Foreword: YATAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! We're back! Back, do ya hear? Back! Yeaaahhhh!
Yeah, January and February have been… busy, to say the least. But we're finally back! I finally scraped together some time to start writing, whee! Problem is, the quality probably dipped, since I haven't had time to keep up my writing chops. Hope you guys can bear with it.
Well… here's where we start hitting canon divergence. Just a little, though. … Or maybe a lot. Who knows… ?
Chapter 7
Hikigaya Hachiman can't seem to catch a break.
I flinched as a hand slammed down onto the desk. Andromeda glared at me with all the ferocity of a Monster Rex, raised her hand, and...
adjusted her glasses. "Sit down, Hikigaya."
I sat. Opposite of me, Andromeda took Hermes's chair and gracefully sank into it, one hand on the armrest and the other propping up her chin, her legs crossed as she stared down at me. Her glasses glinted eerily in the light, hiding the eyes behind the lenses.
I, on the other hand, went for maxing out my Intimidation Factor in response to Andromeda's Regal Stat. Propping my elbows on the desk, I interlaced my fingers together, being sure to hunch forward, and stared at Andromeda in return. It was a waste of Hermes's comfortable chairs, but looking cool was more important, you know?
Andromeda's next words brought the standoff to a screeching halt.
"You did the one precise thing I told you not to do." The glasses cleared to show her eyes, which glared at me. I immediately dropped the Gendo impression and sat straight up. Andromeda was furious. Definitely not a good sign.
But before Andromeda could say anything else, the doors opened with a loud BANG and Hermes came capering in, his hair a disheveled mess and his hat tilted at a jaunty angle as he whistled a horribly off-tune rendition of what appeared to be Aqua's theme from Konosuba.
He kept it up for another 3 or 4 seconds before he noticed us. "Ah." He blinked awkwardly. "Didn't expect to see you here, Hikigaya."
"Hermes-sama." Andromeda dipped into a small nod, but her eyes flickered across his figure. "... Were you out partying again, Hermes-sama?!"
"Hm… ah! No, no, no, nothing like that, absolutely nothing like that." Hermes jumped a little as Andromeda fixated her stare on him. He gave a shaky little laugh. "I just went out to admire the city! You know, since it's early in the morning and all, I thought I'd get some fresh morning air, ahahahaha! In fact, that air is so nice and cold, I think that I'll go outside and enjoy it some more right now seeyoulaterHikigayabyeeeeee–AHHHHHHHH!" His hurried exit was cut short by Andromeda, who had propelled herself across the desk in a blink of an eye, cutting off his escape by stepping in front of him.
There was a dull thunk as a bottle fell out of his coat and rolled across the floor, where it rolled up against the back legs of my chair. I picked it up and eyed it. The bottle was pretty plain, with only a date inscribed on it: "954 AD". 954 After Descent, making this bottle 40+ years old. I set the bottle on the table and turned the label for Andromeda to see.
"Oi, oi, now hold on a second Asfi-chan, this is very easily–"
"Hermes." I shuddered at the steel in Andromeda's voice. Wait, forget steel, the woman's voice was pure adamantite. Maybe it was one of her special skills! Yes, this must be what they call–cut the crap, I'm not that tubby chuuni. "I will deal with you later. Outside. Right now."
The door closed behind Hermes with a soft click.
Andromeda turned back towards me. Slowly crossing the room, she once again sat down in her chair. There was a long silence until she turned back to me.
"Hikigaya… you…" There was a mix of emotions in her voice that I couldn't quite place. For some reason, Andromeda's gaze lowered, and she tilted backwards in her chair a little as her impassive face softened. She seemed to be struggling with something. "... Is what you desire really worth dying for, Hikigaya?"
I held her gaze, but my mouth remained closed.
Even if I were to tell you, you wouldn't understand.
No matter what words I used, no matter what logic or rationale I employed, it was simply impossible for anyone in Orario to understand my problem. Only Hermes, and Hermes alone, knew about the fact that I was from another world. And even if he knew and he understood, he couldn't go beyond nudging me in the right direction. It would go against the 'Divine Game' that he and the other deities were playing.
To abandon it all, just like that…
I wouldn't give up. I couldn't give up.
"... Forget it." Andromeda's eyes were hidden behind her glasses again as she got up from her chair and opened the door. But as she stepped through, she turned back. "Hikigaya… for once in your life, please, please... try to take into account how other people feel about you."
I couldn't ignore the look in her eyes.
What had happened last night remained in the front of my mind, refusing to leave. Hackard's hand on my shoulder, which had left a weight which felt like it might crush me. The tears that had pooled in the corners of her eyes. The words that still rang in my ears, over and over.
Why won't you realize that there are other people who care about you?
Care.
Such a simple word, and yet so hard to define. It wasn't a quality of relationships founded on logic, and it couldn't be quantified through any form or value. However, just a little bit of care had the ability to fundamentally and permanently alter one's relationships with others.
I wasn't blind. Contrary to what most people believed, I could read social cues very well.
It was obvious that Hackard cared for me. Her attempts at conversation, her decision to stick with me even after only two of us were left after 5 years even though she could've gone to join Hermes Familia's main force, her attempts to save me every time I made a mistake… it was impossible to say that Maris Hackard didn't care for Hikigaya Hachiman.
But to say that things could change because everyone cared for one another was nothing more than naive idealism. Care didn't do anything. It didn't stop Umbar from leaving the party after he lost a limb. It didn't stop Yelena from leaving Orario after her partner had died right in front of her, bleeding out to a slow death on the Dungeon's floor.
No, I was wrong. Care had done something.
Care had been what made them left.
Sure, both of them had cared about us. They had cared about the party, about what we could and couldn't do, about everyone's desires and aspirations.
