Tanya smirked down at her work. Remarkably complex, the item was undoubtedly flawed in some way she couldn't anticipate herself, but it was certainly good enough to be sold.
The various gears that turned the device were fairly easy to make – they weren't anywhere as complicated as the machinery within the Type 97, and another visit to that merchant hawking gemstones had given her a point for the needle that wouldn't wear out.
The most difficult part had been figuring out how to actually make records. Asking around had led her back to Lavendula, of all people, where she'd been shown a compound called shellac that she usually used for dyeing her clothing, but that apparently had a wide variety of uses – which Tanya had just added to.
Tanya started up the machine, grimacing at the momentary drain on her mana – as this was the luxury version, it used mithril to wind up the spring instead of a hand crank.
Slowly, a voice reached her ears. "This is test number twelve of the record making and playing process. This should be the last one, with the continued improvements seen over the days before the battle with Evan. I…"
Tanya smiled. The voice reaching her ears was undeniably hers, being played through a record player. It was, compared to digital recording, or even to the recording capabilities of the Type 97, crackling and of poor quality.
It was also, importantly, something completely new that no one would have ever seen before, and even the standard version would likely bring in customers… as soon as she got around to having actual records produced.
She stood up from the desk, stretching. It was nice to take her mind off of what was coming by doing something that advanced these medieval bumpkins towards the modern age.
What was coming…
She grimaced. In addition to her need to go to Evan's castle and find someone willing to take the Demon King a letter, she also had her party to 'look forward to' in a few days. She needed to go over the manners of the nobility again with Alderp, ensure that everything was going to plan, and eliminate any possibility of Being X messing with the party to spite her.
She headed towards the exit to the former ballroom. Truthfully, this would probably end up being her least favorite birthday if she had to go through all of this for-
"Tanya!" a wonderful voice said as it burst into the room, narrowly missing smacking into Tanya as the door flew open. Viktoriya immediately apologized, but Tanya waved it off.
"Yes, Viktoriya?" she asked. Viktoriya had been… not acting weird, but she seemed to be…
Well, Tanya couldn't really put her finger on it. Still-
"Ah, I came to inform you that you don't have any more work to do," she said, grinning cheekily. Tanya raised an eyebrow, waiting for an explanation, because of course she still had work to do.
Viktoriya nodded. "Lorelei is taking care of everything now, so you have time for relaxation!"
Tanya rolled her eyes as she dodged around Viktoriya. "As nice a sentiment as it is, I don't think that making Lorelei finish everything up is-"
"Then… you don't want to see what I have planned?" she asked, suddenly sullen.
Tanya scowled – both at her friend's unhappiness and the interruption of her sentence. "Of course I-"
"Great! It's… well, the 203rd never did get to throw you that party we wanted to, I decided you're getting four days of nothing but relaxation and partying!" she declared. Tanya sent her an amused look, shaking her head amusedly…
Well… would it really hurt? She trusted Lorelei to handle things, and, if nothing else, she could always sneak in a bit of work closer to when she went to bed.
Besides, Viktoriya must have spent plenty of time on it already. Wasting her friend's time without a better excuse than wanting to triple check preparations that were most likely fine would be rude.
Tanya smiled. "Fine, then," she said, setting aside the tools she had been using to-
Viktoriya's eyes widened. "You finally got it finished?" she exclaimed. "I wonder if we could get some songs from back home on here…"
Tanya raised an eyebrow. "Unless you remember the lyrics well enough, I doubt it," she muttered, wondering. Did she have any songs she would want to hear…
She sighed. No, after sixteen years, she couldn't honestly say she could clearly remember the words to any songs from her first world.
With that last thought, she took Viktoriya's hand and ignored her sputtering as she too rose out of her thoughts. "I've got something we could do first, if you don't mind?" she asked.
Viktoriya calmed her sputtering and nodded mutely, hoping her hands wouldn't be too clammy as her mind filled with thoughts of what they'd be doing over the next few days
-OxOxO-
Tanya studiously ignored the stink eye that Viktoriya had been laying on her since she'd realized where they were going. But, really, she should have clarified where exactly they were going if she wanted to make sure Tanya wasn't finishing up her work.
Viktoriya, for her part, knew that finishing up work before they got to having fun would mean Tanya wasn't distracted and could focus on doing just that, but that didn't mean she'd let Tanya forget that this was supposed to be a time to celebrate getting through the war and growing up.
Tanya surveyed the building. It looked… like a mix between a fairly run-of-the-mill house in Axel and a factory from her old world, in that it had the size of a warehouse and the amenities of a normal house – a small garden running along the length of the building, a roof shingled with ceramic tiles, and homey windows and doors.
Tanya knocked on the front door. While she was mostly completely uninvolved with the Mithril Foundation – the Succubi still owned and managed it, even if they had hired humans to help them pick up the pace with the rise of Axel's adventurers' wealth and the demand at Wiz's shop – she always wanted to check on how the ideas she provided were being implemented.
It opened quickly, and Tanya had to look down to meet the eyes of the person she was talking to – extraordinary. "Hello. We're here to drop off another invention?" Tanya said.
The person – Max Litet, the Succubi had claimed – nodded quickly, grinning widely. "Yes! I've been…"
He cleared his throat, looking at a point above Tanya's head. "Er… I mean, right this way. I'll show you around a bit, too, as a treat!"
