The two separate parties had gathered outside the cave, each on opposite ends of the clearing, standing under the radiance of the rising moon as darkness had eventually befallen upon them without anybody realising, probably due to the fact that they were battling in the depths of the earth for an extended period of time.

"Nee-san , shouldn’t we dig out Max?", Masumi said quietly.

"Eeee, you should believe in him"

"?"

"The gopher is in its natural habitat after all"

"… Nee-san …, why are you so mean to Max?"

To which, Mayumi turned to face her twin, the happy go lucky attitude falling from her face as she said, "You should already know why".

"…Gomen nasai, Nee-san. I won't bring it up again", Masumi looked down guiltily.

Mayumi caressed the cheek of her twin, "Maa maa, let's not talk about depressing things", regaining her cheerful smile, "did you notice who THAT man is?"

"…you mean Eric the Red?"

"No, no, the white haired one"

Masumi looked at Gerhard for a long moment before exclaiming, "EH! Isn’t that-…"

"Yup", Mayumi gave a big smile, "that's Angel-sama. Fufu, imagine what the girls in Serabourg would give for information on him"

"… but we can't kidnap someone uninvolved…"

"Its fiiiine. I have an idea", Mayumi winked.

"Ne~", Mayumi called out to Gerhard and his party, "I think this is a little unfair~"

"… how so...?", Gerhard asked indifferently, standing with the point of his sword in the earth and his hands rested on the pommel.

"Well, I don't gain anything from fighting you, and then what happens when I need to take big Red over there?", pointing with her chin, "is it your plan to weaken little old me", batting her pretty eyelids innocently, "and then he finishes me off?"

"… I understand your concerns. State your proposition. After all", he eyed her knowingly, "that is what you are aiming for isn't it?"

"Wow, beautiful AND smart. I like you, mister~", she said cheerily.

"… we both know that is a lie…"

"Anyway~, let's see", Mayumi put her hand under her chin and pretended to ponder before clapping her hands together excitedly, "how about the loser becomes the other's slave? That way if I win, you can just convince Eric to come with me", giving a charming smile, "ne~~~"

"… I see… I accept the terms. However", he pulled his sword from the ground to point it at her, "I do not need disobedient slaves. You WILL belong TOTALLY to me".

"Hahaha, you sound more like a demon than an angel. Fine", Mayumi laughing hysterically, "I will even throw my twin into the bargain~ because", her eyes sharpening before a deep red glow shifted and twirled in her irises, expanding until they became shaped like those of a hunting lion, "I know I will win".

"O-OH MY GOD!", Lydia yelled out in warning to Gerhard, "SHE IS A VAMPIRE!"

"Tsk tsk, wrong oba-san ", Mayumi waved a finger at her, "just half vampire".

"…Gerhard…please DESTROY her", Lydia having watched enough anime knows what THAT word means…she is not old enough to be ANYONEs auntie…..

Eric had his forehead in the palm of his hand as he said, sighing, "Shouldn’t you explain what kind of enemy he is going to be fighting?"

"Oooh, right! Right!", Lydia agreed, "SHE", pointing at Mayumi, "gains powers from the moon. Probably a 30% increase in stats and some race specific spells too from what I managed to gather in the forums".

"Hmmm... I see ...", was all Gerhard said.

"That means she is DANGEROUS you IDIOT!"

Gerhard turned to look at Lydia, his eyes so empty that it sent a shiver down her spine, as he replied, "Does it matter?"

"Don't forget, I am level 307", Mayumi said in a cute voice.

"….Herr Kommandant, let me fight", Eric pleaded, "My level is close to hers-…"

"Eric", was all Gerhard said, a tone that implied such discussions were over.

"Yosh!", Mayumi exclaimed excitedly, "Don't die now, Angel-sama", drawing both her katanas out of their sheathes, "I will try to make this quite painless".

"…then lets begin…", was all Gerhard said in reply as they faced off against one another, swords held at the ready.

Without a prearranged signal… they charged, swinging their blades, the world focusing in on them as though they were alone, witnessed only by the moon.

