Beta read and Cowritten by GamerCrusher55 and Shigiya
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-Fullstar-
(Before the Attack of the Insect Cult)
With the early morning sun rising over the horizon, Fullstar slowly started to get more alive as its people went about their daily activities. The vibrant citizens of the kingdom mulled about their days with vigor, keeping up the same tempo for hours even as noon hit and the air started to turn warm.
It was the perfect opportunity to enjoy what the kingdom had to offer and walk the streets. To explore the countless novelties brought forth by the countless races that traveled great distances just to sell their wares to the people of Fullstar.
However, the Dark Queen didn't take notice of the festive feelings; her focus was entirely on what was in front of her. Olga just occupied herself in her current workshop, a small wooden study space with no windows and barely deserving the name "workshop".
The crude room's centerpiece was a single wooden table that had seen better days. The surface was scarred and uneven, now etched with a series of complex elven symbols and diagrams that she quickly carved into the wood using an old knife she found in the kitchen... Not exactly her finest work, but it sufficed for now. Scattered across it were rudimentary tools she had bartered the day before, while disguised, and a handful of whatever she could find lying around the house. A handful of locally bought glass pipettes with uneven rims, several worn magic tomes with cracked spines, and a collection of vials and containers.
These materials held only the faintest of magical properties, the kind of base components one might use for rudimentary alchemy, nothing more.
Compared to the grand study within Castle Discordia, this place was an insult... a pathetic imitation, a space her former self would have ordered burned to the ground for its sheer inadequacy.
But those days were gone.
In their current state of hiding and scarcity, every single item on this table was a luxury; nothing could be wasted. Materials she would have once dismissed as useless were now vital. Even acquiring mana stones of the lowest quality had proven to be a monumental challenge, forcing her to adapt and work with whatever meager supplies she could scavenge or purchase with Chloe's help.
"Even the most untalented mage trainees at this kingdom's local mage Academy would turn their nose up at such low-quality materials," she muttered with a low hiss of frustration. The words were a bitter reminder of how far she had fallen, from a leader who commanded vast magical resources to a scavenger picking through scraps. "Then again, I can only blame myself. I should have just taken more resources with me when I left Feoh."
Her frustration was momentarily pushed aside by the main reason why she had even bothered to use these items for work. Reaching into the valley of her armored cleavage, her fingers closing around a small, cool glass vial. She pulled it free, holding it up to the dim light. Inside, a thick, white liquid swirled around with a slow, almost lazy viscosity. She held it in her palm, her expression shifting from irritation to intense focus, her violet eyes narrowing.
"It wasn't my imagination after all," she stated, her voice now filled with certainty. Proceeding to uncork the vial, she tilted the vial carefully, allowing a single, thick drop of the liquid to fall onto the center of the primary magic circle etched into the table. The moment the drop made contact, she couldn't help but feel uneasy about potentially wasting this substance, before suddenly recoiling.
"No! Stop thinking like that!" The feeling was so absurd that it infuriated her. Olga shook her head violently, as if to physically dislodge the thought, then slapped her own cheek several times with the sound echoing in the small room.
"Have I gone mad?" she snarled at herself. "How could a queen like me even think like that? It's purely for research, and if I want more, I can just call him back..."
Her moment of inner conflict was short-lived, brutally suppressed by her own willpower. Barely a minute had passed before she noticed the change. The previously inert, carved lines of the magic circle began to glow with a deep, dull red light. The glow started at the point where the drop had landed and then spread rapidly outwards, following the intricate patterns of the circle. The intensity of the spell's activation was far greater than she had anticipated. A sudden gust of wind, born from the raw magical energy being released, whipped through the room, blowing her long black hair back from her face. It was a physical force, a tangible display of power that surprised even her.
"This is remarkable," she breathed, her earlier anger replaced by pure, unadulterated scientific fascination.
Her gaze fell back upon the vial in her hand, and her mind drifted back to their intimate moment last night. Truth be told, Olga didn't know how to face him after that. It was still so intense and vivid. How she serviced him, how their bodies melted together with each other as their lips entangled, how he sucked on her breasts, how he covered her in his seed, all leading to that point of no return... 'He did not push me back... does that mean he also...'
Hard to tell, getting a read on him had always been a difficult task, but if that truly was the case, then she wouldn't be to against the idea of taking him as a lover.
Regardless, back then, Olga, in her highly sensitive state, felt a distinct and potent presence of magical energy emanating from the liquid itself. Her first instinct had been to dismiss it as a trick of her overwhelmed senses. But the nagging possibility, the sliver of paranoia, would not leave her. A part of her, the naturally curious mage side of hers, insisted when she was cleaning herself to collect samples of what remained on her skin for further study, which she did just to silence the thoughts. And now, that paranoia proved to be valid.
"His semen... it actually contains a surprising amount of magical energy," she said aloud, knowing full well how weird it still sounded. She knew it wasn't entirely unheard of for certain beings, even humans, to pass energy through such fluids, but the concentration in his exceeded that of a regular human, maybe ten times over.
Perhaps being on the same level as the more magically gifted races, with Radomira coming to mind, but she has yet to test it.
She stared at the vial, the implications swirling in her mind. One hand rose to cover her face, as her fingers pressed against her temples. "What am I doing?" she asked the empty room, her voice muffled by her palm. "What is the point of all of this?" The question hung in the air for a bit, but just as quickly, she shook her head, her hand dropping back to her side. "No. I shouldn't be thinking like that. This must have some usage for me."
It was a resource from a being like Emiya, whom she still refused to pretend was human. To ignore it would be foolish. As for what that usage was, she admitted to herself, she had yet to find out.
Her attention was then drawn to a folded piece of parchment resting on the corner of the table, weighted down by an empty vial. Picking it up, she read the letter left to her by Chloe. Unfolding the letter, she gazed at a simple note.
"Please do not worry about my absence, my Queen. With time not on our side, I have taken the liberty to gather information around the kingdom and supplies." Reading it, Olga's eyes narrowed into slits. "Humph, Chloe needs to come up with better excuses"
The dark elf was no fool; she knew exactly what was going on in her subordinate's mind. Having seen it herself in recent days. Chloe had been more distracted, often staring off into space, her mind clearly elsewhere. It was a profound change from the loyal, focused subordinate she had always been. It didn't take a genius to connect the change to that man. Mandeville. There was a very real possibility that Chloe hadn't gone for supplies at all, but to find him, to learn more about the man who had sired her. Olga had half a mind to once more leap into action and follow her, but decided to trust her at least for now, rather than rush into a situation that may not need her, and cause that man reason to vex her more.
Olga clicked her tongue, a sound of sharp annoyance. "The girl has grown up quite a lot, lying to her queen like this." There was a strange mix of anger and reluctant pride in her tone. She walked to the room's single window, looking out at the sky, hoping that Chloe was not doing anything too reckless.
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-Mandeville Estate-
Chloe expected to find plenty of disturbing and potentially familiar faces when entering Mandeville's estate.
A slaver who captured an uncountable number of dark elves, people whom she may personally know and had befriended in the past, even if those chances were low, she never dismissed them.
She'd steeled herself to find things that would make her stomach turn with anger and disgust.
But instead, she ended up confronting an individual who should have never been here in the first place... Someone she wished to never meet again under any circumstances whatsoever.
'L-Leona!?'
Wasn't she supposed to be in the dungeon at the palace?
A moment of disbelief flashed through Chloe as she had a hard time believing her eyes. She recalled how the white-haired lycan had captured her, intending to bring her back to Mandeville. Not only had two days passed since Leona had been so determined to complete her mission with righteous vengeance. Chloe was unable to understand how 'now' that led to the same mercenary being imprisoned here, of all places.
Plop!
"-!?"