Tanya nodded and made sure that her illusion did the same. Of course, the Governor couldn't be seen here. If anyone learned that the Succubi ran the place, and that Tanya helped them do it occasionally, the Princess would likely be very cross. So, she and Viktoriya had pulled out some nondescript illusions of 30ish gentlewomen wearing nondescript clothing.
While the people working here wouldn't know who exactly had come to visit, their apparent blandness would stick in their memory, ensuring neither Tanya nor Viktoriya were investigated.
Speaking of the workers, after being led through the reception area, where a Succubus Tanya vaguely recognized was working on paperwork, the manager brought them into the back, where…
Tanya grinned. It truly did resemble a modern assembly line. Or, rather, several assembly lines.
The things that she had constructed – lighters, tampons, safety matches, and backpacks – were going down the lines, being put together by the workers, who looked, if not enthused by their work, at least content to speak with each other while doing the monotonous labor.
The area was being illuminated by windows on the ceiling that Tanya hadn't noticed, but she could also see that there were lights throughout the place to illuminate it after dark, if needed.
Elsewhere, others were participating in other tasks necessary for later work – she saw someone cooking the food for the Ready-to-Eat-Meals, while another area was dedicated to the clockwork that would go into the watches.
Tanya looked at Viktoriya and nodded, and she stepped forward, handing the record player over to the very short…
Tanya couldn't get past it. He was just a kid, wasn't he?
He took the thing into his hands, turning it over. "What does it-"
Tanya cut him off by taking it from his hands brusquely, setting it down on the table with the clockwork on it, and opening up a satchel she had been carrying. She withdrew another record, and the sound of Lorelei asking him if he was having a good day and if he liked the record player.
Max's eyes widened. "What sort of…"
Tanya shook her head. "You should know by now, this doesn't use magic… or, it doesn't have to. This is the luxury version that uses mithril to spool up the spring inside, but a cheaper hand-cranked version also has been designed."
The boy licked his lips and wrung his hands, apparently eager to disassemble it. Tanya set the plans for the luxury and the cheaper model down next to it for him to look over. "You wouldn't happen to know who comes up with all this stuff, do you?" he asked.
Tanya shook her head. "I'm afraid not. Why?"
He sighed. "The array of things that the creator has made… it's like he's still here."
Tanya raised an eyebrow. "He?"
The boy nodded. "Yes. Once, long ago, before Norse collapsed into the squabbling fiefdoms it is now, there existed a man whose name has been lost to time. He was able to create things of unimaginable power and used the power to enrich Norse before his mysterious end. My family studied what remained of his work, but…"
He shrugged. "We've never been able to get anywhere, so I decided to do something more worthwhile with my talent… so I came to Belzerg to make a living!"
Tanya raised an eyebrow as he muttered about marauding golems not helping the situation. While somewhat intriguing, she still wasn't sure exactly how a child had been able to ascend to managing this place…
But she wasn't here to run things for the Succubi. If they thought he was right for the job, who was she to judge? They could read minds – or, dreams – after all.
He shook his head at her raised eyebrow. "Ah, right. My apologies for rambling. Um… if you wouldn't mind, could you tell our mutual employer that I need more workers? We're running low…"
Tanya raised an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you just raise your wages?"
He shook his head. "With all the business in the city and the demand for adventurers, I can't increase their pay much more…"
Tanya raised an eyebrow at that – the Succubi certainly weren't strapped for cash with all the extra patrons, but…
"You said you're from Norse, right? Why not just bring in your countrymen? Or try to get people on the frontline here – I'm sure they'd prefer factory work to living on the edge of safety."
He opened his mouth, the bitter look in his eyes speaking of a rebuttal before he spoke, but then he seemed to actually think about what she had said.
He grinned. "What a wonderful idea! Thank you very much. I'll be sure to pass along your advice to our superiors!"
Tanya heard Viktoriya clear her throat behind her, and Tanya sighed. "Yes, well, we have some other business to attend to. We'll be taking our leave now," she said to his turned back – he seemed to be thoroughly engrossed with tinkering with the record player now.
Viktoriya sent her a pointed look, saying, "Tanya, no more work. Alright?"
Tanya nodded absently. "Of course. Now, what did you have planned for today?" she asked. Viktoriya smiled sweetly, and grabbed her hand as the turned a corner away from the Mithril Foundation's manufacturing building and let their illusions fade away.
-OxOxO-
Tanya blinked in surprise. Although she could have thought of a few things about the scene laid out before her – it was rather early for lunch, this place didn't have her best memories of her time here, they could have gone outside of the city for a much better view – that wasn't what she thought of first.
In fact, she blurted out what she thought the moment she had seen it. "A Bento? Viktoriya, how…"
The woman smiled coyly. "I talked to Akashi and the others. I want this to be the best birthday we could have possibly given you, and after finding out about… everything, I want it to be even better than that!" she said with a smile.
Tanya could only blink owlishly at the picnic she had set up. Inside of a traditional basket, she'd brought out a checkered tablecloth and set two bento boxes on top of it, along with the prototypes for thermoses that Tanya had been designing. Opening the Bento revealed-
Tanya hadn't thought it would be possible, but her eyes widened even further and her jaw dropped again. The smell…
Well, calling it divine would probably sound like an insult coming from her, so…
"Visha, this smells devilishly delicious," she said, praising her former adjutant as she surveyed their lunch. Some of the usual fare was there, of course: rice – which was even more work intensive to cultivate in this place where raw food came to life – as well as some salmon that Visha claimed had been harvested from the fields only that morning.
