Zero's Noble Overlord

Chapter Twenty Eight - The Charming Fairies Inn [I]


"I give you my blessings, Master of the Tower."

The Water Spirit informed the strawberry blond of her new contract. The same one that she had granted to Montmorency's family ages ago.

"I... I am honored to accept it...?" said Louise, still unsure by the proceedings. Atleast she wasn't being called 'frail human' anymore.

It turns to face the demi-god that stood next to our heroine, "And I give you my blessings as well, Abyssal Lord."

The Overlord nods.

Now, the Black Spire was shaping up to be an impressive domain. The spire was mostly fixed both in the inside and the outside, but was still aesthetically plain. The town of Valois was also about eighty-percent repaired but still relatively a ghost-town since only Miss Longueville and her family actually lived there. And now there was a sizable lake tucked in the corner of the domain near the town.

The lake was named 'Geneva Lake' and was also home to the new Water Spirit; an entity that was both separate yet the same one from the Ragdorian Lake.

I wouldn't try thinking too hard about how that works or you'll confuse yourself, dear readers. Or maybe think of it as a hive-mind, I suppose that works too.

Anyways, in the center of the Geneva Lake was a Blue Minion Gate apparently because the Geneva Water Spirit enjoys their company. Heck, the only reason it was here was because it wanted their company.

Why? I wouldn't know. I'm the narrator, I don't exactly understand the whims of elemental alien beings far older than I am.

So there's lake inhabited by a Water Spirit near the Black Spire now.

I'm not really sure what else I can say about this.

...

It was night time now.

And rather than go back to the still relatively empty Tristain Academy of Magic, our little strawberry blond choose to stay at Valois for a change. She didn't want to stay at the Black Spire all by her lonesome so she was spending the night with Longueville's family, the Westwoods.

The Overlord, who was not really meant for these normal size houses, just stood watch outside.

It was rather late so most of the young children were already asleep; only a couple troublesome few needing to be tucked in by Tiffania.

Meanwhile, Longueville was in her own room, sitting on a chair and reading a book under the lantern light and enjoying this wondrous romance novel: 'The Baker's Bread' by some odd author with the pen-name of 'Nap Anp Pan.' It was a tale about a Noble Woman who fell in love with a Commoner Baker and then forbidden romance ensued.

Yes, it was that kind of story. And quite popular too, as it was considered the second-best of his work, right behind number-one 'The Desert's Blade And The Blooming Flower.'

For such a notorious ex-thief she had a simple heart of a maiden.

As for Louise, she was lying soundly asleep in bed. The arduous nonsensical trip taking away much of her stamina, so she went to dream land rather quickly and without a fuss.

...

The next morning, Louise groggily woke up to the sound of scratching on her window. Outside there were two owls with letters attached to their legs. She opened up the window and read them in a daze before planting the letters onto a nearby desk.

When the winged creatures confirmed their content delivered they both flew away in different directions.

With a tiny mewl, Louise plops back down onto her bed and yawns, falling straight back to sleep.

One...

Two...

Three...

"WAH?!"

Our pink head jolts awake, quickly scrambling for the letters.

One was by her eldest sister, Eleanor, demanding that she come home immediately. The other was by Her Majesty the Queen, Henrietta, containing her orders for the young Court Lady.

It was quite obvious which one Louise chose to ignore and which one she decided to attend to.

...

After an a stomach-filling breakfast meal cooked by Tiffania, our Louise was having a private conversation with Miss Longueville.

The young Valliere was explaining the content of her mission to the wiser woman.

Due to the failure of the invasion and the assassination, The Holy Republic of Albion, or the more correctly assumed Reconquista, were no longer trying to fight Tristain directly; biding their time to rebuild their forces. Instead, they were targeting the World Country using more esoteric and shadowy methods, such as inciting riots and rebellions, trying to whittle down the nation from the inside-out.

This was predicted by the Royal Court, foremost Cardinal Bishop Mazarin. Because of that, Queen Henrietta was able to settle down some of the more tumultuous problems before they grew. However, as a consequence, most of their remaining instigators and agents went further underground and were difficult to snuff out.

Hence, the lingering damages and corruption to society is now forcing the Queen to divide her attention between finding the Reconquista Infiltrators and maintaining the public order.

"So what exactly is she having you do, Miss Valliere?" the ex-thief asked.

"Ah, it seems that I will be participating in...," the girl looked at the letter, "'a discrete intelligence-gathering mission, whilst hiding my identity and blending in with the common citizens in Tristainia,' and the information I should gathering are things like, 'Is there any improper or underhanded actions happening?' or 'what kind of rumors are the common citizens saying?'" Though Louise did look puzzled at the last part, she didn't understand how the opinions of Commoners should matter to the Queen at all.

"Ah, so you'll be spying."

"Huh? Eh? Spying? Ah... so that's basically what it is..." the pink-haired girl sounded disappointed.

