Chapter 24
While conducting our own investigation, we stay at Okayu's house. Of course, we helped with the daily expenses even if she said we didn't need to. I would have felt bad if we stayed here for free though so we helped anyway. The few days we were there, Choco's subtle questioning turned up nothing. Matsuri hasn't heard back from her friends. Okayu told us what they had found after some persuasion. The assassin had some pretty good tools on the high end. It seems that she was able to enter the house through the roof and stealthily snuck through the house all the way to the study. She stayed there hidden until Pekora came in and sat down at the desk. It seems that the defender was stationed next to the desk when Pekora was at home. Okayu thinks that the assassin paid little attention to it, thinking it was just a set of weird looking armor. When you put it that way, it does kind of look like that. I hope we get something soon. I rather not have this hanging when the next ambassador comes here.
"Subaru, I need to speak with Papa," whispered Rushia at the table during breakfast. Okayu had already left the house that morning, leaving the four of them to their own devices.
"After this," she whispered back.
"What are you talking about?" asked Matsuri, her interest suddenly piqued.
"Nothing… have you heard from your friend yet?" the former asked, hurriedly diverting the subject.
"Hmm," the latter hummed, narrowing her eyes, but said nothing else.
Breakfast ended without any problems. Choco left on her errand. Matsuri just stayed there facing Subaru and Rushia.
"Aren't you going now?" asked the fighter, mentally urging her to get up and leave.
"Oh, soon, very soon," assured the scout with a smile, "No need to wait for me."
The former narrowed her eyes and said nothing. The young necromancer tugged her arm impatiently. Still maintaining eye contact, she got up and walked to Rushia's room. Closing the door, she kept her ears open as she unhooked the flask from her belt. She opened the stopper and let the lich out.
"Papa," greeted the young girl.
The door was suddenly flung open and Matsuri shouted but trailed off, "Ah, ha! You… were..." She looked at the lich or a moment, frozen in place. The occupants of the room stared at her for a moment.
"Yes?" it asked, breaking the silence. Immediately, she fell over backward, her entire body slamming onto the wooden floor.
"..."
Wordlessly, Subaru went over to the scout. She picked her up and carried her over to Rushia's bed, laying her carefully on it.
"So, why was I called out now?" it asked, "Do you have need for anything, Rushia?"
"I'm sorry, Papa," she apologized, showing up the minorly-damaged spellbook, "I lost some spells."
"Let me see," it replied as it took its book back to browse through it. After a moment, it said, "I see… if I must be honest, you do not truly need the spells that were damaged. I'm sure you will do fine, Rushia." Slamming the spellbook shut, it handed the book back to her and asked, "Is there anything else?"
She opened the book again and showed him a spell, asking, "I need help with this, Papa. I don't understand how this works."
It stared at her for a moment and stated in a deadpan tone, "You wish to spend more time with me, don't you."
She blushed but still held the book up.
It chuckled and said, "Fine enough. Take out the crystal ball and set it on a stable surface. Then, go ahead and cast the spell. Target your friend here. Your friend that's still awake." Turning to Subaru, it said, "If you should feel something strange happening to you, let it. It is just the spell being cast."
The fighter nodded and relaxed. As Rushia chanted the mystical words and waved her hands around the crystal ball, she could feel a tingling traveling up and down her spine. She let it happen, feeling that this was the spell that was happening. Eventually, the feeling faded and the young lady gasped. Subaru was surprised as from where she was standing, she could see herself overhead. She looked up and saw nothing. The feeling of being watched was still there.
The young lady giggled and exclaimed, "I can see you, Subaru."
"Ah, that's good, I guess," she said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head.
"Calm down and concentrate, Rushia," chided the lich. The young necromancer did so, taking in a few deep breaths.
Subaru let out a smile, "You don't always see that eagerness in her eyes. Maybe..." She decided to go and grab a cup of water. She left the room to hydrate herself. When she came back, however, she found the lich conversing with... someone? Who is he talking to?
"It is thanks to your guidance, my lord," it said as it bowed. Rushia looked on in confusion.
"...I am glad that you have found this entertaining, my lord."
The fighter felt that feeling of being watched suddenly disappeared.
"Anything."
"What's going on?" she asked.
"Hmm? Oh," it sounded, "Nothing is going on." It then looked off to the side and muttered, "Yes, my lord."
"And who are you talking to?" she pressed on.
"Nothing important."
She narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "I command you to tell me who you were talking to and what were you talking about," she ordered.