However, there were a few notable additions. A pear – that Tanya skewered before it could get away – tasted delicious, and-
Her eyes snapped open as memories flooded back to her. The thermos hadn't been holding coffee like she'd assumed, but…
She smiled genuinely at Visha. "Is this… celery root soup? I don't have a cold, you know," she said, admonishing her jokingly.
Visha preened. "I know, but you seemed to like it so much last time that I simply couldn't help myself."
Tanya ate in silence for a moment until a thought graced her tranquil mind. "Hmm… would… you like to teach me a few recipes?"
Viktoriya's eyes widened in surprise, and then she smiled once more. "I'd love to, Tanya! It's always been nice to cook, and…"
Her face dimmed for a moment, and at Tanya's inquiring look, she sighed. "I just… I miss Elya. It's been so long, I just… hope she's doing alright."
Tanya nodded sympathetically. She missed their friends from her second life as well. She hoped that Weiss was putting her notes to good use – if nothing else, perhaps he had managed to get a desk behind the front lines that she had always wanted, even if there were no longer any lines to be behind.
As Tanya enjoyed her lunch peacefully, Viktoriya couldn't help but feel anxious. Would Tanya realize how much this scene looked like a date?
They were having a picnic together, alone, at a quiet spot that overlooked the river that ran through Axel. It could, of course, be interpreted as nothing more than a friendly outing, and Tanya would view everything in the context of her upcoming birthday and the 203rd's promise, but…
Suddenly, Tanya's peaceful rumination was pierced by an ugly look, and Viktoriya asked about it.
She blinked, and then she sighed angrily. "Just… thoughts about our friends. Our past. About… Being X and-"
Tanya found her thought cut off – apparently, Viktoriya recognized the look on her face. "Hey. We… or, I can't really speak for the others, but they wouldn't blame you either. You've done the best with your circumstances that you can. I'll follow you anywhere, even against that smug bastard!" she declared.
Tanya blinked widely, setting her thermos full of soup down for a moment. "Really? Even though he claims to be god?"
Viktoriya didn't hesitate to nod. "Of course. If he started the war for the sole reason of getting faith, then he isn't god, obviously."
Tanya raised an eyebrow. "Then where, exactly, is the real god?" she asked. Mostly, it was out of curiosity. She hadn't discussed religion much with her troops beyond the odd speech about what they'd do to him for the pain they went through – while the Empire had become closer to an ideal meritocracy in regards to gender and race, it hadn't done anything about what few religious barriers existed.
That question stumped her, for a moment… until she just sighed. "Well, he's not really supposed to interfere much, is he? Besides, if Aqua somehow ended up as Eris's superior, then things up there are obviously more complicated than we know."
Tanya… just shook her head. If Viktoriya hadn't lost faith after eight years of hellish war, there probably wasn't anything that would sway her faith.
Besides, what would Tanya gain from that? Viktoriya would already be with her through thick and thin. She'd let this matter lie… and enjoy her lunch instead.
-OxOxO-
After their lunch, they walked along the river, chatting, enjoying the cool breeze, and watched as the fruits of the river were fished out along some docks. They went home, enjoyed an earlier dinner with Lorelei – who seemed… oddly smug and conspicuously worn out about something she just wouldn't talk about – before heading out to their evening entertainment.
As Tanya stared down the latest game of 'Ett!' – a card game played with brightly colored hanafuda cards where you had to get rid of all of your cards – she wondered how, exactly, she had managed to win so much so far.
Honestly, while Viktoriya was making a good showing by coming second or third, Tanya had managed to eke out a win several times.
Tanya wasn't upset, per se; it actually felt pretty good to finally win a few games against Viktoriya, along with getting some extra cash from all the other chumps around them, but just how she was doing that was a mystery to her…
She blinked rapidly, looking slowly towards her right. Viktoriya was engrossed in her cards, staring at them intently…
Tanya thought back over the night… had Viktoriya… been intentionally letting Tanya win? While also keeping the other two players from winning?
Every time one of them was close to victory, she'd launch a flood of '+3' and '+5' cards against them, easily working in tandem with whatever attempts Tanya made to shift the flow of the game to punish the other two players.
Tanya squinted at Viktoriya, whose interest in her cards now seemed to be an attempt to hide behind her cards. Tanya just shook her head and smiled. It was a nice sentiment, to let her have a few wins ahead of her birthday-
"Plus five."
Tanya blinked again, picked up her cards silently, and sent her most putrid glare at the cards hiding Viktoriya's smirking face from Tanya's wrath. Oh, she'd lured Tanya into a false sense of security, had she? Well, Tanya would prove-
She didn't manage to win a single game after that. Viktoriya thanked her for helping to destroy the confidence of the other two players, and Tanya nodded along.
"Hey! Just think of what I did as a… gift," Viktoriya said when Tanya complained – perhaps not in the safety of her mind – about treacherous trojan horses.
Tanya glowered… for a moment. Who was she kidding? Winning a few games was nice, but luring not only the other two players – who were undoubtedly more adept at the game than Tanya was – but herself into such a false sense of security to bet more and more of her winnings and then expertly winning everything?
She was so proud, it was actually a little painful.
