It always strikes me as funny that this story was the longest in my repertoire for so long, but by now Manifest Destiny is just behind it in terms of length despite being less than half equivalent in the number of chapters. Then again, I began writing for Queen's Blade waaaaay back in high school, and needless to say I wasn't as good then as I am now, and I had a way shorter quota on chapter length.

On the other hand I feel like we may be losing traction here. I mean, I always knew that Queen's Blade was pretty niche, but it feels like I've lost a lot of fans. Or maybe it's just that people haven't been especially vocal lately... let me know if you're still out there! Not that it will affect whether or not I continue of course, but aside from looking at views (which doesn't really tell too much being a vanity number) I've got no way of knowing where I stand with the community.

Church believed he had a firm grasp on just how large Gainos was based on his fairly short tour throughout one of its sectors, but he did not truly appreciate its scope until he had to walk from the small church he had learned Aldra's identity in to the palace in the center of the entire metropolis. Only then did he recognize how massive this place was. It would not be surprising at all to learn that people on one end of the capital had never in their lives visited the other.

Thankfully the stress of the walk itself was heavily mitigated by the lack of pedestrian traffic. Being the Queen, everyone moved out of Aldra's way as soon as they saw her, usually bowing in reverence or some such before allowing their expressions to take on awe at having seen the Queen herself up close.

Speaking of which, Jauffre was especially unhappy about the entire procession. He had recommended that Aldra use some sort of underground tunnels to avoid contact, an idea the Queen had immediately rejected. He had also advised that she wait for a carriage or something so she could ride back to the palace in comfort, but the idea made no headway either.

Church supposed he could understand some of Jauffre's precautions, but on the other hand he had just met Aldra and it was already fairly obvious to him that she did whatever she wanted. Surely Jauffre must have known that by now as well. Why did he even bother trying to convince her of things she didn't want?

As for Church, the Queen had taken to conversing with him all the same as she had before her identity had been revealed, mostly asking of the supposed alternate dimension he had come from. Church still couldn't understand why or how she could believe that at face value, but the fact that she did was undeniable.

That said, Church had regaled her with descriptions of technologies and scientific knowledge that intrigued her greatly; not that you could tell with the entirely neutral expression on her face. Thankfully she had not asked him many questions about how these things worked, giving Church a chance to ask questions of his own about her world and her city.

His primary concern had been why the palace was built on top of a giant rock instead of the ground, to which she gave no definite answer. The fact was that she herself did not know, simply attributing the construction to the tastes of whoever had built it in the distant past. Either way, Church was rather involved in his conversation with the Queen, which was somewhat awkward for him, but not to a degree where he wouldn't continue to do it. His focus on that allowed him to ignore the piercing glares he was getting from both Jauffre and Irma, though the latter only did so because she was suspicious of everyone.

Church had actually meant to ask about Irma at some point, having met her before, but he figured it was probably a bad idea to do so with her in close proximity. It still brought on some amount of concern though. Irma obviously worked for Aldra, and what she did for her was questionable at best. What had she wanted with Shizuka and Tomoe anyway? Surely they weren't enemies of the state or anything...?

Unfortunately it was a question Church could not get an answer for just yet. For now he kept it under wraps so he could investigate later, instead focusing on what was essentially its own journey to the palace from halfway to the wall where the church had been. It was nearly two hours before the Queen and her quintessential entourage reached some sort of circular stadium at the base of the palace itself. It was actually two semicircles of stands split by a straight line to a higher and more ornate platform, kind of like the place the Emperor would sit in the Roman Colosseum.

"What is this place?"

Aldra gave her brief yet always informative answer without breaking stride. "The Queen gives speeches here from time to time. I also may use it for the tournament finals. I haven't decided yet."

Church cocked an eyebrow as he glanced around at the stands. "But there's no way you could fit the entire population of the city in here..."

"Indeed we could not. Anything important that ever happens here is broadcast throughout the city."

Obviously hearing the word 'broadcast' in a society of this nature threw Church for a loop. "What do you mean broadcast? You have a way to let everyone in the whole city see what's going on?"

Aldra raised one finger to the sky. "Our contract with the hosts of heaven has many benefits. Angels summon a sphere of sorts in the sky that provides both sight and sound to people around the city. Not that anyone usually hears anything considering the cacophonous noise of a city this large."

Church glanced up at the sky to find it absent of any magic spheres. He would have been a bit skeptical of this entire notion, but he found it hard to not believe Aldra. Maybe it was just the fact that she said everything so factually. Either way he had no choice but to take Aldra's word for this 'medieval television,' so he simply followed her up the stands with the rest of her retinue towards the area of the arena that was clearly reserved for her.

The crimson adorned young woman skipped that entirely though, passing by most of the ornate architecture to head towards the back, which connected to a bridge leading over the huge moat that separated the palace from the city proper. If it weren't for the metal doors it lead to on the other side it would have seemed like the bridge simply went right into the giant boulder that supported the palace itself. Church wondered if the boulder itself actually housed part of the palace, but upon entering he lost all ability to scan the interior.

Not because he was dazzled by anything, but because carved straight into the interior wall was a set of stairs that spiraled towards the top of the structure in a seemingly endless wave. Church couldn't focus on anything else, gawking at the thing in abject despair. There was no way he could reach the top in one piece...

Church heard someone clear their throat off to the side, shaking him from his thoughts and drawing his attention to them. Everyone else he had been traveling with was standing on a wooden platform with pulleys on each corner. Church breathed a sigh of relief as he moved towards it.

"Please tell me this is an elevator."

"Indeed. I'm all for good exercise, but taking the stairs would be a little much."

Jauffre took it upon himself to pull a lever on the side of the contraption, prompting it to rise into a stone shaft above them all that would have been unnerving if only Church were claustrophobic. Thankfully he wasn't afraid of the dark either, because the shaft itself was only brightened by a square hole carved into the outermost surface of the boulder every twenty feet or so. Each one was a brief window to the outside world, but one way or another they didn't offer much.

