Maoh, A Day Late

by Kyogre

Complete. Yuri arrives in the other world late, and the race for the Boxes has already begun. How will his path change, with the man who should have been his strongest supporter already gone? And what was the reason behind his late arrival?

11. II-9 What is strength IV

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Title: Maoh, A Day Late

Summary: Yuri arrives in the other world late, and the race for the Boxes has already begun.

Notes: A plan is worked out to acquire the Box. Also, failure to keep identity secret count: ...3? Maybe.

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Part II, Chapter 9

What is strength (IV)

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After a bit of initial surprise at his sudden appearance, Antoine was oddly accepting of Murata joining their group. Again, Yuri thought he saw the same strange observant, almost calculating look in his eyes. Wolfram was still lost in his own thoughts, brooding, but Murata gave the Francian king a considering look.

Antoine led them across the castle and outside into a small, isolated garden. As Yuri looked around with interest, admiring the nighttime scenery, Antoine explained, "This place was supposedly built by one of my ancestors as a place to rendezvous with his secret lover. It looks like there's only one entrance, from the royal wing of the palace, but there's actually a secret passage that leads outside the castle walls too."

As they walked down the garden path, gravel crunching under their feet, Yuri thought he heard a man's voice, but it seemed to fall silent as they got closer.

One of the bushes shifted, despite the still air, and a young woman stepped out onto the path in front of them.

"Halt! Who goes there?" she demanded, brandishing a short sword that glimmered faintly in the moonlight. "This area is off limits!"

"Lyla, it's me!" Antoine called out, waving.

The young woman lowered her sword in surprise, stepping out of the shadow of the trees. "Your Majesty! I'm deeply apologize, I didn't realize..." She trailed off, her eyes widening as she noticed the three Demon Tribesmen following behind him. Her sword lifted again, and she barked, "Your Majesty, get away from them!"

"Lyla, it's okay," Antoine tried to explain, but Yuri could see that she wouldn't believe him that easily. It really did look pretty bad, when you got down to it.

Instead, Yuri stepped away from the other king, holding his hands up in gesture of surrender. "Sorry about breaking into your castle," he said, making Murata wince and shake his head.

If nothing else, that caught Lyla off guard, and she stared at him in surprise. However, she quickly pulled herself together and raised her sword menacingly. "Sorry or not, I won't let such a crime go unpunished," she declared, preparing to attack. "You're not leaving here tonight!"

"Lyla, wait!" Antoine called out.

Surprisingly, another voice joined his in protest.

"Wait!" Fanberlain repeated, stepping out from behind the same hedge as Lyla. "They're with me." His expression was still mild as he turned to regard the three of them. "I told all of you to stay at the inn," he remarked almost casually.

"Sorry," Yuri apologized again. "But I really can't just do nothing."

Lyla's gaze shifted between them and Fanberlain, calculating. "I see," she said finally, sheathing her short blade. "So are they the ones you're making the deal for? They don't look like much. Do you really think something like a Forbidden Box can be entrusted to these children?"

"They're more than they appear," Fanberlain said. "And it won't be just them who is entrusted. They are only the representatives."

"That's right. We're representatives of the Demon Tribe," Yuri said. Pulling off his head scarf, he bowed to her low to her and Antoine. "I'm sorry for making you carry the burden that should have been ours. The Forbidden Boxes are meant to be watched over by the Demon Tribe. It's because we didn't protect the Boxes properly that you've been forced into this situation."

"Demon Tribe?" Lyla repeated, her expression showing shock and confusion. Her eyes darted to Wolfram, his aristocratic features, to Yuri and his dark hair. As Yuri straightened, she met his gaze. "Double-black? But I thought..." she muttered.

"That's why we've come to ask that you entrust the Box to us again," Yuri continued. "I swear, we will make sure another tragedy does not occur. We will protect the world from the power sealed within the Boxes."

For a moment, everything was silent in the wake of Yuri's proclamation.

"You say that..." Lyla began, her eyes narrowing, "but do you really think we can do something like that? You're Demon Tribe. How can we humans trust you?"

