Beta read and Co-written by Gamercrusher55, Shigiya and Fluffy Slayer
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-Fullstar-
What a disastrous day.
That was how Chloe would summarize everything that was going on with her and her Queen. A complete disaster where she even, at some point, had just lost count of the number of times Lady Olga had been in danger, and all because of her. By her own lacking talents and capabilities to protect herself, her queen had been forced to come and save her. It was her duty to ensure that she was protected, not the other way around.
At least, by the mercy of the Giants, things worked out in the end.
Everything was then complicated the moment the High Elf Queen appeared. Chloe distrusted her instantly, an arrogant brat from Fullstar, a nation ruled by light and high elves, longtime enemies of the dark elves, and a former opponent of Queen Olga herself — though not in the same level as with Celestine. Running into the ruler of an old nation in such a remote place felt absurd, an unfortunate result of the teleportation gate placing them near the woman's location.
Still, the clash proved useful, serving as cover against the White Wolves and masking their movements. Chloe preferred not to dwell on Leona's ambush or the fact that the dark elf duo had followed Archer into enemy territory, instead reminding herself how easily they had secured shelter through hypnotism and how fragile ordinary humans were, a truth she often forgot after dealing with abnormal humans like the red-clad man after their sparring. In other words, her one sided beat down.
"You shouldn't drink too much this quickly, Mistiora. You'll make it go down the wrong hole and start choking." Now at night, and still within the house they had acquired, Chloe watched with subtle interest as her Queen interacted with this newcomer that Archer had brought with him. She realized that this was probably one of her Queen's only remaining family members that she'd had heard from her lady long ago. Someone, Olga, had been concluded to have died or had a low chance of still being alive. Her lady Olga would not mistake her, and if she was wrong, then Chloe would do whatever it took to make sure her Queen did not suffer further.
What she did not expect was how she was treating her.
'She looks so happy.' Chloe couldn't help but make that observation when she saw the bright smile on the Dark Queen's face, a kind of expression she rarely ever saw from her, if ever, even more so than one she often showed her when they were alone. It was one filled with genuine joy and excitement that momentarily made her look like a regular woman rather than the towering Dark Queen she saw her to be.
Chloe truly did not know whether to feel happy or saddened that once more, she was not the one who brought her such joy, and instead, it was that human man beside her. Equally, he was as responsible for their fall alongside the Kuroinu and Celestine, but now he was also the source of plenty of her precious Queen Olga's happiness, even if such moments were far and minuscule.
'You're useless, Chloe. The human had to do it instead of you. On top of that, you only endangered your Queen at that.' Chloe kept chastising herself, frustrated, and even somewhat jealous of how easily this man drew such expressions from her Queen in such a short time, so she buried those feelings in her drinks. Cup after cup she guzzled down her throat as she listened to their conversation, refilling without pause until the room began to sway and her thoughts blurred. Archer's voice had reached her at some point, warning that she was nearing her limit, but she brushed it off, forcing her eyes open and insisting she was fine as she continued to watch over the two dark elves.
Eventually, even her stubborn resolve failed; bottles emptied, her body flushed red, and despite all her willpower, she finally reached her limit. The last thing on her mind was the moment she was slumped on the sofa, drifting as the others continued their conversation.
After an unknown amount of time later she woke up in a bed with a splitting headache to accompany her. "Ow, Ow, Ow…" The half-elf groaned the moment she woke up. Feeling both exhausted, in pain from the migraine, and terribly dehydrated, she moved sluggishly, holding her head. Having not felt this bad even during her ruthless training under Olga's care.
'Damn it, I messed up again. What kind of protector gets drunk off their ass while leaving their lady undefended?'
She blamed that insufferable man entirely. His very presence had driven her to drink herself senseless. A few exchanges with him and she'd lost all sense of time. It wouldn't happen again.
Her throat burned with thirst as she stumbled toward the door for water, only to halt at the sight before her. Mistiora was crouched by the doorframe, peering through a crack while her body tensed and shifted. The dark elf's hands disappeared between her thighs as she watched whatever lay beyond. Chloe blinked hard, trying to clear her vision as she approached.
Drawing closer, Chloe froze. Even in the dim light, she could see Mistiora's face had flushed to a deep crimson that somehow showed clearly against her naturally dark complexion.
Finally, she got close enough that the faint sound of fabric material rustled and floorboards creaking from nearby. "Lady Mistiora? What are you doi—mph!?" She asked the first thing that came to mind, and for that, in the next instant, her mouth was immediately silenced by a sudden hand. The dark elf that had crouched down had practically disappeared from her spot and was now right in front of her, holding her mouth shut while the half-elf could only try to figure out just what was going on.
"Don't. Make. A. Sound."
The former whispered harshly, the sudden shift in her overall attitude stunning Chloe as she tried but failed to make sense of what was actually going on here. Her answer would soon come when Mistiora let go of her and went back to peeking through the door. Chloe, feeling that something was wrong, followed along and peeked through it herself, finally catching a glimpse of what lay on the other side that immediately shook her down to her core.
"Is that…" She whispered in disbelief, seeing both her queen and Archer through the crack, their figures standing next to the fireplace. The light barely illuminates their figures, as Olga's clothes lie on the ground. Both of them were practically glued to one another as they stood, their hands holding onto each other as their lips connected to one another in a passionate and sensual kiss.
Olga moaned, a sound that seemed to melt into the darkness, the kind of noise Chloe had never heard from her before—not in battle, not in pain, not even in those rare moments when she allowed herself to relax. The kiss was hungry, desperate, the Queen's fingers digging into Archer's shirt with the same elegance she wielded her staff, only now she was using it to pull him closer, not smite him down for his audacity. Her bare chests large dark brown orbs with stiff dusky nipples, pressed against him, dark skin flushed with color, nipples pebbling in the cold as they brushed the rough fabric of his coat.
Archer's hands moved with slow, deliberate intent, one tracing the curve of Olga's backside moving down to her waist, and getting closer and closer to the curves of her ass. The other reached up to cradle her lower jaw, his thumb raising, stroking her cheek. Their bodies moved together with a rhythm that was embarrassingly intimate to the half-Dark elf, tongues tangling against one another like it was the only way they remembered how to breathe. Even from here, Chloe could see the faint tremor in her Queen's thighs, the way her knees threatened to buckle but was only kept steady thanks to her arms wrapped around Archer's neck.
"What the…" It was as if her whole world had shattered before her, as each part of her brain tried to make sense of everything that was happening, but kept failing, unable to make sense of the sight. At first, she wanted to believe that this was just another strange dream, a construct of her mind portraying something very unbelievable. But the longer she looked, the more the girl started to realize that this was actually happening. Her heart felt like it would jump out of her chest.
"So she really is going that way with him." The blonde heard Mistiora whisper beneath her breath as she looked down at the person who was watching with her from her crouched spot. However, unlike her confusion, she saw her having a perfectly calm face instead, though it was hard to tell with the black veiled mask. Her eyes momentarily left the sight and focused on Chloe. "What's there to be surprised about? I've learned from Olga onee-sama herself just now that you've been in his company for quite a while. And I can tell from personal experience that this man is difficult to seduce."
Difficult to seduce? What was this person even saying? Though thinking about it for more than a second, she had to agree that, unlike most humans she had encountered in the past, lust was not the primary emotion that controlled this man. But that had nothing to do with what was currently going on in front of her!
