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Etsu's POV
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A week ago

As I slowed my horse to a trot, I began to relax as the wooden walls that surrounded Greif came into view. It certainly wasn't enough protection to stop a group of bandits, but it was enough to prevent beasts and monsters from the plains around from entering.

It took a few seconds of waiting in front of the gate for me to be recognised, and when I am, a shout could be heard from the other side before the doors to the village slowly begin to open.

It wasn't a particularly pretty town, but it had its own charm. The wooden buildings brought about that feeling of a comfortable home, rather than one that was intricate for the sake of being egotistical.

It couldn't be compared to a town like Alzibria. The people here don't have enough of a wealth gap to separate the rich from the poor. They don't have enough freedom in work to spend days off enjoying themselves, but they seemed to anyway.

Riding down the road, the people that didn't stare at me with curious gazes were all smiling, laughing along with the people besides them. Some held babies in their arms who slept peacefully, unknowing of anything that could go wrong.

While passing by a few of the houses, I could see the silhouettes of men and women inside having drinks, laughing with each other. 

It's a very peaceful town, and it also seemed extremely uneventful.

When I reached a crossroad at the end of the path I had been walking, a young man beckoned me to follow on my horse, eventually leading me to a stable.

"Thanks for the help, I probably would have turned the wrong way." (Etsu)

"Oh, don't worry about it. It's our job as villagers to help travellers who enter, especially knights like you." (Young Man)

He beckons down to my belt where I keep my sword sheathed as he talks.

"Well, there are a few villages who don't offer that courtesy, so I appreciate it." (Etsu)

"Like I said, don't worry about it. I'm Zion, Zion Frien. You?" (Zion Frien)

He offers his hand to me, to which I take firmly.

"Etsu Waine. Vice-Captain of the Laplace Squad." (Etsu)

"Oh, a King's Squad Knight. That's a surprise." (Zion Frien)

"Well, there aren't many of us. But anyway, you said your name is Zion Frien?" (Etsu)

"Yup, that's me." (Zion Frien)

"Do you, by any chance, know a small boy, 12 years old, by the name Ryu?" (Etsu)

"Ryu? Black hair, blue eyes, kinda small? I know him." (Zion Frien)

"Then, have you been receiving letters from him?" (Etsu)

"I have. Why do you ask?" (Zion Frien)

"Well, some things happened at the Palace, and we suspected a letter he was trying to send you was in fact a letter meant for other means." (Etsu)

"You stole his letter?" (Zion Frien)

"We didn't steal it. We were taking precautions. But he mentioned an 'Old Man Frien' in it. Is that you?" (Etsu)

"... No, that's not me. That's what he called my father." (Zion Frien)

"Could I meet him?" (Etsu)

"He died a little over two years ago, a disease took him." (Zion Frien)

"Ah... I see. I'm sorry for your loss... Does this mean you are now taking care of his sister, Akari?" (Etsu)

"I had been most of the time anyway. When she came back to the village, he was already too old to play the father role, but he did his best." (Zion Frien)

"Can I go and see her?" (Etsu)

"... Sure, but you won't pressure her if she doesn't speak." (Zion Frien)

"That's fine by me." (Etsu)

Having made a deal, Zion leads me out of the stables and down a few streets, where he enters a house.

It was quite small, but enough for a family to live in.

As you walk in, a rectangular room greets you, and on the far end, a table with three seats either side is pushed up against the wall.

To the right is a small archway which likely leads you to the kitchen.

Behind the door, a spiral staircase leads upwards, which Zion walks up, and I follow along.

At the top of the stairs, a small hallway leads to three doors in total, two on the left and one on the right. 

Zion walks to the far end of the hallway and opens the door on the left, where faint humming could be heard on the other side.

As I also reach the end of the hallway, I look into the room to see a small girl, around 9 years old, sitting on a chair at a wooden desk, writing something on a piece of paper.

The desk had a few drawers, and on the writing space, paper was scattered about everywhere.