Still, it wasn't a completely pitch black experience, and the twilight of this somewhat primitive elevator shaft brought a strange effect on the people in it. It was hard to make out the bodies of the people he rode with, save their eyes, which almost seemed to glow in the darkness. Irma's eyes were such a pale red that it was almost difficult to realize that they weren't some shade of dark pink. As for Aldra, Church had initially thought her eyes were were simply a solid crimson, but in the faint light it was clear that she bore a fair amount of light orange in her iris as well. Surrounded by darkness, it truly looked like the light of a burning flame.

Church realized that he had never seen such a color in anyone before. He had met quite a fair number of interesting people in this world so far, with bizarre hair colors and bizarre eyes to match, but never had he met someone where you could literally see 'the fire in their eyes.' It was beautiful in a way that was different from the others Church had met. Airi's gorgeous emerald had a tangible quality to them, being a color akin to something Church could touch. Alleyne's sapphire blue was the same, alluring but somehow tangible in thought. Aldra's flame seemed as surreal as fire itself, and that notion had a great beauty to it.

As always, Church found himself staring as he was lost in thought. It was easy to be consumed by flame after all, though he was not so far gone that he couldn't tell when Aldra questioned his behavior.

"Is something amiss?"

"W-what? N-no, everything's fine. I was just, uh, impressed by this elevator. It must have been difficult to have it ascend all the way to the palace..."

Aldra cocked a curious eyebrow at him. "But you were not staring at the elevator."

"Yes I was."

"No, you were not. If there is something amiss with my appearance do feel free to say as much."

"It's definitely nothing like that..."

Church hoped she would leave it at that, but by now he had already learned that the Queen didn't like leaving things unanswered. "Then I eagerly await an explanation."

Hoping that the darkness made it too difficult for her to see any facial expression that may have made him look like a dork, Church figured he may as well just bite the bullet.

"I-it's just, uh... you have really u-unique eyes. T-that's all."

Aldra's expression remained curious. "That's all?"

"N-not in a bad way of course! I just meant that's all I was thinking about! I-I meant unique as in really beautiful!"

Church would have facepalmed if it wouldn't have made it obvious that he was flustered, though he was still accosted by Jauffre. "How dare you speak to the Queen as though she were some common woman to be flirted with!"

Church wasn't sure what he should say to that, but thankfully the Queen knew well enough how to speak for herself. "I will let you know when I no longer desire compliments from others Jauffre."

"O-of course, your Highness..."

The rest of the ride up was taken in relative silence, most of which Church spent berating himself for acting stupid. Seriously, what was he thinking, telling the Queen of an entire nation something like that? And a warrior Queen that could probably crush him in two seconds at that? Then again, she didn't seem to really dislike it, but that could have just been her lack of a super wide emotional range to express distaste with.

Either way, the elevator shaft eventually came to an end when the platform ceased its ascent at the floor of a long ornate hall that was clearly part of the palace proper. Unblemished stone supported numerous crimson tapestries and carpets, alongside plenty of paintings of various subjects. There were numerous doors on both sides of the hall as well, with one large set at the very end of the hall that probably led to a different wing.

Naturally Aldra wasted no time in moving on to the next matter of business. "Come, Jauffre. I require your full report on the new tripe the Merchant Guild is spouting at us. Irma, if you would be so kind as to escort our guest to appropriate quarters?"

The dark-skinned assassin bowed to her superior. "Of course, Your Highness."

With that, Aldra and Jauffre made for the larger set of doors at the end of the hall, while Irma simply motioned for Church to follow her through a door off to the side. This door led to a smaller but similarly decorated hall with a spiral staircase at the end of it, though Church ignored that in favor of finally speaking to the woman that his last encounter with had included a knife at his back. Unfortunately this encounter included having her with a lot more clothes on than last time. Needless to say her maid outfit was nowhere near as alluring as Airi's.

"So...long time no see?"

Irma gave no indication of even hearing him, simply continuing to lead him through the palace.

"Uh... so, which outfit is your normal one? Like, which job is the day job?"

This question went unanswered as well, prompting Church to frown. He couldn't believe that she had been more talkative when she had been threatening his life.

"Does the Queen usually take undercover escapades into the city? Isn't it kind of weird for her to invite a complete stranger into the palace like this?"

Stopping on the stairs for just a brief moment, Irma glanced back at him irritably. "You talk too much."

Church returned her gaze with equal agitation. "Well I would be less talkative if you would answer at least one of these questions."

With a sigh, Irma turned to continue up the stairs. "You have caught her Majesty's interest, and she needs no other reason than that to bring you here."

"So what, just because I'm kind of interesting?"

"Her Majesty grows quite bored within the palace. Times of peace may be preferable, but they are dull. She has little to do and constantly seeks some means of entertaining herself. For now, that seems to be you... for some reason."

Church didn't miss the subtle insult in that last part, but he refrained from retaliating. "Isn't that a little... I don't know, irresponsible?"

"Her Majesty handles all affairs of importance quickly and efficiently. She only seeks to entertain herself when everything has been settled."

"Maybe she'd have less time to be bored if she didn't take care of everything so quickly?"

Though Church couldn't see it from behind her, this actually earned the slightest of smiles from Irma. She often thought the same thing. "Perhaps."

With that tangent out of the way, Church couldn't resist asking about the other thing on his mind. "So, um... you didn't, you know, go after Tomoe and Shizuka again after I left, did you?"

Irma resisted the urge to roll her eyes, if only because it would be unprofessional. Under normal circumstances she would never reveal the specifics of a mission to a civilian, but she knew that Church was unlikely to let the issue rest, and the information wasn't compromising anyway. "My only job was to discern the nature of their intentions here in Farillia. I observed them until I could answer that question, then let them be."

"If that's all you were there for why did you attack Shizuka in the first place?"

"Interrogation is easier than simply tailing someone and hoping they reveal their intentions in some sort of casual conversation."

"Fair enough..."