"I can't blame her…needing to go this far…" The silver-haired Dark Elf said to herself, as they both kept watching them.
It was hard to see the details, but their movements were clear to both. Olga positioned herself over him, getting on her knees, resting them on the fur rug as her black hair pooled at her feet, the woman positioning herself between his legs. Wrapping his hard shaft between the valleys of her breasts.
"A-Ah…" Chloe became speechless, never in her wildest dreams ever imagining Olga doing such a thing. Feeling a growing heat between her legs, subconsciously rubbed her thighs, as she could feel her mouth dry up.
She gazed with shock as Olga sandwiched him between her breasts. Any conversation going on between them went right past her, her shock muting whatever they were saying.
She was dreaming, she had to be dreaming, there was absolutely no way Queen Olga of all people was on her knees, her hands squeezing her own breasts so tightly around that human's cock that it looked like she was trying to strangle it. Olga's lips parted, tongue flicking out, and Chloe watched, wide-eyed, as the tip of Archer's cock disappeared past the Queen's lips.
She squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them again, just to make sure she wasn't hallucinating.
Nope. Still there. Still happening.
Olga moaned softly, tongue swirling, as she took more of Archer's shaft into her mouth. Her cheeks hollowed as she sucked him in, unbothered by the sheer size of the thing. The Queen's hair shimmered in the firelight, black and glossy, trailing down her back and over her bare ass as she bobbed her head in slow motions making up for a lack of experience with passion and courage. Even now, even with her lips wrapped around a cock, she was regal. Fucking him majesticly.
"Ooh! She's already using them like that? Quite early, but I can understand why she doesn't want to stretch this for too long. A bit awkward with how she's positioning her arms. Pressing them with her forearms would have looked better. And she should try to caress every inch of his tip if she wants him to cum faster." Mistiora commented on the side with a strange level of enthusiasm and lecturing.
The blonde felt her skin tight clothing becoming too suffocating as her body kept wanting to breathe. Her clothes came loose the moment Olga began to move, sliding her breasts up and down his shaft, causing him to moan at every motion. The sight was intoxicating, the dark peaks of her nipples stiff with excitment as she squeezed and licked his cock with every pass, the sight further stimulating Chloe.
Without even realizing it, her fingers had found her hardened nipples, pinching and twisting them through the thin fabric until they ached deliciously. When she noticed, she tried to stop—really tried—but her traitorous hands kept kneading her swollen tits, her pussy already slick and throbbing in response. The alcohol swimming through her veins had dissolved any semblance of restraint. Glancing at Mistiora, she found the woman's fingers already buried knuckle-deep in her dripping cunt, her other hand frantically working her nipple in shameless circles, legs spread wide enough to give Chloe a perfect view of everything.
'How can she be so shameless doing this so openly? And why am I thinking of doing the same!?'
Seeing no point in looking away, she returned to the sight of the two, which hooked her like a fish. Olga's lips parted to take the head of his member into her mouth deeper down her throat, hands having let go of her breasts and now resting them on the man's thighs. Archer's hands were grabbing the sofa's fur lining beneath him.
The more Chloe looked, the less she wanted to avert her eyes, even though she could not understand it. It was not a sensation she was used to or a revulsion that she felt, but rather something entirely different that she could not put into words. Her breathing grew haggard, her face became more flushed, and her heartbeat kept beating twice as intensely as before. She could feel like it was about to burst out of her chest at any moment.
It was as if the heat from the sight had combined with the alcohol she drank to make it feel like her entire body was on fire.
"Currently, he is probably acting under orders from Celestine and the Seven Princess Knights. If Olga onee-sama wants to regain her domain and powers, she'll need to cripple them first. I don't know where they found this man, but he's a major threat. Not only did he kill the Kuroinu, from what I heard, but he also destroyed her castle and army. He's dangerous, but if we switched it around, get him on our side, it would be a boon. If he were to switch sides, then we would be the ones at a major advantage." Chloe listened to Mistiora's evaluation while they continued to watch in private.
Get Archer on their side? She doubted that after traveling with the man. The longer she stayed with him, the clearer it became that he wasn't truly aligned with the Seven Princess Knights either; their goals had merely overlapped. He followed his own path, and in watching him, she came to understand herself better. She no longer resented the Princess Knights for sending him — only for their dealings with the Kuroinu, and she knew his contempt for their failures as leaders was genuine. Yet she couldn't deny the envy she felt toward them for encountering him first. She wondered what might have changed if she and her Queen had met him before anyone else, whether he might have walked beside them instead, or if history would have twisted into something even worse. The thought unsettled her more than she liked.
"I don't think that's what Olga-sama is doing," she whispered, still watching them. To be honest, it was difficult for her to even fully understand why her queen was doing this; a part of her still felt she should be in a rage for what Archer was doing to her queen, but didn't. That left her confused and scared at the oddity, unable to currently grasp her own feelings.
Things on the other side had heated up even further. Olga, now on top, straddled him, with something white clinging to her face and breasts, all while looking like she was in full control. The white haired man grinding against her, both of their intimate areas pressing against one another. Olga let out a shrill, wild scream, her legs shaking as it looked like she lost her mind from it on the spot, moaning, but gritting her teeth closed to stop herself from letting out any sounds of her enjoyment, seeming to refuse to have Archer hear her moans. Her nails dug into his back, raking down hard enough to leave red lines. Her hips bucked along with his, chasing every last drop of friction, every single ounce of pleasure she could wring from his desperate, throbbing cock. Her juices were now pouring out, soaking his shaft and making a mess, the room filled with the sloppy, obscene sounds, as they moved to lie down on the rug.
Chloe's hands became more frantic, playing with her own nipples. The longer she watched, the more she imagined taking her place, being held in his arms, letting his hands roam over her body.
Making her into his.
'They look so soft… and the way he was grabbing her breasts…'
Chloe felt her arousal reach another level, continuing to play with her breasts and imagining Archer grabbing them instead, fondling her tits like his personal playthings. She started to tweak her nipples when she saw him engulfing her nipple, hungrily sucking the tips.
As difficult as it was, she was able to bite back her moan from the action, her panties starting to get damp from her arousal the longer she watched them. She stuck her hand in, noting that they were completely soaked, imagining those thick, callous fingers playing with her folds, his digits rubbing and spreading her walls, reaching deep to caress her walls.
"Aaah~!" She let out a loud moan when she came, soiling the wooden floor below. Thankfully, her moan was covered by Olga's scream of pleasure — yet she continued. Her breathing became increasingly frantic and loud as she witnessed his dick twitching as if he was about to blow at any moment. She moved her hands more aggressively as she was getting off the sight.
Having remembered when her Queen kissed and licked his shaft, wondered what it would taste like. She started to imagine herself licking every inch of it. From the balls dangling below to the flaring twitching head standing ramrod straight. Chloe's hands once again moved to her pussy, while she started to suck on her fingers, imagining that she was sucking on his cock.
Olga continued grinding against his cock, the slick sound echoing in her ears, while she fingered and sucked in sync to their rhythm. Completely lost in her own fantasy.
