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In a corner of the restored gardens of Castle Seyfert…

“Lady Crim, your guest is here.” With a polite tone, Elohim Shabbat entered the garden, wearing a butler’s uniform.

Behind him, looking around with curiosity, was the Dragonblood Hero Suzaku, whose trademark look of a scarlet knight uniform and scarlet scale armor had become quite famous.

He had received an invitation from Crim, who said she wanted to talk with him, and included a special magic ticket in it which would allow him to momentarily visit someone else’s guild home as a guest.

He accepted the invitation, and was brought to his host, Crim, who was sitting at a table in the garden, furnished with tea and some snacks.

“Welcome, please be at ease and take a seat. I’ve invited thee because there’s something I’ve been wanting to discuss.”
“Huhh…with me?”
“Aye. But first… Let me personally convey my gratitude, for I witnessed how greatly thou didst aid my guild members.”
“I mean… I really feel like they were the ones helping me the most.”

Crim stood up and held the hem of her skirt to perform a polite curtsy, which made Suzaku flustered. Seeing that, Crim grimaced a little as she sat down again.

And so, the strange meeting between the Demon Lord and Hero began.

“Before we get to that, I need to ask… Why are you wearing that?”
“Leave me be. After my friends procured the dress I used before, they’ve insisted on dressing me as they pleased.”

Crim replied as she rested her chin on her hands, looking miffed. She was once again dressed in a gothic lolita dress.

Her dress was black and covered in plenty of lace, she had a bonnet of the same color on her head, and even her boots were black and in the same gothic lolita style, which would seem almost excessive and hard to look at normally.

“I think it’s kinda cool though, I’ve never seen a Japanese person who could pull off that look.”
“Hmm… Is…is that so?”

Crim already looked like a doll, so somehow wearing such extravagant clothing did not really look out of place. In a way, it seemed to fit her even better than casual clothes would.

She began readjusting the position of the bonnet with a bothered look while Elohim guided Suzaku to his seat and swiftly began serving them tea.

“So anyway, what is it you wanted to talk about? Or are you trying to recruit me?”
“Well, that wouldn’t be a bad idea now, would it? I’ve witnessed thy strength already, and it would serve us well. Not to mention…”

Crim watched Suzaku with a teasing look, waiting for him to try the tea. And sadly for him, he noticed that the tea seemed to be of high quality and was too intrigued by it to see Crim’s face.

“…Judging by thy reaction earlier, we have met in the real world before, haven’t we?”

She said that just as Suzaku began to drink from his cup, who instantly choked and coughed loudly while spitting everywhere.

“Heheh, I knew it. And if I had to wager a guess, you’re the person who challenged me at the arcade before, right?”
“So you noticed already… I thought I had altered my appearance a lot though.”

Suzaku wiped his face while glaring at Crim, who just raised a finger and proceeded to explain how she had figured that out.

“When we first met, thou wert quite shaken upon seeing me, and I cannot think of anyone else who would have reacted in such a manner.”
“Ah, dammit! You noticed back then already? But I couldn’t help it, you look identical to your real appearance.”

While he seemed annoyed that she had seen through him, Crim looked more serious, placing her hands on her thighs as she leaned forward.

“…I never had the opportunity to properly thank thee for aiding me. So once again, let me express my gratitude for driving away that rude man.”
“Ah… You’re welcome.”

Hearing Crim’s words as she bowed to him made Suzaku flustered, but he managed to remain composed enough to give a proper reply.

“Anyway, if you want to recruit me, I’m sorry but-”
“Oh, is that still troubling thee? ‘Twas not the primary cause for my invitation.”

Just as Suzaku was about to refuse, Crim interrupted him, declaring she did not mind that at all. That made him frown, wondering why he had been called there then. But Crim made him wait for around half a minute as she took a sip of tea herself.

“Say…does the name Da’at Criferd ring any bells?”

Hearing that name mentioned so suddenly made Suzaku’s face turn stern in an instant.

“So she truly is thy companion now…”
“Why do you know that name…”
“Don’t fret, everything shall be cleared soon. Da’at…come here.”

