Whew, how the time has flown yet again. I swear, my current set of classes has been pretty brutal – 3 accounting classes (ugh) while the rest have 15 to 20 minute powerpoint presentations as final projects in addition to an 11 to 15 page essay… while the degree will be worth it, it's times like this where I remember how frustrating I found certain aspects of schooling to be. Doesn't help that I've 8 classes this… semester I guess you can call it, since most of the classes are only worth 1.5 or 0.6 units and I need to take 12 units worth of classes at a time… ugh!
Thank God that once this set of classes is over with, most of the classes remaining afterwards will be 3 units each so I only have to juggle four classes at a time. Still, if future final projects are like this, then I'm going to be having to dedicate significantly more time to balancing things.
Why my rambling? Why, because it will impact just how often I get to work on this fic, perhaps even more so than it already has been so far. While I'm hardly sticking to some kind of strict fanfic writing schedule or anything, I do dislike going huge amounts of time without writing anything for fun to balance out all the essay writing, but if that's what is required to get my classes done in a timely manner then that is what I must do. I just wanted to put that out there for you guys as a 'just in case' sort of thing.
Now, on a much lighter note, I'd finally gotten myself a new phone to replace my old one… and in doing so, ended up caving in and taking on my second gacha game – Punishing Gray Raven! Only about 4 chapters into its story so far and it's taking my mind some time to adjust to playing hack-and-slash action on a phone of all things, but it's been pretty fun so far. And while I've been informed that the first several chapters of the game's story can be kind of flat due to how much worldbuilding and concepts it's introducing, I'm actually liking it so far and that gives me hope for how much more enjoyable the more complex storywriting will be later on.
And of course, it's tickling my fic-obsessed side of the brain pretty well. I can totally see how I could make a crossover with PGR and the Silverio saga visual novels work. Same thing for a crossover with it and RWBY or something else with a similar aesthetic.
But man, I already have a DMC/Lies of P idea so strongly in mind too… guess I'll have to make a hard call on what fic to do next once I'm actually done with this one, ha ha.
But for real, enough with my rambling – let's get onto the chapter! Enjoy!
Usual P.S. – please consider purchasing any of my books! Universal links to them can be found on my profile page, just remove the spaces! Fading Darkness, Rising Light and my Infinite Genesis trilogy can be found on sites such as Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble, the Apple book store and more!
Chapter 27
"Look, look!" cried out High Elf Archer, who hopped up and down like a child. "Just look at how many shops there are!"
"I see," was Goblin Slayer's usual reply.
Dwarf Shaman, who walked alongside the goblin obsessed adventurer, snickered. "I swear, you elves can be like kids! So much for being all old and wise, eh?"
Goblin Slayer watched dispassionately as the dwarf's comment got a huff out of their resident high elf. However, to his mild surprise, rather than blow up at Dwarf Shaman, High Elf Archer ignored him now in favor of practically fawning over the shops they were passing by.
To be perfectly fair, there really are a lot of shops here and with a huge variety of products being sold. He idly supposed this was to be expected of the capital, the heart of the kingdom.
It's been but an hour or so since the adventuring party had arrived here alongside numerous other adventurers. And for the most part, they all had gone their separate ways. Alas, this would be a temporary reprieve of sorts – upon entering the capital, the guards had informed each adventuring party that the King would be requiring them to gather at a later time in the day to be informed of what exactly would be required of their presence here.
In the meantime, that gave all of them some leeway in how to spend the day until then. And once that fact had become clear, it hadn't taken High Elf Archer long at all to effectively cow-tow them all into perusing the various shops here.
That said…
"G-Goblin Slayer, sir! Look!" Priestess exclaimed as she pointed out a stall that appeared to sell some adventuring equipment. "They've a pack like the adventuring pack the guild gives us!"
Goblin Slayer, feeling a little awkward with the sheer number of people constantly passing by, could only grunt. "I see."
Despite said awkwardness, however, he did possess some measure of interest in the current going-ons. So did the rest of the party, hence why High Elf Archer didn't actually have to try that hard to tug them along. And it wasn't as if there was much else that could be done in the meanwhile, outside of finding an inn to stay at.
…And it was… nice to see how lively his friends were at the moment. Simply being in the capital appeared to lift their spirits considerably. This particular effect was especially pronounced in the female members of his party, with even the normally shy and uncertain Priestess surveying everything around them with sparkling eyes.
"My word, I've never once seen so many people gathered!" Lizard Priest exclaimed as he brought up the rear of their group. "It's enough to make even me feel rather taken aback!"
Dwarf Shaman guffawed. "Yer feeling out of place or something,' scaly? Now that's a first!"