Then it happened. Around the same time as both Olga and Archer, her orgasm shook through Chloe. "Hnn~!" She came when Archer started to cum on Olga. She felt her throat go dry at the amount that he was releasing, volley after volley of solidus streams coating her queen's pristine body like a canvas. Having synchronized with her Queen's pace, she stood there enchanted by both her lady and the man that had been invading her thoughts as of late, while a strange, bitter sensation filled her heart as both pleasure and shame rippled through every fiber of her being. She was unable to realize how long she'd stared at them as they continued holding onto each other's bodies, completely forgetting about Mistiora next to her, having just reached her own climax, a puddle of her juices forming below her.
Mistiora let out a silent moan as well, breathing loudly as she continued to observe the scene, before frowning. "...Wait, something is wrong. This is too easy. And those moves, they're too rough and sloppy, even if she's holding herself well. Did she establish groundwork with him prior to that made him more susceptible? She's clearly managing to push through without backing down and showing enough confidence not to come off as weak. Still, the roughness of her moves. If I didn't know better, I'd say she's…"
Mistiora's eyes widened, and if one could see her face under her veil, they might see a look of pure shock, before narrowing in focus. "No… but if it is… I have to be sure." She continued to mutter to herself in silence as she continued to overlook what those two were doing.
As both continued to watch the spectacle unfold, things were clearly getting more and more heated up to the point that even Misty's face started to shift from expectation to wonder. "Still, she really is quite talented, pushing him to his limits even when I failed. How did she do it? She's not using any powers, is she? Maybe she is, and I just can't sense it."
Chloe was listening idly to her, while still watching, before something Misty said clicked in her head as she turned to her. "Hold on, what do you mean by when you failed?" Chloe's voice turned a tiny bit sharper than she wanted to, making it sound like she was interrogating her. She had heard that Archer had met this woman under dubious circumstances, but she did not know the exact details, since they never had the chance to get the full story.
Her question, on the other hand, just made the other one chuckle. Had Chloe looked closer, she would have seen a mischievous smile forming on her face behind the veil. "Exactly what it means, I tried to seduce him to get him under my control and take me to Olga. I really didn't care much what would happen after that. Why the possessiveness lady Chloe? Do you also want to bed that human?"
"N-No!" Chloe said with a stutter, unable to even form a proper response to the question, her state of mind caught off guard, basically growing more and more flustered at the thought.
"You don't need to lie to me. I recognize desire when I see it. Whether it be in the eyes of men or even women. You were looking at him with such need and affection the entire time when we were talking to one another earlier. Why else would you have sided right next to him? You were even leaning against him to feel his warmth." Mistiora looked up at Chloe's face, her smile captivating but also scary. "Just imagine the sensation of having such a powerful man beneath you, helpless and squirming for your touch. Begging and pleading, while you rip the pleasure out of him until your body gives up on you."
'Thi-This woman is shamless and out of her mind! Why would I ever have such desires for that-that bastard!? I would never make such expressions nor would I ever act like that!' Such thoughts went through Chloe's mind as she shot back quickly, "I don't care about that human; I only care about my Queen and her well-being. I will ensure Olga-sama's will, goals, and happiness are seen to and fulfilled. Even—Even if it means she's chosen to take that human as her concubine."
Mistiora looked at Chloe's ever-blushing face. "I see… I'm glad to see that Olga has such a loyal subordinate by her side. So if you would forgive me for being so bold, if you're truly so devoted to her, then you should also be equally as enthusiastic about helping her out to achieve her goals, right?"
Understanding the meaning behind those words, Chloe turned her head to look at the silver-haired dark elf. Eyes widening upon realizing that, just like herself, Mistiora had unraveled her own dress. Her front was fully exposed, her erect nipples unbared, and visible arousal streaming down her legs.
She was beautiful. Her voice as she spoke, the allure on her face, those jewel-amethyst-like eyes that made her almost feel captivated; All of it made her unable to look away so easily. She possessed the same kind of beauty as the one she served, but there was something more to it that enhanced it overall.
"I, I do. I-I mean, if… um, if my Queen ne-needs help with a-anything, I am more than wi-willing to offer my aid."
In the end, Chloe found herself agreeing, the answer leaving her mouth before she could fully question it. The response only caused the mysterious smirk on the other woman's lips to widen, as if she had been waiting for that exact reply.
"Then why not help her~! Together. I'll join you. I still have to avenge myself for what he did to me before as well. I refuse to believe he is an impenetrable wall that cannot be brought down. Just look, Olga onee-sama has already broken him enough to push him to the edge of losing control. Come on, just a bit more. He only needs a single, gentle push."
The thought of doing those things with him filled Chloe's head. Now her mind was beginning to start to conjure up images of herself being in her lady Olga's position. Straddling him and kissing him as both of their naked bodies continued mingling with one another. Rubbing off on each other's privates, their tongues intertwined, his fingers digging into her butt, with enough force to make her squeal. This went on for long enough for the intensity to grow between them and for him to get more aggressive and more forceful.
Normally, ideas like involving a human in such an action would have filled her with immediate disgust. That reaction never failed her before. This time, that reaction never came. No revulsion, no instinctive rejection. The absence itself unsettled her more than the thoughts ever could. Had she really changed that much? She tested herself by imagining the same acts with another human, anyone else, and the familiar sense of rejection came crashing back ten times stronger than before. Yet the moment she replaced that image with him again, the feeling vanished as if it had never existed.
'Why is this… Ah…I see. It is actually because I do not see him as a human. Not the same as any of the ones I know, at least.'
It was not a new realization that came out of nowhere, having fought against that idea before, half aware of it but never willing to fully acknowledge it. She remembered how she'd dared him to try to assault her back when they trained, only for him to look at her with caring eyes and concern. That may have been the moment she wanted something more but refused it. She had, though, not expected it to take root so deeply within her mind, to the point where imagining him handling her body as he wished, even abusing it, did not repulse her. Instead, it stirred something she refused to name.
The way Mistiora spoke of it, though, she meant that it would not just be the two of them, but Olga as well. She was saying that this was what Olga also wanted. That Olga's will was to dance around the man's heart and make him putty in her hands. Which meant it would be the three of them… together.
A blush even more crimson red appeared on Chloe's face, as rather than being disgusted by it, it only served to entice her more to the future endeavors. Her and her Queen being together as one, she could not imagine anything more of an honor and a blissful happiness than that, then add the man as he held both of them close and…
"I see, it appears you've come to terms with it. Both for your feelings toward this man and toward Olga. It appears you were not even aware of it to this extent." Mistiora took satisfaction in Chloe's acceptance of her feelings and agreement with her words.
"N-No, I mean—ugh! Ye-Yes! I-I mean… I see now that it ma-makes sense for me to help her!" Whisperedly shouted the blonde half-elf, trying to keep her confidence but failing. "I would be doing this for my Queen. Just for my Queen. I would be helping her achieve her goals. Her victory over that man."
That made the person in front of her chuckle, amused, not going any further with the teasing. "Good~! Ah, look, he got hard again. Even after he had already been granted release several times since they started. My sister really is a natural. Now is the perfect time to alter his mind and allow my powers to work on him."
With those words, something shifted. Mistiora's attention snapped back to the present as she moved one of her hands to remove her silken black mask. She watched with bated breath with Chloe as the scene before her came back into focus. She moved her other hand and body as if to open the door, ready to step out and assist Olga as planned. Just as Chloe moved away from the door, before the seductress's hand touched the handle, she froze.