-OxOxO-
Tanya breathed in deeply. The air, the sun, the wind, the clouds…
She sighed. Blissful. She hadn't ever had much time to simply fly through the air, untroubled by thoughts of the war and getting shot at, and while she still had troubles now, they were so small by comparison that they didn't really matter.
It was just her, the Type 97, the open air…
"Wahoo!"
And Viktoriya, of course.
Tanya grinned and raced down. After travelling out to the castle once owned by Verdia and then Evan, they'd taken to the air and were now enjoying what flight could do when not being utilized for war.
Of course, considering how they had used it before…
It was warranted that, after they enjoyed the air and the feeling of the fun and flying… they do something to get their adrenaline pumping, right?
Tanya sped towards the ground, quickly gaining on Viktoriya. Though Viktoriya had more mass to speed up, Tanya had a smaller profile for wind resistance. They sped towards the ground, speeding closer and closer and closer and-
Tanya watched as Viktoriya pulled up. She almost laughed – she could get a lot closer than fifty feet!
So she did, forty, thirty,twenty,fifteentenfive-
She pushed all of her momentum perpendicular to her flight path, speeding next to the ground in an instant. She brushed her hand against the tree tops – after reinforcing it so she didn't get it sheared off, of course – and spun upwards, screaming in delight.
She spun around- and saw Viktoriya was looking at her, giggling.
Tanya felt herself blush – blush! Of all things to do… – and she covered her mouth and coughed roughly. "Well… I think the Type 97 is still working perfectly-"
Viktoriya's giggling broke out into laughter, and Tanya followed her. What a rush!
…Speeding towards the ground was, of course. Nothing else.
Definitely.
As they wound down, Tanya said, "We haven't relaxed in the air like this since… what, the Tranquility Queen, right?"
As Viktoriya reacted to what she'd said, Tanya immediately went on guard, because the way Viktoriya was nodding was… it was that disconcerting tilt of her head, and that very knowing look in her eyes and on her face that said 'I know what you've done.'
"Yes… do you remember how closely you held me-"
"I apologize. I definitely shouldn't have done something like that while we were on a job- and I shouldn't have ever taken advantage of my situation-"
"Tanya!" Viktoriya cut her off, and she blinked. Viktoriya's smile was now much more… enigmatic. "It's fine."
Tanya nodded to herself. Ah, well, if it was okay, then-
Tanya blinked. Wait. She was… okay with being held close enough that Tanya could feel every inch of her?
Tanya didn't say or do anything for the next few seconds as her face became as red as some other red object that is, in general, much more red than a person's face usually is that can be used for comparison, such as a stop sign, a ripe tomato, or paint.
Eventually, she shook her head. No, Viktoriya just meant that, since it was in the past, it was water under the bridge.
Of course. With a sigh, Tanya dismissed that old, errant thought about her and Viktoriya and turned her attention to the woman in question-
Who looked to be on the verge of bursting out laughing again. Rather than grumble about it ineffectually, though, she just smirked. "First one back to the mansion gets to decide on the rest of today's activities!"
She was gone in an instant. She'd let Viktoriya win, of course – she'd promised not to do any work since it was her birthday and Viktoriya wanted to treat her – but maybe this would get her to stop giving her that damn look?
-OxOxO-
Tanya nodded appreciatively. "This is excellent work, Lorelei."
She nodded. "You expected something less?"
"Well, considering you aren't even an actual Tailor anymore, of course I-"
"Finish that thought and I'll shred what you're wearing and you can wear the scraps to your party."
That didn't really appeal to her, so she kept her mouth shut and instead just studied herself. It was, in all honesty, a pretty good suit. In fact, for how long this had been taking, Tanya had thought it would be much more…
She wasn't sure, but-
"And you haven't even seen the built-in functionality!"
Tanya raised an eyebrow. "'Built-in functionality?' What kind," she asked, curious. Lorelei smirked and began to gesture towards Tanya's clothing.
"You've got a few pockets all over your body – insider the coat, pants, shirt, and even in the tie – with room for those grenades and explosive knives, an extra two pockets for either pistols or grenades, and I've even managed to concoct a way to tie your tie so that your Computation Jewel looks like just a piece of jewelry. Plus, the gems in the cuff links and buttons are actually small chunks of manatite!"
Tanya raised her eyebrows. That… was a lot. Not that she didn't appreciate it, of course.
But… were a few pockets really what had taken so much time?
Lorelei looked affronted by the question. "It took me, like, a week to finish this up. No, Viktoriya has taken much more time," she said, strutting towards the other end of the former reception room that she had been doing her work in.
As Tanya raised an eyebrow, Lorelei ducked behind the curtain. "No peeking! Isn't it bad luck if you see her in her dress?" she asked as she disappeared, only to be replaced by quiet muttering, exclamations of pride, and general sentiments of a job well done.
Tanya, on the other hand, was left with confusion. 'Not supposed to see her in her dress?'
What…
Tanya's brows furrowed. Well, as nice as that thought was, she wasn't marrying Viktoriya, so such concerns didn't matter… though, considering her tone, Lorelei obviously didn't think so…
Hmm…
Marrying Viktoriya-
With a shake of her head, she responded to the – obvious – joke. "Very funny, Lorelei. Let me-"
As she reached out for the curtain, Viktoriya, once again suited in her regular clothing, threw it aside herself as she swept towards the exit. "Hurry up, Tanya! We've got dinner to get to- it's apparently pretty hard to get reservations, and we're lucky the owner likes what you've done without even meeting you!"
