Early Evening - Early Summer : Arlington, Virginia | Uates

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  *Blub-Blub-Blub* Standing waist-deep in a bathtub that could probably be cssified as a pool, I dunked my armor into a water jet, washing it one piece at a time, while thinking ba the meeting I had just gotten out of.

  By then, it had been several hours since I had returo Earth, and while the sun had already beguing, in my eyes, I still hadn't gotten the ce to do anything worthwhile.

  From the moment I walked bato the spire, I was dragged into a meeting with Alrek, his boss Kazzaer, and a handful of third-party iigators to essentially gather information about what I had doh my time since I returo Earth, where I was, what I was doing, and what my iions in that pce were.

  In short, I was interrogated for evidence of whether I was or wasn't a threat to Earth.

  But it felt more like a 'guilty until proven i' case than anything.

  As it turned out, while I was gone, Diana, the young pilot I met in Rid, had exposed everything I wao keep hush about to both the ISO and the military, sparking an iigation that quickly turned up empty as they discovered that I didn't have any citizenship records oh.

  bined with the appearance of system enforcers in Arlington and the se I caused, it led the general se of both the elite and the public to shift toward the fact that I was a destroyer using an artifact to falsify my local system panel. Acc to Alrek, they eve several tries into lockdown to look for me after I disappeared, a what he sidered a high bounty of four huhousand gold for anyone who could report anything about me prior to my appearan Arlington.

  To me, it sounded like quite a bit of an overrea, but to Kazzaer it was an uatement.

  Whether the world had the strength to fight me or not, it simply didn't matter. They were going to use everything they had to stop me if I turned out to be a destroyer, whether it eless struggle or not.

  And just as he suspected, less thay minutes after my return, the ISO was surrounded by more military equipment than I could my head around, and the entire district of the city was evacuated.

  But the response wasn't pletely based in caution. Acc to Alrek, one of the heads of the magic tower in Arlington was actually quite adamant about keeping the military from getting involved iter out of worry it would upset me.

  But the military wasn't just being aggressive out of caution.

  They were afraid of the people, just as much as they were me.

  In Kazzaer's words, 'The whole situation is a double-edged sword to gover officials and the military.'

  If I turned out to be a destroyer, whether they decided to side with me or not, the bme would fall on them and them alone.

  As a national military power, they were the ones in charge of intercepting newly returned meraries and dealing with them however is appropriate. The fact I got not only inside Rid, but Arlington was essentially a checkmate on their image if things went south, with the publining the bme oion's inpetence, and the guilds using it as an excuse to pull them from power.

  Even if it turned out I wasn't a destroyer, if their response was g, the public would pletely gut them for it.

  After tless disasters that could have beeed with mgressive responses, people had bee quite sensitive to such matters.

  As such, even if the warning I gave during my interview outside the ISO would iably ward off aroublesome, calming publitiment was a much bigger issue that would take time.

  And the worst part was, after all the interrogations, my case seemed iffy at best.

  "Haah..." Acc to Alrek, while the ISO would back me pletely, on a global scale, if I did nothing, the flood would only get harder to stop. -So in their words, I have to go out and do something that heal my image...-

  The first thing that came to mind was clearing a dungeon, or waiting for Michael to give me a quest on some inhuman-level threat.

  But while I stood in the near-boiling water, ing off my chest pte, I had a better idea. -Let's go pick up Bel...-

  While it would most certainly cause the military to shit bricks, if they did attack me, I could turn it into a det publicity stunt. "Haha," Letting out a chuckle as I pulled my armor out of the water, some old, fond memories of a time I started a coup d'etat surfaced in my mind. -To think I'd o do something like this again...-

  But unlike back then, this time, I had the most powerful on I could use iuation.

  Overwhelming power and fidence.

  *Cl-l-l-l-link* As I dried and reequiped my armor, I quickly hopped up out of the bath and made my way out into the hall, passing an employee who was on her way to my suite before taking the elevator down to the bottom floor.