Her expression shifted rapidly. Happiness gave way to joy, then reverence, only for all of it to collapse into confusion. Shock followed, and finally pure disbelief. Her breath caught on her, shallow and uneven, as her confidence drained away in an instant.
"Something is not right," she whispered, her voice barely audible, stripped of all the certainty she had moments before. "Why… why is she…"
Confused by the sudden shift, Chloe went back to peeking inside the living room, only to find a previously missing weak presence of white light. Coming from Olga as her fingers rested on her lower stomach, touching the seal of protection itself.
While she was trying to grasp what the meaning of such an action was, Mistiora was quick to react, "No! What is she doing!?" Shouting in disbelief, the woman rushed past her, making Chloe fall to the ground in a panic upon finding the door swung open and leaving them completely exposed.
But none of their attention was on her, and instead, fully on Mistiora. The two had looked completely shell-shocked at the interloper, which was equally joined by the one who barged in as well.
But to make matters worse, for a brief moment, Chloe saw Archer's gaze come upon her.
Shame took over, and the throbbing headache from the alcohol did not help.
{Break}
(Present)
-Fullstar Academy Library Outskirts-
There were many things that one could take note of upon arriving in Fullstar. The diversity of species that walked through the gate. The boisterous streets, the beautiful landscape, and the overall atmosphere. Several times did Archer come to the conclusion that this place could be described as the amalgamation of the best traits of the seven kingdoms ruled by the princess knights.
But there was one aspect present here that he had not encountered in any of the previous kingdoms he had been in, or perhaps there was, and he just never encountered it. It was hard to tell, but here he finally found a magic school. A magical organization based on the mystics themselves, which, before him, took the form of the Mage Academy itself.
If anything, it reminded him more and more of the Clock Tower, even after so many years of memories making it a hazy memory, he could still remember that place well and had all kinds of memories of the kind of people one could find in such a place. Pretentious mages so filled with arrogance that their numbers went into the thousands, or those so focused on their goals to reach the Root and the secrets of magic that they disregarded everything and anything else that had nothing to do with it.
'Is it strange that I'm getting the same sensation here as well?' Archer thought to himself while sitting on the outside of the library, as he watched the different types of mages come and go as they pleased. He was at what could be described as a small cafe or restaurant with tables laid outside where students could be seen spending their time enjoying a cup of tea and reading whatever book they found inside. Even here, he felt the lingering gazes from those around him as a newcomer. A few wore genuine curiosity, but most did not have such kind expressions to say the least.
"Now that I pay closer attention, I don't think most of the attention is directed towards Kaguya or me, for that matter." He muttered to himself, starting to realize that such negative emotions were instead directed towards the girl in front of him, who was looking towards the sky, her back straight as she softly pinched her nose, with a few tissues stuffed into her nose. She held it with her hand in order to stop the bleeding from her recent impact with a table.
"How long should I stay like this?" She said with a nasally voice as her other hand tried to grab onto some of the snack cookies they had gotten earlier from the cafe, and was awkwardly chewing on them from above. "Ten to fifteen minutes or until you stop bleeding. I've never seen someone bleed so much from falling onto their faces; they're still cleaning that pool of blood inside the library." He said in a dry tone, recalling their first encounter, before shaking his head. "Also, stop trying to eat like that, you'll end up choking. Just wait until the blood dries, and then you can start eating."
"Muu~! But I'm hungry! I haven't eaten in two days."
"Two days? Why?"
He could see her face growing several shades of red, remaining silent for a few seconds, before she whispered quietly. "I couldn't afford it."
That stunned the former Servant more than he would have liked. He slowly turned his attention to Kaguya, who was busy enjoying her tea, completely detached from the world and enjoying her own moment of quietness. It was only until he cleared his throat did she finally looked at him and had the audacity to roll her eyes as if he had disturbed her.
"The academy is a prestigious place where only the best of the best can attend. It uses top-quality resources to train its mages, and most of their teachers are renowned mages themselves who are paid a pretty penny to teach them. And unfortunately, to become a mage is no different from burning said money for those resources; even the very basics require a big sum of coins that not many can afford. Which is why to reach the caliber of those mages qualified enough to attend here, the only possible way to do so mostly falls on those who are part of an official noble family who have enough money in their coffers to cover the expenses."
"Is that your overly long way of saying that the food here is expensive rather than it being free?"
"Yes."
"You could have just said that."
She shrugged. "It's not that expensive. Steak with potato wedges is two silver coins if I recall correctly."
This time, Archer's eye twitched upon hearing that ridiculous pricing. Having worked at the Emerald Inn, where just having a full meal was at most expensive, a handful of copper coins, this kind of pricing even flabbergasted him. He understood how mages like Astrid couldn't even afford food. At those rates, they would die of hunger before graduating.
"That is highway robbery."
"That's what one should expect given they use high-quality ingredients that are all aimed to boost the capabilities of the students such as boosting their mana regeneration rate and increasing their affinity with spells." She then proceeded to point her fingers at the snacks on the table, "Yours alone are twenty copper coins."
His eyes twitched, now looking at the girl in front of him with pity. Didn't she mention something about needing the money that she would be getting from this job? Now it made more sense why. "Can't you just go eat outside? "Surely you would be saving so much more money just by getting away from these ridiculous prices. It's not fair to you since you're not from a noble birth like them; don't try to copy them."
"Ummmmm, about that"
Kaguya continued to speak, cutting off Astrid. "Miss Flamel over here is also of noble birth. She is not as helpless as you might believe, Sir Archer."
"What?"
Now presented with such information, he turned his attention back to the girl who awkwardly chuckled while scratching her cheeks, still looking at the sky. "It's expensive to research anything that has to do with the Philosopher's Stone, you know!"
"So you did this to yourself?" Archer was staring at her, dumbfounded.
"She is also very bad at managing her own funds, given I have already given her a small advance of her stipend before bringing you here. Which she has clearly already spent already," Kaguya added with a stern tone, making the girl yelp and flinch in her spot.
The more he learned, the more Archer felt a strange sense of familiarity dawn upon him. He remembered someone whose research was so expensive that most of her funds went into just acquiring the jewels she needed that could make her magecraft function. She was in such debt to the point she could barely take care of herself, but refused to give up on the path of the magus and her family's magecraft.
Well, he supposed she and Rin would get along quite well. Archer snickered aloud at the similarity, garnering the attention of the two ladies he was sitting with.
"Let's move on. The more time we waste, the more days you go with an empty treasure chest and stomach."
Astrid visibly brightened at the shift in topic. "Yes! Wait, I meant I mean no! Oh, I meant yes, let's start!" she said with several stutters, nodding her head only to have more blood stain her clothes as it escaped her nose. "AH!"
Honestly, the more he looked at her, the less confident he became about her involvement in this entire thing. Would this girl truly be able to help them? Even if Kaguya gave him her word, there was still a lot of trust to be put in such a big job.
Kaguya sighed before turning to him dryly. "For someone of your apparent caliber, I am surprised you can't even use a simple healing spell for as minor a thing as a nosebleed."
He responded only by having the same dry stare shot back at her. "I should be saying the same about you. As a priestess, that's the minimum necessity I expected."