With a stare at Viktoriya's backside, Tanya sighed. She followed Viktoriya out of the door, thinking about what had been happening. Why all the secrecy? It wasn't like there was some reason to keep it hidden… right?
As she prepared to get undressed again, she thought about it… well, she trusted that it wasn't something outrageously over the top – Viktoriya wouldn't debase herself, and neither of them wanted to tarnish their collective reputation…
As she pulled her shirt over her head, she sighed exasperatedly. Then, if it wasn't so over the top that Tanya would never let her wear it… did they want her first reaction to be during the party…?
With a sigh, Tanya pulled on her mantle and dropped the matter. Regardless of why they were keeping it a secret, and despite the gnawing feeling in her stomach ordering her to figure it out before it bit her in the ass, she dropped it. She trusted them, and if they had a reason to not let her see it – even if it was for something as simple as their own amusement…
Why not indulge them? What was…
She cut that thought off. She wouldn't finish that thought and give the universe and/or Being X and/or Eris a chance to get a sucker punch in – if they even need a chance given in such a roundabout way.
She left the room, hurrying to catch up with Viktoriya, wondering where-
-OxOxO-
"Isn't it wonderful, Tanya? Do you recognize it?"
'Did she recognize it?'
That was undoubtedly the stupidest goddamn question Viktoriya had ever asked. Of fucking course she recognized it, how couldn't Tanya recognize those iconic double arches?
No, what she wanted to know was why the hell Mc- or, rather MacDonalds was here.
"Er… Viktoriya? Do you… know what MacDonalds is?"
The woman blinked. "Well… Mitsurugi told me it was one of the most prestigious eateries in all of Belzerg… that Reincarnates spread knowledge of it to new arrivals, and that you have to prove you've done something heroic – or, if you aren't an adventurer, something good – in the past month in order to enter the first time, and then you get a card."
Tanya nodded slowly. Yes, that was all in line with what she knew of the restaurant in her first life-
NOT! What the hell?!
As Viktoriya flashed her card at the bouncer in the front – he wasn't dressed like a clown, at least – Tanya came to the obvious conclusion that someone had ripped off the brand and food of the chain and done the smart thing by becoming an entrepreneur instead of trying to fight the Demon King…
Besides, she could vaguely recall from watching the occasional anime out of mild fascination and seeing rip-offs of the same brand in them. Considering the insanity of this world, 'why not here?' had probably been someone's thought process.
As they were ushered inside and brought to one of the best seats in the house – it had a view of the entire restaurant and the varied people inside, nobles and a few merchants included – Tanya marveled at the opulence.
Despite being relatively small, it seemed like an outstandingly pricey place – ornamental white curtains and black carpets bathed the place in softness, while music from the band helped to distract those waiting for their food that found their conversational partners bland – which, again, shouldn't have been related, at all, to a MacDonalds.
"Tanya? What's wrong?" she asked. Tanya shook her head. "It's… well, in my world, McDonalds was not nearly so classy. It served fast food, and while some of them might have been clean, none of them ever looked this nice…"
"Really?" she asked, and Tanya nodded. Just as she was about to continue to explain – the chandelier made of crystalline versions of the logo, while impressive, was just one of the many things that looked completely bizarre – they were approached.
"Lady Degurechaff, Lady Serebryakov, thank you both so much for choosing to dine here today," said a well-dressed man. Viktoriya talked to him quickly – he was the owner, apparently, and he had spoken to Viktoriya during her last visit with Mitsurugi.
"As requested, we've brought some appetizers before the main course of your choice," he said, gesturing towards…
Tanya's protests about not getting to choose her own appetizer died immediately. Instead of words, she felt a slight bit of saliva begin to trail from the corner of her mouth as she gazed upon the chocolate in front of her.
Chocolate for an appetizer? She'd never had dreamed of doing something like that, but obviously Viktoriya's intellect was far superior, for her to imagine something like this.
The owner cleared his throat, and they quickly gave him their orders. He bowed his head. "Then, I will leave you two to your date. Have a lovely evening!" he said, backing away quickly.
Tanya shot him a questioning look, but he didn't see it, so she simply shook her head. "A date? As if!" she said to herself. What a ridiculous thought…
"Ah, yes. How odd," Viktoriya said.
Just as Tanya was about to question why Viktoriya sounded so… insincere, she found her attention grabbed by the chocolate.
As she ate, though… she wondered why he had thought that. It was, apparently, common knowledge that her birthday was in a few days – the nobles thought that everyone should know, for some reason – so how didn't he know that Viktoriya was obviously treating her?
She was able to ask him herself why he thought that. He seemed surprised. "Why… because it is obvious, is it not?"
Tanya sputtered. "Of- of course not! Viktoriya is simply treating me to a few days of relaxation before my party!"
"Yes, of course," Viktoriya said, speaking again with an utterly calm, stiff tone.
He cleared his throat and bowed low. "My apologies then, Governess. I had assumed with… well, that you two, considering the… well, that you were Axis Cultists-"
And before Tanya could even process that thought completely – again? Why had she been asked if she was part of that cult again – Viktoriya asked him a question. "Why? My apologies, but we don't have an Axis Cult where we hail from."