Lizard Priest rolled his eyes and licked his lips, or at least whatever passed for lips for a lizardman. "I wouldn't go that far, master spellcaster… but I won't entirely deny it either." His tone was tinged with amusement. His words simply got Dwarf Shaman to laugh even harder.
Goblin Slayer, perhaps feeling drawn in by everything as well, felt a need to comment. "…It's certainly not an every day sight."
"You got that right, Beard-cutter!" Dwarf Shaman slapped Goblin Slayer's side fiercely in agreement. "To think we all believed the frontier town to be bustling too. But the capital here puts it to shame!"
"Hmm, indeed. But I do wonder if perhaps the sheer number of people is due to recent events," Lizard Priest pondered.
Goblin Slayer hummed; his friend had a possible point.
With all the Chaos that's been going on in recent times, it is likely that numerous people had flocked here to the capital for some measure of protection. And when combined with the influx of adventurers entering the capital thanks to the missive sent out, it wasn't unlikely that the crowded streets and inns was due to all the extra people coming in and getting settled for the long haul.
But as none of them had ever really been to the capital before, they had no way of knowing the truth.
"Hrm, could be, scaly, could be," Dwarf Shaman agreed as he chugged more of his fire whiskey. "Would explain a bit of the rowdiness too."
As he said that, he motioned to quite a few people strolling further down the path they were on. Fellow adventurers by the looks of it, given their equipment. And whoever they were, they were speaking loudly, more so than even the merchants that were yelling out into the streets to attract attention to their products. Said adventurers, in addition to being loud, were practically shoving each other back and forth – not in aggravation or anger, but merely due to incredibly high spirits, it would seem, judging by the smiles on their faces and their laughter.
"…Lot of patrols as well," Goblin Slayer murmured, taking stock of the sheer number of soldiers that he'd seen marching about.
Said soldiers appeared to be walking in pairs of two and were fairly spread out among all the streets and weaved within the crowds. Armored but with their weapons not out, they nonetheless were clearly alert for anything out of the ordinary… though Goblin Slayer noted how a few of them also shot some of his fellow adventurers rather nasty looks.
Seems the rather strained relationship soldiers had with adventurers and vice versa was still going strong despite these troubling times.
But then Goblin Slayer tilted his head in mild confusion as one particular pair of soldiers came closer, their path roughly parallel to his and his party's path. Though well hidden enough from the average civilian, the goblin obsessed adventurer can make out the still healing cuts and bruises on the sides of the soldiers' face and necks, marginally hidden by their helmets and other gear. And though still alert, they were just barely repressing grimaces of pain.
He wasn't the only one to notice this either.
"Oof. Wonder what happened to those guys," High Elf Archer mumbled as she got closer to Goblin Slayer. Given her exceptional senses as both a high elf and archer, she very likely spotted the injuries out of the corners of her eyes.
"An incident, mayhaps?" Lizard Priest pondered. "No… I'd even go as far as to guess they had been the recipients of some very tough training indeed."
"Training, eh? Can you really tell if that's the case?" High Elf Archer actually looked intrigued to hear the lizardman's response.
Said lizardman chuckled. "Once you've been thrown around enough by your teachers, you come to learn how to discern when the same happens to others."
That got a 'huh!' of surprise out of the high elf. "Well, if that's really the case, then their combat teacher or whatever must be pretty mean if those wounds are still lingering this long after so many days."
"I-I wonder if we'll meet such a person," Priestess now chipped in as she also neared the rest of the party. "I mean, since all these adventurers are to be working with the military…"
Goblin Slayer actually hummed yet again. The state the soldiers were in vaguely reminded him of his tutelage under the harsh Burglar. The training had been extremely beneficial and had helped him hone the mindset around the question 'what is in my pocket?' but not even Goblin Slayer, for all his awkwardness, could deny the roughness of the training. He'd even go as far as to call it brutal.
High Elf Archer grunted as she folded her arms behind her head. "Hmph. If we do end up meeting the guy responsible for that, I sure hope we don't have to do any stupid combat drills. We're adventurers, for crying out loud! We already know how to do things."
"It never hurts to learn the ways of others," Lizard Priest retorted calmly. "How else are we to broaden our horizons?"
"That's right, long ears!" Dwarf Shaman chuckled. "Maybe ye elves oughta get off that high horse of yers and smell the roses down where the rest of us are at!"
"Shut it, you stupid dwarf! I know more about flowers and nature in general than a thousand of you could ever know!"
Her snappish remark kickstarted yet another brief tirade between the two of them, forcing the Lizard Priest and Priestess to simply watch on in mild exasperation and amusement.