It sighed and replied, "I was speaking to my teacher on another plane of existence. A devil. Well, I suppose less of a teacher and more of a deal maker."
"Papa?"
"I made a deal with a devil," it continued, "In an effort to prove my genius, I made a deal. He provided the ritual. If the ritual succeeded in my ascension, I will owe it something, be it a task or favor or something else entirely. If the ritual failed and causes my demise, it owns my soul."
Rushia got up and hugged it. Subaru, meanwhile, glared at it and asked, "What did it ask you to do?"
"...my master requested me to search for one of his half-blooded kin," it replied, "She has gone missing in the northwest corner of the continent. He sent her to search some ruins there and he is unable to contact her."
"...We are not going off to search for a devil follower," she finally said after some thought.
"He knows," it revealed, much to her horror, "And if you refuse, he will take a life for a life." It then glanced down at the hugging girl and pat her head.
"You couldn't mean..."
"There is no possible way to refuse him," it continued, "He will find a way to make sure the other end of the deal is done. You had best assist me in this if you do not want anything bad to happen."
She grit her teeth in both fear and frustration. How dare it… and she reluctantly voiced her agreement. "Fine… we can do it. Only after our affairs are in order."
"Very well… you can return me to the flask now."
"I didn't know this went that far down," muttered Choco when she heard what happened. Instead of staying in, they went to Farun's tavern for dinner. Korone had just come back and they decided to give them some time alone.
"Well, it never specified the time, so we can just settle things here first before going," stated Subaru as she folded her arms in front.
"I can't believe you have that in your flask," grumbled Matsuri, who immediately left the house after the debacle earlier, "I'll never look at her the same again." Rushia just stuck her tongue out at her. "Anyway, I've heard back from my friends," she continued.
"What did they say?"
"First, new ambassador coming tomorrow," she explained, "So, that means Pekora is going tomorrow too. And… there have been whispers about some discontent among the nobles due to the trade deal going through. Someone has been stirring it up even more though. Nobody knows who but the discontent is real, as much as I dislike it."
"Strange… would it be connected with the murder that happened weeks ago?" asked Subaru.
"Maybe? The murdered noble was purported to be a supporter of the Crown. It is all hearsay, but all this stirring is making it worse," she replied with concern.
"Right, let's finish our meal and plan out for tomorrow," said the tiefling, ending the conversation.
"I wonder what she looks like," thought the fighter aloud as she finished up.
"That's… as much pink as Miko," muttered Subaru. They had just said their goodbyes to Pekora and her entourage and were now waiting to see the next ambassador arrive at the house. When Princess Luna stepped out of the carriage, they were a little taken aback.
"She's just a child," exclaimed Choco softly, "And she's the ambassador?"
"Ah, cute," muttered Rushia.
Matsuri just stared at the ambassador, the blush on her face growing redder by the moment. As the princess walked up to the gate and stood there waiting for the hired help, she suddenly ran forward. Before anyone could react, she knelt in front of the pink princess, shouting, "Princess, will you marry me!?"
"...Whanora?"
The scout was suddenly picked up by the waist. She turned her head and looked up. A large minotaur stared back at her, looking rather annoyed with her actions. He carried her over to the party and dumped her on the ground, his deep voice saying politely, "If you would be so kind as to Not trouble the princess. Thank you."
She pouted as the minotaur lumbered back to the carriage and directed the hired help in moving the luggage. "But she is so pretty, how can I not..." she grumbled, staring moodily at the minotaur.
Subaru smirked and said teasingly, "Come on, we have someone to save. If we do things quickly, we might be able to get back here in time to shame yourself even more."
"Not you too," the former groaned as the other two giggled.
After that weird incident, they made inquiries at the northern gate stable. After finding out that there were no villages or forts in the direction, it seemed a journey on foot was inevitable. Fortunately for them, there have been explorers mapping the place and they could buy a map at the general store. Unfortunately, when they got there, they found out that since nobody has ever wanted to go there after the initial expedition came back, copies of the map are a lot more expensive than expected. Even after Choco tried to haggle the price down, it was still too expensive.
"That was a setback," muttered Subaru on their way back to Okayu's house.
"Understatement of the year," replied Choco, "I don't like journeying there blind, but I think there's nothing we can do."
"Not to mention we have an investigation that can turn into a rescue mission," grumbled Matsuri, "Maybe just go there and let the dice roll."
"Ne, Subaru, Papa went to school here, right?" asked Rushia out of the blue.
"...I… think that's what he said last time? Why?" asked the fighter, wondering where this was going.
"The school has a library, right? Can we find maps in a library?" asked the young necromancer.
