Chapter 104: this chair is too hard

Upper Earth Month, 10th Day, 600 AGG

Calca read the paragraph.

Then she read it again.

And again—

She closed the book and laid it to the side of her bed with a sigh. This particular dialect of Vulgar Draconic stung the eyes, though in the spirit of honesty, it was also the only dialect of any kind of Draconic she had even a passing proficiency in. "Kelart."

"Calca," the High Priestess of the Roble Holy Kingdom absentmindedly answered as her quill scratched orderly characters upon parchment.

"Composing a letter to your sister?" Calca caught a basket that almost fell from the back and forth rocking of the ship. Next time, she was taking the angel up on their offer to fly them via summons, the Southern Holy Kingdom's nobility be damned. "By the way, you were writing to her during our stay in the Draconic Kingdom, yes? Did she ever send a reply?"

"This isn't addressed to my honored sister, but she did indeed send a reply," Kelart scowled at the stray ink-mark caused by the ship's rolling as if glaring hard enough would erase the slip of the nib.

The Holy Queen pushed herself to a sitting position and stared at the woman who was a sister to her in all but name. Their time in Oriculo had been enjoyable—well, her time had been enjoyable, but Kelart spent most of theirs stressing over one thing and another. Apparently, she was the crazy one for getting so chummy with Yuriko when that was the purpose to begin with? 'Not that I want to be friends for such a cold reason.'

"Is she doing well?" She gently asked; no further details were forthcoming from Kelart. "The Great Wall stands strong, but if something happened in the Court…"

Despite her incredible feats in the Abelion Hills, Remedios Custodio wasn't suited for the battlefield of words. Such was the nature of Roble's Paladin Grandmaster, White of the Nine Colors.

Calca couldn't find it in herself to fault her friend though; how could she when their pursuit of strength was for her sake, her ideals? That being said, allowing their assistant—Gustav Montagnés, she remembered the poor man running off to attend to a stomachache—to shoulder the bulk of running the Paladin Order due to Remedios's aptitude, or lack thereof, wasn't something she wanted to let stand.

"Remedios is doing fine," Kelart brushed a glossy lock of dark brown hair behind her ear with a gracefulness that would and had brought men to their knees. It was perhaps rude to think of her friend in such a manner, but Calca occasionally wondered why they never received a marriage proposal in the long time she had known them even with those unsavory rumors floating about. Beauty, kindness, strength of character, intelligence—Kelart had it all in spades. "Your brother, His Royal Highness, is currently in Hoburns keeping an eye on the Court. As for the rest… she mentioned there being less demihuman raids than usual this season.

"It—should be fine," Kelart ran a hand down her face. "I think it's related to the Theocracy mustering more of their army than usual at their western border."

The High Priestess grimaced, shooting a wary look at the basket of cookies, courtesy of her new winged friend, that Calca was holding. "Hopefully. On the off-chance that the demihumans are uniting to attack us and not to defend themselves from the Theocracy… I don't want to consider what Queen Oriculus will demand for military aid. I don't know if she'd even entertain a request with how cagey she and Lady Yuriko were regarding military matters."

'An incursion from an alliance of unified tribes would be bad,' that said, Calca didn't believe it would be bad to the point of being unmanageable, as coldly, discomfitingly calculative as that sounded. 'It's a shame, but Kelart's right about the difficulty of asking the Draconic Kingdom to permanently resolve our long-standing problems with the Abelion Hills. Queen Oriculus confided as much to me in private—at least until her own kingdom has had time to properly recover from the depravities of the beastmen.'

To be honest, she didn't feel like it was a great loss. Thanks to the Holy Kingdom's robust army, they rarely ever had to rely on foreign militaries to drive out the demihumans assailing the Great Wall. True, there had been times like the Long Rain where enemies managed to breach the wall and ravage the lands behind, yet even the Srasch had eventually been driven off by Roble's might of arms.

'Although some are rumored to still be hiding throughout the countryside,' Calca dispelled such thoughts and held out the basket to her friend. Whether the Srasch were hiding in the Holy Kingdom or not was a problem she had already addressed, and if they couldn't find the elusive remainder, then she doubted they'd ever will. "Speaking of heavenly intervention, would you like one, Kelart?"