As for Goblin Slayer himself, however, he still dwelt on the state those soldiers had been in.
He would never dare claim to know how military training is done beyond what little he's heard over the years, but he knew enough to tell that such a level of fierce training at a time like this wasn't simply for nothing.
The capital's soldiers were being prepared for something, which only confirmed what little the missive had said. That in turn meant that whatever forces of Chaos the King wished to combat were dangerous enough to warrant such extra training for his soldiers.
And something that none of his friends seemed to have picked up – likely due to everything else taking up their attention – was that more and more soldiers seemed to be sporting similar training injuries, including those that seemed to be higher up in the chain of command. In other words, it wasn't likely that the average combat instructors, typically sergeants and the like, were the ones responsible for all this.
So who was?
Time went by rather slowly for the Tarnished, a result of him feeling just a little bit impatient.
Ever since he'd started to see adventurers pour into the capital, he'd found himself rather looking forward to the huge assembly the King was to hold with the adventurers once all of them had gathered at the palace. There, the King would properly address the adventurers with some more details that the missive had left out and hopefully rouse their spirits, make them more… pliable, he supposed the proper word is, more cooperative.
And it would also be during that assembly that the King would actually be introducing him and Ranni to the adventurers.
Needless to say, when he'd first been informed of this fact just this morning, he'd been rather surprised since it'd been decided without his input… but the seasoned warrior couldn't find it in him to be mad once he'd thought about it.
Adventurers, from what he understood, didn't exactly get along with any military, finding such things too constricting and formal for those who sought freedom and informality. Said discontentment was shared among the soldiers as well, so trying to have so many adventurers having to potentially answer to someone of official authority in the military could potentially be futile.
However, the King, having once been an adventurer himself and still clearly missing those days, was crafty in this respect. By introducing him and Ranni, two individuals of great power and skill that worked with him and his officials and reaping some benefits while still being able to enjoy their own freedom, the King would show the adventurers that such a relationship can be experienced and enjoyed. It was all just a matter of making some compromises here and there.
Additionally, Hero and her friends would be at the massive gathering as well, yet another sign of adventurers being able to enjoy various perks and freedoms even if it did mean having to occasionally be at the beck and call of the King and his subordinates. An extra example, so to speak.
Whether or not such a strategy would work is what had the Tarnished so eager to see what would happen.
But more than that… well, he just wanted to see for himself what else adventurers could be capable of. He'd caught a glimpse of their capabilities from the brief time he'd traveled with Heavy Warrior and his party, and more recently Hero, Sage, and Sword Saint. However, it went without saying that they were not all that adventurers had to offer.
Even if the female trio could be considered the cream of the crop by virtue of their adventurer ranks and skills, their skillsets were not all encompassing. Surely, there were plenty of interesting new tactics and tricks and abilities that the adventurers that have arrived could show him.
Hell, even Ranni had expressed some interest in what new magics could be unveiled by some of these adventurers, though obviously her interest in such things was much more academic in nature compared to his more practical inclinations.
Truly, his eagerness made the wait agonizing, but wait he did.
And the day finally began to transition properly to dusk, the assembly was to begin.
In the palace's biggest possible chamber, where he'd assume balls to be held, were a plethora of adventurers indeed. The King had quietly expressed some doubt as to how many would show up, but by the Tarnished's own modest standards, he'd say there was quite the turnout – easily around a hundred, if not more were all crammed into the room.
And here he was, quietly among them.
He stood out from the rather colorful bunch of adventurers by sheer virtue of the fact that he still wore his casual wear, but he remained quiet and hung back against the far wall. Later, when the King actually did introduce him, he'd don his usual equipment and head up to the front, where the King would give his speech from.
In the meantime, as the final preparations were underway, he silently observed everyone there.
To his great and pleasant surprise, among the huge throng of adventurers, he could make out the figures of the adventurers he'd first encountered in this world – the young goblin slaying adventurer and his lively friends. And currently, they appeared to be in something of a group chat with Heavy Warrior and his own small party of all people.
Truly, fate has an interesting way of working, the Tarnished mused in good humor. To think he'd see them again in a situation like this… even with circumstances being what they are, it is good to see them at all.
But…
The Tarnished couldn't help but tilt his head in mild confusion. Something was feeling just a bit…
…He couldn't quite place the feeling, actually. He will have to let Ranni know as soon as he sees her again. Perhaps she will be able to better detect this enigmatic factor. A pity she was hanging back for the time being, conversing with the King about some final matters.
