"Talking"
"Thinking"
[Status Magic or other reference to a system or power]
...
"...I have a suggestion." Melty offered Monti.
"Please, I can't catch them alone." Monti admitted
…
Bro-ing out with Motoyasu and L'arc
…
"Oh, what about that girl?" L'arc pointed out a cute girl from the bar.
Motoyasu looked over in an exaggerated way.
"That one? Yeah, nice choice." Motoyasu approved.
"So go get her." L'arc told him.
"You think I can't?" Motoyasu was already standing to go talk to her.
"Oh, some confidence? Where was that today?" L'arc poked at him, a bit surprised.
"When it comes to getting girls, I am in my own league." Motoyasu said confidently, moving to speak to her.
Therese sat at a different table near the edge of the bar. She moved tables, having gotten upset with the pair. Currently, she was seething internally. Watching the pair hit on every halfway cute girl that walked by as they got dumber from their drinks had Therese about to blow. She was about five seconds away from slugging the both of them. In fact, she found herself about to stand up right now!
Splash
"..." Motoyasu had a drink splashed on him. Most of those at the bar looked at him.
"Buzz off! We're here to relax before we get back to the grind tomorrow. I don't have time for guys to make passes at us!" The girl yelled.
Motoyasu paused for a moment. People waited for his reaction.
"...Ha ha… Sorry to have disturbed you ladies…" Motoyasu backed away awkwardly.
"What happened? She didn't even know I was the spear hero… I never got shot down like that before." Motoyasu felt that he was off in some way. This wasn't like him.
He failed to see he looked desperate, having lost that easy-going charm he normally sported. He quickly made his way back to L'arc, who was quick to try to cheer him up.
"Sorry about that, Moto… Want another drink?" L'arc tried to stay uplifting.
"Y-Yeah, another drink and I'll be back at it!" Motoyasu forced himself to sound positive.
Both L'arc and Therese heard how forced it sounded, but played along, pretending not to notice. Seeing Motoyasu in such a state of desperately wanting to cheer up, Therese decided to give them both a little more time.
She pulled out another of the [Soul Healing Waters] that Motoyasu gave her earlier and began sipping it.
[Sleep Bind]
Therese was suddenly feeling incredibly tired. So much so that without the potion to give her the slight boost in energy, she felt she would have fallen.
"W-What?" Therese barely managed to say, her voice barely a whisper.
She felt someone grab her shoulder. "Someone must have seen me struggling. Thank g-"
She was pulled out of her chair and over the small wall into the bush on the other side with the combined efforts of Teal and Leon. Therese was beyond confused. Seeing her look, Teal thought to explain.
"We're kidnapping you." That was Teal's way of explaining things.
"What? W-Why?" Therese wasn't concerned too much. She had the ability to speak, that was enough to win in her mind.
"Wow, she really is pretty." Leon said, climbing on top of her. His eyes were full of stars staring at her.
"Oh wow, much more forward than I expected from you, Leon." Teal commented, preparing to tie Therese's legs.
"Wait. You think I'm cute, right? How about a kiss and you go along to bed?" Therese tried offering.
Leon stared at her with confusion. "A kiss? Why would I want that?"
"..." Teal and Therese didn't know what to say at that.
"What? A boy your age should be overjoyed at the idea." Therese gave him a quick peck on the cheek, taking a lot of effort to move. "There, now let me go."
Leon stared at her in confusion further. Teal saw him stop and assumed the kiss did some damage.
"Leon, you okay?" Teal asked.
"...Kisses are worthless, they have no value… this though…" Leon reached up and grabbed the jewelry on her head.
"Wait, he knows? How!?" Therese was now fighting back.
Leon covered her mouth, but Teal let her go. She seemed disappointed.
"Wait, seriously? I came all the way out here and you have no interest in her as a woman? Not a bit of pheromones from that kiss?" Teal was upset.
Leon went to explain. "You should know I'm all about money and she has-"
"Don't care, I'm out." Teal stood and began to leave.
"What? How am I supposed to bring her back to the hotel without your help, Teal? She resisted the sleeping spell." Leon whined.
"You disappointed me, so now you're on your own. Helping you was only part of the plan, and if this is a bust, I gotta get ready for the main plan." Teal explained, leaving with a wave.
Leon grumbled. He'd need a new way to take her, but first he had to see it. He lifted up Therese's jewelry to reveal another gem beneath it, embedded in her head. Leon stopped, staring at it.
"That is it… Hey, I'll let you talk, don't yell. Why do you have a gem in your head?" Leon asked.
"He located it, but doesn't know what it means… And he is a simple child… Then my cover isn't blown. I'll tell the boy a lie and then I'll call for L'arc. Better that way." Therese thought.
Before Leon could pull his hand away, Monti appeared. He placed his right arm around his little brother's neck, then held his head in place by grabbing Leon's horn with his left, and placed his tail's stinger into his brother's mouth. He was forcing his brother to ingest his paralyzing poison. He also sent off a small shock which helped stun him, but dealt no damage.