Her instincts had faltered in shock as her foot stepped in a puddle, the noise catching Leona's attention. The lycan raised her head, looking up to see Chloe on the other side of the cell while the half-elf froze from the mercenary's gaze. Shock and confusion crossed Leona's eyes, widening in surprise. "You're the dark elf from before. What the hell are you...? Ah, I see." Having an epiphany, Leona brought her head down to stare at the ground. Her silver mane of hair covered her face in darkness, making it unobservable, as she let out self-deprecating chuckles, as if coming to a conclusion that explained Chloe's presence, one lost on the elf herself. "This was a trap from the beginning, wasn't it?"
"What?" The blonde dark elf did a double-take, feeling completely lost at what this person was suddenly saying. "What are you trying to-"
"I was an idiot. I 'really' should have stayed away from him. Damn it!"
Chloe, not understanding what the hell the bitch was mumbling about, grew increasingly angry as the woman came to a false conclusion, replied. "What the hell are you mumbling about!?"
"You don't need to play the fool," Leona continued, her voice rising in anger as the chains bound to her limbs rattled. "You must have been working with Mandeville from the beginning to not only catch me but also destroy the White Wolves in one swoop!" Her tone got angrier and angrier as each syllable was forced out of her mouth. The increasing volume of her voice caused a cold shiver to go down Chloe's spine, fearing it would alert the guards. All the while, Leona didn't stop until she glared back at Chloe with utter hatred and disdain. "My men are rotting in some dungeon. If that promise was a lie, I will. Kill. YOU! ALL!"
The sheer amount of hatred radiating from her tone almost reminded the Dark Elf of herself before meeting Archer. Unfortunately, she could not dwell on those memories for long as their conversation ended up being a bit too loud. "What was that?"
A gruff voice sounded from the outside of the room, with faint footsteps drawing closer and closer.
"Just the new girl," another voice answered while clearly yawning. "I'll check on her. She's been rowdy for a while, don't worry, I'll make sure not to damage the merchandise too badly."
"Meh, it's your grave, just don't aim for the face. That's the money maker."
Ice flooded Chloe's stomach. Her hand went to the belt around her waist, fingers closing around the familiar hilt of the dagger hidden there. The guard entered, his focus entirely on Leona's cell, unaware of the other intruder in the room that was waiting patiently behind the walls of the entrance.
"Alright, let's get this over with-urgh!"
He didn't finish. Chloe was a blur of motion who closed on her target in a matter of seconds. Already behind him before he could turn, the sheat of her dagger pressed against his throat. Her other hand clamped over his mouth, stifling his gasp. He struggled, his actions fueled by desperation, but she held enough strength to not have him push away her hand. She held him tight, feeling his pulse hammer against the blade, until his body went limp and he collapsed at her feet.
From her cell, Leona watched everything confused, speechless as she saw Chloe single-handedly knock out a guard that she should have been in cahoots with. "Impressive technique there, I didn't take you to be skilled in quiet assassinations, given how loud you are and the fact that he's still alive."
"You're the one to talk! So stop shouting, I didn't kill everyone in the mansion before getting here!"
Chloe was internally panicking. With how fast they changed the guards, it wouldn't be long before the others would notice his disappearance. They had a little leeway with him telling them he'd gone to check, but it would only be a little while before they started coming in.
"Part of me still wants to believe this is nothing more than just a trick to fool me." Leona insisted, finally making something inside Chloe snap. "Can you shut up for once!? I'd rather die than work for Mandeville! And it's none of your business why I ended up coming here to begin with! But if get's you to shut up, I snuck in."
Leona looked at her suspiciously as she tried to process what was happening. "An assassination? You came here to kill me and get revenge? Right?"
Chloe felt her patience wearing dangerously thin with this woman, but she forced herself to maintain some semblance of composure even as her jaw clenched so hard her teeth threatened to crack. "Listen carefully, because I'm only going to say this once. I'm not here for you. I'm not working for that bastard. The very idea makes me want to vomit." She took a steadying breath, her voice dropping into something cold and sharp. "I came here to kill Mandeville. That's it. That's the whole damn reason. But unlike some people, I'm not stupid enough to charge in blind, I needed to scout, gather intel, figure out what I'm dealing with." She glanced down at Leona with a mixture of irritation and something almost resembling dark amusement. "Finding you rotting in a cell? That wasn't part of the plan. Consider it a happy accident."
Leona scoffed. "Kill him? Good luck with that, you'll have an easier time trying to assassinate the Queen herself than this man. While Mandeville himself is but a human, he also has plenty of people who have wanted to kill him in the past - more so than the Royal family in this whole kingdom. Yet all of them have failed for one reason or another. A rat like that doesn't stay alive unless he's developed a trick or two. If you truly believe you have a chance, then go ahead and assassinate him right here and right now. I'll either be greeting a new cellmate or even be buried right by your side in your grave."
She couldn't deny that she wasn't the first to try and kill the man, but still refused to just stay quiet.
"I will kill him eventually, but unfortunately, it's not today," Chloe insisted. "I came here for one reason alone, and that was to not cause more problems for my queen."
"Your Queen? So Olga actually followed you here," Leona let out a harsh laugh that echoed off the cell walls. "The Dark Queen hiding in Fullstar? That's either the boldest move I've ever heard or pure suicide. This kingdom would love nothing more than to see her head on a pike, they've been at war with dark elves as long as anyone remembers. Elven grudges don't fade with time." Her chains rattled as she shifted position, eyeing Chloe with undisguised contempt. "And a dark elf showing loyalty? Now that's the best joke I've heard since getting thrown in this shithole."
"Beastmen like you are always gullible and then act all surprised when you get backstabbed by humans, present moment included!" Chloe shot back.
"I'd rather get backstabbed by humans than to willingly trust a dark elf like you," Leona snarled. "Your kind are trying to plunge the world into darkness, then have it be overwhelmed by demons ravaging everyone and desecrating their land."
"We were fighting for the freedom of every dark elf on the continent, when no one would! And look who's talking! Regardless of what argument you brought before, I'm the one free outside, and you're the one stuck behind a cell like a slave! You deserve this for not just kidnapping me but also killing all my kinsmen in the past!"
"Just like how your demons killed my people! And for what? Because your queen was having a temper tantrum and couldn't resolve the issue on her own without unleashing demon hordes on the land. It's so bad that she was even abandoned by her own kind! Nidalievier wants nothing to do with her!"
"My queen wasn't abandoned! She willingly distanced herself to not have your kind and humans wage war against Nidavelir! To make sure there was at least one haven for dark elves still standing!" Chloe shouted back, their voices growing in volume with each passing second.
Clearly, neither of them liked each other; that much was clear. Chloe's patience was reaching its limit; she wasn't even caring about the volume in this room at this point. Taking a moment to catch her breath, she marshaled her feelings and stopped screaming.
She was not in the mood to argue any further. Thus, the blonde turned around, intending to walk away and leave her to her fate... it wouldn't be long before this place wasn't safe anymore, a shame, Chloe thought as she looked around at all the prison cells still filled with all those slaves; she had wanted to at least free them, but now she had no choice. She proceeded to head for the door, hoping there weren't any guards waiting for her on the other side, but stopped at the last second and looked back with a side glance, mulling her options. "I'm half the mind to just leave you to rot here and be sold off as a slave to some perverted noble. I'm pretty sure that, given your looks, you're in high demand. Someone will buy you in a matter of days, if not less."
"You don't need to tell me that; I am aware of what tends to happen to my kind. So just shut up and get on with it," Leona told her. "Say what you want to say rather than wasting my time."
Chloe turned around. "...What would you say if I said I can free you from this prison? Would you be interested in working together to get out of here?"
