Chapter 3: Raining Fire


I give an impressed whistle at Springfield's marks with the guns they have here. A few of the other musketeers offer claps of approval as she sets it down on the table.

They've got impressive range on these. I suppose that these muskets are further along development, likely because necessity drove them to be able to shoot from a longer range. Getting into close range with a mage is rather dangerous, as in literally, getting into that close range. Once you're in a close range, it's easier due to being able to apply pressure on them, but crossing into their area of control is dangerous.

So, develop your guns to be outside the typical zone of control a mage has, to deny them the advantage of the battlefield. While skilled combatants might be able to keep up, four or so musketeers, given enough spread, can still apply pressure. Additionally, much faster to train than using a bow and arrow. Long story short, I have quite a lot of flexibility in how to deploy these musketeers, as I don't have to worry about them getting up too close. Each one is effectively a rifleman on their own, which is good.

Fortunately, there was a large enough courtyard where we could put these to the test. I'd estimate that these guns have something around… well, it actually depends on who's shooting. Springfield and Red Team, who are the designated snipers for long range, can hit up to about three hundred meters. However, Springfield has the advantage because she's a T-Doll, and is the one who can consistently hit at that range, but to be conservative, the accuracy probably takes its biggest downturn at maybe two hundred fifty meters.

Springfield also confirmed for me that she also has access to special firing protocols, as expected of a rifle type T-Doll. While it seems very simplistic, the protocols allow for her to take aim for some time in order to really make a shot count—often aiming for a critical point in an enemy's construction that would deal critical damage. It couldn't be used for consecutive shots, though, as it did momentarily overclock their processing units in order to perform the calculations in an allotted timeframe. Trying to do this for extended periods of time would obviously cause hardware damage.

Again, something so simple, yet when I recall my mission record, the amount of times that a single shot has made all the difference can't be underestimated. Granted, sometimes having the firing protocols that temporarily sped up a T-Doll's rate of fire by allowing their parts to work faster than normal was good, too, but there were times an otherwise formidable foe was brought down by one shot.

Anyways, as for range, the other musketeers are all below that, and I'd say they all can at least hit one hundred meters away, with maybe the max outside of Red Team being a consistent one hundred fifty. The strange thing about these guns is that they aren't muzzle loaded either, and in fact, are more akin to breechloaders. Definitely ahead of their time here. So much so I'd say the term 'musketeers' might be wrong, and these are more just rifleman. But perhaps my view is tinted by the mental association of what a 'musket' ought to be.

"Can I ask who made these?"

Agnes raises an eyebrow. "Why?"

"They just seem pretty advanced. I'm surprised you aren't supplying the full military with these."

"Remember, our central military is very small. And the nobility who owns most of the armies still use their usual sword and shield tactics along with magic."

"They haven't adopted these, either?"

"Do you think the nobility class is going to just admit they're wrong?" Agnes asks with a bit of a scoff.

"Maybe when faced with undeniable evidence."

I hear her chuckle a bit before she speaks back.

"The world still believes magic to be superior. And I'm inclined to agree, Commander." Agnes says, emphasizing my title as always. "Magic isn't affected by wind. Magic can easily hit an area rather than a point like a bullet. Magic doesn't require you to reload after every shot. Magic doesn't require you to see the target. While I'm proud of my troops, some things can't be denied."

"I know, but for general ground troops, why are they still using swords?"

"Well, for one, the nobility is still rather old fashioned. Magic runs everything, means everything to them. And like hell they're going to outfit their own troops with these if it means that their own armies will be able to turn on them easily. A single mage can easily defeat hundreds of swordsmen with a single spell. A group of eight musketeers can, when deployed correct, easily eliminate a squad of three mages. Why even think about giving their troops that power?"

"Ah, I suppose I overlooked that. Sorry, I'm not too used to factoring magic into the equation."

Agnes snorts, rolling her eyes as she talks. "That, and well, they don't exactly have the means to make them."

"But who made them, then?"

Agnes gives, to my surprise, a small smile. "You're looking at her."