Leon struggled to free himself. He couldn't concentrate to cast a spell as he tried to spit up the poison, but just kept swallowing. After about a minute, the struggle was over, Monti let go. Leon fell forward onto Therese, not moving.
"...Sorry about that." Monti threw his brother off of Therese and helped her sit up.
The [Sleep Bind] was fading quickly with Leon rendered useless. Therese put her jewelry back on as Monti bound Leon with some rope. After they were both done, they faced each other.
"I'm sorry about Leon. I was supposed to be watching them all, but they all left at once. Did he hurt you?" Monti began.
"No. Scared me a good bit though. He also saw something he shouldn't have." Therese said, sounding angry at the end.
Monti went to apologize on his brother's behalf. "I'm sorry about that. I can't hurt him, otherwise I'd-"
"I can." Therese said with determination.
Therese punched Leon. "That's for trying to kidnap me."
Leon winced in pain.
Therese punched Leon again, harder. "That's for trying to take off my jewelry."
Leon tried to put his arms up to defend himself, she still got a solid hit.
Therese punched Leon one more time, Monti almost felt bad for him. "That's for not cherishing a girl's kiss." She nearly said it loud enough to attract others.
Leon held his stomach. "M-Monti, mercy." He begged.
"Please stop at that, okay?" Monti asked Therese.
"Sure, I just needed to educate him. He pressed a lot of my buttons." Therese had a face that intimidated, similar to the one that Raphtalia sometimes made that even worried Naofumi.
"Right, um…?" Monti probed for a name.
"Therese." She offered
"Therese. I'm Monti Iwatani… Can we make a deal?" Monti proposed.
"A deal?" Therese asked.
"I'm trying to be a good son. My parents told me to watch my siblings and Keel and I failed. Could you please not tell anyone about this? I'll try to pay you somehow… I don't have much allowance, but… My dad is a great jewelry maker, maybe I can get him to-"
"Jewelry maker? Did he make his medallion and your cufflinks?" Therese was immediately interested.
"Y-Yeah. He's really good. He made something for each of us and sold 5 more just yesterday." Monti told her
"He's the one with the green cloak and shield right?" He sounded promising.
"Yeah, he's the sh-" Monti went to explain, but was cut off.
"Deal." Therese agreed.
"Really?" Monti questioned.
"Yes, but do I want him to make something new? I'll have to see what he has…" Therese was deep in thought now.
"Okay. I'll convince him to make you something, I swear." Monti promised.
"How do I get dad to make her something without him finding out about tonight…?" Monti pondered.
"You put little Leon here into time-out for me, okay?" She requested. "Make sure to get that sister of his too… Teal, that's what Leon called her." She recalled.
"Teal was here?" Monti asked for clarification.
"She had an argument with Leon and left that way." Therese pointed.
Monti looked in that direction to confirm. "Thanks. I'll deal with her after I get the others back to our room." Monti told her.
"Good luck." Therese made it to her feet, just fine now.
She briefly considered her options before looking at L'arc and Motoyasu. They were joking about something and hitting on the waitresses. That was the last straw. "I was nearly kidnapped 20 feet away and you drunkards never even looked over here!? That's it!" Therese thought while marching over to the pair.
…
Filo's defeat
…
Monti snuck back towards the food court, Leon over his shoulder. He made sure to not run into his parents, but otherwise didn't care about being seen. He made it back to Melty to see them waiting and Filo collapsed in a chair next to them.
"You have some nerve making the princess wait." Ida commented.
"Sorry about that. So your plan worked?" Monti apologized then asked.
"Yup, like a charm. She ate so fast that she was immobile before she felt anything." Melty told him.
She gave Filo a concerned look, who wasn't mad at her at all. "Just don't be mad at Filo-chan, okay?" Melty asked.
"I'm not mad. I don't want to be mad. I just want to be able to achieve whatever my parents ask of me… and if that means being a little rough with my brother and sisters, then so be it." Monti told Melty, lifting Filo over his other shoulder.
Monti walked over to the piles of food that was no doubt Filo's. He then stored whatever food he didn't previously poison in the shared [Inventory].
"Monti tampered with my food. You monster. Who does that?" Filo complained, not able to move much.
"If you wanted food, we could have left to get food then go back, instead of just running off on me." Monti wasn't having it.
"But Teal said… never mind. Stupid Monti." Filo stopped herself from saying something.
"..." Monti wasn't going to argue with her.
He turned to Melty. "Thanks for your help, swallowing the poison worked for Leon too. I would have been screwed without your help." He said, giving her a quick hug.
Isidor and Ida both flinched and went to say something, but Melty shot up her free hand to motion for them to stop. Monti seemed unaware of that and turned to leave after the short hug.
"Now you just need to get Teal, do you need help?" Melty offered.
