Beta read and Co-written by Shigiya, Fluffy Slayer and Gamercrusher55
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-Fullstar-
(The next day)
Comparing Fullstar to the realms of the Princess Knights—be it Ansur, Rad or Feoh —was an exercise in futility. The difference was too drastic on every level. Fullstar felt like a combination of all the kingdoms' potential, refined into a singular, flawless vision.
From the balcony connected to the room he was given, positioned high within the palace's upper spires,, he looked out over the sprawling horizon of the elven seat of power.
Pristine white marble architecture radiated out from the palace, a sea of pristine stone that dwarfed the layout of Fiore twice over. From just his viewpoint, he saw past the palace's private section to the thriving kingdom with the entrances now barely being visible, even to him. This area was not divided into just three sections like Alicia's kingdom.
The memory of Fiore's rot still lingered —a systemic corruption that had very nearly orchestrated their collective downfall…
From the first moment he and his company set foot there back then, he could still remember when the first glimpse of the large slum area came into view, all of it tucked away behind the polished facade of Alicia's monuments and her armored knights. Even after the dust of battle settled and repairs began, the streets remained choked with the starving and the desperate.
Slums sprawled across the nation, hiding the misery beneath a false prosperity. Even after a month of repairs, Archer struggled to view Feoh as anything resembling a "sustainable" kingdom. Regular merchants could only scrape by while the corrupted ones and nobles thrived from the famine. He felt, though, that the weight of it had lessened. He shook his head, the former Servant of the bow's thoughts drifting towards a certain blonde knight with violet eyes. He hoped Alicia would grow, improve, and finally fix what had happened to her city, and thus, turned his attention back to Fullstar.
The contrast here was absolute.
Unlike the kingdoms under the Princess Knight's control, however, Fullstar was larger and felt more… alive.
There was no actual segregation between the poor from the rich merchants and nobles, like Feoh, at least, visibly. Fullstar was still bifurcated by a monumental wall, separating the royal sanctum from the common expanse. He saw verdant fields reminiscent of Ansur, polished stonework that mirrored the aesthetics of Rad, and spiraling towers that could have been plucked from Feoh itself.
A true melting pot flowed through the thoroughfares, humans, elves, demi-humans, and even demons moved with an ease that suggested genuine coexistence. "Far more liberal than I expected from an elven kingdom." He murmured. The sun's light spilled over the horizon, bathing the land in a glow so pristine it felt biblical.
Then again, he had no frame of reference when it came to elven kingdoms other than the ones in this world. Still, it was strange to say the least, especially from the impression he got from that brat of a ruler; given his track record with this world's rulers, he would have expected the kingdom's systemic rot to slap him in the face the moment he arrived. But he was proven otherwise. "She didn't give off the vibe of being so capable of creating something like this."
Evelyn seemed to run the realm with startling efficiency. How she managed it with that attitude was beyond him. He suspected that she was a mere figurehead, a spoiled mask for the true architects working in her predecessors' shadows.
Or maybe she actually had talent behind the surface of a spoiled princess.
Not that Archer believed that this place truly had no hidden issues to find, that just wasn't possible, but they certainly did a good job at hiding it. "Fullstar is preparing for war." The memory of the old man's warning echoed as he spotted the tell-tale signs; burgeoning encampments on the horizon as well as heavy cavalry patrols. The battlements were bristling with archers, and the inner courtyards hummed with the sounds of drill and steel.
"Hm?" As he brought his vision back down to the kingdom, he noticed that the enclosed kingdom section didn't have the variety of races from beyond the walls. Instead, most of them were elves.
SLAM!
The heavy doors to his chamber suddenly slammed open with a thunderous bang as a rather exuberant visitor burst into the room.
"Archer! Archer! Look, they gave me new clothes!"
He turned at the teafling's voice as she entered the room that was provided for them.
"—!?"
Archer's eyes widened, his mental fortifications crumbling as his jaw went slack. Radomira happily skipped towards him, not with the clothing that resembled Anna's he had provided for her, but with something far more scandalous.
"W-What's… what's this?"
The man's face scrunched up when he noticed the violet, almost latex-like material on her. It barely covered her body and clung to Radomira's figure with an aggressiveness that seemed to defy the laws of circulation.. Her porcelain arms and legs were left entirely bare, showing off her slender limbs and supple, plush thighs. The outfit itself completely exposed her front, only her sides and breasts were covered. While the high-cut, thong-style leotard left almost nothing to the imagination. It was a blatant imitation of the Queen's own provocative style, featuring a plunging v-neckline that exposed the sides of her large cleavage. However, unlike the slender Evelyn, the material here was clearly losing the battle to contain Radomira's more substantial proportions. A silver ring at her throat acted as a focal point, connecting the front of the garment to the back like an ornamental collar.
His wordless reaction was so loud it spoke for him, only making Radomira's smile grow more pronounced. Turning from a smile into a grin, she teased with a proud tone, "Isn't it beautiful? Don't I look amazing?"
He felt a pang of pain strike through his heart.
What stung most was the sheer, unadulterated sincerity in her voice. She looked at him with an innocent, expecting face that only amplified the absurdity of the situation. As if she had no idea how such an outfit on a silhouette like hers would make even the most disciplined soldier go insane.
"Hah…" The architectural beauty of Fullstar had briefly distracted him from the fundamental dysfunctions of its inhabitants. It seemed that regardless of the realmIf anything was truly similar between the female monarchs of these kingdoms, it was their sense of fashion.
'At some point I have to wonder if they really are all just trying to get raped. If they don't break free from this habit, more people like the Kuroinu will be born,' he mulled in his mind, perhaps a small part of him hoping that maybe in this world there was someone who could see reason. That there really was such a stupid place out there where people just wore regular medieval clothing, and not these flashy outfits. But he should have known not to get his hopes up upon first meeting Evelyn. But due to how chaotic everything was back then, he had not really put much thought into it. 'Still, maybe it's not too late for Radomira, teifling or not, she was still relatively young in experience-wise to develop that habit. So there might be something I can do.'
It wasn't something he even thought needed to be addressed this soon or even necessary. Yet reality kept kicking him in the guts at every given opportunity with these false assumptions. So with a strained smile, he faced it, "You could have just told me to make you something. I think those people gave you something a bit too small for your size."
"Are you calling me fat?" she asked with a pitbull's pitiful voice, as she puffed her cheeks up.
"Not really, but I'm also not calling you slim either," he retorted lightly with a small grin. Nearly let out a small chuckle when her tail straightened up with anger.
It kinda reminded him of a certain twin tailed mage when she gets emberrased.
"Archer!" She shouted with an expression of pure disbelief. "You shouldn't say that to me, nor to any other woman, either! I don't really get it, but they'll punch you! They'll definitely punch you!"
"You barely reached my waist not even a month ago, brat, there's still much about this world you've yet to learn."
The foot stomp that followed nearly broke the wooden floor. "Humph, well, I'm no longer physically a kid! So deal with it! And even if I'm not experienced, I'm still a woman and you're not, so you better trust me on my intuition about the matter. Also, the others said it looked fine."
He scratched the back of his head, trying to think of the right words. "Sorry, I'm just commenting about the clothing itself, not your size. And don't try to guilt-trip me with that face, it won't work on me like it does with Brynn." In return, he got the girl to stick her tongue out at him, going back to a small pouting face afterwards.
