Tanya whistled as she left the guild. The six of them had been given a nice, large reward for determining that it was most likely a Demon General, and they'd split it evenly seven ways.
The other three – as Dust was nowhere to be found, with Lynn having to hold onto his money – had thanked them for the chance, and then promptly asked that they never go on another quest with them.
Tanya didn't blame them. For the average adventurer, fighting a Demon General was pure fantasy, left to the 'Hero Candidates' – the general public's name for the people they didn't know were reincarnated from a different world – that were clearly able to handle that sort of thing. Many were lucky if they reached that level and lived through the experience.
Tanya, however, was a Hero Candidate, even if no one knew. And who knew what the future held?
Maybe a Hero Candidate in her own situation would find that their goals aligned with the Demon King's more, and they might decide to void the contract.
Maybe they'd be able to think about actually performing actions that would violate their contract, instead of thinking of doing so in the third person. She sighed.
Tanya would find out the answers to those questions sometime soon, probably. For now, she needed to find that Hero Candidate.
When asked about the location of a new one, Luna had given her an amused look that Tanya couldn't decipher, spouting something off about 'hero-worship' and 'nobles,' and then finishing the statement with a wiry, "No."
Tanya had tried to decipher those odd comments she got from time to time. No matter how hard she tried, she didn't know why people kept saying the word 'noble' around her.
She obviously wasn't a part of this world's nobility; she wore regular clothing, didn't have a lot of money, and didn't have whatever governmental jobs the nobles had here likely held.
It wasn't her looks, either; the only blond-haired people she knew were herself, Darkness, and Dust. They weren't nobles, if Darkness's perversions and Dust's general demeanor were anything to go by.
Tanya clicked her tongue as she remembered that wasn't entirely true. She was technically a noble in the Empire, but earning that title through the War College was hardly anything, as far as nobles went.
Tanya shook her head. It wasn't the time to lament about her past. A Reincarnate was running around, and had been doing so for a few hours. The sun was beginning to set, and the city was darkening. She needed to find them.
She would check with the Blacksmith first; Tanya didn't doubt that some Reincarnate might hit the weapons shop before going to the guild.
Tanya walked, idly surveying the passersby. They seemed to be generally happy, and Tanya couldn't fault them for liking the lack of monsters that made their lives easier.
She would need to put a stop to that, though. Snuffing out the lives of strong monsters – like the Demon King's General – was only expected, and she would complete her job as perfectly as she always did.
Strolling along, she almost missed it. The people of this land had hair colored to be anything but brown or black or blonde – she'd seen people with purple, white, neon pink, and everything else that could be found on a rainbow – or something that was even more outlandish, magically altered to be eye-catching. One head of brown hair was unremarkable, even if it did stand out for how not-odd it was.
But Tanya saw it anyway. A tingle of something familiar in her Observation spells – more than the dreaded feeling of heavenly mana that she had learned to recognize after years of using the Type 95 – drove her to look around.
She smiled in anticipation. It must have been the Observation spells catching a whiff of a relic of some sort.
She had seen many of those, after all.
She followed the trail.
Axel wasn't exactly crowded, even when the Festival had been going on, so it shouldn't have been hard, but no matter how hard she tried, her prey kept escaping around another corner, ducking passed her line of sight at the last moment.
It was vexing, but it also spoke of experience.
Tanya narrowed her eyes and sighed, disgusted with herself for taking so long to think of the obvious solution. She ran into a nearby alley, and repeated the trick she had done with Dust, using the air above the dark alleyways to cut corners and try to find her quarry.
They were fast – they must have had some sort of relic that increased their speed – but Tanya caught up eventually. They stopped, and Tanya spotted them.
They were sitting down on the curb of the road, looking out into the city at various shops, head swiveling around constantly, not looking behind them. Tanya smirked, and took aim with her rifle.
They were more of an amateur than she thought, then.
A faint blip on her Observation spell told her that she wasn't safe, and Tanya threw up her Active Barrier.
A shot rang out, slamming into the back of her shield.
Tanya, only a fraction of a second from spinning around and launching a bullet into the space behind her, froze.
An illusion was in front of her? She had heard a shot?
"Who are you? Why are you following me?" came a panicked voice from behind her.
It was light, lighter than one might expect for someone handling a firearm in a dark alley.
But… Tanya knew that voice.
She knew how it rose in pitch whenever its owner encountered a situation they didn't expect, like right now.
She knew how it sounded as it gave commands and received them over a radio.
She knew how, half asleep, it groggily but diligently asked what was troubling her enough that she would wake from her sleep, shouting obscenities or crying.
She knew how, when Tanya's own voice had trembled when she had first told the voice she was terrified of the Bloody Valkyrie, it had bolstered her with unwavering conviction.
She knew that voice.
The urge to do something stupid, like fall back on the regulations of the Empire and demand her rank, flew out of her mind as fast they had entered. The possibility of Being X masquerading as this person was too high.
Tanya turned around slowly, lowering her hood and trembling. She didn't even try to hide the look of shock that she was sure was plastered on her face.
"Viktoriya?"
A gun clattered to the ground in front of her, and the form her faithful adjunct stared at her. Tanya's own rifle clattered to the ground, and Tanya reached out a hand, running towards the frozen woman.
They embraced.
The vestigial thought that it could be anyone other than Viktoriya left as she was held. No one else held her like this.
Tanya sniffed.
She had used her anger and sadness at her situation to her advantage, reminiscing on the thoughts of her dead comrades on her first night in her third life, to extract information about Axel from Lynn, Taylor, and Keith.
She had used those same feelings to stimulate her tears in the past three weeks, to dupe whichever adventurers looked like saps.
Tanya was sure she might have even cried when she was impaled.
This was different. It wasn't faked masquerade or a response to pain.
It was relief at having something familiar back. It was joy at seeing her and holding her again.
It was a mirror of what had happened in Moskva.
She didn't stop it or clamp down on her emotions. This was Viktoriya; she could trust her sister-in-arms with anything.
So, she cried. Long and hard, letting out everything and holding nothing back.
Just sobbing.
They sat there for a while. Not speaking. Ignoring the falling sun and the rising night.
Just standing, waiting.
Viktoriya spoke first. "Not that I dislike this, Colonel, but…" she trailed off. Tanya smiled softly to herself, sniffing loudly. She didn't even know where to begin, but snapping at her for calling Tanya by her old rank wasn't the way to go about it.
"It's alright, Serebryakov. I assume you met Aqua…" she trailed off. The woman nodded, and both continued to speak softly to each other.
Another moment passed, and Tanya pulled away slightly. Hesitantly. "It's been so long…" she muttered.
Viktoriya's eyebrows furrowed. "It's only been a few hours at most, right? We were just in Dresdun. I died fighting the Cordiale."
Tanya shook her head. "It's been over two months for me," she said, clutching at Viktoriya again and all the harder at the reminder of how long it had been.
The woman stiffened, and Tanya leaned back and looked up at her expression.
"But…" she trailed off. She pulled away, and Tanya let go, hesitantly.
Tanya, blushing, straightened her clothes. She shook her head, remembering how different she had been at the beginning of that damned war.
Cold, calculating, and utterly obsessed with viewing people as resources.
Trying to be the 'perfect soldier' and cutting off as many emotions as she could was… irrational. People have emotions, and not utilizing the hatred she felt towards Being X on the part of the ones she cared for was as irrational as it was to ignore them, especially with how potent said hatred had grown to become.