*********************************************************************************************

INTRO SONG: Kono Sekai e Moeru

*********************************************************************************************

The constant sound of metal striking rock echoed out into the small tunnel that was being shaped by Max, his pickaxe, for reasons unexplained, had not lost its durability as he continued hammering against the wall. All he could think of was that it may be some sort of game bug… but he will report it to the GMs after he had dug himself out. Being buried alive is no joke, especially when no one knows where you are…and he couldn’t rely on the twins. It's like asking for snow in summer… never going to happen.

"Max", Lorelei asked in worry, "shouldn't you rest for a little?"

Grunting he replied, "I can't… grandpa needs me", not even pausing in his work as he talked to Lorelei.

"… Is he… very important to you...?"

"Of course! We are family"

"… What is… family...?", she asked in genuine puzzlement.

Closing his eyes for a moment, Max replied without doubt, "They are an irreplaceable existence. You may fight sometimes, or disagree but… they will still love you. Love makes a family", he blushed as he said those words.

"… Are we a family...?"

"Ehhh!? W-what are you saying Lorelei! F-for that we need to get m-m-married!", he exclaimed wildly.

"… Should we get married...?", she asked innocently.

"O-oh my god!", Max slammed his head into the wall to calm down, "S-she doesn’t know… but wait it would be nice… NONONO… don't take advantage-…", he mumbled to himself, as an internal war raged within him.

"Max?"

"Fuuuu", Max exhaled, "L-Lorelei… for now it is GOOD to be friends. YUP YUP", as though trying to convince himself instead of her.

"It's good?"

"… Good…", For some reason… he was crying inside.

Slapping himself in the face repeatedly, Max took up his pickaxe and was about to resume his work when Lorelei shyly called out.

"C-can I help too...?”

"Eh? What do you mean Lorelei?"

"I… I think I can help the old mister"

Max's mind boggled as he asked excitedly, "How?! Can you reach him?!"

"UN", she said in affirmation, "I can try. I don’t want to see you hurt yourself so much…"

"Uuuuuu", Max wept tears of gratitude, "You are such a good girl!", before whispering to himself, "Damnit! Maybe I should have married her… nonono… she is not real… calm down, Max…"

"Ok. I am going now", she replied while he was having his… 'chat' versus his conscience.

"Have a safe trip", Max finally said, and when there was only silence in reply, he turned back and lifted his pickaxe over his head. No point in wishing for the best. Always prepare for the worst, a motto his Grandfather taught him…

*********************************************************************************************

There was no clash of blades, no shouts of pain, no insults hurled or cries of a blow well struck. Only the hissing of swords passing harmlessly by each other, accompanied by the gentle breeze of the evening, the footsteps of the two combatants muffled by the soft grass beneath their feet. And yet the blade dance under the moonlight was… hauntingly beautiful.

Gerhard, if he was measured by the laws and principles of the game, should had been slower, weaker… and yet he was gliding, shifting, moving in tune and rhythm with Mayumi's blade as though they were both synchronised as one. From time to time, his sword would snake out to land minor insignificant blows… which would infuriate the girl. Because she had not struck him even once.

Letting Gerhard step back, supposedly out of Mayumi's reach, she then thrust her sword point towards his throat with a single hand, over extending herself and thus effectively almost doubling her strike zone. It was blindingly fast and well executed… only for Gerhard to already have his longsword angled slightly in front of his face, doing a minor deflection of Mayumi's katana, and with his head tilted the other side, the thrust passed by his neck harmlessly.

"Che", Mayumi said in disappointment, "you are one stubborn bug"

"… Are you sure you shouldn't use your spells...?", Gerhard suggested.

"Going all out on a newbie is embarrassing~", she smiled sweetly, stepping in to strike upwards into his chin with her katana.

Tilting his head slightly backwards and punching her in the chest to propel himself away in reverse, Gerhard landed with his sword out in front of him, readying to strike, "Is that so?"

"Buuuu", Mayumi complained, "Stop running and FIGHT like a man!"

"… I understand", Gerhard intoned emotionlessly, "Then I shall be serious", his turn to thrust his sword point… towards her eye.

