The Moon's Favorite Daughter

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Yae was fine.

She was calm, she was mature, she had no vices other than gluttony. But if you think about it, that makes sense. She was always training and trying to improve herself. That needs a lot of energy, those who wish to build themselves always needed to eat a lot, and never would they gain unnecessary fat.

She walked with a floaty kind of grace that nonetheless had her surely hooked to the ground with each step as if with steel cables, that was the sure footing of a martial artist. I could be pushed around, that was the foundation of my fighting style, but a swordswoman was meant to be stable as the mountain, swift as the wind, and dark and impenetrable as the jungle.

There was something soothing about Yae's expression, the way her perfect zen accepted everything without thought or conditions. Her eyes were alert, but it was impossible to discern what she was thinking. Ah, ever the inscrutable Oriental, who knows what tempers lie beneath that soft visage?

Like the old saying goes, clear waters run deep.

I grinned as we walked through Berge's market district. But as an Oriental myself, I knew what goes on behind that mask.

And that word is 'Meh.'

"Hey, Yae, want some meat skewers?" I pointed to a little tent selling barbequed meat.

"Hai!" She pivoted instantly to walk towards it, no hesitation whatsoever.

People with lines in their forehead furrow their brows too much. They worry all the time. People who don't stress about things will remain young for much longer.

Well fortunately Monika is a digital existence so she doesn't need to have worry lines unless she wants to. I was not a very creative person, it's a good thing I was just a consumer of media instead of its producer. Ah! How wonderful to just be able to steal other people's hard work and good ideas. Commercial and intellectual giants of the other world, I salute you! I who stands on the shoulder of giants standing on other giants… am in outer space. Wait shit this metaphor went away from me.

"Wait, stop. We need to be strategic about this."

Yae paused in front of the meat skewer seller. The woman with faintly racoon features looked away from us back to fanning the fire. She had no time for anyone's drama either.

"It can't be just beef all the time, we need appreciate different tastes to clean our palates" I continued. "We should have pork, and lamb, and chicken, and goat, and grilled salmon, and squid... and what other kinds of meat are there in Mismede? Maybe I should have kept some of that dragon meat…"

She turned to me and beamed, her eyes glittering and filled with awe. "What a wonderful idea, Playa-dono!"

"Dragon meat is poisonous, you need to bury it underground for a year before it gets safe to eat," the skewer seller noted idly.

It's actually quite impressive you know that, random meat skewer seller lady.

As if feeling the disbelief in my masked gaze, she looked up and sniffed contemptuously. She was looking down on the stupid tourist, clearly.

Yeah I deserved that, probably.

She said while picking at her large rounded ears, "What? It's just common sense. Everyone knows that. Dragons kill villages, don't you think at some point those who manage to kill a dragon want some revenge? Some idiots thought maybe that eating the flesh of strong monsters give them power or something. But that's why a lot of monster beasts are poisonous, they can only eat each other."

"But aren't dragons not classified as monster beasts? They are thinking beings, aren't they?"

"What do dragons *eat*?"

… Very astute. I surrender to your superior knowledge, old lady.

It took a bit more walking around but Yae ended up carrying something like a boquet. Only instead of flowers, meat. I had a small wrap of some shawarma-like object in local pita bread. I had a feeling I was being drastically overcharged, but eh, it's Jamukha's money anyway.

Like, would I really do all that roadwork for free? Heck no. Give me an expense account, you two kings.

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The blacksmith stared at us oddly as we entered his shop. "I was wondering what was smelling so delicious…"

Two strange visitors were at his doorway. The way the two walked in like everything was perfectly normal with this was unusual even for Mismede. Yae jabbed a sharpened stick into her meat bouquet.

Nom.

I opened up with "We're here to buy some blades. Just some steel good for battle, nothing too fancy."

The blacksmith looked like a minotaur. There were different types of beastkin, some looking more animal and some human with just odd parts tacked on. This one was a huge, almost as big as King Jamukha, his biceps alone were bigger than my whole torso!

"All right. I'm Rogram, you see here these are what I've got." He gestured to the weapon racks around him. "Why didn't you go to a weapons shop?"

"We want *blades*, not new weapons."

"I see. All right. Show me what I have to work with."

We presented the hilts of our ruined weapons. Rogram scratched at the remaining metal. His nails actually left gouges in the steel. "Flat, single-sided blades. Soft core? Mmm. Eashan curved blade, I know this." He looked up and noted "I can only give you some pattern welded blades, I don't know exactly how they make these swords."

Damascus-style blades would be good too! "It's an interim solution, if you don't mind. Yae… are you fine with just something that's slightly off balance to what you're used to?"

"It is of no consequence, Playa-dono. I had tried out straight sabers at Restia Knight Kingom too, that I have. I will have no problem, Kokonoe Sword Style does not rely on the fast draw as much, it does not."