"No. I know I don't always act it, but I am the strongest of my siblings, I can handle her one on one. Your party seems upset, I've wasted enough of your time. Hopefully we can all play sometime soon when we have permission. Bye." Monti waved, leaving. Feeling the glare of the pair behind Melty.
After he was out of view, Melty turned back to the pair that wore scowls. "I already told you two this with Filo, 'Do not treat my friends like an enemy'. Monti protected me during the battle with the three heroes church and is Filo's older brother. He is a good friend." Melty said, wagging her finger at the pair.
"Hmm, all the same, a Princess should not be embracing a boy so easily." Ida commented.
"W-What!? No, stop making things weird. That is an order!" Melty blushed, yelling at them.
Liviccic and Sophia were waiting nearby too, the pair hid their laughter as best they could.
…
The bar
…
Naofumi and Raphtalia had finished their shopping and were considering whether to head right back or to maybe take their time. Naofumi really wanted to make up for his ignorance. With that fisherman shopkeeper's help, they'd get a boat. With that he had the potential to take them both out at sea, just the two of them. Naofumi had no experience in the romance department, but he still saw that as a good choice. As for right now though…
"..." Naofumi looked around and saw some familiar faces at a bar.
Godiva and Mia were there, with Godiva encouraging her younger friend to try a glass. For a moment, Naofumi considered going over and socializing with them a bit, but the pair took notice of Therese. She had come over and began yelling at L'arc and Motoyasu.
"I can't believe you two! Just laughing it up without any consideration for me! Neither of you remembered I was even here, did you?" Therese began.
"That's not true, I'd never forget that you're here." Motoyasu told her.
"We haven't forgotten, but to be fair, you sat away from us." L'arc said with less sweetness.
"And while you two sat here drinking that disgusting stuff I was being… hit on very aggressively and had to deal with those grabbing hands myself." Therese complained without revealing too much.
The two sobered up a bit instantly.
"Where is he? I'd like to talk to the man." L'arc said, placing his hand on his scythe.
"Forget talking, I'll kick his ass." Motoyasu was less subtle in his intentions.
Their concern was nice to have, but it did little now. She went to get the two to agree to leave when she caught sight of Naofumi. She remembered him and knew he was the kids' father. Meaning that he is a craftsman, and therefore someone she wanted to speak to.
"Oh, you two. It's good to see you." Therese switched to a kind voice on a dime, jarring those around her.
Naofumi and Raphtalia both felt a little called out, Raphtalia waved lightly to Therese. Naofumi looked at the situation. He'd prefer not to deal with Motoyasu at all, but someone needed to tell him about the hero spells.
"If you stuck with everyone else this morning, I wouldn't need to deal with your shit." Naofumi lamented.
Naofumi and Raphtalia walked over to the table, greeting L'arc as they approached.
"Hey kiddo. You come for a drink? Sit down, we need company." L'arc began.
"I don't drink, but I need to talk to Motoyasu." Naofumi clarified, pulling out a chair. Raphtalia did the same.
Naofumi wanted to get down to business as soon as he could. "Motoyasu, we need to talk. You left immediately, so you wouldn't know, but-"
"Later, right now we're drinking. Excuse me, we'll be needing another round." Motoyasu called out.
Naofumi was getting annoyed, but a certain level of annoyance was to be expected when speaking to Motoyasu. He tried again.
"Motoyasu, this is serious. We found somethi-"
"Naofumi, we're trying to have fun here. Can you keep all that stuff until later?" Motoyasu interrupted and dismissed.
Before Naofumi could say something else, the waitress came to the table to confirm another round for Motoyasu and L'arc, then she asked others if they'd want something.
"And you sir?" The waitress prompted Naofumi.
"I don't drink, water will do." Naofumi answered.
"And you miss?" She prompted Raphtalia.
"Oh, um, uh…" Raphtalia found herself without an answer.
For just a moment, a thought entered Naofumi's mind. "Is Raphtalia old enough to drink?" The problem in asking that question was that, given what they have done and the nature of their relationship, it was more than hypocritical to have such thoughts about Raphtalia.
Seeing Raphtalia not knowing what to choose, L'arc ordered her something. "Don't worry, it'll be something standard. Never drank before?" L'arc started up a conversation.
"Um, no. I have not." Raphtalia admitted.
"Never taken your lady out drinking? Shame. You should drink too." L'arc was still talking in such an easy-going voice. In a way, it was hard to go against him when he talked like that. He sounded far too reassuring.
"If she wants to drink, she can, but I'm not drinking." Naofumi answered, deciding to try one of the fruits that sat in a small bowl on the table. They tasted great. It almost made dealing with Motoyasu possible.
"Hm, a bit boring, but at least you don't drag others down." L'arc commented, jabbing Naofumi lightly with his elbow.
