Somewhere in the capital of Slane Theocracy, a blonde man with a scar on his face kneels inside of a church-like building.
"I believe you have good news for us, captain Nigun?"
One of the six cardinals asked.
"Yes, your eminence. The plan was carried out almost flawlessly. Gazef's head was displayed next to his dead warrior troop in a village near E-Rantel."
"You said almost flawlessly. Explain what you meant." Said another cardinal.
"Two of our knights were found dead just outside the village where we fought Gazef nearby. Signs indicate that a hostile magic caster was in the vicinity, whom we did not encounter among Gazef's men."
"What makes you think there was a magic caster there?"
"The knights did not have wounds on them indicating of weapons use. They were, however, both badly burned inside their armor. One of their swords had blood on it, and there was a considerable amount of blood on the ground."
"That is very interesting. Could it have been an adventurer?"
"That is unlikely," said the cardinal's college. "Those villagers could not afford one strong enough to kill those knights. The raid was also supposed to be a surprise. Gazef and his warrior troop were the first people from the Kingdom to reach the village before any messenger."
"Should we be concerned about the possibility of those knights revealing information to an unknown third party before their deaths?"
"I wouldn't worry about that. The Sunlight Scripture members are loyal, like all other faithful servants of the Gods. Still, we should keep an ear out for any news of a wounded magic caster who was in that area. Pass this information to the Windflower Scripture. They should be on their way to E-Rantel to locate that traitor by now."
"That will be all, captain Nigun. Take a few days to refresh your forces. You will receive new orders to deploy to the Dragon Kingdom soon."
"As you command, your eminence. One more thing. I have brought back the treasure of the Gods. It was not needed during the mission." Nigun took out a sparkling crystal the size of a man's head from his robe.
"Keep it. Who knows what powerful champions the beastmen may have with them? Consider it an extension of the Gods' divine protection on your righteous mission."
A few days before:
Gazef woke up to see Enri dividing up the last fruits she and Ariel collected among them. He got a few hours of sleep before sunrise, after Ariel asked to switch with him. He didn't feel like depending on a little girl to watch over him, but he would need the strength for the long trek back to E-Rantel. Plus, he was confident in her ability to at least alert him if there was any danger. She told him she traveled between the forest of Tob and the mountains beyond it by herself.
"I'm kind of a nomad. My parents died when I was young. They taught me everything I needed to survive in the wild, like healing magic and foraging."
Gazef was not familiar with that term, but he could guess.
"So you are a traveler. I've met some people like that before I became the warrior captain. They are mostly people who could not afford a citizenship in a city but also didn't want to become farmers."
'Wow, lame. Traveler? How generic. Isn't that lizardman also called a traveler? Zaru- or Saru-something. Can't remember which one is called what.'
As Gazef was almost done eating, Ariel held up a pair of shoes in front of his face.
"Here, I got these from a dead villager. He doesn't need it anymore."
The villagers' bodies were not collected to be destroyed like Gazef's warrior troop. They only saw "Imperial knights" attacking.
"I thank you, kind miss."
Gazef felt something odd as he accepted the gift. The way Ariel interacted with him felt too mundane, like a friend handing you a drink. She showed no signs of disgust or apprehension after stripping something off a corpse.
'Of course I don't want to act like a typical girl of my age. I don't want to be a weak-willed princess looked down at by adults. They shall recognize my strength, not just in magic.'
The way to E-Rantel was uneventful. Enri said there is someone in the city who she could maybe stay with.
"You have a friend who works as a pharmacist in that city? That is perfect! I can finally get rid of these herbs. Can you put in a good word for me about how I heroically saved you and your sister? I will let you have some of the money if it's a lot."
"You can keep all the money, miss Ariel. But I will definitely tell Enfi all about you. He might be very interested in your healing magic. He is also a magic caster, and he's in the business of helping the wounded."
'That's right. Spread the news of my abilities, while also being indebted to me. Innocent people are innocent, after all.'
"I'm sorry about your parents. You may blame me for not wanting to resurrect them, but I don't want my trump card to be known by the general public. I hope you can understand."
"Of course. As long as I have my little sister, that will be enough. I can't possibly ask anything more from you after what you did for us."
When Enri went to check on her old house with Ariel, they found two big blots of dark blood stains on the ground and no corpse. They were stuffed inside the house and burned into ashes. Someone among the knights really hated those two for some reason.