"All right. Let me see what I can do about this." He took the hilts and moved to the back of his shop. This shop was recommended to us because its owner could withstand greater temperatures, and he could make better quality steel.

"This is fine, right?" I asked. "This isn't something that's breaking a taboo or the dignity of your family?"

"Yumina-sama already asked me this, I have no attachment to my weapons. How about you, Playa-dono? Yours is a named weapon, is it not? My own blade are but tools of killing, I can fight with anything from bare hand to long spear. But you… pardon my saying so, but a novice should stick with what they are comfortable with, that they should."

I had only managed to replace the staff portion, with the heavy steel ring at the pommel of the long spear-like shaft. Without a blade, it was the perfect height for a cane or walking stick. The blunt end could still be used like some sort of mace. It was the only thing that surprisingly survived being used as ammo for a magic railgun.

While I could have picked up another one at Belfast, the sword-spear was really nothing very special in material quality. Unlike Yae, I could not use my fighting spirit to make my sword arbitrarily sharper and more durable on the cut.

"Zanzibar, the great saber… is notable only because it's MY sword, you know? It doesn't have to be any particular sword. I'll probably have to go through a lot of versions before I can find one that matches my sword and magic style."

"You are going to try for a magic conductive blade, are you not?"

"Good guess. Though I think something that was once 'alive' would also help with what you're trying." I passed her a bottle of fruit juice. Surprisingly, people in this magic world had already invented drinking straws. "That's why this is an interim solution."

She paused before taking a drink to cleanse her palate. "I… I am not sure this one can accept such munificence, Playa-dono."

"You helped kill a dragon. It's only fair that you get a chance at seeing how swords made out of dragon fangs will perform. Jamukha's own smiths are working on it, but in case we need to fight – obviously we can't be left weaponless in an emergency."

"Hai."

There were no problems in the blacksmith's shop. Within the hour, Rogram emplaced fitting blades to our weapons, and even managed to match the curve of Yae's katana from what would have been a tulwar. My Zanzibar MK II had a straight single-edged blade reminiscent of cavalry saber.

And we were done. Ah! How easy it was to shop for Yae.

Would definitely go on more shopping trips with girls if it were this easy. Being a prodigal was surprisingly hard work!

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Of course, shopping trips with Yae tended to condense into eating trips anyway.

After the shop, we retired to an inn and dined in a private room. It had a quite Eastern flair, though I supposed it had more to do with most of Berge's buildings made out of wood rather than stone. The private room had cushions and a low table rather than chairs. I suppose that was to make it easier for all manners of tails and legs between the different types of beastkin. Everyone can sit on their butt, not everyone could fit into a chair. It equalized heights for taking food from the table, a problem when there were many full-grown beastkin only as big as human children and many others larger than could fit into a normal room.

I lounged on the floor, lying down on my side, lightly sipping fruit wine from a small glass. Yae was unhesitatingly partaking of dinner – which had traditionally been an afternoon meal, supper was the evening meal.

Being around Yae was relaxing. She was being that exerted no pressure. A perfect vassal imposes no burden on their lord, after all. There was no date-like feeling here, but it didn't feel like a business trip either. It was just a… something.

For example, while being around Elze was comfy, she would get bored eventually and want to do something. Linze was fine with sitting down with a good book, but it was better if she could snuggle. Yumina was just amusing to troll.

Briefly I wondered about how I could keep them entertained if we lived in the modern world. Elze was such a bro, we would probably play Counter-Strike or ARMA or something and she'd trash-talk about how she was carrying my lard ass through the rankings. Linze would still be comfortable with a book, but perhaps she'd find it good to try writing one. Linze likes to be romanced, so I suppose giving her a variety of experiences and new places to visit would be important material for her novel research.

Yumina would somehow be some rich corporate giant's kid – and she'd still love to appreciate talent and creativity in others. She'd be hiding an addiction to manga and comic books and at night would shitpost on the internet about boardroom interference and corporate shills. I would be totally enabling those shameful habits.

Charlotte and Leene would have this odd bdsm-like relationship that I would not tolerate, get out of my house you perverted old woman!

Wait, why did this imply that Charlotte would be living with me? Ugh. Charlotte was this perfect combination of terrifying and vulnerable that if I didn't have Monika I'd be totally all about that.

Yae would remain the same, I thought. A kendoka no matter what world. Buy her food and she's your friend. I grinned hugely.

"W-what is wrong, Playa-dono?"

"Nothing. I was going to say that I like seeing you eat… but that's not so accurate." I rested my chin on an open palm. "I like seeing you *happy*."

She hid her face behind her hand holding a pair of chopsticks. "… I do not how how to respond to that, I do not."

"Mmm. Zen only seeks to live in the moment, happiness is *not* required. Duty does not require happiness either. Even if some say enlightment is a state of absolute bliss… isn't seeking enlightenment all about not being chained down by emotions? I'm not sure there's even room for happiness in there. Contentment, yes. Happiness, no." I reached out to snag some crispy roasted pork. "Eating well, being happy… is it a tradition in your family to fight hard, eat hard, enjoy life and never fear death?"