Rather than looking happy, Leona just grew more suspicious as she watched her. "What's the catch? What do I have to sacrifice or pay?" she warned. "Don't think that I will agree that easily. Pretty sure that I made it clear that I will never swear allegiance to Olga or her cause."
"That's fine, I don't care if we're allies," Chloe said bluntly. "In fact, I would never accept a person like you as an ally. My only offer is to just open this prison cell. What you do afterwards is not my concern. As long as you create havoc while you're out, I couldn't ask for anything more."
"...Why?" Leona asked. After a clear pause, she added. "You have more to gain by leaving me here. What's the point of trying to save your enemy? I'll repeat myself, just because you freed me, does not mean I will join your side, dark elf."
Chloe's hands tightened into fists, taking a slow breath to rein in her temper. "Don't get the wrong idea. The last thing I want is someone like you joining my queen, only to betray us like humans. My hatred for Mandeville outweighs my hatred for you. I hope you feel the same. I'd free you and every single one of my enemies if I could just put a dent in his disgusting business. But before I free you, I must know how you got yourself in this mess to begin with. From what I've heard on the outside, you should have been locked in Fullstar's royal palace, not here, to most likely be sold."
The lycan shook her head. "I guess you heard everything from that human you seem to be so fond of. After I agreed to hand myself over in exchange for the safety of my men, I was mostly locked up in the dungeon and forgotten by everyone. I didn't give any intel as I still had my pride as a mercenary to consider, and my men followed my lead. My captors didn't overstep their bounds, and for a while it seems like they were keeping their end of the bargain... at least, that's what I thought at the beginning, but then some men came into my cell, knocked me out as my men raged, and the next thing I remember is waking up here with Mandeville looking down at me."
"Then does that mean the Queen handed you over to him?"
Leona shrugged, "Who knows. I was half expecting a brat like her to order me to be hanged, but then again... It's Mandeville. He must have pulled some strings to get me. It's not exactly a hidden secret - him having lots of influence with the Royal family, and it's been going on for a long time. Besides, I don't want to go back to that hellhole. I doubt I'll even be able to survive for long with all those 'things' crawling around."
"Why am I not surprised? You can't expect better from these light elves."
Leona rolled her eyes, "I am aware of the feud between you elves, but it doesn't help that your queen's actions merely added timber to the fire and caused resentment from all sides. They needed payback, and he probably provided them with the means."
"Then does that mean the Queen is..."
"Beats me."
Finally, Chloe sighed, coming to a decision after listening to Leona, and nodded her head. The information about Mandeville's influence with the Royal family could be useful to Archer.
She turned around to head out, but stopped before taking a step. "Who's keeping the keys to your cell?" she asked, her voice devoid of its earlier anger, now all business.
"The other guard, but don't kill him if you're going for it. They have some interesting information that can be useful if we play our cards right."
"Humph."
Their conversation ended after a scoff, with another sound of footsteps coming down the stairs as the second guard must have returned to check up on his partner. Looking back at Leone, the two just stared at each other, and wordlessly, she exited the cell room.
This earned a small grin from the Lycan.
{Break}
-Royal Palace-
Archer walked toward the end of the hallway, both wary and hopeful that nothing wrong was about to happen. As he pushed open the door leading to the bedroom where he had put Maia, he came upon the sound of a certain someone he was pretty sure he told to stay in the guest area when he brought her back to the castle along with Kaguya. Walking inside, he was relieved to see the redhead, whose eyes had been closed for so long, had now finally opened them. She looked a bit weaker and thinner than usual, but no longer in a coma. Sitting on her bed was none other than Astrid in her pink dress, sitting right next to her, talking to her shyly. Radomira sat beside the redhead's other side, making sure she was alright as she changed the wet cloth on her head.
And as for Mistiora, she just kept her distance and sat on the other side of the room, watching the group in silence. Being the first to notice him, she greeted him with a slight head nod after he entered. The mercenary warrior and the studious mage continued their discussion, unbothered by his entry as Maia spoke dryly and weakly.
"Wow, that's incredible. You might actually pull off creating a Philosopher's Stone," Maia said weakly, her voice still dry from disuse. "Kin was researching those too, though he never shared why. Typical of him to keep everything close to the chest. I had no idea they were so powerful though." She paused, taking a shallow breath. "Would've been damn useful when we were fighting the Dark Queen's forces. Could've saved a lot of lives with something like that."
"Kin from the Kuroinu? I heard rumors that he was once hailed as a genius first-class mage, one of the best among the humans. I never imagined him to be interested in the Philosopher's Stone. D-Did he leave behind any books or research I can use? Please, I'll pay any price to get my hands on those!"
Maia smirked, a particular glint appearing on her face which she immediately hid before Astrid could notice, making sure not to reveal her hand by accident. "Eeeh, I don't know. It's been such a long time, and due to several reasons like them betraying me and with Kin's study being so far away... I might just forget about it. Maybe it's not worth the effort. I'm pretty sure you'll find better here in the library."
"F-Fifty silver coins!" The girl just blurted out the number, but the Princess Knight didn't budge and kept shaking her head.
"I'm sorry, it's not a matter of price, but it's just too much effort to be worth it."
"Two gold coins!" and as expected, Astrid, who had reached the brink of desperation, didn't hesitate to increase the number despite him being pretty certain that she didn't even have even a fraction of the prior offering, let alone this one.
'She better not start entertaining the idea of selling her body or something as ridiculous again.' Not trusting her, given how eccentric mage researchers could get, both in his world and this one, Archer decided to make his presence known by knocking against the front door.
"Don't be too hard on her, Maia, knowing her, she'll even try selling her own organs." He said casually, earning their attention. His comment only served to make Astrid flinch and look away with what appeared to be a guilty conscience. It did not take an expert to realize that she was genuinely contemplating that. "So maybe try messing with her to much."
Maia looked at him with widened eyes. He wondered just how long it had been for her the moment she fell into the coma. For him, it had been days, but for her, it could have easily been a matter of seconds or who knows how long while she was unconscious. But the way she looked at him and how her eyes were growing misty made him wonder if she also felt a longer passage of time than he did, somehow.
"Whoa... You've changed." Were the first words she said, making him raise an eyebrow as he crossed his arms.
"Changed? It's only been a day or two. I haven't exactly had time for me to change." He rolled his eyes, though the corner of his mouth twitched slightly. "Whatever you think you're seeing is probably just the aftereffects of that coma scrambling your brain. Trust me, I'm as charming and insufferable as ever."
The woman shook her head, "No, I'm not, something about you 'definitely' changed. I just can't put my finger on it right now, but you look more at ease with yourself rather than more jumpy than usual."
"We can figure that out another time, but for now, I'm just glad to see you're doing well, Maia."
A beautiful smile bloomed on her face, "Felt like I had been gone for years rather than a few days." She shook her head with a tired grin. "But two days, huh? I went to sleep for a little while, and the first thing I see waking up are a pair massive tits I've ever seen. Gotta admit, their probably just as or biggerthan Graces. Not only that, but those heaving honkers belonged to a person who apparently is Archer's newest apprentice."
"Apprentice?"
"Bigger than mine?" Radomira asked with narrowed eyes after hearing Maia's complementing the blushing apprentice and a tone that sounded almost competitive. Going so far as to even squeeze her own chest and look back at Astrid with a dry stare. Staring at them for a few seconds, her evershifting hair once more changed color from the bright, almost pink color of being happy about Maia's recovery, to a dark violet that mirrored her now irritated face. "Tch. I'm still growing."
Archer still stared at Astrid, not even bothering to think about what was going on through Radomira's head right now. It was clear that Astrid hadn't given up on convincing him to part with some of his Material Transmutation knowledge. Being the source of attention from all three of them only served to make Astrid even more shy as she attempted to hide her head in her dress, as well as her cherry pink face.
