Alphonse looked up when he saw Ortho come in.
"Hey Ortho!" said Alphonse cheerfully.
Ortho looked both bemused and a little bewildered.
"Something wrong?"
"Edna came to visit and Nii-san mentioned something about a 'special two-player co-op', and not to worry if his heart rate goes up erratically," said Ortho.
Alphonse snorted openly at that. "Special co-op" was a new way of putting it, and he didn't survive several centuries without learning about the birds and the bees. He had nearly scared a few historians and restoration specialists to death alerting them to the fact their apprentices/wives/significant others had been sleeping in their workshop and were the cause of a mess left behind.
Ortho looked very confused and was starting to get a little worried about his brother. His heart rate and other vitals were beginning to get very erratic.
Alphonse sighed, then spotted Jamil.
"Why's Ortho here?" asked Jamil.
"Edna and Idia finally decided to get on with it, and since Ortho is connected to Idia's health directly he's freaking out over how erratic Idia's health scans are being," said Alphonse tactfully.
Jamil's expression went through a myriad of emotions before setting on "Really?"
"I take it no one's explained to Ortho about...that?" he asked, exasperated.
"That would be my guess," said Alphonse. "Edna and the others were just as bad around me, despite the fact my mental age was old enough to handle the details. I guess they were waiting for Edna to get my body back before telling me anything."
Jamil looked just done, and would likely be hitting the migraine medicine before this was over.
Ortho was still waiting on an explanation.
"I'm not doing it," said Jamil flatly. "Take him into another room to explain it, but keep me out of it."
"Keep you out of what?" asked Kalim.
"Explaining to Ortho what sex is and what Edna is likely doing with his brother," said Jamil bluntly.
"Oh. Oh. Yeah he'll definitely need an explanation, especially since he shares a room with Idia," said Kalim wincing.
"No cheating by researching it online before you get a proper explanation. Edna still hasn't stopped complaining about how 'open' people are about the subject these days compared to what she's used to," said Alphonse quickly.
Alphonse had limited sympathy for his sister, as it was the sacred duty of younger siblings everywhere to tease their elder.
Alphonse dearly wished he could drink, because explaining things to Ortho was ridiculously awkward, and it was only made worse because Ortho was able to search things within seconds and asked even more questions. He felt zero pity for Idia, who would likely be fielding just as many questions for the next few weeks.
Edna looked much more relaxed and happy, though her face went beet red the second Alphonse teased her about finally sleeping with Idia. The two were good for each other, and it was adorable watching them together.
Poor Idia had trouble fielding his brother's questions for three weeks, until Ortho was finally satisfied with knowing his brother and Edna would need 'alone time'.
Vil's only response to the matter was that he had better see a ring before a bump, and left it at that.
Edna was delighted when she saw the new set of armor, as the final test had been hell on the original set. What made it even better was the almost perfect replica of Caliburn that she had gotten in the bargain. It wasn't the real sword, as that had been thoroughly destroyed in a fit of rage by Arthur (or Arturia). However it was as accurate as they could get from faeries who definitely remembered the sword and any details they could get about the sword from historical documents.
The new armor was also as historically accurate as they could get from Arturia's original armor (which they did have) with more modern flairs and styles. However the cloth portions were colored differently, as the blue and white Arturia had favored somewhat clashed with the warmer hues Edna favored.
Right now the armor was dyed in Pomefiore colors, but Lilia assured her that it could be swapped out with a simple color change spell.
For Edna, the color didn't really matter to her. The significance behind the gift was.
She had been the 'dog of the Military' most of her teenage life. Barely tolerated and secretly reviled because of everything the Fuhrer had been doing while using her as a puppet. Roy had done the best he could to keep her far, far from the internal politics that saturated the military, but she still had to wade occasionally through the mire it created.
This was the first time she had done something for herself that had produced significant results. Something she could claim she had done for her own benefit, not others.
It was a heady feeling.
"There's not going to be some formal ceremony or anything, is there?"
Lilia shook his head.
"Aside from signing a magically binding contract to aid Lord Malleus should he need it or when his kingdom is in peril, not really. You're not part of his court, but you are legally considered a knight to those of nobility know. Though a rogue one at best."
If the Queen's suspicion about Edna's bloodline was correct, then it was only natural Edna had progressed as quickly as she had towards full knighthood.
It was very likely that Edna was the last remnant of the Pendragon bloodline, though from which side was debatable. The fact she could summon Excalibur of all things had more or less confirmed it.
Which meant it would be a disservice to the young woman to treat her any less than he had Malleus at that stage. He was rather pleased she had taken it upon herself to improve her skills.
Edna went into a spare room to change. She came out looking like a newly fledged knight, and was very pleased with the overall effect.
Which was why Lilia decided now was the perfect time to drop a bombshell on her. One approved by Vil, once he stopped laughing at her expense anyway.
Namely knights were expected to dress and behave a certain way, which meant more etiquette lessons (which Edna hated but powered through anyway) and fittings for a proper noble wardrobe. Her usual costume was not going to cut it if she was to represent herself as a proper knight.