He blinked at them and then bowed low once more. "My most sincere apologies! A place without Axis cultists… is that… Heaven…? Ah, nevermind. Being referred to as an… 'Axis Cultist' is because of their recruiting… policies."
Both of them shot him quizzical looks, and he continued. "Well, they accept anyone into their creche, so their propensity to recruit from people that the Eris Cult rejects is higher, including those that feel love towards those of the same sex."
Tanya's rage condensed into bewilderment as the flame stoking her ire was removed with his explanation, leaving her with only one word:
What?
But… Cecily! She was-
"Yes, with the Eris Cult being so much more… better , they are left to pick up the scraps and the odd group that depends more on water than luck, like farmers and sailors. They go after the ostracized… besides Demons and Monsters, of course," he continued, unaware of the nuclear meltdown in Tanya's head.
Said meltdown was, of course, because she was flashing back to every time she'd been called an Axis Cultist.
Luna, way back at the beginning of her life here…
Lorelei, when they had been travelling to Elroad…
Aya, just a few weeks ago, before the Monster Rush…
Furtively, she glanced at Viktoriya-
Who is also beet red, though, oddly, she doesn't seem to be… embarrassed, exactly. Or, not about what he had revealed, judging by the far off look in her eyes…
Tanya shook her head, trying to rationalize Aqua's insane religion. How… how did that work? If her religion was made up of people who were looked down on, how hadn't the entire thing been obliterated by the rest of society?
People weren't rational! They didn't like people who weren't similar to them!
And, more than that, what was Aqua's plan? How could she have possibly come to the conclusion that collecting pedophiles was a good way to spread her religion and usurp influence from Eris?
Or, had she survived because she had a deal with Eris? She couldn't imagine-
"Thank you again, Mr. Burren, for allowing us to eat here. I'm sure we'll pay you a visit again soon," Viktoriya said, guiding Tanya away from the exit and towards home. While she had initially flinched at Viktoriya's touch, their hands were now intertwined…
She sighed happily, and Tanya took notice, for a moment, before trying to wrap her head around something as completely insane as…
Well, considering it was Aqua, perhaps she didn't have a plan?
But…
She groaned. Maybe, one day, when Tanya was closer to Aqua – or, more likely, she had her over a barrel – she'd ask. For now, she wanted to go home, crash-
A drop of water hit her head, and she shivered. Yes, getting home and out of this weather would be a good idea…
-OxOxO-
Tanya felt her face growing more red by the second, and it wasn't from the fire.
When the three of them had woken up, they had discovered it had snowed heavily through the night. While the magical capabilities of this world, along with Alderp's own experience, meant that the mansion had some semblance of central heating, it was obviously much warmer by the fire.
Of course, when Tanya had snagged the closest spot, her expectations had been subverted – an oddly common occurrence in the past few days – as, instead of arguing with her about who got to sit closer, the other two had simply shared a conniving smirk.
Tanya had quickly figured out that meant that Viktoriya brought the duvet off of her bed for the two of them to snuggle under.
Closely.
Really. Closely.
Tanya wanted to complain – this was awfully close, and at least somewhat inappropriate, and was Viktoriya… snuggling her shoulder?! – or at least ask a question…
But, it, well… it was quite, hmm, nice to be so close to Viktoriya. And, since she had initiated the contact, didn't that mean she approved?
Obviously, the answer was yes, which only meant that Tanya had the final say on whether this was okay or not, and while Tanya did immensely enjoy the sensation of being snuggled up with her friend – and she wasn't anything other than that, no matter how much Tanya wanted to be different… or how, um… arbitrarily misleading the past few days had been.
After a few minutes, a faint giggle from their teammate revealed to her a way to test… well, she wasn't sure what it was testing, but she was sure that it would keep her mind off of how nice Viktoriya's hair smelled – it was some sort of herbal smell or something – or how nice it felt to have her lean against Tanya-
"Ah! Uh, Lorelei! You must be cold, why don't you join us?" she asked, making sure to keep her eyes trained on the fire roaring in front of them.
"Eh? No, I'm fine over here," she claimed. Tanya scowled and turned – was that a sign that she wasn't as comfortable around them, or that her preferences were-
She blinked in shock. Lorelei looked…
Well, suffice it to say, it seemed her winter coat had come in in the ten minutes Tanya had been focused on the person next to her. Her face and hands were covered in fur that hadn't previously been there, obscuring most of her skin besides her palms.
Lorelei raised an eyebrow, and Tanya shrugged. "I didn't know you could do that."
Viktoriya raised her head from Tanya's shoulder, only to blink rapidly, bewildered, as she too saw Lorelei – this wasn't part of the smirk they had shared earlier, obviously – and Tanya gave the side of Viktoriya's head a smirk of her own.
Well, if it was some sort of elaborate prank of Lorelei's, to use Viktoriya to make her uncomfortable and watch from the sidelines and giggle…
She rested her head on Viktoriya's shoulder. That'd show them! She was absolutely sure Viktoriya would sputter and flinch away, because they really were very close together.
She felt Viktoriya tense up, and Lorelei began to giggle – undoubtedly, Viktoriya face was humorous – but, slowly, Viktoriya untensed, and-
Ah.
Well, Viktoriya's head was now resting on top of Tanya's head.
