Hello everyone, missed me ? No ? Well, it's alright. I hoped at least that you've been anticipating this chapter as much as I did. Like I said before, I want Ray to engage in a lot of character and environment interaction, most of which will be centred in Agustria. And, as previously said, if you have a character you want to see earlier than most, then I'll be more than happy to oblige, if possible.

Now, let's end my rambling with some reviews :

Friendly reminder :

Ishtar is the best ! = Text from the System

"Ishtar is the best !" = Talking

'Ishtar is the best' = Thoughts, Skills and Spells activation

Ishtar is the best !* = Sound effect

Copyright Disclaimer : I don't own anything about this fanfic, except for its OCs. All the rest belong to their respective creators and they're the ones that deserve praise.

Chapter 2 : God, please grant me patience… Because if you give me strength I swear I'll hit him the head.

The sun was just starting to make it's ascension in the summer sky, and yet, it's effects coud already be felt by some people. It's rays were as penetrating as a shot arrow, digging deep into the eyes of anyone unfortunate enough to look up, even this early in the morning.

However, the sun's vicious glare was the least of the concern for the people of castle Nordion who were already awake for the most part. Especially the knights who already started their morning training. Or at least they were supposed to, but something else was attracting their full attention this time.

"Please, I'm begging you, let's stop here." I said, practically crying, but my opponent wouldn't have any of it, side-stepping my clumsy attack in a fluid motion before bringing down his wooden sword onto my head.

Fwoosh*

"Hiiiiiiic !"

My body moved before I could perfectly grasp what was happening. To be precise, I didn't even have the time to think about dodging, but my body did. With the delay, or rather conflict, between thought and action, I barely had time to dodge and the uncertain maneuver lead to me tripping on my own feet before falling on my ass with a loud *thud*. My sword fell on the ground beside me and my persecutor was standing proudly before me, the tip of his sword pointed at my throat. The fact that he was not sweating one bit was another blow to my already damaged pride. Or what was left of it.

"Your form is lamentable. It's like you don't know how to wield a sword at all." Eldigan finally commented, looking calmly at me while throwing out those insults. "It's a miracle you managed to bring down the bandits with those skills."

"I told you, I used magic. Well, mostly." Even though I still don't know how I managed to do THAT. Maybe it was instinctif ? This body being already used to throwing spells left and right ? Or it was just luck.

"Which is even more surprising. Apart from having quick reflexes,speed and decent strength, you act like you've never wielded a sword before." He argued, looking at me as if I just said the wildest thing possible. Seeing as he was correct, I reallt didn't have anything to retort to that. "You are part of Isaach's nobility, meaning that you should have at least basic knowledge on a style of swordsmanship and that your sword skills should be somewhat decent. Not… this."

"Right." His pointed remark made me think back on what I discovered yesterday, although it was easy to deduce since I was a crusader, coming from Isaach means that I'll be part of it's nobility somehow. Or was. However, Dave refused to elaborate on it, no matter how persistent or annoying I tried to be. "It's better to focus on recovering your memory", he said, but not knowing about stuffs I'm supposed to know was kind of stressful in itself. "I didn't get to live the life of a normal noble anyway."

"I can see that." He replied instantly, looking around him as if searching for something, or someone, before finally finding what he was looking for. I followed his gaze, finding the knight I saw the other day approaching us.

"Do you need anything milord ?" He asked, bowing before Eldigan with his usual composed expression.

"Yes, Eva. Help our guest back to his room and see if he needs anything else."

"Of course. " Bowing once again, Eva took Eldigan's wooden sword from him before picking mine up from the ground. He then started going into the barracks, most likely to store the weapons back. I followed him in silence, occasionally glancing back to see that Eldigan too was leaving the training room.

A few minutes of walking later…we where still walking. This castle was so huge that I was sometime wondering how they managed not to get lost… Is this why Eldigan asked Eva to guide me ? Probably. I'm still pondering why we're still living in the castle, considering that we already solved the problem of the village occupied by bandits, he could've sent us back a while ago.

"Hey Ray." Dave's voice snapped me out my contemplation, looking forward to see my friend coming out of one of the room in the hallway. "Hello…Eve ?"

"Eva." I corrected, to the knight's apparent surprise even though he managed to hide it quickly and return to his usual stoic face. He probably wasn't use to people not getting him confuse with his brothers, although I myself wouldn't have been able to tell if not for the colour of his scarf and the help of my skill. "What were you doing in there anyway ? That isn't your room." I asked Dave, looking back at the door and trying to remember which room it was.

"That is one of the guest room, but I don't remember it being assigned to anyone." Eva's input brought even more questions on Dave's activities. But he just shrugged under both of our inquisitive look, acting as if it was normal.

"Just checking if the room had more confortable blankets. Nothing else. " Blankets ?

"What about the ones already in your room ?" Asked Eva, eyes still focused on Dave.