"I see. Amazing."

But she seems rather young. The development cycle on these must have taken a long time. There's no way she could've built these on her own from the ground up.

"You don't believe me?"

"Forgive me for not thinking it's not the whole story. It just seems like building this entirely from scratch is… quite the feat."

"I had help. From a lot of people." Agnes says, walking away from me. "Maybe another day."

"I'll look forward to it."

"Is that all, then, Commander?" Springfield asks as soon as Agnes is away.

"Ah, it is, Sara. I'll be able to formulate a strategy from here. Thanks."

Though I must say, I'm surprised that we have a field for testing this in the castle grounds. Then again, I suppose three American football fields isn't actually as massive as one might think it is. Stadiums just seem to be pretty massive, but after actually walking that distance, I guess it's not too large.

At the very least, Henrietta's castle will be a good absolute fall back point. The size means we can definitely evacuate civilians in here if it becomes necessary, and the long range means that we can easily shoot mages who enter the halls. Not that it should become necessary, but it's a good thought.

Springfield goes to clean up along with her squad while I return to my office to review the plan. Based on their range, I think I can go with a half in, half out split. Springfield's team will be on the outside in order to capitalize on their range capabilities. Other than that, it should be a normal sweep, flush, and hold the position. I'll have to talk with Henrietta about how we're going to set up blockades in order to minimize civilians in the crossfire, though. Additionally, whether or not we already have roof guards, as setting up musketeers on the roof might tip people off.

Let's see… yes, I think it could work.

I take a look at the floor layout plan again. While it's true I can attempt to use the known exits to force the target to move, the question remains what the capabilities of magic are. Could he collapse the walls to make an exit? Could he disguise himself to look like a civilian?

With these considerations in mind, I find a wandering maid and politely ask for her to relay a message for Henrietta, that I'd like to see her whenever she's available, before heading over to the library to grab some books to see if I can't find the answer on my own.


It takes a few hours, but just before dinnertime, Henrietta knocks on my open office door.

"Am I disturbing you, Commander?"

I shake my head, closing a book I took from the library. "Not at all, Your Highness. I just had a few questions about magic's capabilities, is all."

She enters the room, closing the door behind her. "Ah, I had a feeling that's what this is about. One of the maids informed me you had been at the library today and your selection of titles was quite telling."

"Was I that obvious?"

Henrietta laughs a little bit before speaking. "So you'd like to know if it'll interfere with your operation, right?"

"You're quick on the draw." I say, slightly frightened by this teenager's ability.

"It's proven to be a useful skill, for when I catch other noble members off guard." She says back with a slightly proud grin as she folds her hands in her lap. "Being able to read what they have on their desk in nearly an instant and understanding what it means is a useful skill to have."

"I believe the more frightening thing is I didn't even suspect you were looking down at my desk. Your eyes were focused on me the entire time." I mumble, with Henrietta simply returning to a neutral expression.

"I'm sorry if it made you slightly uncomfortable, but it's something I needed to learn how to do in order to survive."

"Sorry to bring it up. Ahem, anyways, we're straying off topic."

"Ah, yes, yes. What did you have for me?"

"Just a few minor questions about magic's capabilities that could alter the intended course of action, is all…"

Henrietta is quick to answer all of my questions, along with stating what we can use to counter any attempts to use magic to evade us. While we can't do much if he attempts to blow a wall down, we can still counter things like trying to disguise himself. Our checkpoint system will be set up such that if he attempts to break out even while disguised, he should reveal himself by not getting in line. If he attempts to slip by, we'll call a code red and completely lock the lines down until we can determine what he's hiding as.

"Thank you for the help, Henr, er, Your Highness. My apologies."

"It's fine. Although, may I ask you a question in return, Oliver?"

I raise an eyebrow, but nod. "Go ahead."

"There is currently an ongoing marriage I am considering, to the emperor of Germania."

I fold my hands together and use them to cover my mouth as I lean forward on my desk. "Go on…?"