"That goes for you too, sir Gazef. Please don't blab around about how you came back to life from just a head."
"My loyalty is foremost to the King. I would have to report everything I know to His Majesty. But I promise I will keep your secret beyond that unless duty demands it."
'Aren't you afraid that I might kill you with my magic, you blockhead? How did you even survive in the royal court? Oh, that's right, they killed you with schemes.'
Gazef was allowed the rare privilege of looking at his own charred, headless corpse. He recognized the broken armor as his own. He searched his corpse, found the ring that didn't really help him in his last battle, and a clump of precious metals that used to be gold and silver coins.
"Unfortunately, I cannot compensate you for your services to the Crown at this moment, lady Ariel. When I speak to His Majesty, I hope we can make some kind of arrangement, so you are willing to come back one day and return my lost men."
"Unless they are picked clean by animals. At least I purified them with holy magic, so they would not become undead."
There was no time nor energy for Gazef to give his men a proper burial. He had to bring this urgent news to the capital as soon as possible. Someone might even be plotting to remove the King while he's gone.
"Are you married, Gazef?"
Ariel tried to change the topic to lighten the mood, after her seemingly disrespectful words toward the dead.
"No, why do you ask?"
"The ring."
"Oh. It is a magic item from a friend."
"Magic item? May I see it? Assuming it's not a national secret."
"Of course. It is only fair after what you have done for me."
Gazef handed Ariel the ring, who then used [All Appraisal Item].
"Thanks for sating my curiosity." Ariel handed it back.
'I want that ring! If I equipped it while transformed as a warrior, it could mitigate my problem of lowered levels. But that may not be necessary now that I have this.'
Ariel gently touched a ring on her finger with her thumb, which only she could see.
The group reached E-Rantel in the afternoon. There was a long line of people who finished the day's work, trying to get in and get some errand done while there was still daylight. Gazef led the girls to the express line where Nobles and merchants paid to get in ahead of the others. When they reached the gate, a guard looked at them with an eyebrow raised.
"Sir, this line is not for someone of your status. Please get in the other line."
What he saw was a muscular man wearing dirty clothes too small for him, a small girl in a cloak, and a lowly peasant girl with a child.
"I am the chief warrior of the Re-Estize Kingdom, Gazef Strongoff. I have urgent news to bring to His Majesty, the King. Please let me pass and inform your superiors."
It was a long shot, that Gazef knew. His documents were destroyed in the fire. There was nothing else to identify who he was. A broken sword and badly damaged armor would only be dead weight, so he didn't bring those. Ariel looked at the guard, and an idea suddenly came to him.
"I will bring someone who has seen the warrior captain's face." 'He was here not long ago when he was being dispatched to hunt down the knights attacking villages, and this man does look like a warrior, now that I take a closer look.' "But be warned, impersonating the head warrior will bring serious consequences. Not just from the authorities. He is like a role model to many of us serving in the Kingdom's army."
After the gate nonsense was taken care of, Gazef was given a fresh change of clothes and some gear by the city garrison. He drafted a document vouching Ariel's involvement in helping Gazef on his mission, signed his name on it in front of the garrison leader.
"I guess this is where we part ways, lady Ariel. I will make my way to the capital at first light tomorrow. Please escort the refugees to where they need to go. I hope you will visit the capital soon, so we can discuss your payment and future opportunities to work for the Crown. Show this letter at the city gate and the royal palace, and you should have no problem having an audience with the King or myself. Farewell."
Enri and Nemu arrived at Nfirea's house with Ariel in tow. She poured her heart out to Nfirea as expected, while Nfirea felt more protective of her in turn. He was extremely thankful of Ariel for saving the girl he loves and gave a good price for her herbs.
'Wait, isn't it bad to leave Enri and Nemu with Nfirea in his house? If Clementine tortures Nemu, she might grow up with PTSD. That would be annoying.'
There is no way Ariel wants someone close to her to be a lose cannon. She wants them to become proper tools for her to use in the future.
'Maybe I can find a way to get them out of the house. Going to a night out to celebrate? Improper. Their parents just died. But then I only need to get Nemu away.'