"Mine are nice but a bit too stuffy. It gets too hot at some point during the night " His matter-of -fact tone and deadpan tone was so deprecating that I wondered if he was somehow judging our intelligence.

Having had enough, I took a step forward with both hands up. "Anyway… " I said, cutting-in in order to stop the interrogation from progressing more than necessary. "Thank you for guiding me Eva. I'll be fine now. "

To his credit, he didn't even hesitate in his response. The knight simply bowed before turning and going back in the direction we came from a few minutes ago. I waited for him to be completely out of earshot before turning my focus to Dave.

"I heard you were sparring with Lord Eldigan." his question came before I could turn around to face him once more, and I was grateful for that as he didn't see me rolling my eyes.. "How did it go ?"

"What do you think ?" I asked back, massaging my paining elbow while images of that traumatizing experience flashed through my mind. "My muscles are still paying me back for what happened there, even though I'm completely innocent."

Chuckle*

"At least now we know that you aren't as good with a sword as you used to be…yet. All that due to your memory loss. So if you're looking for a culprit for your aching muscles, I will suggest directing your ire to your brain." The snickers that followed his comment made me think that he wasn't taking the situation seriously. But I was still a bit miffed.

"How is that even possible ? I managed to use it well and I also did magic the other day so why can't I do it now ?" I won't lie, I was kind of expecting all this stuffs to be easy to do. I didn't know I would have to train every single day since I came here just to stay in shape. If I'd started combat training before the two weeks of fitness I spent to get used to this then the results would've been even worse.

Normally, muscle memory should've at least helped me a bit. Then again, maybe the stunt of the other day was just me being lucky since I've being experiencing some difficulties casting the wind spell as I did back then.

"Don't stress yourself too much. It'll all come back naturally to you once your memory comes back. Plus, we're in no haste right now, seeing as we don't have any job to for the time being, we just have to relax for a while. "

I just sighed, ruffling my hair a bit more forcefully before sighing in defeat. "Maybe you're right. Let's go grab something to eat. "

At that, Dave made an uneasy sound before slightly shifting away from me with a disgusted look on his face.

"You're going to wash yourself first right ? You smell bad. Like, really bad. " He said while pinching the bridge of his nose and looking away.

"HEY ! " The nerve of the guy who used to drop his sweat-drenched shirt everywhere in our room.

A new quest has been generated !

Title : The first magical steps

Type : Main Quest

Time-frame : Indefinite

Description : Magic is an essential part of this world. Every human being is born with the potential to become a mage, although few are able to achieve that feat. You, however, haven't abandon that idea yet and work hard in order to become a bonafide magician.

Objective : Grasp the concept behind casting a spell and successfully launch one.

Rewards : 1 000 Gold Coins, 100 EXP, Unknown.

Failure : Being unable to use a sword or magic will leave you as easy prey to the monsters of this world who won't hesitate to tear at you. Plus, you can't be a hero if you can't save anyone right ?

Progress : In progress…

Despite my initial incredulity at the recent system message, I managed not to curse out loud while Dave and I where eating in the dining room. A small victory considering the situation.

After careful reading and consideration, I decided to at least try something when I will next have a bit of free time. The quest message did say there was no time limit, but getting the hang of magic could only be beneficial. Especially as I was not seeing any improvements with regards to sword training.

Two days after the apparition of the quest alert, I was in my room doing some training in magic. Or at least, what I think consisted adequate training. From my knowledge as a hardcore anime-fan, most of the time one has to be able to sense the energy around him to be able to use magic, be it Ki, Chakra, Mana or Nen, which was the reason why I have been sitting cross-legged for the past hour or so in order to meditate.

"This…doesn't seem to be working. Strange... Menu. "

Statut

Items

Équipements

Socials

Skills

Quests

Encyclopedia

Options

'Encyclopedia'

Encyclopedia

The Art of Magic

Mana is present everywhere and in everybody. As such, man has for a long time strive to master the use and applications of mana, developing the very magic that is used today. However, it is said that part of the reason why human are able to use mana to begin with is due to the intervention dragons. At least according to legends.

How to use Mana

To be able to cast magic, one must first be capable of sensing the mana in his body, circulate it and then project it outside in the desired form. Most often, the time taken for novices to sense and circulate mana vary from a few days to months, or even years in some cases. Though there were geniuses capable of doing it after a few hours of training.

"This correlates with what game knowledge I have. Does that mean I've being doing something wrong till now ? Or that, like others, I'll need to train for days to be able to do it ? That could be it… But then, I don't understand how I managed to do it the other day. "

My confusion slowly turned into frustration and I was a hair's breath away from giving up when finally I started to feel the wind in the room getting slightly more active.

Toc toc toc*

Of course, someone had to come at the very moment and knock at my door.

'They'll probably go away if they think I'm sleeping.'

At least, that's what I thought will happen. Seems like my sudden guest had other plans.