That left the rest of their trek in relative silence, which unfortunately included several dozen more stairs. It had been awhile since Church had really felt the weight of his knee holding him back, but climbing this many steps really took a toll. He couldn't even imagine what it would have been like to climb that first flight before the elevator...

In the end though, he managed to make it to whatever floor Irma had decided would be appropriate for him. It looked slightly more quaint than the lower floors, with a little darker atmosphere and less torches per feet on the walls, but it still felt similar to what little else of the palace Church had seen so far. It was more homely at any rate, though that was definitely a relative term all things considered.

Irma led him to one door roughly halfway through the hall, pushing it open and signalling that it was their destination. Church peered into the room curiously, wondering what kind of quarters a guest of the Queen would receive. Most of it was actually what he had kind of expected from a room of this nature. A king sized bed with velvet sheets the likes of which were completely alien to him, a large chandelier that hung from a high ceiling, a luscious carpet that would probably be more comfortable to sleep on than most beds, and an array of luxurious furniture that was hand-crafted from who knew what quality of wood.

But Church ignored all of that in favor of a set of doors near the end of the room that he would have labeled as 'French' doors if only France existed around here. Either way he could see through the glass, and he was all too happy to discover that he had a balcony that overlooked the city. Church ignored everything else in the room to rush over there and push the doors out of his way, stepping onto a downright massive stone balcony with a railing that came up to his waist. He resisted the urge to lean over it as he peered down towards the ground first and foremost to see how high up he was.

He was quite startled to see the stadium they had first entered at ground level easily obscured by his pinky if he placed the digit in front of the thing. To think that they had ascended this high was difficult to comprehend. Following that, Church once again found the scope of the capital absolutely breathtaking. Even from this height, he could not see anything save a mountaintop or two over the distant walls of the city. The field of buildings that made up each quadrant of the city dominated the entire view of the landscape, even as massively expanded as it was for him.

The smattering of red rooftops throughout the city was interrupted only be the greenery of trees and the shadows of the bridges and aqueducts that crisscrossed over the metropolis. From his position, Church could appreciate one of the three main aqueducts that connected to the palace itself at a height nearly equal to it. In the now amber light of a slowly dying afternoon, the entirety of this scenery seemed to be aflame with golden light.

Finding it difficult to really put his amazement into words, Church settled for the most typical of expressions. "Wow..."

Normally Irma would have though such enthusiasm was foolish, but she herself had been equally in awe the first time she had been this high up in the palace. The view of Gainos from here was truly incredible, and even now she enjoyed simply looking out over the city when she was alone in her thoughts. Still, unlike Church she actually had other things to do and places to be.

"Is there anything you else you require before I go?"

Still under the effects of his amazement, Church turned back to the tan beauty with a beaming smile. For some reason Irma couldn't describe, the earnest nature of it was actually kind of charming. Not that she let that show on her face.

Recalling a thought that had occurred to him while in the city, Church knew exactly what to ask for. "Is there anything I would be able to paint with?"

Despite her penchant for maintaining facial neutrality, Irma cocked an eyebrow at the man before her, having not expected such a request. "I... suppose there is. I will have another servant bring it to you later."

"Thanks, Irma."

Irma shut the door to the room at that, wondering why she felt so unusually pleased with something as simple as gratitude. Perhaps it was because of how sincere that gratitude was for something so insignificant; it was exactly the same as the earnest thanks Aldra often gave her for her assistance in matters both large and small.

Ridding her mind of such thoughts for now, Irma decided to simply follow through with that she had guaranteed and then get back to work. It was always easy to forget the things that bothered her in work.

Having lived the life she had, Airi was no stranger to torture. In fact, she would go so far as to say that she was quite familiar with it. When she had been mortal her servitude to a twisted, selfish master had been torture. After her death, she had experienced the tortures of the hellish afterlife that still haunted her nightmares. And even after being resurrected, she had been tortured every once in awhile by the Swamp Witch for various different reasons.

But never had she tortured herself. Having experienced so much pain in her life she was hardly going out of her way to self-inflict more of it. But now she found herself doing exactly that, inflicting pain on her own person that was second only to the agony she had experienced in hell. It was weird, knowing how much it hurt but continuing to do it anyway.

Such was her state of affairs as she ghosted throughout the streets of Gainos, carefully hunting unwary individuals that she could drain life force from. Not because she needed it though. She was actually quite full, having drained a bit more from Church the other day than she had meant to. But even so, that was the source of her current actions.

She'd never been one to ruin her body or mind with drugs or alcohol of any sort, so Airi did not know what it was like to be addicted, nor did she have any prior experience with withdrawing from an addiction. Regardless, she was absolutely certain that what she was experiencing now was exactly that. Never would she have thought that an addiction could be formed from one experience, but now she knew better. After the one deep kiss she had shared with her new love, she was addicted. Addicted to both the intimacy in and of itself and the unrivaled taste she had experienced during it.

However, it was the latter that drove her to the hunt right now. While her nights were usually plagued by nightmares from the past, last night she had been unable to sleep simply because she had craved that flavor so much. It was almost physically painful to be away from it for so long, despite that it had been less than a full day.

By late afternoon this day, she had been unable to take it any longer. Though she knew she would never find that taste of love and affection from anyone other than Church, she had to mitigate her desire for it somehow. Even if there was no way she could sate it, she had to do something, anything to make it more bearable.

That was why she was currently draining a middle-aged brunette woman in an alley that was far enough removed from the busiest streets of Gainos to remain undetected. Normally Airi would have done the usual mouth to mouth procedure, but she found herself averse to the idea now. How could something like that ever compare to what she had experienced yesterday? No, she didn't want to do anything like with anyone again, save one person...

So she had her hand clamped over the frail woman's mouth instead, slowly draining her in a slightly less efficient manner. Not only was the process slower, but the whole 'taste' factor was far more subdued this way. It was a less of a taste and more of an emotional influx. A different kind of appeal, and not the one Airi really wanted, but now she was determined to share that special intimacy with one particular person.