"But still you can't deny it looks sexy!"
The urge to massage his temples when she pulled an awkward pose by turning around and slightly twisting her upper body, just to prove her point, grew. "I am not acknowledging it, and that's that. You shouldn't wear clothes like that all the time; they will attract the wrong kind of attention."
"But it's the type of clothing you like! Every woman you slept with so far was wearing something similar…"
He coughed and nearly choked as he struggled to process what he'd just heard. Had he been too vocal and obvious enough about his thoughts on such things before? And was she actually growing comfortable with such a taste? This wasn't good. "…" He missed Brynn—at least she'd been a sane influence, even if she told absurd stories about him. Radomira, on the other hand, seemed to be turning more like Maia every day.
As soon as he recovered his breath, he went right back into the conversation. "Look, don't take Maia's fashion as an example. Those clothes are meant to attract attention from the opposite sex, and not always the right kind. Maia and Alicia use it to throw off their opponents and gain the upper hand, but it's equally dangerous for them as well. The people in this world have taken to it too excessively as a habit, and I fear it's causing more trouble than it's worth."
He explained it all patiently with a calm voice as possible, taking a seat on a nearby chair.
Radomira, on the other hand, hummed, placing a finger on her chin. "Heeeh, so stuff like this attracts men?"
He nodded, "Mostly meant to distract monsters from attacking girls, but yes, them as well—not exactly your everyday wear. I guess it just… stuck with them, for some reason, like they didn't bother returning to normal attire."
Visibly unbothered, she continued. "Including you?"
His lips thinned; a simple no felt like an easy answer that wouldn't bring much attention to him, but that defeated the whole point of the conversation. So best to give her a real answer. "I… I can't deny that even I can be affected to a certain extent, but still, I'm not just going to let my willpower go that easily, unlike all the others who acted on that instinct. However, I'd also rather not be around the cause, if possible."
"Is it really that hard for you? You make it seem so easy?"
"It's not. For most men, yes, it's difficult. Clothes like that stir instincts many barely control. It wears down reason, and very few can end up resisting it—whether it be due to willpower or a lack of desire. You wouldn't understand, and that's fine, but if you just avoid attracting that kind of attention, it saves you from those types of troublesome encounters."
"What does it feel like?"
An uncertain expression fell upon his face. This conversation felt harder than just facing another Servant for some reason. "It's… complicated. At times not good, at times not bad—mostly just an instinct. Other people in the end drown in it, lose themselves to the feeling, and become the kind of people who gave you those bad memories."
Radomira flinched, most likely remembering her kidnappers, he figured. Or maybe it was something else; he couldn't read her mind, but it certainly was not some fond memory from the look on her face.
She then spoke something silently and with some hesitation. "So what does that mean about my powers? Since I can make people act… well, since I can make them lose control to that."
She did not say it, but he could already guess what was going through her mind. "Do you think your powers are evil or bad?"
Surprisingly, she did not give him an immediate answer and instead stayed quiet for several moments. "I hated them at first, but now… It's hard to explain. I feel like I can do much more than have it just be used to harm others. Had I accepted them, then what happened back then… It's my fault."
Archer got up from his seat, walking near the girl who had a downcast gaze. Lost in her mind, he patted her head. Gently tussling her hair, bringing back a smile on her face as she leaned against his touch. "Do not blame your past self for something that was beyond your control."
She looked at him, "What do you think of my powers? Are you scared? Disturbed? Or uncomfortable to be exposed to it?"
"Why would I feel like that?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. "At this point, I have lost count of how many times I've been exposed to it, and I came out with nothing permanent. I see it as no different from a poison ability you have that can be used very effectively now."
"Anything else?" She asked again, now almost sounding eager to hear his answer.
Her reaction made him chuckle. The girl really was starved for compliments with the strangest thing. A particularly amusing thought came to mind, "Aside from also being an effective smokescreen, I guess it also smells rather pleasant."
"Eh?" Her eyes widened, staring back at him with a stunned face.
"What? I'm being honest. And you're the one asking for more, and that's all I had. Seriously, though, I'm glad you learned to control it. The most dangerous part I found about it was that it could happen anytime, anywhere." He said, pulling back and returning to his seat, much to her dismay.
"In any case, your power may stir something in people, but that doesn't make it evil. My magecraft revolves around creating swords, and swords can be used to kill people, yet do you see me as someone evil?"
"Of course not!"
"Then there you go," he said with a shrug, not missing the irony of using himself as an example, given all the atrocities he had committed as a Counter Guardian. "You have your answer. It's not about the power, but how you use it."
Strands of hair covered her face, making it hard to discern any of her emotions. He hoped his words got through to her; they definitely were unique powers, but he'd seen much stranger things with other Heroic Spirits.
"I hope other men besides me in this world would also despise becoming just like all the ones you had nothing but bad memories of."
A few moments of silence fell between them until she broke it first with another question.
"I remembered those people during that day. Did the women go through the same urges as those men?"
He shrugged, "Maybe, I'm not a woman, so I wouldn't know for sure if it was the same, but they were affected in a way, nonetheless. You could just ask Brynn or Maia, since they were affected by your aphrodisiac at the time."
"Got it, I'll ask them when I can."
"..."
"Also, I decided. This outfit, I… I still want to wear it."
"Eh."
"You like it, right? So of course I'd keep wearing it, and I like it too. Plus, I don't know, but it feels weird being draped in all that clothing; it's not comfortable at all, and it feels like my skin just wants to burst out of it. My wings and tail squirm like they want out, so maybe that's personally me, but I'm not going to forget what you told me, and I'll be careful from now on."
Radomira looked at him with a determined look as if she wasn't going to budge, and he felt he had already lost.
So, he sighed. "If that's your choice, then so be it. But I'll still ask you to wear something on top when we go out, just to avoid trouble. This is non-negotiable." A large, baggy violet cloak soon landed on top of her head, the girl taking a look at it and even assessing it.
"... You could have made it a bit more sexy—"
"Radomira."
How was one even supposed to make a cloak sexy!?
Knowning this world, they would find a away.
"Tch, spoilsport." Still, she kept that piece with her, before her expression turned teasing and seducutive that sent a shiver up Archer's spine. "Hey Archer, I was wondering, is the reason that you don't want people staring at me is because you want to be the only one see me like this? If so, I don't mind wearing even more naughty clothes when were alone~."
His eye twitched while he pushed the his feelings down, "No. Now put on the cloak."
With the glare Radomira gave him, he wanted to back up further, but he was already seated. Meanwhile, Radomira just kept pouting at him as if he ruined her mood while she covered herself with the cloak. 'I should change the conversation.'
"Anyway, I'm surprised they didn't try to capture you," he said, hoping she would follow along, which thankfully she did, but continuing to mess with her clothing by pulling on some parts of her leotard unnecessarily with too much strength.
Definitely intentionally.
"They recognised me right away. No one shouted 'demon,' nor did anyone outside look twice. It's nothing like in Feoh, other than that bitch—uh, bratty queen, she keeps slandering us. Urgh… speaking of which, how is Maia doing?" Radomira asked, having finally stopped playing around with her clothes by pulling on the thin, few fishnet strings connecting around her chest area that he hadn't noticed.