"Eh?", Flinching backwards involuntarily, she then felt a hand grab her wrist, only to subsequently feel his knee connecting under her chin, as he launched himself upwards, whilst pulling Mayumi down at the same time. The blow itself didn't cause much damage but the mental shock was enormous.

"You see", Gerhard started reminiscing… right after he kicked her in the throat for negligible damage again… the force of which allowed him to land some distance away from her, "I have fought against this… Kenjutsu… I think it was called, many years ago".

"Haa, you sound like an old man Angel -sama", Mayumi grinned weakly, as she leapt forward to engage him in combat again.

"Back in the Hauptkadettenanstalt , we often had exchange students from Japan", he said, ignoring her whilst avoiding several vengeful rapid strikes to his face.

"Kuuuuu!", she yelled in exasperation, "Stop doing that!"

"Although their swords were made of wood or bamboo… they fought every friendly spar as though it was to the death", using footwork, he moved lightly across this battlefield, retreating backwards in an orderly manner as Mayumi chased him.

"There is no point to your story!"

"I do believe there is", he countered, stepping in abruptly that they both almost collided, "They were REAL warriors", casually stomping on her foot, causing her to lose her balance, Mayumi almost tumbling face first into the ground.

"Nee-san! ", Masumi called out in worry.

"DON'T!", Mayumi called out angrily, "I can handle this by myself!"

"Your twin, however, is leaking an intense amount of killing intent", Gerhard said in observation.

"Hmph! Well, my twin is a prodigy with the sword!", Mayumi boasted proudly.

Gerhard just shook his head in disagreement, "Your primary problem", he instructed Mayumi like she was a failing student, "Is that you are treating our duel like it is a game", drawing so close to her that they could be mistaken for lovers… before smashing his forehead into her nose.

In fury, Mayumi tried to kick his shin as she reeled backwards, only to feel a cut on her leg armour, Gerhard swiping her leg away with the edge of his blade. Her armour and high level had protected her… but the instantaneous response from him could only be done from a master. Something blossomed within her… a feeling of uneasiness.

"My duel with Eric was much harder than this child's play", as he spun around behind her, avoiding the arching blade of her katana prior to her world visibly shaking, as Gerhard slammed the pommel of his sword into her ear.

"I will show you child's play!", Mayumi righting herself, swung her katana in a reverse handed grip behind her, towards Gerhard's neck with inhuman velocity, shouting, "DARK BLADE!".

Instantly, her katana was wreathed in darkness, the cries of ethereal beings trapped within her sword wailing, stretching out with apparition like hands to grasp their next victim… Gerhard, having stepped back to avoid the swing, found that he was being pulled inexorably towards the katana's bladed edge. But his eyes remained empty… lacking anything.

"But from you I feel nothing", Gerhard said calmly as he reached out with his hand… and grabbed the screaming horrifying blade.

All he did was walked towards the stunned Mayumi, unable to believe her eyes that a sane player would touch and… caress her katana in Dark Blade form. Most, if not all, had broken down and cried in terror. There should be multiple debuffs as well!

He stood next to her, leaning down, "… But you are not like me", Gerhard whispered into her ear, almost tenderly.

"What is it you are afraid of?", he continued softly.

"… Ah...!", as though making a discovery, "There is fear…", he blew the words like a soft caress, "Are you scared of De-…"

"DAMARE! ", Mayumi screamed as she collapsed to her knees shivering, hugging herself as her swords fell from her hands.

Gerhard, gazing down at her, as though in understanding, "… The thing about life is…"

"It must eventually end", he finished… as, without hesitation, Gerhard swung his sword down towards her unguarded neck…

*********************************************************************************************

Gerhard was in an obscure world of darkness, weeping tears of regret and pain, the hate he feels for himself threatening to wipe his mind into oblivion as the images and words he spoke on that blood-spattered day was repeated over and over, uncontrollably until… gentle hands lifted his face upwards.

"You have truly forgotten, haven't you?", Hannah said sadly, stroking Gerhard's cheek affectionately with her hand.

"…mein Geliebte? …", Gerhard whispered hoarsely.

"You really are such a silly man, aren't you?", she smiled radiantly, "But that is why I fell in love with you".

"…Am I dreaming?..."