That said, the only thing she was getting from this woman that was slowly losing consciousness was fear and terror, emotions that Airi had once enjoyed but no longer desired. Not that long ago she had believed these negative emotions to be the best there were, but she couldn't care less for them now. Unfortunately she had to settle, as she could not attain what she really wanted without endangering the very person that provided it for her.

"Stop, foul spirit!"

Airi couldn't help but wonder who on earth would spout something so ridiculous, so she dropped the woman she had been draining in order to turn and face whoever had accosted her from the end of the alley. It turned out to be a woman in completely foreign attire that was split in half between red and white. Her long black hair was kept out of her eyes by a red and gold headband, and her otherwise peaceful appearance was marred only by the katana that was held in her hands.

Airi scowled at her, really not in the mood for anything of this nature. "Leave me be woman. I'm really not up for this kind of thing."

"I could never allow an evil spirit like you to molest the people of this city!"

"And what makes you think I'm an evil spirit?"

"Anyone that can put a person in such a state is no human."

"Fair enough. But seriously, it's not like I'm even hurting anyone. Just leave me alone."

The foreign woman tightened her grip on her sword. "I will do no such thing. I cannot allow a vile spirit to continue her work among the innocent."

Airi wondered if maybe she should just leave since the woman was so eager to fight, but the voice of someone else from the opposite end of the alley interrupted her thoughts.

"Tomoe-Sama, let's just get this over with. I don't think reason is going to work here and I'd like to get back to looking."

Airi glanced over her shoulder to identify the speaker, a far less modestly dressed foreigner with silver hair that reached past her shoulders on one side. Apparently there were two people in on this nonsense.

"Shizuka-San, we don't even know if Church ever reached the city. Looking for him in a place of this scope is probably futile..."

Whatever answer Shizuka was about to give, Airi cut in before she could utter it. "What did you just say...? Who are talking about? How do you- wait...you're those two foreigners Church met on the road, aren't you?"

Both Hinomoto natives looked quite surprised to hear this, though Tomoe voiced it first. "Y-you know him as well? How is that possible? He would never associate himself with an evil being like yourself!"

Airi got unusually angry to hear her say that, but she was too busy listening to Shizuka's comment to answer. "Hold on Tomoe-Sama, we don't know if we're talking about the same person here..."

"Brown hair, blue eyes, red jacket? Kind of awkward but in the most adorable way possible? Totally earnest in all of his compliments?"

"OK, we're talking about the same person. Definitely."

Tomoe did not seem to like the idea at all. "That is not possible! As I said, someone like Church would never-!"

"If you must know, he has no idea what I am!"

Both women looked at her with surprise, though it was Shizuka that voiced her skepticism. "How could he not know what you are? It isn't exactly subtle when you go around doing... whatever it is you're doing to these people."

"I went to extreme lengths to ensure that I did nothing to arouse his suspicion. But that's beside the point. What do you two want with him?"

It was again Shizuka that answered. "Why would we tell you anything like that?"

Casting one of the most venomous glares she had ever mustered in her life, Airi spoke in a tone that brooked no room for misinterpretation. "Because, if you intend to harm him in any way, I'll annihilate you."

Being a ninja, Shizuka was no stranger to bluffing and grandstanding. Lots of warriors said they were going to crush the enemy or kill them or whatever, but it was usually just bluster. But Shizuka knew the difference between an empty threat and a real one. Whoever this woman was, she was not exaggerating or postulating. She well and truly meant that she would do everything in her power to obliterate them if need be. And while Shizuka was by no means scared of such a thing being a warrior herself, she knew better than to take on truly convicted enemies like that if there was no need to. Fighting someone that wanted to win and fighting someone that wanted to kill you were two very different things.

"Then it's a good thing we don't want to hurt him, huh? You apparently know who we are at least... we're his acquaintances, and we parted on friendly terms. We were just hoping to see him again here in the capital."

Airi's glare lessened only marginally as she took in Shizuka's words. True enough, these two had to be the foreign women Church had mentioned during his tale of his adventures. According to him they had parted as friends or at least friendly acquaintances, so there was no reason this duo would have any ill intent for him.

"Fair enough. But I haven't seen him, so let's just go our separate ways."

Tomoe finally made her voice heard once again. "We will do no such thing! We cannot allow a spirit to assault the innocent!"

Airi was about to point out all the ways she could easily escape from this alley if she wanted to, but Shizuka made an objection first. "Tomoe-Sama, perhaps it is a bad idea to start a fight in the city like this."

"But Shizuka-!"

"Besides, all of the victims we've come across so far have just been out cold. She really isn't hurting anyone..."

The Shrine Maiden didn't look very convinced of this being the right choice, but in the end she relented, sheathing her katana on her back. "Very well. But I am still suspicious. Why would a spirit want to hide her identity from a mortal? Why is this man any different to you than these other people you have been... taking advantage of?"

"He's my friend. That's all."

"I don't believe that. Surely an evil spirit would have no need of-"

Mostly fed up with all of this by now and overly frustrated from everything that had occurred in the past twenty four hours, Airi cut the tiresome stranger off. "Stop calling me that! Mortal or not, I'm a person! I have people I care about just like you do, and Church is one of them! That's all the explanation you need!"

Tomoe's expression softened a bit at her outburst. "I...see. But I must say, it's not very prudent to lie to the people you care about."

That was one reminder that Airi certainly didn't need. "I know that. I know that better than anyone. Look... if we aren't going to fight, I'm leaving."

With little more than that, Airi began to dematerialize from the scene, leaving Tomoe to shout after her. "Wait! You must swear to cease these attacks!"

Whether or not Airi heard her was debatable, but soon enough the wraith had vanished entirely, leaving Shizuka to come and stand beside her companion with her arms folded behind her head. "Tomoe-Sama, there's no way she would have agreed to that anyway..."

"Perhaps... Shizuka-San, do you think she was telling the truth? I find it hard to believe that such a denizen could be friends with someone so kind, even under the guise of normality."