Ah, but in any case, it seemed that two new adventurers were walking up to both Goblin Slayer and Heavy Warrior… and it appeared there were well-acquainted already if the way they greeted one another was anything to judge by.
One was a fairly tall and lean young man with wild spiky hair and wielding an ornate but perfectly functional spear. Meanwhile the other adventurer was an alluring young woman, clearly a magic user given her outfit and presence, certainly not lacking confidence in her looks if the way her shoulders were so readily exposed along with the slit in her dress were anything to judge by.
Both appeared very capable to him. The Tarnished would even go as far as to say that the spear wielder was easily among the strongest warriors in this room full of adventurers. He just had a sense for this sort of thing.
He silently observed the group a moment longer before allowing his gaze to wander and get a rough estimate on the other adventurers here. Even otherwise little details like how their body posture shifts can indicate their experience level and he found himself pleased to see that the adventurers here were capable indeed. Though he still found the differences between adventurers and sellswords to be barely distinguishable, he could admit that these adventurers generally seemed to be good people that can clearly hold their own as needed.
"Albeit quite rowdy," he murmured in amusement as the various conversations going on were uttered at volumes that really didn't need to be so high. It likely didn't help that the various drinks and snacks that had been circulating courtesy of the King's serving staff were making the rounds swiftly.
Finally, the time came.
From a hallway closest to the very front of the room, the King emerged. As he did so, he and the Tarnished shared just a brief second of eye contact before nodding.
As the King's presence was quickly noted by the nearest adventurers, conversations slowly began to die off while the Tarnished himself quietly exited the room and began to quickly pull out his equipment. In mere seconds, he was fully armored and was making his way through a series of secret hallways that the King had informed him of in order to circle around to where the King had entered from.
There, having hung back, was none other than Ranni, one set of hands clasped together while a third hand rested on her waist.
As for the fourth hand, however, it gripped a staff, one that she had spent a solid portion of her time properly making in the time spent in the capital. With the King offering financial support and Sage serving as a tour guide, the Lunar Princess had been able to gather up high quality materials and had gone about crafting a proper staff for herself to better channel her spells through.
Though it didn't hold a candle to her original staff back in the Lands Between, even the Tarnished couldn't deny the quality of the one his beloved currently held, almost as tall as she was and with an orb meant to represent the Dark Moon itself serving as the top of the staff itself. The makeshift sphere orbited in place, held between two points and glowed a pale blue, like that of concentrated moonlight.
The sight of it was enough to make the Tarnished smile.
For his beloved to create such a staff in so brief a timeframe… it truly cannot be understated how much knowledge Ranni had accumulated over the course of her life.
"Are ye ready to be a meager spectacle?" Ranni asked, mildly amused by the whole situation as the King can now be vaguely heard giving a short speech he'd rehearsed for the gathered adventurers.
The Tarnished chuckled. "About as ready as I shall ever be." However, his good humor dropped for just a moment now. "But before we go out there in a moment, I must give you fair warning – an adventurer I'd encountered during my brief travels here has heeded the King's call… and though I cannot place it, I can vaguely sense something amiss."
Ranni's sole open eye narrowed at his brisk words. "…I see. Very well, I shall do my part in better discerning what has happened. What does this adventurer look like?"
"Average height and a lean build, fully clad in armor with a short sword on his wait and a small shield clasped to the side of his left arm," he described. "He's flanked by what's known as a dwarf, a lizardman, an elf, and a fellow human – a young girl with a strong faith in this world's Earth Mother, from what I've gathered during my time with them… they tend to slay goblins, at his behest. Tis his obsession and one he's done well to fulfill.
Ranni quirked a single eyebrow. "Ye speak with more than a hint of fondness in thy voice, my dear consort. They must have made quite the impression on you."
He chuckled, his good humor returning now. "About as much as I imagine our three female friends have imprinted themselves onto you during your own travels."
"…Hmph." Ranni let out quite the audible snort, but it was with a smile.
"-Now, let me introduce those who'd help us!" called out the King.
"Ah, quite the fortunate timing," Ranni drawled out.
Without wasting a second, the Lunar Princess took the lead in strolling out through the passage the King had used, with the Tarnished following immediately after her.
Reentering the room he'd been in before but now close to the King's side, the Tarnished found himself and Ranni as the center of attention, literally all of the adventurers looking directly at them.
A fair few gazed upon them with varying levels of interest while others seemed to look at them almost dismissively. However, the Tarnished paid these particular people little mind and instead focused on Goblin Slayer and the others, all of whom were gathered in the same spot towards the middle of the crowded room.
Smiling under his Crucible Axe Helm, the Tarnished gave a nod towards them, not that anyone else there would be able to tell the specific nature of said nod. As far as all the other occupants were concerned, he was merely nodding in greetings towards all of them.
