Chapter 101: if i make a national holiday, do i still have to work on that day
Upper Earth Month, 2nd Day, 600 AGG
Draudillon opened her eyes, feeling more refreshed than she typically would after a night spent awake for so long. To her side laid the angel, Tarou staring from where he was placed on top of their chest.
'He's rather quiet, isn't he?' The muddled thought broke through the lingering lethargy. 'That merchant did say his stock was bred to be more docile.'
"Yuriko," she called out, mildly surprised the angel hadn't noticed her rousing. They usually did whenever they were here. "Good morning."
Her beloved flinched—flinched?—and quickly squeaked out a greeting of their own. Tarou hopped off, obediently returning to his opened cage. "G-Good morning! Did you um, d-did you sleep well?"
The dragon queen deliberately hummed, catching the way Yuriko seemed to struggle to move, how their muscles shook as they attempted to shift their body. Then there was that guilty, or worried maybe, look in their eyes. Eyes that refused to meet hers.
"I did, thank you," Draudillon pushed herself up, arms stretching upwards and chasing away the remnants of drowsiness with a yawn. Yuriko tried to do the same—getting up, that is—but their limbs trembled and collapsed. "Is there anything you want to tell me?"
"Haha, well I uhhh…" They swallowed thickly, the bobbing of their neck painfully obvious, as Ryx nudged them into a seated position next to her. "I may have done something that would make you mad."
"Is that so," she replied matter-of-factly. If there was cause for anger, and the cause originated from Yuriko, then it was easy to guess this 'something' came at personal expense to the angel. "Then, would you like to wait until later, or would you rather do this now?"
"Now is good," her beloved rounded their shoulders, voice small as they shrank into themselves. Draudillon felt a twinge of regret at starting the discussion with such a severe tone. "Last night—after you fell asleep, of course, I maaay have maybe casted Wish?"
"The spell that costs experience points," her stomach sank even while her heart raced. The fatigue they were displaying: visceral, physical exhaustion… she had never seen them driven to this extreme before. 'It resembles resurrection sickness.'
A masterpiece of thaumaturgy that wrought wonders fueled by that which was sipped from the caster's soul.
"Y-Yeah, that one," Yuriko ducked their head with an unsure giggle. She reached out and tenderly rubbed their back all while smothering the heated lecture that was already building within. "It's a little funny, actually. I was worried about things going wrong, and I guess they did go sorta wrong, b-but everything worked out in the end!
"So it's okay," the angel gulped again at her considering gaze. "You don't have to worry about me, Drau, because I'm okay."
"How—" Draudillon bit her tongue. Asking 'how much' was a pointless question when she already knew the answer.
She was simply glad the spell had a limit to the amount of a person's existence it could burn.
"What did you wish for?" The dragon queen carefully asked instead. "I can't think of a problem that requires immediate intervention, at least not any that lie outside of our current abilities to solve."
"… you're immortal now," it was as if the floodgates had opened, such was the rush of words that poured forth behind that unbelievable but somewhat unsurprising statement. "Not like the I-can't-die immortal, but the not-get-old kind, and don't get me wrong; I would've gone for the first one if I thought there was a chance but that would've been super crazy to ask for so I wasn't sure it would go through andIspentfivelevelstobesure!"
Oh.
Draudillon looked down at her hands. It was strange to think her fate was unfettered by the destination common to all humans. Visible changes there were not, nor could she feel any differences, drastic or otherwise, from within: soul and body alike. 'Though to be honest, I'm not exactly a master in analyzing souls.'
She had vague, fading recollections of a dream where the angel might have made an appearance. Perhaps that was related to their present situation? If so, alterations would have occurred within that; although, she wasn't a master in interpreting dreams either. Either way, she could explore at her leisure later—
"—I'm sorry, okay?!" Draudillon stopped herself from jolting at the unexpected outburst. Had they taken her silence to mean disapproval? Actually, how much had she missed while she had been drifting off? 'Now's hardly the time to be caught in your musings, Draudillon.'