Toc toc toc*

… Let's first check who it is then.

'Presence Detection.'

Lachesis has been detected !

'Ah… Didn't expect her… I guess I should go and open it.'

Slowly getting up from the floor, I stretched my legs and arms a little bit to get the soreness out of them on my way to the door. As expected, Lachesis was waiting for me behind the door with a somewhat bored expression. She was dressed lightly, yet elegantly, wearing a yellow dress with flower patterns. Without noticing, I found myself staring at her. She was as beautiful as ever.

"You are as beautiful as ever."

'… Oh crap, I was thinking out loud. How do I fix this--'

However, before I could even try to think of a proper excuse, Lachesis beat me to it. Although her reaction was not what I was expecting.

"Whatdoyoumeanyoushouldn'tsaythatwhatwereyouthinkingIshouldgo." Panicking, Lachesis didn't seem to be able to form any coherent sentence. Nor how to use proper ponctuations.

Turning around, she tried to hide the reddening of her cheeks and the embarrassment from her face by running away.

'Ah. She's rambling. And now she's trying to escape.'

Acting quickly, mostly by instinct really, I reached out and managed to grab her wrist before she could move away, which caused her to turn around wildly and her face to become redder from the sudden contact.

"You needed my help for something ?" I asked her quickly in order to help her stay on track with what was important.

"NO ! I mean, yes. I mean no, not me. My brother wants to see you. Right now. And don't be late !" Having said that, she quite easily extricated herself out of my grasp before scampering away who knows where.

I was left slightly impressed by the strength she possessed before rationalizing the whole point as being due to Hodr's holy blood. I was also left wondering how and why the proud and sharp-mouthed Lachesis was reduced to such a rambling mess, quickly pushing aside the idea of my badly-timed compliment making her like this. She was too strong-willed to be flustered by such simple remarks…right ?

However, I couldn't be bothered by such thoughts right now as I had more pressing matters that required my attention. Reorganizing my thoughts and my priorities, I decided to get ready to meet with Eldigan. I went back inside my room in order to change into more clean and presentable clothes. Walking around in sweaty clothes wasn't very hygienic after all.

Thirty minutes later and I was finally in front of the large doors leading to the Eldigan's study. Granted, I got lost on the way and had to spend like fifteen minutes just to find the right hallway even with the help of Presence Detection, but I finally made it there.

Upon entering, I noticed at once that the only three people inside the throne room.

"Ray. Glad to see you finally found your way." Make that four.

I turned towards the voice's direction, finding Dave seated on the side, for a second in order to sneer at him before returning my attention to Eldigan. I was, admittedly, stilled a bit miffed by his comment of earlier.

In the room was a large rectangular table surrounded by four chairs, all of them occupied except for one.

"I heard you wanted to see me ?" I asked Eldigan, taking my place on the last chair available in the room, the one directly in front of him.

"That was half an hour ago." Eldigan replied, in his usual calm yet admonishing tone.

"…Yeah, sorry, I got lost." I said, not quite looking him in the eyes, hoping that he'll change the subject. However, Grahnye didn't want to let it slide.

I could hear the playfulness in her voice as she opened her mouth. "Even though your room is just two halls away from here ?" Her raised eyebrows made me want to runaway from this situation as far as I could.

" … "

"Maybe we could start discussing what brought us here ?" Lachesis' voice never sounded more like an angel than at this very moment. I could practically see the halo over her head and the divine aura surrounding her.

"Let's." Eldigan's deep voice brought the topic to an end. "Today there will be a meeting of the noble heads of Agustria. King Imca prepared this meeting as a means to discuss various topics that have been concerning him for a while now."

I couldn't quite see where Eldigan was headed to with this. If it was a gathering of Agustria's nobility then there was no need to tell me. Or Dave for that matter.

"But-" I tried to say as much but was cut short by Eldigan's quelling look and no-nonsense voice.

"Let me finish… After the meeting, there will be a… ball ? Well, something akin to a ball. The other nobles brought as guests will gather to drink, dance and gossip. In short, the usual antics nobles get up to when brought together." He said, sighing. He clearly was no fan of those. "Originally, I wanted to bring Lachesis and Grahnye, but Grahnye said she couldn't attend." He said, looking at his wife.

"I can't possibly leave Ares alone for a whole night." She replied, not missing a beat.

"Thus, that only leaves Lachesis. And upon hers and Grahnye's insistence, I thought of bringing you and Dave along. "

At that, my head automatically turned sideways to get a look at Dave's expression, but he just shook his head while smiling, "This kind of event isn't really my cup of ale." I knew at that moment that he had something else in mind and that, despite the look I was throwing him, he was not going to tell me about it.

Sighing, I turned my attention away from him and focused once more on Eldigan.

"Then that just leaves me." I declared in a somewhat low voice as the end result of his explanation dawned on me.

