Chapter 41:
Elwin sat with the rest of Hestia Familia in their lounge. Wiene was asleep, thankfully, so the others decided to reconvene and pool all their collected knowledge. They all said their apologies and condolences when Elwin mentioned that Archi had been abducted by Freya. The half-elf just shrugged in response.
"Yeah, it's bad. But there's some good news to go with it," he said. He leaned back with a content smile. The others waited, and he did not respond.
Welf narrowed his eyes. "Don't be a smart-ass."
When Elwin remained quiet, Urashima knocked him over the head.
"Alright, alright!" said Elwin, rubbing the back of his head. He looked at the rest of his Familia. "Freya kidnapped a member of my old Familia, and my old Captain isn't going to stand for that." His eyes glinted. "Hecate Familia is on the warpath for Orario." He looked at the other's shocked faces. Even Ryuu's eyes were a bit wider than usual. "A battalion of battle mages is on its way."
Before everyone could get too hopeful, though, Lili sighed. "While all help would be welcome, it does not solve the main problem about Freya Familia." She looked over at Elwin. "If we don't have a way to stop their executives, then we're done for. Even with Loki Familia, beating them is not a guarantee. Especially when they have the Warlord. Not to mention the power of Freya's charm."
The room went silent at the reminder. But Bell looked resolute.
"That's why Goddess Hestia is with Fels and Ouranus. They will figure something out together for Freya. Our job is to deal with Ottar."
There was a pause, and Bell suddenly remembered himself. He looked around nervously to see if the others would disagree. That was when Otohime laughed. She patted Bell on the back.
"Well said! Besides, with the Braver and some possible Haruhime magic, I think we should be doing ok," said the Dragon Princess. "Not to mention, the more folks we have to help out with the riff-raff, the more that our best fighters can focus on Freya's best fighters. Every hand, no matter how small, makes the heavy lifting easier."
Lili shrugged. "Suppose so, but Lili is still going to make plans for the King." She looked over at a frowning Mikoto. "And yes, those plans will not involve putting Lady Haruhime's life in danger, Miss Mikoto. Now please stop with the glaring."
The Black Crow looked away, turning a light shade of red. The sight made Elwin chuckle; his Familia could still find the bright side of any situation, even in the most serious of time. As he watched, Lili stood up.
"The rest should be saved for when Goddess Hestia finishes up." The pallum cracked her back. "Then Lili will share what Mister Finn had to say and our coming role. For now, everyone should do what they can to prepare for battle."
6 months in the past:
When Lili first arrived in Altena, Goddess Athena took the time to take her on a tour of the facilities. The Goddess wore nothing ostentatious, no jewellery or accessories. Instead, Athena wore a simple white gown and a bronze helmet over her chestnut hair. Her brown leather sandals were worn with age, and she wore similar wrappings around her wrists.
Lili was used to…more from her Goddesses. They often wore strange outfits and played up their more outrageous personalities. So, when Lili first met Goddess Athena, she thought it would be more of the same. Instead, she was met with a dignified ruler who took their time and spoke with purpose. Athena took the weight of her kingdom seriously and spent every day in meetings making sure that Altena was running the way it was supposed to.
In the first week of visiting that Lili saw, 'The Board.' A sizeable wooden slab standing tall in the foyer of Altena's capital building with dozens of names on it. Next to each name were two sets of numbers. One was easy enough to figure out since it was a ranking system with the top name number one. The other number made no sense to Lili, though. The only thing she understood was that the higher the number in the ranking, the higher the number next to it. Athena noticed her staring. The Goddess smiled.
"So, I see you have found the Board," she said, standing next to Lili. "A marker and testament to the work of my Familia."
Lili pointed up. "What do those big numbers mean?"
"Those are their points," replied Athena. She looked down at Lili's questioning face. "You will find no great warriors here. There is no Dungeon or nest of dragons." Her gaze turned towards the city. "And even with Nike's colosseum, we cannot match the ferocity of Telskyura." Her eyes clouded. "Even our once famous magic has faded ever since the departure of Hecate and some other magical gods and goddesses." She looked back at Lili, and the prum withered under Athena's intensity. "But I will not let my people fall to the wayside." She took a deep breath, her shoulders dropping. "Instead, I chose to train the one thing they could not remove." She tapped her temple. "Our minds are the most dangerous weapons in our arsenal. And those minds will be sharpened in the academy of my Familia."