"That is indeed so, Playa-dono. But one should not lose their edge in their vices, they should not."

I glanced towards the pair of swords resting on the corner of the room. Yae was a killer, not a murderer. Murderers were stupid amateurs. Hmm.

"Is foodlust a better way to temper your resolve than bloodlust? Is that the reason?"

"Because food is delicious!" Yae slammed her fists on the table. "EATING IS GREAT! TRAIN HARD SO YOU WILL NEVER GET FAT! WAKE UP SO YOU GET TO EAT! IF YOU ARE NOT HUNGRY, YOU DID NOT TRAIN HARD ENOUGH! THE VOID INSIDE IS HUNGER, FILL IT! THE BEST TRAINING METHOD, IT IS!"

"…"

"…"

We stared at each other, daring the other to show the first sign of embarrassment.

"That sounds reasonable," I said evenly.

Yae's smile was like the full moon. Not as bright and warm like the sun like Sue, or dark and full of promise like Monika, but wide and confident yet lacking all arrogance.

Like some sort of lonely moon.

"I am happy you understand, Playa-dono!"

To journey so far in search of strength on a mere hint from her father, that sort of obsessiveness was not something you could call normal either.

I chuckled again, and yawned. "It's fine to indulge," I said. "We won't always have the time for this."

She nodded somberly. "Soon enough there will be war. We only have one rule – eat what is in front of you. The more, the better. But no one can afford to be picky. In times of war, eating and resting become luxuries, that is so."

My smile lacked all humor. "Killing is easy. Living in peace is not. Learn to cherish your peace while you still can."

Yae looked down at the food the table. Eating alone was not enjoyable. Just like drinking alone was harming oneself. "Making enemies is easy. Finding worthy opponents is not. Cherish your comrades while you still can…" she whispered.

Right. Unlike Linze and Elze and Monika, Yae was someone who would have to go home at some point. Belfast was not her home, there was no reason for her to stick around for the long term. Yumina certainly wouldn't be going away, she had Princessly duties. As long as I was emotionally attached to Belfast, this was probably going to be where I would grow old and die.

Yae after this adventure would have to go home, probably at some point get married to some lord to secure her clan's future, and lay down her sword.

"Yeah…" I whispered in return. "Finding pleasure is easy. Achieving happiness is hard. Cherish your springtime while you're still in bloom."

Yae closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. Then she smiled impishly. "Spending money is easy. Earning money is hard. Cherish what you have while you still have funds."

Hoooh? "Eating meat is easy. Digesting it is hard. Practice your sword while you're not on the can."

"Hiding your face is easy. Being born handsome is hard. Cherish your looks while you do not know."

Hahaha, nice. Just because Yae was a sword fanatic, doesn't mean she's dumb. Wordplay was a great hobby for samurai too. Just because she is passive most of the time, doesn't mean she's going to allow herself to be pushed around. She's not above teasing back people she considered friends.

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That was totally not a date. But it would be very nice to go on another one, sure.

So comfy.

Can't do that too often, falling into a food coma was disastrous for mah workflow.

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On our return Elze punched me in the face again.

But this time I blocked it within my glove. I would only allow myself to be hit if I deserved it. Or if it would be funny. I had no time for any tsundere bullshit. What the hell, Elze?

"You total degeneraaaate!" she hissed as she pulled her arm back. "I won't have it! Linze may be fine with it, but I will protect… my sister! From you for as long as I can!"

"Sis, don't make me fight you," Linze muttered.

"THAT IS EXACTLY PROVING MY POINT! I should take you away and run away from here...!"

I see. Apparently Elze is Bowser now, huh. Fascinating.

"Ugggh. Why am I always surrounded by perverts and freaks? Everyone I know is a depraved lunatic!"

By this point, Yumina and Leene had arrived. The princess raised her hand. "Um, Miss Elze, what are you-"

"Even you. Specially you. Normal things don't excite the nobility anymore, I heard! The higher up the ranks you go, the more freakiness you get up to!"

Yumina whimpered at the accusation. She looked genuinely hurt. Leene just looked even more smug.

Linze approached with a gentle smile. She hugged me from the front and whispered "My heart is not prepared for something like that, Mister Zah. I'm not yet ready for that sort of responsibility, but please know that's also kind of the life I want to have." Her hug tightened. "I'll work to convince sis - if we leave her alone she's just going to run away by herself, thinking she's not worth being loved. Please be patient for a while longer."

Then she disengaged and went over to pacify her sister for the moment.

What.

I have no idea what even is happening here.

What did you do, Monika?

What did you dooooooooo?!

Yae munched on buttered corn on the cob. She looked very satisfied at this mid-meal entertainment.

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And then we received news that Castle Zenovi had fallen, and that was almost a relief.

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