Yes, the possibility of her anger overriding her logic, self-interest, and reason was there. However, she was using those emotions to enhance the conclusions of her logic.
She wouldn't be overcome with them.
Besides, she'd been shown the benefit of using emotions by others. The François's insistence on continuing the war had been the beginning, and throughout the war, both of Being X's premier pawns had shown the effectiveness of utilizing their anger and emotions. Tanya was proud to say that she could use her anger too.
And Tanya had an ample amount of that to burn through.
As Viktoriya brought something out of her slightly burnt clothing, Tanya's blood froze.
It was a contract.
It was that contract.
Before she could warn her, ask her not to look, plead with her to not bring it out, she already had. Shock, fear, sorrow, all of it mingling together into one confused mess.
Then, nothing. Her face had adopted that stony poker face Tanya had helped her improve, that had been a part of how she was able to win any card game the others challenged her to.
Tanya just stood there, trying to say something, anything.
Then Tanya lowered her outstretched hand, standing stock still with shoulders hunched. Let her make her own decisions.
Face blank and white as a piece of printer paper, the woman looked up. "Tan- Is thi-" she tried to say. The look of guilt on Tanya's face confirmed her fears.
Indecision bloomed for a moment, and then Viktoriya grasped the contract firmly, crumpling it.
Tanya made up her mind. She wouldn't be silent. She tried for one of her more apologetic voices "Would you have believed me? It sounds so… outrageous, and no sane-"
"Yes."
Tanya stopped, blinking rapidly.
What?
What?
She understood the shock on Tanya's face. "Tanya von Degurechaff. We've been through too much. You've saved me too much, and I've helped you some too. Maybe not nearly as much as you have, but… I've done my best. I would do anything for you."
Taking another look at the disfigured contract, Viktoriya shook her head, smiling ruefully and ignoring the tears stinging the corners of her eyes. "I couldn't hurt you, no matter the fake moniker. Devil of the Rhine, White Silver, Mithril-"
"Don't call me that."
Viktoriya was cut off, and sympathy flashed across her face.
Tanya ignored it, too focused on what she told herself was anger. Tanya couldn't help snapping, though; with flashes of handcuffs made of that material dancing across her mind, she wouldn't let anyone call her that name again.
Not even Viktoriya could cure the… taint.
"…Sorry. But the point still stands. Tanya von Degurechaff, or even… The Atheist. I couldn't hurt you, Tanya, be…"
A brief look of confusion passed over her face, and then-
She dropped to the ground, screaming in pain.
Writhing.
Flailing.
Tanya moved. Terror etched into her face, Tanya tried to figure out what had happened, deploying Observation spells. She wasn't hurt, but-
She stopped, panic frozen. Viktoriya didn't have an item, which meant…
Tanya extended her hands, screaming. "HEAL!"
The screaming seemed to subside into heavy breathing for a moment, but then it started again. Tanya swore pain and death and everything against Being X and Aqua and whoever, flooding mana into both of her relics.
"HEAL! HEAL! HEAL!"
Every time she cast it, Viktoriya only began to scream louder afterwards. Tanya whipped out her Adventurer's Card, looking at the Heal skill and the points she had.
The brief lament that she was giving up so many Skill Points flashed through her mind, and Tanya screamed in anger at the selfish thought, watching as all nine of them disappeared. She felt herself being altered, but she ignored it, turning back to Viktoriya.
"HEAL! HEAL! HEAL!"
The screaming was beginning to subside, but it was still too much. Tears flowing down her face once again, she began to chant.
"Oh Lord, please grant this lowly believer the power to save one more devout than itself!"
She felt the power fill her, and she began to scream angrily as she flooded more mana into the Circlet, ignoring the halo that she didn't care enough about to stop from appearing.
"HEAL!"
A moment passed, and the screaming and pain subsided as the light from her hands intensified.
It all stopped, and Viktoriya began to break down into sobs. Tanya collapsed, noting detachedly that she was crying with her.
Mana flowed back into her body from the Circlet and the Type 95, and Tanya dry-heaved as she gripped the body of Viktoriya.
"Don't leave me again, Visha. Please. Please"
She sat there, for a moment, waiting. The body below her didn't stir, for a moment, and then it took a shuddering breath.
"I told you I couldn't hurt you, Tanya."
Tanya cried out again, gripping the tattered clothing of Viktoriya. Again, they rested, and Tanya didn't let go this time.
-OxOxO-
An hour of lying there was all Tanya could take, and she decided to try and bring the unconscious Viktoriya to shelter. She fished her own rifle and Viktoriya's pistol from the floor of the alley, and began to survey the streets.
The sun was completely down, and the streets were dark. Tanya knew that she could fight off any of the riffraff normally, but she was running on fumes.
She had few options. They had strayed too far from the Blacksmith's shop and the guild, and she didn't even know the way to the Eris Cult's residence.
Troubled for a moment and wondering if she would need to break into someone's house, Tanya gasped in delight as she remembered another person she could call on.
Lifting up Viktoriya, Tanya carried her, bridal style, through the streets of Axel, trying to find the shop where she had bought the key to her weapon.
Fifteen minutes passed, and Tanya was panting laboriously. She was almost out of mana, but she'd make it, regardless of how many spells she had to reinforce herself with and the long term damage they might do.
She owed Viktoriya that much.
They arrived at the darkened store, and Tanya cursed. The place was closed.
Muttering an apology to Wiz under her breath, she kicked the door next to the handle, sweeping into the shop, and placing Viktoriya in a seat at the small, white table present in the store. She fished her Circlet of Greatness out of her shirt, and she funneled a bit of mana into it, lighting the room and holding it high.
No one. She must have been at the cemetery, then. Tanya cast another look towards Viktoriya, who seemed to be resting more easily. Tanya sat down next to her, trying to rest herself. She was tired.
For a moment, her eyes drifted shut. She was really tired, actually…
After just resting her eyes for a moment, Tanya was jolted to life by a high-pitched shout. She shot up, fumbling with the gun that was resting in her lap. Tanya calmed down in a moment, looking at Wiz.
Right. Unlike the way she had probably left it, the door was broken in – and Tanya probably wouldn't have been able to do it if it weren't for how little crime there was in Axel and how that lack of crime led to a lack of paranoid security – and two people were still there, taking a nap and ignoring the door they had broken down.
Tanya didn't exactly have a way to defend herself, so she chose a much simpler interaction to give herself time to think.
"Hi."
The broken look on Wiz's face as she looked at the door, hanging off of its hinges and illuminated in the early light of the day, tugged at Tanya's heart. She winced, berating herself; she'd left herself and Viktoriya undefended.
"Sorry?" she provided.
Wiz looked rather dejected. "Now I'll have to borrow even more money to break even…" she trailed off.
Tanya winced again, and she brought out a large bag of money. She had been planning to give it to whichever Reincarnate came through, after she took their weapon, but since it was Viktoriya, she didn't need to give her anything.
"Here some money for the door, and I'd like to buy more of those explosive potions, please," she said, offering it. Wiz's face lit up, relief flooding it. She took the money gladly, walked into her shop, turned on the magical lamp above their heads with a flick of her wrist, and began to make herself busy behind the counter.