Archer sighed. "Was that last part even necessary?"
"Not gonna comment on the apprentice part? What does this make... your second apprentice? I'm sure Brynn will be plenty worried knowing she now has competition." Maia shot back, though her grin didn't fade. "Well, I also shouldn't be surprised about this much at this point. You attract women like honey. Still, I feel like this may be a record, even beating that day you woke up at the hot spring. I wake up, and the first thing I see is 'this'. What's the story? You work pretty fast for having snared a woman this quickly. That might be a record."
"Hah, seriously though, jokes aside, welcome back, Maia," Archer said, his tone softening as he walked over to the bed. He ignored her comment and began checking her condition, his hands gently assessing her pulse and the temperature of her skin. "Whatever substance that coated that weapon nearly killed you, it wouldn't be a lie to say that you survived through pure dumb luck."
"Good thing I'm known to have amazing lu-ouch!" she winced as he pressed a spot on her arm. "Ow! You're too rough! So, are you going to answer my question? What's going on between you and the one with the big titty cutie? I won't let you weasel out of it. One of the issues I had with Vault was focusing on other women more than me!" she asked, nudging her head over and over toward Astrid, who kept blushing and descending even further as if to try and hide in her cloak; most likely not used to someone pointing out her chest size with each passing sentence.
Both Radomira and Mistiora were also watching him, clearly interested in the answer as well.
"You're overthinking things," Archer said simply. "This girl is someone working alongside Kaguya, whom I am currently helping."
Maia's eyes widened in genuine surprise. "Kaguya is here?!"
"Yes," Archer confirmed. "And it does concern something important, but I have it handled for now, along with securing Astrid's safety so she can finish her job. It concerns that priestess' lifelong enemy."
"They are here too!?" It was one surprise after another as she grew tense and tried to rise, but struggled as a wave of pain flashed through her, pushing her back down into her pillow. He did not expect her to guess so easily as she continued. "No wonder we couldn't find their lair, they've been here this entire time."
A trace of killing intent leaked from her cold face. "I still have to get back at them for attacking yo-I mean, Brynn, back then."
"They never even got to me back then, but thanks for your concern. You are not in any form to start a fight. Leave this to me while you recover. Pushing yourself now is just begging for more trouble."
"Humph, fine!" She agreed pretty easily, though most likely after looking at his stern face and realizing he wasn't going to budge on this matter. Radomira adjusted her pillow to make her more comfortable, but it was clear that Maia hadn't fully finished. "But if I do get attacked, you can't stop me from being involved!"
He smiled, "Of course, but I won't let that come to be."
"As long as you understand. By the way," Maia's eyes darted between him and Astrid, a sly look on her face. She leaned in slightly toward Archer and whispered loudly, "I wonder if the two of you haven't fucked."
Astrid's face went from a light pink blush to a deep red crimson. "I-I... we... that's..." she stammered, unable to form a coherent sentence.
Archer rolled his eyes, not even looking at Maia. "Ignore Maia. She's always like this. If it's not booze or food, it's sex."
"I am not!" Maia protested, trying to push herself up. The effort proved too much, and her body gave out. She pitched forward, but Archer's arm shot out, catching her before she could hit the floor.
"Whoa, easy there," he said, carefully lifting her and setting her back on the bed. "You need to rest. You're not fully recovered yet."
"But I feel fine," Maia insisted, though her voice was weaker now. "I've been asleep forever."
"Your body went through a severe toxin attack," Archer stated firmly. "You need to give it time. Just rest."
Just then, the door opened once more, and Celestine walked in, a look of relief on her face. "I heard you were awake," she said, her voice warm as she approached the bed. She completely bypassed Archer, her focus solely on Maia.
"Celestine," Maia greeted her with a small smile.
"C-Cele-Celst-ine..." Astrid was in a state of shock as the leader of the Seven Kingdoms walked over to her, beads of sweat pouring down her face.
She grew even stiffer as the high elf knelt beside the bed, placing a hand on Maia's forehead. "...You're doing well, but it's not completely gone."
Archer watched them, a frown forming on his face. He noticed that Celestine hadn't spared him a single glance from the moment she entered the room. Usually, this would count as good news, but the fact that her prior strange behavior came to his attention made such changes quite odd.
Before he could dwell on it, another person appeared at the door. "My lord," the messenger said, bowing slightly. "The queen is looking for you. She requests your presence in the throne room immediately."
Archer nodded. "Understood." He looked back at Maia. "Stay here and rest. All of you," he added, looking at Astrid and Radomira as well.
He turned and left the room, but Astrid still followed after him out into the hall. He could hear an "Hey!" from Radomira, who was still taking care of Maia as he made his way toward the throne room once again.
"What are you doing?"
"Um, going back to the guest area?!"
Archer glanced at Astrid walking beside him, noticing how quiet she was as her face was still a blushing mess. "What do you think of Maia?" he asked.
Astrid seemed startled by the question. "I have heard a lot about the mercenary queen and the seven Princess Knights," she said, her voice soft. "But seeing them in person has truly been an experience. I just did not expect Maia to be so...so..." Her words trailed off, unable to find the perfect one.
"Bold?" Archer chimed in. While it was one way to describe Maia, it was far to charitable in Archer's humble opinion.
"Yes," she answered with some shyness. It was clear she wanted to leave that room anyway possible to earn a breather from Maia's antics.
"She has always been like that," Archer stated. "You'll have to get used to it if you plan to keep treating her." He then changed the subject. "What were you even doing in the room?"
Astrid immediately perked up, her eyes widening as she looked at him with a panicked face, as if recalling something extremely important. "Ah, right! Archer, I was looking for you! After further research, I fine-tuned the spell I worked on to find those insects, and then-Eh!?" Her speech was immediately cut off.
A row of guards moved to surround them, their movements showing clear hostile intent. Elven soldiers emerged from side passages, their spears leveled at Archer's throat, with the man feeling his eye twitch with irritation as a sense of deja Vu started to dawn upon him for the nth time.
Archer groaned, clearly sick of this turn of events. "Not again."
"I-I-I didn't do anything! Don't kill me!" Astrid was going pale, her body swaying as if she were about to faint, still not having recovered from the previous antics of the room.
"Oi, get a hold of yourself." Archer jolted her back to reality, placing a firm hand on her shoulder. He looked ahead at the lead guard. "What is going on?"
"We were given orders by the crowned queen to apprehend you and make sure you will not escape your capture. Resist, and we will not hesitate to use force to subdue you, human. This is for the protection of our queen, as we bring you forward to stand trial before her," the guard said, his voice flat and devoid of emotion.
Having an idea of what was going on, Archer said nothing as he left Astrid following them as they led him through the castle. He arrived at an ornate and high-rise balcony overlooking a lush garden, a welcome change given he was expecting to be led into the throne room and have another uncomfortable confrontation with that brat queen. Well... half of that turned out to be true. Queen Evelyn seemed to be enjoying her time with some tea on a white chair, as she received shoulder massages from a pair of attendants. It wasn't just them, as several elves dressed in noble garbs were by her side, discussing various things. But the moment she saw him, the latter immediately got to her feet, her face contorted in rage - pointing a finger directly at him.
And thus the uncomfortable conversation started.
"What the hell is wrong with you?!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, even surprising the two attendants and all the other elves around her. "With so much commotion going on in my kingdom, it's impossible to relax and drink tea. I've got word that you were at the center of it and destroying my city's property! Despite having welcomed you so generously, for your actions, I could easily have you hanged! You took my kindness for granted! Even Eve had to go there and clean up after your mess!"