  As the floors began passing faster and faster though, a voice came over the inter.

  "Miss Lestir," It was Kazzaer. "If I could be so rude to ask what you're doing?"

  Looking up at the camera embedded in the er of the elevator, I smiled. "You said the ISO alone 't fix my image, so I'm going to start the process myself."

  There was a long pause before he spoke again, this time leaning away from the microphone. "Alright..." He sounded a little hesitant. "I'll trust that her you, nor the military are dumb enough to spark a fight."

  Grabbing my neck as the elevator slowed down, and the doors opened, I spoke with an endless fidence. "Oh, I wouldn't trust them that much."

  Looking at the series of vehicles lining the streets and filling the skies, along with a number of meraries standing around the spire with gear equipped and ons in hand, I walked toward the front doors of the spire and walked through them without the slightest hesitation. *Woosh*

  The air outside was still and stale, filled with the gazes of people, all tense and focused on me. -I've got more than st time...- With several cameras fitted to helicopters up over the tops of skyscrapers, I had the attention of the whole world at that moment.

  But as I walked out with my hands behind my bad my head held high, instead of feeling any sort of pressure, I looked over the anxious meraries with a smile. "I'm surprised I didn't get lit up the moment I walked out here." Looking toward an old, hunched elven martial artist, I wove pity into my tone. "Some of you seem pretty eager for a fight."

  "Tch..." The old man instantly clicked his tongue.

  "Unfortuhough, I have pces I o be." tinuing toward the massive blockade in the road, I never broke stride. "I have to feteone from the airport, so please excuse me." *VWOOM* Using my aura to scoot aside the assorted vehicles and people blog my way, I po simply walk through them.

  But the moment I did that, several massive railgun darts from the tanks scattered about the area verged on my head.

  Yet not one of them reached me.

  *Vwoom* Catg them with my aura, I looked over at one of the meraries to my side. "Look at that, if I had dodged, you would have killed your own people. That's a shame, I thought you guys would have more disciplihan that." *g-k* As I dropped the metal darts, several meraries went pale. "Plus, I believe I made it clear earlier." Emitting a bit of bloodlust, I looked up at one of the helicopters with a camera and grabbed it with my aura. "If I were a destroyer, none of you would be alive right now."

  *Vwoom* Releasing it, it seemed to wobble in the air before bag off behind a building like a frightened animal.

  -Looks like most of them have on sense...- Eventually tinuing forward, I walked between the meraries without anyone nearby moving.

  Most people seemed to have caught the memo.

  At least those who weren't blinded by pride.

  *Fwip-FWOOSH* Dartiweeanks and stopping in the middle of the path I made though, the old elven man straightened his posture, leaving his e where he previously stood. "It's quite rare to see su arrogant young woman nowadays..."

  "Young?" I almost burst out ughing as he ced his words with poison. "I've got a few hundred years on you, but I'll take the pliment."

  "A few hundred years?" His expression turned smug as he seemed to think I was joking. "If yoing to lie, tell me something more believable..."

  Opening his system panel, I gnced up at his age with an incredibly unsurprised look. -Seems like the elves are as arrogant as ever...- He was 176, quite old for an elf, and level 609. "Like I said before, whether you believe me or not, it doesn't matter. If you want to keep your eyes on me, do whatever makes you fortable. Just move aside."

  As his gaze stiffened, so did his body. "I don't believe you uand the situation you are in."

  *pitter-patter* Keeping my eyes on my aura, I watched as almost a dozen people came up behind me, closio the path I made through the crowd.

  "This isn't a situation you simply run from."

  -Oh, I'm not running, don't worry.- Gng over my shoulder at the other meraries, I checked their levels before finding that the oldie in front of me was the highest level of the bunch. "Alright then," *Vwoop* Unequiping my upper-body armor ptes, leaving just the thin bck gambeson, I spread out my arms as if to give him an invitation. "e on, if you really think you have the strength to keep me here, hit me as hard as you . It doesn't matter where."