Archer glanced at the red-haired woman in the bed. She hadn't opened her eyes since they arrived, but the local physician had patched her rooms flawlessly with the help of this world's magic and potions.
"She's just resting. We barely slept after the Inn incident, and everything that happened after that."
Radomira took a look at Maia briefly, "That makes sense, it's no surprise she conked out. Heck, I'm probably not too far off. Speaking of which, have you seen that other dark elf, what did you call her… Mistiora?"
"I'm here."
"Kyaaaa!" The young Tiefling literally screamed and jumped in place as she heard the voice of the dark elf sound from right behind her, turning around to see her standing at the corner of the room just staring back at them without much of a change in her expression. "What? How long have you been here!?"
"About an hour ago." The white haired dark elf responded softly, which only further served to make the teafling flabbergasted.
"You were just standing at the corner the entire time and didn't say anything!?" A blush crimson grew on Radomria's face as she got her answer with a faint nod before looking at Archer, expecting him to provide even more of an explanation.
But unfortunately for her, he just shrugged. "She just came here and stood there in silence. Since it didn't seem like she had anything to talk about, I just ignored her."
Radomira blinked at the two of them, caught between disbelief and exasperation. Eventually, she sighed, rubbing her temples as the absurdity sank in. When she finally looked up again, the girl noticed Mistiora's gaze-steady and silent-fixed entirely on Archer.
Walking up next to him, she started whispering suspiciously in his ear. "I think she's mad at you for forgetting about her in that tree. You should be apologizing about that, you know."
His eyes widened, truth be told, he did feel bad about it, but Maia needed immediate attention, and he was sure that girl would manage to come down a tree of all things. She literally jumped off the second floor of the inn and managed to somehow land without snapping her foot and legs. But he hadn't expected her to just stay over there for thirty minutes and only be able to come down with the help of Evelyn's elven guards.
"Sorry." Regardless, he was still responsible for that, and he was not immature enough to argue it. Without hesitation, he went ahead and gave her a slight bow with sincere words.
"Ah." Her reaction came immediately; from the looks of it, she hadn't expected him to apologize and was caught off guard. "It's fine, you don't have to apologize."
"I personally think I definitely do, and when she finds out, Olga will probably slap me in my face."
"Olga…" A somber expression soon fell upon the woman upon hearing that particular name.
"Are you worried that she might be in danger?" He asked, getting a nod from her. "Then don't, while I'd admit that woman has her flaws and can be pretty naive at times, she is not an idiot… Most of the time. I'm sure she'll manage to stay out of trouble, probably already following us here."
"Please, don't take her back to be imprisoned!" Surprisingly, he got a completely different answer. Archer raised an eyebrow at that reply, noticing her hand shaking. "Set her free, and take me in her place," she continued with a determined tone.
"Hold on, I think you're getting something wrong here. It's true I took Olga as my prisoner at first, but…"
Before he even finished, Mistiora had put her knees to the ground and bowed to him so deeply her forehead had touched the ground, and her round ass was pointed to the sky. "I am willing to offer myself to you! Whether it be my body, my will, or my entire being. I will give it all to you without complaint and serve your every need if you let her go. You can break me, hit me, have me fulfill your every desire in both body and spirit. Please, I beg of you!"
Both he and Radomira were at a loss for words. The position was even more suggestive than the Tiefling's prior one, as Mistiora was no longer wearing her cloak, causing the loose clothing underneath to slide and fully display her butt's caramel naked flesh to him. Radomira proceeded to look back and forth between the two of them, finally stopping at him as a suspicious look formed on her face. "You really do work quite fast, huh. She's even wearing the type of clothes you like. Don't try and deny it, I can tell from your face."
"Just… Just don't talk, both of you," he said with a hint of resignation in his tone. Taking a moment to close his eyes and massage his temples, before looking at the dark elf in front of him and responding. "It is clear that there is some gross misunderstanding between the two of us, so let me put it in this way. Even if I were to release Olga from whatever confines you may believe she has, what do you think will happen?" he asked earnestly, causing Mistiora to freeze, trying to think of any answer to convince him, but he continued unbothered.
"First off, I know for a fact that even if she were free, she wouldn't go back to being the Dark Queen, or even return to Nidalivier."
"What?" She looked up at him in confusion, unable to understand what he meant.
"In fact, knowing her, there's a high chance she'll walk back to Feoh willingly."
"But, that makes no sense."
He could see how confused she was at the knowledge that her sister willingly chose to go back to a place that wanted her dead. Shaking his head, he continued, "It's not my job to make sure whether you believe it or not. But that's the truth, since she knows fully well that the moment she walks out of this, she'll be endangering not just the world as a whole, but also herself."
Of course, the common response to such a statement was…
"That's not possible!"
Complete rejection.
No one would suddenly believe world-altering news when spoken by a stranger she just met. It wasn't her fault, though; she was completely clueless about the current events they were experiencing, and they'd only just met. Not to mention how outlandish it all sounded, after such a bomb drop. She had no reason to trust him.
"You don't trust me." Actually, not that surprised by the outcome, he continued. "How about this, we'll meet up with her very soon, and you can hear it from Olga herself. Heck, after both of you have your reunion, you can ask her to come along with you and run away. And if she says no, then at least you can hear the reason from her own mouth."
As soon as he said that, the continuous waves of surprise and shock that had not stopped bombarding her, sheathed as her mouth widened in disbelief. She stared at him like a gaping fish, until finally she collected herself, steeled her face, and looked at him with suspicion. He supposed she hadn't accepted that things could be so easy, nor would he be so willing to let her meet her sister.
"I want to say I won't be chasing you if that's what you're worried about, but the fact is, I really need Olga by my side to help me out with a few things. Of course, that also means I can't antagonize her to the point of her deciding not to work with me. As long as she promises to offer me her support, I'm not against her working away from me. This is not some sick game of cat and mouse, you have my word on it. That's the best I can offer right now."
He knew how sketchy all this sounded even to his ears, but it was the truth. Olga had shown him that she could at least survive acting on her own, when need be. Still, that didn't solve all his worries. Truth be told, he'd rather have her by his side if he could help it rather than anyone else. That woman had antagonized too many people, and having her powers boost him at a moment's notice can make the difference between life and death.
Archer watched as he awaited her response. Mistiora clenched her fist as her shoulders visibly shook. He couldn't tell what was going on in her mind, but it looked like she was coming to terms with his response.
Could he be trusted? Was he deceiving her in some way? And was the offer too good to be true?
Again, he did not blame her; he had been in her shoes too many times to count, always having to wonder if the person by your side would betray you or not. That feeling was difficult to get away from. Archer himself would have probably come to the same conclusion.
"I know we'll meet up with Olga at some point, be it here or on our way back to Feoh, I'm confident she will be joining us, and it will be without me even needing to say anything. If you manage to convince her to leave with you, then congratulations, then so be it; if not, then understand she has a very good reason to deny that. Because, as crazy and ridiculous as it may sound, she's realized how important it is. I've been around her long enough to get a read on her personality. As much as she despises the humans, she doesn't want to see the world burn. After all, that would defeat her purpose of fighting to defend the dark elves.