"Honestly, I had no intention of causing the incident we're discussing. I was just helping out Princess Knight Kaguya and the associate of hers I brought with me, the disciple mage Astrid, with some matters related to a common enemy we have. But as it turns out, they also had plans to engage us, and before I knew it I was fighting and killing their insect familiars sent by the people of the Insect God cult to attack us," Archer said calmly, Not even bothering to hide anything of what had occurred since he wasn't told to keep it a secret. "But I made sure to keep the damage to the surroundings as small as possible."
Evelyn looked confused by the mention of the Insect God cult. One of the elderly elves standing next to her, a man with a long white beard and ornate robes, came over and whispered something in her ear. Archer could not hear everything the old man said, but it immediately made Evelyn make an "oh" sound with her mouth.
"That group... that the priestess is fighting against," she muttered to herself as she continued to listen, but suddenly her face morphed into shock and repulsion. "A-Ah, disgusting! Ew! Don't go into details I don't need to hear, idiot!"
"I-I beg for forgiveness, I was just trying to include every important information."
"Shut up!"
"Yes!"
Wow, even though he didn't know this man's name, he already felt sorry for him, as Evelyn kicked him in the knee, though it looked like it barely did anything.
This kind of reaction confused Archer, aside from making her look even more like a brat - she really didn't know anything. The Queen put on an arrogant face and adopted a mocking tone. "You're fighting a bunch of idiots who can barely control insects, and you're having so much trouble?" she sneered. "I should have expected such a thing from a human. Weren't you supposed to be the one who killed the Kuroinu and that barbarian Vault? Or does this prove that those mercenaries working for Celestine were a bunch of weaklings to begin with? That high elf shouldn't have relied on those humans in the first place."
Aside from the comment about the Kuroinu, the way she worded her prior words
made it sound like she didn't see this group as a threat at all.
He shrugged, "Can't say, I did have an easier time taking you as a hostage. Despite your best guards being around, so who knows?" Not his best taunts, but it sure was more than enough to enrage the girl to the point her entire face went crimson red.
"What!? How dar-Hold on, you're distracting me!" Evelyn proceeded to just wave one of her arms furiously as the other pointed at him. "Why the hell would you need to cause so much destruction just to kill a few insects? The damage doesn't match the threat! You're clearly trying to cause chaos and unrest in my kingdom! I do not want to see the same kind of chaos happening in the seven kingdoms also happen in Feoh! It took close to a millennium for those Princess Knights to finally take down that Dark Queen! I will not have a new maniac wreaking havoc in my kingdom instead."
Archer weighed the futility of reasoning with her. This queen clearly wasn't going to take him seriously, but he couldn't just walk away. If the cult escaped the city, they'd face something far worse than property damage. He met her gaze with cold intensity, dropping all pretense of diplomacy. "You need to take the Insect God cult seriously," he said flatly. "Unless watching your entire kingdom burn to ash sounds appealing to you."
As one would expect, Evelyn scoffed at his response. "The Royal Kingdom of Fullstar will not fear a bunch of fanatics who pray to an Insect God, nor fear a bunch of vermin that can only scutter around in crevices. Why Kaguya and Celestine even fear these people is beyond me. Just so you know, the Seven Kingdoms are nothing in comparison to the might of Fullstar, but still, they should be more than capable of dealing with such disgusting vermin."
"As much as I would have liked for it to be otherwise, these Insect God cult people can do more than just summon insects," Archer pressed. "They are behind calling forth an entity that should have never been here in the first place." He then looked around at the guards and attendants. "Could we talk alone? Given what I'm about to say is sensitive."
Evelyn looked at him with disgust. "If you think I'm an idiot, you're mistaken. I would never be alone with you, or else you would surely try to do horrible things to me."
"Then what if I were to also be present?" A new voice entered the conversation as Celestine arrived at the balcony, stepping forward. "Like this, it won't be just you and Archer."
Evelyn looked between them, her expression one of deep reluctance. After a long moment, she sighed. "Fine." She waved a hand at the guards and attendants. "Everyone out, except for him. Adam is my advisor, so he stays with us! Just like with Eve, I have no secrets to hide from him, so he will listen but not speak unless it's to counsel me." As they filed out, except for one bearded old elf, Celestine took a seat in one of the ornate chairs on the balcony across the table from Evelyn. The high elf then looked at Archer, who had walked closer to the table. "Is this about the Insect God cult?"
Archer nodded.
Celestine turned to face her fellow elven queen. "Evelyn, Archer is telling the truth. The Insect God cult is a dangerous group. They should be feared alone for their operations, consisting of kidnapping people to be turned into food for their brood or wombs to create more of those creatures and should be dealt with at once. Sadly, they have proven to be quite evasive, and it has caused us no end of stress; I am certain Kaguya especially so. But currently, what concerns us isn't what they have done with their insects, but rather because they have recently gained the attention of an entity not from this world."
"Eh?"
Celestine sipped her cup of tea, taking a few seconds while Evelyn and her advisor, Adam, processed, concerned as they waited for her to continue. "Yes, quite a while ago, this cult managed to gain the attention of an entity beyond our world. It wouldn't be accurate to call it a god, but instead a monster on the level of a god. Its sole purpose is to erase everything as we know now or grant us a fate even worse; an apocalyptic path that will destroy not just the Seven Kingdoms but yours and every other on this planet."
"Seriously? What are you saying? A being from another world has come to end us all?" The elf queen just gave Celestine a questioning look, but fear was evident.
"I know it may be hard to believe me. But trust me when I say that I really wish it were a joke. Several of the incidents that happened within the Seven Kingdoms, even now, warn us all of that creature. It is called a Beast, and it seems to be attracted to large quantities of evil and sin. However, when it arrived here, it did so in a severely weakened state, which ensured the worst-case scenario did not occur at the time. If the Beast were to be left alone, then not only would it regain its power, but no one here would be able to stop it. It has the ability to corrupt the minds of even the most loyal of people. Not even my sisters, or in your people's belief, the goddess... Not even they may be able to stop her."
"It came from the world I'm from," Archer added, still debating whether or not he should reveal his full origin, but then recalled who they were talking to, and decided not to do so, instead only deciding on giving the general points. "I was sent here to stop it, but even so, my strength isn't enough if it reaches full power. I have seen what your people are capable of, and I can tell that you all won't stand a chance to stop it, let alone kill it."
"Archer is right, I know it's hard to believe us, Evelyn. But I swear on my name and title as the goddess Reborn that this is the truth. I ask you to trust my counsel on this."
Despite this not being the appropriate time to think of such things, he couldn't help but take notice that she still called him Archer. But then quickly shook his head.
Listening to her words, even Archer had to admit that they were difficult to believe if he were in Evelyn's shoes. A monster and a hero from another world came here to battle for the fate of it. It sounded like one of those early Isekai stories he'd read about, but unlike that, this was real. Seeing as he also had a few things to add, he continued.
"The reason why we could not let Shamuhaza and his cult continue existing is the fact that they may be conducting the same ritual as we speak, the same kind of practice that attracted the Beast in the first place. Beasts are attracted to and are born by large amounts of concentrated evil and sin, and are realized by taking the title of the strongest beings on a planet. The mere fact that your world didn't attract any prior attention is a testament to how much sin and evil that cult committed. One of these creatures is already beyond this world's capabilities, and the only thing keeping her in check is her own weakened state, which is only temporary. But if another one shows up, then not even a miracle would be able to save us all."
He didn't mention how it was usually human evil that birthed the Beast; considering Evelyn's obvious superiority over the other races, he felt that it wouldn't be taken seriously as a result. Still, just because a Beast was born from humanity, that doesn't mean those who weren't humans couldn't become Beasts, as other races could become so too. There were also the Beasts of Gaia to consider, which were a whole different matter entirely.