"Indeed. I want someone to stay with Lachesis as I'll be largely occupied by the meeting and I can't have my knights follow her everywhere and at all time, especially in a reception meant for nobles."

"I get what you're saying. Plus it's not like I can refuse…" I mumbled that last part, but of course, Eldigan must have heard me, if the sly smile he was giving me was any indication. Lachesis just tilted her head in confusion. "It'll be my pleasure to accompany you." I replied as cheerfully as I could given the situation, but seeing Lachesis' smiling face made me think that it might be worth it after all.

Eldigan too seemed happy by the conclusion. "Good, we'll be leaving in two hours. Get ready by then." He got up from his chair and started walking towards the door. However, he stopped before actually going out, turned in my direction and smirked. "Try not to be late."

Ha ha. Yeah. I'll try.

Time went by rather quickly. After my meeting with Eldigan and the others, I went back straight into my room in order to get ready. However, I didn't start preparing immediately. I still had that mana circulation thing to finish after all and it wouldn't get easier if I just stayed without doing anything about it.

Adopting yet again a crossed-leg position, I started with the same first step I've been doing until now, sensing the mana around me. The thing is, I wasn't even sure I was doing this correctly, nor if the various sensations I was getting was any indication of my success.

'I don't really know how I managed to do it before, but I can't seem to grasp anything now.'

Breath in*

'Maybe if I start by emptying my mind and focusing on my respiration…'

Breath out*

Breath in*

As I continued doing each inhalation and exhalation as deeply as I could…

Breath out*

I started to hear each sound surrounding me more clearly.

Breath in*

Sounds coming from outside of my room…

Breath out*

Sounds coming from inside…

Breath in*

And perhaps more importantly, the sound of my own heart beating in my chest…

Breath out*

As I was vividly hearing each of those sound quite distinctly, I started sensing something faintly stirring inside of me. It was like a breeze flowing gently against the leaves of a tree in a silent forest.

The wind was picking up beside me in a subtle manner and I swear I could hear faint sounds resembling voices coming from outside. However…

"Strange."

I somehow felt at peace.

Even though I still couldn't fully comprehend the concept of circulating mana, it felt like I was slowly getting used to sensing it in and around me. It was progress if I've ever seen one, so of course I started to reach unrealistic conclusions.

'Maybe now I can finally use that spell again.'

"..." Something told me that I was finally getting somewhere. That this was finally the moment I've been looking forward to.

Thinking that, my hand automatically went to grab the book at my waist. Focusing my attention on the green book, I flipped through it and stopped at a page at random. I slowly started breathing more deeply in order to enter into that trance-like state I managed earlier. Thankfully, I could still hear the sounds surrounding me. What was crazy was that the Tome in my hand was also making a noise, one similar to that of a soft breeze. Getting attuned to that sound with a smile, and feeling that same bubbly sensation stirring up again inside of me, I pointed my hand forward and poured my entire will and voice into the spell.

"WIND !"

…

…

…

Nothing.

Nothing happened.

"For the love of-- Aarrgh !" As anger and frustration got the better of me, I flung the book on my bed before ruffling my hair with more force than necessary.

Getting nowhere with that, I decided to get ready for the sortie today. Getting cleaned was the easy part, however, It took me a while to get dressed, mostly due to the fact that I was less used to the formal dress-wear of this world, that I was graciously provided with, than the everyday one. However, I didn't lose hope, and with the help from a passing servant that I thankfully managed to sense with Detect Presence, I was finally dressed for the event of tonight.

I left my room with a small feeling of accomplishment. I was dressed and ready on time after all.

I called out to the servant who helped me with my clothes before he left and asked him to guide me towards the castle entrance where Eldigan and Lachesis were surely already waiting for me. I wouldn't jeopardise my current luck.

"You're here." As expected, the brother and sister duo was waiting beside a carriage. "And on time for once." I seemed to be the last one to come as even Granhye and Dave.

Both of them were dressed in extravagant clothes that were, apparently, the "height of fashion trend among Agustrian nobility". Moreover, they had matching colour patterns, a mixture of red and golden yellow with gold accessories which complemented their blonde hair nicely. Eldigan's sword was also by his side, a dark and terrifying weapon which sent chills down my back each time I glanced at it.

"Shall we ?" Lachesis' voice brought me out of my daydreaming. Nodding along, I followed after them into the carriage, taking the seat opposite that of Eldigan. Naturally, Lachesis was sitting beside her brother. We enjoyed a quiet ride on our ways towards the king's castle in Agusti, the capital of the country.

The castle was far grander than I thought it will be. It was bigger and more luxurious than Castle Nordion, although that was understandable since it was the castle where the royal family resides.

Our carriage stopped for a few secondes in front of the large, double iron-banded gates leading to the castle where some knights started discussing with the carriage driver. It was most likely for identification, I thought, although the banner flying overheard our carriage was already a big enough sign that I started wondering how common identity fraud was around here for them to be this meticulous, but since the royal family was living here then you can never be too prudent.