"Yup, you are in a dream, husband", she bent down to kiss his lips lightly, "and it is time for you to wake up".

"B-but I am so tired…"

"Pft", sounding annoyed, "Do you have ANY idea how tiring it was for ME to keep all those women away from you?", she grumbled, "And do I have to get reincarnated to deal with all these others who are now chasing you AGAIN?", throwing her hands up in exasperation.

"… Like I said before…", his tears drying up as he exclaimed in bafflement, "…actually for six decades… I have no idea what you are talking about!"

"….."

"….."

"Y-Y-YOU", she raised her hand up and brought it down in a hard chop on his head, "maybe I SHOULD strangle you now so I don’t have to worry, HUH?!! HUH!! Sometimes, I wonder what would have happened if I married that baker-.."

"Baker? What baker?!!"

"Oooh now someone sounds jealous. Well he confessed to me before I met you. HMPH!", leaning somewhat backwards with hands over her heart, "If I had married him, then I wouldn’t have to worry so much about my husband cheating on me", she cried dramatically.

"…but you were the only woman in my life!"

"TELL THAT TO YOUR LEGIONS OF ADMIRERS!"

"You do not understand", rising from his knees to stand tall, gazing at her with devotion, "in MY eyes… you are the only woman in the whole world to me", prior to kissing her passionately, "you still are", he whispered lovingly as their lips parted.

"…uuuu… damn it… I hate it when you do that", blushing she turned her head to the side in embarrassment, "I should know better by now, being all angelic and divine", Hannah sighed.

"…which reminds me… why are you here?", Gerhard looked at her quizzically.

"….BECAUSE YOU ARE A BONEHEADED FORGETFUL IDIOT! THAT’S WHY!", as she waved her hand to the side and suddenly the darkness shimmered, as a scene started to unfold and encapsulate the both of them in its brilliant light.

And what greeted Gerhard was the sound of a gunshot cracking the air, the Gerhard of decades past and the him of the present, both turning around to see an officer…no it was Dieter, their brother lowering his MP40 submachine gun to gaze furiously at him.

"BELAY THAT ORDER!", Dieter roared, and the German soldiers gladly lowered their weapons, relief spreading across their faces before they stood to attention in front of the officer. Because that is what Dieter was. A very pissed off infantry officer.

Dieter strode towards Gerhard with barely restrained anger, stopping before him just inches from his face as Dieter whispered, "What the HELL do you think you are DOING, Bruder?!"

"Following my orders", came the stern reply, "And why are you countermanding it?", Gerhard looked at him… with dead eyes.

"…COME!", Dieter grabbed the sleeve of his brother and practically dragged him into a ruined building, the Command Headquarters for the area.

Soldiers looked up startled before Dieter snarled repeatedly, "RAUS! RAUS! ", the men rapidly filing out to leave the two senior officers alone.

"You… what is the matter with you?!", Dieter sighed, "You have not been acting yourself… ever since… Prussia".

"… I am perfectly fine".

"And since WHEN did you started acting like a NAZI!?"

"Since", Gerhard showing the first sign of emotion, "Our parents and little sister were MURDERED!", he spat vehemently.

"This is NOT you BRUDER! ", Dieter cried, grabbing the front of Gerhard's uniform and slamming him into the wall, "You are a SOLDIER! Never a cold blooded killer!"

"Then I was a fool", Gerhard eyes returning to its lifeless cast, "Now, unhand me so I can organize an execution".

"No.."

"I beg your pardon?"

"I SAID NO DAMNIT!", Dieter replied stubbornly.

"I see… I understand..."

"Thank goodness you have finally regained your senses-..", Dieter halted abruptly in mid-sentence as he felt the end of a pistol barrel under his chin, Gerhard's finger resting lightly on the trigger of the luger.

"Dieter von Natzmer, I hereby charge you with treason to the Führer and wilfully obstructing an officer in the Heer in the carrying out of his duties. Sentence is death. Do you have any last words?"

There was a long drawn out silence, Dieter could not believe…REFUSING to believe that his own brother, was about to execute him.

"Are you really going to kill me?", Dieter whispered as Gerhard's finger slowly tightened on the trigger.