"While it would certainly bolster our forces and allow a more solid bond between our nations, at the same time, it would…"

"Limit your freedom, put you in a loveless marriage, and if you want a tactical assessment, would further outsource your military might."

Henrietta gives a soft, but sad smile at my assessment. "Thank you for finishing."

"It was rather obvious you were thinking of how to word it in a politically correct way. But, what did you want to talk to me about this for?"

"I wanted to know your opinion on what I should do. While you yourself claim you are no political master, I want your analysis on it from a tactical standpoint. Perhaps I'm simply reframing the question for you—to ask about the advantages and disadvantages of taking this move if life were a battlefield."

I lean back in my chair, closing my eyes. "I see. Alright, while this won't be able to take all of politics into play, I'll give you my opinion."

"Please do so, Oliver."

"Short term, yes, it would be advantageous. It may very well be what is necessary to survive the oncoming war." I say with a nod, and I notice Henrietta's expression becoming crestfallen. "However—"

"However?" She asks, her head immediately looking up at me.

I hold up a hand, signalling for her to pause. She's rather jumpy at it, which tells me she doesn't want to do this in her heart. "However, it does impose many long term disadvantages. For one, it will tie you to Germania. From what I've heard, that's not so bad. It appears that nobility can be bought there, so you won't have much of a cultural difference there. On the other hand, they are very militaristic, something your citizenry won't necessarily approve of. And of course, your own nobility may not approve because of their way of handling nobility, or perhaps I should say definitely will not approve based on the culture I've heard about.

"Additionally, it will mean that if Germania gets into any conflicts, you will find yourself dragged into them as well. You'll be forced to appease the nobles that control armies here to fight in other wars, taking more and more from you. Alternatively you can choose to raise a central army, but that brings about into question many things, such as who will lead them, who will train them, how will you fund them, and so forth.

"As for the loveless marriage, well, I can't say much about that. I've never been marri—"

"You haven't?!"

"Is… that a surprise?" I ask, with Henrietta slightly blushing as she looks the other away, obviously a bit embarrassed about her outburst.

"Ah, forgive me for that. It's just… I imagined that a commander such as you would have already found a wife."

I close my eyes and smile, thinking upon that ring. It came in the mail one day, as a "thank you" for five years of exceptional service. What a foolish shape for a device that would strengthen a T-Doll, even more so how most of us were men, and how the T-Dolls were all women. I had several candidates whom I wished to give the ring to, but ultimately I never did give it to anyone.

...since none of those candidates survived the next four missions we were given.

Well, I guess that's a poor way to word it. Most T-Dolls don't a "die" like humans. Most of them can be rebuilt, have their data backups loaded, and be good to go. But for us, the commanders, sometimes… it's just not the same. It just doesn't feel the same.

"Oliver?"

"Sorry, I was just thinking."

"I'm sorry if I brought up any painful memories."

"I was just thinking, Your Highness."

"Your smile was one of sorrow. I can tell you were reflecting on something."

"...the memories were unpleasant, but not painful." I say, opening my eyes. "Regardless, my last point. Indeed, it would further outsource your military power. That's Tristain's biggest weakness as far as I know, is your lack of a central army. Your military strategy is going to become reliant on Germania's troops, and with it, you'll be a puppet to their demands lest they threaten to take it from you. While of course, the union would be aimed at preventing that, this is more long term thinking. And if the marriage were to turn sour, you're once again left without an army. With that, my analysis is complete."

Henrietta nods. "I see. Thank you for sharing, Oliver."

"May I ask why you wanted to ask me?"

She smiles as she stands up. "Perhaps if you had told me it was a good idea, I might have had the heart to go through with it."

"You shouldn't make your decision based purely from me, but thank you for valuing my input." I say, standing up after her. "I was actually about to head down for dinner. Would you like to join me?"

"Ah, of course."

"I think I should have the operation planned for you tomorrow. We should be able to put it into motion by the end of the week…"


"Is the target confirmed to have entered the building?" I ask Agnes, who quietly nods. "Let's set it up, then."