"As you can likely tell, these two are foreigners to our land, here due to happenstance," the King spoke. "Yet in spite of this fact, they've easily come to work with me and my officials in combatting the forces of Chaos without having to chain themselves to the kingdom's military. In return for their most appreciated aid, they enjoy a few but considerable privileges – the very same ones that you all can enjoy as well, should you fully commit to helping the kingdom vanquish the threats that still lie in wait out there."
Adventurers, freedom-loving as they are, certainly perked up at those words. If two seemingly random foreigners can be so readily welcomed by the King into the fold and not lose anything in the process, then surely the same can apply to them as well.
The Tarnished glanced towards the King and spotted a visible smirk on the young monarch's face. The King knew he had the adventurers under his little spell now. "And of course, your aid will not go unrewarded. Perform well and you will be paid handsomely for the efforts put forth! And as one who'd once been an adventurer, I can promise you this too – against the threats to come, you all will become like the very legends we've admired in our youth, the same heroes and warriors who likely inspired all of us into becoming adventurers in the first place! Now shall be the time we earn our place alongside them in glory… does that not sound grand!"
Towards the end of the speech, the King had started to get a little louder and more animated, having steadily worked the crowd up into… well, not a frenzy, but he'd been able to lift their spirits significantly until his final words had caused practically all of them to let out a massive cheer, with whooping and hollering aplenty.
The cheering lasted for a solid ten or so seconds before the King decided to raise a hand, earning their attention once more, this time more eagerly than the first time.
"Then in light of the trials that lie ahead, let us all take this afternoon and night to relax. By all means, my fellow and dear adventurers, drink and feast to your hearts content now, for it is the oncoming days that shall make us work for our adventures!"
The King let out an audible snap of the fingers, the sound amplified by a spell that had been prepared in advance by one of the court magicians. Upon the snap occurring, servants began to flood in through various side entrances with entire plates of food and drink aplenty. As it turned out, the food and drinks that had already been making the rounds earlier had merely been appetizers and now the main course was in full swing.
For a brief moment, the King retreated back out into the hallway, with Ranni and the Tarnished following him for the time being.
The Tarnished's face crinkled a little as he watched the King let out a huge sigh of relief. "So terribly glad that is over with."
"Yet you appeared to enjoy giving that speech well enough, especially towards the end there," the Tarnished couldn't help but quip.
That got an undignified snort from the King. "Only because being around so many adventurers reminded me of the golden days. Public speaking in general just wears me out – too much in the ways of formality."
The King then paused as he spared a glance to the side, where light can be vaguely seen seeping in through the palace windows. Said light was rather dim, indicating the proper transition from dusk to full blown night. Not even the various light sources out in the capital could trick the King into thinking otherwise.
"…So late already yet still much more to do," the King sighed. "…As much as I would love to stay here and chat with some of the adventurers, I really must be returning. There are still more reports for me to look through."
"Will ye be needing us to assist?" Ranni asked.
The King shook his head with a light smile. "No, though it is appreciated. For now, please just mingle about. Maybe you'll find some enjoyment in speaking with the adventurers in there. But as usual, please be ready early tomorrow morning… I feel it will be a long day, what with all the logistics we'll now have to balance out."
"Mm. Then by your leave, young king," the Tarnished said, bidding the King a good night as the young man nodded and took his leave.
He and Ranni watched the King leave in silence before finally turning their attention back to the room where the adventurers feasted and made merry.
"Shall we?" the Tarnished asked. This was the perfect chance to do some catching up… and see just what exactly may have happened to make the young Goblin Slayer feel so off.
Ranni silently linked two of her arms with his, eliciting a smile from him.
With nary a word, the two walked back into the room.
Her unusual appearance certainly caused something of a stir among all the adventurers, Ranni silently noted. Even with quite a few adventurers here consisting not just of humans but also other species, it would seem the peculiarity of her specific physical traits were far from common in these lands indeed, if not outright unique.
Yet despite the often bold behavior that adventurers seemed to have, none approached her and her consort as they strode out through the thick crowd. Perhaps it was simply a matter of them not finding her traits that particular interesting to call out to her.
In any case, it certainly made it easy for her dear consort to take the lead and guide her over to the adventurers that he'd grown so fond of.
And as they neared, Ranni quietly hummed.
She'd taken notice of the adventurer the Tarnished had described to her as soon as the King had even called the two of them to his side earlier. And as her consort had also described, there had been something amiss indeed about the young man, something that she'd been able to detect despite the distance and sheer number of individuals in the room.