Shizuka glanced back at the spot Airi had disappeared at. "He was important to her one way or another. Friend, tool, more; I don't know, but she wouldn't have hesitated a single second to kill us both if we had meant to hurt him somehow. That much was obvious. Either way, there's nothing we can do about it Tomoe-Sama. We should let Church handle his relationship however he wants."

"But she is likely an agent of evil!"

Shizuka glanced over at her comrade. "I was like that too once. I turned out fine didn't I?"

These words gave Tomoe pause, but she only had to think about them for a moment to really take them to heart. "I suppose you are right. Perhaps it is unfair to pass such harsh judgment. Spirit or not, she is a person, as she said... and I believe all people have the capacity for both good and evil."

Breathing a heavy sigh, Shizuka glanced up at the clouds.

It sure is nice that Tomoe gets all of these deep philosophical messages from stuff I really didn't say.

For most Elves, there was a distinct feeling of discomfort being away from the forest. Most if not all Elves grew up near trees, flowers, wild animals, and everything else you would expect in the wild, and thanks to their long life spans, 'growing up' usually meant decades to a century. That was ironic in and of itself. The other races often considered the Elves to be some of the wisest, yet it actually took Elves the longest to mature beyond childish tendencies. Some Elves spent a whole century acting like teenagers or younger, trying to enjoy the prime of their long lives. Thankfully few outsiders ever encountered Elves at that age, so their reputation was maintained.

As for Echidna, she knew she was a special exception to both the comfort of the forest and adulthood. For one, she had been roaming around the Continent for so long that she could be comfortable pretty much anywhere. She hadn't called one place home for more than a few months in years. As for being an adult, well... she certainly was one, but she had never really outgrown that first phase of her life. She was still seeking adventure and thrills. As an adult, she just did everything she had wanted to do when she was younger, something Alleyne would have simply labelled as being immature. But hey, Echidna was a hedonist. She would readily admit that to herself and probably anyone else. Most everything that she did she did because it pleased her, and there were only a few exceptions to that motivation.

These thoughts were on her mind because her current troupe was finally beyond the scope of any trees. They'd finally left behind the last major forest on their journey, and the only thing between them and their goal now was rolling hills of grass. Not that there wasn't a lot of it, but even from her position atop one such hill she could just barely make out the outline of Gainos' massive wall on the distant horizon. They were almost there, but that raised questions of its own.

What would they all do once they arrived? Echidna had originally intended to ditch this little group much sooner than this, or once they were in Gainos at the latest, but by now the idea wasn't all that appealing. While she hated to admit even to herself that she may have been going soft, Echidna knew that she longed for companionship of some sort after such a long time in solitude. She really had spent most of her long life alone, and not always by choice, though it often was. Of course, she did enjoy her solitude at times. She often chose to travel alone because she enjoyed the independence and the lack of responsibility to anyone but herself.

But no one wanted to be alone all of the time. It was why she had taken on disciples and pupils before, only to have those relationships burn because of her own ineptitude. What she really, really hated to admit was that it was kind of nice to be around Alleyne again. Unlike the people that had been her students or pupils, Echidna knew that Alleyne expected nothing from her, not really. Alleyne didn't look up to her, rely on her, or need her for anything, and that meant it was impossible for Echidna to disappoint her on any level that mattered. It was a curse that came with an Elven lifespan; eventually you reached an age where it was difficult to have friends because everyone that wasn't an Elf was hundreds of years younger than you, and everyone that was an Elf either treated you like a superior or a subordinate based on their age. Though Alleyne was literally twice Echidna's age, the blonde treated her more like an old friend or rival than some young twerp or worse.

Not that Echidna didn't feel the same way. She and Alleyne had clashed over a lot of things throughout the centuries, but somehow it had always been good chemistry. They got on each others' nerves in a way that was somehow endearing to them both, and it cemented their likely questionable friendship. Were Alleyne the less stringent and unquestionably dull woman she was, Echidna would have actually enjoyed traveling with her as some sort of real partner. Maybe four hundred years younger? That was when Alleyne had been fun. Before being a teacher or whatever for every warrior in the whole damn forest had drained the fun out of her.

Mulling over this vast array of thoughts, Echidna reclined on the hill she had occupied a significant distance from the camp the group had set up, staring at the sky as she stroked Keltan's body around her waist. It was moments like these, where everything seemed to be still, that she realized just how great the scope of her life was. She'd done so much in five hundred years of living. She'd fought a thousand battles, probably hooked up with at least three dozen men and women, she'd been both a villain and a hero just to see how it felt. She'd been an assassin and a soldier, a student and a teacher, and seen almost every corner this Continent had to offer.

Yet she still had so much time left. Even Alleyne was considered a relatively 'young' Elf, compared to the average Elven lifespan at least. Echidna was barely half her age. She had thousands of years to go, and yet she had already done almost everything she'd ever wanted to. How on Earth was she supposed to entertain herself for all that time?

It briefly occurred to her that maybe this was why Alleyne had become so somber in the last few centuries. Maybe the blonde had simply exhausted her bucket list. Maybe she had already realized that the rest of her ridiculously long life would be spent in boredom. Echidna probably would have gotten uncharacteristically depressed at this, but she had no time to do so considering the shadow that passed over her face. She would have assumed that it was a cloud passing over the sun, but by now in the late evening the sphere of light was barley peeking over the horizon.

Craning her neck just far enough back to identify the source of the disturbance, Echidna laid eyes on Nowa, who was fidgeting nervously as she awaited acknowledgement. Ru was reclining on her shoulder, though the monkey quickly leaped to the ground to play with Keltan. They got along surprisingly well for a reptile and a mammal. Probably because they were both domesticated.

"Nowa. Need something?"

The young half-elf glanced at the ground, twisting her fingers around each other in obvious anxiety. "I... I've been... feeling weird lately..."

"Between the legs?"

Nowa's face lit up to a nearly unnatural crimson shade. "H-h-how did you...?"