Agnes whistles three times and makes a hand gesture. The guards and a few musketeers slowly start to block off the streets, forming a blockade and emptying the courtyard somewhat naturally.

The layout isn't anything too complicated. A nice, open courtyard with three main entrances into it: north, east, and west. The southern area just has a block of housing units and has no such entrance into the courtyard, giving us a nice wide area to snipe from—very useful for Red Team, which has that area covered. Not to mention the southern block has direct overview into the theatre's main entrance.

For the most part it's open air. Lack of barricades other than fancy statues, benches, and fountains. All the better for us, but it also means that the enemy will have open line of sight on us. I'm hedging our bets though, that we'll be outgunning them.

"Good luck." I say as she makes another gesture, with the assigned squads of musketeers coming with her. Up on the rooftops, the "workers" who were "fixing" the roofs move their boxes to form a better barricade and unpack their rifles for overwatch. Springfield is there, with overwatch on the front entrance. As Agnes is the ground commander, she'll be able to direct her troops inside. As for me, I'll be assuming command of Red Team directly.

I duck into an alleyway before finding our ladder, climbing up it to access the rooftop before ducking low and moving over to where Red Team is. As it's sometime around fall, with the winter approaching, it's already starting to get dark despite it only being about seven in the evening. The twilight sky should give us a good time frame. Nothing too brazen as a broad daylight arrest, but nothing as terrifying to the populace as a night raid.

"Are you all ready?" I ask, with Springfield nodding affirmative. "Then, get into position."

We don't have communicators, so we're using lit torches to direct phases. One lit torch goes up next to our barricades, indicating to the others that we're moving into phase one. Unfortunately, we won't be able to direct the back of the theatre as they don't have direct line of sight to us, making those communicators a top priority after this mission.

Next to me, I see Springfield climb underneath a camo mat, made to look more like some burlap that's been left on the roof after being used to carry materials. Everything's been colored as well, to blend in the with roof's colors.

"We are ready to fire, Commander."

"Understood. Hold fire until it becomes necessary."

I look over through a gap in our barricades and watch the scene from above. There's a few people resisting the checkpoint, but we have enough of a guard presence that we can maintain order. I can already recognize Agnes clearly throwing authority around before everyone is cowed into following her orders.

One of her squads move to assist with the checkpoint as planned, with the other two moving in, and the last squad on their way to secure the other exits. This way, we'll be able to slow down our target if he attempts to flee through conventional means or attempt to circumvent the checkpoint.

I see a few people passing through the checkpoint. One at a time, one at a time, doesn't look like there's any alarm just yet. A few people are pissed off, from what I can see from here, but I don't see anyone trying to break out.

"Commander, I have a small group of people who have come onto the scene. East entrance to the main plaza area around the theatre." Springfield says, breaking the silence.

"Have they breached the perimeter?" I ask, shifting around to see where Springfield pointed out. Four men, two women.

"No. They also didn't leave the theatre."

"Must be insurance in case anything went wrong. How close are they to our team on the east side?"

"They have overwatch on them. Shall I make sure they're aware?"

"That'd be for the best. Pick someone to inform them, Red Leader."

"Understood, Commander. Red Four, please go and alert Gold Team to the new targets. Return here if you can."

"Got it, Red Leader."

I turn my sight slightly and see one of the women under the camo blankets slink back before subtly getting up and running across the rooftops.

"I think they're going to try to bail him out or provide cover when he attempts to break through the checkpoint." I mumble, looking back at the main entrance. "We can't see inside the building nor do we have communication into it, so we can only hope for the best with Agnes' team. Is it really taking so long to find him and apprehend him?"

"Perhaps they are trying to take a way out of the building that won't expose the target as much."

"I accounted for that, but we already had multiple exits covered, and no one's signalled that they've caught sight of Agnes' team leaving the buildin—movement, heads up."

The checkpoint suddenly begins to fall apart with a sudden influx of people from the inside. All it takes is one word being shouted out loud to throw it into a panic: Fire.

In an attempt to save their lives from the apparent fire, the checkpoint collapses, no longer allowing us to filter who's coming out.