"Cookies? Really?" Kelart reached for one with no small amount of bemusement and took a dainty bite. "This is… surprisingly average."

"It's the thought that counts though, right?"

"If you say so, Calca," her friend unenthusiastically finished the rest of the cookie. Then with an understated elegance, Kelart swept the crumbs off the white-and-blue regalia she typically wore while representing the temples in an official capacity. "While we're on the topic of 'heavenly intervention,' I'm wondering if we shouldn't have just accepted Lady Yuriko's return trip offer. Leaving Hoburns for so long has me restless."

"It can't be helped," Calca shrugged and nibbled on a sugary butter cookie of her own. "This sort of pageantry is expected out of those who sit in high places. Air travel does sound quite wonderful though."

"Would that we could ask my honored sister to clean house," Kelart returned to the letter she was penning with a renewed ferocity. "Haaah… honestly… do those southerners have that little to do? Fretting about protocol and projection in the face of Queen Oriculus's superweapon…"

"Her angels are above deck, you know," a frown crept across Calca's lips. "Whether you like her or not, she's due some respect."

"Is that something to get offended over?" Kelart snorted, more a puff of air than anything. "As much as I fear what Lady Yuriko can do, I will admit that she has demonstrated admirable restraint. Calca, you might not have noticed, busy as you were building… diplomatic relations, but many of our fellow guests have said far, far worse.

"Coarse filth unfit for your ears," the High Priestess cut her off before she could heatedly ask what exactly had been said about her new friend. "You would think they'd exercise some discretion when angels lurked in every corner—either way, if Lady Yuriko didn't strike them down for that, I highly doubt she would for this."

Calca put a hand over her cheek and considered Kelart for a few seconds. Slowly, her frown melted into a grin. "You're warming up to her."

"Hmph. That's not necessarily a good thing," they dipped the nib in the inkwell. "Someone needs to be on guard, even if it's pointless. But yes, if she's faking that personality of hers, then I'd be extremely impressed."

"I trust Queen Oriculus's judgment," she confidently asserted. The Dragon Queen had none of the advantages the Holy Kingdom had, and her people faced an organized threat far greater than Roble's, yet managed to keep the Draconic Kingdom together for decades. If they weren't an exemplar of rulership—she didn't care what Emperor El-Nix had to say—then nobody was. "Besides, you've seen the two of them together, right Kelart? Even in public, they kept sneaking glances and smiles at each other; I don't think any of that was fake."

Calca was happy for them, truly, but an ugly part of her harbored a forlorn jealousy. Queen Oriculus—those two were blessed to have met: partners who shared every sorrow and joy with one another.

Companions who held in the other a complete trust that surpassed the generational gap between whatever primordial era birthed the angel and modern times. A trust that, even if either were to commit a sin, the other would still trust, understand them—what was that line she read in one of those translated books Ran had gifted her?

'It was my parents who gave life to me. It is Shuya who really knows me.'

"It's only a matter of time before you also find a worthy suitor," she jerked, noticing that Kelart had put down their quill in favor of facing her. She supposed it was only to be expected for one of her Twin Wings to understand even her silence. "In fact, taking your time is a good thing. Gives us more of an opportunity to vet them for ulterior motives."

"Wouldn't that be everyone?" Calca couldn't help wondering. "I know what I've said about the kind of… love I want, but aren't ulterior motives a given when it comes to people entrusted with power, like us?"

"Obviously, that goes without saying. What I meant was, we'd watch out for suitors who no person has business being in a marital relationship with," Kelart took another 'surprisingly average' cookie from the basket. "You've seen the courtiers and how most of them treat their wives, how they speak of them whenever they think nobody is listening."

The High Priestess inspected the baked good, pinched as it was betwixt thumb and forefinger. "Men are a strange breed: they want you to become a whore for them but a prude for everybody else."

"I see…" She wasn't a stranger to being leered at by low and highborn alike, which she supposed came with being known as the Treasure of Roble and Holy Queen of Purity. The contradiction there was not lost on her. "Yes, I guess I do see where you're coming from, Kelart."

The greater, more out of reach the 'prize,' the wilder the fantasy. A sort of despicable hypocrisy where laws existed to be broken, purity to be defiled, righteousness to be subverted—until their turn came around.