Naofumi really wanted to get mad at the guy, but he just couldn't seem to muster the anger. The guy had an effortless charm to him and Naofumi was just as affected by it as anyone else.
Motoyasu saw this as a great chance to maybe correct his relationship with Naofumi and Raphtalia. They had every right to hate him, but it wasn't like he intentionally did those wrongs. At the very least, he wanted them to be less hostile towards him, even if they never forgave him.
"S-So, Naofumi, how was your first day?" Motoyasu tried striking up a conversation.
"After you bailed and we were shown-" Naofumi went to bring up the hero spell again.
"I meant leveling-wise…" Motoyasu was trying to avoid it.
"..." Naofumi was getting it. Motoyasu was afraid of not having any allies if the truth was revealed.
"We gained about 6 levels today, half of that was on the boss alone." Naofumi answered. He'd at least allow small talk.
The waitress brought over the drinks. Raphtalia tried hers and seemed to like it. She sipped on it a bit. Naofumi didn't notice as he asked the waitress for more of the small fruits he was enjoying, having to repeat himself several times for some reason. The waitress seemed very concerned.
"How many times did you fight it?" Motoyasu asked.
"Two times, same as Ren." Naofumi answered, now watching Raphtalia enjoying her drink.
"Don't know who this Ren guy is, but you both need to step up. Moto, Therese and I took down that penguin thing 6 times today." L'arc boasted.
Naofumi was stunned. "Six times!? How quickly did they get to the ruins? Even more incredible is the fact that Motoyasu has a party of three, while Ren and Itsuki have a party of six and I have a party of seven… yet all of us combined are tied with just these three?" Naofumi now had a soaring opinion of L'arc and Therese's combat abilities.
"Looks like you hit the jackpot when it comes to teammates, Motoyasu." Naofumi actually allowed himself to compliment someone. He couldn't tell if L'arc was putting him in this good mood or if it was these tasty fruits.
"Don't sell Moto short. He was keeping up with us, even though he lost the bet." L'arc half complimented.
"Might I remind you that you also lost that bet, L'arc?" Therese chided.
"Details." L'arc snarked before emptying his glass, angering Therese.
He couldn't hold back his smirk, which was the last straw for Therese. She slugged him in the ribs. He winced.
"Alright, alright, I give." L'arc surrendered, but never lost his smirk.
While Naofumi was watching these people acting up, Raphtalia finished her drink and asked for another. Naofumi was currently unaware of how much alcohol either of them were consuming.
…
Warden Monti, prison count 3/4
…
Monti walked into their room carrying Filo and Leon. Keel had nearly fallen asleep waiting, but perked up when Monti entered. He nearly fell out of bed trying to cover himself with his covers.
"Wha-Two of them already? …You might actually do it." Keel admitted out loud.
Monti allowed a smile to form as he sat Filo and Leon into their beds and began tucking them in.
"S-Stop, I'm not tired yet…" Filo complained.
"You owe me for letting that treasure escape." Leon added.
"Yes you are, and no I don't." Monti answered both of them. "Now, you two stay here and behave." He told them both.
Monti went over to Keel and removed the food he stored earlier. "This should do, right?"
Keel looked at all the food. "...You got it! If they try to escape again I got it covered!" Keel promised.
"What? You turned traitor for food?" Filo accused Keel.
"I'm not a traitor, Teal was the one to abandon me." Keel corrected her, walking over to her, still wrapped in the covers.
"Survival of the fittest." Leon argued.
"And that's why you're paralyzed and tucked in bed." Keel pointed out.
"Grr, shut up." Leon couldn't even manage to raise his voice.
"Hehe." Keel laughed at Leon's inability to do anything.
"We may have lost, but Teal won't." Filo said with confidence.
"You think she's stronger than me?" Monti asked, slightly concerned, slightly curious.
"Nope, but Monti can't beat Teal." Filo remained confident.
"..." Monti thought about the number of things Teal could do and the prep time she has been given only made facing her all the more daunting a task. It'd make sense to bet on Teal in this situation…, but Monti was not accepting a loss. Monti quietly exited the room, leaving the three of them alone.
"...I'm not sure Teal can win… If she can't, there's no real way to make Monti fail." Leon thought aloud.
"Yeah…" Filo was also slightly worried.
"Why do you want Monti to fail so badly?"
"You wouldn't get it. Monti can't take a compliment and yet thrives off of other people's approval. He knows he doesn't have to and still does everything he can to help people. For him, it's like… I'm not gonna say it out loud…" Leon stopped himself, closing his eyes, waiting to sleep.
Filo also closed her eyes and went to sleep, but Keel wasn't buying it. Keel sat there eating food and staring at the pair, waiting for one of them to try something.
…
Exploiting the drunk
…
Naofumi and Raphtalia spent more time at the bar than either planned to. L'arc and Therese were very charming people and it had them wanting to stay. Naofumi gave up on talking to Motoyasu and just passed him a note he wrote. He wrote about the location of the hero exclusive spell for him to find on his own time, making sure to tell him that it's both strong and important.