"…" She said nothing more. After he shared his part, Archer bent down and offered her his hand. She stared at it as the moments passed by, until she bit her lip and hesitantly took it as he lifted her back onto her feet. Letting go of her hand, he walked away back to the balcony to see the view again with Radomira following him.
"..."
"What?" he asked when he realized she was giving him a strange look.
"I'm just trying to guess how many days or weeks it may take before I end up walking into your room with both of you naked on top of each other, again."
He truly missed the young and innocent girl who would stuff her face with his food.
Where had he gone wrong?
{Break}
(A few minutes later)
"WHERE IS HE!? Where the hell is that human!?"
Well, he should have figured that things would become quite hectic when Evelyn woke up. Only a matter of time before she tried to recreate his exact interaction with Alicia when they first arrived at her kingdom. He could hear them walking towards their room; the first screams echoed from so far away that he started to question if she wasn't an elf but a banshee in disguise.
"Your highness, we have brought the guests over to a separate room for our physicians to look over."
"Who the hell told you to do so!" Evelyn's voice echoed once again loudly. "Bring him to me here in CHAINS! Cut off his limbs for good measure! I want him HANGED before sunset!"
The bloodlust and killing intent in her voice was so potent that he could feel it from his room. She sure did not like him, but then again, he didn't give her a reason for her to like him aside from saving her life from a band of mercenaries. But clearly she did not think that was enough to cool her temper. Ah, well, he'll just scratch that off as having them be even from back when he had a sword to her throat.
"P-Please, your highness, this is a delicate matter! Those people who came aren't normal visitors; they are the goddess reborn, a Pr-Princess Knight, and their entourage. If we lay a hand on any of them, doing such an action would just lead us to a declaration of bloody war against not just the seven kingdoms but also the surrounding kingdoms that were counting on their victory over the Dark Queen. W-We are not ready for any of that just yet."
Archer raised his eyebrow at that particular topic; something felt off about that, as if war itself wasn't out of the question. He made sure to keep that in mind when discussing matters in the future.
"Are you denying my orders? Your queen!?"
"But, the captain mentioned they saved your life. Had it not been for them, then—"
"He was the one who put my life into danger in the first place!"
Even though the path to this conversation did not seem ideal, he was taken by surprise by how everyone else, aside from the queen, was actually trying to defend them. That certainly was a surprise. And from the sounds of it, the title of Goddess Reborn did bear some weight after all, even though Evelyn claimed that she was a fake. Maybe that belief only remained true in the mind of the royal family, but it seemed everyone else, including their council, would not necessarily share that belief.
'Well, the religion of the church of Celestine is quite popular and expands all over Eostia; it may extend to parts of Serenus too… and given how many outsiders are clearly coming over to this kingdom, it's no surprise many of their beliefs would be influenced by these factors, regardless of how the royal family may see it. Interesting.'
A familiar voice joined the conversation.
"To treat your guest and your saviors in such a manner, I truly am disappointed in you, Evelyn. Your mother used to be much more welcoming."
"You shut up, you fake goddess!"
He heard that last part as soon as they arrived, wasting no time opening the door and walking in. His presence was finally noticed by those arguing, and to his shock, he saw not just Eveyln on her carried throne of all things, but a group of elves by her side, Celestine, and…eh?
Kaguya of all people was present.
There was no doubt it was her, the same emotional controlled face, the short red and white miko garbs that barely covered everything tied in a knot above her belly button, the pink see-through veil that covered it, the white stockings, the reddish amber eyes staring at him, the pure black short hair with white ribbons framing her face, a ceremonial tiara with bells on its ends, and lastly, what little was used to cover her nether regions.
Her presence completely took him by surprise since he was pretty certain that this woman was either still in Feoh or had returned to her own kingdom, Thorn, after he left to find the dark elves. Not once did he expect to find her in a city they were magically teleported to, which even he didn't know where it was.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, trying to have some of it make sense to him, wondering if there was another teleportation relay somewhere in the seven kingdoms he was not aware of, or if she used some other means they could also use to return.
"Good morning, Archer. We have not seen each other for a while, and yet you did not even greet me? I'm a bit disappointed." She replied in a monotone voice.
So he countered with a dry one with a hint of sarcasm, "Forgive me for not offering proper greetings to you, Kaguya, given we may as well be on the other side of the world, but I'm still shocked to see someone I know in a place where even I didn't know where I was. Sorry that the sudden surprise of your presence over here threw me off. How did you get here before us?"
"Oh, why? I just arrived, after hearing from my priestess maidens here that apparently the goddess reborn herself had for some reason arrived in Fullstar of all places. Thus, it is my duty to be by her side and make sure she does not get in any trouble," she replied peacefully and politely, though he could sense a clear presence of smugness in her tone.
She just arrived?
That just gave further credence to there being a teleportation sort of mechanism somewhere in this kingdom that could either bring them back to Alicia's kingdom or Kaguya's. 'That's dangerous and risky, if the people of Fullstar had such quick and easy access to the Seven Kingdoms, like Evelyn knew this, wouldn't they…'
"It's him!" The queen in question shrieked loudly, jumping from her throne and immediately running behind her personal bodyguard, who, if memory serves, just so happened to be the woman who let him return to the kingdom with Evelyn when they were ambushed.
Pure anger and fear were present on the small blonde's face as she proceeded to point her finger at him while shaking. "Get that man away from me! He is going to kidnap me and do unspeakable things to my body like the beast he is! Have his hands cut off for the crime of laying his hands on me! Quickly do something, Eve!"
Said bodyguard, whose complexion remained hidden behind a helmet, answered politely. "It's going to be all right, your highness, with me here, I shall not let him bring any harm to you, I promise."
"But he will! Just look at how he's looking at me! He's barely able to contain himself from pouncing on me like some… some… savage barbarian! I positive that he wants make me one of his top concubine while Lucross takes control of my family's kingdom while I'm forced to satisfy his beastly urges every night! Waaah!"
"Yes, yes, I know, I too fear such things and will not let them happen. If it does, I'll make sure to take your place when he feels the urge to violate you. I swear it on my life, my Queen." The one he now knew was called Eve said, kept trying to placate the young woman, as a parent would do to their child. She even went so far as to pat the shorter elf's head while making soothing noises.
If it wasn't for the other things that little short brat said, it would've honestly been an amusing sight, and clearly, she did not see him as an enemy. Though that was quite the wild imagination she had there, he struggled to figure out how she was able to jump to such conclusions about his person after one meeting. Had he planned to kill her, then the woman should have known he could have done that much earlier, or do any of the, carnal acts, she was more than likely imagining him doing at this moment. Thankfully, her bodyguard seemed to realize that and did not try to send the entire castle's armed forces after him. Did she figure out he wasn't a threat?
"What happened to the captured mercenaries from the Shirokami, the group that attacked us before?" he asked, taking his attention away from the young monarch to Eve. Best to ask the party that seemed to be actually in charge here.
"We have apprehended the group who call themselves the white wolves. Their leader is currently residing in the dungeons below as we speak, and upon our return, is ready for questioning. We also made sure to uphold our end of the bargain and make sure to not kill the rest of them, even though attacking a royal convoy is tantamount to deserving it. We would rather not show the man who had temporarily been with our Queen that we didn't keep our word."
He nodded, "I appreciate it."
"It's the least I can do for your actions in keeping us safe."