Athena turned back to the board. "Thus, I created this." She tossed her arms into the air. "You will not find anyone above level two in my Familia, but together nothing can destroy us." Her last words were cold. "We. Will. Endure."
Lili let the words hang in silence. That speech was all well and good, but Athena still hadn't answered Lili's question.
"But what is it for?"
Athena turned back, and her smile held a surprising amount of warmth.
"It's for games of course!"
In the Present:
Bell sat in the foyer of the Hestia Familia home, waiting for his Goddess. As he did so, Lili worked industriously beside him. Everyone else had left to prepare in their own ways. The prum's nose was buried in a collection of documents. On them, Bell recognized the names of many famous adventurers.
"What's that for?" asked Bell.
Lili looked up. "Master Finn has begun separating all the Familias that will be needed for the coming battle." She held up sheets of paper. "These are the first drafts of how squads will be divided as we delve into the Dungeon."
Bell blinked. "We won't be separated based on Familia?"
The Dauntless shook her head, eyes back on her work while she talked. "That line of thinking has some merit but is woefully short term. This is not an expedition; it is a full-out war. And in war, there is chaos. Compound that with whatever the Dungeon will throw our way, and we cannot run the risk of relying on Familial bonds." She held one piece of paper. "So, in the beginning, the Familias will be mixed up. This way, adventurers will learn to listen and work with people they might not know."
Bell grabbed the sheet of paper he was handed and began scanning the names.
"There will still be a squad commander, or captain if you will, for each one. They will be the first-class adventurers from the top Familias. And then, they will each have at least one level four to serve as their lieutenant."
Bell looked to the top of the papers, and his eyes almost popped out.
"The squad that Master Bell is holding is the third general infantry squad, to be run by Anakitty Autumn, with her second-in-command to be Otohime Nakamura," said Lili.
"Ummmm, Lili...Ura's not on this paper…"
Lili sighed. "Yes, Lili knows. She is ready to receive the verbal assault on that one. But they are both level fours with high combat experience, and Ura is needed elsewhere."
Bell went quiet then and continued to watch Lili work. He must have been doing something because he watched the little pallum girl sigh again.
"Ask your question, Master Bell." Lili scratched out one name and added another. "You want to know what your position is, correct?"
Bell blushed a little but nodded.
"For now, you are going to be in the vanguard skirmishers, right in front of Mister Gareth's heavy infantry," added Lili. She ruffled through some papers before handing him one from the bottom.
"Your leader will be the Sword Princess herself, and you are the lieutenant."
Bell scanned the paper and took in just how many level threes and fours were on the form. All of them were names that he was at least a little familiar with. These were all the up and comers from Orario, many of them had competed in the level-up tournament. After a moment of reflection, it made sense, though. If Ais was going to lead them, they would need to keep up and hold the line.
"So, Gareth is leading the heavy infantry? What's that?" asked Bell.
Lili nodded, anticipating the question. Suddenly, Bell was reminded of his many lessons with Eina. He was also eternally grateful that Lili was still around. She wasn't the most physically capable, but this Familia was even close to her intellect level. And Altena had made her even brighter.
"The heavy infantry is one of the special units, where adventurers with similar skill sets will be matched together. The heavies are one such group and are the first line of defence and require strong warriors, like Mister Gareth and Mister Ouka."
Bell nodded along. That made sense after all.
"And where's the rest of our Familia?" he asked, suddenly worried for his family.
"Mister Welf will be with the other smiths, under the supervision of Miss Tsubaki. Mister Urashima and Miss Mikoto will be in the scouting unit, led by Bete Loga with Miss Ryuu as their second-in-command. You know where Lady Otohime is, and Lady Haruhime will be with the supporters and baggage train." Lili squinted, a frown forming on her face. "The only question is Mister Elwin, and whether or not he's with the Dia Saint and the other healers, or if he's with the mages like Lady Riveria and Miss Lefiya."
"...and what about you, Lili?"
Lili smiled then, the excitement bleeding onto her face. "Lili will be with the command unit, headed up by Mister Finn. Lili is to be his personal assistant and adjutant of the whole adventurer army."