This was…
Tanya felt her face heating up again. Where… was all this coming from?! Had she said something that had lowered Viktoriya's barriers to getting close to her? Was there something she didn't remember agreeing to a few years ago, when her friends had promised to go all out for her party after the war?
…Hmm, Viktoriya's hair was much more silky than Tanya's, though her hands – holding up some of her weight – were still just as calloused and rough as Tanya's own…
Still, she didn't move away. If Viktoriya felt comfortable doing this, then she obviously thought that Tanya thought it was appropriate for them to do it – she wouldn't do it without asking first, of course…
She fought the urge to nod and disrupt the scene. Yes, that was a wonderful justification…
…Ah, the warmth of Viktoriya was much more comforting than either the duvet or the fire roaring in front of them…
It took her five more minutes to realize what she'd just thought. A justification? For…
Somehow, her face heated up more, redder than the garb of that stupid Crimson Demon. Well, yes, it was true that she did, indeed, like this position, but did that really make her reasoning a justification instead of the true reason?
Well, that probably depended on how much she was letting the comfort of this position compromise her thought patterns…
…Was Viktoriya humming a song? It was very… soothing…
Tanya drifted off noiselessly, too comfortable to continue her train of thought and consciousness. Viktoriya, too, found herself drifting off.
Lorelei, by contrast, was once again gathering photos. She was sure Viktoriya – and, in but a few days, Tanya too – would appreciate the gesture.
Lorelei sighed. As much as she would love to sleep for the rest of the day, the instincts she had inherited from that rabbit were telling her to find food.
She grumbled. This wasn't her first time suffering through having heightened senses and an increase in hunger – despite the fact that she didn't need much more while inside a building – and it would undoubtedly not be her last. Still, though…
She smiled softly. Despite how much she despised having to be a Monsume, the more sensitive hearing did allow her an advantage in this case: she could tell that the two of them were asleep from their heartbeats, which meant…
She picked up a bag Viktoriya had given her last night after staying up when Tanya had gone to sleep. If Tanya was ever going to realize it without having it spelled out to her, it would be through this.
With that thought, she left, heading for the Mithril Foundation's Factory with a note provided to her by the Succubi through Viktoriya.
-OxOxO-
Tanya was thankful that Viktoriya didn't mention that they'd been snuggling for who knows how long, because she really might have had to hurt the girl if she had.
Regardless, when they went out again, it was dressed in their warmer clothing – which wasn't quite enough clothing to keep them warm. Luckily, a Napalm spell – provided with just the barest hint of mana – and a stick from one of the many trees surrounding Alderp's mansion provided them with an ample source of heat as they walked through the streets of Axel.
The snow that littered the streets was slowly being cleared up – along the main streets, anyway – by adventurers. The lucky ones had Mages who could use spells to move or destroy the snow.
The unlucky ones had that most glorious tool of the trenches: shovels.
As they looked up at the building Viktoriya had told her would be a 'surprise,' Tanya could confidently say that she was surprised.
Not in a good way, either.
A sign hung above the broad door to the place, hanging out so it could be seen by people walking along. The sign was a muted shade of yellow, and the image above the name of the establishment looked to be a stylized humanoid form with butterfly-like wings.
The words 'The Blonde Pixie' were under the image cut from wood, and Tanya sighed. Still, if Viktoriya expected her to be annoyed…
"Why, I didn't realize you were letting me get more work done, Viktoriya. I've been meaning to talk to Bill about how work has been going. Thanks!" she said, voice so full of false sweetness it would taste like lemons dipped in hot sauce.
Indeed, Viktoriya's expression – or, the barest flicker of it Tanya caught – looked like she had indeed just sucked on a lemon.
Tanya did, after talking to Bill – whose business was flourishing thanks to the Dragon that had stopped by a few days ago and adored his drinks and who couldn't stop thanking her – acquiesce to allowing Viktoriya take the lead.
She now stepped up to Bill. "Wine for Tanya, a… Degurenbrew for me."
If Tanya had been drinking, she would have assuredly spit her drink all over Bill. "Deguren-what?" she asked, appalled, her refusal of the wine – she was not getting drunk again! Absolutely-
Bill blinked, and then he winked. "Yep! I wasn't exactly sure what to call it after you told me to come up with something 'local sounding,' as you put it, but I came up with this!"
She looked down at the ground. "If I'd known you'd call it that, I'd have told you what it was called."
She hadn't muttered that quiet enough, as he burst out laughing and, after Viktoriya asked a question Tanya didn't hear, pointed them towards a door towards the left of the room-
Oh, yes, the room. She'd been praised by everyone in the bar for coming up with 'this wonderful alcohol!' The room had expanded greatly – Bill had apparently gotten enough money to expand into the building next door after all. People were in great spirits, singing songs she didn't know the words to and being merry – except for Dust, who was staring dreamily into the corner.
And then Viktoriya opened the door, and Tanya had to take a second to reorient herself. This…
This was a karaoke box, wasn't it? There the couch that wound around the room was a marron, while the pillows and walls were navy blue. There was what looked to be a TV built into the wall, even, and in the middle of the table…
She blinked. "A record player?" she asked, surprised. Viktoriya nodded. "Takashi and the other two helped me figure out what would be a good reminder of Japan that we could do on a night like this… and we came up with this!" she said.