"Safe? What are you talking about!? He is the danger!" Evelyn shouted from the back, still hiding behind her guard while shakely pointing a finger in his direction, forcing an awkward look of apology on Eve's face, who was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Understanding her pleading gaze, he turned his attention back to Celestine. "We shouldn't spend as much time here as we already have. Since Kaguya is here, I take it we can go back the way she came from?"
Archer didn't audibly mention anything about teleportation so as not to give the other party unnecessary information, even if they had suspicions.
Celestine smiled, "Of course, that's why I called her here."
Though Kaguya, on the other hand, had more to add. "Unfortunately, it will be impossible to go back if Maia remains unconscious. We can go back when she wakes up."
He nodded, good, he liked to hear that. Since it also gave him time to find Olga and Chloe. That woman was either hiding somewhere in the kingdom or was already inside the castle without him knowing. He could not leave her here and return. "There is also another matter that needs to be addressed. If that matter is not resolved, I'm afraid there will be a possibility for us to stay here." Kaguya added, this making his eyes immediately narrow as he looked back at the miko woman. "You could have mentioned that first."
"I just recalled."
As much as he wanted to ask what it was, he was tired, feeling he would rather hear it in private. As he looked back at Evelyn and her bodyguard, Eve. "There, will be out of your hair soon enough, hopefully by tomorrow or today if you're lucky."
"Huh! Wait, we can't just let them leave like this! I still haven't gotten my—" the girl continued to shout, letting out as much of her pent-up feelings as possible… her rant went on for several seconds until she was practically out of breath, cheeks flushed, and her crown slanted from her tirade.
The people surrounding here who had just stood silently, stunned by the queen's colorful language. Radomira looked like she wanted to hit the brat.
"Understood, please let me handle this matter. Your majesty. I will make sure to take care of these people and ensure justice for you is done. Now I believe it's time for your daily massage, you have been working a lot and need to relax. These people are not worth your time."
'Massage? Really?'
Evelyn huffed, taking a deep breath before straightening her posture, her expression marked by a haughty sort of pride. Her eyes filled with disdain as she shifted briefly toward Archer before settling on Celestine. "You are fortunate that I am a busy woman. I shall overlook your behavior this time only because you are a fellow high elf. But never forget what this queen has done for you. Hmph!" With that sharp remark, she turned on her heel and left, her elegant stride echoing faintly in the hall.
The guards exchanged uncertain glances, unsure whether to follow her or remain at their posts. The air felt heavy with discomfort until, just before she crossed the doorway, Eve turned her head slightly and spoke again. "While I am grateful that you have saved our queen, I would advise you not to linger here for too long. Regardless of appearances, Fullstar is in a precarious position, and circumstances may shift at any moment."
Those words hung in the air long after she departed. Archer folded his arms, his sharp eyes narrowing in quiet thought as the group of elves slowly left. There was clearly more unfolding behind the scenes than anyone was saying. After a long silence, he turned his attention toward Kaguya. "So, what's this issue about?"
.
.
.
"Welcome, Lady Kaguya, Lady Celestine."
Before their arrival, Maia had mentioned that a shrine stood deep within the territory where Kaguya's people resided. Upon reaching the place, Archer immediately noticed how eerily familiar it felt. The torii gates, the slanted rooftops, and the faint scent of incense lingering in the air all reminded him of the shrines back in Japan. The similarity was uncanny, to the point he felt they may have been influenced by something connected to his homeland, though he knew their beliefs worked differently. This land only worshipped a single deity, unlike the Shinto faith. The thought of that god's name alone stirred unease within him, tightening his jaw slightly. He wanted nothing to do with that entity if he could help it.
Still, the resemblance ended there. The people who tended to the shrine wore garments that left little to the imagination, blending modesty and provocation in strange measure. The women were dressed in what could be called shrine maiden attire, only in the loosest sense, robes on top, yet bare below save for a thin cloth tied around their hips. Some even bore talismans, paper basically taped on to cover only the bare necessity, while still exposing so much skin. The sight was so jarring that Archer had to look away for a moment, muttering under his breath, "It's just the custom of this world, it's just the custom of this world, I can't believe I'm actually saying this."
"You must already feel the presence of our god upon entering this place," Kaguya said as she walked beside Celestine, her calm voice echoing faintly in the corridor. "She has been curious about you ever since our last private meeting."
She. That was the first time Kaguya referred to this deity by gender.
"She is interested in him?" Celestine asked, a faint frown touched her lips.
"Ever since his arrival, I have wondered which god sent him here," Kaguya replied. "I followed her guidance to bring him along and deliver an important message. Unfortunately, our discussion was cut short before we could reach any understanding."
Archer exhaled quietly, shaking his head. "I hope you don't take this personally, but I'd rather not deal with too many gods. Unless your deity has something that can actually help me with my task, I'd prefer to stay clear."
To his surprise, Kaguya smiled, a calm, knowing expression unlike the stoic composure she usually carried. "Then you might be interested in what I've been working on," she said, taking the lead, while garnering Archer's attention.
She guided them down a set of stone stairs that descended beneath the shrine. The deeper they went, the thicker the air became until an acrid, foul smell hit Archer's senses. He flinched slightly, his steps slowing as the light of a torch revealed the center of the chamber.
There, lying motionless on the ground, was the body of a woman. Her form was pale and still, the skin marred by punctures and torn flesh around her lower body. The stench itself was foul, identifying it as a corpse, but the smell was one not entirely from decay alone.
"What in the… what is this, Kaguya?" Even Celestine's composure faltered, her hand covering her mouth as she took a step back. "Who could have done something like this?"
The patterns etched across the woman's skin seemed deliberate, arranged in a way that made Archer's expression harden. "Those markings," he whispered, his unease deepening as the torchlight flickered across the gruesome sight.
"She used to be the head priestess of this branch of our shrine, one I personally appointed many years ago. Recently, she went missing, and our priestesses spent days searching for her. When they finally found her, it was at our doorstep. Her body had been dumped there, desecrated beyond recognition. From what I was told, they had to clean her up just to make her presentable enough for a proper funeral, and to keep those things from spreading further."
"Those things?" he asked, his face tightening in confusion.
"Her body was filled with eggs, maggots, and crawling insects feasting upon her. After an examination, we realized she had been used as a host to breed more of those creatures until her body finally gave out within hours. And when she died, they simply discarded her like refuse at our doorstep."
It was a clear act of provocation, but that was not what seized his attention the most. Archer's stomach twisted as he realized just how familiar this entire scene felt.
"Kaguya, you don't mean to tell me that they are here now?" Celestine asked, her voice carrying both disbelief and dread.
The priestess gave a slow nod. "Yes. The cult of the Insect God, and most likely Shemhaza, has infiltrated Fullstar."
{Break}
(A few hours later, nighttime)
There was much running through Archer's mind as he stared at the city from the balcony in his room again. After the discovery at the shrine, the once beautiful kingdom no longer appeared so radiant. The colors of its streets and towers felt drained, the air heavy with unease. Honestly, the beautiful starry sky was wasted on it.
He tried to recall the last time he had dealt with those people; if he recalled accurately, it was in Lulu's kingdom where they first attempted to interfere by killing the officials. Back then, they vanished just as suddenly as they appeared, and he never heard of them again, except from that old man when he told them they were behind the Beast being summoned here. Other than the time he acquired information from Olga, they had remained completely unknown, with no further appearances until now.