"Eyes on those targets by the perimeter."

"Copy that, Commander." Springfield says as I scan the crowd for Agnes. "They're on the move, right for the crowd."

"Don't fire on them yet. Anyone see Agnes yet?"

For a second, I think I catch a glimpse of her, but her head quickly dives beneath the crowd of people. There's smoke starting to come through as well, making it hard to get a good visual.

"Commander, the perimeter is collapsing, as firefighters have arrived on the scene." Springfield says. I bite my lip, trying to figure out how to best deal with this.

"Status on those unknowns?"

"They're getting in closer but have spread out, it doesn't seem like anyone's minding them. Actually, it seems like people are giving them space. Perhaps they are faking being concerned for someone inside? I can see them yelling and fighting the flow of the crowd."

"Maybe." Tch, I didn't anticipate this. I was thinking it was a solo operative, but I failed to consider that maybe they had backup that our intelligence hadn't picked up on. "Alright."

"Sir?"

"Red Two, Three, round up the others. Half of each squad out here will head down and support on the ground. If those six are mages, Agnes' group is going to be in some serious trouble since they're out in the open. I want her having immediate support as our marksman teams will be limited by the crowds and the smoke. Red Leader, you stay up here as the last designated marksman. Seems that Red Four didn't have a chance to sneak back over here just yet. When you've informed them, move down with them to support Agnes on the ground. Move."

They move back and away just like Red Four and make their sprint along the rooftops.

"I hope you're ready to make the shot, Springfield."

"It might not be my etched weapon, but I assure you that I'm still up to par, Commander." She says as I can practically feel the confident grin she must surely have on her face.

"Glad to hear it." I say as I can see two of each team start moving away from the rooftops. "Not too much smoke yet, and the crowd is starting to clear."

"Commander, I have eyes on Captain Agnes."

"Where?"

"She's currently engaged with the target. By the front entrance, just before where our checkpoint was."

I scan the immediate area, finding Springfield's analysis to be right. Agnes is currently engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the mage, although in the brief moments that he gets, he's launching fire spells to keep the other musketeers Agnes brought from entering the fight or forcing them out of cover and thus not giving them a good opportunity to fight.

Additionally, the only cover, or only solid cover, that they have is the entrance of the theatre, as Agnes has brought the fight to just outside of it. With a small fire burning directly in the doorway of the theatre, it's dangerous to move, but if they stay inside, the fire's going to spread. If they move out, there's going to be an even bigger lack of cover unless they can get to a statue or bench, but that's not as solid as a building wall.

The crowds have at least given the fighters some space as no one wants to be in the middle of that heated fight, but it's still limiting our options. The musketeers can't fire into the melee because they'll risk hitting a civilian if they miss at best, or accidentally kill Agnes at worst.

"Where are those six mages?"

"I see them, they've broken through the crowd near Ag—one of them has drawn a wand, Com—"

"Fire at will!"

"Understood, sir!"

In a fraction of a second, Springfield has already fired. A pinpoint shot through the crowd, striking one of the mages right in center mass as he steps into a clearing from the crowd, ready to double team Agnes. He stumbles to the ground, though I'm not sure if he's dead just yet.

The gunshot sends the crowds below fleeing in all directions, adding another layer of chaos to the mix. The mages don't seem to have pinpointed where we are just yet, though, and a few of them are looking in confusion. Agnes capitalizes on this by tackling the mage she was fighting in that split second of hesitation, sending the two of them off to the side, further away from the crowds.

"The crowd's too chaotic, I can't get a clear shot now on any of the others unless they get close to Captain Agnes."

"Hold fire, then, and wait for them to clear. Agnes' troops down there should be able to clear the area. It should only take another second."

With the crowds scattering even more quickly now, hurried by that gunshot, the plaza quickly becomes emptied out. The firefighters are also hesitating to move in considering how there's a fight here, with everyone wary about that gunshot.

"It's open, though there's some smoke coming from the building."

"Is it affecting your vision too much?" I ask as Springfield calmly looks down her iron sights.