"Bruder!…Answer me!", Dieter looked deep into Gerhard's eyes….which stared blankly back at him.

"ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO KILL ME?!! AREN'T WE FAMILY?!!!" , Dieter roared into his older brother's face, Gerhard suddenly freezing as the weapon was about to discharge its deadly lead cargo.

There was a flicker of emotion on Gerhard's face, as though an internal struggle was rampaging and warring within, the moment stretching out into forever… before sudden realisation seemed to have dawned in his blank expression…followed by regret. Horrendous soul destroying regret.

Trembling, Gerhard closed his eyes as he slowly lowered the pistol, saying softly, "…what was I about to do…?", resting his forehead on Dieter's chest, "…oh god… what…what am I-…"

"Bruder… it's not your fault...", the words causing Gerhard to whip his head back up to stare brokenly at his little brother.

"… Mother… Father… Anne…", Dieter continued, "You couldn’t have done anything… even if you made it in time".

"But I was THERE, Dieter!", Gerhard squeezed his fingers into the palm of his hands so hard that it pierced the skin, causing it to bleed profusely, "I-I was so close", he whispered distraughtly, "… so close that I could hear them scream as they were-.."

Dieter hugged his brother, gripping him in a tight embrace as he said with tears streaming from his eyes, "Bruder …you barely made it out alive yourself. There was NOTHING you could do", emotions causing his voice to quaver, "I-I am just so glad you were never shot for deserting your post...to save them".

"Bruder …", Dieter sobbed, "Thank you for trying. Thank Gott you are alive!"

Gerhard…remembered his father's ruined body… their screams… his sister's sudden cry of pain before it abruptly stopped, only the crackling of flames could then be heard slowly engulfing his home and suddenly… it felt like a dam had broken loose as a tumultuous wave of emotion flooded his body, causing him to look up to the ceiling and roar, "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!", as he slammed the back of his head repeatedly into the wall, wailing like a new born.

"It's not your fault… you tried… it's not your fault… you-", Dieter kept chanting it over and over again like a mantra as Gerhard shook uncontrollably.

"MUTTER!!! MUTTER!!! VATER!!! ANNE!!! WHY?!! WHY?!! WHY?!! WHY?!! WHY?!!", Gerhard howled, "WHY DAMN ITTTTTTTTT?!!!!!!!!!"

And as the Gerhard of 1945 collapsed limply into his brother's arms, back heaving as he wept, the Gerhard of the present stood stock still, crying softly, his wife wiping the tears from his face tenderly.

"You... have always felt regret for that order… and also for pulling that gun on Dieter. Always dwelling on it till you forgot that YOU were SAVED", Hannah sighed, "You really are a silly man", as she hugged her husband lovingly, "So stop being an idiot and wake up".

A long corridor of light appeared before Gerhard as his wife stood back and smiled, "We will eventually be together again so don't rush things. However", her smile became scary, "if you cheat on me, you will have wished to live a little bit longer".

"…you have always been the only woman in my life…", Gerhard reached out and touched her cheek with love, "…now and forever…"

"…… uuuu… damn it… how can you make a person who has passed on, cry!!! I AM the one who was supposed to cheer you up!"

Gerhard smiled, "Just seeing you will always lift me up from the depths of despair. Thank you for saving me, mein Geliebte ".

"Arrrrgh! DAMN you! You're always so smooth when it comes to this that you're making me want to find some way to reincarnate! I am LEAVING right NOW before I break some sort of cosmic law", and as she finished, her body began to fade, sticking her tongue out at him and causing Gerhard to chuckle.

"I love you", he mouthed silently to her, and before she fully disappeared, her cheeks noticeably flushed a little red.

Gerhard tilted his head upwards, breathing in her fading scent as though trying to refill a lifetime's worth of memories before calling out, "I know you are there. You can come out now".

A part of the darkness was rendered asunder, and a little girl slowly stuck her head out, shyly peeking at him from behind the parted darkness as though it was like a curtain. Gerhard moved to face her, giving a wiry smile as she shrunk further into the rent in this 'world', before he waved at her to come out. Gingerly, she came out and stood rigidly, only to stare fixedly at his feet, unwilling to meet his eyes.

