Clop. Clop. Clop. Ria rode along the stone pavement. Hikari strolled behind. Baby steps, The boot tip almost touches the heel to keep pace with the horse.
A trading post town. Grain, fruits, salt, spices from the western kingdom of Herdial. Warehoused and sold here to merchants from the Zeppelin port MoraDale to the east. Enchanted weapons and armour from the workshops of the spire city from the east in turn sold here to Herdial merchants.
Stone buildings. Paved roads with drainage. Guards with steel helmets and breast plates. Shops and Merchant stands line the street. A bustling town of commerce in its prime.
Ria : "So Hikari. What is a day like for you?"
"The merchant carts. I guard them."
Ria : "Ah, I see. I heard the wyverns prow the trade routes, dragging men and horses into their nests. It must be dangerous."
"I slay them."
Ria : "Really? That's incredible. Ah… that makes sense now. No wonder those meetings with monster traders keep popping up in my schedule. The slayer herself. I'm honored to finally meet you."
"You flatter me."
Ria : "Not at all. It's quite the feat in fact. It normally requires no less than a full team of trappers. Perhaps even a mage. How do you do it?"
"You chop off their neck."
Ria : "Eh? That's it? From what I read from wyvern hunters, they had to do some really fancy prep to lay a trap for the beast. Even then it takes a full squad to bring them down."
"Yes."
Ria : "Amazing. That requires incredible strength and skill. There are few in the land that could match such a feat. In fact, "
They reached a grass clearing. The waiter was preparing the table. Waiter : "Greetings, young lady RazenHeir. Your reservation is in order." Ria : "Thank you."
Suddenly, a rumbling sound approached. My cart!" A wooden cart full of jars rolled off a slope straight towards Ria. Crash!. Hikari placed her boot in its way, shielding Ria.
"Are you alright my lady?"
Ria took a moment to recover from the shock. Ria : "Yes, thanks to you."
The cart was stopped, but a jar crashed onto Hikari's boot, spilling the tomato sauce all over it. Ria : "Oh dear, this won't do." Out of impulse, Ria took out her handkerchief and started wiping off the sauce. It was quickly evident that she was not up to the scale of the task.
Waiter : "Lady RazenHeir, may we help you with that?" Ria : "Oh! Umm.. much appreciated!" Several waiters rushed up with whole table cloths, placing one after the other to soak up the sauce until the boots were clean.
Ria watched. She felt rather embarrassed with herself for jumping at such an obviously fruitless task. Plus, It felt really uncharacteristic of her to wipe her knight's boots.
The waiters then guided them to their table. Ria sat down. Both hands in a triangle in front of the plate. Elbows off the table. Back straightened. Hikari stood close to her, bootlaces within a metre from her head.
The waiters served up appetizers. One plate in front of her and the other, an empty chair. Ria : "The Marquess is late. "
"Should I look for him?"
"No. It's typical. Say, If he's a no-show, would you like to eat his portion?"
"That would be inappropriate."
"It's fine. The maids get all of the food waste anyway. The food shortages are getting closer and closer to home now."
Hikari swallows her saliva. That small movement of her throat was louder enough for Ria's sensitive ears to tingle.
They continued waiting for their guest. A pair of waiters showed up with the first dish of the course. "Lady RazenHeir, is your guest not here yet?" "It appears so. " Ria stole a quick glance at Hikari, whose pupils seemed to turn their gaze in response.
"Serve up the rest on schedule. The good chef's work won't go to waste."
The waiter bows in acknowledgement.
As Ria was about to dig into her entree, two men walked up to them. They wore the RazenHeir crest on their plain grey tunic, armed with a sword and a musket.
"Greetings lady Ria. We apologize for the interruption."
"Is something the matter?"
"Captain Paskel requests that Knight Hikari report to him. We are sent here as replacements."
"changing of guard shift is unusual. And quite against the rules I believe. I ask again. Is something the matter?"
The two men glanced at each other.