"I wasn't—"
"I, I thought about it a lot!" Yuriko angrily wiped their eyes. "I know how much those levels meant! I know."
'Have I expressed my worries too harshly in the past? Still, she could've discussed it with me first…'
Yet they didn't, because they knew she would have rejected the proposal for the same reason that saw them struggle to even move. Because she never properly addressed this future problem—and wasn't that something? To think of natural death as a problem that could be feasibly solved—Yuriko decided to take matters into their own hands.
This was… she put off confronting important topics, and the outcome spiraled out of her control without her even knowing.
And maybe that was the wrong way of thinking about it too; a partnership consisted of two people, after all, not a single half unilaterally deciding everything for the whole on its own.
So with those feelings in mind, she gave her response:
"Thank you," the scratching of nails against skin ceased. "For doing that. For giving so much. I won't lie and say I'm not worried about the effect this has had, and is going to have, on you, but thank you."
She gently pulled their head towards her and kissed the top. "You don't have to defend yourself. In the same position, I think it's very likely I would have done the same."
Pulling away, she inspected their countenance with a fierce concern that threatened to incite her anger again. "More importantly, are you alright? I'm happy with what you've given me, but—"
Draudillon yelped as Yuriko suddenly tossed themselves across her lap and buried their face in the bedsheets. " 'm shoree. 'm jus' tire'. "
"You, are absolutely incorrigible," the dragon queen took a deep breath, sighed, and began to stroke Yuriko's hair as part of a continuous effort to comfort them.
She was still somewhat upset, but… she had conveyed her point, Yuriko understood, and feeling upset made her feel unreasonable considering the context of the situation—and they were okay. They were okay. 'Thankfully, she's only suffering from fatigue; temporary too, if other cases of level loss are anything to go by.'
"I thought you said I'm improving though," Yuriko turned over, pouting as they grabbed one of her hands and pressed it to their cheek. "Drau?"
'Immortality means looking after this idiot forever.'
Her idiot.
The prospect didn't sound so bad—sounded wonderful, in fact. It was what she wanted after all, wasn't it? Getting angry and upset here was unfair to them when they were the one sacrificing.
'Haven't you given up enough? Can't you value yourself more?'
But this time, she didn't bother trying to say any of that because, well, what meaning existed in reiterating things they already knew?
"Without question," Draudillon confirmed as she patted the angel's cheek. "You should be proud of yourself, you know? Learning a script entirely different from your native one, taking on multiple administrative roles, managing assets spanning multiple nations…" Admittedly, with an abundance of assistance, but they were progressing. "It's only been roughly four months since you arrived here, and you've done all of that. Honestly, were there ever a case where I was to express discontent, you oughtn't let even that take away from your accomplishments."
"A-Awawawa…"
'She's so red,' with fond affection, Draudillon fondled their face. Yuriko's skin grew hotter by the second under her playful ministrations until slender hands snapped out and grabbed hers. "Hm? Full of energy now, are we?"
"You're supposed to be the serious one," Yuriko mumbled; alluringly, but that was probably just her. "Are you sure you don't wanna talk more about what I did? And we should get up too; you said you needed to meet with people to finish planning that award ceremony thingy."
'What's done is done,' the room grew stuffier, smaller in a way that warmed the blood rushing through her veins. They were right in suggesting they leave the bed—the room, actually—soon. Get prepared for the day and everything that followed. 'Besides, I suppose there's now an abundance of time to continue educating her.'
Her Court could wait a little, couldn't they?
Draudillon bent down and lowered her head, shrinking the distance between them while long strands of pitch-dark hair joined her fingers in caressing the stammering angel.
'Like wet clay in my hands,' Yuriko was always quite ah, accommodating, even without the pseudo-resurrection sickness afflicting them.
"You can run a refresher course by me later if you're referring to the levels you lost. However, as of a few seconds ago, I was struck with a few ideas of what we can—"
Somebody knocked on the door, and Draudillon rolled her eyes with a disappointed groan. "Never mind me. Can you stand by yourself, dear?"
