Chapter 82: Drau gets distracted easily

Lower Fire Month, 17th-18th Day, 600 AGG

"It's so detailed," Yuriko gushed over a wooden figure, small enough to easily fit multiple in the palm of their delicate hand, and lightly traced the carved features. "I didn't know actual people could pull this off without assist tools. Were these premade before you ordered?"

"Some were, some weren't," the wolfman effigy looked horrifying with its wicked weapons and vicious snarl promising unspeakable deeds. That it evoked such a feeling was a testament to the craftsmen's expertise at least. "I take it that you find them pleasing?"

"They're great!" They turned towards the dragon queen, forelimbs outstretched in the beginnings of an embrace before noticing their hand was occupied. Yuriko gingerly laid the miniature down and wrapped her in a hug. "Thank you so much!"

'I need to buy a cabinet,' Draudillon mused even while sinking into alabaster arms, detached diaphanous sleeves whispering against skin as she shifted to make herself more comfortable. 'Having these placed out in the open is disturbing. A separate room in the castle set aside for her hobbies then?'

"If you want more, the guild will be more than happy to take any commissions," the account she set up in their name shouldn't run dry anytime soon—assuming the angel didn't order life-sized statues and projects of that ilk.

"Hmmm… but using Yggdrasil coins is a no-no—"

"Don't worry about it. Please," because of Yuriko's aversion to accepting material payment—other forms were well received, but that was beside the point—they were essentially penniless. There was an abundance of Yggdrasil's currency sitting in the Item Box, but spreading that around seemed unwise; some had already been given to the mysterious group Yuriko ran into within the Great Forest of Tob. "I meant for this to be a gift."

"O-Okay, erm, I—thanks! Again," the statement was accepted with the shy gratitude of one unused to receiving presents. Draudillon pushed the aggravating thought away, laying next to the angel who had released her in favor of examining the other materials spread over the bed. "This is?"

"Pigment powder. You want to mix it with fluids to create paint," oh, she should find an art teacher for them too, shouldn't she? Yuriko's skills left… plenty to be desired. "There ought to be a guide I asked to provide."

"Found it," Yuriko skimmed through the scroll of parchment while scratching their head. "Reminds me of cooking, sorta."

"Then you'll certainly learn quickly," the dragon queen removed her crown, irreverently placing it on a nightstand, and suppressed a yawn. Tired she was not,『Restoration』banished her earlier weariness, but reclining in the way she was had a way of inviting slumber. "I should return to… my office…"

'Why here.'

Draudillon trailed off as she disbelievingly watched Yuriko dump a chunk of rock on the blanket. Upon closer inspection, it wasn't just rock; no, there was a sheen to it, a sheen denoting it as some type of ore. "This is rather sudden, dear."

It was just…

"Looks pretty, dontcha think?"

She wished they had placed it on the ground and not their shared bed, but the unrefined earth appeared clean: as absurd as it sounded. "… it does."

"Talking about crafting made me wonder if I had any useful materials in my inventory," slender fingers plucked an ornate glass container out the pocket dimension. Bands of gold encircled the neck and vessel, and a ruby stopper topped the container containing God's Blood—Minor Healing Potion, ironically. "Uh, I have given you some of these, right?"

"Two scores of them," she confirmed. "The Royal Alchemists have yet to reverse-engineer it."

Ordinary potions, herbal and spell-charged, lost efficacy in the absence of preservation measures. The crimson potion Yuriko held had no such disadvantage, retaining its potency long after its peers dried up. For her world, it was the pinnacle of alchemy, the great opus all brewers aspired to.

For Yuriko's game, it was the least of its kind.

At the time, Draudillon didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Now, she acknowledged the disparities with a breezy acceptance. "So you were thinking this material could be helpful in a similar fashion?"

The angel stowed the potion into the void, and scooted closer to her. "Yeah! And it'll be a great way to say thanks to the crafting guys!"

"I didn't order a commission from the Blacksmith's Guild."