Bell nodded, still frowning. He knew that his Familia was strong; there was no doubt about it, but having to run off on his own and leave them left him unhappy. If something happened to them while he wasn't looking, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself.
"You don't have to trust Lili," said the Dauntless. For once, Bell had captured her complete focus. "If that's too much to ask for, that's fine. But trust Lili's strategy and that she doesn't want to lose anyone to."
Bell nodded. He couldn't trust Lili again, not yet, but he would trust her mind and her drive to keep her loved ones safe.
5 Month is the past:
When Goddess Athena had first said games, Lili had thought she was joking. But then the system had been explained and Lili had been slightly blown away. Altena had massive game halls, scrimmage centers, and full-blown theatres all designed for the purpose of allowing members of Athena's Familia to test their tactical knowledge against each other. And at the same time, they learned strategy at her academy. When they graduated, after gaining the approval of Athena herself, they would go into the world and sell their services as generals and advisors. Part of the money they made would then return to the academy to continue the process.
At the academy stage, though, some of the higher-ranking members judged their performance in these games, who often served as tutors and teachers. The higher-ups would give them points that were then added to the total. The more points someone had, the more resources they gained access to. Over three hundred people in the city were part of Athena's Familia at any given time. The large wooden board only had the top one hundred, along with some other notable names.
"Wait...Mister Finn is on the board?" asked Lili, pointing up near the top.
Athena nodded. "Indeed. It's actually part of the testing. My lower-ranking Familia members will pit themselves against famous commanders and reenact some of their most famous battles. Try and see how these great commanders could have done better." Athena smiled, lost in a memory. "One of my older members then made it a personal project to see how the commanders still living would stack up against our own. Orario's Braver, and the elf known as Hedin, are both in the top twenty."
Lili double-checked to make sure. Indeed, Finn and Hedin were both only at rank fourteen and seventeen, respectively. And the gap between the famous Braver of Orario and the leaders of the top ten spots was vast. Lili tracked the points all the way to the first place spot and had to blink. The number one general had twice the amount of points of the second place person. In Orario terms, that would make him the highest of first-class adventurers. The Ottar of the strategic world.
Athena must have seen Lili's face because she started laughing.
"Yes, that's my Alexander for you. He's quite great, isn't he?"
She stopped to consider the board, still smiling.
"Still, though, Sun Tzu has been slowly closing the gap between them. And stubborn old Odysseus isn't going to let himself get left behind." She sighed fondly. "All those stubborn boys. If they're not careful, Joan and Boadicea are going to pull the rug out from under them."
Lili turned her wide eyes back to Athena. The Goddess talked about these supposed geniuses of war like they were still nothing but children. Just how brilliant was this Goddess?
Lili never dared ask the question. Instead, she followed Athena to a loud dormitory-style building. Inside was chaos, with people all sitting in front of chess boards, shogi, and the game they played out in the Kaios desert, Helvan. There was much laughing, even more drinking, and a couple of fistfights. That all stopped when Athena clapped her hands together. Order was quickly restored as her students scrambled to their feet. They all gathered around, their inquisitive gazes boring into Lili like she was something to dissect.
"This is Lilliruca Arde; she will be starting at the bottom and training with the rest of you for the next six months," said Athena. "Treat her just like you would anyone else." She nodded. "That is all; continue with your games." She pointed into the crowd. "Except for you, Marcus, you come over here."
As everyone else went back to their games, a young man with brown hair and tanned skin stepped forward.
"Show her the ropes, ok?" said Athena before leaving.
Lili turned to Marcus, who looked her up and down. Again, Lili had a distinct feeling that she was being studied. This was going to be some long training.
In the Present:
Hestia had finally finished her meeting with Fels and it was a doozy. She was tired and her brain felt like it was going to explode from all the information that the skeleton had pumped into it. There were plans upon plans upon plans. When she got home, the first people to greet her were Bell and Lili. They explained that the others were keeping themselves busy while they prepared for war.
The two adventurers were led to their office where Goddess Hestia sat at the desk, almost letting her head fall forward. The things she would need to do just to keep Freya off the board were already starting to take their toll on the diminutive Goddess. But then she looked up at her children, and she knew that it would all be worth it.