"Not at all."

"Then fire at will."

Joining Springfield's barrage are all the other snipers on the rooftop, raining down on the mages who realize they're being fired on. However, as they turn to attack us on the rooftops, the ones we sent on the ground and Agnes' troops from before take the opportunity to fire, as no one wants to shoot into the melee Agnes is engaged in. One of them is an earth mage and puts up a barrier, but because it's high enough to prevent us from sniping down on them from the rooftops, it also means they can't just fire from behind it, allowing our musketeers to move in while covered from us.

Meaning that they can cross that dangerous "zone of control" that mages have safely.

As soon as the barrier goes down for them to counterattack, they're quickly attacked in melee range by drawn swords and knives, causing a frantic attempt to gain distance.

"Sir, Agnes was knocked down!"

"Take aim, Springfield!" I say, utilizing the codeword we decided on to signify using her special firing protocol. We'll come up with something more subtle later, but it'll do for now.

"Designated Shot protocol, engaged."

I glance at the rest of the battlefield, where the squads of musketeers are slowly overcoming the mages. The injured one seems to already have fallen due to Springfield's earlier shot, tilting the battle in their favor. Every time the mages attempt to gain distance to reestablish their zone of control, any of the musketeers in the back can simply open fire, as the melee ones are no longer at that much risk of friendly fire.

I then hear a yell of pain just after a gunshot, with Springfield reloading her gun.

"Shot taken, returning to normal firing protocols." She reports as I look where Agnes was. She's gotten up in the meantime, where her attacker has now fallen to the ground.

"Understood. Continue to support our musketeers but keep an eye on Agnes!"

"Order received, Commander!"

Under the constant barrage of gunfire and sword attacks, the backup squad starts to collapse. As each member in that backup squad takes a dive, the musketeers get more breathing room in order to fan out and apply more pressure to the remaining ones. It eventually reaches the point that the melee musketeers can safely pull back and give the shooters more breathing room as they don't have to worry about ducking down or getting out the firing line. And by that point, the musketeers have spread out enough that the remaining mages can't keep focus on all of them at the same time, thus letting the ones in their blind spots deliver killing shots.

Around the same time, Agnes is able to deliver a gunshot to the right knee of our target, causing him to immediately sink to the ground. She chains that to a stomp on his wand wrist, with four of her troops moving into support her and point guns at the now fallen target.

"Looks like it's mostly cleaned up for now. Keep overwatch until we have successfully apprehended the target." I say, moving over to our signal torches and lighting three more of them, indicating to the others we are moving into phase four, or the escort phase. I see the others in view also light four torches before I snuff ours out.

A carriage pulls up to the theatre, though I'm not as concerned with this one. This is our capture carriage, which Agnes puts our target into before instructing the guards around the area, I assume, to clean it up. Springfield quietly gets up as the carriage door closes and starts moving down the street, with all of the other musketeers down there following suit.

"Did you miss it?"

"Hm?"

"The smell of the battlefield, Commander."

"I can't say that I missed it, but I can't say I hate it, either." I mumble, knowing this smell of gunpowder and smoke all too well.

"I see. They don't have coffee in this world, but I'd be willing to brew you a cup of tea later."

"That'd be appreciated. Though for now, focus. We're not out of the woods just yet."

Springfield nods as we continue along the rooftops, watching over the carriage and checking for any surprises, often checking the street below for anyone slinking along in the alleyways.

We end up nailing three guys who drew wands before moving down the alleyway, though each was dispersed by a timely shot from Springfield. We did manage to capture one of them, who was quickly bound, gagged, and thrown into the carriage as well, which Agnes is inside to make sure there's no funny business.

The final stretch is the most dangerous, as there's a large section of open road in a plaza right before the castle gates. The plan here was musketeers would slowly dismount from the roofs one by one to get to the ground and guard us across, with Red Team being the last ones dismount, and Springfield being the absolute last to come down due to her sniping ability outstripping the others.