"This makes things more complicated," he muttered. He had hoped this would have been a minor issue, something Kaguya could handle quickly before they returned to their routine. But this was far from simple, and even he could not dismiss it so easily.
"Hm?" While deep in thought, the red-clad man noticed a bird land on his balcony with a letter tied to its feet. Curious, he approached the bird, taking the note. Untying and unfolding it, he read its contents, causing a small, knowing smile to curve onto his lips.
"Radomira, I'll be going out for a short while. I'll return in a few hours. Make sure no one comes in and nothing enters," he said, glancing behind him. The Tiefling, who had been idly learning how to braid her hair into twin tails by Mistiora when she asked her, immediately perked up and gave him a lazy thumbs-up.
"Wait, where are you even going?" she asked.
"Just meeting someone. And I'll need to borrow her for a bit," he replied, pointing toward the dark elf that had been standing at the corner listless. The latter blinked and pointed at herself in surprise.
"Me?"
…
The note only had two lines: the location and a specific instruction. Not too far away from the main palace, but also not too close to risk having several patrols pass by every so often. A mostly residential area with little to no presence, and overall a quiet place.
"Why are we here? What do you want with me?" she finally asked, crossing her arms, causing the new matching cloaks he projected for them to shuffle.
"Trust me. You'll like it. It's not worth keeping you too long in the dark since she'll be waiting for you as well," he said as they reached a small wooden house nestled deep within an alleyway. It stood out in the middle ring of the kingdom from his observation. Reaching the door, Archer knocked twice, then rolled a stone he projected on the door and waited.
Immediately, they heard hurried footsteps from behind, followed by hushed whispers. Seeing how long it was taking, he rolled his eyes and mentioned. "I got your note and brought the special guest. I'm sure you'll be happy to see her again."
"How do I know it's—ah! W-Wait, Olga-sam—"
Bam!
That voice without fail belonged to no one else but Chloe, who clearly tried to stop her queen from rushing, but failed as the door swung open on the spot. Two hands lashed out, grabbing onto his collar and Mistiora's hand before dragging them inside, and shutting the door.
She wasted no time letting him go, as Archer turned around to see a familiar face, as the former dark queen wrapped her arms around Mistiora with such force, she was basically squeezing the life out of her.
"You're alive, you're alive, you're alive, you'r—" Olga kept whispering with such a fragile tone again and again, not even able to keep her tears from streaming down her face. The queen, who had always conformed herself with dignity and pride, since the moment he met her, had finally abandoned all her defenses the moment she saw that face. It was the most human he had ever seen her.
What was before him wasn't a queen, but a worried sister.
It took no time for a similar expression to appear on Mistiora's face, to go through its own crash course of emotions, from going to surprise to pure disbelief.
Till, one even Archer didn't know she could show, having now seen it for the first time—the emotion of pure childlike joy.
"Olga… onee… sama?"
Barely able to believe her own words, she looked at the face crying into her neck, to confirm her identity, and as soon as she saw it, tears also flooded her eyes, in a dam, as she returned the hug.
"You're alive, You're Alive, YOU'RE ALIVE, YOUR…"
"Y-You, ah, you haven't changed at all. I'm so glad… I finally found you." A lot of emotions filled their voices, as both dark elves separated close to a millennium ago, finally met once again after countless hardships.
Their emotions that had been bottled up for countless years had at last been released.
"Waaaaahhhhhhh!!!" A sound of pure relief and sadness bundled up into one came out of the usually quiet girl he found. Olga barely managed to hold on.
They crumbled down onto the ground, holding each other in their arms, as if to never let go. Their tears and cries were full of emotions, both having forgotten about the entire world, but just them.
The site was quite touching; he was not willing to disturb them for now, turning his attention to Chloe, who was staring at her beloved queen, crying in a bear hug, her jaw opened so wide in surprise it was as if her brain could not compute what she saw.
"This is the first time you've seen her like this, I'll take it."
The blonde nodded slightly, as her focus never stopped being fixed on the pair before her. "I've heard stories before, but this is the first time I've actually seen her. And for Olga-sama to have such a reaction, this is…"
Looking closer, he now noticed that Chloe bore no serious wounds and was relatively unhurt, though her reddened eyes betrayed her sleepless nights. At last, she drew her gaze away and turned toward the man standing beside her. Then, before he could process it, she lowered her head and silently whispered.
"T…k…yu."
"Hm? You said something?"
Chloe took a deep breath, "T-Thank you… from the bottom of my heart. For… for this."
"Which part? Going after you both and making sure neither of you dies or reuniting these two?" He did not show it, but part of him was still a bit salty about the Dark Queen's reckless actions. But he was mostly over it by now.
"T-That too, though I feel like I already thanked you for that… and well, also for letting this meeting occur between my lady and her long lost sister. I had no idea it had meant so much to her. No matter what, I will always be grateful for that."
Archer had to admit, he liked how respectful Chloe was to him lately, given their past interactions. This wasn't normal. Where was the spitfire and hateful dark elf who cursed him every five seconds, and added a dagger to boot?
Feeling uncomfortable, he decided to change the subject. "It's alright, we're allies, right? It's the least I can do, besides," he offered her a faint smile. "You two did well, managing to stay hidden without drawing attention. I was worried you might still be taking refuge outside the walls, holed up in that cave."
"We managed to sneak in thanks to Olga's illusion magic," Chloe said, quickly raising her head to face him with a smile.
"Oh? An elven kingdom unable to detect such a thing? That's rather strange. From everything I've heard, your kind is usually quite attuned to magic, whether light or dark."
Chloe puffed her chest with visible pride. "They tried to check, but my queen's magic exists on a completely different level! None of them could sense a thing."
"I see, though I think it's all for naught if the town's people keep hearing the loud sirens' sobbing coming from here."
"Don't underestimate my queen; she already fitted this place with a barrier spell to muffle the sounds."
"I see. Still, you both did well. Unfortunately, we won't be returning to Feoh as quickly as I hoped. There's a problem I need to deal with first."
"Yes, me too," Chloe replied almost at once, her voice dimming into a somber note. He raised an eyebrow at her sudden change in tone before remembering something Olga had once told him.
"So, you're going out for revenge," he said, his observation catching her off guard. She probably hadn't expected him to read her intentions so easily. But ever since they met, the girl's emotions had always been clear to him—like an open book. "Honestly, I'd advise against it, though knowing you, I doubt you'll listen."
"No, that monster needs to die. I can't let him live, I've realized that now, especially if I'm not his only target." Her words came out filled with venom and quiet fury as she clenched her fists. "He sent Leona after me. Even if we return, he'll keep sending others. I won't let him hurt my queen again. I'd rather die first."
"Hmph, I suppose you're right, but try not to go in unprepared. He wouldn't have been able to escape Olga for so long if he didn't have a few tricks up his sleeves," Archer muttered. He didn't dismiss her determination, though his thoughts drifted to the man she spoke of. He wasn't even sure that man saw her as a daughter at all, more like a piece of property he wanted to reclaim. "In any case, it's better if you stay here. The queen's a brat and temperamental, and if she sees you two, she'll start yelling again about us trying to usurp the throne. Having both the goddess reborn and the dark queen in the same room might just send her running."