"Oh."

Her beloved deflated, saddened over… what? No, really, she was utterly stumped.

Draudillon propped her chin on her hands, gently nudging the angel out of their moping. "I take it that it's not Adamantite?"

"Azurite," Yuriko flicked the uneven hunk, causing the metal to faintly resonate. "Only got two of these, but it's higher than Adamantite, I think. Not sure if anyone can process it though…"

"Oriculo has blacksmiths who've worked with Adamantite before. Is the leap in difficulty that significant?"

"I'm not a crafter or smith, so I dunno for sure," her partner gathered together the containers of pigment. "It's like, a combination of having good equipment and the right-slash-enough levels. A level one blacksmith isn't gonna be working with prismatic ores, and a level one-hundred guy won't build anything great without a stacked workshop."

"Stacked?" Yuriko rolled off the bed and began organizing the pigment powders on top of a dresser, carefully stowing the liquid vehicles within the Item Box.

"Super good stuff," materials placed away, the angel returned to her side, flopping tummy first onto the mattress. "Scarletite-Hellfire-Forge-with-optimized-socket-options kinda good."

"And you're guessing it's unlikely the Draconic Kingdom has what it takes to process this 'Azurite,' " despite being unprocessed, the mineral lump shone with a cerulean gleam, her bedroom's magical lights reflecting off its jagged edges. "The Beastman Country then. I've been told they have masterful craftsmen of their own."

"Maybe. Some smithing classes can process different materials easier, so maybe the demihumans got someone. Everyone I've seen here looked like normal blacksmiths."

"A reality we can challenge later," her lips were set in a thin line at the reminder of the kingdom's laughable weakness. Compared to the world at large, 'weak' was putting it kindly.

She stared at the Azurite ore with an intense concentration, musing on the difficulties of finding a sufficiently skilled—

Draudillon jolted as Yuriko smacked the shapely swell of her rear. She turned away from the lump of ore, mouth twitching in mild amusement. "Were you lying about the 'recharging' after all?"

"You can leave this big ol' rock to me," her partner's hand happily, perhaps a tad too happily, patted her backside again. "I'll see if any of the blacksmiths here can do anything with it; gotta pick up some tags anyway."

Yuriko's voice lowered, but not unpleasantly so. Their breath tickled her nose, bearing half-lidded eyes paired with a relaxed smile. "And I thought you had work, Drau."

"Oh? Is my presence unpleasant?"

"Can't hide you from the paperwork forever, Drau," they took her blithe jab in stride, a hint of playfulness running close to the surface. "I'll be here when you come back."

"It's very possible I cannot," Draudillon warned in turn. "I wasn't overstating how much needs to be done."

"But you're still laying down?" There was no hiding their teasing now, verbal and physical alike. Months ago, she couldn't have imagined any person taking liberties with her body in the way Yuriko was, but, well… here she was. "Okay, okay, I'm stopping!"

Such a privilege naturally went both ways, of course.

"—" Only her fingers prevented the angel's moan from leaking out. If their left-sided counterparts happened to be the cause as well, neither she nor her willing victim were complaining. "Dra-Drau… liar…"

"I wish," the dragon queen settled into a familiar rhythm. "It would be nice if I had been exaggerating my workload."

Yuriko's response was wordless as they buried their face into her chest. The heated pair indulged in baser desires for a couple more minutes before Draudillon decided to broach another troublesome issue. "Emperor El-Nix is visiting soon, dear. What do you say to making a showing at Court that day?"

"Tomorrow? That's really short notice," widened eyes peeked up from her bosom, lavender haze temporarily set aside. Matters of the state proving themselves to be irksome yet again.

"In a few days: expect two. The welcoming party should've attached themselves to Baharuth's delegation by now. Don't worry if you can't attend it," Draudillon absentmindedly stroked Yuriko's hair. "Having you there would confirm whatever rumors are running through their heads—a projection of power, mostly—but your summons can achieve that to great effect by themselves."