"Come", Gerhard kept gesturing with his hand, "I think you are here for a reason aren’t you?"

The girl nodded before saying in a soft voice, "…M-Max sent me because he was worried about you…"

"I see", he grinned, "You are a good girl. I am Gerhard…Max's grandfather".

"… I-I am Lorelei…"

"Nice to meet you, Lorelei. And I am just curious, but… are you his girlfriend?"

"Girlfriend?", a huge question mark appearing over her head, as she thought about it, "No, Max said we are just friends". Somewhere, across the plane of reality, crossing space and time, circling the universe twice, Max received a mortal blow to his heart, as he wondered why he was suddenly weeping for no reason.

"Sigh", Gerhard squeezed the bridge of his nose with his fingers, "What is that boy doing, even with such a lovely girl right next to him. I really wanted to see some great grandchildren"

"I take it… it was you, who made me think of my wife?", Gerhard then questioned her lightly.

Lorelei seemed to look into a point, somewhere distant behind Gerhard, before she nodded her head.

He just smiled beatifically, "Thank you… even if it was just a dream… it was good to see her again", coming close and patting her gently on the head.

"… fuuuuuuuun…", Lorelei made a sound of pleasure, as she nestled her head into his hand.

"Well… I guess, I am off", Gerhard said, lifting his hand away from Lorelei, who frowned with disappointment, "Time to wake up, I suppose", as he turned towards the corridor of light, "And oh, Lorelei", he glanced over his shoulder and grinned, "Please, give some consideration into going out with Max. He is really a good boy".

Max, at this moment in time, paused in his digging, felt his self esteem lowered for some reason, and he was not sure why…

"…... Is it really ok…?", Lorelei turned slightly to the side, as the figure of Hannah rematerialised, watching the disappearing back of Gerhard fading into the light, "… that he thinks you are a dream...?"

Hugging the back of the little girl and resting her chin on Lorelei's head, Hannah smiled widely,"… It’s fine", as she watched her husband returned to the 'real' world, "It seems I am always in his heart".

For some reason, all Lorelei could hear was happy girlish giggling, even long after Hannah had vanished.

*********************************************************************************************

Gerhard's sword stopped abruptly at the figure suddenly sheltering Mayumi's trembling body with his own in a tight embrace, the edge of the long blade resting on the man's neck… however, green eyes were looking up pleadingly from under a head of brown hair.

"….Opi", Max slowly raised a hand in greeting, "Y-yo!"

"….."

"….."

"….."

"….."

"… You are grounded…"

"… Huh?"

Emotion was gradually returning to Gerhard… and one of the first was annoyance, "… What kind of IDIOT runs in the middle of a cave WITHOUT watching where he is going?! Least of all, why were you GAWKING at an obviously DANGEROUS creature! SHARP POINTY TEETH equals DANGER! Not to mention the fact that it was almost TWO STORIES TALL!"

"…Eh... Ehhhh?..."

The next was… despair as Gerhard continued his tirade/lecture, "And what is with you?! You have a cute girl like Lorelei", to which Max eyes bulged that his grandfather of all people knew about her, "and you are not making her your wife?! Do I have to write a manual?! What the HELL is Hermann teaching you!? Do I have to RECITE the birds and the bees AGAIN?!"

"….O-Opi , can we like talk about this later…?"

"No, DAMN IT!", as though his mind was intending to cycle through the entire range of emotions, what came next… was worry, "Max… I… before I pass on… I want to see my great-grandchildren… no, more like… I want to know that you actually found SOMEONE! When I was YOUR age I was already married…"

"……Eh? I wonder why my eyes are leaking… haha…. ha… uuuuuu…"

Gerhard would have continued… in fact, he was in the midst of another one, however, his body shuddered all of a sudden, spasms causing his body to arch backward as though unable to handle the torrent of returning emotions. Falling to his knees, the sword slipping from his hand, before Gerhard lost consciousness, the last thing he saw was Max reaching out desperately to catch him.

It would be an hour later with both parties sharing a campfire that Gerhard would open his eyes, tired beyond belief, and wondering why every single one of his muscle groups was screaming in agony.

