Chapter 126: A Real Disaster

"Demacia?" Hua Can muttered to himself, watching Lance walk away. After a moment, he seemed to have a sudden realization, punching his right fist into his palm. "Indeed. As knights, we sometimes encounter those who are wicked beyond redemption yet beyond the reach of punishment. It seems this must be a secret code among knights." He added with a sigh, "To think Lord Lance would be so candid with me—it seems I am not far from becoming an official knight." Pleased, he left, naturally intent on finding a way to take that fellow out.

Lance, already some distance away, was thankfully unaware of the man’s self-talk; otherwise, he surely would have died laughing. He never imagined that a casual remark would be rationalized by the other party into such an elaborate concept.

"I wonder how Sachi and Liz are doing," Lance thought silently, looking at the data on his phone.

Lance had asked Hua Can to gather this information as soon as he woke up. By the time he found Asuna, the files on the others had already reached his hands. At the very least, he had located several members of the guild and Kirito’s close friends. His own freakish constitution was the only reason he had recovered so quickly; as for the others, in Lance’s estimation, only the burly African-American, Agil, would recover swiftly. Klein, on the other hand, would likely need several days of rest. As for Kirito, Lance wasn't worried; that guy wouldn't go down so easily.

"Though, there seems to be a problem," Lance said, biting his finger as he looked at the final file.

"Sachi, Gender: Female, Age: 16, Home Address: —... Surely you aren't expecting me to make this up too. Mother: Housewife, Father: Employee at XX Company." It was a simple file, but Lance then picked up the file on that trashy company. There was no doubt—the names matched.

"This is a headache," Lance muttered, scratching his head in resignation. He had intended to dismantle that company entirely once everything was over. Although many ordinary employees were indeed innocent, the company had been involved in plenty of shady dealings under his watch. Yet, considering the peculiar social climate of Japan, he was genuinely afraid that people might do something desperate if the company collapsed; such things were not uncommon in this country.

"Forget it, I’ll discuss it with Kirito next time." Despite his unparalleled battlefield command, in daily life, Lance remained as much of a fool as ever. Though this meant he would never become one of those so-called 'great men,' at least he lived with absolute freedom and joy.

***

"Knock, knock," Lance tapped on the door of a hospital room.

"Come in," a pleasant voice replied from within.

Kirito was still lying listlessly in his hospital bed. Yesterday, in his excitement, he had wanted to rush to Sachi’s home to confirm her safety, only to realize he had never exchanged any information about the real world with her. Now, however, he had calmed down; since he had woken up, Sachi surely had as well. But at the memory of his parents' cryptic smiles and his sister throwing herself at him, he couldn't help but feel a flicker of embarrassment.

Just as he was feeling awkward, there was a knock at the door. He was hoping for something to break the tension, and in his mind, the person knocking must have been an angel sent by God...

"Yo, how’s the recovery going, kid?" Lance walked calmly to the window, hung his coat on a hanger, and then casually picked up an apple to munch on.

"It seems the one who heard my prayers was Satan, not God," Kirito grumbled internally, then looked at Lance—who had invited himself in and was currently eating his get-well gift—with a gaze that suggested he was looking at trash.

"Hey, hey! What’s with that expression? Is this the attitude you should show your savior?" Though Lance considered his own skin quite thick, being despised so openly still made his face flush.

"What exactly are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to come out with me? How did you recover so fast?" Kirito rarely bothered to argue with him; it always ended up being his own fault anyway. He had long since given up on winning a war of words with Lance, and now he only wanted to steer him back to the point. After all, Lance wouldn't come to visit him for no reason.

"I found the files on the others," Lance said calmly after taking another bite of the apple.

"The others' files!" Kirito was instantly restless. He bolted upright, grabbed Lance by the shoulders, and asked, "What about Sachi? Did you find Sachi’s file?"

"Tsk, do you only care about Sachi? Klein and Agil are going to cry if they hear that." Lance, knowing why Kirito was so impulsive, tossed a folder directly at him.

"Sachi!"

Based on the conversation just now, Suguha realized who this uninvited guest was.

"Hey! You cross-dresser, I challenge you! I’m going to defeat you!" Without giving Lance a moment to think, Suguha directly provoked him.

"Oh~ two years later and still..." Lance continued to shake his head helplessly. Though he didn't say it aloud, recalling their meeting two years ago and Lance's regretful gaze, the nerves he had tempered through his grandfather’s training seemed to snap.

"Baka! I’m going to duel you!" Having just returned from school, Suguha drew a bamboo sword from the bag nearby and swung it at Lance.

"Hey, hey! Shouldn't a duel be between equals?" Lance had only intended to joke around, but he hadn't expected such a strong reaction. He really wanted to remark, "Don't you have any confidence? You're so well-endowed, I was just joking, can't you tell?"

When he looked ahead again, he saw Suguha with a face bright red and Kirito looking surprised, with the files dropped onto the bed.

"Uh—" Lance suddenly had a bad feeling...

"Kirito, did I actually say that out loud?" Lance asked, still holding onto a final shred of hope.

"..." Perhaps due to excessive shock, Kirito seemed unable to speak, simply staring blankly at Lance and nodding.

"Damn it! My life is over." Though Lance wasn't exactly a saint and often indulged in his own fantasies, he had really walked into a trap this time; he had unwittingly spoken his inner thoughts aloud.

On the other side, Suguha was struggling internally. She forced herself to forget the figure of that man holding a wooden sword during the battle two years ago, but the image had only become more vivid this time, and she couldn't help but blush deeply.

"Hentai! Baka! Die!" Following Suguha’s shout, the wooden sword swung at Lance once again.