Now that they were getting closer, her finely attuned senses as the Dark Moon's vassal allowed her to better sense the anomaly.
And it wasn't until they were merely a yard or so away from the adventurer in question that Ranni came to realize what the oddity was.
It took all she had to avoid tightening her grip around her consort's arm. The last thing needed in this very second was to alert him to what was wrong. It could wait until the two of them were well out of sight and mind of everyone else here.
Until such a time, she would need to hold her discovery to herself and wait.
"My word," spoke the sole lizardman of the group. "To think we'd meet again like this! Fate truly does work in mysterious ways, does it not?"
The Tarnished chuckled. "You will hear no objection from me on that matter. It is good to see you all again. You've been well, I take it?"
"As well as could be, big guy," answered the dwarf gruffly, though not because he was being rude per say. Rather, the dwarf appeared to be recalling some tougher times. But said expression and tone of discontentment was replaced with a much more jovial one an instant later. "Still, to think we'd all be meeting like this… tell me, did the young human king sweet talk ya into helping him?" The dwarf spoke with just a hint of humor to his tone, making it clear the question wasn't meant to be insulting.
"Ha, not quite. To be honest, it is a tale in and of itself," the Tarnished replied. "But before I even dare to get into it, please allow me to have the honor of introducing someone."
The Tarnished then motioned down to Ranni. "This is Ranni, the one I'd mentioned seeking… as well as my lover."
"Oho! Well, congratulations on finding her so quickly. You did make mention of looking for someone following a certain incident, after all," spoke the lizardman.
Ranni now took this time to speak, more out of courtesy and to continue her façade of everything being all right. "Well met, adventurers all. It would seem my beloved has made quite the impression on ye all despite thy brief time together."
"That's one way to put it," grumbled out the sole elf of the group, who'd been remarkably quiet this whole time until this very moment. She was folding her arms over her chest and was outright shooting daggers at the Tarnished with her eyes alone.
Directly by her side was the young human girl, oh so innocent in her appearance, and practically appalled by the elf's words.
Finally, the other party of adventurers that had been milling about seemed to step up and speak. "…Huh, well ain't this something," spoke the large man with a huge sword slung over his back. Ranni presumed him to the leader of his particular adventuring party with the currently quiet and analytical blonde in armor being his second in command. She had to be, considering the other three individuals with them were clearly greenhorns given their youth and skittish demeanors. "Always knew something more was going on with you than what you'd implied, but this is still a real surprise."
Then the large man looked down on Ranni – literally, due to the height difference – and let out a gruff sound. "I'm just gonna assume you're a magic user," he dryly commented.
"My, how perceptive," Ranni replied in jest. "Indeed, I am. And ye must be a competent wielder of greatswords."
Her dry response got a snort out of the man, who then stepped up to the Tarnished and gave him a light shove on the arm. "You got a real winner here, with an attitude like that."
The Tarnished laughed. "I do, indeed." He then paused and made a small show of looking over the large man's shoulder at the two other individuals that had been hanging around these two parties – a tall and lean man with a spear and a beautiful, sultry woman that clearly used magic. "Ah, my apologies. I believe this is the first time we've met, yes?"
The lean man just smirked. "Pretty sure that's the case cause I think I'd remember someone with armor as odd as yours… and you'd definitely remember the frontier's strongest if we'd met before."
Though Ranni's high level of perception allowed her to tell there was something more going on with him than what his brave front would suggest, his boast wasn't entirely just for the sake of bravado – he truly did believe himself to be the frontier's strongest, by whatever metric that was judged by.
"…Be… nice," uttered the sultry woman playfully, who pulled out a smoking pipe from between her cleavage of all places. Ranni tilted her head lightly, intrigued; was that odd, slow manner of speaking she had somehow related to her use of magic? It didn't feel like it was an actual quirk of the woman herself.
The Tarnished merely waved off the woman's extremely concise comment. "I'm sure we'll all have plenty of chances to test our mettle against one another in the coming days – after all, we do have training fields to make use of. And we all certainly will be needing to ensure our skills remain sharp for the threats to come."
"Oh yeah?" spoke the spear user, smiling in challenge. "That mean you're up for a spar?"
"Always," the Tarnished replied, his smile evident in his voice.
Ranni and the sultry woman shared a look in that very moment and flashed the very same look of amusement and exasperation. It would seem their respective partners were always eager for a challenge.
"Now then," spoke the Tarnished as he finally turned to the young man that had been remaining quiet this whole time. "I had not meant to leave you left out," he said apologetically. "How have you been, young warrior? Still slaying goblins?"