"Yes—" Yuriko grunted and just barely managed to sit up without assistance. "Okay, maybe not. Errr, um… Ryx!"
The Exaltation padded over, claws hooking into its summoner's dress and lifted them with a paw before dumping Yuriko onto the ground. "Oomph, should've gone slower…"
"I'll take that to be a no," Draudillon snorted in affectionate amusement even while she swung her legs off the bed and onto the carpet. "Come here, let's have you take a seat—" Knocking came from the door again, albeit with more urgency. "One moment!"
Whoever was on the other side stopped.
Then the knob turned, and she rushed to grab a cloak haphazardly placed atop a chair and tossed the article over herself before the aperture entrance cracked open completely.
"Your Majesty," Martin, damn him, ponderously swept his eyes across the room and came to a bemused halt at the sight of Draudillon, obviously in a state of undress beneath the cloak, standing over a Yuriko who, for all intents and purposes, appeared to have been knocked prone by her. "I was aware of you two's unsupervised outing last night and had thought to make some allowances in your schedule, but it is rather late in the morning already for this sort of exercise."
Aside from the abrupt ingress, the Prime Minister showed none of his frustration.
Unlike herself, clearly. Didn't he know they were busy? 'Of course not.'
"She—we weren't doing anything!" Yuriko weakly shouted in protest. "Drau was just uh, helping me get up!"
"Certainly," Martin easily concurred. "It would be good if Her Majesty wished to be of help."
"That's enough," she tired of this poor bid at persiflage. "Wait for us outside, Lord Asturias. I won't repeat myself."
"Yes, Your Majesty," he bowed his way out with nary a smirk or chuckle and left the pair to their devices.
"The timing was unfortunate," Draudillon grumbled and placed one arm under the angel's back, the other their legs, before lifting them off the floor. "Our talk will have to wait, dear."
"…" What was with those eyes? She shook her head and deposited Yuriko onto a couch while ignoring the sound of dismay that spilled out. "Drau…"
"I'm here," she absentmindedly dug out the General Multipurpose Tool and casted『Clean』twice: once on herself, another on her beloved. "Are you feeling better?"
"But all you did was cast『Clean』," Yuriko stared at her in disbelief. Then they stared with some other emotion as she began to change into suitable clothes, golden gaze raking briefly over her body. "I, I mean, yeah! I'm feeling a lot better."
"Good. If at any point you ever feel like you're not, then stop whatever you're doing and rest," Draudillon attached her set of enchanted accessories and furiously ran a comb through her bedhead. Why couldn't『Clean』handle that too? She reminded herself to ask Queen Bessarez before Roble's delegation departed; Yuriko mentioned the woman having some interest with regards to that field of study. "Do you understand me, Yuriko Hanami?"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"Somebody's cheered up," she groused under her breath while fighting back a smile.
This wasn't a bad start to the day, honestly. Unforeseen immortality… Yuriko was—she believed—in a decently healthy state, and she had the pleasure of waking to the sight of them beside her.
Furthermore, they would have their chance to converse at length later in the afternoon or night, though Draudillon found herself already missing them nonetheless.
'Another day,' wooden teeth flowed down the length of pitch-black hair. 'Hard at work.'
The Prime Minister of the Draconic Kingdom consulted an understated silver pocket watch, nodded, and put the trinket away.
His right foot tapped out a steady beat that filled the halls of Oriculia's Royal Apartments. Queen Oriculus tended to refuse assistance from the castle attendants when it came to preparing herself nowadays: a decision that resulted in earlier workdays for the most part.
As with most things, exceptions occurred, and these exceptions had a tendency to occur in situations where the draconic royal was entangled with her angel. 'There was a cage sitting in the corner as well. Did they find 'Ryx' lacking and decided to purchase another pet?'