Maybe this world would have also ended up creating something similar if the "Cuntry" had come to pass. Though a condition for a Beast was also to claim the title of strongest and filled with love, so if there was something stronger in this world that fulfilled the requirements...well, if that was the case, they wouldn't be in their current position.
Unless, for some reason, it was out of commission.
After they finished explaining, Evelyn and her advisor, Adam, stood there in shock as they took in the info. At first, they were confused and then shocked, but as her advisor grew horrified, Eveln's face became bewildered. A moment later, it broke into a loud, booming laugh. She slapped her thighs, her body shaking with mirth. "Celestine, you have a strange sense of humor!" she managed to say between fits of giggles, clearly not having believed a single word.
Adam, in shock, attempted to address his queen. "My-My lady..."
Evelyn's laughter subsided, replaced by a look of severe condescension. "I have endured being in the presence of this fake goddess, despite your existence going against the royal family's beliefs," she said, her eyes landing on Celestine. "But I will not just stand here and be made a fool of by believing that some random monster that's on the level of a god, from another world of all places, just came here because of the Insect God cult. To suggest such a creature could pose a threat to my kingdom, blessed by the protection of the true goddess, is a statement that would be met with execution."
Celestine, saddened, looked at Archer and shook her head, wordlessly telling him that there was no point in trying to convince her. They didn't have any proof, not until the entity actually arrived. All they currently had was their word as the Beast had only launched attacks in the Seven Kingdoms, and if they couldn't convince her with that, then...
Evelyn continued, her tone dismissive. "Speaking of which, now that the redhead has awakened, nothing is keeping you in Fullstar anymore. You should be leaving my kingdom immediately."
"I am more than happy with that outcome as I would prefer to return to fighting it," Archer said, "but I cannot do so before I have dealt with the Insect God cult. I need to make sure they don't bring forth another Beast. Whether you believe it or not.
"Again with that excuse! Even if I were to use my troops to drive you out?" Evelyn challenged.
"You're welcome to try," Archer replied. "It might lead to me using you as a shield once more. I might start thinking that you're into that."
"Shut up! I've had enough, seize h-eh?"
The old man leaned closer to Evelyn, his lips barely moving as he whispered urgently in her ear. With each word, her eyebrows knitted tighter together, her mouth twisting into a grimace as though she were swallowing something bitter. She drummed her fingers impatiently against her arm, shooting Archer a venomous glare before finally throwing her hands up.
"Hah... damn it! Fine," she snapped, nostrils flaring. "Two days. That's all you get. If this Insect God cult nonsense isn't wrapped up by then, I'll have my guards drag you to the border in chains. And don't think I won't enjoy watching it." She straightened her posture, chin lifted in royal defiance. "Consider yourself lucky Adam has a soft spot for Celestine's judgment. Now get out of my sight before I change my mind."
{Break}
After the conversation, both Archer and Celestine walked away. It was hard to say whether or not anything good came out of this conversation; if anything, this did nothing but frustrate the Counter Guardian even further.
Archer was in thought on what their next move should be. Evelyn, despite her immeture brattyness, was right. With Maia now awake, he would not have hesitated to leave on the same day and go back to Fullstar. But the matters with the cult made leaving those people alone a big mistake that could come back and bite him in the ass.
He already dealt with that too many times to not a see a pattern.
But while he comptiplated the situation, the high elf next to him chuckled. "That went better than I imagined."
"Did it?" Archer asked, bewildered as he did not get that vibe from the conversation.
"Yes, it did," Celestine said. "Evelyn didn't try to kill you again or throw you into a dungeon."
"I've already gotten used to that treatment. She wouldn't have liked the results from doing so either way."
"Still, I'm surprised that she even took the time to talk to you in person and was so calm," Celestine mused.
"How does that count as calm? For half the time, she looked ready to tear my head off," Archer countered.
"That's still considered quite odd for Evelyn," the Goddess Reborn insisted. She then started to question with a hint of suspicion, "Is she starting to behave like this because of you? You have been quite firm with her."
"Don't you start repeating the same thing like Maia. All I'm doing is making sure you guys are on the up and up." Archer added while looking directly into her eyes. "Besides, Evelyn is not the only one behaving weirdly."
Celestine stuttered, looking away slightly, averting his gaze. "I... I don't know what you are talking about." She tried to act nonchalant, her acting better than most, but still she failed. "I am feeling perfectly fine."
Unable to ignore his curiosity, he got in front of her, stopping her in her tracks. "Funny, I didn't mention it was you. But now that you brought it up, what happened when I was out today? You're even calling me Archer rather than Shirou like you usually do."
Celestine's face turned red. He could practically hear her breathing become deeper, her body tensing up as she surprisingly tried to take a step back. "Really? That I did not notice..."
"...You didn't notice?" he squinted at her.
"Shouldn't that be a good thing?" She tried to say. "Because you didn't like the way she called you before."
He agreed with her with an instant nod, almost glad to hear her, of all people, acknowledge that fact. "It is, but I'm feeling suspicious about the reason for this change. I want to think it's a good one, but given how stubborn you have been throughout all this time, it's quite unnatural for you to switch so suddenly."
She put on a forced smile. "Perhaps I am tired of being disliked by you and want to make an effort to change. After all, the sooner we get along, the sooner we can journey forth together."
It was funny, he thought, that as logical as her answer sounded, it felt like a lie. If that were the case, she would have come to that realization much earlier. The timing felt wrong. Something was at play here. But then again, it was working in his favor, so maybe he shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. Maybe the woman was trying to get on his good side, plain and simple.
Celestine then asked, "If in the beginning we were to meet for the first time and my approach would have been a bit different, would you-?" She immediately cut herself off, hesitating, then shook her head. "Never mind."
"What is it?"
"It's nothing." She then asked, "One day, will you be willing to visit me at the kingdom of Geofu? You did so for the others. I want to show you that place."
Still feeling something was off, Archer decided to answer honestly as he once more resumed walking. "Why not? If it's just a visit, then I wouldn't mind checking it out. But only if you keep acting as understanding as you are now."
Celestine showed a beautiful smile that could pull on anyone's heartstrings to the point of giving them a heart attack as her face turned even redder than before. "You will enjoy it. I'll make sure of it."
"Will see-"
"Ah, Archer!"
Their conversation was interrupted by Astrid's voice calling his name. Both found her in front of them, where Archer had previously left her, still surrounded by guards, on the verge of a breakdown, with tears falling down her face. Apparently, they had not budged since. Celestine dismissed them, telling them that the conversation with the queen went smoothly. The guards dispersed, leaving the poor girl to sink to the ground, "Uuuuh! I thought... I thought I was going to be hanged," she sobbed, her voice muffled. "My dream... I thought I'd never be able to create the stone anymore!"
"Is that all you're thinking about ALL DAY?" Rolling his eyes, Archer couldn't help but ask.
"If I had the Philosopher's Stone with me, I would have survived even if they pierced me with spears!"
"That wasn't my point," he said, but then decided to just leave the subject. "What were you going to ask me earlier?"
She said with shock, "Ah! R-Right! The spell I was working on to find those insects of the Insect God cult... it activated!"
This surprised both Archer and Celestine.
"Are you sure?" Archer asked.
"One hundred percent!" she said, showcasing it by activating the spell. A dim floating light bulb appeared, glowing a faint orange color. "After getting all those samples, I managed to refine it so that it will react to the pheromones released specifically by those creatures in particular. Pheromones that are not normally found in regular insects but instead have a unique magical signature. The denser they are, the more the light will change. If it's pure white, there are none around us. If there is even a single one, it will change to a faint yellow."
"Since this is orange, that means there are more than just a few," Archer stated.
"Most likely,"
For it to happen inside the Palace...
"What should we do now?" Celestine asked worriedly.
"Does it just detect the presence, or do we have a location?" Archer asked.