Then, looking down at Viktoriya, she added, "And anything that'll restore mana. My friend needs it."
As the sounds of Wiz moving about reached Tanya's ears, she heard them fade slowly. Her gaze wavered from Viktoriya, looking at Wiz curiously. She was looking rather conflicted about something.
Tanya almost groaned out loud; she really didn't want even more problems to deal with.
"Well, I suppose it's fine if I tell you… You have bought lots of stuff, and you even came back…" Wiz muttered. Lit by the bright light of the lamp and the rising sun, Tanya looked at the odd Archmage.
She had bought stuff from the woman exactly twice, and she had only bought five things last time. Was that really considered a lot of time and money to spend on the shop?
Apparently it was. Wiz walked forward, clasping her hands in front of her still-ridiculous chest, and took a deep breath.
"I'm actually a Lich." She said this earnestly, eyes shining with a hint of resignation or apprehension.
Tanya was sure this was some sort of deep, dark, secret, but she had no idea what that meant. What's a Lich?
Wait. Something from earlier that day – no, yesterday, the sun that was rising in the window told her – tickled her mind. Something Lynn or one of the others had said…
Finally she remembered. "That's a type of undead, right?"
Wiz blinked, and she gave a halfhearted laugh of nervousness. "She says 'a type of undead?' like we aren't the strongest ones around, heh…"
Wiz trailed off as the skeptical look on Tanya's face didn't fade in the slightest. Wiz's cheeks puffed up indignantly. "Hey, we are! We have tons of special skills, we're invulnerable to physical attack, and we have tons of mana!"
Tanya just blinked. She opened her mouth slowly. "You don't exactly give off the feeling of 'life-hating' monster to me. You'll have to excuse me if I'm not terrified of a pale shop owner who can't seem to sell very much, if I'm considered some sort of valued and trusted customer."
The woman's pale cheeks lit up as much as they probably could, but the deep embarrassment on her downturned head didn't match how little blood was flowing into her cheeks.
Tanya shook her head. "Whatever. Can you help her?" Tanya asked again. Wiz still seemed confused.
"Don't you get it? I'm a Lich."
Twitch.
Tanya pinched the bridge of her nose. "Look, I couldn't care less; if you were the Demon King himself, I wouldn't care," she said, angrily staring at the woman.
"If you can help her, you will."
Tanya tightened the grip on her gun. The woman knew how to help Viktoriya, if she was revealing a secret with the expectation that Tanya would mystically realize how Wiz could help. She was helping Viktoriya, one way or another.
Even if the amount of mana the shop owner was suddenly giving off was very intimidating.
Then, the mana seemed to evaporate, and Wiz was just staring at her, puzzled.
Still seemingly confused as to her ambivalence to her true nature, Wiz pulled down the collar of Viktoriya's clothing. Tanya grit her teeth as she watched her lay a hand on the defenseless Viktoriya's shoulder, but she stayed silent.
"Drain Touch."
Suddenly, shining specks of light burst into life, seemingly inside of the lich. Before she could ask, the light steadily traveled through the woman's outstretched arm, into the girl seated in the chair.
Slowly, the woman's eyes ground open. They seemed confused, for a moment, and then widened. "Tanya-" was all she could get out, and then Tanya muffled her sentence by pouncing on her.
"Viktoriya!" she cried. She was okay. She had mana. She wasn't some sort of catatonic mental patient, and she hadn't been killed.
Tanya's Heal had managed to save the last person with a skill instead of a weapon, but it had taken an hour. Tanya had ambushed them when they were returning to the guild, and she was thankful that she hadn't had to listen to Viktoriya scream for that long.
Tanya didn't know if she could take something like that.
Stiffly, Viktoriya held her, laughing with Tanya at the absurdity of the situation and the joy they felt. It seemed that they were alone in the world.
Of course, they weren't. Wiz looked very curious as to who could be this close to someone the town was calling a 'Detonation Devil' and 'Evil.'
How the kind Tanya had gotten that last nickname, Wiz had no idea, but she ignored it.
Wiz finished using Drain Touch, and quietly backed off from the clearly emotional pair. They didn't seem to be willing to part, so she rose from the crouching position she had taken and made her way to the shelves of the store, looking for those potions that Tanya was clearly fond of.
Meanwhile, Tanya tried to suppress the growing embarrassment she was feeling about gripping onto Viktoriya for so long, and decided that they had been doing that long enough. She pulled away, and she straightened her cap.
Now that she had a moment and wasn't feeling as tired as before, Viktoriya took a moment to survey Tanya. Instead of the uniform she had worn for as long as Viktoriya could remember, she was instead wearing something much more casual, at least to her eyes.
A green mantle with a hood and bordered with a yellow lining adorned the girl's shoulders, and she wore a plain, thin white shirt with a belt of some kind across her front, travelling from her waist to her shoulder. A glimmer of bright yellow from one of the pockets told Viktoriya that they probably had extra clips in them.
Plain, unremarkable black pants held up by a simple brown belt and what looked to be her standard issue boots clothed her bottom half, while gray evening gloves clothed her hands.
Overall, it was quite different from the uniformed superior she had always known. But Viktoriya didn't really mind; it was nice to see Tanya let her hair down a bit, figuratively speaking.
Tanya cleared her throat, and Viktoriya blushed a bit, realizing she had been caught staring. Tanya chuckled. "It's no problem, Viktoriya. I'm aware this isn't exactly standard issue, but we don't exactly have denim jeans in this fantasy-land."
Viktoriya nodded, and licked her lips indecisively. Tanya winced; she knew they needed to have a discussion about where they were.
And other things, like how she wasn't exactly just sixteen years old.
She opened her mouth for a moment, before a sly grin overcame her face, and words spoken in the Empire marched from her mouth. "I know you probably have a number of questions, but we should probably wait."
Tanya motioned her head towards the oblivious shopkeeper, who was gathering her potions. Viktoriya nodded. She hadn't been told this stuff for years; she could wait a few moments more.
Tanya walked over to Wiz and tapped her on the back. "How many potions will I be getting for so much money?"
The shopkeeper turned around, touching her fingers together nervously. "Well…considering the number you're buying in bulk, you should be able to get five."
Tanya blinked, stopping short of gaping at what her math told her. "You're making me pay thirty thousand for each? It was only ten thousand during the festival!" she exclaimed.
She was all for the free market, of course, and Wiz raising the prices in response to Tanya's demand wasn't exactly criminal, especially in a fantasy land that hadn't heard of the term 'laissez-faire'. Still, that seemed like a very generous markup.
Wiz whimpered and said, "The festival means that we need to take down the prices, since it's supposed to be a time of goodwill…"
Tanya could hear Viktoriya mutter, "Potions?" from behind her, but Tanya would explain that soon enough.
"Fine, fine," she muttered, taking the potions on the counter and walking back over to Viktoriya. Tanya needed to get her introduced to the guild.
Tanya walked out of the door, and a shout of the woman's name brought Viktoriya out of the building, walking just behind her. Wiz looked on, wondering if another customer would visit that knew something about Tanya's friend.
After walking through the dimly lit streets of Axel for five minutes in complete silence, Tanya turned around. "Alright, stop. I'm not your commanding officer anymore; you can walk next to me," she said, Viktoriya bowed her head, and Tanya bit back the urge to reprimand her for being so apologetic.