They stopped and blinked. That made a lot of sense.
"Wonderful idea, Rushia!" exclaimed the scout as she suddenly picked her up in a hug and twirled her around like in a dance.
"Put… me… down..." deadpanned the young girl as she slowly got dizzy with all the twirling.
"Please don't make a scene," pleaded the fighter as she brought her palm to her face and shook her head.
"Oh, my," murmured the tiefling as she laughed silently in her hand, taking in the funny sight.
After calming down the excitable scout, they went straight to the school. It was strange but expected, that all manner of detection spells were cast on them before they were even allowed in the school grounds. After that, it was a simple thing to get directions to the library. They waited outside while Rushia went in to get a copy of the map created. They ignored the stares that were sent their way by the presumed students and faculty of the school but they paid no mind to them. By the time the young girl had gotten hold of a copy, it was close to night time and they were tired of waiting. After that, it was just a matter of satisfying their hunger and bunking in at the cat girl's house for the night.
The next day, after saying their goodbyes to Okayu and Korone, they set off from the north gate in the northwestern direction. The plains eventually gave way to a forest. According to the map, they have to traverse a large swathe of this forest just to get to the other side. Then, it was just barren wasteland from there on out according to the map. However, after what seemed to be hours of walking, they came across something that wasn't on the map. A series of pools filled with clear water in the same area.
"What is this?" asked Subaru, filled with curiosity. Choco and Rushia just shrugged, the young necromancer noting where the pools of water were.
"I think I heard of this before," stated Matsuri as she furrowed her brow, trying to remember what it was.
Feeling a little thirsty after walking that long, the fighter knelt down and cupped some water in her hands. "Are you sure you should do that, Subaru?" asked the tiefling with concern.
"Doesn't seem to affect me much. Maybe it's just water collected here after the rain," replied the fighter before drinking.
"Ah! No! Stop! Don't drink it!" shouted the scout suddenly.
"Ah… that was refreshing. See there's nothing shuba shuba shuba shuba… Shuba?" replied Subaru, her voice suddenly taking on a low, husky tone.
"I knew you shouldn't have done that," muttered Choco in a reprimanding tone.
"Shuba shuba shuba shuba shuba, shuba?" asked the former in a pleading tone.
"...I have no idea what you're saying," deadpanned the tiefling, which prompted the slouching of shoulders and head in despair.
"...Erm, let's just continue? We still have a way to go before sundown and who knows, it may wear off," reasoned Matsuri as she took on the mantle of guide once more.
They continued on their journey, with random mutterings of 'shuba' from the fighter. As the sun came down, the party set up camp and settled down for the night after setting up their watch rotation. The next morning, Subaru yawned and said, "Shuba shuba." Her eyes widened as the water's effect still hasn't ended yet.
"Hey, Choco, can we heal Subaru now?" asked Matsuri with concern.
"Alright, alright, I'll heal her," relented the tiefling as she went over to the despairing fighter. Placing a hand over her head, she chanted for a moment, the other hand raised up to the sky. After that, she asked, "Any different?"
"Shuba."
"Alright, let's try another one," she stated as she repeated her motions. This time, a faint glow was emitted from the fighter's body. "Any different?" she repeated the question as the glow died down.
"I… I… Thank you, Choco!" Subaru exclaimed as she hugged the tiefling around the waist gratefully.
"Well, I hope you learned your lesson," the former stated with a smile.
"Yes, I have," further exclaimed the fighter as she released her hug.
"Ah, can we go now?" asked Matsuri, "We might be able to make it out of the forest by midday, I think."
"Then, what are we waiting for? Let's get to it!" shouted Subaru eagerly as she jumped up for joy, finally able to speak properly again.
"Ah, Subaru is not a dying duck anymore," muttered Rushia.
AN: Hello, readers. Today, while they continue their investigations, Matsuri stumbles upon the lich. Who proceeds to give them their next quest. But not before they meet their next friend. Well, future friend.
Here is the princess of candy Luna Himemori.
Luna Himemori
Everlasting Child (Kid) Fighter
Battle Master (Defence fighting style)
For this princess, based on her child-like mannerisms, we have a child-like fighter similar to a certain Gran Blue Fantasy short swordswoman. Her cow butler also makes an appearance as a fearsome minotaur of steadfast loyalty. You do not want to mess with him. And thanks to her skill in Dark Souls, Battle Master.
Alright, this is it for this chapter. Next chapter, we finish our journey to the ruins and meet our next friend. Guess who? Thank you for reading and have a good day, dear readers.