Fortunately, the last section goes off without any major hitches due to the guards patrolling the plaza adding some extra security, and we're in the castle gates without any major issues. Springfield, as planned, is the last one to go down, and goes with me as we cross the plaza and enter the castle grounds, the gates locking behind us.

I hear the carriage door open and everyone snaps to a ready position, but relaxes when it's Agnes who steps out.

"Sara, take guard of our target." Agnes says with a small cock of her head. Springfield nods and enters the carriage, closing the door behind her. "Commander, we'll take it from here. Please let Her Highness know that we've completed the mission and are bringing him to the dungeon."

"Of course, Captain. If you'll excuse me, then."

I then depart from Agnes, going into the castle, straight to Henrietta's room. I knock on the door, identifying myself.

"Ah, Oliver, come in, come in."

I then open the door and close it behind me after stepping inside, finding Henrietta at a desk with what appears to be an abacus on it.

"Budgeting?"

"Yes, lots of it. I assume you're here to report?"

"The operation was successful, ma'am. Captain Agnes is bringing the target into the dungeons as we speak."

The quill in her hands comes to a stop as she turns to look at me. I simply nod, with Henrietta standing up from her desk.

"Your Highness?"

"A-ah, forgive me, it's just… I am a bit shocked it's truly happening. While I had faith in your skills, there was always a seed of doubt within me."

"That is acceptable. After all, I haven't had a chance to prove myself."

"Thank you, Oliver. With this, perhaps we can begin taking the first steps towards securing Tristain's future."

"It was what you requested of me, nothing more. I'm sure that Captain Agnes would like to hear your words of praise along with the rest of the musketeers, though. It wasn't me who was on the ground, anyways."

"Of course, of course. Let us go down, then. We'll greet them as they come out of the dungeons."

I nod, opening the door for Henrietta, who takes the lead into the hallways. We quietly walk down, then out into a courtyard, and then stop just before another building that is guarded by at least twenty guards. I suppose it's fitting for a jailhouse, and it's a good thing to keep it somewhat separated from the actual castle itself.

"What are you doing?" I ask, seeing Henrietta attempt what looks like a salute in the evening torchlight.

"Erm, well, I thought it would be nice to greet them with one when they return." She says with a sheepish smile on her face.

I can't help but chuckle, taking a step closer to her. "Alright, here, I'll help you. Lift your elbow just a bit more, ah, no, don't do that with your hand—back straight, back straight…"

It takes about five minutes for her to get it right, where she then stands as straight as a statue.

"Not going to move?"

"I must confess I am afraid if I do move, I'll mess it up and won't fix it in time."

I laugh at this, then stop as I hear a door opening. Agnes, followed by Springfield, followed by the rest of the musketeers, exit the dungeon, immediately spying Henrietta who's already in her salute. I snap to one as well, standing a bit behind her as Agnes comes closer.

"What's with the welcoming party?" Agnes asks with a bit of an amused tone, though clearly to Henrietta.

"I wanted to thank you for today. While I always value your help in keeping Tristain safe, today marks an especially important day." Henrietta says, loosening her salute before her arms fall to her side.

For the first time, I think I see what looks like a sincere smile on Agnes' face as she looks at Henrietta's wide, beaming, and ultimately relieved smile.

"It's our duty, Your Highness."

"Even so…"

There seems to be a silent understanding between Henrietta and Agnes, which then by extension applies to the rest of the musketeers. I feel like a foreigner, unable to understand what's going on exactly.

"A-ah, but of course, there should be a hot meal waiting for all of you. I asked the kitchen staff to prepare it for tonight, so please, go ahead." Henrietta says, perhaps aware of my awkwardness here. The rest of the musketeers seem happy at this, with Agnes giving a wave of her hand to let them go ahead.

Henrietta stays behind, although Agnes tilts her head as if to signify her to go as well. Henrietta then gives me a look, but ultimately relents and leaves, with it just being Agnes and I now.

"Good calls today, Commander." Agnes says, with the usual disdain in her voice no longer present.

"It wasn't anything complicated. Are you injured?"