She wasn't apologetic to anyone but her; it was a habit she must have picked up after so many years of being her adjutant.
"We're going to be dropping this stuff off at the Blacksmith's and then I'm going to get you registered with the guild," she said, motioning towards the potions gripped tightly in her hands.
Viktoriya, amused, half-asked "Potions?"
Tanya sighed. "Alright. It might come as a bit of a shock, but this world is much more like a…" Tanya trailed off.
She wasn't well versed in fiction by any stretch of the imagination, and she had no idea what might fit that genre in the perspective of a girl from the 1920s. She shrugged. She'd try her best.
"It's much more like the superstitions about magic; there are potions, most people who can use magic need to chant to use a spell, absolutely none of it has anything to do with mathematical formulas like in our world, and there is much more… diversity," she explained. Viktoriya looked confused, so Tanya sighed and continued.
"Right. I'm not exactly an expert, but there's magic that can shoot fire, water, create ice, explosions, wind… there are ways for people to reanimate corpses, the Demon King's fortress is sealed behind a giant magical barrier, things like that."
Viktoriya blinked. "Did you just say reanimate the dead?" she asked, mingling fear and skepticism bleeding through her voice. Tanya nodded silently, stepping into the Blacksmith's shop that Tanya had brought them to.
"Yeah. It might be a bit weird, but I think it's pretty interesting." Tanya walked in, giving a passing wave to the Blacksmith, who seemed to be staring at the potions in her hands for some reason, and stashing her potions underneath the tarp. As she came back out from the back, the Blacksmith's questioning gaze reminded her of something.
He didn't really know that she was using his back room as a storage room, did he?
She smiled weakly. "Uhh…"
An eyebrow raised, he began. "Well, while I might be concerned with why you have so many explosive potions – and don't deny it, that box has the word explosives on it – I'll waive it, since you're a smart girl and you're going to be paying me to house them here," he said, pity and clarity mingling in his eyes.
"What I am more interested in is who this woman here is," he said turning towards Viktoriya. The woman blushed and waved cutely, but other than that didn't respond.
Tanya saw the man's eyes flicker downwards, toward Viktoriya's chest, and Tanya attracted his attention with a very pointed cough.
"That is… my best friend. While she might be too modest to say anything, I have no such quarrels," she said, staring coldly into his eyes. He tried to look away, or back at Viktoriya, but Tanya gripped the man's chin forcefully.
Tanya, staring into the eyes of the Blacksmith, missed the blush on Viktoriya's face, as well as the saddened look she sent at the floor that soon followed it.
"Stare at her like that again and I'll make sure the police will regret investigating the crime. Understand?" Tanya threatened, making sure to keep her tone level and quiet.
Shouting at people was much less effective than making sure to let them know that you're within full control of your facilities and still making a serious threat.
He nodded slowly, and Tanya brightened up. "Good. Come on Viktoriya, we need to get you registered."
With that, they left his store, leaving the Blacksmith to seriously reconsider if he should let the girl use his shop.
His mind flashed back to her expression of total contempt, and he decided that he was sure he'd regret throwing her out as well.
-OxOxO-
Soon enough, they arrived at the guild. A subdued atmosphere brought on by the lack of people greeted the pair of Reincarnates as they strode into the guild. They were ignored by most – it was morning, but the rush of adventurers preparing for quests had already passed, leaving only timid, new adventurers that had only joined recently and people like Dust, who were only too happy to be drunk for as much of the day as possible.
Tanya walked purposefully up to Luna, who seemed curious at the presence behind Tanya.
Whenever she got quests, she was never accompanied by the silver-haired Thief or the Crusader. Who was this person that Luna had never even seen?
Uncaring of her inquiring smile, Tanya introduced her companion. "We're here to get her an Adventurer's Card, if you would please."
Luna's face lit up, and she brought out the device that allowed for new cards to be created. "Wonderful! I'll give you the introduction."
After that, a whirlwind of instructions and facts passed, making even Tanya blink. She'd come a long way since that first night, when she'd gotten her own introduction.
"Any questions?" the receptionist asked.
Viktoriya seemed like she had questions, but, in response to her questioning look, Tanya shook her head. She would explain everything if she had any questions.
"If you'll just hold your hand above the crystal?" she asked, gesturing towards the device. Skeptically, Viktoriya placed her hand above it, and gasped as it swirled to life. Tanya smiled nostalgically as she thought back to her own introduction.
Wait…
Tanya's eyes widened. Right, Viktoriya had killed people as well, which probably showed up on the card. Tanya searched her memory, confused.
Had she failed to check if the card showed the number of humans you killed?
She sighed. She'd been putting it off because she was just a bit scared of the number of people she had killed – it was over two hundred, at least – but she needed to know now.
She looked at her card, tapping the small box that said 'KILLS.' This box was checked by the machine in the back automatically whenever Luna pushed a card into it when she was confirming quests, but Tanya knew that that information was mainly stored on the card. Dust had taken the time to boast about the number of Goblins he had killed, and he had presented his card as proof to his drinking buddies.
She looked at the list. Slimes, Giant Toads, Squirrels, Goblins, and numerous other low-level monsters that were easily killed, if one knew what they were doing. Finally, she reached it.
Humans…
Tanya blanched as she read the number next to it, and then she felt a bit of bile building up in the back of her throat. She'd killed… how many people?
No matter how many times she blinked, or rubbed her eyes, or waved the card around, the number didn't change.
Tanya let a hiss of air out between her teeth. This was… ridiculous and, quite frankly, disgusting, but she didn't doubt it was possible.
She had never thought about who she had killed beyond the Aerial Mages she fought. She had expected it to be in the hundreds, not…
She sighed. With what they had been forced to do in Arenne and on the Eastern Front, however…
She shook her head. The Adventurer's Card couldn't be forcibly altered, as far as she knew, which meant she knew exactly how many people she had killed during the war.
Hand shaking, she tapped the minimize icon on the square of text, and stood abruptly. Viktoriya hadn't killed that many people, obviously, but the risk of being tried and executed for mass murder was high.
The card finished, and Tanya tapped her foot as Luna began to read out the woman's stats. "Wonderful! You have pretty good stats all around, with a large spike in your Magic-Power and Intelligence, and Below Average Agility."
She nodded, and Tanya swiped the card from Luna, presenting it to Viktoriya. Tanya began to distract Luna, hoping to play off the action.
Luna was staring at her, annoyance present in her smile, and Tanya waved her hand. "Sorry. I remember what it was like to have you talk about that stuff without being able to see it."
Luna, mid nod, had her gaze dragged to Viktoriya, along with Tanya's. The woman was blushing and had just made a rather loud exclamation in Russy that Tanya wasn't familiar with, which meant she had just said something very bad.
Tanya, about to ask, stopped. When Tanya had been looking at her own card, the description it had decided to provide about herself had surprised her. That was it, then.
Tanya ignored Viktoriya. "Now, I was wondering if you have any quests you'd like us to take care of. I can get Darkness and Chris, so party size isn't the question, with all four of us."
Luna looked down at Tanya appraisingly. "She still needs a job."
Tanya waved her concern off. "She'll be an Adventurer."
Luna's shrank back for a moment, and Tanya prepared herself as she saw an eye begin to twitch.
Luna didn't like that idea. "Absolutely not," she bit out, her smile now plastic and in place.