"What's the matter, Miss Valliere?"

"Well... isn't this just so plain? Spying on Commoners... isn't that pointless?" Louise huffed.

The ex-thief smiled and chuckled, "That isn't so, Miss Valliere. Information-gathering is very important. There is an old Germanian saying, 'knowing is half the battle,' and even Gallia with 'knowledge is power,'" she placed a hand on her chest, "Trust me on that, Miss Valliere."

Our heroine quirked her lips into a slight frown but didn't comment. Choosing instead to continue reading the letter.

A bar called 'The Charming Fairies Inn,' recommended by Musketeer Agnes, was one of the choice spot to gather information, according to the letter. The other locations were 'Sea Salt Spitoon,' 'Mosev Isle Cantina,' and 'Saint Groove Juice.'

Whatever the choice, a note to pay for some of the expenses was enclosed in the letter.

"The Charming Fairies Inn..." Miss Longueville said nostalgically, "Hm... that one would be the best choice. In fact, I know the owner, so we could probably get hired without a hassle."

"Really, you do?"

"Yes, I do. The owner's name is Scarron, he's... a strange guy," the glasses woman said wryly, "but a good man nonetheless. Most of the workers in the bar have a history and the man knows better to pry. So it's a good place to work at if you don't want any poking questions," she adjusted her glasses, "I also don't recommend Sea Salt Spitoon or Mosev Isle Cantina, those two bar are rather out of your league, as they're abit too rough for a young lady such as yourself to work in, Miss Valliere. As for Saint Groove Juice... well, I hate the owner and we'll leave it at that. So the Charming Fairies Inn is our best choice."

"Is that so?" Louise hummed to herself, "Ah, 'we'?"

"Yes, 'we,'" the secretary spoke sternly, "Miss Valliere, I am sorry to say but you are simply not suited for delicate operations such as this," and continued whilst ignoring the pink head's outburst, "I also can't send you alone since your familiar, Sauthoth, is rather... noticeable. And I have promised him to keep you safe, so I'll be accompanying you alongside this mission no matter what."

The Valliere mulled over the facts and was inwardly distraught but gave in to the mental prodding that dearly wanted to pleased the Queen.

"I see... If that is the case, then I thank you for your help, Miss Longueville."

"It's not a problem, Miss Valliere, earning some money on the side is also beneficial to me. Though," she added, "I can see that you're quite dismayed at the idea of not having your familiar around, so I'll try and think of something about that."

Louise bristled at the comment but nodded, "Thank you nonetheless, Miss Longueville."

"By the way, when must you start your mission and for how long, Miss Valliere?"

The strawberry blond reread the letter, "Hm... within two days of receiving the order and for a minimum of a month."

"That long, huh...?" the older woman mumbled, apparently doing some calculations in her head, "Well, I suppose that gives us enough time to prepare," she said with a nod.

"Prepare? What kind of preparations would we need?" Louise looked honestly befuddled. She was a noble, and something like spying would simple for her! Pshaw! What could possibly go wrong?

"Yes, preparation, Miss Valliere. That means 'to prepare,'" she crossed her arms, "You're far from the pinnacle of being subtle, Miss Valliere. Your haughty attitude is a dead give away that you're an inexperienced Noble trying their hands at being a spy. Only the stupidest or most paranoid of people would assume otherwise."

"W-What?"

The ex-thief gently took off her glasses, "That's why, Louise, I'll be teaching you how to act like a Disgraced Noble; pretending to be a Commoner is far too out of your league," she said with a devilish grin.

Our heroine could only gulp at her predicament.

"Yes, Miss Longueville..."


Narrator Notes

Commoner Names - Traditionally, most Commoners only have a first name and no last name, and repeat names do not generally occur within the same community, though certain titles may be used otherwise. For example, if the name 'William' is already in use, then the separate people may be differentiated by age, such as 'Senior William' or 'Mister William,' or perhaps even occupation, such as 'Farmer William,' 'Preacher William' and so forth.

Because the close-knit and familiarity within communities, Commoners do not traditionally have a last name, using the name of their home-community instead. For example, Siesta hails from the town of Tarbes, thus her name would be 'Siesta of Tarbes.' For Tiffania, whose previous home was Westwood, would be known as 'Tiffania of Westwood.'

Further traditionally, even if Commoners move away from home-community, most will retain their community-name due to pride and heritage. For example, even though Tiffania has moved away from Albion and into Tristain, she still bears her name as 'Tiffania of Westwood' and not 'Tiffania of Valois.'


Author Notes

Finally back to Plot...! I guess.

I just slapped on a real-worlds lake's name for this. Me and my non-creativity...

I have also reached the point in my Fanfiction life where I keep creating new stories instead of focusing on what I'm already working on it. Someone slap me.


Canon Notes

Louise actually doesn't seem to know what a 'Spy' is, despite knowing what 'Spying' is.