She let herself enjoy the silence of the office, not wanting to talk about what she had just worked on. Thankfully, Bell was willing to sit there quietly for a moment. Unfortunately, Lili wasn't so generous.
"So, what did Mister Fels want?" asked the pallum, arms cross across her chest.
Hestia sighed. "It was mostly a lot of stuff about how I can counter Freya directly." She rested her head in her palm. "And how to stop Freya from just charming everyone into oblivion."
Bell frowned. "Is her charm really that bad?"
Hestia nodded. "Think about it like this." She brought up her hand, flat on the desk. "This is the level of a monster's charm. From things like mermaids and the like." She raised her hand a little. "Then you have the charm effectiveness of items made by enigma users and healers. Effective, but there are some problems." She raised it a bit higher. "Then, there's the charm strength of adventurer magic. Some of you children have found some perilous magic, but not without some faults." She smiled ruefully. "Just look at what happened when that Peito girl tried to charm our Ura." Finally, she lifted her hand all the way up, stretching herself as far as she could. "And then there's the charm of the Goddesses, and in this case it's Freya." She tried to give her most serious look. "The charm of a Goddess is nothing to mess with. I'm not even sure that people who are supposedly immune could withstand it."
Bell frowned. "So, Urashima and Otohime might be charmed anyway?"
Hestia shrugged, letting her hand drop back to the desk. "It's hard to say with their immunity since it's based on their feelings. If their feelings are strong enough, then they'd probably be ok. Same with you and your new Liaris." Hestia frowned. "Elwin might be ok, though, since his skill is based on his death." She looked over at Lili. "How's he doing, by the way?"
Hestia watched Lili give it some deep thought. Eventually, she blinked and came back from whatever faraway place she had been sitting in. Lili then took a second to take a deep breath.
"He's still adjusting to whatever happened to him….His senses and awareness have been pretty...off, and there are a lot of times where he's almost let himself die." Her face was grim to Hestia. "His loss of fear might cost him his life."
Hestia nodded, adding that to the list of things in her head to figure out and try to fix.
"You guys need to focus on preparing for the war, I'll talk to Elwin and make sure things he's paying attention," said the Goddess of the Hearth.
Bell nodded. "But what about with Fels and Freya? How are we going to fight her charm?"
Hestia grimaced. "Fels said that the best thing we can do for now is to not talk about it." She pointed at herself. "I'm immune because of my status as a virgin Goddess. And Fels has already made some protection for himself." She pointed at Bell and Lili. "But the rest of you are at risk. So, as much as I hate to say it, I have to keep my plans with Fels secret." At the sigh of Bell's frown, Hestia gave a rueful grin. "I know it's not what you want to hear, but I can tell you this." Bell and Lili leaned forward. "I went to visit Dixen before coming back home."
Bell's face distorted in confusion, but Lili sat back and gave a knowing nod.
Bell looked between the two, not really understanding what was going on, but Hestia just smiled.
"Sorry Bell, that's all I'm allowed to say." The Goddess motioned towards the door. "Can you get Ryuu for me, though?"
Bell nodded and went to the door. From her seat, Hestia saw Lili roll her eyes at the Goddess's antics.
5 Months in the Past:
Lili spent the first month in Altena taking strategy classes, playing games, and learning from Marcus Agrippa, who was ranked fifty-one on the board. While Athena Familia was polite, many of them held their distance. These people were smart enough to use caution, so none of them underestimated Lili. Usually, people's lack of confidence in her was one of her greatest strengths. However, that had been robbed from her.
One day, when she had said this to Marcus, he nodded. "That was most likely Lady Athena's strategy. She wanted to test you in the truest sense." He looked up from the book he was reading. "It's a good sign that you noticed, though. It bodes well for your growth. That said, many are wary and still expecting you to fail eventually. They're just cautious about it." He gave her a smug all-knowing grin. "So, what are you going to do about it?"
Lili scratched her chin, putting down the book she was reading. Finally, she smirked.
"I'll have to flip their expectations."
Lili ruthlessly pursued every lead for the rest of the first month for those willing to play against her. Marcus had hinted at a strategy to her. Lili could have intentionally lost games and then used the power of expectations to instill in everyone's mind that she was nothing but a loser. That she did not deserve to be here. And then, she could flip the tables on the naysayers and wrack up easy points to move higher up on the leaderboard.