"…Mm." Not much of a talker, this one was, Ranni immediately noticed.
"Has all been well since we last met?" the Tarnished asked.
Ranni watched as the young man struggled with how to respond. "…Somewhat. It's been an odd time since our first encounter. Many new things happened… along with the appearance of a new type of goblins."
Those words elicited grimaces from the rest of his party. "That's one way to put it, Orcbolg," muttered the elf.
"It had been a rough time, yes. Nonetheless, we did triumph in the end and slay a considerable threat to the populace," remarked the lizardman.
"Oh? By all means, I would like to hear more. If you're comfortable with that, of course. And I in turn wouldn't mind speaking of my own tales as compensation."
Those words got the lizardman to look at the Tarnished in delight. "I for one would love that, great warrior. Shall we move to the side then? It would be rude if we were to get in the way of anyone passing through. Ah, and would anyone else care to join us?"
"If it's all the same to ye, beloved," Ranni spoke up before anyone else could reply to the lizardman's query. "I believe I'd like to go and mingle for a while with some others. There is still much to be gleamed about this land's magics and now is as ideal a time as any to learn of it."
"Of course. Please, enjoy yourself," answered the Tarnished.
Abrupt as her comment was, it did help break up the large group into several smaller groups, much more manageable in terms of conversation.
Ranni watched out of the corner of her eyes as her beloved consort walked off with the lizardman, dwarf, and young man in tow while the young priestess and elf went off to seemingly get some food… and in the latter's case, possibly to just avoid being around the Tarnished.
Meanwhile, the large man and the spear user stopped to chat where they were at for a while, though Ranni had the impression they'd soon go off to join the other men to swap stories of their feats.
This left her with the sultry woman, the blonde in armor, and the greenhorns to chat with.
It was the blonde who spoke first, though not before letting out a rather unladylike grunt. "And there they all go without a care in the world," was her first remark, as dry as could be.
The sultry woman lightly giggled. "It's good… to be… carefree when… possible."
The blonde sighed. "I guess…" She then focused her attention on Ranni. "But besides all that… heh, I can tell you're an interesting one."
Ranni merely smiled. "Why, my thanks. I could say the same of thee as well." She tilted her head to the side. "…Ye have lost the protection of thy god. Tis not something seen often where I come from."
Her comment, innocent enough, got the blonde to grimace. "Ugh! You can somehow tell?!"
"There are many things I am privy to," Ranni answered as she interlocked two sets of fingers together while the remaining two hands held her staff firmly. "But my knowledge is far from all encompassing. I can discern thy state simply because I've some measure of experience with the divine in addition to magic. And it is on that note…"
She now looked to the sultry woman. "It is why I'd like to chat with ye if possible. If not right now, then certainly later on. I've had the joy of working with the great magic user that accompanies the kingdom's young hero, but as much respect as I hold for her, I know she is hardly the greatest authority on all things magical."
The sultry woman took a puff of her smoke pipe, contemplating her words. "You're a… foreigner… the King said… your magic is… different from here… then?"
"Quite so."
Now the all too familiar gleam of curiosity was present in the woman's eyes. "Then perhaps… a more… private… and quieter… setting to talk… should be in order."
At that, Ranni's smile grew. "It would certainly be appreciated."
"Hmph, well, if you two are done organizing your little study session for later," quipped the blonde. She then gestured to the sultry woman. "Then how about you finally tell us more about that crazy desert!"
The sultry woman's expression darkened from uncertainty, but it lasted but a split second. "How do…?"
"How do I know? Your lively pal has been chatting up a storm with my party's leader all about it. But you know him – all hot air sometimes. So I want to hear it straight from you!" The blonde had her hands on her hips, eyes alight with eagerness.
"S-Should you really be pressing her that hard to talk about it…?" muttered one of the greenhorns.
"Yeah, it doesn't look like she wants to talk about it that much…" said another one.
The blonde glared at them. "With everything that's been going on recently, it helps to know as much about what's going on as possible! And besides…" She paused, taking a deep breath. "…It seems like quite a few parties out there have had some grand new experiences… except for us!"
Her words got a quiet grimace out of Ranni. She knew this woman didn't know better at all, but to see yet again just how strongly adventurers obsessed over the very concept of adventures was enough to put a dent in her good mood.
"Then ye may find thyself waiting a while longer," the Lunar Princess spoke. "I believe I know of this desert ye speak of. My companions and I have already seen to the end of that threat."
"W-Wha-?!" The blonde was positively crushed. The greenhorns looked surprised as well.
But it was the sultry woman's reaction, one of pure shock that fully showed through on her normally impassive face, that Ranni took note of. "You… you really…?"