The two knights standing in front of the gates finally lifted their lances, allowing our carriage to continue on it's way into the castle. A quick look inside made me notice the already high number of other carriages waiting in the "parking area", but since there were still a few others that were waiting behind us at the gates, it was difficult to say whether we were late or not.

The carriage finally stopped among the others. "Seems like we've arrived." Eldigan was already up and getting out of the carriage with Lachesis close behind. She accepted the hand of her brother helping her to get down on solid ground in a fluid, almost machinal movement. I was the last to get down, my eyes darted around a bit once my feet touched the ground, but I flinched upon hearing the carriage moving again behind me.

With Eldigan taking point, we made our way through another pair of doors and into the castle proper, coming face to face with a lavishly decorated room big enough to accommodate at least a hundred people easily.

"This is really impressive." Was all I could manage to say before my, and all the other's attention, was attracted by a booming and well-practiced voice which announced our arrival, most likely to the nobles already present in the room.

"LORD ELDIGAN OF NORDION !"

As soon as he finished, I could feel the eyes of every individual present in the room turning towards us, which was so perfectly choreographed that I mentally asked myself if they all made a prior agreement to do exactly this or something.

However, I seemed to be the only one minding that, Eldigan's voice was smooth as he glanced over the crowd before quickly looking elsewhere. "I'll be taking my leave now. I don't think I'm the last to come, but I'll better go now." His eyes were focused on the second floor of the castle, which was most likely where he will be going. "Ray, I entrust my sister's protection to you."

"You can count on me." I said without even realising it. After all, I wasn't even able to cast a spell correctly and my skills with the sword were 'in need of serious polish', If I had to quote a certain someone. However, I felt that I couldn't say anything other than that at this moment.

"Take care of yourself Eldie."

"You too sister. I won't be long, so try and distract yourself." Lachesis' smile never left her face as she continued looking at Eldigan's back slowly disappearing from view behind the doors leading to the second floor. Even after they were closed, her focus was still directed at them, unmoving.

It was kind of painful to watch her when she looked like a dog who was just abandoned by it's owner… or a woman by her lover. I turned my attention to the rest of room, hoping to find something that could serve as a distraction to our depressed princess. I quickly found what I was looking for at the very center of the ball room.

"Lachesis ?" She belatedly turned her head towards me, tilting it sideways in a questioning manner. "It looks like there are some refreshments over there. Do you want something ?" As I tried to point in the direction of the table with the drinks and food, I, accidentally, knocked a glass that a someone was holding while moving in our direction.

The sneer of displeasure that automatically twisted his features made me flinch reflexively. A stream of whispered curses flowed from the man's words so quickly that I half-doubted my ears for a second.

"What manner of buffoon are you that you can't even look around your person ?" He finally deign talk to me, angrily gesturing to his clothes. Apparently, he hit didn't think of it as an accident. The fact that the content of the glass spilled on his shoes and part of his trousers didn't help things. "Now look what you did you fool !"

I didn't know who the guy was, but he was already pissing me off more than the boss I had in my previous' life job. However, as we were at a party organized by the king and choke-full of nobles, there were some rules and principles I had to follow, even if I didn't know that. For example, cursing at an unknown noble after soiling him...

As I was getting ready to apologized, Lachesis' voice beat me up to it. I didn't even notice her taking the step to stand in front of me.

"I rather think that YOU should be mindful of where you're going." Arms crossed, the look in her eyes was one of pure annoyance. Seems as though she knew the guy.

He looked taken aback by her words, but still insisted in a less threatening tone. "I was only bringing you a drink Lachesis, to keep you company, but this buffoon spilled the whole thing on me." As I thought, they knew each other.

"I never asked you for a drink, nor for your company. Now if you'll excuse us." Lachesis started making her way away from the noble, whose facial features quickly went from surprise, confusion and then anger at the treatment he just went through. I followed her, looking back at the noble from time to time to see what he'll do. Thankfully, he just stomped off angrily.

"Do you know that person ?" I found myself asking her that as soon as we reached the balcony, the curiosity getting the better of me. I already had a slight hunch about who he was anyway, so I was just trying to get confirmation.

"Sadly, yes." Sighing, she turned to look at the ballroom where all the nobles were gathered. Following her line of sight, I found the guy from before discussing with other nobles in a slightly les heated way. I didn't like the way he was throwing furtive glances our way from time to time. "He is the son of the Lord of Heirhen, Elliot. A prick that has already asked for my hand in marriage god knows how many times, and he wouldn't just take no for an answer."

Ah. Now I know why the guy was pissing me off. I guess I could've at least punched him once in the face-- no. Not now. Later maybe.

"Well, as long as we stay away from him for the rest of the evening then we should be fine." I may have said that but, knowing the guy, there was no way he'll let go of what happened earlier.