Saying that, Crim snapped her fingers, prompting someone wrapped in ragged robes to turn around. They paused their work on a nearby green wall covered in buds.

“Who are-”
“I’m Da’at Seyfert. You can think of me as the older sister of your companion Da’at Criferd.”

Saying that, Da’at Seyfert pulled her hood back. Seeing her face, Suzaku’s eyes widened in shock. Other than her hair color, that girl looked identical to the companion he was so used to having around.

“I’ll tell you everything…if you’d like to hear?”
“Okay…tell me.”

Saying that, Suzaku got ready to listen. And so Da’at Seyfert told him the same gloomy story about the future of the continent which she had related to Crim and her group before.

Quite a while passed after that, and the second serving of tea Elohim served was starting to turn cold.

“…So you’re telling me she’s some evil spirit trying to destroy this whole continent?” When Da’at Seyfert was done talking, Suzaku turned away, feeling like the whole story sounded too ridiculous. But he could not bring himself to fully disregard it, so he remained seated.

“No, we have not confirmed it as of yet. But verily, thy companion doth bear the same name, hence there must be a reason behind it.”
“…Don’t be ridiculous. She’s just a selfish, scatterbrained, and spoiled brat…”

As Crim tried to be a bit more reasonable, Suzaku began listing all of the girl’s bad qualities, almost like he was trying to convince himself of all that.

“…That’s a rather exhaustive list of qualities…”
“…As her sister, I must admit that I can see her being all of that.”

Crim took a sip of cold tea as she heard everything Suzaku said, looking a bit unsure of how to react, while Da’at placed a hand to her cheek, looking like a concerned sibling.

“And so, what are you trying to accomplish by telling me all of that?”
“Nothing in particular. If thou believest in that girl, then protect her as thou hast done.”
“…Huh?”

Crim’s response was so different to what he had been expecting that his elbows slipped off the table almost like he was tripping.

“…Are you sure? Even if that means that one day we’ll become enemies?”
“Yes. It’d appear that the storyline dictates that Da’at Criferd will be alongside you. I don’t think it’d be wise for us to meddle with that and forcibly change the plot without knowing everything.”
“Umm…okay?”
“Not convinced yet? No one would try to interrupt and alter the set plot of a game halfway through. Think of it as a Handout that has been given to you.”

Handouts were something commonly utilized in tabletop RPGs, where the Game Master would present a player with a list with various information, and usually outlined how a given player would interact with the overall plot of the campaign.

Destiny Unchain Online had a highly realistic world that reacted to the players living in it, some even called it a ‘world simulator.’

That high degree of interactivity also meant that unlike previous MMORPGs, players would not all be given the same quests. But that was something that could lead to a disconnected storyline with conflicting information between players.

So Handouts were implemented into Destiny Unchain, which would help keep the main storyline coherent. There was a main program coming up with the story, similar to a Game Master, and it would automatically generate the necessary information to keep the plot moving and keep the players engaged with the world. Essentially, any player could obtain a role in the main story.

That was why Crim had accepted the role to figure out what Da’at Criferd was planning, and Suzaku remained as her companion. And that would continue, even if both of them knew that it could eventually pit them against each other.

But before that happened, Crim had wanted to have a proper conversation with him.

“So in brief, we shall respect thy decision, but recall that we also seek her. We shall continue to gather information on our own accord, would that be acceptable?”
“Well, I guess…”
“Good then. I just wanted to make all of that clear between us. I apologize if it was too sudden.”
“It’s fine… I’m the one who should be apologizing. It seems you’ve been way more considerate with me than I realized.”

Suzaku felt a bit ashamed of his earlier outburst, so he apologized for that.

“But remember, if thy actions bring forth a dire end to this world, then we shall not hesitate to hunt both of you down with all our forces. If thou wishest to avoid such a fate, then ensure thou fulfill thine role as Hero properly.”
“…Could you please stop calling me that.”
“Ahahah. That’s a taste of my own plight.”

Crim laughed heartily watching Suzaku cringe at his nickname of hero.