Eventually, Mia came over to the table to speak briefly to Naofumi.
"You'll never guess who I found. The gun user!" She pointed.
The man was passed out at the bar, covered in a cheap cloak. The man's gun was clearly visible though. Naofumi wanted to laugh at it. It looked like a flintlock pistol, like from some period piece or pirate movie. No wonder guns sucked here. Compared to magic, these old things seemed like a novelty at best.
"Doesn't look like he's talking…" L'arc commented.
"I mean, he was conscious a moment ago. I tried asking him about his gun and…" Mia trailed off.
"Then he hit on Mia a little too strongly and I hit him one good time." Godiva finished, yelling from her seat.
"Yeah… that… But I'm sure once he sobers up I can get plenty of info out of him. After all, his weapon looks so well maintained, he must know quite a bit about it." Mia commented hopefully.
"He maintains his weapon, but the rest of him looks like-" Godiva went to insult the poor guy further.
"Like someone checked his chin at a bar?" L'arc finished.
The two shared a laugh at the poor guy, Naofumi and Motoyasu even chuckled a bit. During the small round of laughter, Therese noticed Mia's accessory.
"Oh, that pendant!" Therese motioned to Mia.
"Oh, this? It's pretty, right? Naofumi made it." Mia answered, gesturing to Naofumi.
Godiva raised her hand to show off her ring too, not getting up from the bar seat.
"Oh, wow. I heard you were good, but those pieces look wonderful. Could I get you to make one for me?" Therese asked.
"Well, I'm kind of busy..." Naofumi halfheartedly tried to turn her down.
"Plleeaassee?" Therese tried her best to beg. She couldn't really mention Monti's offer right now without breaking her side of the agreement.
"Well… even if I did, I'd need materials." Naofumi tried to make an excuse.
Before Naofumi finished his sentence, Therese had a bag she handed Naofumi.
"Use whatever you think is best." Therese offered.
"..." Most of the gems in the bag were things he hadn't seen or heard of before. More than one of them caught his eye.
"So, you're serious?" Naofumi questioned.
"Of course… We likely won't be able to return here again… so if I want a sample of the local craftsmen for a souvenir, then I choose you." Therese told him, seeming somehow excited and slightly sad at the same time.
"..." Naofumi seemed hesitant.
"I'll pay you when it's finished, you just price it at whatever seems fair. I'm not an unreasonable customer." Therese added.
"If she's going to be partied with Motoyasu, a good accessory would help…" Naofumi considered.
"Alright, it will take a few days." He relented.
"That's fine, I know it'll be worth the wait." Therese assured him.
There was another brief period of enjoyment by all until-
"Watch where you are going!" Came Raphtalia's voice.
Naofumi looked beside him to see Raphtalia yelling at a man that bumped her chair. That was very out of character for her. He then noticed her empty glass.
"Raphtalia, did you already finish your glass? …Maybe that's enough for now?" Naofumi suggested.
"Kiddo, that's her 4th one, pay attention." L'arc said with a laugh.
"Wha…?" Naofumi felt he allowed too many people to distract him from watching Raphtalia… who hadn't answered him.
He turned and she was out of her seat, arm wrestling the man. Naofumi scrambled out of his seat and went to stop her, but she won and flipped the guy with her arm. The surrounding men laughed and one challenged her before the last guy stopped rolling.
"Damn, look at her. I don't see you stopping her." L'arc commented.
"Indeed, Raphtalia-chan is stronger than I imagined." Motoyasu added.
What was worse was that if Naofumi told her to stop, the slave crest would activate. Even at the weakest setting, he would never willingly trigger it. So, he needed to word everything as a question, which made it easier to ignore or say 'no' to.
"Raphtalia, don't you think it's about time we head back?" Naofumi tried.
Raphtalia threw another man as she won again, the growing crowd cheered louder than the first time. A few more men stepped forward to challenge her. Naofumi saw this was going to be a chore
"If it's going down this way…" "Five silver to try, 50 silver if you can beat her! Pay me before you lock arms. Form a line!" Naofumi yelled to the men.
"H-He's encouraging her?" Motoyasu said in shock.
"Hmm, looks more like exploiting." L'arc said with another chuckle.
"You're both wrong. That must look foreign to the two of you because it's the opposite sex roles. He is finding a way to deal with her decision, like how I am forced to do with the two of you."
Motoyasu and L'arc were back on the chopping block, but if L'arc was going there, he was going to earn it.
"The difference being, the kiddo over there is making money, you spend it." L'arc said his words bravely.
Therese turned to face L'arc, he was already readying a block.