"My expertise does include healing, I just never imagined that I would need to bring my talismans here when I'm apparently accompanied by someone so capable." She did not even bother to hide the sarcasm in her tone. Doing so all the while keeping her vocabulary quite polite.
"Well, that only just goes to show how incapable you are at properly preparing. Don't blame your faults on other people. You should always expect the worst and prepare appropriately."
"Um…" Both of them were so focused on the intense sparking glares between them and the barbs they traded that they didn't even realize that the distance between them had been gradually reducing as their faces drew closer. In the end, Astrid was the one to snap them back to reality, as they realized what they were doing and returned to their proper spots.
"Ahem, yes, it is important we get started with important matters. Initially, I organized this meeting for you to get to know each other, but since that's already happened, it would be best to move along with the next step. Here." Without wasting another second, Kaguya's hand went within her cleavage, retrieving a small cylinder-like translucent glass-floss tube before handing it over to Astrid.
Archer looked at the contents inside it and realized that it was a worm, one of the many he had seen on the corpse prior.
"Thank you." Surprisingly, the girl accepted the item without showing any negative reactions, taking on a professional demeanor that he had not expected to see from her. "These are quite the rare kind of familiars. I can't even tell what particular type of insect this larval species originates from. But it is a unique specimen."
"Hard to call it unique when we have encountered several hundred of them." He added, Kaguya confirming his assessment with a nod. "This type of insect does not concern us; we are more interested in whether or not you can track its owner."
"I can try, but there's no guarantee of success. The best I can do is…"
"If it is the best outcome, then so be it, best to have a small chance than nothing at all."
Astrid grew serious, reminding Archer of Rin with how seriously she took her magic. Archer proceeded to see several magic circles form on the palm of Astrid's hand, running along the container while her other hand proceeded to retrieve several more instruments from her dress pocket that seemed to be magical in nature. Seconds turned into minutes, and no one disturbed her, watching her work diligently until she stopped and let out a tired sigh. "Well, I have good news and bad news."
"Good news first." "Let's hear the bad one."
Both Archer and Kaguya said what they wanted simultaneously, causing the duo to once more exchange a slight glare before focusing their attention back on the young mage. "Either way is fine."
"All right, good news is that there is thankfully enough of a faint signature that remains within its body that I can identify it's most likely related to its master. That means I can identify it if I see it again. But as for bad news, it is extremely faint and is impossible to use to track down the perpetrator in such a massive city. Too many magical signatures around here would dull the already faint trace, making it easily blend in and invisible."
"Then we are back at square one?" Archer added with a disappointed look, only for Astrid to shake her head vigorously.
"No! Definitely not! Sorry, I didn't explain myself properly. I meant that this worm in particular doesn't have enough magical energy to sufficiently allow me to locate its master. But if you can show me the corpse you told me this came from, where there are more of these, and hopefully, if I can find some that are still alive, I'll be able to solidify the signal and make it easier to track this person down."
"Rest assured, that part has already been handled. My people have sent the remains to the same address you gave us." Kaguya mentioned.
That was surprisingly quick. Archer had to admit that after setback after setback, he was used to things not going well at this point, but the fact that it was made him feel it started to be fishy. "Don't you find it strange that they would have allowed their creations to remain behind if they could be used to track them down?"
The priestess hummed, not dismissing his words immediately. "It may seem like that, but I assure you, they are not aware of the existence of Astrid Flamel here. We have been playing this game for centuries, so they have grown arrogant in believing that we will never be able to track them down, but now it's of course no longer the case."
Her words were logical, and they made sense when taken at face value. Even so, he could not stop a thin layer of doubt from settling in his mind. Logic did not always mean truth, and experience had taught him that people often hid foolishness behind confident explanations. Still, there was also the possibility that he was overestimating the person responsible for this mess. Anyone careless enough to try and bring a Beast into this world, even by accident, would ultimately amount to nothing more than a fool who thought too highly of themselves…
…or an incredibly dangerous and likely insane monster.
"Then let's move," Archer said. "The quicker we get this done, the quicker I can go back to Feoh."
"You shall accompany Lady Astrid as we agreed upon. I still have other matters to attend to and further secure my shrine from any further death. Not to mention, I must send a message back to Ladies Alicia, Prim, Luu-Luu, and Claudia to inform them of your status."
She rose from her chair and walked past him without hesitation. As she did, his eyes drifted to the table, where a single cool gold coin had been left behind. She had not even waited for her change. The coin caught the light for a moment before settling into stillness, and that alone told him enough. She was definitely wealthy. He knew other princess knights who would never have done something like that. Maia, in particular, would have argued over the price or at least waited for the change. Kaguya had not even looked back.
They left together soon after, as Astrid left in a carriage, with Archer following close behind her. He kept his distance just enough to observe her without being obvious, while also keeping an eye on her movements. He had expected them to head toward one of the dormitories within the academy, but instead the carriage went farther, moving away from the main grounds and into a quieter part of the city. The buildings grew older, their walls stained and cracked, their windows uneven. When the carriage finally stopped, he realized the place she lived in was rundown, even worse than where Olga had stayed.
"I suppose rent is cheaper here," he said, glancing at the place, returning to her side when he saw no one was around.
"I actually got it for free," Astrid replied with a proud look on her face. "In exchange, I was asked to help the landlord by providing him with several potions each month at no cost. Ah, h-he does provide me with the ingredients, so I'm not wasting my money!"
The more he learned about her, the more a familiar face started to come back to him. They were not the same, but their financial circumstances sure were similar.
"Before you check the body," he added, "I should warn you. It is not a sight that is easy on the eyes."
"That is fine," the pink-haired girl said with confidence. "I have helped others many times with dissecting human bodies as part of group research."
"Dissecting bodies?" he repeated, raising an eyebrow despite himself.
"Yes. There was a recently discovered elf who had died from old age," she explained. "Since this person's origin could not be identified, our academy bought the corpse. We opened the body to understand why their kind is so loved by magic. It was a fascinating project, and it helped deepen my understanding of the Philosopher's Stone."
How those two things were connected was beyond him. Still, it served as another reminder that people like her were not so different from the mages of his own world. Curiosity often outweighed restraint, and morality was treated as an afterthought.
…But at least these people waited for the person to die…or not…he'd have to keep watching them to confirm.
They soon reached a barely furnished office. The room smelled faintly of dust and old paper. Just as she had mentioned earlier, a body lay in the center of the room, encased within a large box. "Good, it seems like Kaguya sent it to me, like I asked, and in the condition I specified," Astrid replied factly as she moved to work. Several worms clung to the corpse itself, while others had been carefully collected and stored in another container nearby. The contrast between the careful preservation and the brutal state of the body was unsettling in its own quiet way.
"Is this your first time dealing with the Insect God Cult?" Archer asked, speaking out of simple curiosity.
"They are quite well known in certain circles," Astrid replied, not looking up from her work. "Their current leader was once a student of this academy long ago. I would occasionally hear mentions of them here and there, but I never paid them much attention."
"I see," Archer said. "I should warn you that they are a dangerous group. Especially because of their war against Princess Knight Kaguya. They may not be as well known here as they are in the Seven Kingdoms, but that does not make them harmless."
She gave a small nod but said nothing more. As silence settled again, a sense of suspicion began to fester about the oddities of this mission. He could not identify why he was feeling this way, but kept himself ready for anything.