Now, the reason Lili wanted to move up was partially because of her pride. But she also wanted the chance to challenge new opponents. Those who were in the top one hundred very rarely played against those not on the board. Marcus had laughed at the very suggestion that Lili could play against him. If Lili was going to push herself, she needed the clout to play at the big boy's table. The other reason was that the more advanced lessons and knowledge were locked away by one's rank. Lili had already made some steady progress and had climbed her way to number two hundred and thirty-nine, but her reading materials were still woefully limited. When she had made an off-hand comment about it, Marcus had rolled his eyes.
"That's the point. How you overcome adversity is up to you. You either shape up or ship out."
Lili considered many options. A quick glance at the rules of the Athena Familia crossed out any use of her transformation magic. It would most likely get her expelled from the city. That also felt wrong to Lili; she wanted to earn her way to the top by actually being a good strategist. So instead, Lili decided to use a strategy that she had learned growing up in the slums of Orario.
It was not the strategy Marcus was suggesting, but it was similar. Lili was not being under-estimated or over-estimated; she was sitting in the middle-ground of uncertainty. Marcus's plan would work but would take time. Lili needed to grow and rise up quickly. She only had five months left after all. So, it was one week later that she strode with purpose to a game hall.
"Wait...please don't tell that you're actually going to do this?" asked Marcus, following Lili.
As she looked over at him, the prum decided that she liked the human. Not only was he incredibly clever, but his motivation was to make a better home. He was trying to learn how to improve the state of affairs of Altena. Many were simply here to prove that they were brilliant. Which was part of the plan.
Lili gave him a wicked grin.
"Lili needs to speed up the process. Is this not the best way to do it?" she asked.
Marcus sighed. "Yes, it is. But it's also not going to work."
Lili just patted him on the shoulder. 'Poor naive Marcus,' thought Lili, 'expecting the best in people.'
Lili had no such delusions. She had been kicked and beaten more times than she could count. She had very little status, and all of that was recent. Lili's research had shown her that the opposite was true for these members of Athena Familia. They all almost singularly came from wealthy backgrounds with private tutors. They also did not know Lili. Instead, they did not know who she truly was. The outside world held a certain distance from Orario, after all. So, when they heard that Lili was from there, they assumed that she was an adventurer. The pallum had decided not to correct anyone on that minor technicality.
The game that Lili had chosen to play today was called 'Supply Run.' The game was obviously meant to teach players how to manage the more mundane parts of their army. Both players had their all-important supply train and a series of skirmishing pieces. The goal was simple, outlast your opponent till they ran out of resources and had to forfeit. That was the basics. However, within that was a deep set of rules that required rich knowledge of food and waste management. The details would be boring to any regular person; it was a necessary lesson for these keen-minded people who sought to be at the tactical top of the world. It was also a game usually played by the more advanced. The information was not so readily disseminated. These students from noble backgrounds only studied waste management when they had to.
When Lili took a seat at the table, a large gentleman sat across from her. His name was Augustus, and he was the one hundred and thirty-second rank strategist. Typically, someone one hundred levels above Lili would never lower themselves down to her station to play. But, Lili had played into the nobility's hands. Lili KNEW people from her time in the streets. She knew that in the end, people would be greedy. Not because they were evil or mean, but because they wanted things. Everyone wanted to have more. So, Lili brought something for them to have.
"Let me see the prize," said Augustus, haughty and assured of his victory.
Lili could feel Marcus's eyes trying to burn a hole in her skull.
Lili ignored him, though, and pulled out a long jagged blade shaped like a lightning bolt.
"A Crozzo magic sword," declared Lili. Those words caught everyone's attention, and soon the hall was full of on-lookers. Lili placed the blade on the table as she spoke. "As promised, Lili will put up this one-of-a-kind magic blade. If Mister Augustus wins, it is his."
Lili also knew how to pick a mark. She had enough experience in that department swindling people out of their prized possessions as an adventurer. Augustus was the perfect target.
The tanned dark-haired boy, who was an Altenan native, nodded. He brought out the game board and its pieces.
