and that, and she even hit me sometimes when I got her really angry, but I still stayed with her, even through all the trouble. At first, I didn’t know why I did. Honestly, I could’ve easily just left her and went my own way, but eventually, as the days passed by, I finally realized why... It was because whenever I saw Aria, it was like I was looking back at my past self again. She was alone. Alone without a single person by her side, just like I was... I know what it’s like to lose someone you love. It’s painful, it’s cold, and the only things you can feel are anger and despair. The dead don’t come back… no matter how hard you try to change that… and eventually, one day, you realize that you’re finally alone in this world. I hated it. I hated every second that I saw Aria like that. I hated every second that I saw her bottle up her loneliness until it turned into anger and violence because all it did was remind me of the past. I didn’t want to see her walk down the same path I did, clawing desperately just to try and grasp that faint happiness again. Because at the end of that path, there is no happiness. There’s just emptiness. An emptiness that hurts even harder than losing someone you love... So I decided that I would try to save Aria, just like someone else did a little too late for me. I tried my hardest you know, but I don’t think Aria’s change was completely because of me. There was only so much I could do, so there’s at least one thing I have to say to you two. Thank you for sticking by her side. Every time I see her now, she seems happier and I’m sure that she enjoys your company, even if she’s not the best at expressing it.” (Kyle)

I bowed deeply to Alain and Lillian as I finished my monologue, but what I saw after I finished bowing was the scene of Alain and Lillian uncontrollably crying their eyes out.

“Don’t worry, Ky! We’ll make sure that Captain Aria stays happy!” (Lillian)

“Yeah, I swear that from now on, everyday she has with us will be a fun one! You too, Ky! You’re welcome here anytime! You and Captain Aria deserve at least this much after what you’ve both gone through. In fact, Lillian, do we have anything to do today?” (Alain)

“Nope. Edward and Charlotte are taking care of the squad’s duties today.” (Lillian)

“Perfect, we should start having fun right now then. Let’s go! We can all get lunch together then go sightseeing or something.” (Alain)

“Eh?” (Kyle)

“Great idea, Alain! You know what, lunch is on me today. We can even go to one of my favorite restaurants! You two wait for me outside, I’ll go get Captain Aria right now!” (Lillian)

Lillian wiped away her tears with a small handkerchief before running back into the training room with a determined smile on her face. I watched her run off as Alain grabbed my arm and dragged me with him to the main lobby while he rubbed his face dry with the sleeve of his uniform.

“It’s ok, you two don’t have to do this! Just doing what you usually do is enough!” (Kyle)

“Don’t worry, Ky! This’ll be what we usually do from now on anyway! Come on, we’re gonna make sure Captain Aria can smile again!” (Alain)

MagicalDucky

Hi, everyone. So I'm sure that by now, most of you have noticed that I have little name tags after every line of dialogue to indicate who says what line. I'm also sure that some of you probably find them extremely redundant as there are often ample amounts of context clues already, or find that they may break the flow of the text pretty badly at some points. Well, the truth is that the chapters didn't have dialogue tags originally, and were meant to be read without them like a normal(ish) book. The reason that they are in the current draft is actually because a few months ago when I writing chapter 18 on Royal Road I was finding it a bit difficult to write dialogue with more than two or three people speaking in succession, since it felt like I had to cram in a context clue sentence between almost every line, so I had a poll over on Royal Road and people voted for dialogue tags to be added in, so I edited all the earlier chapters to have them too for the sake of consistency. But a few people have let me know their thoughts about the dialogue tags, and to be honest, I kind of agree with them that the dialogue tags feel redundant and break the flow of the text at times, especially in the earlier chapters. Also if the dialogue tags ever gave you the impression that I was somehow insulting your intelligence as a reader, I would like to formally apologize for that. I never meant it that way at all. So now that I have a little more experience as a writer, I think it's about time to have another poll (this time on both Scribble Hub and Royal Road) to see what the new general concensus on the dialogue tags is. If you all are ok with them, I'll just leave them in, but if you all don't like them, I'll take them out and just edit the later chapters a bit to add in a few context clues since the chapters I've posted on Scribble Hub so far were all originally intended to be read without the dialogue tags anyway. Please don't be afraid to voice any other concerns in the comments either because my main goal is to make this story the best it can be, so any honest feedback at all helps me a lot! And finally, thank you all for reading!

Edit: Poll has been closed and people have voted for tags to stay in.