Echidna simply shrugged in the face of her embarassament. "If you're coming to me for advice on anything it's probably because you'd be uncomfortable asking Alleyne. And considering that you're seventeen and you recently expressed physical attraction in a man, it doesn't take a genius to figure out what's likely bothering you. I am right, aren't I?"

Her blush not diminishing in the slightest, Nowa crouched down next to her slightly less familiar elder. "Y-y-yes... I..."

"Calm down and take a deep breath. Break down the problem. What about it is bothering you exactly?"

Burying her head into her knees, Nowa muttered her reply barely loud enough for Echidna to even hear. "I don't know, I just... I've never felt this way before... I feel like I'm doing something wrong."

"There's nothing wrong with feeling the way you do about someone you're attracted to."

"B-but... to actually act on it..."

Echidna allowed herself a small modicum of surprise, having not actually expected that. Then again, she hadn't been expecting this particular conversation to come up at all. On the other hand, this news was somewhat worrisome on the note that Lucas would not receive it very well at all if he learned about it. Of course Echidna doubted that Nowa was going to go and tell everyone else that she was exploring her own body, but even so, Echidna wasn't sure what Lucas would do if he learned that Nowa felt this way about another man.

Of course it was none of his business, but that didn't mean he wouldn't do something crazy or stupid. Either way, for now Echidna just played it cool. If the kid did do anything stupid surely she and Alleyne could handle it.

"Oh, didn't think you'd gone that far already... even so, you're not doing anything wrong, and there's nothing to be ashamed of. It's completely normal."

"I-I don't think what I'm doing is normal..."

"Sure it is. Nearly all teenagers go through a phase where they-"

Echidna would have continued, had Nowa not leaned into her ear to whisper the nature of her crimes. Needless to say, even Echidna couldn't stop herself from feeling shock.

"...oh. Well, uh... that's... unexpected."

"See? I told you! I'm a terrible person!"

"H-hey, I said it was unexpected, not that it was wrong. I just... didn't think you would be so... er... enthusiastic...when you finally reached this point in your life. That's OK though, everyone has different levels of desire..."

The blush on Nowa's face stayed constant throughout all of this. "Are you sure? Why do I feel so... ashamed?"

"It's just because you're new to it. Trust me, everyone tends to feel like that when they begin 'entertaining their fantasies.' There's nothing wrong with it."

"B-but-!"

Echidna leveled a serious gaze at her far younger counterpart. She rarely had anything to say on notions as idealistic as romance, but that didn't mean she didn't have any beliefs on the matter herself. "Nowa, just look at it this way; would you be ashamed if that fantasy really happened? Would you be ashamed that you were together with someone you loved?"

Nowa's honey gaze softened as she thought on it. "No... of course I wouldn't. I'd be really happy."

"Well there you have it. Don't be ashamed of something that's totally normal Nowa. Even if it is a bit... kinkier, than usual."

While looking slightly more convinced of this truth, Nowa didn't look entirely comfortable with the secret she had revealed, mostly because Echidna at least now knew what she had been up to from time to time when she disappeared on her own. That was embarrassing of course, but in all honesty she was glad she had confided in Echidna rather than Alleyne. Not that she thought her blonde instructor would hold such a revelation against her, but even Nowa knew that Echidna was far better versed in sex and everything related to it, including self-satisfaction.

That said Nowa was still somewhat shocked at her own vices as of late. Not that she didn't know where it had come from. She'd been reminiscing about the time she had spent in the forest just before they had been forced to leave, and that of course included several different instances that she had been with Church.

That included the time she had shamelessly joined him in the pool, a memory that now filled her with a huge amount of embarrassment. She had been so naive. All, 'yeah I'm standing in front of you naked without covering anything but it's fine because I've never understood physical attraction before so what's the problem?' God she had been so silly. Like some completely clueless ten year old instead of the seventeen year old teenager she had been. She didn't know how she could have been so ignorant then only to come full circle a few months later. She supposed falling in love (or at least really liking them) with someone finally brought some sense of the physical to her attention.

That said, it was that memory that had sparked her current 'interest' in physical pleasure. Coming to the realization that Church had seen her completely naked was actually kind of exciting. It was even more arousing to wonder if he had 'reacted' appropriately to the view he had been granted, allowing Nowa's imagination to be a little more rampant than usual.

She felt weird, and even a bit out of character compared to how she had used to be. But she was also able to admit that maybe she really was just growing up. Finally catching up with her age in terms of maturity perhaps. Either way, while she was feeling a little vulnerable growing into new aspects of adulthood, she definitely couldn't and wouldn't deny that it was very appealing in a number of particular ways.

Having secured their desired treasures from the ruins of Sirinael, Mission and company, plus Huit, had successfully vacated the place after dealing with numerous automatons throughout the structure. Unfortunately there had not been giant chasms to toss each and every one of their enemies in, but in that regard Risty had been especially useful. Needless to say that it was much easier to smash metal with a mace than to try and cut it with a sword. In the end Mission had been forced to rely on the chopping weight of her weapon more than anything else, while Leina had resorted to mostly smashing things with her shield.

All in all, it had been a good workout, and the automatons had been too slow to really be dangerous. Maybe they had quick been once, but after all this time the rust had slowed them to a crawl. The most injury that anyone had sustained was a cut on Risty's cheek from a flying piece of shrapnel after smashing one of them.

But they had all made it back into the forest itself in one piece, and this presented Mission with a very serious dilemma; she had no idea what she was supposed to do next. Daedalus had given her no direction other than Sirinael and this matrix she had found, but what was she supposed to do with it now? She vaguely recalled the mysterious being mentioning a blacksmith or something, but Mission had no idea where to find such an individual or where to find the specific blacksmith that Daedalus wanted. What on earth was she supposed to do now?

Of course, no one else shared her misgivings, least of all Huit, who was admiring the faintly glowing blue stone she had recovered from the ruins. "This is exactly what I need... with this, I'll be able to rule the world!"

The Little Elf burst into raucous laughter that earned numerous confused looks from her audience, though she quieted down fairly quickly. "Or at least the corner market back in Wasilica. Well, it's been fun -sort of- but I really do have more important things to do. So without further ado..."