"You know", Lydia said offhandedly, "… it's kind of amazing that someone can actually faint inside a game, where you can only suffer debuffs".

Rolling his head to the side, Gerhard grinned tiredly at her, "That would mean something to me... if someone would explain what a 'debuff' is".

"… Yeah…", she shifted her eyes away from his gaze, "Max kind of told us everything…"

"Oh? Actually, I am quite curious to know why I am actually in this game", he chuckled.

"Actually, it helps explain why you are a clueless newbie sometimes", she nodded knowingly, "… it's because you are just an old fart"

"… Has anyone told you that you are quite charming…", he grimaced as he slowly sat up, his surroundings threatening to spin before his eyes.

"Only the whole world. Was that really a question?"

Max, noticing his grandfather was awake, went to help him, crossing the fire with the twins sheepishly in tow. With an annoyed wave of his hand, Gerhard signalled that he was fine, although, for some reason, Masumi reached over and grabbed his hand and elbow, helping him upright, before sitting down next to Gerhard on the lawn… arm in arm.

"Masumi… w-what are you doing?", Max asked worriedly, a drop of sweat sliding down his forehead.

"Well, when Masumi found out about Angel-sama's age…", Mayumi explained, "… my twin likes older men. Especially strong ones", she just shrugged.

"EHHHHH?!", Max eyes bulged, "MASUMI! DON’T DO IT! D-DON’T CROSS THAT LINE!"

"Love conquers all", was Masumi's reply, snuggling into Gerhard's arm.

"NONONO! A GUY SHOULDN'T SAY THAT WITHOUT FIRST EXPERIENCING THE JOYS OF A WOMAN!"

"Max…", for some reason Gerhard had his head in his hand.

"Eeee? Masumi is a hundred percent genuine beautiful girl you know?", Mayumi looked at Max like he was a blind idiot.

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHH?!!!!!"

"But don't worry, I think you are handsome and strong", Mayumi suddenly clinging unto Max's arm and twirling a finger in a circle over his chest, "especially when you came and save me in your big strong embrace".

"B-but why is Masumi dressed like a boy?", Max asked bewildered and confused. His world and reality had shifted upside down apparently.

"Oh thaaat~", Mayumi giggled, "Father wanted a boy heir, so me and Masumi decided on who should play the part by rock paper scissors".

"……. DON'T DECIDE ON AN IMPORTANT LIFE DECISION WITH A CHILD'S GAME!!"

"Wait…", Max then looked at Mayumi with dread, "... Does this mean…"

"Of course", Mayumi smiled prettily, "I am a boy".

"….", There was a stunned silence as Max fell to his knees, head facing the ground.

"Haha, just kidding~, I am a girl too…Maaaaax?… Gopheeeer? Hellooooo", Mayumi prodded Max cheek with a finger, as he seemed to have suffered a mental breakdown.

Eric, standing unobtrusively signalled towards Gerhard, "Is your grandson always this… inattentive", he indicated with his eyes.

"… It would explain why he hasn't brought home a girlfriend", a notable sigh coming from Gerhard's lips.

It would be a long time before Max would recover from the trauma that Mayumi playfully instilled in him.

*********************************************************************************************

A giant figure was walking away from the campsite under the fading moonlight, hours away from dawn before a voice pierced the darkness, almost startling the warrior.

"So... you are leaving now, I take it?", Gerhard said quietly from the shadows, Eric scanning the area till he noticed the slight figure of the commander… of his saviour, before nodding in assent.

"I realised now, with the appearance of those bounty hunters… that I am endangering the party…"

To which Gerhard, appearing to stand before Eric, waved in an offhand manner, "You know that doesn’t matter to me. I will never abandon a Kamerad for such reasons"

Eric smiled, appearing extremely youthful as he replied, "I know that, Herr Kommandant … but it matters to me that I am such a liability".

"… so, what will you do now?"

Scratching an imaginary beard, Eric thought for a moment, "I was thinking of, perhaps, apologizing to all those people I errr… absentmindedly swatted with my battle axe"

"… and how many exactly did you put out of commission?", Gerhard chuckled.

