[ With the Human Realm group continuing their mission, they met a man named "Shasta." ]

Shasta:
"Bercouli... So you've come."

Bercouli:
"Thank you for your gracious welcome, leader of the Dark Army Knights."

Shasta:
"Sarcastic as ever... I apologize that our messenger was different than planned. I also appreciate you ensuring she returned to us, safe and sound." Then he turned to Dorothy

"Dorothy, your actions were a deliberate violation of regulations."

Dorothy:
"...I will accept whatever punishment you deem fit, my lord."

Kirito:
"..." Kirito looks at their direction, thinking of something.

"Hey, if you're going to punish Dorothy, do you mind if I weigh in?" Kirito speaks to Shasta, then Shasta replied to him

Shasta:
"And you are?"

Kirito:
"I'm one of the envoys, Kirito. Look, I know Dorothy did a lot of crazy stuff -"

Shasta:
"If even the Human Realm sees it that way, the punishment will have to be serious."

Kirito:
"No, but, she was doing it for your sake. She wanted you and Lipia to stay safe."

Shasta:
"..."

Kirito:
"Even when we locked her up, she endured it to keep an eye on Sarai. She never drew a weapon on us, not once. Because it would've threatened peace."

Dorothy:
"Kirito..."

Kirito:
"We came this far because she inspired us. She moved us when she came to us. And because we were moved because she's so selfless and sincere."

Deku:
"..."

Eldrie:
"Certainly, when she asked so fiercely if we "can't do what one girl can"... I'll admit, I was lured by that taunt. It made me want to give this a try."

Deusolbert:
"Indeed... those were powerful words. And all alone against "the enemy." Deusolbert said as Dorothy turned to him and Eldrie

Dorothy:
"I, I was simply desperate. Now of course I see that I was terribly rude..."

Kirito:
"Do you see? Not just anyone could've done it. She was the right choice for envoy. I realize this is really rationalizing after the fact, but still... All I want to understand is that I, and the others, were moved because of Dorothy."

Shasta:
"..."

Bercouli:
"I won't defend her quite like that, but I agree. She did well on the way here, too." Dorothy was surprised by hearing that she did well on her task. "More to the point, you're engaged? If I'd known, I would've brought a gift."

Shasta:
"Hmph. Let us put that aside for now. I will show you around Obsidia. Come." Shasta leads the way

Bercouli:
"Huh, no boasting about your bride-to-be? Wait, is your face red?" Bercouli said he began to tease Shasta, then Fanatio speaks to him

Fanatio:
"Sir Bercouli, I would advise you to cease teasing our host. The editorializing can wait, Bercouli. Now, we should go." Bercouli and Fanatio were both following their host; Shasta, then Dorothy speaks to the Human Realm group

Dorothy:
"E-Everyone... Please go on ahead..." Dorothy said as she walked away from the Human Realm group. Then Kirito talks to his friends

Kirito:
"Guys, I'll catch up later. Can you handle things?"

Alice:
"Of course. We shall go first and arrange things. Please go speak to her."

Asuna:
"Yeah. Go on, Kirito." Then Deku spoke

Deku:
"I'll go too. Just to help out a bit."

Yuuki;
"Yeah, that'll work out well."
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[ As the others headed their way, Kirito and Deku searched for Dorothy, and eventually found her in tears. ]

Dorothy:
"Ah... Ahuuu... Uuuu..."

Kirito:
"Dorothy. There you are."

Dorothy:
"Oh... Kirito, Deku... I'm sorry..." Dorothy said as her tears were pouring down her cheeks.

Deku:
"Oh, Dorothy, you don't have to cry. What's the matter?"

Dorothy:
"I just feel so worthless. I want to help Lord Shasta but I just make a mess... Now I had to be protected by our enemies. I'm sure Lord Shasta is ashamed of me... Everything I do is a failure, and it embarrasses people, and that's all I am..."

Kirito:
"Uh, can I slide a correction in there? We're not enemies. We're fellow travelers, right? You said it yourself, Dorothy."

Deku:
"I agree for the travelers part... even though I wasn't here in the beginning.... But besides that, I definitely don't think of you as an enemy to begin with because I see you as a friend."

Dorothy:
"I'm... I'm nothing like that. I can't be your friend. I'm your enemy, and... I'm not even welcome here. I'll always be an outsider. A Child of Sin."

Kirito:
"So what about our journey? Did you feel unwelcome with us?"

Deku:
"And me? Even though it's really not that long ago that I met you."

Dorothy:
"..."

Kirito:
"You're pretty good at doing Switch now, too. You've warmed up to everybody. How are you not our friend? What's the difference? I don't think there is one."

Deku:
"Also, I've unintentionally learned about the loss of a family member you've experienced, and similarly, you're aware of mine. This shared understanding has allowed me to connect with you on a deeper level than I expected. Just like that, I understand you, and I already consider you as my friend."

Dorothy:
"I..."

[ As Dorothy thinks about her childhood past, she was getting bullied by other kids, and everyone always talks badly about her parents. It's shameful that Dorothy has to listen to. She wanted to prove that she wasn't worthless and stop the insults... but nothing she did matters or even helps at all, never managed to find rest. It's like she can't breathe at all, always feel like her lungs are struggling for air. But then, a light rain down on her as she sees Kirito and Deku smiling at her and hold out their hands for her... ]

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

(A/N: At 7:21 - 8:24)

Deku
"Don't cry, Dorothy. We're right here with you." Then Dorothy begins to shed more tears. Then Kirito adds on

Kirito:
"Don't say we're not your friends. Okay?"