One of the drawers had obviously been opened a lot, since the handle was much more worn down compared to the others.

As we stepped into the room, the girl's eyes deviate from the paper she was writing on towards us.

The eyes that look at me were extremely similar to Ryu's, with a strange fluorescent blue shining from the sunlight in the window. 

I could have mistaken her for Ryu's twin, had she not had brown hair, instead of the black that Ryu sported.

Her face held an odd sense of innocence and naivety, but her eyes seemed to hold something much different.

This was Ryu's sister, Akari. The girl he had been trying to protect.

"Zizi? What is it?" (Akari)

"This guy wanted to meet you, Akari. He's a member of the Laplace Squad, one of the King's Squads." (Zion Frien)

"Waa! Really?! Is he really a knight?!" (Akari)

Akari's voice seemed to have a lightness to it that seemed to be unrealistically comforting to the ears, like a well-practised singer.

Her face flies back and forth between me and Zion, her excitement taking over her. Ryu's letter really didn't lie when he said that she liked knights.

"Hey, hey! Are you really a knight?! Do you fight monsters?! Are you strong?! Do you kill dragons?!" (Akari)

She was almost jumping up and down as she bombarded me with questions. Her face was lit up like a bonfire at the night of a festival.

"Y-Yes, I am a knight. I'm Etsu Waine, Vice-Captain of the Laplace Squad." (Etsu)

Hoping to appease her excitement even a little bit, I stand upright, but my right hand on my sword's handle, and put my left hand into a fist, hitting my right shoulder. The traditional salute of the Kingdom's knights.

"Oooh! So cool! Hey, do it again! Do it again, please?" (Akari)

This continued for several minutes, with Zion sitting on her bed, watching as Akari asked me to do several different things.

After some time, and seeing no end to Akari's requests, Zion steps in.

"Akari? Let's slow it down now. He's here to ask something." (Zion Frien)

"Oh, I'm sorry." (Akari)

"No, it's all right. Can I ask, have you been getting letters from your brother?" (Etsu)

When I ask, a look of conflicting thoughts and emotions seemed to pass over her face.

"... I have." (Akari)

"Can I see them? I won't take them away from you." (Etsu)

She stands still for a moment, obviously deciding what to do, before she walks over to her desk and opens the worn drawer, pulling out a stack of paper.

"Here..." (Akari)

She pushes it towards me.

Taking it, I notice how crumpled all the letters seemed to look. Not as if they had been crumpled by a fist, but as if they had been opened and closed repeatedly.

As I flick through some of the letters, they all seemed to have the same base replies, saying that he loves her, to stay safe. They also mention him going on trips across the Kingdom, looking for the No-Names.

Obviously, this doesn't add up to what Ryu had told Airi, but I don't say anything.

The frequency of letters also seemed to increase in the last year, but there was no reason said in them.

After about an hour of me sifting through them, I hand them back to Akari.

"Thanks. A few more questions, Akari." (Etsu)

"Yeah?" (Akari)

"When did you come to Greif?" (Etsu)

"... Three years ago. Ryu told me to." (Akari)

"Why did he tell you to do that?" (Etsu)

"He said I'd be safe." (Akari)

"Safe from what?" (Etsu)

"..." (Akari)

"... Was it three years ago when you left the No-Names?" (Etsu)

"...Mm." (Akari)

"Can you tell me why?" (Etsu)

"..." (Akari)

She doesn't give me an answer to my last question, and I want to push further, but judging by Zion's gaze on me, I should probably stop here.

"Alright. Thank you, Akari. I'll be going now." (Etsu)

"Mm." (Akari)

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Author Notes
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New chapter done. We finally get to see Akari! This conversation didn't really get me to show Akari how I wanted to fully, but that should be fixed in the coming chapters.

I also tried to push a bit more on description this time, with the village and the description of Akari, but I'm not sure how well that suits this. I'm also worried that by repeating some descriptions from the previous chapter, it becomes annoying to read.

But anyway, thank you for reading, please continue doing so!