But Calca didn't think all people were that way, or even the majority of people. If that was true, then how could the Holy Kingdom have withstood nigh on two centuries of attacks from their demihuman neighbors? How could the Draconic Kingdom? It was only because people valued virtue, things beyond themselves, that they put their lives on the line for selfless causes.

She didn't say any of that though; the argument was an old one between her and Kelart.

"Anyhow, worrying about it is a waste of energy," Kelart dismissively waved her hand. "Did you make up your mind regarding Queen Oriculus's interest in importing Lanca?"

"I—she wants what?" The whiplash from the sudden change in topic set her eyes aflutter. "Lanca?"

Calca vaguely recalled one of the courtiers she'd brought along relaying the information, though the details escaped her. "I'm not opposed to expanding our export volume to the Draconic Kingdom, but exporting cattle from such a distance might be… difficult."

"Calca," the High Priestess rubbed her brows. "Did you read the details of the contract?"

"Of course I did!" She replied, mildly miffed at the lack of faith in her capabilities. It was true that she left many diplomatic duties to Kelart and the Crown Ambassadors, but it would be remiss of a ruler to completely neglect these issues. "There was a lot of details on price negotiation, and how Queen Oriculus was also discussing it with Slane because of potential tariffs—"

"Lady Yuriko will be using her angels to ship the Lanca. I don't know about the tariffs yet since this is largely unprecedented, at least transporting so much via air, but the Theocracy shouldn't interfere if they know what's good for them. Looks like my concerns about the expenses there aren't going to come into play."

That part was certainly not in the collated information she'd received which meant it was a very recent development. 'The same day they left' kind of recent.

"You know, it's a little unfair to expect me to be aware of some last minute arrangement you made," Calca gave a half-hearted scowl that was quickly replaced with a brighter expression. "But I'm surprised, Kelart; I thought you wouldn't dare ask."

"It was an obvious resource that she seems to have in vast supply," Kelart rolled her eyes but smiled as well. "From what I've gathered—and Queen Oriculus's Court didn't say this directly—there's only so many unoccupied summons they have at any given time. That's not to say there's not many, because the number is already absurd, but we'll have to send the rest over water."

"If Queen Oriculus wants to purchase Lanca for the sake of breeding herds in the Draconic Kingdom, then she only needs a few, doesn't she?" Calca noted. "So however many the angels can carry even within a short time frame is more than enough."

"True," Kelart's forefinger ponderously tapped her knee. "I'd prefer being able to sell a greater amount—gods know every bit of gold helps—but the amount Queen Oriculus proposed was more than fair. Arguing the point felt unwise given the circumstances."

"You did great, Kelart," it was unlike her friend to be this harsh on themself; they thrived in the high-tension games of politics, yet even that had a limit. She didn't think dealing with affairs related to Yuriko warranted that degree of stress, though she understood: the angel was powerful, and the world wasn't kind to the weak despite her sincerest wishes. "Nobody else could've done better in your position, not without taking the risk of fracturing our relations with them."

"Debatable, but I shall humbly accept this praise, Your Majesty," the High Priestess's smirk belied the solemnity of their tone. "On that note, would you like for me to continue being Roble's liaison with Lady Yuriko specifically, or would you rather leave that duty for yourself? I admit, I will pity Ambassador Garcia if he ends up having to face Lady Yuriko the most."

"Skipping the ambassador and keeping a constant line of communication with her would be…" Not easy. Calca didn't mind, not when it was her friend for crying out loud; although, small talk and the politics of foreign diplomacy were two very disparate categories. "It'll be better for us to handle messages through Garcia. Yuriko wouldn't mind me writing to her personally, but it would be strange if Queen Oriculus didn't take any offense. Well, even if she didn't, it's still rude to step past her like that, right?"

"I was thinking the same," Kelart nodded with a look of relief. Was it because they thought she'd insist on being the one to handle interactions with the angel? "Maintaining that friendship is critical: fumble it, and we'll have more on our hands than just the angel. Likewise, our relationship with Queen Oriculus is equally as crucial since both are closely intertwined—probably."

In other, harsher words, they'd be ostracized by the surrounding nations. The angel's opinions were of greater import than truth itself, and nobody wanted to be lumped in with whoever had caught Yuriko's ire; the Beastman Country being an excellent example of how bad things could devolve.