"Poor girl," Astrid said after a moment, having completed her observations. "She was not only devoured from the inside, but her body was also abused. The eggs originated from the womb."
"That is what it looks like," Archer replied.
"So, Archer," Astrid continued, moving on, "may I know which academy you came from? For someone working alongside one of the Princess Knights, I do not recall ever hearing your name."
She continued her examination as she spoke, her tone casual but curious.
"I came from another place entirely from the territories around here," Archer said. "If you mean that you have never heard my name from any academy here, then do not bother looking. You will not find anything. The place I come from is far, far beyond your reach and not connected with any of the magical organizations around here."
"Fascinating… Wait. Did you come from the island where it is mentioned that all elves originated from? Igg, was it?"
He shook his head almost immediately, wanting to cut the idea off before it rooted itself any deeper. "I am not an elf, just a normal human and that place is not real. There is no clear history behind it. It is just a story concocted by the church."
"I see." She nodded once, accepting it with surprising ease. "Then may I ask what your field of expertise is? What kind of mage are you?"
He took a seat on one of the chairs in the room as she spoke, the wood creaking faintly under his weight. His eyes wandered on their own, drifting across the space with idle disinterest. The room was sparse to the point of neglect. Bare walls, old shelves left half empty, and corners where cobwebs had clearly been allowed to settle in and claim ownership. It felt less like a workshop and more like a place someone merely existed in. There were other signs too. A faint smell of old cloth. A closet door that was not quite closed, hiding a poorly stacked pile of dirty clothes that did nothing to conceal itself. Whoever lived here clearly did not care much for appearances, or maybe just did not have the time or patience to manage them.
"Projection magecraft," he answered plainly.
He chose that word deliberately. Tracing did not have a clean equivalent here, and explaining it would only invite more questions than it answered; Projection was close enough to get the point across.
"Projection?" she repeated, tilting her head. "Like creating a construct of yourself to relay a message?"
"Half right," he replied. "I do not create a construct of myself. I create physically interactable constructs of other objects."
"Ooooh!" Her eyes lit up, curiosity bursting out with no attempt to restrain it, as she turned her head to him with interest. "That is fascinating. The only version I have seen is when people create an image of themselves in another location or even another country to send a message. But this is the first time I have heard about creating items. Can you teach me?"
"No."
The answer came out flat, without hesitation.
"Ooohhh." Her shoulders slumped, disappointment settling in immediately, as she went back to work. The reaction was so obvious it almost hurt to look at. For a brief second, she reminded him of a puppy that had just been denied food. That image did not last long, though. Puppies did not casually work over corpses or handle them without the slightest hesitation, and she had already proven she was more than comfortable with that.
She recovered quickly, eyes sharpening again as another thought formed. "Wait. If you can replicate items, how close are they to the original counterpart?"
"Close enough, I guess," he said calmly with a shrug, "They are not the original. They are still fakes at the end of the day. But they function the same way. A fake cup is still a cup where you can pour water into it. A fake knife will still stab and cut like the original, and even the clothes you make can still be worn as usual. My constructs are really good, able to replicate to the most minor detail. Just think of it as a form of material transmutation that involves combining air particles with magical energy. I feel that name fits my magecraft better."
As he spoke, he could practically see the gears turning inside her head. Ideas are stacking on top of each other, accelerating instead of slowing down. A strange sense of deja vu crept over him when a certain emotion crossed her eyes.
Greed.
Before he could react, she erased the distance between them and grabbed him by the collar. Her grip was surprisingly strong. Her eyes sparkled like stars with a thin edge of madness that made his instincts flare. It felt uncomfortably familiar, like he had seen this look before and he never enjoyed the outcome.
"I-In that case," she said, her voice trembling with excitement, "can you also create magical items? Can you dou-double my resources? No, triple them! No, multiply them by a hundred if you wanted to, without spending a single coin?"
He could see froth gather at the corner of her mouth as she spoke, her voice rising several octaves higher than before. The raw hunger in her expression left no room for doubt. At that moment, realization finally settled in.
Rin and Astrid would definitely get along.. Or try to kill the other to monopolize resources.
"There is no point in you learning it, given there is a high likelihood you can't. There are some requirements that you don't have that will slow down the process immensely. Also, Projection Magecraft is not the solution you need; the constructs I make while stable are often case-based on personal affinity and skill level. In most cases, they are temporary and fragile, so they can't act as substitutes or as actual resources for your research."
"Progress is still progress, and we won't know if I can or can't without trying! I have enough time, and I will try my best, I promise!"
"Damn it," now he wondered if he should just lie and tell her that his magecraft was only temporary and would disappear as the energy got weaker — it wasn't a lie since he was just describing regular Projection Magecraft and not Tracing. But if she knew about Tracing, she would never let him go. She would glue herself to his leg and refuse to move until he traced a bag filled with gems. One of his memories among the several Holy Grail Wars he had been summoned to made that painfully clear. In one instance in particular, Rin had seriously considered using command seals to turn him into a factory. He was not eager to repeat that experience.
"It's more complicated than that. And if this is about helping you duplicate resources for your attempt to recreate a Philosopher's Stone," he continued, "then even if my creations could last forever, I doubt they would help much. I do not know the full process, but something like that feels like it requires more than just having an abundance of materials."
"N-No, I was hoping you could maybe, or maybe not, help me by, I do not know, creating a room full of gold or orichalcum coins for me to use!" she said in a timid tone, though the familiar edge of greed still slipped through her words despite her hesitation.
"That will either get you killed and robbed, or both. Or you might destroy the economy while you are at it. No way. And if someone decides to test the authenticity of those coins by breaking them hard enough, they'll turn to magical energy, and everything will be exposed. At that point, you would be hunted down, execution would be the most likely outcome."
"I… I… um, I can use them… sparingly?"
"Still no." Archer shut it down without hesitation. He would do something like that for plenty of people, Alice included, but he did not trust this woman nearly enough to invite that kind of trouble into both her life and his.
"Uuuh… then maybe I can pay you?"
"With what money? You can barely keep yourself alive." He said dryly, gesturing at the dirty living conditions.
"With my b-b-b-body, ahhh!"
A short cry escaped her lips as he flicked her forehead without warning.
"You are pushing it. Are you that desprate for money?" A sigh escaped his lips when asking that question.
Astrid looked away with some embarrassment. "I am sorry. It is just that a few professors asked for something similar in exchange for letting me become their student and learn their craft, though in the end, I never got to that point. Some of the girls always bragged about using this method to get perfect grades… they said I had a pretty good body for it… so I thought that maybe…"
Alright, this academy was definitely like the Clock Tower after all. He couldn't count how many times scandals went around with teachers having illicit affairs with their students. "Well, good thing I am not a professor. And even if I wanted to, I believe there's a chance you are physically incapable of learning the kind of magecraft I use. It is fundamentally different from the magic practiced in these lands. Your body may not handle it well."
"Oh… that's… um… Then can't you teach me the magical system you use?"
"Look, that's a big ask, and until I know you better, I'm sorry, but I don't feel comfortable sharing any more of my secrets yet. My job is to protect you, not to be your mage teacher. It benefits me if you know some specifics so you won't interfere with my spells and can plan with it in mind, but until our relationship improves, everything else is off the table."