And thirty minutes later, he put the pieces away. His face was red, and he looked ready to explode. Marcus and the other onlookers were in similar states of shock. Meanwhile, Lili was laughing. She had picked 'Supply Run' because she was a supporter, not an adventurer. She had all the prerequisite knowledge because it had been necessary to her survival. But she didn't have to tell anyone else that. As Augustus marched off, trying to hold his head high, Lili left in the opposite direction. Marcus followed behind her.
"Now wait for just a second, wasn't the plan to win a big game to attract more challengers?" he asked.
Lili nodded her head.
"Yes, but if Lili tried to play any of the other games there, Lili would lose." She shrugged. "Lili knew she could win that game, but not the others. Which means that it's study time."
It was true. Lili did not know how to play the other games. But no one else knew that. All they saw was her walk in, play an advanced game, and then handily beat someone high above her station. Initially, no one would approach her because they were cautious. So, Lili had to go to them. Now, though, their pride, curiosity, and greed would bring them to Lili. She didn't have to chase down opponents anymore. Instead, she could study so that when opponents came, she would be ready.
She explained all of this to Marcus later, and the young man got a curious look on his face. He then left Lili for her studies. She watched him go but said nothing. She had work to do after all.
Behind Closed Doors:
"So, how'd it go?" asked Alexander, playing chess against Odysseus. "How'd that little prum girl do?"
Marcus sighed. "She did exactly what you said she would. And Augustus walked right into her trap."
Alexander nodded. "Lilliruca Arde, the level two supporter. Not information many would know." He moved a pawn forward. "Well, except for all of us that is."
The room of the leading strategists nodded along. Some were reading, some were recreating mock battles, and some were playing games. No points were on the line at the moment, though. This was all in good fun.
"Has she made the big discovery yet?" asked Joan, still reading her book.
Marcus frowned. "She's on her way, I think. Honestly, she's probably the least conventional strategist we've had in a while.
Alexander smiled as he moved his pawn forward to the last spot. He exchanged it for a queen.
"Good; otherwise, this would all be dreadfully boring."
In the Present:
Lili read the books in her room. Among them was a copy of, 'The Art of War' which had been a gift from a friend. In her collection were some other choice titles, recently written and published in Altena. In front of her was a game board. To the uninitiated, it would look like that she was in the middle of a match with no one. In Lili's mind, though, she played against a vast array of vicious opponents. Despite her jump to level three, the Dauntless was still nothing more than a weak little prum. Her magic was an illusion, and so was everything else about her. But deep inside of her burned something else. At her core, Lili was still a survivor. She'd keep going, she'd keep improving, all the way till she could return to Altena and wipe that smug grin off Alexander's face.
Off to the side were a collection of extra pieces. Lulune had made a special delivery the night of the Winter Festivities from Lord Hermes. With Elwin's knowledge, some were making sense. Many bore the resemblance of mages, with tiny wooden staves and hats carved into their visage. Lili set those aside as Hecate Familia. A different set of pieces had a three-pronged spear carved into the bottom. More allies from Hermes, hopefully. Two pieces, more weathered with age, were cut into the shapes of rabbits, which was obviously meant to represent Bell somehow. The last piece left Lili confused, though. It was a spider.
With the God of Messengers:
In his tent, Hermes was lounging on the sofa. The God had just met back up with the rest of his lovely Familia, and was now basking in the success of a mission almost complete. Hecate had quite quickly signed on to help his Familia, and so had the others. There had been some surprises, the girl being the biggest obviously, but those had been nothing but good. All was looking up for the God.
That was when Asfi walked in, and drank a whole pitcher of wine. Hermes just laughed.
"So, I take it that those two guests went off on their own?"
Asfi grunted.
Hermes gave her a knowing look.
"Now now, we both knew that trying to keep that woman here would be impossible." He shrugged. "Better just to let these things play out."
The God stretched, content with how his game was unfurling.
Fun fact, this was done and published on Archive of our own for some time now, but I'm a forgetful little asshole so this is only hear now. Good news, though, that means that the wait to the next chapter is very small! So, hope you enjoy this one about Lili!
Review Responses:
Guest: So, from what I think you are trying to say, sad to hear you don't like it. I just went down the path that I thought would happen in this situation feel free to disagree as much as you want but this is how the story will be. Thankfully, many other fanfiction exist for you to read, so hopefully you find something to your liking.
KingDiamond: Yep, things are going to get rougher and rougher for the little half-elf.