And it seems like Lachesis was thinking the same thing, if the wistful expression on her face is anything to go by. "Let us hope you are correct."

Contrary to what we both expected, our evening went rather well after our little spat with Heirhen's nobility. Granted, we purposefully spent most of our time on the balcony away from the other guests, but we were more thankful that Elliot didn't try anything in retaliating for what happened earlier.

To top it off, Lachesis started laughing at the stories I was telling about my previous world… With some little adjustments of course.

"...and then the guy started walking backwards because he was too embarrassed to look at my neighbour." That last comment managed to get another laugh out of Lachesis as I was recounting one anecdote from my old world. Seeing her laugh so freely made me think that this event didn't go so badly after all.

The night was progressing rather smoothly, and despite the initial setback, I could sense that Lachesis was definitely in a more cheerful mood than when we first set foot in here.

I threw a glance towards the ballroom, noticing the increase in the number of people present in it. "We should head back to the main room now. I think your brother should be almost done."

She did the say and, after coming to a similar conclusion, nodded her head in agreement. "Mm. You might be right. Let us return then." Sticking my elbow towards her, I had to admit I was feeling slightly happy when she almost immediately locked her arm into mine, letting me lead her back into the main room.

Despite the night approaching hastily, the party was still in full swing, with nobles dancing, drinking and gossiping left and right. Leading Lachesis into a quiet place near one of the pillar, I was about to ask her for a dance before a familiar voice interrupted me.

"So you finally came back." Elliot, now accompanied by a gaggle of other nobles, approached us with a smug smile on his face. The guys following him all had similar expressions. "And you're still with that lowlife, I see." He said the last part while looking straight at me.

"I've never seen his face before." Added one of his goons, making the entire group to focus their attention on me as if I was some strange exhibit to be looked at.

"Looking at the colour of his hair, he doesn't seem to be from around here." Said another.

"Yeah, he might be one of those Grannvalian thugs. Eldigan is known for being uselessly friendly towards them."

"Grannvale, you say ? Then that explains why he looks so much like a peasant."

"Hahahaha !" Their laughter reminded me of a group of hyena trying, desperately, to intimidate their prey.

Although I didn't know what was the correct answer to this particular problem, I knew that falling for their taunts, either through physical or verbal retaliation, could be easily interpreted as an outsider assaulting a local noble, which would most definitely spell trouble for Lachesis and Eldigan.

As such, I deciding to keep my mouth shut and endure in silence their insults and criticism. It wasn't like I was affected by them anyway, so the really was no need for me to react.

So the plan was to ignore them and hope they will grow bored quickly and leave. I didn't expect Lachesis to walk forward and slap Elliot's face so hard that the sound resonated throughout the entire ballroom.

Everyone was stun. Even the musicians stopped playing their instruments. Silence permeated the room for a long moment, and even the other guests that were not involved remained silent whilst looking in our direction.

"H-how dare you !?" Elliot must have been the most shocked of us all. He was holding his right cheek, which was becoming more and more red.

She narrowed her eyes at him, "I should be asking you that question."

"W-what ?" He sputtered, aghast.

She continued, pointing at the other guests behind Elliot each sporting their own look of barely disguised horror.

"You brought your little gang of miscreants here to badmouth a friend of mine, and you expected me to fall into your arms ?"

"..."

"How stupid can you be, really ? Or is it that you don't think at all before acting ? Men like you are the reason why this country is getting worse by the day."

"Pardon ?" Elliot's dumbfounded expression was something that I would remember fondly for the months to come. And, judging by the gasps coming from the crowd of onlookers, they too will remember that.

"Now, at least be a gentleman and get your little group and yourself out my sight."

The expression of shock on Elliot's face quickly changed into one of pure anger. He took a single step forward, silencing the room once again with his presence. Even I was surprised.

"I can't believe you're acting this cocky when your brother is not even there."

His words, his eyes, his stance, the crooked smile on his face. Each of these things were telling me that he was about to do something really unsavory. And I knew that I couldn't let Lachesis anywhere near that man anymore. There was just a single thing missing…

Ding*

A new quest has been generated !

Title : Gallant knight

Type : Sub Quest

Time-frame : Five minutes

Description : You've always wanted to play the role of the knight in shining armour, protecting the beautiful princess atop your white steed, right ? Who hasn't. Although, this time around, there is no shining armour and certainly no horse to gallop with. But you've still got to do your job, right ?

Objective : Protect Lachesis from Elliot and his goons without causing too much of a fuss.

Rewards : 1 000 Gold Coins, 100 EXP, Slight increase in favorability with Lachesis, Slight increase in favorability with Eldigan.

Failure : Slight decrease in favorability with Lachesis, Slight increase in favorability with Eldigan.

Status : In Progress…

There. That was my cue to act.

"Let's stop here, alright ?"