…
Monti vs Teal
…
Monti was worried that he wouldn't be able to find Teal, but following the direction Therese pointed from the bar was all he had. He peered inside to see his mother throwing a man as she beat him in arm wrestling, his father taking coin as she did so. He briefly realized that he was now viewing his parents as people, as young adults themselves. It felt weird to see them not acting as they had around them. He wondered if they tried as hard to be his parents as he did at being their son. He suddenly felt bad, thinking of the work that he put them through. This then led to him being more motivated to find Teal and do his duty.
He followed the road, but quickly found a single long line of flowers in the grass that formed an arrow. He'd follow it, but not on foot. He knew his sister was too smart to not trap the ground with all sorts of chaos. He flew only a short distance before seeing Teal, seated on a bench, waiting.
Teal wasn't the least bit worried, waving to her brother as he went to land.
"Took a little longer than I thought. I assume you caught the other three?" Teal greeted, then asked.
The idea that everyone else had failed to escape Monti's capture didn't seem to worry Teal in the least.
"Yeah, and now I need you to come back. Mom and dad haven't returned to the hotel yet. There's still time to get back." Monti attempted to reason with her first.
Teal ignored the plea. "...Did Filo or Leon tell you why we ran out on you?" She asked.
"No and you can tell me all about it on the way back." Monti gestured to her to stand and take her hand.
Teal made no movement.
"We did that so you could fail." Teal said bluntly.
"..." Monti paused at that.
"You try really hard, Monti, too hard. Everyone appreciates it, myself included." Teal started.
"Then why?" Monti asked.
Teal went to explain. "Because we don't love you because you're useful, we-"
Monti interrupted. "I know that. I know that I don't have to try, but I want to. Why do I need a reason to-"
Teal interrupted back. "You have a reason and… and I hate it!" Teal spat as she stood. "You don't see it, do you? Of course you don't. Monti, your problem is-"
"All you do is talk down to people like you're soooo smart or say things to upset them. Now shut up and come with me, now!" Monti roared.
"..." It wasn't a shock to Teal that Monti would lash out. On some level, Monti had to know the truth too.
Still, she cried a bit.
Her brother was as nice to everyone as he could be and held everyone's opinion of him as something worth his effort.
That wasn't his problem, but it was the way he avoided facing that problem. That's why he thrived off other people's approval. Because it was a way to obscure the truth of the matter. There was something that Monti lacked, something that no one else could give Monti. Otherwise, Teal and the others would have done so already.
For him to insult her hurt. Because her brother was never the type of person to do that. So the fact Monti insulted Teal implied a heightened sense of authenticity in Teal's eyes. If Monti insulted someone, it was most likely the truth.
"You mean that?" Teal asked in a quiet voice.
"...No… Just please come back with me, okay?" Monti asked her again, feeling bad about what he said.
Teal began thinking. "I can't bring myself to dislike you, Monti. Ideally, you'd be forced to address this issue and overcome it, but you've cultivated far too much goodwill from everyone around you to see a need for it. So in order to make you face it…"
"I'll ruin any plans you have of winning here!" Teal called.
Teal shot acid out of her mouth, but Monti easily avoided it at that range. Monti ran towards her, but he wouldn't get a straight shot at her.
[Living Wall]
Teal grew a wall of trees around her. Monti didn't even slow down and he transformed and cut through the trees with his large claws. However, he was now confused and stopped mid step.
Teal was gone.
It took him a moment to see how. The trees weren't meant to stop or even stall Monti, only to obscure his vision. She had used her earth magic to create a hole where she stood. Which meant-
"Gotcha!" Teal exclaimed.
Her enlarged arm snatched Monti's tail and dragged it underground, pulling him to the hole. His body couldn't fit through the hole, so that left him stuck to the ground. He struggled a moment before sending a shock of lightning out to zap Teal.
"..." It did nothing.
"What? Even if it dealt no damage, it should stun you." Monti voiced his confusion.
Teal climbed back out of the hole she made, still holding Monti's tail through the tunnel. Her arm was stretched pretty far, but she didn't seem to worry.
"Monti, think about it. I'm a plant. So your poison won't work and my body moves via mutation, not nerves. Meaning your electricity can't stun me either. So now let us sit here and accept that you can't make me go back." Teal told him in a calm voice.
Monti looked for an answer, ignoring her offer. After a moment, he found one. He returned to his human form and fit through the hole his full form's tail made. He raced through the tunnel and up the other side. Teal was already trying to gain distance, but Monti had the speed advantage.
"You still don't get it!" Teal cried.
She mutated the plant arm into wrapping around Monti, holding his arms, wings and tail within it. Monti reached Teal and spoke.
"You think you can hold me? Hagh!" Monti tried to break out, but could not.
"Wha-What the hell? That doesn't make any sense! I know I'm stronger than you, even if you mutate. What's going on?" Monti was on the back foot once again.
Teal smirked. "You're trying to tear my arm in half, while it's still attached. That would cause damage…"
"Which means…" Monti trailed off and started thinking it through. "Which means that [Love] is stopping me, just like with Filo…, but unlike Filo, Teal can make herself an obstacle I can't break through… or can I?" Monti had an idea.