"I might have lost you to that weak, stupid job, but I'll not lose someone else. If you have so much confidence in her and if she has a lot of the same skills you do, she's close to you in ability, right?" she asked, gripping Tanya's shoulders.
Tanya brushed the woman's grip off easily, pulling Viktoriya towards her. "She'll be taking the Adventurer job, Luna."
Tanya heard a foot stamp from behind the counter, and Tanya shrank back. She'd never done something so childish. "No! Please, Serebryakov, think about this decision. Becoming an Adventurer when you could become an Archmage, an Archpriest, a Ranger, or even an Enchanter is ludicrous! Don't listen to her!"
Viktoriya tilted her head, and Tanya began to speak in Germanian once more. "We need that job. Everything we do – from cast spells to shoot guns – is intrinsically linked together. If you choose a single class, you'll lose access to important skills."
Viktoriya nodded, and, in whatever the language of Belzerg was called – Bezergian wasn't likely an option, since the people here expected foreigners to be fluent in the language as well – replied to Luna's questioning glares that were Tanya for speaking a language she didn't understand. "I'll be an Adventurer, please."
She presented her card, and Luna groaned, pressing down on the box in the right-hand corner, selecting Adventurer. Tanya smirked, and Viktoriya quickly snatched her card back.
Tanya and Viktoriya beamed at each other, and Luna interrupted their moment. "You said you wanted a quest, right? How about one of the durians?"
"Durian?" both adventurers echoed.
Luna smirked, and an uneasy feeling settled in Tanya's gut. The woman was obviously mad at her for making another person take the path of an Adventurer.
"They're quests no one wants to take for… whatever reason. We've either put a low amount of money on them to dissuade inexperienced adventurers, they contain unspeakably strong opponents, or they have some possibly immoral actions that need to be done."
Viktoriya backed off, but Tanya only tilted her head in thought. She was sure they could take anything this odd world could throw at them. And if they couldn't, they'd just refuse. "Sure thing! What have you got?"
Luna's eye twitched at Tanya's jovial attitude, but she retrieved a clipboard from underneath the counter. "Take your pick. If you can't do one, I'm sure both of you could take a different job and take on any quest easily."
Tanya began to cycle through them, unaware of how Viktoriya was looking between her and at the description of herself on her Adventurer's Card.
A Griffon and a Manticore seemed to be a bit too strong, even for her. She'd definitely have to use the Type 95, and Viktoriya could get seriously hurt.
Exorcising a spirit was out, since neither of them had any skills that affected spirits and Tanya wasn't about to pick up any.
Do reconnaissance on the Tranquility Princess…
"Tranquility Princess?" Tanya asked the receptionist. Luna smirked.
"Yes. Tranquility Girls are high-experience plant monsters that take on the appearance of girls in order to lull their prey, humans, into staying by their side. They'll feel attached to the girl, and won't attack it. Most can't even bring themselves to think of harming them, while those worst affected by their charm either carry out the plant's will or become its fertilizer," Luna explained, smirking.
She probably thought that the two girls in front of her would be overcome with emotion, but Tanya thought this sounded pretty good. If looking human was their only defense they were going to be very easy pickings for two veterans of World War One.
"Additionally, they provide food for their prey. It isn't, however, something you want to eat. It'll wreak havoc on your central nervous system, making you lose all pain and hunger."
Tanya blinked at the suddenly advanced terminology, but she was soon considering the task once more. Viktoriya, head tilted, asked, "Why don't people exterminate them, then? There have to be some people that will do anything for money."
Luna scowled, and then sent a speculative glance over Tanya's shoulder. She followed her gaze and found that Dust was begging his friends for money.
…Yeah, he might do it.
Luna sighed. "The elderly and terminally ill will often seek them out, wishing for an easy death, and this particular monster has been interviewed by numerous adventurers, and all of them swear that it only wants to kill those that seek it out. We're still not convinced, and this one's forest has become a suicide hotspot."
The anger and desire for revenge that had been present slowly drained away, leaving only resigned acceptance in the receptionist's voice. "It's decreasing the reputation of the guild to have a monster that close, and the logging guild is getting… insistent that we kill it."
Tanya nodded, and then smirked wickedly. "We'll take it. Don't worry, you won't have to worry about it again."
Luna blinked, suddenly looking at Tanya nervously. "Act- actually, we just want you to go and interrogate it. If it's true to its word, then we don't really want to remove it, since older adventurers only have a violent death to look forward to."
Tanya froze. "Uhh…"
Attempting to ignore the problem – she had just admitted to being very okay with killing something human-shaped, if she got paid well – and knowing that Luna would probably never forget this, Tanya handed the clipboard back to Luna and then muttered, "Can we have a map?"
Luna nodded, bringing out a compact map of Axel and the surrounding land. A key in the corner told her that the shaded regions were their breeding grounds – deep inside forests, close to a water source of some sort, and close to smaller trails, while there were several red marks in the shape of an 'x' told her where ones had probably been defeated.
"The one you're going to interview is west of Axel," she said, pointing towards a large swath of land that was entirely shaded. It seemed to be a noticeable fraction of the size of Axel, at least one-tenth of its size.
Tanya nodded. "Are there any other ones you want us to look into?" she asked. Luna pointed to several spots on the map.
"There's rumored to be one on the road from Arcanretia and the Crimson Demon Village, and there are a few other places that might have one. Otherwise, we don't know for sure," she said, pointing to a section of shaded forest near the edge of the map.
Tanya blinked. "Crimson Demons?"
Luna interpreted her expression. "Crimson Demons are a type of modified humans, despite the name. No one's sure how, but all of them have a massive amount of Magic-Power – rivaling yours – black hair, and red eyes. Some think they're all crazy, while others believe that a town full of Archmages couldn't possibly be as eccentric as a scant few people claim they are."
Tanya nodded. That seemed interesting, but going at least one town over from Axel seemed to be a long way, with how their Flight spells now acted. She'd get that one later, when she had other business or when she finally figured out a way to get the Reincarnates to stop coming after her permanently.
"They have clearings around them, right?" Tanya asked, moving on. Luna nodded slowly, squinting at Tanya. She just smiled.
She wasn't about to tell the receptionist that they could survey the land from above and find them that way.
"Alright then. We'll be off!" she said, leaving the guild. They began to walk back through Axel, when Viktoriya, walking reservedly by her side, piped up. "I don't have many bullets left…"
Tanya spun around, scowling. "Where's your rifle? You said you died fighting the Cordiale, right? I don't think you did it with that peashooter," she said, pointing to the pistol Viktoriya grasped in her right hand.
Viktoriya shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't been able to find my Type 97 either," she admitted. Tanya scowled, and then looked at the woman's clothing.
Sure enough, while the white undershirt that she wore was intact, the outer clothing she hadn't shed yet seemed a bit tattered. "Maybe the Type 97 detonated?" Tanya offered. Viktoriya nodded slowly.
It was an explanation both were willing to accept, and in no time at all, they had reached the gates of Axel. "What about your friends?" Viktoriya asked.
Tanya turned to her, a question on her face. "You said something about a 'Chris' and 'Darkness,' right?"
Tanya nodded. "I did. Unfortunately, we're going to be using our magic to complete this. I haven't been able to find any hints that the people of this world have figured out how to fly, so we probably don't want to broadcast that we can," she said, flashing her Adventurer's Card to the guards by the gate. They both waved her through amiably, gazes lingering on Viktoriya.