Eric shrugged, "I lost count after the first thousand or so".

Gerhard arched an eyebrow.

"…ok well, I am not that easy to forget. So, anyone attacking me should be one of my previous victims… probably", Eric said sheepishly.

Gerhard took out his hand from his pockets and held it, waiting for Eric to reciprocate and as the giant did, "Stay in touch, Eric", as they fondly shook each others hands.

"I guess now is a good time to teach you how to send private messages"

Tilting his head to the side in puzzlement, Gerhard replied questioningly, "Private Messaging?"

For the next five minutes, Eric patiently explained a modern convenience provided in games to keep players in touch with one another, before they finally parted ways, Eric promising to return if Gerhard should ever need him.

Left to finally stand alone in the forest, Gerhard called out knowingly, "You can come out now, Max", and with a rustling of some bushes, his shamefaced grandson stood up and walked somewhat guiltily towards him.

"I err… ", looking at his feet at it shift from side to side, Max explained, "I didn't want to interrupt your moment, grandpa"

Lifting his grandson's head to look into his green eyes, Gerhard smiled, "Max, you never need to tiptoe around me. And…", kissing Max on the forehead, "You did well today".

"Thank you", Gerhard hugged Max, "you make this old man a little sad to see you all grown up now, especially when you protected that girl. I really need to apologise to her".

"Its ok, Grandpa. She is a very strong girl".

"…She is weaker than you think. Look after of her… although if you married her I would be even happier"

"Geez, grandpa", Max turned his head to the side, embarrassed before giving a small cough as he remembered what he was here for, "Anyway, I didn't come here just to say ‘hi’", reaching into his pouch to pull out a small rectangular wooden plaque, "I also brought you a gift"

Looking at Max in confusion, he was led by his grandson to a fallen log where the both of them sat down comfortably, before Gerhard’s blue eyes widened in astonishment as his gift was eventually shown to him.

"Where… how…?", Gerhard whispered brokenly, as he instantly recognised the figures carved beautifully into the wood.

"We found an old photo that was almost ruined by a lot of odd particles", Max explained, "but we managed to get some experts to restore it. Then again, we couldn’t show it to you here so I…", he took out a notebook and pencil, "…sketched them".

Gerhard smiled fondly, "You are as good as my little brother once was", lifting his head up from the wooden plaque to pat Max's head affectionately.

"But this", Gerhard then pointed at the impressive carving, "I didn't know you were good at woodwork"

Max rubbed the back of his head as he replied shyly, "Well… I didn't want a repeat of what happened to the last photo… and that’s when I heard this man taking commissions to produce works of art as I walked passed in Serabourg. When I saw him produce a bouquet of wooden flowers... I just knew I had to have him carve this". Max didn’t mention the amount of in-game gold he bought with real money to get it done… but to him, it was worth it.

"You…", Emotionally Gerhard said quietly with pride, "…are the best grandchild in existence".

Standing up, Max bent down and it was his turn to kiss his grandfather on the forehead, saying, "I love you too, Opi", before leaving Gerhard alone with his memories.

Stroking the masterfully embossed image of the people that Gerhard knew intimately well, their outlines raised as though floating like 3d from the grainy wood, his fingers were filled with longing and tenderness as he spoke with a weak voice, "I miss you all so much… meine Familie "

Only the sound of quiet sobbing can then be heard, echoing out into the darkness.

*********************************************************************************************

Ending Song: Thank You

Albert, Benedikt, Dieter,

Anne, Father and Mother....Hannah

Rest In Peace

Weinet nicht an meinem Grab um mich;

Ich bin nicht dort, ich schlafe nicht.

Ich bin der Wind über dem See,

Christallglitzer auf dem Winterschnee.

Ich bin am Tag das Sonnengold,

ich bin der Regen herbstlich hold.

Ich bin das tiefe Himmelsblau,

der schöne, frische Morgentau.

Sucht mich und blickt im Dunkeln in die Ferne

bei Nacht bin ich das Funkeln der Sterne.

Steht nicht am Grab, die Augen rot.

Ich bin nicht dort, ich bin nicht tot.