"It's not an accurate location, but I can sense the general direction from the spell itself," Astrid explained. "But I believe it's not perfectly calibrated yet."
"Why?" Archer asked.
"Because... the spell is telling me that it's coming from below."
"Below?" Hearing that answer, Archer immediately touched the wall, using structural analysis to get a map of the entire palace in his mind. Aside from the main structure, there were hidden tunnels and passages. What lay below were mostly several empty cells from the dungeons. "The dungeons."
Meanwhile, Celestine mentioned, "We should inform Evelyn about this as soon as possible."
But Archer hesitated, something which she caught on instantly.
"Archer?"
Archer exhaled slowly, his jaw tightening. "I'm done playing royal court games," he said, voice hardened by frustration. "Even if we run back to Evelyn with this information, she'll just wave it away like everything else. These insects didn't end up here by chance. Maia and the others might be in more danger than I thought." He crossed his arms, eyes narrowing. "After what I've seen throughout the Seven Kingdoms, I'd bet good money someone in Evelyn's inner circle is feeding information to the cult. A spy wearing a loyal face. If we bring this to her with that person present, they'll just twist her ear against us." He shook his head decisively. "I'm finished with the political runaround. No more wasted breath."
Celestine's brow furrowed with concern. "Archer, think this through. If you bypass her authority and take matters into your own hands, Evelyn won't see it as initiative-she'll see it as an attack. She'll turn her entire military against us."
"Let her," he said as he rolled his shoulders. "This is not the first time I've dealt with a situation like this. Clearly, words are not working. I'm not going to hurt her, just show her; showing her would be much better than our words as proof. I'd rather face an army on my own than another potential Beast. Let's go."
The three backtracked to the balcony where they saw the queen indulging herself once more, this time with sweet treats, her cheeks filled with cake. As she saw them, shock painted her face, eyes wide at the sudden intrusion, as a piece of cake that was on her fork fell on her dress.
Archer didn't waste any time, "Forgive us for the intrusion, but a certain issue has come up. We have just discovered the location of some of those insects thanks to Astrid's spell. But it's coming from below the castle of all places. You asked for proof, right? Grant us access to the lower levels, and we'll show you just how dangerous these things really are."
Chaos spurred throughout the advisors by the sudden revelation, but a shocked Evelyn, who tried to speak, was unable to talk clearly; her words were muffled by the cake in her mouth, but they could understand she was angry and looked around at her advisors to speak for her. An old bald elven man was first to speak in her stead.
"Impudence! The queen has already given you enough time to explain yourself and has given her verdict on the matter! Do not start wandering around our palace without permission and order us around as if you have any power!"
Archer sighed. "Forget it. We don't have time for this. The sooner you see it for yourself, the sooner we can have this matter settled. You can try and punish me afterwards." He walked over, ignoring the guard elves, and grabbed her by the shoulder. Then, with one quick lift, he put her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, to the shock of the nearby guards and advisors who threatened him.
"My Queen!"
"Get your hands off her!"
"Sound the alarm!"
The guards were about to attack him, only for all of them to freeze in place when swords appeared mid-air, nearly touching their necks.
"Ah!"
Archer warned them, "If you want to live, you'd better not move a muscle. I will bring the Queen back in a bit." He walked away to the surrounding elves' utter shock and rebukes at his current course of events. As the trio left for the hallways, Evelyn finally swallowed the last bits of cake in her mouth before finally addressing him herself.
"Not again! Who do you take me for, you brute!?" Evelyn's words echoed across the hallway. Each time another guard would show up, the same cycle would follow.
They would show up, see what he was doing, and try to attack him and apprehend him before following the same fate as those before. Either frozen in place by a shadow pierced by a Black Key or struck on the back of the head by a blunt sword. Though it did take more effort not to wound them too much, given he did not want to cause a bloodbath just to prove a point.
Given how quickly this all occurred, it took a while before the alarm sounded, and the entire force didn't even have time to mobilize before Archer and the rest found themselves making their way down the stairs to the dungeons with Evelyn starting to cry on his back.
"Disgusting! This place smells. Never in my life have I so much as set foot in this rat field place, and now you dare bring me here against my will? So Shameless! You have tainted me!"
"..."
Aside from being a bratty Queen, she sure was quite dramatic as well. Knowing it would be best for him to keep his silence rather than try to confront her, Archer continued until they reached the underground space before them. Archer broke the dungeon entrance door with a traced sword, and immediately, a foul odor assaulted his nose.
"Ugh!" Not even he, but even the others recoiled at the stench, and right as he reached the bottom floor, a particular sight greeted his eyes.
"Oi, elf, isn't the dungeon supposed to be a place where you keep your prisoners?"
"It is, and SOON IT WILL BE YOUR NEW HOME! Unhand me right now!" She continued to struggle until he flipped her and ended up grabbing the girl by the collar of her clothes, picking her up like a stray kitten, and having her face the space before him. "If that's the case, then where are the so-called prisoners?"
"...Ah..."
Finally, Evelyn went quiet as she stared at the space in front of her that just like what he said, was empty. Every single cell that was supposed to house all of those who went against the crown was now empty. In fact, it looked like no one had been locked up inside a few of them for ages.
"Also, I distinctly recall the leader of the white wolves surrendering to you in exchange for the safety of her and her men. Eve said they would be imprisoned here, yet I don't see a trace of them as well."
"..."
She had no answers to give, not that it mattered to him, for he had concluded at this very moment.
Fullstar was just as rotten on the inside as the Seven Kingdoms were when the Kuroinu were still alive.
This conclusion gained more weight as his ears picked up the sound of several creatures scuttering closer from all around them.
"Astrid... how long does your spell last?"
Perhaps they could get done with this entire thing once and for all today. At least he hoped so.
{Break}
-Feoh-
Brynn was never one to boast about any abilities when it came to spying and covert missions. At the end of the day, she still was a Knight at heart, but now with a more refined edge with Archer's help. She did not gain mastery over a new trade in a matter of days; her ways of approaching any problems didn't differ technically, but she did always take more time to think them out thoroughly before.
Which was why her mind remained stuck trying to figure out what had occurred back then with Klaus and how to approach this issue in a way that won't cause misunderstandings. Doing all of this brainstorming while carrying a stack of papers and placing them on Alicia's table.
"You have to be kidding me! More!?" Safe to say, the blonde Princess Knight was less than pleased, sitting with an arch on her back, no longer able to maintain the proper posture due to pure exhaustion and spending countless nights just signing one document after the other and correcting all the piled-up mistakes that had been overlooked in her kingdom for the past few years, if not decades. "Didn't Sophie say she would take care of the majority of the paperwork? What happened to her? Don't tell me she feels sick-please don't be sick... I don't think Feoh can survive a week without her."
Hearing such words come out of THE Alicia sure did shock Brynn even now. The Princess Knight from her memories would have never said such things, and much less admit the kingdom being kept alive because of the effort of someone else so easily - especially when that someone had only been present for a short amount of time. Brynn sadly needed to burst her theory bubble.
"She did take the majority of the paperwork. This is just what she has finished working on and sent them here for your signature and stamp. Please don't get discouraged, Lady Alicia, only nine more of these to go and you'll be done for the day!"
After Brynn explained that the paperwork was only a fraction of what she needed to sign, Alicia fell into despair at the thought of dealing with more paperwork. "You can't be serious... this must be some sick twisted nightmare. Prim must have slipped some kind of sleeping potion in my drink so that I can stop overworking myself. Hah, what am I even saying? She wouldn't do that." She whispered to Brynn, "If Sophie weren't here, I would have been buried under a mountain of paperwork. Don't tell me Beardsley had to do this all the time?! This volume of documents could drive anyone crazy."