So, no pressure?

"They're kind people," she said, filled with conviction, belief in the winged woman she now called friend. "I won't deny that they're dangerous, but they aren't malicious."

" 'Bugs riding on the back of a tiger,' huh?" A long-suffering sigh escaped from Kelart. "I suppose agonizing over it won't do us any good. Even if you've misjudged her character, it's not like we can do anything about it."

"Mhm," Calca picked up the book she had put to the side, and flipped open to a random page. Kelart looked at her for a while longer before returning to the letter, having grown more accustomed to the swaying of the ship.

Maybe she would invite the two over for a visit someday, when events weren't so frantic and worrisome. Everybody could use the break, and it had been a while since Queen Oriculus last stepped foot into Hoburns. In fact, Yuriko had expressed an interest in sight-seeing too, hadn't she?

'I need to remember to prepare some of the beauty products she asked about,' Calca's eyes glazed over, thinking about the various preparations and meetings she'd have to undergo when they returned to the Royal Palace. 'This would be the first time I showed them off to somebody who wasn't Brother, Remedios, or Kelart…'

She was confident in her skills as a beautician, but Yuriko was—ahhh, who cared? Her friend expressed an interest in her hobby and wanted to expand their knowledge of it.

That was reason enough for the Holy Queen.


"So you already knew?"

"Yes?" The Prime Minister stared at her with a raised eyebrow, mild annoyance lacing his words; which considering how well-composed he usually was—yeah, he was pretty annoyed. And incredibly rude, Mira added in her head. "Did she tell you anything else?"

"There's more?" Mira's lips drooped, almost comically so. "How did you even know before me?!"

"Watch your tongue, Dame Calventa," she shut her mouth. No way, ab-so-lute-ly noooo way was she going to be punished with another double shift. Nuh uh. Impossible. "So you don't. That's good; I was afraid I'd have to give another stern reminder to Lady Yuriko. It would be… unfortunate if she found out the reason was because you failed to keep your silence."

Lord Asturias consulted his pocket watch and the frown lines on his forehead deepened by just the slightest. His pace, and hers by extension, quickened. "As is, she shouldn't have told you to begin with. I hope you understand this event is not to be circulated for your amusement."

"U-Understood! My Lord!" They approached the vaunted doors leading to the throne room where two of her colleagues stood on guard. Presumably, the other two were inside, as pointless as that was. What, were people seriously expecting them to do something against anything that could foil the angels?

One of the Royal Guards was very, very familiar to her though "Vicente—!"

Mira snapped her mouth shut after a disapproving glance from the Minister she was escorting. Vicente, that bastard, visibly held back an amused chuckle, so she settled for a hasty glare instead of letting her mouth get her into more trouble.

Fernando, the other guard, cracked the door open and whispered something to those on the other side before turning to face her and Lord Asturias. She never interacted with him outside of work and related events, but he seemed like he had a jousting lance stuck up his ass. Actually, most of the Royal Guards did, which was probably why she got along with Vicente so well.

"Lord Asturias, please enter," Fernando politely informed him, then directed a pair of narrowed eyes onto her. "Quietly."

'I am quiet.'

She knew she pushed the limits of Queen Oriculus's patience, but she also knew there were boundaries.

The pair slipped in, a good number courtiers glancing at them as they made their way up the dais and standing to the left of the throne where the raven-haired Queen regally reclined.

Queen Oriculus acknowledged their presence—or Lord Asturias's, really—with a nod and returned to whatever complicated hell she usually dealt with in the Royal Court. To Her Majesty's right, sat a six-winged angel on a shitty wooden stool that was laughably out of place in the dignified halls of Oriculia.

'I don't think I've ever seen her sitting down while in Court,' Mira contemplated, flashing a grin in response to Yuriko's waving. She wasn't told the exact details because that was one of those super secret things even the angel was restricted from talking about by… uh, suggestion of the Queen.

Okay, 'command' was more fitting, but Her Majesty had her friend wrapped around a pinky finger—and vice versa, she guessed. Damn lovebirds.

"That's that for our second temple then," Queen Oriculus said, continuing from where she'd left off. "We'll have it established in Lady Belfrig's county. Does anyone else have an objection I haven't heard yet?"