Mission cocked an eyebrow at the diminutive girl, who seemed to be waiting for some sort of acknowledgment or gratitude or something. "No please, don't wait up on our account."

Huit pouted at her, having expected some sort of distress that she was leaving at least, but apparently she wasn't going to get it from anyone but Leina, ever the polite one. "Good luck with... uh, whatever it is you'll be doing, Huit."

With a huff, the Little Elf retreated into the forest, disappearing behind the foliage as quickly as she had appeared within the ruins, leaving Leina to plaster on a fake smile that was directed at her own companions as much as the now absent Elf. "Is everyone this rude outside of Vance territory...?"

Ignoring her completely, Risty lowered the sack she had brought with her into the ruins to the ground, investigating her spoils. Needless to say the sight of so many valuable metals and gems earned a low cackle out of the redhead, prompting Leina to sigh.

"What about you Mission? You found what you came for didn't you?"

Drawing out the rolled parchment she had collected from the ruins, Mission gave the thing a dubious look. "Yeah, I did..."

"What's wrong? You don't look as happy as I would have thought."

"Well I'm glad I got it, but... I'm not entirely sure where to go from here."

"What do you mean?"

"I need to take this to a blacksmith, but I have no clue where to find one. Or where to find the right one..."

Leina put her hand to her chin in thought. "The woman that made my sword is an amazing blacksmith. One of the best there is, or so I've been told. She lives in this rural town called Bosk."

Risty glanced up from her treasure appreciation. "How would you know?"

"I had to go find her pretty soon after I left the castle because my sword was in such bad shape. Actually, she kind of found me while I was arguing with Nanael... and then a few weeks after that I ran into you on the way to Gainos. And of course, thanks to you, we've had nothing but endless detours..."

"You're the one that decided to follow me around."

"Yeah... yeah I know..."

Mission ignored their banter to draw out the map she still had in her possession. "Can you show me where it is on here?"

Leina leaned forward to peer at the map, then planted her finger on a spot relatively close to the capital city. "Here it is. But it's not like you have to go alone or anything. It's close to Gainos anyway so we might as well all go together."

Risty made her displeasure with this idea far too obvious. "Screw that noise, I don't want to go."

"Risty come on, without Mission you never would have found this much treasure. You owe her, and we do have to get back to the capital relatively soon for the tournament. Plus, where are you going to sell all of that for what it's actually worth if not in the capital or a major trading town near it?"

The redhead gave an irritable sigh, but ultimately she knew that Leina was making fair points. "Fine... but seriously, I'm going to lose you two stalkers eventually."

Mission folded her arms. "Technically you're the stalker, since you followed me here..."

"Just shut up and come on. We have to walk across half the damn continent to get there and it ain't getting any closer."

Unfortunately for Church, by the time one of the castle servants brought him something to paint with (he discovered that painting materials really didn't change much from era to era), the sun had set too far for him to really paint the cityscape. Not that there wasn't plenty of light still available thanks to the lamps and torches of the citizens, but Church wasn't confident in his ability to do a night piece until he had significantly brushed up on his skills. After all, he hadn't touched a brush at all since arriving in this world, and even before coming here it had been months since he had painted anything back in his own dimension.

That said, he had made use of the multiple canvases that had been brought to him to try and get his decent ability with art back in order, but it had been somewhat slow going, mostly because he had no idea what he wanted to paint just as practice. Obviously he didn't want to try and portray any of the people he had met until he was sure he could actually do it, but that left him with little else until he thought of painting the landscapes he had seen so far.

Thus far he had attempted some smaller portions of the capital, one of Bosk, and certainly a few of the Elven Forest Syrinidel, but over half of them had been trashed because Church was unhappy with their quality. While he knew it was nearly impossible to truly capture the beauty of something outside of actually seeing it, he wasn't really content with anything that didn't do it justice. Unfortunately he wasn't quite good enough to really do anything justice, so he settled on practicing for now. After all, you could be a master at anything if you put enough hours into it.

That being the case he had spent most of the evening doing just that, and by now he was fairly hungry. Unfortunately he didn't know his way around the castle, which meant he would be hard pressed to figure out where he was going, and who knew what would happen if he encountered some guard that didn't know who he was?

Still, he couldn't just go the whole night without eating, so he would have to go and investigate his current residence at some point...

Just as Church was about to brave the strange halls of the palace, there was a knock at his door. Wasting no time in moving to the portal and opening it for his visitor, he was only slightly disappointed to see that it was neither Irma nor Aldra, but just another servant of the castle. Of course, he supposed that made sense all things considered. Surely both the Queen and her vassal had more important things to do than summon or visit him themselves.

The nondescript brunette servant bowed to him. "If it pleases you, her Majesty the Queen invites you dinner."

Church mentally scoffed. 'If it pleased him?' A dinner that had to be fit for a Queen, with a Queen that happened to be an excellent conversationalist and smoking hot? How could that situation be anything other than 'pleasing?' Then again, there was no guarantee that he was being invited to dinner with the Queen herself... someone could have just realized that he would need a little direction for dinner.

Still, if Irma was right and Church had somehow posed himself as an interesting individual, maybe Aldra would be there? She certainly seemed interested at any rate, so maybe this would lead up to another good conversation?

Either way Church voiced his agreement and allowed the servant to lead him out of his room and into the halls of the castle. She lead him along the same route Irma had first brought him for the most part, only deviating from it near the end when she turned towards a different door than Church had expected. That was mostly because he had expected a larger door that would lead to a banquet hall or some such, but the servant lead him to a regular sized wooden portal that looked no different than the door to Church's own room.

The servant ushered him towards it with a smile, holding it open for the guest as he entered the room and glanced around. While he had been expecting a banquet hall or some such, he found himself in a study of sorts. It was had a rather small table in the middle next to a fireplace, and was likewise adorned with red tapestries and carpets like the majority of the rest of the palace. Without any other light source besides the fireplace considering the darkness of the sky outside the many windows, it was a darkened atmosphere, but not unwelcoming. Still, the lack of furniture aside from the table and its chairs made Church wonder what the purpose of the room was.