"Nothing a few days of rest won't fix." She says, starting to walk towards the castle. I follow suit, giving us at least five feet of distance. "...and thanks."

"Hm?"

"It's been a while since I've seen Her Highness so relieved. Today might've just been a stroke of luck for you, but if it wasn't, then I'll be looking forward to working together with you."

"For both our sakes, I'll hope it wasn't."

As we eventually step into the dining hall, which is filled with a small celebration, I can't help but feel a rush of nostalgia. This is how it used to be, after all. It's almost like I never left.

Yet, there's still a pang of emptiness to it. A dull pain that I never quite forgot. But if there's one thing that I won't have to worry about here, it's seeing their faces and not recognizing the person with it.

"Commander, you're looking a little pale. Won't you have a seat?"

I'm brought out of my thoughts by Springfield's voice. She's standing in front of me, holding a small cup of tea on a platter.

"I've also brought you that tea I promised you. Come now, you're going to be one of us, so you might as well get to know everyone. Don't be a stranger~"

"Alright, alright, I'll sit down. You sure you don't all want to just have some time for yourselves, though?"

"Well, you did lead us to victory today. I think it can't hurt to get to know you a bit more." Springfield says as she guides me to a seat and has me sit down, putting the tea in front of me. "To today's victory, and many more, Commander."

I look up into her eyes, seeing nothing but faith in me. I suppose knowing that I'm from Griffin has given her a real confidence boost. That things might actually turn out all right in the end.

I hope so too, Springfield. I hope so, too.


Wow that took a lot longer to write than it should have. Blame Stardew Valley which my friends sucked me back into and when I found out about sprinklers, my need for automation and efficiency took over (AKA why Factorio is the bane of my free time). Fortunately I have managed to get out of that hellhole for a bit, or at least long enough to write this chapter.

I think the biggest concerns for me this chapter included the range on the muskets along with the battle scene. The range on the muskets would heavily influence how battle scenes would be written, obviously, and I tried to base their range from what I saw in the anime/what I remember of the fights in the novel version. To me, they were obviously better than what one would traditionally call a musket or what we'd think of whenever someone mentioned one. I opted to advance them a bit ahead time-wise, using magic as the catalyst (i.e. necessity drove invention), and to tie it into Agnes' obviously-altered backstory. I consulted with some friends about it as well, trying to find a good range for the FoZ muskets to have.

Of course, you can tell I likely went with my second option, deciding to focus more on the named characters. Springfield has already gotten some focus, so Henrietta got a lot more this chapter with her talk about her political future. Agnes got a bit at the end by slightly opening up to Oliver, or at least not being so grumpy with him.

As for the battle scene, I kept wondering how I could make it more "exciting" in a sense, because as stated before, they lack communicators and obviously video feeds. In my other story, Armored Hearts, it was easier to pull this "watching from the back" view off because the MC has access to radios and video feeds, allowing him to see every angle of the battle and describe it. Here, Oliver only has his eyes and lack of communicators. I want to remedy the lack of communicators soon though. I think ideally I would've had them at this point, but it didn't make sense to me setting wise for the musketeers to already have them, because due to magic existing, it's not like there would've been a need to develop them to the point of magic communicator devices being widespread. But like I said, I think I'll remedy that soon, this was more of just a, say, "obligatory" run without them.

Anyways, we did get to see Springfield's special ability in play. I thought it was an okay nod to GFL, and something relatively plausible. Allow Springfield to temporarily do calculations faster in order to land a more critical shot, but of course, with what I remember from my computer hardware and OS classes, overclocking would cause hardware damage (and also overheating) if done for too long, making it reasonable that Springfield can't just have it up all the time.

Overall I think I'm somewhat pleased with this chapter. I think the battle scene could have been handled a bit better with what I had, but perhaps could've been something more if I hadn't written myself into a corner with those communicators. I hope that the scenes with communicators are more exciting, though, but at the same time I'm not sure how much I want to do battle scenes. While it will be exciting to have them, making them a bit more rare might let me bring something new to each one, but oh well, we'll see.