David glanced at the unmoving form of Fouquet, lying face-down on the ground, the spent RPG lying nearby. He sighed, the others watching as he went over to her and lightly tapped her side with his foot.
She didn't respond, her body going limp at his touch, and he grinned. She's really good at playing dead. he thought. Nice job, Matilda. I hope you do well wherever you go.
He looked at the others, shaking his head to signal her lack of response before walking back over to them.
"So she really is dead?" Kirche asked, tapping her bottom lip with a finger. "Odd, I'd have thought she'd last longer than that."
David grinned cheekily. "Well, I don't mean to brag, but...I happen to have hit a fatal pressure point. Even a mage can't survive their nervous system locking up."
At the blank stares he got, he sighed, looking down and shaking his head. "Right, this world's equivalent to my world's Middle Ages." he said, before tapping his head. "I shut down her brain, basically. Little more complicated than that, but that's what I did."
As if hitting someone from the front with the handle of a sword could do that, but he knew their anatomical science was severely lacking, so he assumed it would be fine.
He glanced at Cheri, whose eyes had narrowed as she scanned him. She was the biggest worry, being the one with the most combat experience and potentially the most understanding of how human bodies worked.
She stared at him for a few moments, before laughing, struggling to stand, her weight draped over Kirche's shoulder. "I'd say I'll have to remember that, but I don't think I'm going to last long with this head injury, so I'll probably forget most of what happened here." She grinned. "I'll have to rely on you guys to fill me in."
The group nodded, and headed back to the surprisingly undamaged carriage, which had somehow avoided being smashed in the battle. They left Fouquet's body lying on the road, seeing no need to take it. After all, what's dead is dead, no point carrying around a corpse in an already cramped carriage.
Kirche had taken the reins of the carriage, following Sylphid's shape in the sky to guide their way. Inside, Louise sat across from David and Cheri, the knight resting with her eyes half open, staring with a giddy expression at the back of the carriage. Her dented chestplate lay on the floor, though she didn't seem all that bothered being left with just bindings on. If anything, she looked more relaxed than normal...though that may have been due to her brain being addled by the concussion.
One of the carriage's wheels ran over a bump in the road, sending the half-conscious knight sprawling sideways, surprising David as her head hit his lap.
Louise growled at the odd display, before David waved his hands to signal that he wasn't enjoying the contact, reaching an arm under Cheri's head to lift her back up.
Instead of complying, the knight remained stiff, her head staying obstinately down on his lap, a senile smile playing on her face. "I'm delirious, I'm not thinking straight, forgive my bad decision-making! It's my messed up brain!" she said in a horribly disconnected singsong voice as he tried to force her off of him, before she reached a hand over her head and turned it back, placing her arm under his legs and promptly passing out.
"..." David tapped the side of her head facing up a couple times. "She's out cold." he said. "Umm…"
Louise crossed her arms with a hmph. "I'll allow it...but only because she needs rest. Who knows what damage she took from that blow."
David nodded, and Derf popped out of its sheath as it randomly did.
"I overheard some stuff about this one while we were leaving the office." it said, and the two currently awake passengers looked at him. "Apparently she was always difficult to handle, even to Captain Agnes."
"Your point?" David asked, raising an eyebrow, and the sword laughed.
"My point is, she likes something about this situation, and I'd wager it's not Louise's presence...not that that's a bad thing!" The last part he added quickly at Louise's glare.
"So…?" David asked, not quite getting the sword's meaning.
Derf sighed. "So, it means your influence reached someone else, partner." it said. "I don't remember if I've said this before, but you have a knack for changing people quickly, even after only briefly meeting them."
David waved a hand. "Doubtful, Louise has been around me more than anyone and hasn't changed at all."
"Was that an insult, coming from the dog?" Louise asked, and David eeped as she procured her riding crop.
"N-No, it wasn't!" he said. "Change isn't always good!"
Louise nodded, the offending tool-turned-weapon placed back in the pocket inside her cloak. "Good." She rested her cheek on her fist, looking out the window and ignoring the two other passengers.
Cheri mumbled something in her sleep, pulling David's attention down to her, and he smiled, lightly rubbing the side of her head and pulling some of the hazel strands of her hair out of her face.
She giggled in her sleep, a slightly creepy grin forming over her face, and he chuckled. She was acting like a child right now...that concussion must have done some powerful work on her.
Louise glanced over at him, silently watching him petting the knight's head. He didn't seem bothered by - or interested in, for that matter - the fact that she wore nothing but some bandages on her upper body.
The pinkette turned her head, her expression softening into not quite a smile, but not as angry as before. "What are you doing?" she asked, her tone much calmer than before.
"Hm?" David asked, before bringing himself back to reality, his hand pausing as he gazed at his summoner. A quiet complaint from the knight convinced him to return his hand to her head, petting her as he looked at Louise.
"Oh." he said, smiling and looking down at Cheri, before looking back up. "It's something I did for my little sister back home. Whenever she got mad, I'd lay her on my lap like this and rub her head. She'd fall asleep really quickly when I did it, so it really helped my parents a lot when I did it. She's only 6, at that unruly age, and she pretty much only listened to me."
He sighed sadly, looking down at the knight. "I wonder if my parents have figured out how to control her by now, it's been so long since I was there…"
Louise blinked, frowning. "What are they like? Your family. I bet you love them, I'm sorry for-"
David raised his hand. "Don't apologize, it wasn't your fault. I just happened to be the one the portal chose." He smiled at her. "My family? I've got both my parents, and three younger sisters. I don't have any kind of sad backstory or anything, it's pretty normal. My parents' names are Eren and Karen, and my sisters, from oldest to youngest, are Mary, Rose, and Sheena. I'm the only son in the family, and the oldest sibling."
"So you're the heir?" Louise asked. It was odd, talking about his family when he was even farther away from them than she was from hers.
He laughed, waving the hand not on Cheri's head. "My world, or at least, my nation, doesn't have any kind of heirs or anything. Kids just go off and do their own thing when they become adults. This world is mostly matriarchal, right?"
Louise shook her head. "Just Tristain, the other nations are usually lead by kings, and Romalia by the Pope." she corrected, and he nodded.
"I see. Well, in my world, we only have about...I think 5 or so countries with monarchs, and few of those actually hold any power. Our world has hundreds of nations, whose leaders are elected by the people."
"...I see. Your world sounds...strange." she said, and he laughed.
"To me, your world is strange, I'm not yet used to being here." he replied. "Though I have to admit, Henrietta will make a good queen...from my first impression of her, at least."
Louise tilted her head, before nodding, her face lighting in a smile. "Yeah, she will. Whoever she ends up being wed to is sure to have a good reign with her by his side."
David laughed. "Agre-"
He was interrupted by Derf popping out again. "That'll be David!" he said, before he was forced back into his sheath by the hand of a suddenly irritated familiar.
"Quiet or I'll shatter you myself, you annoying sword." he said.