He exhaled softly and straightened his cloak. "Anyway, I only came to check on you both and to bring Mistiora. Now that I've done that, I'll be heading back. If you need me, send another bird. If I need you, I now know where to find you."
He turned toward the door, though his steps slowed when he noticed that they still hadn't finished. A flicker of concern crossed his expression as he thought of checking on them, but he just decided to let them have their moment with no strings attached.
"Wait."
Before he could step out, a pair of delicate hands reached out and caught the sleeve of his shroud, pulling gently. Archer turned, finding that they came from Olga of all people standing there. She had left her moment with Mistiora and now faced him with an unreadable look in her eyes.
"Can you… Stay a little longer?" she asked quietly.
"Hm? I suppose I can, but not for long, I'm afraid." Curious about what she wanted to discuss, he agreed. He honestly expected Olga to be too caught up speaking with her long-lost sister to pay him any attention for the rest of the day.
…
They had gathered around a fireplace that had already been stocked and was burning. Both Olga and Mistiora were side by side resting on each other on an old wooden settee bench, in such comfort that it made him jealous. Chloe had dutifully tried to stand by her queen's side, bringing a tray of drinks and snacks, but after a bit of insistence from Olga for her to rest as well, she sat next to him, on a sofa facing them.
The group soon fell into conversation, as they recounted stories of their experiences and how they ended up where they were.
Most of it was Olga and Mistiora sharing between each other certain topics and exchanging stories of their travels.
The former had recounted everything that had happened since Mistiora's disappearance in Nidalivier, from her journey through the outside world, to what Archer now knew was some former holy site of preparation, but now known as the Dark Tower, and the sudden, odd occurrence of her powers attracting monsters to her. The injustices she witnessed, her friendship with Celestine, how the dark elves were treated as slaves for capture by humankind and other races, her attempts to change things, how she devised a way to control the monsters she had attracted, and how she eventually became known as the Dark Queen. She even went on to describe the war she led and her eventual downfall at the hands of the Kuroinu.
Each moment was told in slow detail, her voice carrying the tone of a mother telling a story to her child, something with such warmth and compassion that he was shocked it came from Olga of all people. Mistioria listened with quiet patience, her expression never losing its faint smile since she saw Olga's face.
Eventually, she occasionally added her own fragments about her own tale, and how she journeyed all across Serenus looking for her, after she returned to Nidaliver, only to find she had already left, after she had been separated from it. She went on to tell of all the sites, the people, and the countries she'd visited and an assortment of countless experiences, from the deserts of Eldonia, to the mountains of teras meralta, the merchant kingdom of the dwarves Tururu, the vast forests of Furstentum Fuchswald, the wide ocean near the port of Sangria, and even the island kingdom of Austria.
Though Archer noticed she was deliberately vague about certain events.
He did not know much about her, but from the bits and pieces he managed to gather—she must have used her body to survive on many occasions. That time she tried to seduce him, and how she so easily offered her body just recently reinforced that notion.
Her version of events was definitely heavily filtered and softened. She wasn't lying outright, just choosing what to leave unspoken, perhaps out of shame or simply to avoid ruining the reunion's tone. Archer did not comment. It wasn't his place to intrude on their conversation, and he preferred they settle the unspoken truth on their own.
All the while, he sat quietly beside Chloe, occasionally sipping from a fine cup of wine, as they listened and gushed about their stories. "How did you even get this?" he asked, raising the cup and letting the deep aroma linger in his nose. The wine was refined, the sort of quality rarely found without a hefty price attached.
"I... I acquired it for my queen from those who did not deserve it," Chloe said carefully.
"You stole it," he remarked flatly.
"Ugh, s-something like that. I d-didn't steal! I'll pay them back, eventually. Besides, they were the ones stealing, given how overpriced these bottles were in the first place!" she protested, fumbling to justify herself.
"So much for your Queen holding power beyond my imagination if you still need to steal stuff. Can't she just conjure up gold coins?" He asked with amusement while tracing a single gold coin on the table and sliding it to her. The woman in question looked at it with some embarrassment, but intrigue, and actually took it gingerly.
She looked at the coin, perhaps under the impression that he could only conjure up weapons and the occasional odd comforts, rather than actual gold coins. The girl opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but held herself back and took a deep breath.
"... You're an anomaly, so you don't count."
Clearly having more to say, she held herself back.
"If you're wondering why I don't do that all the time, it's because I don't want to be responsible for destroying this world's economy. Simple."
The dark elf's dubious went as far as to take a bite of the piece. But ended up hurting herself when the piece remained whole, though with her teeth marking.
"Real gold?"
"It's good enough. Probably best to use it only for emergencies."
To be fair, had she used a bit more strength, she would have cracked it into pieces, causing it to easily disintegrate on the spot. Still, he found it entertaining in how she kept trying to find ways to differentiate from another real gold coin from her pocket that she most definitely had pickpocketed.
"Hmm, Interesting!"
He could see the gears in her mind turning at the implications, and decided to put the brakes on it before it got out of hand.
"I'm not your personal piggy bank, so don't get any funny ideas."
"Humph, still
"Heh, sure, let's go with that." He simply watched the show until Olga's voice cut across the room, calling his name.
"Then this insufferable man appears out of nowhere, Archer, or Emiya, or Shirou, or whatever name he goes by…" Olga began, already animated from alcholo in her system. "He fired a spell that destroyed centuries' worth of what I had built, reducing my castle to less than ruins in seconds! The Kuroinu that had attempted to usurp me and have their way with me as their personal sex slave, and he had dispacted them as easily as swatting a fly. Then he captures me and Chloe as prisoners, and to make matters worse, he goes around sleeping with two elf wenches while we are still in chains!"
Archer's face soured. "You just had to bring that up," he muttered. "It wasn't intentional. They were simply trying to heal my wounds."
"Likely story," Olga said with a huff, cheeks flushed. "You certainly didn't seem to mind their touch nor did you looked all that aversed in induling in their bodies."
"Why were you even there in the first place? I half expected you to escape if you managed to break free."
"Escape to where exactly, having my army decimated, and also don't try and change the subject, you didn't answer my question."
"Do you expect me to react differently in that situation? I'm not some sort of robot who can keep a blank face no matter what happens," he replied, setting the cup down.
"I do not know what a robot is, but you certainly have a constant, unchanging frown on your face that surprisingly wasn't there with those two."
"Right, I guess you don't have robots here, think of them as another type of golem."
"An automaton then, yes, that suits you perfectly, when you're not fucking a woman's brain out like a horny mutt, almost as if you spend most of the day pent up and in control, only to explode on them when the opportunity arrives."
She wasn't even making sense anymore and her regal tone was slowly changing.
One thing he noticed, Olga grew more talkative than she ever had before, freer too. With every sip of wine, her words kept slipping freely as she recounted other moments from the past, most of which painted Archer in a less-than-flattering light. Yet, even then, she kept certain matters carefully hidden, especially anything related to Draco.
It looks like both of them avoided revealing the full truth, their versions incomplete in a strange way.
It wouldn't be long before they both noticed, but he guessed that whatever they were keeping from each other didn't turn the other person off, probably not caring about a few secrets.