"I'm going!" The angel shot up to a sitting position, cheeks puffed in a pout. "I've been practicing and studying a lot of the etiquette stuff too, so yeah!"

'There's no conceivable possibility it's up to par,' people spent years mastering the art of conduct in noble society. 'Her innate charisma will cover for her? Perhaps?'

"Drau, are you listening?"

Reconsidering and delaying the angel's 'debut,' so to speak, was a tempting option; however, what true substitute existed for on-hands experience? All the theory in the world paled in comparison to active participation. 'Well, active might be asking for a bit much.'

"Draaau~ Don't doze off on meee~"

"Mm, your attendance is eagerly anticipated."

"By you?" Yuriko's head tilted to the right. "Or by the El-Nix guy?"

"Everyone. Many of them haven't had the chance to see you in person, you know?"

"Uwaaa… I'm becoming a zoo exhibit…"

"Well," a hint of sardonic humor filtered through. "Critical tasks of the state aren't usually delegated to the residents of a menagerie."

"They're gonna ask me to do a ton of random jobs, huh?" her partner pondered out loud. With the miracles they've displayed, and news of such disseminating over the land, people would inevitably want a piece of the 'divine' for themselves.

Draudillon murmured her assent: "They will. Be careful about being pressured into saying yes to every request. Of course, if it's something you feel strongly about, then I don't mean to dissuade you—just be cautious, understand?"

"Uoooh! Your servant understands, Your Maj—"

She would leave regretting procrastinating to tomorrow's her.


Grass was sent swaying, branches blown back, as the Cherubim Gatekeeper deposited him and Yassin on blessed earth.

"Uooogh… thank the gods," only willpower kept him from emptying his stomach. The four-winged angel dispassionately waited, lance of silvery fire and eyeball shield requipped with nary a whisper of movement. "We're walking next time, Yassin."

"Yes Master," the Ga'mal paused. "But Queen Oriculus might get angry."

"Time constraints, yaddee yeah, yeah. Just sayin', y'know?" Dhartha raised a hand to the approaching Kshatras. "Look sharp, buddy; we've got friends."

"Of course, Master."

"Hullo!" He shouted, voice carrying across the emptied village. The Cougar Orthrous waved in response. "Clan Gharedar?"

"Unfortunately," his addressee came to a halt, towering head, shoulders, and torso above them. On their lower abdomen sat a cold-eyed Armat clad in the sigils of Clan Ispava. "But we all must do our best with what the gods give us, no? I admit, your name escapes me, traveler—though your appearance does not."

He made a noise of agreement. The humans' palfreys, and even destriers, were unsuited for the wildernesses of the Republic, but mounting an Orthrous bred for the terrain was clever… assuming the Draconic Kingdom's soldiers could imitate the Ispavas and form a concord with Clan Gharedar. 'Won't that be a sight. The Queen would probably like that sorta thing too.'

"Dhartha Auta," the gnoll gestured at the kneeling Ga'mal. "Along with my slave, Yassin. And you, honored Kshatra?"

"Chalanr Gharedar," a curved claw poked the Armat's metallic fur. "Usht Ispava. I'm guessing you fellas didn't arrive from the Rujindira."

He smacked the Gatekeeper's breastplate, boisterously smirking. "Nope. Flew out of Ur'lathla; Queen Oriculus and the Goddess lent this fella here for the trip."

"The Queen…" Usht's mouth twisted in distaste. "What she did to Clan Kroh'or was a travesty."

"It is what it is. Just gotta be glad it wasn't us, eh?"

"Hmph."

Chalanr shrugged and turned back to Dhartha. "As much as we'd like to ask about what's going on in the east, it'll probably be better to talk somewhere else. Will you follow us, traveler?"

"Uh, my business is actually here," he made a wide sweeping motion with his arms. "This is Srlschr, ain't it?"