"It was humans who opened the Box in Caloria," Murata pointed out, stepping forward. His eyes met Yuri's, conveying both his disapproval for his methods and his support. In the end, no matter what kind of stupid thing Yuri did, Murata was his friend and would have his back. "Furthermore, we of the Demon Tribe are the only ones who know how to properly seal the Boxes. After all, it was the Demon King who finally closed the Box in Caloria. It will take a long time, but at least now there is hope that life can return to that land."

"Lyla..." Antoine moved to stand beside the young woman, laying a hand on her shoulder. "Thank you for carrying this burden alone. I had no idea something like this was hanging over us."

"That's the way I wanted it to be," Lyla replied. "I didn't want to burden you..."

"Let's give it to them. I believe they can be trusted," Antoine said, looking back toward Yuri and the others. "They could have easily taken me hostage or used some other trick. But they told us clearly what they were after instead."

Lyla looked at him for a long moment, her eyes widening a little in surprise. In the end, she shook her head. "That's all well and good, and I want that thing out of our country as quickly possible. But at the same time, we can't just give it away. It would be tantamount to siding with whoever we choose. We can't afford to look like we're siding with the Demon Tribe. We'd be ostracized."

The cold practicality of her words stopped everyone short.

Antoine looked at Lyla sadly, suddenly unsure of what to do. Wolfram scowled, probably angered by what he saw as the weakness of humans, but Yuri only nodded slowly.

"I understand," Yuri said, meeting her eyes with determination. "In that case, we'll take it against your will. If we steal the Box, you won't be blamed, right? I'll make a big enough commotion that everyone will know that it was taken by force."

"That's too much!" Antoine protested, while Lyla stared at Yuri with wide eyes. "Your country will be blamed for doing a good deed!"

Yuri flinched. He knew that as well. His selfish determination to do what he felt was right was going to put the Demon Kingdom in danger. Hadn't Gwendal already said they were on the verge of war? What if this was the final push? His clenched fists shook.

A sharp elbow poked him in the ribs. "Don't wimp out now," Wolfram hissed. "It's not like humans have much love for us anyway. And it's only our right to reclaim the Boxes."

"Alright," Lyla declared suddenly, closing her eyes. "The Box is in a ruined temple half a day's travel to the northeast. It's at the foot of the mountains along the border with Cavalcade. The rest is up to you." Her fierce gaze pierced through Yuri, and he realized that it had taken an immense effort for her to trust them with this.

He smiled gratefully and bowed again.

Antoine's expression was troubled as he turned to Yuri, still uneasy about this arrangement and what it would mean. But seeing Yuri's determination, his mouth thinned and he straightened, squaring his shoulders. Lyla's eyes widened as she watched her king stand tall and lift his head up high.

"Thank you," Antoine told Yuri, forcing his voice to be clear and calm. "We won't forget what you are doing. Or what you said." His gaze shifted to Wolfram, who shrugged awkwardly. "Lyla, let's go. We need to prepare for tomorrow's audiences."

Lyla started, flushing faintly. "Uh... Yes, Your Majesty." She bowed suddenly, and her eyes remained on Antoine as the two of them departed.

"Come," Fanberlain said quietly, shaking his head, "the hidden entrance is this way."

"Um, Mister Fanfan," Yuri began, suddenly feeling a bit ashamed. "I'm sorry for messing up your plan! It's not that I don't trust you, I just..."

Fanberlain chuckled. "It's alright. I should have known you wouldn't accept just being told to sit quietly. I was wrong too, to try to cut you out of the deal. It seems you can be quite the asset during negotiations."

It was hard to tell, given his perpetually smooth and jovial demeanor, but Yuri thought Fanderlain was honest in his reassurance. He seemed to have accepted the sudden change of plans, always able to adapt like a true master businessman.

"We'll go to retrieve the Box tomorrow morning. I know the ruins she was talking about," Fanberlain planned as he led them behind several hedges, to an elegant statue of an angel. Tapping on its pedestal lightly, he uncovered a hidden door that led down into a dark tunnel. "Once we retrieve the Box, we'll take a back road back to the harbor and load it with my other purchases. Depending on the situation, we might wait a day or cast off immediately. After that, I was planning on stopping by Hildyard before circling back to the Demon Kingdom. That'll be the least suspicious route."

"Sounds good," Yuri agreed. "Leave the magic show to me. I'll convince everyone." 'Whether with actual magic or an illusion,' he added to himself.