Stepping forward, I placed myself between both of them, my arm spread protectively in front of Lachesis. Seeing this, Elliot's angered expression turned into a mocking one, looking at me as if I couldn't pose any problem to him at all.

"Oh ? And what will you do if I don't ?" He asked back, confident in his belief that I couldn't do anything to him. And he was right. For now at least. But that doesn't mean that I couldn't trick him into leaving us alone.

"Me ? Nothing much. Dear Eldigan however, that's a different story." The key to a successful bluff is to appear as nonchalant as you can while still looking uncaring AND confident.

However, Elliot's smirk never left his face. "Eldigan is not in the castle anymore. So I'm afraid your little bluff won't work."

'He is what ?!'

Although my inner-self was screaming in panic, I couldn't let any of it show outside. Plus, I can't really picture Eldigan just leaving without at least telling either of us beforehand. So, the most likely assumption here was that Elliot was lying. But looking at his confident expression, he at least believed that claim to be true.

I opened my mouth, keeping my eyes on him without blinking. "Oh ? Are you sure of that ?"

"Quite sure, yes." His voice was provocative, as if asking me to prove him wrong. However, there was no need for me to do that.

I didn't have any immediate means of knowing whether Elliot was lying or not, and Eldigan, if he was still in the castle, was just beyond my detection range.

Presence Detection

- Rank : C

- Cost : 20MP/Use

- Type : Active

Your awareness transcends the visible, allowing you to perceive the faintest traces of life within a designated radius. A soft hum in the air guides your instincts, revealing the hidden presences that elude ordinary perception. Masters of stealth may find no sanctuary as you discern their every move, turning the tide in your favor.

- Distance : 50m

"..."

As I was silently debating whether to make things physical or not if the situation demanded it, Lachesis' sharp voice broke the silence once more, attracting all the attention.

"That's laughable. So you were waiting for my brother to be absent before carrying out your little plan." I almost face-palmed at her mocking tone which was clearly not helping our situation at the moment.

I approached her and whispered towards her, "Lachesis, seeing as we're surrounded and outnumbered, maybe insulting him isn't our best option right now."

However, instead of being angry, Elliot only smiled gleefully, but the smile still managed to look twisted somehow. It was the kind of smile that you would expect to see on a snake, if snakes could smile, so I guess it was kind of fitting.

"You do know, dear Lachesis, that all this could've been avoided if you'd accepted my marriage proposal."

"This again…" She replied, lightly massaging her temple with her index and middle finger. "Elliot, you are a bigot, an idiot and a fool. I never liked you and I never will. For the umpteenth time, I'm not going to accept your proposal."

Her words were said in a tone so dead-pan and obvious that I couldn't help but let out a chuckle.

"You heard the Lady. Guess you're just being a sore loser."

I couldn't stop myself, which, in itself, elicited a few laughs from some of the onlookers which only served to make Elliot more angry now.

"NO !" He shouted back angrily, his voice easily reverberating throughout the room. However, no one expected his next words. "You have to marry me ! If not then, then I'll… I'll tell my father !

"..."

"..."

"..."

We were all silent, mostly because our minds couldn't fully wrap itself around such an insane declaration. After a full minute of utter silence, Lachesis was the first person to react after the initial shock. I was not that far behind.

"Is that really the best comeback you could come up with ?" Her raised eyebrow was definitely a challenge to further aggravate Elliot, and I was more than glad to add fuel to the fire.

I just couldn't let the glint I saw I her eyes at that moment disappear like that.

"Cut the guy some slack. That must've demanded plenty of efforts from his brain."

"You'll have to forgive me if I say I'm not convinced, Ray."

"Meh, don't sweat it. I'm hardly convinced myself."

During our playful front and back, Elliot managed to gain back enough zeal to spit out one of the most cliche villain line there is.

"You're playing hard to get right now but trust me, one day I'm going to make you mine." He said, pointing a finger towards Lachesis, before turning it towards me. "And you, I'll make you suffer before killing you in the most horrible way possible."

On those oh-so-friendly words, Elliot, followed by his lackeys, quickly left the main hall. Judging by the direction they were headed to, it looked like they were getting out of the castle. A major win.

Lachesis sighed in relief, seemingly happy to be now done with Elliot and company. "Hopefully we won't be seeing him in a long while."

"Yeah. Let's not be too hopeful either. Plus, he doesn't look like the type to let bygones be bygones." And knowing more or less what's going to happen in the future, we're going to see more of him whether we want to or not.

I was glad to notice that the mood in the room had significantly improved after the departure of Elliot. It seemed like that stuck-up noble wannabe was not much loved by his fellow countrymen, despite their shared attitude and general dislike of foreigners.

Quest Update

Title : Gallant Knight

Type : Sub Quest

Time-frame : Five minutes

Description : You've always wanted to play the role of the knight in shining armour, protecting the beautiful princess atop your white steed, right ? Who hasn't. Although, this time around, there is no shining armour and certainly no horse to gallop with. But you've still got to do your job, right ?