He took a step back and went to do something, Teal tried to convince him otherwise.
"Monti, stop. It's okay to fail. Ask yourself why you want everyone's approv-" But Teal was cut short by Monti.
Monti transformed into his full form again, snapping the vine, freeing him.
"He can't deal damage, but I guess that doesn't count because it's… environmental damage?" Teal was trying to figure out how he did that, but another thought entered her head. "Shit. If I catch him in human form, he can break out by transforming. If I catch him in his full form, then he can transform into his human form and slip out…"
What Teal had previously planned as a clear victory for herself was devolving into a stalemate at best.
"No, it's worse than a stalemate. He can hurt me if I stall him, but I can't hurt him. I have to be more hands-on." Teal decided.
"Your poison can't affect me, but the opposite isn't true." Teal declared, releasing pollen from her head.
[Noxious Pollen]
Monti seemed slow to respond. He picked up a piece of Teal's vine that he broke before and turned to her. He simply flapped his wings, blowing the pollen away. Teal let the breeze pass by, annoyed with herself. This is exactly how Motoyasu overcame her attack.
"I really need a better delivery system than… floating menacingly toward someone." She realized.
Monti stared Teal down. "Don't feel dumb, I forgot something too."
"Oh? And what's that?" Teal asked, ready for whatever he tried next.
"You're a royal now too." Monti said, taking a bite of the vine.
The small swelling of energy as Monti grew stronger was paired with Teal realizing that she was dead wrong. Not only was beating Monti no longer a guarantee, but the chances of beating him seemed to be shrinking by the moment.
"I c-can mutate into something to-... I can use earth magic and-..." Teal was trying to think how she could beat Monti, but he was leaving her with few options. Teal nearly gave up, but then she remembered something rather basic.
Teal shot more of herself into the ground, reinforcing and bulking her legs up and ingraining herself into as much ground as she could, both wide and deep.
Monti started approaching, but Teal stood there, rooted to the ground. Monti grabbed her arms and went to take off, planning to fly Teal back to the hotel as quickly as possible.
But nothing happened. Monti could not lift her. Monti realized immediately. "She repurposed her original plan. I can't break her direct bindings because of [Love], but instead of catching me… She's grounded herself. Meaning I'd need to be able to unearth this whole area to take her back…"
Monti couldn't think of a way around it. Even if he slowly excavated the whole area, Teal would just spread her roots to different areas. Not to mention that would take hours. One after another, Monti shot down his own ideas. Monti was starting to panic. He put his arms around Teal and started pulling as hard as he could. It still seemed to do nothing.
"Thanks for the hug. Now listen, I know you're mad right now, but you have to understand why I'm doing this on some level, right?" Teal asked.
Monti ignored her, trying with increasing desperation to uproot her. Teal saw his facial expression as he was starting to whimper a bit. Teal knew that she was going to upset Monti by doing this, but she was doing this ultimately for his own benefit. Still, seeing him looking the way he is currently upset her more than expected.
Monti transformed back into his full form and bit into Teal and pulled as hard as he could. The bite only served as a grip, as [Love] still prevented them from dealing damage. Teal was feeling worse by the second. She was going to win, but was it worth it?
Monti then activated [Overdrive], covering himself in lightning, doing whatever he could think of to lift Teal.
"Raaahhh!" Monti roared out as he began to lift Teal, the whole area with her.
Teal was shocked that Monti could do something like this. She knew he was strong, but Leon probably couldn't do it and he was easily twice Monti's size at this point. Before her shock could fade, she fell about a foot down. Monti was able to lift her, but barely. He couldn't keep it up and dropped her.
"..." For a moment, there was silence between the pair as Teal didn't know what to say and Monti was quite winded.
"...What do I have to do to get you to agree to come back? Whatever it is, I'll do it." Monti gave up and began to attempt to bargain.
"Monti… If this was just about you wanting to be helpful, you wouldn't be this upset." Teal pointed out.
"Please…" Monti refused to think about what she was saying.
"...Listen… I, um…" Teal knew what she needed to do, but was struggling for some reason.
All she had to do was nothing at all. Just stand there and talk to Monti. It'd upset him, it'd probably make him cry, but it was what she needed to do to help him. She won, now she could-
Teal saw Monti tearing up a bit and she stopped thinking. All the planning, all the struggle, it was for nothing. Teal was able to discern the problems of others, but couldn't see her own problems. Which is why she lost, not to Monti, but to her emotions.
"I… give up… Let's go back to the hotel, okay?" Teal told him, saying whatever she had to to get him to stop looking the way he did.
"..." Monti said nothing as he pulled himself to his feet with her help.
The two of them began walking back to the hotel. Neither said anything the whole way.