Martin dedicated a short, silent prayer in his heart to the Six Great Gods. Certainly not to Lady Yuriko because she was sure to mishear and make a critical error of some sort or forget she'd heard it at all. His wife was prone to scolding him when it came to how he conducted himself around Her Majesty, but someone had to keep Queen Oriculus sober enough to function.
'Drunkenness isn't a problem for Her Majesty anymore,' he thought with some amount of satisfaction. 'Alas, she still has need of her Court to ensure decrees are properly enforced.'
Finally, the Cherubim Gatekeepers moved to the side—Her Majesty's Royal Guards were shuffled elsewhere due to the festivities—and the door clicked open.
Queen Oriculus stepped out, carrying the numinous beauty as one would a bride, for some reason. What did the angel do this time, that they required assistance in such an undignified manner?
"Martin," despite the casual form of address, the Dragon Queen's tone was anything but. On the other hand, the sight of Lady Yuriko blushing in her arms undercut much of the gravitas she was trying to present. "Your patience is appreciated. Now, aside from the usual, is there anything either of us must attend to?"
"The Beastman Country's Council has requested Lady Yuriko's presence," he reported. "One of Her Majesty's servants who goes by the name of 'Dhartha' came bearing this news along with other information Your Majesty might find interesting."
"Hoh, we shouldn't keep him waiting then—what is it?" Queen Oriculus testily snapped at the Prime Minister shaking his head.
"The Royal Court has been awaiting Your Majesty's grace for the better half of an hour. In the meantime, I shall take Lady Yuriko with me to the Beastman Country—"
"You're gonna take me? Isn't it the other way around…?"
"—And Her Majesty will preside over her Court," Martin turned a deaf ear to the angel's quibbling. "That Gnoll is waiting there as well; I do not believe Her Majesty wishes to subject him to the fierce sentiments of her nobles—"
"I get it, I get it," Queen Oriculus's brows scrunched together, her slight shoulders heaving up and down with a sigh. "Yuriko, will you be okay by your—I mean with Martin?"
Had the Dragon Queen nearly discounted his duties in the Beastman Country? The Prime Minister resisted the temptation to pinch the bridge of his nose.
"Martin…? Mm, uhhh… probably?" Queen Oriculus shot a quirked eyebrow at Lady Yuriko. "W-We'll be fine, Drau!"
"I wasn't asking about your responsibilities," she reluctantly propped her partner back onto their feet. To Martin's mild surprise, a Gatekeeper rushed over to support its summoner from behind. "Delaying this meeting is absolutely fine if you don't think you have the stamina at the moment."
'A lack of stamina?' What happened last night? He was well aware of his sovereign and the Goddess's proclivity for bedroom activities, but this exhaustion to the point Lady Yuriko of all people couldn't stand on her own strength… 'I doubt it's as innocuous as these two are trying to make it appear.'
"It's not too bad!" Lady Yuriko argued; although, it wasn't a convincing argument with how the Gatekeeper was holding her up by the armpits. "Couldn't even move last night, but now I think I can walk if I hold something!"
Queen Oriculus turned away from the angel and shot him a fearsome glare. "Don't let her push herself too hard, am I clear, Lord Asturias?"
"Crystal, Your Majesty."
'Her Majesty has fretted over them in the past, but this is… different. Abnormal fatigue can be attributed to curses—if that's the case, then what kind of curse has the potency to overwhelm her vigor?' He suspected a third-party wasn't to blame at all; the two would be more on guard were that the truth. 'Perhaps Queen Oriculus's Wild Magic… no, she didn't show enough guilt. Something Lady Yuriko did to herself then? These symptoms do match with resurrection sickness, but it can't be that either…'
"Very good," she patted Lady Yuriko's hip. "I'll head on to the throne room then." Queen Oriculus withdrew her hand, walking down the hallway until she halted, throwing one last glance over her shoulder. "Yuriko, if you need anything…"
"I'll make sure you're the first to know," the angel flashed a reassuring smile. "See you later? Tonight?"
"Tonight," Queen Oriculus nodded, opened her mouth, and hesitated before closing it again.