She waited a few seconds before continuing. "Moving on: Baron Fernde, how goes the trade route you were charged with developing?"

"As well as it could be, Your Majesty," wasn't that the guy who Lord Asturias always complained about? One of his spares was training to be an administrator if Mira recalled correctly, which was weird since she could never deal with somebody who'd remind her of a pain in the butt—but that must be why he was the Prime Minister and she wasn't. "Th-Though if I may…?"

"What's the issue?" The sweating man balked under the severity—and ohohoho, if only he knew how bad it could really get—of Queen Oriculus's teal-green eyes. With how things currently stood, that was just the Queen's default expression in Court ever since they stopped presenting themselves in the form of a child. "Speak, Baron."

"Safety isn't an issue… b-but the roads themselves remain treacherous, Your Majesty," Fernde visibly gulped, fighting the urge to duck his head and avoid his sovereign's gaze. "Narrow paths, uneven ground, steep inclines and sudden drops, floating boulders—it's impossible to transport goods using ordinary methods."

"Hm. Was this ever mentioned in your memorandums?" Queen Oriculus turned towards Lord Asturias. The Prime Minister closed his eyes and shook his head. "I see. Now, why is that? If you ran into problems, the proper course of action would have been to send a petition."

"Your Majesty, I," Fernde's tongue darted out, nervously wetting his lips. "I didn't wish to waste yours or Lady Yuriko's time with trivial concerns."

"That's thoughtful of you," he almost let out a sigh of relief. "Unfortunately, despite your best intentions, this has wasted our time anyway. Consult with those on the Beastman Country's end and write up a report of the situation along with a petition for what you need."

'Sheesh,' one might think the Queen would only grow gentler and kinder with the conclusion of the war, and she still was those things—sometimes—but man, was her Court having it tough. Even the scribe sitting in the corner recording the minutes winced. 'She's gotten more intense.'

Mira and Yuriko shared a look. The guardmage smirked; the angel widened their eyes and sucked in their cheeks.

"On that note, the roads through the forest are progressing smoothly, I hope?" Not looking away from Fernde, Queen Oriculus wagged a finger at Yuriko. Crud, she saw them.

"Y-Yes, there's already enough cleared away for travel and it's on schedule for completion, Your Majesty."

"Very good. Continue working hard, Baron; the Crown sees your service and does not forget," the man stiffly bowed, giving his thanks, and did his best to sink into the audience of courtiers. "Prime Minister, are there any pressing concerns related to our recently departed guests?"

"Nothing deserving of immediate attention, Your Majesty," Lord Asturias calmly replied. "Emperor El-Nix charged Lady Rockbruise with discussing revisions to his previous offers, and the Great Nobles of Re-Estize wished to discuss something similar."

'Not their Royal Family?' Mira found that odd, though House Vaiself did have a strong connection to Yuriko in the form of Princess Renner. Her friend spoke glowingly of the Second Prince too, and with him plus the Princess in the angel's good graces, the guardmage doubted Yuriko would give the time of day to the nobles opposing Re-Estize royalty. 'Their country is falling to shit because of these mooks, so whatever, good for them, but it could get real messy if—'

"Have them go through Ambassador Barsa. Is that acceptable to you, Yuriko?" Queen Oriculus beat her to the thought.

"Mmmm… I'm cool with that," the sunny blonde bobbed her head up and down. "I don't really wanna talk to rude people like them—but if pushing it onto somebody else causes problems for us, then yeah, I can deal with these guys."

"It wouldn't cause problems," Queen Oriculus reassured them. "Since handling communications with them is Sir Barsa's responsibility anyway."

"Oh. Well, okay then!" Yuriko's feet kicked back and forth. "That's good to hear."

The Dragon Queen chuffed in amusement. "Is that all, Prime Minister?"

"Of the pressing concerns, yes," Lord Asturias confirmed. "Everything else is more or less already accounted for. In other words, the kingdom's troubles are mostly counted among those Your Majesty and Her Court are working on."

"Music to my ears," Queen Oriculus wryly muttered under her breath, just barely loud enough for Mira and the other two on the dais to hear, before addressing the Court again. "Then, does anyone else have something important they wish to bring up?"