Tanya scowled at them, but she moved on. They had a quest to complete, and these quests were probably very profitable. This would be a good score, and their spells ensured that anything plant-based wouldn't survive for long.
-OxOxO-
If it were ever seated at a table – not that anyone had ever done something as stupid as to bring one of those this deep into the forest – many would mistake it for human, at first glance.
By design, it looked very much like a beautiful human woman: flawless, pearly skin, long brown hair, a piece of clothing that showed a large amount of skin while also hiding anything too risqué, and a few accessories, like a flower in its hair and three gold bands on its right arm.
But the similarities ended when one looked closer: its hair looked thicker than any hair could actually be, and the clothing looked too good, too perfectly maintained, for someone this far in the forest. Two triangular lines – a deep, dark green that no one could tell was anything other than black – rose from its jawline and ended near its eyes. Its ears were pointed, peeking out of its hair, and the flower in its hair looked far too healthy to have been picked and used as some token of affection.
Still, people could easily mistake it for a human, or some sort of crossbreed between a human and a beastman.
Of course, if one looked below its waist, they would discover the falsehood of its appearance: it had nothing but roots. Younger tranquility girls took the full appearance of a human, but it had no need to look weak. It had several humans who took pity on it and helped it keep the forest clear.
It smirked. Yes… the 'forest'. It was amusing that they thought of the surroundings as anything other than an extension of itself.
In truth, it could probably leave the human-looking portion of its body dormant and solely subsist on the light of the sun, leaving behind any resemblance to a monster they recognized.
But while it might be able to feed like that, without the reputation of a suicide hotspot keeping away loggers, it had no doubt that she would be torn down or infested with monsters.
Besides, becoming a bunch of trees was so boring.
It smiled. And how entertaining this would be. Being the forest, it knew that two people were approaching its human portion, coming from the direction of the nearest town. It was sure that it could convince anyone into leaving itself be, at least.
The last few people that ineffective guild had sent to determine her intentions had become quite willing to do as it wished, after a few moments of reasoned thought and, in one case, bribery.
Voices floated on the wind, drifting into the things that resembled ears on its head. "…keep your spells active. It seems we're getting close."
It smiled. A female; this would be all too easy. They were usually at least somewhat moved by its 'duty'.
"Welcome, travelers. Have you come seeking an easy death, or are you lost?"
No one was lost. The road that did go through this forest was clearly marked, and it would be almost impossible for them to somehow wander off of it.
Unless it was feeling bored and obscured the path using the forest; that was fun.
"Or have you come to see… me?" it asked. The dark-haired, dark-eyed adventurers that could never kill it and always helped the most in clearing its woods had said this line would entice any who had heard it. She was knowledgeable about humans, and that line worked a lot, for some reason.
It smiled bashfully, staring right at the pair.
Tanya smirked. She loved being right. "As you can see, it's already trying to entice us. Just keep your Oxygen Conversion spell active; I know it's somewhat taxing without a Computation Jewel, but even if we'll only be here a few moments, the chances of it having some sort of airborne poison or drug or aphrodisiac are high."
Tanya ignored its words, its body, and the way it was staring at them. She knew better. "Hello. As part of a quest by the guild, we are here to conduct an interview to ascertain your intentions. We are also authorized to exterminate you, if need be, so please don't act aggressively."
It nodded. This one seemed sharper than most. "Of course! Just don't touch my roots; they're deadly to humans and oblivious to my feelings," it said, staring down sadly. Tanya nodded quickly and set down the backpack the guild had foisted upon her.
It sniffed, but said nothing else, studying the two woman. They were both using magic – the air was different around them – and it didn't know what it was. More importantly, it was trying to figure out how to convince them to leave it be.
It turned to the brown haired one. Unlike the short, mean one, she seemed to be more curious instead of wary.
That was good; it could build on that.
Turning to the taller, plumper woman, it beckoned closer with an arm. "Don't be shy; I don't harm anyone who doesn't desire to be released from life. Just mind the roots."
Slowly, the girl approached, looking curiously at the roots and tree trunk that made up her lower body. It smiled.
The woman paused, casting a glance at the turned back of her superior, before pointing towards its roots. "How far do those extend for? Do you have to…" she paused, making an uncomfortable expression, "help many people?"
It laughed lightly, smiling warmly. It was time to figure out how far it could take this. "Quite a way. Thank you for being so concerned with my health." The woman nodded, and the small one turned around, carrying something.
From within, she brought out the magic item she had seen on the inside of the police station, and held it flat in her palm. It tried to feign ignorance. "What is that?"
Tanya smirked. "Oh, you don't need to be concerned, unless it rings," she said.
The plant nodded, smiling. "Okay. I'm just a monster, so I know that you don't trust me."
Its eyes hadn't moved from the thing held in her palm, and Tanya was sure it knew exactly what the item was. The chance that the thing didn't know what it was was small, but Tanya would be even happier.
Tanya narrowed her eyes at Viktoriya deliberately. "Come over here. We're not fraternizing." Viktoriya nodded, falling in line behind her. Tanya was hoping to use the patented good-cop bad-cop technique, making it trust that Viktoriya wouldn't kill her.
They had already rehearsed what would happen, and Tanya had been holding up the magic item when Viktoriya had asked those questions.
They needed to know how best to get rid of it, after all.
Viktoriya looked troubled, and the plant smiled. "Don't look so depressed, ma'am. As soon as we're done, you'll be able to trust me."
Viktoriya brightened up, and Tanya hid a smirk. It was time to begin.
"First question, Tranquility Princess: what do you think of humans?" this one was easy, and Tanya didn't really care about this one; she was going to ask it very pointed questions later on that would be much harder to weasel out of.
It pause, and then said, slowly, "…humans are incredibly important to me; I don't think I could live without them."
Viktoriya shifted, and Tanya nodded. Viktoriya was supposed to look conflicted, in the hopes that it would rely on her when they moved to end it, if it turned out to be hostile.
"Do you absorb the humans after they die?" she asked it, tone just as even as before. The forest around them began to quiet down, and Tanya raised an eyebrow. It was attempting to simulate tension by manipulating its environment; a good move against rookies.
Viktoriya exclaimed "Tanya!" while the Tranquility Princess reacted. It seemed taken aback at first, but then tears began to form in the corners of its eyes. Viktoriya stretched out a hand, and Tanya swatted her hand out of the air. It didn't answer.
"I'll ask again; did you decompose and absorb the bodies of the adventurers?"
Looking lonely and staring at the ground, it answered. "Yes, they became my food. They've become a part of me… they'll live on inside my body… I'll-"
Tanya cut it off. "Your first answer was satisfactory. Now-"
Viktoriya turned on Tanya, cutting her off as planned. "What's the big idea? It's said its answers; we should leave it alone."
Tanya sighed, glaring at her. She looked actually hurt by the glare, and Tanya almost apologized. The woman was very reliant on her approval.
Still, she pushed on, and Viktoriya knew that it was all an act.
"You can wait, if you're uncomfortable. I promise that I won't kill it, alright?" Tanya offered, sounding annoyed and keeping an eye on the Tranquility Princess. Its eyes seemed to light up when the magic item didn't ring.