Before long, hours had passed, and it was basically midnight at this point. Eventually, neither Mistiora nor Chloe could stay up any longer. Be it weak from the effect of alcohol, exhaustion, or emotions that had gone out of control, they had fallen asleep so soundly that an explosion couldn't wake them. With proper care, he then proceeded to carry them back to one of the two bedrooms in this place. Olga always remained by her sister's side, her fingers gently touching and gliding against the latter's face. Looking at her with a smile on her face, one that he had not ever seen on her in the past.
So, she was capable of feeling love.
"It feels like we've jumped back in time to Nidavelir. We're inside our house, where we used to learn under the guidance of our elder matrons." As she said that, Mistiora's face made an uncomfortable reaction when Olga proceeded to pinch her cheeks. "Even her reaction has not changed from when she was a child; she used to hate this; still does."
"Guess even centuries don't erase old habits." He commented while leaning against the door frame. "I'll pick her up tomorrow. Radomira will be sad if her new doll—uh, new friend is gone for long."
"They already became that close? That's so nice to hear."
More like the tiefling just had a way of pulling Mistiora along to do anything, while the latter just accepted it with no questions asked.
"Still, though, do you want her to stay? I'll just say she left on her own journey in the middle of the night, and we no longer need to look for her."
"I'll leave it up to her when she wakes up."
"Fine."
Olga continued playing with Mistiora's beloved white silvery hair, running through it like a comb.
"Hopefully, you did not traumatize her," Olga mentioned. "Like having her become still with a sword at her neck, nearly struck her with an arrow, or you just blew up everything around her."
"Oi…"
She gave him a sly look, complete with sleazy eyes and a sly grin, "Am I wrong? Can you describe to me one moment you encountered a woman that was not followed by some sort of battle or show of force? Whether it was against them or when you fought something else."
He opened his mouth, about to mention Prim's name, but halted upon remembering throwing her at Alicia. Claudia was there too… definitely not Maia, maybe Luu-Luu? No, wait, he kicked her away several times from stealing his swords and definitely not Brynn.
"The fact that you have to think about it just tells me everything."
"There are plenty of people, I just can't even think of them at the moment."
She chuckled, genuinely, another rare sight. He had to admit, today she just looked no different from a normal woman happy to see her family. Without a trace of her Dark Queen moniker showing up in any form, that had killed thousands. No haughtiness, and even her voice sounded much softer. To him, for a brief moment, she looked like a different person.
He found her so beautiful. Like a painting mixed with love, passion, and comfort.
"I'll leave you three to s—"
"Wait…" She called out to him as he made his way back to the living room, closing the door behind her with a soft click. Making sure not to wake the others up, which he doubted would happen given how drunk they had become. Not even the ceiling crashing would open those eyes back up so easily.
"Need something? Or are you hoping to discuss matters concerning Mandeville?"
"Ah," the woman, having followed him out the door, found herself at a loss for words after he said that. But strangely enough, shook her head. "No, you… You have helped us more than I could ever imagine. My request back then to find Mistiora was mostly done out of desperation; part of me did not even expect any kind of result. So I can't ask more from you, my pride will not allow that. I shall not stoop to such a shameless level."
"As long as you don't get yourself into trouble. You've shown that you can handle yourself. Also, let me make one thing clear, I'm not against people asking me for help. I just got a bit exasperated with how ridiculous these problems occur, that's all. There's nothing wrong with wanting to help peo—" He stopped midspeech, realizing what he was about to say and not sure how to feel about that. Shaking his head, Archer ignored that and continued. "—wanting to help people."
"An interesting way of looking at things."
Interesting? That was one way to put it.
"While there may be nothing wrong with the intention, there may be something wrong with how it's done. That's something I've come to realize after something important. So smack me over the head if it looks like I'm going down the wrong path."
"I see, very well, I will make sure that you do not make an even bigger mess than you will probably already do. Still, are you sure you should ask me? You and I know that sometimes the answer can be quite the cruel one."
Both of them stood in silence at the words that lingered in the air, not denying or questioning the statements.
"Let's leave that for now. But to answer your previous question, no, I was not thinking about that Mandeville." She shifted her feet, clearly overthinking about something. "Despite having lost my castle, my demons, and my influence on the world as a whole—I remain the Dark Queen. Thus, as a ruler, it is in my best interest to reward my champion upon completing an important task for me, lest I lose faith and the loyalty of those around me."
He smirked, "Hoh, I'm your champion now? I wonder when I earned that title, does it come with any benefits?"
He doubted she had anything worthwhile to give him as a reward. Even if she did, he would not accept, mostly because he did not feel it was necessary to be handed out a prize for something this insignifacant. He had found Mistiora by pure luck and felt that she would have eventually found Olga even without him. In a way, he had not done much.
"That child, just like Chloe, represents a lot to me. An integral part of my life that, had I lost either of them, would have left me empty. I am willing to fight gods for them and even risk my life."
"You made that abundantly clear after your little escapade back in Feoh." He mentioned it with a dry tone.
"Then you will understand how much they mean to me. And thus, I shall give you an appropriate, valuable possession I hold with me as a reward." He was going to decline her offer, whether it be the knowledge of forgotten magic since he could not use it or some valuable item on her being. He was left with those words stuck in his throat by the sound of low, metallic thuds falling upon the wooden floor.
He turned around to look at the source and was shocked.
The armor made from dragon scales that the Queen had so vehemently argued about in its defense in the past, for its practicality and protection despite its skimpy and imprartical nature. Even going so far as to alter it so that the weakness he pointed out could be covered. Now it was being discarded with a simple move of her fingers, falling to her feet.
He watched her body presented on full display without a trace of fabric hiding her intimate parts. Aside from the vambraces on her forearm and the bit of armor surrounding her thighs.
The glow from the nearly extinguished fire dimly illuminated both the room and the contour of her body.
To call her beautiful would be an understatement; the woman did not fall short of the beauty Celestine possessed. Gifted in many ways while being equally as graceful, yet unlike with Celestine, Archer did not step back when she came up to him. Olga's hands gently touched both sides of his face, bringing him closer to see a visible blush grow on her face.
Her hazy amber eyes stared at him with a piercing look, not a trace of shyness or hesitation, mesmerizing him as she leaned in closer.
The sensation of her large, dark mocha breasts pressing against his own clothes, her bare pink nipples poked into his chest, causing a tickling sensation to course through him, aided by a massive softness and warmth. It mingled with the cold armor of her still armored thighs and wrists as she wrapped them around him.
Their faces connected.
The soft touch of her lips that still carried the taste of sweet wine, which he likewise figured was on his. He could feel themselves pulling into each other, as they granted entrance to each other's mouths. He could feel how aggressive she was proving herself to be with her tongue already entangling against his.
On his end, his arm circled her lithe, shapely waist, a sensation she seemingly enjoyed with a moan, as he pulled her own closer to him.
She separated before he was ready, causing him to feel like he had just lost something. "That reward is myself." She whispered close to his ear after they separated from the kiss. Memories of the moment between them back in Feoh right after the outbreak resurfaced, her lying on the bed with him on top as they made out, one hand clawing against his clothes while the other tangled in his hair.
Right now, nothing was stopping either of them from indulging.
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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, 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.