The crowd of courtiers murmured variations of 'no,' to which the Queen nodded in expertly concealed satisfaction. "In that case, today's session is hereby adjourned. As always, thank you all for your hard work."

They bowed, not quite as a monolithic whole, but bow they did before filing out the throne room in orderly lines, towering doors held open by the Royal Guards. After the last courtier had left, Queen Oriculus wordlessly dismissed the other guards with a gesture, leaving only the angels behind as protection.

"You missed the part about the Awards Ceremony," Queen Oriculus finally said, though not accusingly, to Lord Asturias. Yuriko got up with a slight unsteadiness and plopped down on the throne's armrest as they slumped against Her Majesty. Mira nearly clicked her tongue: she would've won a few bets if only they'd done that in public. "We finalized the list during today's session while you were off cavorting with your demihuman counterparts."

"Are there differences from the list I proposed to Your Majesty?" Lord Asturias received the lighthearted jab without even blinking. "If so, I ask that the changes be sent to me in writing prior to the ceremony proper."

"I'll see that it's done. Have you gotten the chance to check the itinerary for our trip after the ceremony?" Queen Oriculus shot her a dirty look. "And no, Mira. You're not coming along. None of the guards are."

"She's not?!" Yuriko stared at the grumpy woman with undisguised shock. "But, what about the last time we went on a trip to your Uncle's—" Queen Oriculus's expression darkened. "I mean, Duke Carthalo's place? You brought the guards with you then, didn't you?"

"They were a necessity back then," despite the fact the two were merely bickering, Mira felt uncomfortable watching: the scene was intimate, strangely so. "A royal traveling without protection is asking for trouble."

"I was with you though," Yuriko apologetically glanced at Mira. "Not trying to say anything about your guards, but well, y'know?"

"We were strangers at the time. Besides, I wanted this to be…" Queen Oriculus faltered, mouth clamping shut before opening again after a few painfully quiet seconds. "For us to have an extended period of respite happen to overlap is rare, you see."

"Ah," Yuriko also found herself at a loss for words. "O-Okay, Drau. Me too. I'd really like—"

"Ahem," the pair on the throne flinched away from each other as Lord Asturias cleared his throat. "I hope Your Majesty and Lady Yuriko both understand that your responsibilities aren't to be ignored even when away from the castle."

"Of course, of course," the Dragon Queen rose from her throne, pulling the angel up by the hand and making her way elsewhere with them. "Is the rest of your day clear? There was something I wanted to discuss with you."

"I can make time," Yuriko craned her neck behind her and waved to the pair they were leaving behind. "Oh yeah, see you guys later!"

Farewell given, the angel returned her attention to Queen Oriculus. "So what was it you…"

Mira stopped listening. She could've caught what they were saying if she tried—perks of the street-rat trade—but that'll just be masochism.

It was a… lonely, she guessed, kind of feeling. She was happy though! Happy because the people she cared about were happy, and that was good enough.

A little envious of what they had, but envy wasn't rare, and she figured anybody saying otherwise was definitely lying.

Maybe the real reason was because there wasn't much she could do for her friend. Like, yeah, she understood being there for them and blah blah blah helped, but it was hard to believe. The sort of thing that—well, you never knew how it impacted them until you stopped and caused them to have a massive mental breakdown, or something.

So knowing that, seeing that, was it wrong to think she wasn't really needed when the Queen and the angel had one another? She knew Yuriko wouldn't say that, wouldn't even dare let the thought cross their mind, yet—it wasn't the sort of thing with a rational answer, right? It wasn't as if they were ignoring her or pretending she didn't exist even when that would've been understandable with their workload… still.

'I gotta find a hobby,' her mind wandered to a certain ambassador from Baharuth, the idling another reminder of why she was envious in the first place, but it was better than what she'd been busting her head over before? 'Wait, all she does is training and visiting the Water God's temple. There was that diary thingy too, but I haven't seen her crack it open much recently… maybe I should start a journal? Writing's a pain in the ass though.'

"Follow me, Dame Calventa," without a hint of guilt, the Prime Minister interrupted her important considerations for the future. "I'll have you deliver a number of invitations for the upcoming ceremony, and after completing that, you'll go and continue assisting the Institution of Magic with the project they'd assigned you to."

Mira very carefully did not sigh.

'Mana exhaustion is a bitch.'