"…" The Orthrous and Armat shared another look—a grim understanding that sent Dhartha's stomach tumbling into the pits. "It would be good for us to go inside."

"R-Right," he dusted off Yassin's knees and made to walk behind the Kshatras. It seemed the village was vacant for less than reassuring reasons. "Mac'tal?"

"Pfff, I wish," there was no trace of humor in Chalanr's scoff. "They've been pretty damn quiet. Our Rajans want to flank the spiders from this side, but situation's got them weirded out. Kinda just… twiddling our thumbs, waiting."

"Flanking?" He and Jirs hadn't heard much news regarding the eastern clans since the whole Mac'tal mess started. The warriors of Clan Ur, Nakh, Kroh'or, Nadhkrt hadn't made any mention of this joint maneuver; then again, he was a civilian outsider.

"The anvil to Ur's hammer," Usht responded in a clipped tone. "Though we have not received runners in days."

"No angels? Woulda thought fliers could sneak past," maybe the angels provided by the Draconic Kingdom were busy fighting on the front. What that implied wasn't worth dwelling upon. "Was wondering why nobody was hitting the spiders from the back."

"Well, we have angels," Chalanr raised a hand to the six or so Kshatras guarding the perimeter of the outpost. "Think it's the same one you two have, actually. Hanging over dear old Ragha and Dhit like a slime to your face. Just that…"

"Our clans believe it wise to wait," Usht dismounted the Orthrous and pushed open the main entrance to the humble central complex. Dhartha resisted the urge to clap; clans really did get less stuck-up the further one wandered from the capital. "This behavior is unnatural for the Mac'tal—even considering the angels' deeds."

"Can you afford to wait though? Her Majesty might get upset, you know?"

"We haven't gotten a message about attacking shit or whatever," Chalanr removed his pauldrons and numerous sheathed weapons. "If she wants reinforcements, she's gotta make it clear."

'But the Queen still sent messages and angels here,' did she not see the point in additional caution? He guessed most wouldn't, not when they had easy access to firepower like the Goddess provided. 'Hm, more like it depends on what her primary goal is? Assuming it's strengthening her army, then it's reasonable to just focus on a single battleground since she only sent a few thousand. Would be bad to have her soldiers get training from a bunch of random, separate clans.'

It seemed Queen Oriculus had a decent grasp on the fundamentals of skill and strength. The clans of the Republic all had varying fighting styles they preferred—and some weren't even known for martial prowess—so sticking to one was the quickest path to increasing power while maintaining stability across the board.

Or that's what he thought, personally. He was a merchant for crying out loud, not a sage! "You've at least heard about the humans boosting their strike force."

"Really…? Are they any good?" Chalanr apologetically glanced at the Gatekeeper. "Forgive my disrespect; information on the Republic's eastern conquest prior to the angels is sparse. Sometimes we hear about 'worthy foes' and other times the messengers mocked them as 'easy snacks.' "

'Damn, their last Rajans were barely involved and got pulped by the Draconic Kingdom anyway,' the gnoll pitied the clans whose prime sin was tripping into the crossfire. And eating humans, probably. Queen Oriculus and the Goddess were strangely fixated on that fact. 'I'll chalk it up to this specific shithole being weirder than a trustworthy chromatic.'

"There's probably a couple decent fellas," Usht snorted at his answer. "Alright, alright, a few."

"The Draconic Kingdom's victory belongs entirely to whoever summoned these angels," Dhartha nodded, rolling his eyes when he was sure the Armat couldn't see. No shit. "News on this subject is of far greater importance than the Mac'tal and the humans' Queen."

'No no no, I think both of those are pretty important too,' only his years of 'people' experience kept him from disagreeing with the beastmen who were his best bet at finding Jirs's siblings. "Well, she's probably a Deva. Never seen summons like these—not even in Vilimandrati. Then there's the whole disaster with Kruurat… honestly, you're better off asking some traveling merchant or bard."

Chalanr tilted his head. "Aren't you a traveling merchant?"