Objective : Protect Lachesis from Elliot and his goons without causing too much of a fuss.

Rewards : 1 000 Gold Coins, 100 EXP, Slight increase in favorability with Lachesis, Slight increase in favorability with Eldigan.

Failure : Slight decrease in favorability with Lachesis, Slight decrease in favorability with Eldigan.

Progress : Success !

A few minutes after that incident, Eldigan finally came back to the ball room. However, he was not alone. They were clearly all members of the nobility, seeing as they all followed behind the king and where dressed just as ostentatiously as the other guests of the ball, if not more.

As I started gathering mana into my eyes, I activated my skill which displayed the status window of most of them.

'Observe.'

Name : Imuka

Class : King

Level : Blocked

Name : Chagall

Class : Baron

Level : Blocked

Name : Manfroy

Class : Dark Bishop

Level : Blocked

Name : Bordeaux

Class : General

Level : Blocked

Name : Macbeth

Class : General

Level : Blocked

Name : Clement

Class : Bishop

Level : Blocked

'The heads of the various noble houses of Agustria. And Manfroy seems to already be encroached in this country's politics.'

I could feel an indescriptible amount of fear coursing through my body as I glanced at Manfroy and our eyes met for more than one second. At that moment, there was no doubt in my mind : He was powerful. Freakishly so.

At least right now, if I were to fight him one-on-one, I would lose without a shred of doubt.

"You two seem to be fine." Eldigan's worrying look greeted us as soon as he came into hearing distance. He looked carefully over Lachesis before taking a look at me and nodding, satisfied that we were both unharmed. "I'm glad. I heard that idiot Elliot was causing a ruckus, but I'm relieved to find that you are both safe."

"He was being incredibly rude. But nothing we couldn't deal with." Lachesis vehemently nodded at my words, silently agreeing with my assessment.

"If that's all he did then it's all good. We should be going now since the meeting ended." He was already moving towards the door, prompting me into following him, but Lachesis' unmoving figure in the corner of my eyes made me stop.

"What's wrong ?" I asked, concern lacing my every words. That's when Eldigan passed by me in order to reach his sister.

He furrowed his brow at her, clearly concerned, and spoke in a soft voice. "Is there something sister ?"

"I just…" That was one of the rare times I saw Lachesis speaking with anything but confidence. At first, this had me worried… Until I heard what she said next. "I just wanted to have a dance with you at least once."

'Ah. So that's why.'

I guess she must've been anticipating this very thing when she was told to come.

Eldigan simply smiled warmly before taking his sister's hand into his and kissing the back of it lightly.

"Of course." He replied. The look on his face suddenly got more serious as he bowed. "Lady Lachesis, will you grant me this dance ?"

"It'll be my pleasure !" At least she seemed happy.

So I remained behind, watching this strange duo walk hand in hand into the dance floor of the now almost empty room. The smile on her face was one of pure bliss, one she rarely ever shows except to her brother that is.

Sigh*

I missed my chance to ask her myself, but seeing that sight made me realized that she'll have probably said no anyway, so I guess it wasn't too bad. The music and the party was still running wild, but most of the guest already had their eyes on Eldigan and Lachesis' dancing., myself included.

'One of the many reasons why I'll try my best to save the both of you.'

This singular thought filled my head as I watched their dance, my mind repeatedly going through those events that have yet to happen…

{ Preview }

Next time in Fire Emblem : The Holy War... Peaceful Night.

Silvia : Hey you !

Ray : Who ? Me ?

Silvia : Are you seeing anyone else ?

I turned around, looking at Dave and Eve in silence before looking back at her, unsure of how to reply.

Ray : No ?

Silvia : Exactly !

Dave : …

Eve : …

Ray : …

{ End Point }

That's the end for now I'm afraid. There wasn't much fighting in this chapter, was there ? And the probably won't be much of it in the next either. Or maybe not. I still don't have the full layout of it yet.

So, for those who don't know him, meet Elliot. One of the biggest bigot in Agustria. Those who do know him will agree. The guy was throwing tantrums, threats and insults in the game just because Lachesis refused his marriage proposal. I really wanted to go down with him in this chapter, but doing so this early might have too much of an impact later on…. At least that's what I told myself as I was writing.

Also meet Manfroy, one of the really bad guys. In game he is a really powerful unit and pretty tricky to deal with, reason why I'll be limiting interaction between him and the MC for now. Ray will just go through a one-sided trashing if he tries to fight him, and I don't see him doing anything else if they were to meet. Or maybe I will. As they say, you also grow stronger through adversity, right ?

Now, as always, tell me if you want to see any character to appear early or any particular skill for the protagonist to develop (existing or not). I'll leave you to it and get some rest.

See ya.