  The old man immediately paused. "You wao cripple you?" He sounded somewhat fused.

  He was serious. -This dumbass old man...- "You aren't remotely that strong, but if you cripple me, the whole situation will be solved, right? So e on, hit me-"

  *Fwip* Cutting me off, he instantly closed the distaween us before driving his fist into my stomach, throwing everything he had into it.

  But to his misfortuhis time I used my aura to keep myself from getting thrown back.

  *CrAcKLE* As if hitting an immovable wall, his knuckles instantly crumbled, and the bones in his hand splintered.

  Looking down as the bones pierg through the top of his hand started to draw blood, I gave him a look of pity before tapping my hand on his shoulder. "See, what did I tell you." *pat* But the moment my hand touched him, his pupils dited and he darted a few hundred meters away, pletely pale and shaking slightly. "Unless one of you is strohah's administrators, just stay bad watch me from afar. I could care less as long as you don't get in my way."

  *Cl-l-l-l-link* Finally reequiping my armor, I casually tinued down the ne of equipment, this time not being stopped before walking out into the empty road, and making my way to the airport at a very casual pace, making sure the helicopters as could keep up with me.

  It was a bit time-ing, but I heir eyes ohing in order to shake off suspis. -If I'm lucky, there will still be some normal people at the airport as well...-

  And sure enough, even well before I reached the airport, the streets were filled with people, all standing around watg the news broadcast on massive ss meant for advertisements.

  But while every s showed a different news station, they all dispyed the same video stream, ing straight from the helicopter followih essentially no dey. -Would you look at that...-

  At that point though, I had already done my stunt for the most part. I had made my presenown, and made it clear that I wasn't a threat.

  All that was left was to put the citizens at ease.

  But that was the easiest part.

  Eventually making it to the Airport, I made my way inside, catg the gazes of everyone before finding and making my way to the 'pet pickup' area a couple terminals over.

  For the most part, after the first few minutes of my arrival, the pce was empty. It seemed like people weren't taking any ces iing too close to me.

  However, as I made it to the pet pickup area, where I expected to be greeted by a robot, simir to most of the other pces I had passed in the airport, I found a young wolf-demihuman boy standing there with a tiny puppy in his arms.

  -Hm?- He clearly knew about what was happening, yet he didn't run like everyone else had. -He's only level 86...-

  "Hello," Greetih a smile, he spoke without the slightest waver. "You must be Miss Lestir, correct?"

  It was quite a refreshing greeting. "I am. I'm here to pick up Bel."

  His smile slowly turned warm as he caressed the head of the puppy sleeping in his arms. "I see. She's been waiting." Without him moving at all, Bel poked her head through the door leading into the back as if on cue.

  The moment she set her rge panther eyes on me, her face lit up. "Master!" She seemed quite excited to see me.

  -She really doesn't act like a robot...- Watg her hop the desk without any issue, she quickly walked up to me and sat down to bow her head.

  "It is my pleasure to tio be of service to you, master!" With a happy, gentle curl iail, she lifted her head before matg my gaze.

  It only took a moment for the young man to interject. "You know, of all the people I've met, you're the first I've seen to look at a servant robot like it was an animal." His voice was smooth, remi of how an administrator would talk, but with a warmth I didn't expect. "Are you just from a world without much teology, or is it perhaps something else..."

  His curiosity was genuine, but as I looked up, I hesitated with a response. "What do you think separates something living from a robot? Is it living flesh, anic material?"

  "A fate." He responded without a hint of hesitation.

  -Hm...- It was a respohat made my mind suddenly stop.. and think...

  "What do you think it is?"

  Looking down at Bel, I stared at the glow in her eyes before looking back up at the young man. "Freedom."

  His expression instantly morphed as he fell into thought. "Freedom.. huh..." However, after just a moment, his expression warmed again, not aimed at me, but at the small, long-eared puppy in his arms. "I like that response..."

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