Swoosh! Their heads exploded into splatter of blood. "Get down! Face to the ground!" Ria threw herself onto the stone ground. Hikari's boot tip filled her field of view.
Boom! Boom! Hikari blocks two cannon shots with her short sword. Boom! A blast from Hikari's handcannon demolishes the building where the attack came from.
A swarm of cloaked swordsmen rushed her from behind. Splat! Spalt! Splat! They were smashed by flying steel balls. Hikari uses her telekinesis to create a barrier of whirling steel.
By a miracle, one swordsman got through. He saw his target, cowering on the ground. Sensing an opportunity he dashed forward.
Crunch! A wall of rubber and leather crashed down onto him, cracking his bones
Boom! Boom ! Another barrage hits Hikari's position.
Boom! Hikari returned fire. Mana infused throwing daggers exploding on hitting their mark. The stone buildings collapsing into rubble.
The dust settled for the moment. Hikari bent over. A long vertical tear in her leather suit appeared, revealing a white, damp inner shirt. The overwhelming smell of her sweat engulfed Ria, causing her to choke and gag.
"Excuse me my lady."
Hikari picked Ria up like a doll and stuffed her between her blossoms. The wall of leather closed.
Ria found herself entombed in a dark prison of damp cotton. The smell was gross. She held her breath for a while. But she had to breathe again. She choked. And breathed. She felt dizzy. She took slow shallow breaths. But she still choked.
Then she was abruptly yanked in one direction. And then left and then right. She felt dizzy. She could faintly hear the muffled sound of explosions.
Inhale. exhale. She was still breathing. The pungent smell of sweat fills her every breath. Squish. Squish. She was covered in slime. Her hair, her shirt and her skirt soaked through.
Thump! Thump! Hikari's heartbeat echoes through Ria's body, shaking every fiber of her being. Ria breathed. The smell is so strong, so powerful, so dominant.
Meanwhile, after dispatching the first wave of attacks, Hikari leapt high into the air, her blouse fluttering, and landed on top of the cathedral, the highest point in town. With a flick of her finger, she knocked away the previous occupant, his jaws crashing into the back of his skull.
From her vantage point, she could see the town was in chaos. The town guard who escaped the initial ambush were besieged in their barracks and watch point. Cloaked figures herding the towns folks into wagons and rushing them out of town.
Hikari dug her boots in, laid down a mana circle around herself, her senses were boosted. Her steel balls returns to her, suspended in mid air. A brief pause. Then a shower of precise strikes, felling a dozen where they stood.
The cannons returned fire, but it bounced off her barrier, giving away their position, resulting in their timely incineration. With her support from above, the town guard were able to push back out into the streets. The invaders rushed to engage them in a melee, a reasonable strategy against a foe which out of the blue had gained superior artillery.
Before long, a squad of cloaked assassins confronted her, standing on the surrounding rooftops. Hikari met their challenge, drawing her sword, withdrew her flying daggers and steel balls, taking a relaxed stance, hands on either side, one foot in front of the other.
The assassins lunged, staggered, yet well coordinated. As they entered the whirling steel, the spell on their cloaks activated, phasing them out of the material plane, reappearing inside the eye of the storm. Then they circled Hikari, looking for an opening.
Splat! An assassin was cut in half, his guts splattering into the air. Flustered, the assassins facing Hikari's back struck.
A fatal mistake, for a swing of her arm knocks away half of them to be chewed up by the whirling steel, the other half were knocked to the ground. A humongous boot cover their vision, squeeze the life out of them within a second.
Several others landed, frozen at the sight of their comrade's gruesome deaths. Their last mistake, a swing cleaved right through them, severing their torso from their legs.
Seeing the battle was lost, the survivors phased out again to escape through the whirling steel.
Hikari felt a itch on her bottoms. An assassin had managed to sneak onto her body and thrust her dagger against it, but it made no impression. He frozen for a moment, completely befuddled that his technique that could pierce steel armour, injecting a dose of lethal poison into his victim. Crunch! That moment was his last.
The battle was over. Hikari returned to the estate. Her lady Ria safe inside her suit.