"Hah, fine. I understand." She answered after another pause, the disappointment clear. The girl turned back to her station and resumed her work without further protest, focusing on the task at hand instead of fighting his stubbornness for now.
"Picking up where we left off, any good news?" Archer asked as he leaned back slightly, eyes still scanning the room out of habit.
The room grew brighter with each spell she cast on the corpse and on her vials, faint layers of light stacking on top of one another. The silence stretched on for several seconds, long enough to feel uncomfortable, before she finally responded.
"Yes, I think I have something." She turned around and held one of the worms above her hand, its slick body twitching faintly. "I cannot pinpoint the exact location, but this thing can. It reacts based on how close its master is. So what is left is basically a game of hot and cold."
Archer stepped closer as she carefully placed the creature into a jar. Even through the glass, he could feel a faint sense of unease. Handling something like that without killing it on instinct was more irritating than he expected.
"If you don't mind me asking. Why is it that you are the only one capable of doing this if you are just an assistant mage? Do not get me wrong, I appreciate the help, and I am thankful for your contribution, but I have to ask. Why couldn't Kaguya just ask one of the official mages instead?"
"Um… that is because I am using a spell passed down to me by my father. He invented it before he died." She hesitated before continuing with a small smile. "It was the first spell I ever learned, and he passed away without leaving any notes of it behind — except for what he taught me. I never shared it with anyone, and he never shared it with anyone else but me. Also, I do owe Miss Kaguya a lot; this is not the first time she's helped me. Also, getting rid of that cult is a nice little bonus, I guess, one less problem for future me to worry about."
That explanation made things click into place, and he was surprised that the ice-hearted Princess Knight went out of her way to help this person. It was… unexpected.
"Hm?"
Archer was about to follow up with another question regarding the nature of the spell when his body went completely still. His focus sharpened as an odd detail registered in his mind.
"It's too quiet."
"Eh? What do you mean?" She tilted her head, confusion written plainly across her face.
Instead of answering, he turned his gaze toward the entrance of the house, his posture shifting subtly.
"This house is near a busy street."
"So? It is probably lunch break, and people are going home to eat." She shrugged it off, still not grasping the implication.
That assumption lasted exactly one second.
The worm inside the container suddenly began to spasm violently, slamming against the glass as if trying to escape. A massive influx of energy surged from beyond the street, washing over the area like a pressure wave. Several of the insects nearby began to bloat visibly, their bodies swelling at an unnatural rate as they grew several times their original size.
"Shit."
"Kya!"
Moving quickly, Archer grabbed onto the girl just as a loud boom reached their ears. The sound rolled through the night like a hammer striking stone, followed by several more detonations occurring at the same time. Each of the worms exploded together, releasing a violent torrent of fire and a crushing shockwave that tore through the area. The makeshift mage workshop wooden house did not stand a chance. From the outside, the structure was ripped apart in an instant, beams snapping, walls folding inward, and splintered planks blasted away in every direction as if the building itself had been erased.
Rather than being caught in the center of the blast, Archer moved on instinct. His figure could be seen hurled through the air, twisting as he shielded the girl with his body. He crashed back-first against the thick trunk of a nearby tree with a heavy thud that echoed through the street. A sharp groan escaped his mouth as pain flared across his back and shoulders, but his arms never loosened. The girl remained firmly held against his chest, her head tucked safely beneath his forearms. A translucent pink shield shimmered briefly around them, something he had managed to trace at the very last second. Even so, the explosion still reached him. Part of his pants was torn open, and his forearm and shoulders were scorched, the fabrics singed, and his skin burned where the flames had licked past his defenses.
"Damn it. I should have known. It was a trap," Archer muttered, his voice tight as he quickly assessed his condition. He drew in a breath and let it out slowly, relief showing on his face when he realized the injuries were not as severe as his first encounter with Draco.
"A-Archer! Are you okay!?" the girl asked, her voice shaking as she looked up at him.
"I'm fine," he replied. "We should be worrying about your safety first. Looks like they learned about your existence. We are surrounded."
Surprised by his words, the woman forced herself to look around. The color drained from her face as the situation became clear. Several buzzing entities hovered in the air above them, their wings producing a constant, grating hum. They were giant insects, each nearly half the size of a human, their bodies twisted and unnatural, mandibles clicking as they circled. On the ground, the street itself seemed to crawl. Thousands of smaller insects poured out from cracks, holes, and shattered houses, emerging in waves until every escape route was blocked. The smell of smoke mixed with something foul and organic, filling the air and making her stomach turn.
"I really do hate these things," Archer said, his tone filled with annoyance as he pushed himself to his feet. Right before her eyes, sparks of light gathered around his hands. The glow grew in intensity and condensed, and in a heartbeat, a single black sword came into existence.
"Just stay behind me and don't move," he told her, positioning himself between her and the approaching swarm.
{Break}
(Feoh)
"I'm bored."
Those were the words that slipped out of Brynn's mouth as she lay sprawled across the bed usually used by Archer and Radomira. The brunette stared up at the ceiling with unfocused, bored eyes while her legs kicked lightly against the mattress again and again. The feeling had become far too familiar. Ever since those two had left, the estate had grown quiet. Too quiet for her liking. The halls felt empty, the air still, and there was nothing demanding her attention or her abilities.
"I miss them," she murmured to herself before yawning. She rolled onto her side and buried her face into the soft bedding, inhaling deeply. The room was spotless. Almost unnaturally so. The drapes had been changed and carried a faint scent of lavender. Every utensil had been scrubbed and polished until it shone like a mirror. There was not even a hint of dirt anywhere in sight.
She had done all of this to mimic his habits, but also to keep her mind occupied. Cleaning had given her something to focus on, something repetitive and grounding. Still, there was only so much she could clean before she risked damaging things from scrubbing them too hard or too often.
"When will they come back?" she asked quietly. "At least he will be happy returning to a clean room."
A small sense of pride stirred in her chest as she thought about how far she had come. Her cleaning skills had improved far beyond her former self, the version of her that had only ever been occupied with her duties as a captain. Back then, she would never have imagined herself caring about such details.
"Should I ask Lady Alicia if she needs any help?" She said, lifting her head slightly.
It seemed like a reasonable idea if she wanted to stay useful. Alicia, unlike before, was rarely seen outside of her office anymore. The last time she had passed by her office, the blonde woman had been practically buried beneath a mountain of paperwork. Thankfully, a new secretary had appeared from seemingly nowhere and helped make things more manageable, though it was still an overwhelming amount of work.
Brynn knew herself well enough to admit she wasn't that great when it came to writing. The thought of being stuck behind a desk made her grimace. Still, if Alicia asked her to train the knights in her place, she would not hesitate. She could pass on a few of the skills Archer had taught her. More than that, she could tell them about the things he had done, the battles he had fought, and the sacrifices he had made. Those young knights deserved to know why the kingdom they served still stood.
"That's actually a good idea," she said to herself, and the more she thought about it, the more she felt confident about it. With that quiet conclusion settling in her mind, a renewed sense of purpose stirred within her. Pushing herself off the bed and straightening her clothes, her movements were a little quicker than before as she made her way outside.