Brynn gave a sympathetic look as she listened to Alicia's sorrowful and stressed statements.
Alicia leaned back in her chair, rubbing her temples. Lately wearing less and less of her usual armor wear, the apparel discarded and instead now replaced with more comfortable casual robes... that just so happened to be red with accents of royal blue. Brynn was not sure if she was being a bit too paranoid over nothing or if this hinted at something deeper.
Alicia continued. "How did Beardsley even manage all of this while being around me whenever I needed him? I barely have any breathing room for myself, let alone someone else."
She wasn't sure whether to say it or not, though, seeing her spiral, she figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to do so. Brynn hesitated for a moment before saying what was on her mind. "Um... Lady Alicia, you may be giving the man just a bit too much credit. Granted, he managed the city and kept it alive, but our current circumstances... I-it may be because he was never addressing so many things," she suggested gently.
Alicia raised her head to focus on Brynn, who saw it as her signal to continue. "I've been in Feoh longer than I've worn this uniform, Lady Alicia, and what I remember isn't pretty. Parts of the kingdom were falling apart, people without food, families kicked out of their homes, buildings either collapsing or seized for taxes. You never saw it because the knights were deliberately steering you away from those streets. They'd build fancy new structures to block the view of the crumbling ones behind them." Brynn's voice grew quieter. "Feoh always looked spotless from your vantage point, but that was the trick. Beardsley wasn't solving problems; he was just getting better at hiding them. He chose the appearance of prosperity over actually fixing anything."
It wasn't until she opened her eyes that the brunette noticed that her words were making Alicia more depressed than earlier, which wasn't her goal!
"A-Ah, I mean! B-But it is different now, since you are actually doing a very good job at listening to your people and trying your best to manage your kingdom. I mean, there may still be people who are still skeptical about your efforts. Especially after they tried to get you to listen for so long, but it won't be long before they see the changes."
Alicia flinched. "That bad, huh? I know that all already too well. Archer had told me, but hearing it from someone else does hammer it in further." Alicia looked uncertain. "Still, I don't know about that...I used to scorn those looks they gave me, thinking they didn't have any real reason to complain. I wouldn't describe it as if I wasn't seeing it, but maybe I just didn't care for it. Beadsley may have led my sight away, but I didn't mind it."
"Lady Alicia..."
"Now, considering what I know, what I'm seeing, I wouldn't be surprised if they all decided hang me. Can we really just move on and focus on repair now? After all the death my actions have caused?"
"...I insist that this is the case," Brynn said firmly. "No, we must make it the case; we won't be able to go forward. Perhaps we could bring on more people you trust to help out with the paperwork, and speed things along."
"No," Alicia shot that idea down instantly, her voice surprisingly resolute on that matter. "I don't want to repeat the same mistake in the past with Beardsley. Handing someone else my own responsibilities should have never been an option. I want... no, I need to do this myself. I need to take responsibility for my sins. A few sleepless nights are nothing compared to so many others I slept through that I let pass by, and because of that, others have suffered. I ignored my duties for far too long."
"I understand," Brynn said, her tone softening. "But it is also crucial for the people to have a strong leader who presents a strong image. You represent the kingdom after all."
She expected to see a positive response to that, but instead, Alicia's shoulders slumped. "Image, huh. I'm uncertain I can be that image. It would be easier if Archer were here, ah, d-don't tell him I said that! I want to show him that I can manage!"
Brynn nodded in agreement. "It would." A moment of silence passed between them before Brynn spoke again. "Is there anything I can help you with, Lady Alicia?"
"Oh, right! Claudia agreed to help me with a few stacks of paperwork herself and promised to relieve some of the burdens when it came to handling my duties of training my Knights. Can you head over and give this to her? Here, it has all the information of the Knights under my command." Alicia finished handing the document to her.
Taking the paper, Brynn wasted no time nodding her head, "Consider it done. I'll take my leave now, Lady Alicia."
"Of course," Alicia murmured, already looking at the next stack of papers with dread.
The papers in Brynn's hands felt insignificant compared to the thoughts occupying her mind. As she walked the castle corridors, her focus wasn't on bringing the documents to their destination but instead once more going back to what had happened a few days ago.
'Something is not right with Sir Klaus lately.' His recent behavior had been normal to any bystanders, but she remembered the way he had flinched when Claudia clapped him on the shoulder, a gesture they had shared countless times before. He had covered it with a mumbled excuse about being tired, but she had seen it.
'He's hiding something,' she thought. The idea settled uncomfortably. Her self-elected duty right now was to aid the Princess Knights in Feoh and defend the security of their new order. A problem with one of their most trusted inner circles was a problem for everyone. If he was compromised, she needed to know.
Claudia's house was just ahead, the door slightly ajar. This was the perfect excuse.
Taking a breath, Brynn forced her expression into one of calm professionalism. With this, Brynn heads over to Claudia's place. The sun was nearly setting, casting long, distorted shadows that clung to the buildings like dark stains.
'Is Lady Claudia doing well?' Brynn wondered as she walked. 'It's strange for her to be so quiet. Where is she, anyway-ah!"
The girl jumped, flinching as soon as the floor beneath her feet creaked, the permeating silence making that sound even louder than it should have been. She shook her head. 'No, stop it! You should be able to do this alone. Don't be weak.'
The place felt creepy at night. Another floorboard creaked under her foot, followed by another creek coming from somewhere else, and this time her hand flew to the hilt of her sword. Nearly pulling it out and then realizing what she was doing.
'Get a grip, Brynn. It's just a house.'
She made sure her footsteps made as little noise on the wooden floor as possible, her goal to find Claudia's office... Which did not take a lot of time, as she had been there before. Upon facing the door, she started knocking, but no answer came from the other side. "L-Lady Claudia?"
Calling her name proved to be pointless, and instead, the door opened ever so slightly, making her see that no one was even inside, and the place was also dark without any light. Placing the papers on the table, she wondered if the Princess Knight had gone to sleep early. "I suppose it shouldn't be a shock, with so much going on, she must be exhausted. Hm?" But then her ears picked up a faint noise from the courtyard outside, followed by a brief flash of light.
'What was that?'
At first, she wondered if her eyes had deceived her. Curiously, she moved next to the window, peering through it.
She saw the shadows of two people in the garden. The trees, their branches like skeletal fingers in the dim light, made it difficult to make out who they were. But the shapes were clear enough. One was undoubtedly Klaus, and the other...
"-!"
The face of that creature from that last time she managed to catch a glimpse of the surface of the pond resurfaced. Seeing it now made her even more certain that it wasn't just her imagination!
'What are they doing together?'
Suddenly, one of the shadows' heads jerked around in her direction. "Shit!" Brynn flinched back, quickly hiding behind the heavy curtain, her breath caught in her throat. She pressed herself against the wall, the rough texture of the stone a small comfort.
'Don't be a fool! They couldn't possibly see you. The room is dark. You're just being paranoid.' She took a slow, steadying breath, trying to calm the frantic beating of her heart. After a moment, she risked another glance.
But she was surprised to see that one of the shadows was gone. Only the feminine one remained, sitting gracefully and sipping from a cup of wine as if nothing had happened.
'Where did he go? He was just there...'
The next moment, she felt a hand grab onto her shoulder. A grave, deep voice came from directly behind her.
"It's rude to spy on people, Brynn."
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The next 5 chapters of Snafu, and my other Fate fics (Fate Coiling Sword with 3 chapters, A Fake Familiar Reborn with 3 chapters, Steel Eyed Faker soon to be 3 chapters, Taimanin with 3, Hound having 3 and To love a sword having 4 chapters) are already available on my P@treon. With 4 more Broly chapters at /NimtheWriter. Also, I post commissioned arts on each story, already posted a few on an Archer's Promise, Broly and Snafu.