Well, if she had to suffer through that, then she was damn well going to take as many people as she could down with her.
"So if I take these lessons with Edna, you'll ease up on the ones you've been giving me on make-up?" said Epel dubiously.
Vil did his best not to laugh. He also knew just the right buttons to push to convince Epel to join the lessons, which he was sure to hate.
"I know for a fact Leona likely took the same lessons, and if you do well in these I'll ignore the times you slip back into your original accent. You'll still be expected to undergo the same maintenance routine though."
Epel latched onto this like a life-line, unaware of the trap that was about to be sprung. To be fair, he had never asked Edna what sort of lessons she was taking for the time being.
The expression on his face upon finding out almost made this headache worth it. Almost.
Idia really should have expected this, mentioning even a little bit of Ignihyde's founder to Edna. The second he let it slip that Hades was known for making deals and that he technically had the ability to bring the dead back, Edna began doing her own research.
It was inevitable she learned about the myth of Orpheus and the deal he made to bring back his dead girlfriend.
"You want to contact Hades directly to make a deal," said Idia. He knew this was going to happen eventually when Ortho told him of her search history.
Edna nodded.
Idia sighed.
"I may know of a way to contact him, but it's dubious whether he will answer. My family has had dealing with him in the past."
"Wait...you mean I can contact him normally rather than try and dig up some ancient spell to do it?" said Edna.
Idia snorted, just a bit.
"Edna, our dorm was founded on someone who's had literal centuries to adapt to the times. Of course he has a phone number. No one uses those outdated methods to contact him anymore unless they have no other options or he's blocked them."
Hades still made deals, he just had more options when it came to who he made them with. Most days he had brokers filter out the truly desperate. Those that couldn't be handed off to a 'lesser' deal maker.
Idia was just going to cut out several middle men, since Edna would likely beat the crap out of them. It was better for all involved really.
In an undisclosed location
"What do you want brat?" demanded Hades.
"Someone wants to make a deal with you, directly. And before you mention the brokers what they want is not something they are allowed to handle," said Idia.
Hades snorted at that. Humans were surprisingly good at getting damn near anything these days. All they needed was money, an obscene amount of it.
"Don't waste my time," he shot back. "I'm busy here, and running the underworld isn't exactly an automated process. I still have paperwork to do."
Idia paused, before he said...
"It's another Orpheus case. Or close enough to one."
That made Hades sit up a bit. Idia was correct in that his usual brokers weren't authorized to handle any of those direct.
"And why should I humor them?"
There was a pause, before Idia replied back.
"Because they not only know the ingredients to make a true philosopher's stone, but the circle required for it."
Dead silence. It took Hades a few moments to process this information, before he started swearing profusely. Someone willing to pull an Orpheus, and had the knowledge of how to make one of those nuisances?
No wonder the brat had called him directly. Anyone who had that ability was too troublesome to leave alone!
"Where are they now?" demanded Hades. The sooner he got this done with, the sooner he could get back to work.
"Sage's Island, in Night Raven. Just tell us where and when you want to meet up and we'll be there," said Idia.
He did not expect the one willing to make a deal to also be the brat's girlfriend. He didn't even think the kid knew what sex was, much less know how to date. He usually just stayed holed up in his room with the cyborg he created.
However Hades took one look at the young woman and knew instinctively she was even more trouble than his originally guessed.
This girl was a potential god killer, and willing to do damn near anything if it meant achieving her goal. If someone pissed her off it would be the whole Kratos fiasco all over again!
What was worse was the fact he recognized her bloodline. The girl was a Pendragon, and from the way her aura felt, had a relic that should have been lost inside her.
This could turn into an unmitigated disaster.
"So girlie, what do you want?" he asked. "The brat mentioned Orpheus, but from the looks of things you're in a time not your own. I doubt anyone you want back would appreciate being dragged here."
It was a good thing Idia was staying out of earshot. He didn't want to potentially compromise any deal his girlfriend made with his ancestor.
"My brother. He's been trapped inside a suit of armor this entire time, and I want to return him to his actual body," she said simply. "And if possible, bring back the original Ortho as well."
Hades blinked.
"Wait a minute. Trapped in a suit of armor? You mean that brat from Amestris is your brother?" said Hades incredulous. That explained too much.
Edna nodded.
Hades groaned. Now it all made perfect sense... he was going to give Idia an earful for not telling him he was dealing with the damn Fullmetal Alchemist!
The girl was already on his shit list for trying to bring back her mother, and then sealing her sibling into that armor. Souls were his domain for a reason!
"Why come to me then? You know how to make a stone," said Hades.
Edna shook her head.
"That path has given me nothing but heartache and false hope. I've read the story on Orpheus...the only reason he failed was because he was stupid enough to go back on a simple rule you made. And from what I've read you seem to be the more...respectable...of the Greek gods."
Hades preened slightly at that.
"So you want to bring back your brother's body and that of Ortho Shroud, is that it?" said Hades. Edna nodded. "I can work with that, but there are conditions."
"Anything this big would have conditions," said Edna. It was only sensible.
Hades smirked at her.
"How willing are you to risk your past...as well as your future?" he asked.