The halls of the castle felt too big lately. Without Radomira's constant presence, the entire place felt far too large and hollow, its wide corridors echoing softly with each step she took. As one would expect, Brynn started missing that troublesome little brat more than she cared to admit.
Or rather, the brat-like woman? Hard to call Radomira a brat anymore with how quickly she grew… her body having become something she genuinely envied.
As she passed through the open doors leading into the garden, her eyes caught sight of a figure seated by the pond. Curiosity drew her closer. The sunlight reflected gently off the water, fish gliding beneath the surface in slow, lazy patterns. As she approached, she realized it was Claudia, though she was not alone. Another person sat beside her in a wheelchair, his posture relaxed as Claudia pushed him along the stone path with an easy smile on her face.
"Greetings, Lady Claudia," Brynn said as she stopped a short distance away. She brought her hand up in a crisp salute when their eyes met, then shifted her gaze to the man beside her, who seemed fully absorbed in watching the fish swim. "Greetings to you as well, Sir Klaus."
"Brynn, I am so happy to see you," Claudia replied warmly, her voice bright with genuine cheer. "It has been a while since I have seen you come by. How have you been?"
"Um, I am doing fine," answered the girl after a brief pause. "I was actually on my way to see Lady Alicia to ask if she had any tasks or work for me. I feel antsy just lazing around without doing much. Still, I would be very glad if you had something you needed help with."
"Oh, of course," Claudia said without hesitation. "Please wait here, honey. I will be right back." She leaned down and kissed Klaus gently on the cheek before stepping away with Brynn.
She glanced back once to him, watching Klaus return his attention to the pond as if nothing else in the world mattered. The scene struck her as strange. The last she remembered, things between the two of them had been far from peaceful. That was putting it mildly. Rumors had spread quickly about their falling out, whispers carried through the halls about raised voices and long nights where the Princess Knight could be heard crying behind closed doors.
"He looks better," Brynn said at last, choosing her words carefully. It felt safer than voicing the questions crowding her thoughts.
Claudia's smile widened immediately, and she nodded in agreement. "Yes. I am sure you are aware that things have been difficult for us. But as I said before, he must have been suffering from short-term confusion. It made him believe things that were simply not true. Early this morning, I found that he was back to his senses. He greeted me the way he used to — it truly is a miracle."
She listened closely, her brow knitting slightly. The girl was no healer, and matters of the mind were far from her expertise, but she could not help wondering if such a recovery in a single night was truly possible. Still, she kept those thoughts to herself.
"I was truly afraid that he would continue to hate me," Claudia continued, her voice softening. "I do not know what he must have seen in his nightmares, or what he suffered through. It broke my heart to think of it. I feared he would keep rejecting me, but the goddess showed mercy. Her blessing must finally be taking effect."
"That is good to hear," Brynn replied sincerely. If Claudia was happy, then that was what mattered most. It was not her place to doubt it further.
"There is more," Claudia added, her tone shifting slightly. "I received word from Kaguya about Archer."
"You did?" Brynn's head snapped toward her, her eyes widening with clear excitement. The reaction made Claudia chuckle softly.
"They are doing well," Claudia said. "Both Celestine and Maia are being taken care of and properly accommodated by the Fullstar's ruler. As for Olga and Chloe, they are still searching for them. Apparently, Archer is not overly worried that anything bad has happened to them. And of course, Radomira is with him, as always. I would personally kill that man if anything happened to her."
That was excellent news! Day after day of little to no news was difficult, unsure whether they were even safe or not, even though it was Archer, she couldn't help but worry about him at the end of the day.
"Oh, I remember, it should be around here. It's been a while since both Klaus and I had a moment together. Hold on, please keep an eye on him in case he gets too close to the water; there are some flowers he loves growing around here. I'll pluck a few for his room. I'm sure the scent will help to lift his mood." Claudia said as she moved past her, leaving Brynn alone, the man would continue to gaze at the pond with an unreadable expression. It was hard to tell whether he was even happy or not, but since Claudia mentioned he was back to normal, she believed her.
"So… are you also this Archer's lover?" She heard him ask a question that surprised her in the beginning.
"U-Um, I'm his… eh, his… apprentice?" Disciple, follower, friend? It was hard to give a label to their relationship; they were close, but not close like he was with Maia.
"Apprentice, huh." Klaus once again showed no reaction at first, then let out a low chuckle. "Of course, let's just go with that then. You're all the same."
"What? Ah!" His last few words were mentioned so silently that she barely heard them. Trying to ask him to repeat them once more, her belt snapped as the dagger on her waist, given to her by Archer, fell into the water below. "Damn it! I knew I should have bought another one."
Some of her belongings had been damaged recently, with all the chaos happening around the kingdom previously. She did not really get the opportunity to replace her current gear. As Brynn went down to retrieve her belongings, her gaze momentarily focused on the rippling surface of the water. The turbulent waves slowly but surely calm down, showcasing the beautiful and well-kept lives underneath them. Fishes of all different colors, flowers, and not a trace of any impurity, somehow.
As the surface finally stopped moving after she retrieved her sword, for a brief moment, Brynn found herself staring at her own reflection and at the two people next to her.
Hadn't Claudia just left?
"—?"
Leaning against the wheelchair where Klaus sat, dainty fingers caressing his hair as if he were her pet, was a child. A regal crimson dress, strands of golden blonde hair with a crown on top of her head, scales over some of her body , a long draconic tail, and crimson red eyes that made her feel like she was staring at a great beasts eyes staring right back at her — it sent an incomprehensible amount of dread all across her body. Though she had not seen its face, the prior description of the creature that had attacked Archer inside the garden came to mind.
Even without that, just looking at the child-like entity alone made her realize that this thing was dangerous. Beyond anything she had ever seen, beyond the Kuroinu and Olga combined times a hundred.
Just the presence alone promised her instincts death.
"Aaa-aah!"
Terrified to her very core, Brynn jumped away, brandishing her dagger with one hand and a sword in the other and pointed it straight at… nothing? For there sat Klaus all by himself, and the monster no where to be seen.
"What is going on here?" Pulled away from her thoughts, she realized that Claudia had returned at some point with a bouquet of flowers, looking at her with confusion and worry. Especially at the weapons aimed straight at her husband.
"C-Claudia-sama! There was-Th-there was someone, Th-The Beas—"
"Enough," before she could even finish her sentence, the Princess Knight came over and covered her mouth with a stern look on her face. "Don't make any mention of that creature to Klaus. He has just recovered mentally, and I do not want him to hear about such things, or else he might get overwhelmed and all the progress we made will be undone!"
"B-But…" She tried to say more, but was ignored by the woman who went back to her husband's side.
"Sorry for the delay, dear. Brynn here is just tired and reacted without thinking. Please forgive her; she has been dealing with a lot herself lately, too. Let's go back home. I hope that you are hungry, I made your favorite meal."
Pushing him away, the former Knight could only watch the two of them walk away. Her heart was still beating like a drum, sweat pouring down her temples and drenching her clothes.
Suffocating.
She couldn't properly breathe.
"Did I… imagine that?"
Wanting to believe those words more than anything in the world, but unfortunately, the crimson eyes she saw upon the reflection felt far too real. The cold grip of death that took hold of her heart back then was not something her imagination conjured up.
Something was wrong.
Something terribly wrong.
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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, Wrought Iron Taimanin with 3, 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.