Viktoriya scowled and stomped out of the clearing, while Tanya turned back to the Tranquility Princess. "Now, you have no support. We'll be getting to the interesting questions, so consider your answers."
It smirked, and Tanya gave it a smile that matched. It seemed that it thought it was safe. "Interesting? Like these?" it said as it cupped its breasts. Tanya stared at them, for a moment, before looking away.
"Yes, it must be embarrassing to be so flat; no man will ever want you when you have that cutting board strapped to your chest," it goaded. Tanya played into its expectations, glaring down at her body and trying to ignore just how… bouncy the Tranquility Princess was.
It thought she was unsatisfied with her development, but she just hated the entire damn thing.
"So what are you going to do? Despite your hard exterior, you won't kill me; you just said so," it said, crossing its arms over its chest. Tanya stared at them for a second, mouth opened a fraction of an inch, before she clicked her mouth shut.
She smirked, trying to ignore the worrying lust she felt. Was puberty about to start hitting her harder, now that she had real food and a much less stressful environment around her? "The quest the guild gave me was to do reconnaissance on the Tranquility Princess; I don't have to kill you," she said.
It smirked, but its expression turned quizzical when Tanya smirked back. "Of course, if I report that you lied to us, and that you should be exterminated, someone will come along who's brave enough to do so."
It scowled. "I help you humans; this forest remains cleared of monsters because adventurers fall over themselves to help me, I help the aging and the sick and the suicidal pass on to your so-called Gods, and all I receive is their bodies and a bit of help from those willing to do so."
Tanya wasn't moved in the slightest, and she was honestly pissed that it assumed she had a god. "Well, considering I would like to have more areas to kill monsters in, I'm not particularly moved."
It glared now, and Tanya almost laughed at how innocent it had seemed earlier. "I've been here for over a hundred years; do you really think no one else has figured me out?"
Tanya shook her head. She knew that; she was sure this thing had another trick up its sleeve, if what it had said earlier didn't register as a lie. It probably had some sort of incentive.
It smirked. "What do you think happens to adventurers who die here?" she pointed at the ground, likely referencing the equipment buried underneath.
Tanya scoffed. "Why would elderly adventurers come here with a bunch of worthwhile equipment if they're trying to die? Unless you have good equipment from not-so-elderly adventurers you murdered?" she countered.
This brought it up short, and Tanya chuckled. "Well, I think this interview has been telling of your true nature, but I'll ask some more questions," she said as it seemed to be panicking. It was probably trying to search whatever it had that counted as a brain for answers.
"By the way," she added, sitting on the ground and grinning, "I'll be taking silence as an answer I don't like, since you do seem to know what this thing is."
She began. "Have you ever killed anyone maliciously?"
It grit whatever it had for teeth – if it had anything but half-truths and lies in its mouth – and Tanya continued on. "Let's try again. Have you ever convinced adventurers to become suicidal through association with you?"
It blinked again, and it answered. "No."
That brought Tanya up short. It hadn't? The thing smirked, and Tanya clicked her tongue. So much for that…
Wait. She looked behind it, at the large tree. She could see some sort of fruit on it. Tanya snapped her finger, smirking.
"Have you ever provided that dangerous fruit to adventurers, aware of the effect it has on them? Aware that they'd die if they ate too much and that you could claim their dead body afterwards?"
Its eyes widened, and Tanya smiled pleasantly. When it continued to say nothing, Tanya stood up and stretched. "Well, I think that's all. We're done here."
It began to sniff, and tears welled up in its eyes. Tanya shook her head. So unbecoming.
And it didn't even realize what was about to happen.
"I'll save you the energy. Viktoriya! You can come over now!"
The woman ran over, darting out from the tree line, and Tanya sighed happily. It was nice to have backup she could trust completely. Sure, Darkness and Chris were fine, but she was sure that they wouldn't have been able to do it.
They just weren't cut out for this type of thing.
It cried out. "Help me! Please don't report that I'm evil to the guild!"
Tanya chuckled. "We won't have too; you'll be dead."
It blinked, too surprised to keep up its act. "Huh? But you said…"
Tanya pointed towards Viktoriya with an outstretched thumb, handing the woman her rifle with the other. "I said that I wouldn't kill you. She said nothing of the sort."
It looked to Viktoriya, emotions flashing across its face.
Viktoriya displayed none of her earlier sympathy.
It was confused.
Viktoriya shrugged, an apologetic grin on her face. "Sorry. Tanya says I need experience to defeat the Demon King, and you Tranquility Girls are apparently very full of it," she said, readying Tanya's rifle.
The forest around them shifted, the trees becoming a wall, and light dwindled. The Tranquility Princess rose, its small, human portion now being dwarfed by the roots surrounding it.
It was mad.
"I may not be especially good at fighting, but I'm sure I can take out a pair of under-leveled worms like you! And you'll never kill all of me; this forest is my domain!"
They both shrugged and then shot into the air, rising passed the tree line and into the sky. "You heard her; burn the forest to the ground. I'll put up this item. If you need any help, just holler!"
Viktoriya waved her off, ignoring the faint shouts below her. "Don't worry. A couple Napalm-Type Combustion spells should do the trick."
Tanya nodded, and rose higher still as shouts of 'Napalm' and the frustrated obscenities echoed beneath her. They had at least three more spots to hit that they had seen on their flight to this forest, and they could probably find more if they expanded the area they could search.
Of course, Viktoriya would get tired quickly; Tanya wasn't sure how to make a Computation Jewel that wasn't a Type 95, and without one of the devices, Viktoriya would get tired from fighting quickly.
Tanya would have to carry Viktoriya to the next spot.
Tanya smiled. Somehow, she would have to bear carrying Viktoriya around like she was some damsel-in-distress for a few days.
She giggled to herself as the sounds of battle faded. She was sure she would find some way to cope with such a 'burden.'
-OxOxO-
As the sun sank into the horizon, two women wore pleasant smiles as they walked into the guild. There hadn't been anything all that dangerous – the Tranquility Girls were stronger than them physically, but Reinforcement spells and lots of Napalm more than made up for the difference.
As they walked in, Tanya held out her hand. "Alright, I'll take your card. We need to show proof to the guild that we killed them, and these things confirm that."
A questioning look from Viktoriya meant Tanya had a chance to explain what the cards were, what they recorded, and how their skills and Skill Points worked. Viktoriya nodded along, flashing her card looks of unease from time to time.
Tanya still hadn't lowered her hand. Viktoriya, casting one last look down at her card, waved her off. "Oh, I can do it Tanya. I need experience with this world, after all."
Tanya squinted at the woman, but relented. She didn't want to show Tanya her card, obviously, and Tanya wouldn't begrudge her that because she totally would have looked at it.
It wasn't that Tanya didn't respect Viktoriya's privacy; it was just that the looks she had been shooting her seemed odd, and Tanya had a sneaking suspicion it had something to do with either Viktoriya's stats or the description on her card.
Tanya gave the bag the guild had given her – filled with that truth-detecting magic item, a copy of that map, as well as some shovels, for if they killed the Tranquility Princess and needed to move it – as well as her own card, and walked further in.
Tanya sat down at a table, offhandedly ordering a bit of food as she thought. Viktoriya was as patient as Tanya was, but she was probably very interested in all the secrets Tanya hadn't told her. Tanya needed to figure out how she would be wording everything.
She was going to be offloading some of her less… harrowing… baggage; that took quite a bit of mental and emotional preparation.