'I'll see how Lady Yuriko reacts to a few leading statements,' Martin decided. He couldn't afford to be remiss when the safety of the Draconic Kingdom was on the line. 'Afterwards, depending on the response, I'll confirm my theories in a private audience with Her Majesty.'
"That's that," the Goddess addressed to him once Her Majesty and her pair of Cherubim guards were out of sight. "So um, where do we need to go specifically?"
"The Raswaran Dham. You will be participating in their Council while this humble servant does his utmost to prevent any mishaps," Martin nonchalantly watched reality rip itself open with a word from the angel. He was growing far too accustomed to the casual displays of magic that could easily be deemed miracles. "A few tips to keep in mind: don't speak more than necessary, activate your aura if you can't think of a response to a question, and don't accept any deals outright. Agreeing to future discussions is safe so long as Lady Yuriko is willing to subject herself to bureaucratic drudgery."
The Goddess grimaced. "Uh, I'll try to remember all that."
"Excellent," his eyes flicked to the bedroom behind her. "Before we go, there's a few developments I'm curious about. I had the understanding that Lady Yuriko was keeping Ryx in the courtyard."
"I used『Gate』," she pointed at the swirling portal.
"Her Majesty permitted such a frivolous use of mana?"
Lady Yuriko blinked. "She cuddles with him the most."
'It's good that you can relax again, Your Majesty,' despite his best efforts, Martin couldn't completely keep the corners of his mouth from twitching upwards. "Is that so? Perhaps we should place one of his kind in every city for Queen Oriculus's benefit."
"You think so?" She giggled, a melodious chime that brightened the surroundings. In this moment, it seemed her odd fear for him had been forgotten. "It would be a nice surprise."
"Her Majesty would appreciate the thought, I'm sure. That aside, one last question before we leave."
"Y-Yeah…?" The Gatekeeper readjusted its hold on Lady Yuriko as she stiffened, her smile straining in nervousness.
Open book that she was, he figured the obvious conclusion to arrive at with regards to the cause of her current state was that she had been the one to do something.
"Forgive this lowly one for speaking of things beyond his station," Martin began without a hint of noticeable sarcasm. "But may I ask after your condition and how it's related to Her Majesty's distress?"
"It, it's complicated? I want to tell Drau about the specifics first, so I'm sorry…"
"Of course," Martin surrendered without a fuss. He'd simply stick to his original plan of pestering—ahem, appealing to the Dragon Queen for clarification. "I'm certain Lady Yuriko had a worthy cause, but I implore her to please restrain herself in the future. You must remember that there's millions of people relying on your strength."
"…" Lady Yuriko pursed her lips.
'She hasn't informed even the Queen of the details yet. Your Majesty… I fear your faith in Lady Yuriko surpasses that of her most deranged worshipers.'
"In any case, thank you for entertaining my questions. Let's not dawdle any longer. The beastmen await," Martin crossed the portal's threshold first. In the breadth of a single step, nigh on a thousand kilometers was crossed, his next step seeing him in the middle of a vast rotunda. On every side were seated demihuman Lords who seemed to have been deep in discussion until the portal's interruption.
"Announcing the Lady of Wings, Yuriko Hanami," he raised his voice, the hall's design easily carrying the declaration throughout its entirety.
'Some of the other titles aren't conducive to improving relations,' the Prime Minister of the Draconic Kingdom dryly snarked to himself as the Viziers collectively froze upon seeing Lady Yuriko and the Gatekeeper.
She awkwardly waved to the petrified audience before snapping her head towards him, face filled with panic.
'Accompanying Her Majesty in the Royal Court is a tad different from this, I suppose…' He gestured at the Minotaur presiding over the meeting in response to the angel's silent question. "Apologies for the tardiness, High Vizier. Lady Yuriko had other pressing concerns that required her attention."