Ranni took a few seconds to consider her next words, before deciding to be somewhat truthful. With the Frenzied Flame still ready to pose a threat to the Four Cornered World, bits and pieces of the truth will eventually come out. Best that it come from her and her beloved rather than somehow have others discern facts that would have been better off hidden.
"The blight that had suddenly plagued the desert was one that had first appeared in my homeland," Ranni said. "Thus it is something I was familiar with solving. But of course, news doesn't always travel with the wind, hence why news of our success has yet to spread despite this span of several days."
As expected, her statement took her listeners aback. She could practically see their questions forming within their minds in real time.
"From… your homeland?" the sultry woman asked, a slight narrowing of the eyes. She even paused in her smoking for a significant measure of time as she asked that question.
Ranni nodded. "I know not how it spread to here, but it was thanks to some truly fortunate circumstances that we – that is, myself, my beloved, and the trio of heroes – had been able to reach the source of it in time to destroy and purify the land. Alas, it will take a great deal of time for the desert and its wildlife to heal."
"…Tch. Damn it, what are the odds?" the blonde mumbled. Her words got an exasperated look out of the greenhorns. Clearly this wasn't the first time she'd acted like this.
"Can you… explain in detail… how this… unfolded?" the sultry woman asked.
"Yeah!" The blonde seemed to regain her previous mood now. "You clearly have a story to tell! So let's hear it!"
Ranni's expression grew somewhat complicated as a mixture of amusement and very mild annoyance surged through her at how this situation was developing.
No matter. It wasn't as if speaking of the events in the desert would cause any true issues.
But before she began to oblige the aggressive blonde's demand, she briefly looked towards her beloved and his current circle of acquaintances. There was just a hint of caution, even worry, in her gaze as she did so.
After all…
…It was only natural to worry considering that young man in full armor was somehow marked by the Frenzied Flame itself.
The King, having retreated to his office space to continue going through the remaining reports, heaved a great sigh.
He'd truly hoped to have some time to mingle with the adventurers and cast aside his kingly duties for at least the rest of this night. Yet not for the first time, his hopes resting had been dashed.
In the room was his attendant, who was doing nothing more than standing watch for the time being, only helping to sort away the reports he'd gone through while he reached for the remaining ones.
By now, it's been well over an hour since he'd left the adventurers to their own devices and his own fatigue was now reaching a high point at the same exact time he saw near the end of the stack of reports left.
However, just as he gazed through the current one, the King felt any signs of mounting exhaustion completely vanish. He all but literally leapt from his seat, the report gripped tightly in his hands as he reread it.
"Your majesty?" asked the attendant, the young woman worried for him.
She repeated the usage of his title a few more times, but he was only vaguely aware of it, instead fully focused on the report instead.
…According to one of his reconnaissance units, they'd completely lost touch with a watchtower station at the furthest end of the area outside the capital as of a few hours ago. Some men that were sent to investigate had yet to return by the time this report was written and delivered to him.
Tossing the report aside, the King reached for the next and final one, which had been brought to him just half an hour ago.
Another watchtower had suffered a similarly unknown fate, with absolutely no sign of what could have caused this.
But he needed no such signs to know this for what it was.
Whatever – whoever – was out there had finally begun to make their move, starting by taking out the furthest most defenses and alarms of the capital's available stations. That there seemed to be no follow up to either of these two attacks meant that the enemy was currently in a state of lull…
…Or they were already coming closer.
As Shabriri used the sword he'd most recently obtained from one of the kingdom's soldiers to slit the throat of the one he currently had at his mercy, the devout follower of the Flame of Frenzy smiled sinisterly.
Though his forces were still not quite up to the ideal he'd had in mind, it was still coming along fairly nicely, with quite a few of the soldiers stationed at the watchtowers converted to his lord's great cause.
Soon enough, he could stop merely picking away at the capital's defenses and finally focus on properly launching a siege as he continued to have his forces inch ever closer.
It should be no more than a full two days wait now, perhaps three at the absolute most.
And then… the entire capital shall serve as the spark that will scorch the rest of this world.
Man, to think I somehow managed to finish this chapter this early on in the month… a part of me wants to try and get out just one more chapter before the end of 2023 but I fear trying to push myself too hard at this point.
So with that simple statement, allow me to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year in advance. Chances are high that the next chapter won't be out until early January since I really do need to hunker down now and focus on my classes as much as possible for at least the remainder of this month. Hope you guys understand.
…Well, if nothing else, at least this means that I'll be starting off the New Year afterwards with a nice little bang in store, ha ha.
Until next time, everyone. Stay safe!