…
Raphtalia stands victorious
…
Naofumi had collected a fair bit of coin and every man that wanted to test Raphtalia had learned a lesson. Motoyasu, L'arc, and Therese had gotten in on the fun by commenting on those that Raphtalia beat. Godiva even tried arm-wrestling Raphtalia. It was with more struggle than the rest, but Raphtalia beat her too. After that, Mai and Godiva retired for the night, taking the still unconscious gun using adventurer with them.
Motoyasu decided to try one of the fruits that Naofumi had been enjoying. He regretted it immediately. He chewed it, but never swallowed it. The vile thing had him foaming at the mouth and the bartender that was watching Raphtalia go to town on every drunk man with the coin to bark heard the commotion and ran to help him.
"Hey! Don't eat that! That's rucolu fruit!" The man yelled.
"Um, but if they aren't edible, why are they in bowls?" L'arc asked, while Therese helped Motoyasu.
"A single one of those bad boys is supposed to mix with an entire barrel of water to produce a barrel of wine. Get it? Your guy here just shoved a whole barrel of wine down in one go basically!"
"B-But, that can't be…" Motoyasu had spat most of it out and was washing his mouth out.
Naofumi seemed to give little notice to Motoyasu almost dying, coming over and grabbing another fruit and eating it.
"D-Don't do that!" The barkeep shouted.
Naofumi misunderstood the fuss. "It's fine. The queen is covering the tab."
"No! That's a rucolu fruit!" The barkeeper explained to Naofumi what he did to Motoyasu.
"How the hell are you still vertical?" L'arc asked, somewhat impressed.
"Like I said, I don't drink. Because I can't get drunk. Why would I waste coin on something like that?" Naofumi answered.
"I swear that damned shield must give you godly poison resistance…" Motoyasu commented, forgetting to not mention certain things around L'arc and Therese.
"I was like this since before I got this shield." Naofumi's reply did a better job at hiding the truth.
Not long after that, Motoyasu, L'arc, and Therese left. With them gone, Naofumi's attention could finally be 100% on Raphtalia, where it needed to be. At some point, Naofumi finally got Raphtalia to leave with him and the two began making their way back from the bar. Naofumi found Raphtalia up against him again, but she was different. She wasn't speaking. She let her actions do the talking ever since she got a few drinks in her. So, he couldn't tell if she needed help balancing, or if…
Better to ignore that.
Naofumi and Raphtalia returned to the hotel only 20 minutes after Monti and Teal. As they made their way to their room, Naofumi stopped at the kid's room and checked the door handle, unlocked. He'd lock it for them and remind them tomorrow. He peered inside to see all five of them out cold.
"Maybe I pushed them too hard today…" He thought.
As he made it inside, Raphtalia steadied herself a bit better. He now had a good idea of what she was planning. She went to kiss him, but he caught and covered her mouth with his hand. Before she could process that, he kissed her forehead.
"..." Raphtalia just stood there, trying to interpret what that meant.
"Listen… um… Not like this, okay?" Naofumi managed to say to her.
Naofumi and Raphtalia were in a private hotel room and she was willing, but he didn't want to do it like this. Their first time was emotionally charged with just surviving a life or death battle that was absurdly stressful and Naofumi was now worried that they might not have done so in a more level-headed situation. So he didn't want their second time to involve alcohol. He wanted it to be… normal? If only to confirm to himself that what they did before was not the kind of mistake that young people like them often found themselves doing. That it was a mutual decision made by two level-headed adults.
Raphtalia seemed upset, but she hid it well enough that someone other than Naofumi might not have noticed. She backed off a bit. They just stood there awkwardly for a moment.
"I wouldn't have drank any then…" She muttered to herself.
They were both upset with themselves and a tiny bit at each other. But with it being late and Raphtalia not sobering up anytime soon… They both soon found themselves in bed, mad at their own decisions. Raphtalia in drinking so much and Naofumi for declining her advance.
Naofumi and Raphtalia went to bed frustrated, Filo and Leon went to bed numb, Monti and Teal went to bed upset…
But at least Keel went to be happy and full… so that's something.
.
[Author's Notes]
Monti was able to get Leon and Filo by having them drink/eat his paralyzing venom. Which causes zero damage. Melty's plan was a huge success and the teasing at the end with Melty was just bait (probably)
Leon was lucky he was only wanting to gaze at Therese's jewel… Otherwise there would have been one less dragon in the world. And yeah, he's an airhead too. Of course he isn't interested in girls, he's all about the value.
Motoyasu isn't fine, but he's hanging in there… good thing L'arc and Therese are there to support him…
Drunktalia victorious as always. Though a more attentive Naofumi has to actually deal with her and not just leave her to deal with being drunk for the first time.
Naofumi puts the brakes on any fun stuff due to his overthinking and over worrying. It was even chapter 69! C'mon Naofumi!
Monti has a bigger issue than what was previously resolved and all three of his siblings see it. What is it? And how is he avoiding the problem by being helpful? How could that be bad?
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