Just as she was about to start, however, a strangled gasp echoed from the counter. Tanya swerved around, eyes searching for Viktoriya. She was standing there, looking rather confused. From there, Tanya looked around her.
Luna was… staring… at their cards…
Uh oh. Had she found out?
Tanya jumped up, rushing over and ignoring the curious gazes that attached themselves to her and the rapidly developing scene near the counter. She hoped she could smooth this over, but they might need to leave Axel if she had looked at the cards and figured out just how many people they had killed.
"Is there a problem?" Tanya asked, staring at the cards grasped in Luna's shaking hands. Tanya gave Viktoriya's hand a quick squeeze of reassurance.
"Y- Yo- You- You killed ten Tranquility Girls?!" Luna nearly screamed, terrified. Tanya breathed a sigh of relief, and then smiled. It was just that.
"Yes. We investigated the Tranquility Princess, found her to be evil, killed her, and then moved on to some other ones. Is there a problem?" she asked.
Sounds of outrage came from behind the pair, and both turned around. Tanya finally realized that everyone was staring at them, rage, shock, and fear on their faces.
Tanya was mystified. "Were we not supposed to kill them?" she asked, turning to Luna.
She shook her head hesitantly. "We- Well… nearly every adventurer has some reservations about killing something that looks so human, and there are mitigating circumstances that most might consider…" she trailed off.
Tanya felt the stares pounding into her as she surveyed the crowd, but she didn't cave to the pressure and start apologizing. "They are monsters, they kill tons of adventurers, we get good experience and money for it, and they all had some half-decent loot buried underneath them. Why wouldn't we kill them?" she asked, looking into the crowd.
The stuff they had found underground hadn't been good, by any means – most of it had been burnt a bit or damaged from exposure to the elements – but the general store manager had taken most of it, and Tanya had dumped the rest in a trashcan, besides a small, thin knife. She wanted to put it in her glove.
Speaking of money…
She turned around to Luna. "By the way, the Tranquility Princess claimed she controlled the entire forest, so we burnt down a large portion of it. You might want to look for her roots, just in case," she said. Luna looked rather faint, and whispers broke out in the crowd.
"So cruel and heartless…"
"If she killed the Demon King, she'd probably take over from him…"
"I don't care if she's legal, that loli is dangerous…"
"She really is 'Tanya the Evil'…"
The first one wasn't objective – she was ruthless and efficient, not cruel, and the 203rd proved she had a heart somewhere in her chest. The second one seemed like it might be an interesting proposition, but those last two hurt.
Her reputation, that was; her enemies and Being X had called her worse names.
The crowd withered away, and Tanya admitted that maybe she had glared at them a little bit too much. Or a lot.
She wasn't exactly a good judge of these things; the glare she'd sent might have made some of her soldiers pause for a moment, but that lot would have required some berating before they actually cringed.
Tanya scoffed. "Besides, I only killed three of them; Viktoriya killed seven," she said pointing to Viktoriya. She waved pleasantly, and the murmuring started up again.
"I don't believe her."
"She probably got forced to do it."
"Maybe we should save her from the loli."
Twitch.
Tanya ignored their comments and rolled her eyes. She turned to the receptionist. "Luna, our compensation?"
Torn between thanking her for taking out so many menaces and alarm that someone was so blasé about killing things that resemble humans, Luna ducked into the back.
Soon enough, she brought out a copy of the durian quest, a book, and the map from earlier. "If you could, please mark this map with the locations of the ones you subjugated while I calculate your pay."
Tanya nodded, easily marking the area of each spot with a red 'x'. Then, she waited, eyeing the adventurers who were still staring at them. She scowled. She really didn't get it; why were they so mad?
Luna still seemed pretty torn, but she put the book below the counter. She then popped back up.
"In addition to the durian quest, you cleared out a number of outstanding quests put up for any Tranquility Girls. If you would sign here…" she said, holding out a number of pieces of paper. Tanya was about to sign them, when something at the bottom of one caught her eye.
She pointed out what looked to be smudged dirt to Luna, who shrugged. "These ones are probably stained from the months and years of being incomplete. We haven't always had the best places to store this stuff."
Tanya nodded, and then signed them all one by one. Luna went into the back once more, and came back out, bearing a serving tray, and, like usual, it had what was probably money on it.
But it wasn't anything Tanya had seen. She'd seen tons of copper, iron, and, and even a handful of gold Eris. But on this one, a single, shining coin sat.
Voice shaking, Luna said, "This is a Mithril Eris. It is worth… one million Eris!"
The guild quieted down, and the derisive muttering about her suddenly stopped. Tanya looked at it, and then at Luna. "Please break this up. I'm going to be spending some of it, and carrying around something so Steal-able is asking to get robbed."
That it might be made of that most despised metal was also part of it, but she wouldn't be telling anyone.
Luna nodded, bringing the tray behind the counter. Tanya turned to see the guild looking at her differently. "Well. It seems we've earned quite a bit from this endeavor," she said, rubbing her chin. She smiled, and looked up at Viktoriya.
"Why don't we go get you looking like a real adventurer? These schmucks obviously don't know a thing about being courteous to those stronger than them." She smirked, but no one moved.
Tanya raised an eyebrow. The single instance in which Tanya had seen Dust earn more than 100,000 Eris, the people who had been calling him a waste of space that morning had come back to him, begging for a couple of drinks.
It seemed that even wealth wasn't good enough for them in this instance.
Just as she was beginning to doubt whether or not they should have killed those things, Luna came back, holding a huge bag larger than Tanya's head and Luna's bust combined.
She smirked lecherously as she took the money. "Luna. Pay for everyone's next meal, and put it on my tab. I'll be back in a bit," she said, activating a bit few Reinforcement spells to support her struggling arms. She walked out, closely followed by Viktoriya.
As soon as the doors closed, shouting and laughter erupted from behind the closed doors. Viktoriya seemed a bit put off, stopping to stare at the guild, but Tanya just kept walking.
"It's a sort of tradition that people who get huge scores pay for everyone's food. Otherwise, we would have kept it. Now come on!" she said, taking off in the direction of the Tailor's shop.
Viktoriya's clothing was sort of out of place, and Tanya was looking forward to a night in an actual bed, if she let her money talk for her.
-OxOxO-
A/N 1: Finally! They meet, Wiz and Luna get some more attention, and the Tranquility Princess, which didn't show up in the LNs until 11, gets dealt with. Tanya gets yet another nickname…
Ah. In case you haven't realized from the tags – which I changed – this is also a romance. Tanya doesn't think Viktoriya could possibly be gay and be born before the 50s, or that she is interested in relationships anyway.
While people on the internet might be fairly well-versed in the history of homosexuality, Tanya was born in the eighties, in Japan. She doesn't exactly have a good gauge on the homosexuality of pre-WW2 Europe, though she will eventually realize her mistake. In twenty+ chapters.
Also, Viktoriya thinks Tanya rejected her and also isn't interested in relationships…
There will be quite a trip from here to the end, but I have to say, I'm looking forward to it.
Otherwise, as a question, how easily do you guys… picture the characters? For me, I always catch myself imagining Tanya and Viktoriya in their uniforms from the Empire, but I'm getting a bit better.
Ah well. even if you don't comment, I hope you've enjoyed. Continue onward!