Dorothy:
"Kiri..to. Dek..u. Ahuuuu..."

Deku:
"Come here." Deku embraces Dorothy, as he let her head rest on his left shoulder, then Kirito joins in to embrace her as well.

Kirito:
"Everyone's so worried about you, Dorothy, we will be there for you. I promise."

Deku:
"Me too."

Dorothy:
"I wish... I want to... be able to think of you all as friends, too..."

Kirito:
"Yeah. I know, Dorothy. No matter what you said, you never really acted that cold."

Dorothy:
"I... I want to be closer to... to all of.. *Sob*... all of you..."

Kirito:
"Yeah. So do we. Let's help the peace get settled, and then we definitely can." Then Dorothy cries out more... then after a few minutes has passed, Dorothy finishes her crying

Dorothy:
"Kirito, Deku, thank you both very much. I'm fine now. So embarrassing.... but I'm fine. I have you both. All of you."

Deku:
"I'm definitely glad that you said that, Dorothy. If something gets out of hand, just say something, anything, ok."

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[ Then later, Kirito and the others met the group... Then Dee Eye Ell met up with Shasta - ]

Dee Eye Ell:
"Shasta, I understand your bag of sin returned safely. Isn't that nice."

Shasta:
"Bold of you to even speak of her, Dee Eye Ell. I've already learned you pursued Dorothy and attacked her with the intent to kill."

Deku:
"!" Deku secretly looks at Shasta's direction, as he was listening to their conversation

Dee Eye Ell:
"What about it? Did I not say this effort would meet with... opposition?"

Shasta:
"Enough. You were simply looking for an excuse to claim Dorothy for yourself."

Dee Eye Ell:
"You could just give her to me. I won't even kill her! I just want your help. I'm certain that sinful girl's body would be an astounding in experiments..."

Deku:
"..."

Shasta:
"Do you seriously think I would agree to this? I will never allow one of my people to suffer, no matter the cause! Stand down, Dee Eye Ell. Challenging me would end badly for you."

Dee Eye Ell:
"I suppose it would. I'll leave it there, for now."

Deku:
("Just like Quinella... I can't stand women like her! I better keep an eye on that drab! Shasta won't be the only person who she has to worry about if she doesn't get away from Dorothy!")

[ Then later... Having reached Obsidia Castle, theu finally began their objective: The "Peace Talks." All that was left was to talk things over... but of course it wasn't that easy. They could barely get a word in over all the opposition the Knights & Guild faced. ]

[ The Major opponents were the Dark Mages and both Goblin tribes. The Assassins, the Orges, and the Giants were refraining from any comment. The Pugilists and Orcs, at least, seemed receptive to peace if the terms were good. The opposition insisted again and again that violence was the only solution. The neutral factions jockeyed and made hints of open conflict. Shasta would point out that's still war, and it'd all begin again, on and on. It seemed they wouldn't even get to peace negotiations. Until... ]

Iskahn:
"Oh by Vecta, this is stupid! Look, let's have our guest sort this out RIGHT!"

Shasta:
"Iskahn! What are you planning?!"

Iskahn:
"I say we have a duel! One fighter from their side, one from ours, and..."

Sigurosig:
"Not enough." The Giant approached Bercouli and Kirito

Furgr:
"Grr... Indeed." Furgr joined Sigurosig. "Not enough. We should just mash everyone here into paste. Rrr." Then Sigurosig was aiming its hammer to smash Bercouli and Kirito

Kirito:
"What-?!"

Bercouli:
"Whoa-!"

LEAPS BACK! THUDDED

Dorothy:
"STOP! We are here to negotiate! If you start fighting, this was all meaningless!"

Iskahn:
"Now we're talking! Let's go! My target is... Hah! The one with the coat!" Iskahn targets Deku

Dorothy:
"Stop! Don't target Deku, The Throne Slayer!" Then the others were shocked to discover that Deku was the "Throne Slayer" everyone else had heard rumors about.

Iskahn:
"Wait?! You mean "The Throne Slayer?!" The one who's slayed the Pontifex?! HELL YEAH! Now we're talking! Let's go, Throne Slayer! Me and you right NOW!" As Iskahn marched forward to fight Deku, Shasta immediately stopped him

Shasta:
"Iskahn! I told you to stop! You will NOT fight the Throne Slayer!"

Iskahn:
"Huh? Whoa! Shasta, let go! Let me go!"

Lilpilin:
"He's "Throne Slayer?" He's the one who save Renju..." He said to himself.

"Mm! Hold on! We should have an order for this! Furgr, Sigurosig, count me in!"

Furgr:
"Grr... Stay out of this, orc. You too, pugilist."

Bercouli:
"Hm. Sure, all right. If you all want a duel, then let's fight."

Shasta:
"Bercouli! Gah, not you too!"

Bercouli:
"Kirito, you take on one of them. Need to match their numbers, you see."

Kirito:
"Bercouli, you haven't given up on the peace talks, right?"

Bercouli:
"The talks were going in circles. They aren't used to doing this. I think our best bet is to speak THEIR language. Let them know where we stand."

Kirito:
"Or this fight could shatter any hope of peace entirely."

Bercouli:
"Either way, we need to knock some sense into them. Then we can talk, our way." Bercouli unsheathed his sword, as Furgr and Sigurosig were both ready to fight.

Kirito:
"Just don't blame me if this turns out badly!" Kirito unsheathed his Dual Blades!

[ To be continued ]