"I hope your accommodations were to your liking."

Resisting the urge to jump, Church glanced to the corner of the room to find the scarlet clad Queen perusing a bookcase he hadn't noticed upon entering, her back turned towards him. From this angle it was easy to recognize just how long her snow white hair actually was, as she could almost hide her entire body behind it, save her legs.

"I-it definitely was. I've never stayed anywhere that nice in my life."

Aldra didn't bother turning away from the bookcase as she had yet to find whatever tome she was looking for. "Does your dimension lack such accommodations?"

"No, it's just that I could never afford it..."

"Fair enough."

At this point Aldra found what she was looking for and withdrew what ended up not being a book at all, but rather a chess set. Church would have questioned why that was there, but he would be the first to admit that he didn't always use bookcases for books alone either.

"Would you care for a game while we wait?"

Assuming she was referring to dinner, Church nodded. He hadn't played chess in a long time, but he wasn't a stranger to it or anything. "Sure. But to be honest I haven't played in awhile..."

"But you are familiar."

"I am."

Taking that as evidence enough, Aldra took the board to the table and took one of the seats there, wasting no time in relaxing into a position that didn't seem fitting for a royal. Maybe it was just the very typical manner in which she rested her head in her palm, like most everyone else.

While still feeling a little out of place being casual with someone of Aldra's stature, Church nevertheless tried to act natural and took the opposite seat himself. "So, uh...if you don't mind me asking, what were you doing out in the city today?"

"Surveying the population of course. I can hardly discern anything locked away in my palace."

Church took it upon himself to begin laying out the board and its pieces. "Discerning what though?"

"Anything. Everything. You'd be surprised at what you can learn while under the guise of a commoner. Such as the supposed severity of my expression, for instance."

Since she was obviously referring to the comment Church had made about her statue earlier, he tried to defend himself. "N-now hold on, that wasn't the only thing I said..."

Aldra leveled her typical neutral gaze at him. "Indeed. Though I doubt you would have said it at all had you been truly aware of my identity."

"W-w-well... it's true that I might not have said it, but I definitely would have still thought it..."

This earned the tiniest of smiles out of the girl across form him. "Is that so? I must admit you are the first to say such things of me."

"Really? But... isn't the tournament that decides the Queen about both strength and beauty or something? Obviously a lot of people thought you had both."

The white-haired ruler scoffed. "That is the supposed propaganda, but to be honest beauty really has nothing to do with it. After all, if the ugliest woman in Farillia was the strongest, who could stop her from defeating everyone in her way and claiming the throne for herself? I imagine beauty has little to do with anything beyond superficial popularity."

Finally laying out all of the pieces for their game, Church made the first move with one of his pawns. "It was my understanding that the people really liked you though. I mean, you led them through a war and everything."

"That I did. But believe me when I say that no ruler can ever truly satisfy their subjects. They will always desire more. They will always have some sort of complaint with their leadership, because they don't live in a perfect society."

"No one lives in a perfect society."

"Yet they believe their leaders are supposed to create one for them. I am not without my fair share of critics."

Church cocked an eyebrow at her as she made her first move as well. "Well from what I've heard you're doing a far better job than the Queen before you. There will always be critics, but its the voice of the many that matters."

"You are correct of course. But the voice of the many dictates that their ruler face the possibility of being ousted every four years. Praise me for my efforts they might, but ultimately they would not care if I were replaced by another in the upcoming tournament. Such is the way of the world."

"You don't think that'll actually happen do you? I've heard that you were really strong."

Aldra glanced at him momentarily before returning her singular gaze to the board. "For someone so lacking in knowledge of this world you certainly have heard a fair deal about me."

"I asked a lot of questions when I first learned of this tournament business. I still think it's stupid though, determining a ruler through combat..."

"Oh I concur. Needless to say there is no relation between leadership abilities and fighting prowess. The woman that held my position before me was evidence enough of that."

Church moved another pawn without really thinking. "Is that why you became Queen? To stop whoever came before you from running the country into the ground?"

Aldra scoffed, though it was slight. "It was hardly anything so noble. No, I became Queen for entirely selfish reasons. I have since turned my focus on my responsibilities to the nation, but initially I cared little for such things."

"Then what was your reason?"

"Suffice to say I required the resources that come with being Queen of an entire nation to fuel my personal gains. Also, this is checkmate."

Church would have questioned Aldra's initial response if only he were not wondering how on earth he could have lost already. They had literally just started, having both made two moves. Still, as he glanced down at the board, he saw that Aldra was right, and his foolish placement of pawns had allowed her a direct path to checkmating him. He believed this particular folly was called 'The Fool's Mate.'

He simply stared at the board in dismay for a few moments, allowing Aldra to cock an eyebrow at him. "I do hope you aren't the kind of person to quit after one loss?"

Church cast a mock glare at the woman as he reset the measly two pieces he had moved. "I'll take a hundred losses before I quit."

This remark earned a look of amusement from the Twilight Queen. "It seems you and Irma both share a foolhardy determination. Very well, let's test the limits of your patience and endurance, shall we?"

If Church knew what he was getting into, he never would have accepted such a challenge.

And so, Nowa's canon innocence gets thrown off a cliff because it's cliche and boring. She had to go through the emotional part of puberty sometime.

Also, I realize now that Echidna's actually really fun to write for, because like Nanael and Elina, she received a pretty one-dimensional personality in the anime. It makes for good writing and good character to expand on the hows and whys of why these characters are the way they are, and Echidna is one of the most entertaining when you take some liberties with her past relationship with Alleyne.

So... no one has anything to say about Unlimited? I know there hasn't been much news yet, but it is one of the biggest things to hit the QB series in awhile... I'm honestly kind of worried about some of the redesigns, but for the most part I'll withhold my judgment until later.