"Ah, no. We should apologize for selecting an inconvenient time," Varush chuckled. "Due to recent—" The Minotaur cut himself off. "Lady Yuriko, the seating arrangements have shifted since your last visit; if it's at all pleasing to you, the seventh seat on the third tier counterclockwise from me would be where Rajan Vadh would sit."
Martin nodded, following the angels to the indicated location. There were two chairs built for the average adult human; although, the Gatekeeper was hardly an average adult human, so he sat down in one of them and waited for the proceedings to commence.
"Nobody's saying anything," Lady Yuriko muttered from beside him while her fingers tapped an off-beat rhythm that her right leg bounced along to. She seemed perfectly unaware of the terrified Jaguar Zoastia sitting to her right and their attempt to remain as still as possible. "They're just staring at us."
They're just staring at you, is what he wanted to retort with, but his noble station had long seen him outgrow such childish behaviors. "Many of these Viziers are laying their eyes upon you for the first time. If the summons that patrol their clanholds are dreadful, how much more so the summoner? Most are curious and wish to judge your worth for themselves—not solely through the tales they've heard."
"Sounds dumb to me," Martin was inclined to agree. They'd seen the devastation she was capable of. Why test fate? "This… it won't be a problem, will it?"
The trace of hopefulness lacing Lady Yuriko's words aroused a bitter feeling in his heart. If it was for her own sake, he would understand, but knowing her… it was for the demihumans'.
Why care for the beastmen? As a citizen of the Draconic Kingdom who knew full well the travesties perpetrated upon his fellows, he could not muster the sympathy to pity their enemies. He would do the work demanded of him by Her Majesty, he could even sympathize with the plights of those like the High Vizier, but the fools who were tempted to throw away the good fortune they'd been blessed with?
"I doubt it will be a problem, Lady Yuriko," he remarked in an even tone. "Although, if they do tread that path, then…"
'When you can't make them see the light, make them feel the heat.'
Martin snorted. "It's unlikely to devolve to the point where Lady Yuriko's direct intervention is required. The threat of violence aside, the Beastman Country is relying on you to maintain the agreement with the Mac'tal and Mirewood Dragon Lord by way of strength."
She tilted her head, visibly considering something, and opened her mouth just as the High Vizier called for everybody's attention.
"Viziers! Most of you are new to this, but this first session will be more informal than you might have anticipated. A number of those present are merely sitting in to better understand the current state of the Republic," Varush quieted the few whispers that had arisen in the wake of Lady Yuriko and his arrival. "Our first order of business will be instating the Lady of Wings in the position of the late Rajan Vadh. Are there any objections?"
A bold ape beastman spoke out. "Clan Vadh's territory got snatched up by that Bela'vish. Since she got smoked by the Lady of Wings here, will Clan Zrak's holdings also go to them?"
"If Lady Yuriko so desires," Varush glanced at the angel. She looked back before realizing the Council was waiting for an answer.
"I, I'll take care of it," her voice grew firmer with each syllable. "Because I was the one who… who did that to them, I should be the one taking responsibility."
"Very well. Does anybody object?" The Minotaur nodded to the sea of murmured assent. There appeared to be a few Jaguar Zoastia who looked mildly discomfited—must be one of the few survivors invited to sit in. "Then, we'll have any necessary documents remade and sent to you as soon as we can, Lady Yuriko. Moving on to the next item raised for discussion: with the Mac'tal withdrawing, it should be safe for those displaced by their incursions to return home. Due to a number of unrelated circumstances, our teleportation gateways will be offline for the foreseeable future, so Clan Ur has requested assistance in escorting and transportation…"
As the tension in the atmosphere defused and Viziers grew comfortable enough to freely speak, Martin began jotting down notes on the parchment he had the foresight to bring. He usually found scribing unnecessary, but with the angel playing a larger role that would most definitely require administrative manpower he would need to scrounge up…
Well, being meticulous could only help.
AN: And that's the end of daily uploads! Got college and whatnot going on, so again, updating speed will slow down by a good bit.
Hope you all enjoyed this particular three chapter section, and somebody get Drau a Ryx plush!