"Urk…!"

"I'm afraid I have to agree here. You're the first we've seen in some time," Usht idly tapped the shaft of his glaive. "Unless envoys from further east have established a foothold?"

Dhartha scratched his head. Prior to the Goddess's appearance, why would any place of worth want to expand this far west when they had several pressing issues closer to home? Forging relations with a collection of countries that, and he admitted this was hearsay, had the utmost animosity for non-humanoids wasn't the best use of resources. Conquest was equally as troublesome given the distance.

Even the six greatest powers of the continent beyond the perilous dunes of the Rujindira, the savage expanse of the Devagathapur—and the numerous nations in between—did not possess such voracity.

Kuryeo, the kingdom ruled by the monstrous Millennium Fox, embroiled in a tense cold war with Voravivex's empire. Dhartha didn't know much about the immortal fox spirit, but Voravivex and his vassals were an insatiable bunch.

Vilimandrati, a commonwealth jointly administered by eight Majraiha's—each a mighty lord in their own right.

Rungnir, a land where trolls and orcs alongside smaller neighbors had made the mistake of launching raids on a few choice locations the Commonwealth had been eyeing. Last he heard, seven of the Majraiha's unanimously agreed to appoint their eighth peer as the Warlord presiding over that front.

The Asterion Federation, a Minotaur dominated nation led by its Grand Speaker—backed by unnaturally powerful relics and divine blood. Their short-lived quarrel with the Commonwealth resulted in a debacle where an entire platoon of expensive Calvary Golems had been annihilated.

Then there was the Principality of Arazmir that bordered the Ravine of Sorrows along the entire stretch of its southern border. Of the six central powers, they alone were left unbothered by their neighbors.

Only a fool of mythical proportions would assault the very bulwark preserving their life. That aside, the Commonwealth and the Federation did trade with the Republic.

"The Federation might've," Dhartha guessed. The other five didn't have much in the way of motivation. "Lots of human countries to the west from what I know—their Sage had a weird fetish for them, so branching out there isn't impossible. Vilimandrati? Maybe, can't say for sure."

"Nothing we don't know then," Usht scratched his snout with an air of disappointment. The gnoll decided that he didn't particularly care for this Armat.

"About as expected, I'd say!" Chalanr clutched his belly as a laugh burst out. "A right damn mess, this whole place is!"

"…" Usht tiredly glared at Chalanr, though Dhartha couldn't detect any malice in the expression. "I apologize for wasting your time, Auta. If you came here to look for lost items, I can take you to our quartermaster."

"Ah. I'm actually here to look for somebody, somebodies if you would—"

The pair's grimace snapped his jaws shut. "It's… It's not that bad is it? Haha…"

"Everyone was dead before we arrived," Usht held up a hand, precluding his question. "Not Mac'tal. The spiders are not in the habit of leaving corpses—much less intact corpses. No, the villagers of Srlschr bore no wounds or other signs of foul play."

His Orthrous partner laid a commiserating hand on the numb gnoll's shoulder. "Sorry traveler. If you want to stick around for a bit, come to… terms, then you're more than welcome to stay for as long as you need."

"Y-Yeah, I," fuck. "That'll be great. My gratitude, honored Kshatras."

"Don't push yourself too hard, alright?" Chalanr took a few steps back, yellow-brown fur rippling above iron-wrought muscles. "I'll go check the barracks first."

"And I must return to my post before our absence irks the commander," Usht sighed and stepped out without a word of farewell. The Orthrous helplessly looked to and fro before walking out himself.

"Yassin."

"At your command, Master."

"Follow Chalanr and put our stuff away; I'll be outside for a while," Dhartha ignored the fact that Clan Gharedar and Ispava had already combed through the village. "Since we're here and all."

"Yes Master," he threw the larger pieces of luggage to Yassin for them to take to their room. The gnoll stretched, groaning as bones cracked, and looked beyond the bounds of the outpost.

Srlschr's remains awaited him.