Tanya felt touched. "Viktoriya, this is too much! I know what you all promised, but-"
"Nothing I could do could pay back what you've done for me. I'd be dead-"
"And I'd be dead if it weren't for you, so there's no need to count things like that…"
Tanya sent Viktoriya a look that was suspicious, of course, but not in the way that had once terrified her subordinates. Instead, it had a playful inquisitiveness that it hadn't had before.
Or, at least, she hoped so; otherwise, Viktoriya's reaction to a face that had terrified hundreds was very concerning.
Regardless, Viktoriya looked slightly guilty, but, more than that, she looked happy. It was nice to see, but it didn't answer her question-
And before she got an answer, a knock sounded on their door. Viktoriya opened it quickly and took the bottles and gave a thank you. Viktoriya grabbed glasses from under the table, and before Tanya could say she didn't want any, she had a glass in her hand.
She glanced down apprehensively, but Viktoriya wiped away her worries. "Tanya, the door is locked. You won't be able to do anything that might 'mess things up'..."
She said something after that, about the other times she had been drunk, and Tanya narrowed her eyes. She waited a moment for Viktoriya to take a sip of the Vodka. "Oh? Like that picture of me in your locket?" she asked conversationally.
As Viktoriya stymied her coughing, Tanya took a sip of her wine. "How could you take a picture of me like that, when I was defenseless?" she asked, emboldened by the alcohol. She really was a lightweight…
Viktoriya did nothing but stew in her embarrassment for a moment, and Tanya basked… until she was distracted by the black, blank slate that sat behind Viktoriya's head. "You know, props to you for the attention to detail, but putting something in here that looks like a TV when we couldn't have anything like that is superfluous."
Viktoriya, obviously thankful for Tanya directing the conversation elsewhere, stood up and motioned for Tanya to move over. She did, sipping on her wine with curiosity shining on her face, wondering-
Her eyes widened as Viktoriya's Type 97 burst to life, flinging light out of it onto the slate, and showing her…
Well, it was a blank scene, but she could see some Japanese characters lit up on the bottom-
Wait… she recognized those letters.
No…
It wasn't…
She looked down at the record player expectantly. It couldn't possibly be-
As it began – and the image began to move on the board in front of her – she felt something watery building up in her eyes as she remembered her first childhood.
"No way… how did you…" she trailed off, wondering. Viktoriya paused the images as she hung the Type 97 on a hook opposite of the fake TV, and the woman grinned. "Oh, like I said: I worked with Takashi and the others."
Tanya couldn't even get slightly annoyed about the fact that Takashi had a copy of her memories. "But… he couldn't create the images! Did you…?"
Viktoriya nodded. "It took some doing, and Shizuka had to provide a few reference drawings, but I managed to recreate them with illusions!"
With that, Tanya sat down… but then, after knocking back the rest of her glass, she shot up again, gripping Viktoriya's hand. "Let's do it together!"
Visha blushed momentarily, but she nodded slowly, and the images – straight out of Tanya's teenage years – began to roll again.
Of course, considering this was a karaoke box…
"I want to be, the very best, like no one ever was-"
They were singing together, and if Tanya hadn't been drunk – and getting drunker, thanks to the bottles of wine and beer under the table – she would have judged Viktoriya's Japanese as 'barely understandable.'
Of course, Tanya was drunk, so Visha's singing sounded beautiful – and it wasn't like Tanya's drunk sloshing sounded any better, right?
They continued on, singing a few more songs that Viktoriya had managed to find with Takashi – including some that he liked – along with, for old times sake, the anthem of the Empire.
As they stumbled out of the bar at some unthinkable hour, Tanya felt herself crying, just a little bit. "Thes is the besht! You're tha besht, Visha. I'll never be able to make it up to you…"
Viktoriya was equally drunk, so she wasn't actually able to grab another picture like she'd wanted to, but she was feeling bold enough to sweep Tanya off her feet and press her into her bosom.
She smiled like a loon the whole way back, even if Tanya had gotten pretty quiet. She…
Oh, who cared if she waited until her birthday? She'd tell her tomorrow! It would have to be grandiose – Tanya wouldn't notice it if it weren't, or that stupid Being X would mess it up.
She'd do it, though! No matter what!
-OxOxO-
Eris groaned. Everything… it was all sore and aching. But, she had to keep going with what He had said.
He'd made it clear that he needed her to get more Divine Relics so they could be put to use or turned back into mana for The Anniversary. After the initial burst of them she'd acquired from Degurechaff's horrid work, she hadn't been able to get close to many others – the implosion of Alderp's house of cards, along with causing a spike in violent crimes between various groups and nobles trying to fill the vacuum, had meant nobles were being extra careful, regardless of where they were.
She needed to go down, though. With Degurechaff's birthday, the nobles had to leave their properties.
Resisting the urge to trace the line on her face she'd wear proudly as Chris – brushing up against anything sent spasms of pain through her body – she began to consider her possible targets. She could slip in and get a pretty powerful Relic from the Undine estate, but that one might have a lot of guards.
She lifted up the paper and winced at the dull burning of her fingertips, her mind slipping away from her current task. Also…
With everyone focused on the party, she could probably spend some time finding out which of her followers was causing her this pain and do something about him. She…
Grunting, she sat up at her desk. She couldn't, wouldn't kill them – he was one of her followers after all – but she would get him to change his ways. She'd reveal herself, if she had to, but whoever it was was going to stop.
She had to keep working, and she'd either go insane or get cut in half if this damnable pain didn't stop soon.