"Then all that's left is to get a good night's sleep, yes?" Fanderlain said, smiling again and ducking into the hidden passage.

Murata followed after him, shooting Yuri an exasperated look. Instead of going next, Wolfram gestured for Yuri to go ahead. But Yuri hesitated, taking in Wolfram's brooding demeanor.

"I'm sorry," he blurted out. "I know you said not to wimp out, but I really am sorry for dragging everyone into this. I'm making the Demon Tribe into the villains, giving everyone reasons to think badly of us. I..."

"I told you, it doesn't matter," Wolfram said impatiently. "The Boxes are rightfully ours. Any other Demon King would have just taken them for real. It's not that." Frustrated, he ran a hand through his hair. Looking up at the moon, he asked, suddenly, "Why did you become Demon King?"

"Huh?" For a moment, the question completely threw Yuri off guard. Why ask that now? What did it have to do with anything? Did he mean that...? "I care about the Demon Kingdom!" Yuri protested, suddenly angry and a little hurt. "I want what's best for the Demon Tribe! Just because I also care about other people, about humans, doesn't mean I don't-!"

"That's not what I meant!" Wolfram shot back, looking startled by the way Yuri interpreted his question. He hadn't intended to imply that, though he felt slightly relieved to hear Yuri's reply. "That's not what I meant at all. It's just... Every Demon King is chosen by the Great One, so they don't really have the option of refusing. But a stupidly stubborn guy like you must have had a reason for accepting. You even came to this world of your own free will... So why? What made you decide to become Demon King?"

"Oh..." Feeling in turn embarrassed by his own outburst, Yuri glanced away. "That's... There's something that needs to be done," he explained, looking up to the moon as well. "I don't know if I'll be able to do it, but I have to try. I can't just ignore it."

Wolfram's brows furrowed in confusion. 'Something that needs to be done? Something that requires the Demon King to do it? But if he's from the other world, how can he know about something like that?'

"And," Yuri continued, "there is a wish I want to make a reality."

His sudden, overwhelmingly fond smile caught Wolfram by surprise. Before he could say anything else or ask any more questions, Yuri ducked under the statue and into the darkness.

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The next morning, Yuri was shaken awake.

Fanberlain's face bore an uncharacteristically serious expression that made Yuri sit up and force himself to concentrate. Judging by the faint light coming from the window, it was barely dawn, if that.

"A Big Cimaron ship docked overnight," Fanberlain said. "They're arriving in the city as we speak."

The words were like cold water down Yuri's back, shocking him awake.

His darted around the room, noting that Murata was already up and in the process of rousing Wolfram. Fanderlain looked almost as well put together as always, but there was a subtle tension that hadn't been present before.

"We can still leave the city and retrieve the Box," Fanderlain said, looking to Yuri with an expression he didn't quite recognize. "But they will likely set up guards along the roads by the time we return, even if King Antoine doesn't tell them anything. I can't vouch for our chances of getting the Box on the ship and departing safely."

'...He's asking me what to,' Yuri realized, surprised. He swallowed heavily, feeling unbalanced by the sudden weight of the man's expectations. 'What do we do? We can't get to the Box to the ship, but we need to get it out of Francia and away from Big Cimaron.'

"Can we go over land?" Yuri asked, his eyes flicking to Fanderlain.

The merchant paused, thinking. "It's not impossible. The border with Cavalcade is very mountainous, so there aren't many paths, but we might be able to make it through. We would need a guide though, cooperation from the locals, and..."

'We won't be able to count on that if we make a show of taking it like we promised,' Yuri finished the thought. 'We need to get the Box to the Demon Kingdom. But we also need to make Big Cimaron think that we took it against Francia's will. At the very least, we need to make sure Big Cimaron knows we're here. But if we do that, we won't be able to get to the Box...'

"...Oh," Yuri breathed suddenly, his eyes lighting up, then narrowing in thought. "I think I have an idea."

Murata glanced at him sharply from beside the barely-awake Wolfram. Judging by his expression, he already knew he wouldn't like this idea at all.

"Say, Mister Fanfan, where would the delegation from Cavalcade be staying?" Yuri asked.

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Just one more chapter left in this section of the story. Thank god. Argh...