Ariel insisted that she go stay inside an inn. She says she wanted to experience what it's like to visit a city as a traveler. Nfiera obliged. He was hoping to spend some alone time with Enri without a stranger under the same roof. That evening a lost dog scratched on the door, attracting Nemu's attention, who was being depressed in some corner while Enri and Nfiera talked. Enri welcomed the friendly distraction and let Nemu play with the dog. It was a peculiar dog, who followed Nemu everywhere. It obeyed simple commands on the spot, and ate whatever food Nemu fed it. She grew attached to it quickly. They all decided to sleep early that night. Later the dog woke up Nemu and made her follow it outside. She obeyed without resistance or informing anyone, thinking it was a game. Enri slept soundly next to Nemu not realizing a thing, unlike what a big sister like her would normally do. It led Nemu into Lizzie who was on her way back after some errands, then ran away suddenly into some alley, ignoring Nemu's calls.
'Mission complete. I could sense eyes on the house and two individuals with killing intent closing in when I left. They should be almost finished with the job by now. It should take a little while for Nemu and Lizzie to get acquainted.'
Because Nferia did not go to the forest to collect herbs, Clementine located him easily. Ariel snuck away after checking into an inn, and used her ranger skills to look for a particularly strong individual in the area, and for any signs of death left by her. Her senses also reacted to something undead because of her priestly build.
'The Orb of Death. So Khajit is also here.'
The stiletto made a sickening sound as it was pulled out of the girl's eye socket. Nearby, an unconscious blond boy lay on the floor.
"You are so clingy, Dale. I said I could handle it by myself. Are you sure you are not secretly attracted to me?"
"You are one to talk, Clementine. That boy fought hard. If I was not here, you could have killed him. What if you had run into that head warrior? Their arrival at E-Rantel was the talk of the town."
Clementine didn't like to admit she was wrong. It would've been hard to escape with the talent holder while evading Gazef. If things went wrong, she could have been forced to fight a top warrior backed up by a magic caster.
"Let's hurry up before Lizzie comes back. We are lucky so far to find the target by himself."
"Tch, I was hoping to have some more fun with the broad. Oh well, let's bounce."
Lizzie and Nemu found the mutilated body of Enri in the house. Nemu was almost going into a mental break down losing her last family member. Lizzie covered Nemu's eyes while looked around frantically for Nfirea.
"We must find Ariel, Grandma Lizzie! She can help!"
"What do you mean, child? Can she help find Nfiera?"
"She can bring sister Enri back!"
"Hurp!"
Ariel chocked on her own spit. She was eavesdropping right outside the house.
'Of course a little kid will spill everything under such stress. Why did I overlook this? Don't panic, it's only Lizzie. She may not even believe her. Maybe this is a good thing. Letting my powers be known through rumors and such. It is more effective than announcing it on the streets hoping people will believe it.'
"Then we will find this Ariel person you trust so much. Do you know where to find her?"
Lizzie doesn't believe Enri can be brought back with the state her body is in, but she needs a way to take care of Nemu so she can focus on finding Nfirea.
"She told us to find her in this inn if we need anything…"
Her door was banged on rapidly. Ariel answered it in her undergarments.
'So young!'
When Nemu described Ariel to Lizzie, she was not expecting a girl younger than her grandson who could use the 3rd tier magic. She thought she knocked on the wrong door, until the girl greeted Nemu.
"Hey, Nemu, do you need anything? Who is this? Where is your sister?"
"I…this is my…Enri is…"
"Are you Ariel Sanguine?" Asked the short old woman.
"Yes, and you are?"
"I'm Nfirea's grandmother, Lizzie. Please take care of Nemu for a while. I'm sorry, I must go to the adventurer's guild to submit an urgent request. Something terrible has happened."
After Nemu filled Ariel in on what happened between sobs, Ariel told her to stay inside the room, so she could go help look for Nfirea.
"Don't worry about Enri. Someone from the adventurer's guild should be there to check things out. As long as there is a body, I can bring her back. You be a good girl and stay here until I'm back."
Ariel put some area alarm spell on the room. It was useful for a ranger to monitor a fixed area like the back of her hand. If anyone enters or leaves the spell vicinity, she would be alerted and can teleport back.
'Finally, some guilt-free destruction. I can have some fun and create a reputation for myself. Wait for me, a life of adoration and luxury.'
Ariel thought excitedly as she bolted towards the direction of the graveyard.