They had cared. Just not enough to put the pieces back together after everything fell apart.
Or perhaps they had cared too much, which was why only Hackard and I were left.
There was a slight creeeeeaak as the door eased open. Hermes's head peeked in. "Is Asfi-chan gone yet?" He peeked nervously from one side to the other, half-crouched hidden in the safety of the doorway.
"Yeah."
"Ahh, good." Without missing a beat, Hermes rolled into the room, quietly easing it shut behind him. Snatching up the bottle on the desk, he let out a chuckle as he slunk to his desk and rummaged underneath it.
One bottle of wine stored in a secret compartment under his desk later, Hermes was sitting down next to me. "I heard that you three and Loki Familia were called away for questioning. Something about Rivira. How'd it go?"
"The request went awry." Hermes frowned. "We caught Louie after she managed to take the package. But we ended up getting sidetracked…"
I began slowly narrating the events of the previous day, adding in details to supplement Hermes's occasional questions. By the time we were finished, well over 15 minutes had passed.
"Hmm…" Hermes was leaned back in his chair, hand on his chin, deep in thought. "Two factions at play, and neither me nor Loki are part of this… until now." He sighed. "Looks like I'm going to need to make a move sooner than I thought. I've got some ideas, but nothing tangible for you right now. And anyways, you're here for an update, right?"
I nodded.
"Well, let's get to work." The rest of the time was spent in silence as Hermes quietly updated my Status, his brain probably still mulling over what I had told him.
The silence was finally broken by the rustle of paper. "Wow, Hikigaya. Whatever you did in Rivira is working its magic." The playful edge had returned to Hermes's voice as he handed me the paper with my Status on it. "You're sooo close to maxing out your stats, you know?"
Hikigaya Hachiman
Hermes Familia
Level 3
Strength: C 674 - B 741
Endurance: C 632 - B 738
Dexterity: C 693 - B 751
Agility: C 688 - B 744
Magic: I 0 - I 0
Developmental Abilities
Perception G
Abnormal Resistance H
Treatment I
Skills
The Ordinary: Makes user unremarkable and unnoticeable, even if one is completely obvious in broad daylight. Effectiveness increases based on similar entities in proximity. Passive.
I did the math in my head. 287 points… that was an impossibly high jump in numbers, unless I factored in what had happened in the past 3 days.
At least everything was fine now. And as Hermes said, I was another step closer to Leveling Up as a result. The faster I hit Level 4, and then 5 and 6, the better.
"Speaking of close to maxing out, where's Maris-chan, hmm?" Hermes examined me with a close eye. "I thought you two were the best of friends. Even Asfi-chan was worried about you two. What, you guys get in a fight?"
Why won't you realize that there are other people who care about you?
The words from last night echoed in my head again.
"... No answer?" Hermes took off his hat and lazily spun it around his fingers, the feather swaying in the air. "Wellll, that's fine. The answer's only one you can arrive at, after all. Your call, Hikigaya. Although…" All of a sudden, I realized that Hermes's smile had softened, turning into an actual smile. His eyes were filled with a kindness that reminded me of something I didn't want to remember. "... I know that you're doing what you think is best, but..."
–but it's hurting others. The unspoken words hung in the air, leaving me with a bitter taste in my mouth.
Hurting others. Those memories weren't something I needed to be reminded of right now.
That staleness in the room which had once been filled with the scent of tea wasn't something I wanted to remember.
There was a long silence in the office before he abruptly spoke again as I stood up. "Wellll~ I'm not really the lecturing type, so you can do whatever you think is best, honestly. Your choices haven't been wrong yet, right? Just be sure not to drag Maris-chan into trouble, 'mkay? I'd hate for her to miss her bar-crawling with Asfi-chan. Seeya, then–" His words were cut short when the door abruptly opened and a stony-faced Andromeda walked in. "Asfi-chan? What's with that look on your face–Oiiii, oiii?! A-Asfi-chaaaan?!" With those words, Hermes was unceremoniously flung from the room singlehandedly into the hallway. "Waiiit, but that's my office?!" And then Andromeda shut the door behind her again.
There was an ominous silence behind the door. Then a "BLAAAAARRRRGHHHHH!" echoed through the building. Then, more silence.
The air outside was, as Hermes had claimed, nice and cold. A breeze blew down the empty street, brushing up against me with the slightest of chills as I left the warm interior of the Traveler's Inn.
Even though I'd glimpsed what I wanted so long ago, it seemed that I hadn't changed.
Your choices haven't been wrong yet, right?
I stopped as Hermes's words rose to the front of my thoughts.
No, my choices hadn't been wrong. I'd always believed in that. What I chose was the most logical, the most rational, the most optimized solution to my own situation. No matter what the isekai gods threw at me, Hikigaya Hachiman was guaranteed to come out on top.
I'm certain that the old me would've held the current me in high regard for doing so.
The breeze turned into a sweeping gust, icy wind finding its way into my clothes, making me shiver a little. Maybe I should've simply continued to trust in my own choices and move onward, nonetheless.
My choices weren't wrong. I was sure of that.
But what Hermes's advice, Andromeda's request, and Hackard's tears had made me realize something. Even though my choices weren't wrong, they weren't right, either.
No matter what the isekai gods threw at me, Hikigaya Hachiman was guaranteed to come out on top.
And even though Hikigaya Hachiman was guaranteed to come out on top, only Hikigaya Hachiman would come out on top.
Was that right?
I didn't know.
~~This is a Line Break~~
"Hey, Finn-san." Louie seemed apprehensive. Then again, I couldn't really blame her. She was getting the short end of the stick, after all. "Are you sure this is safe?" She held up the drawstring bag with the orb.
Deimne reached up and patted Louie's shoulder in a bizarre display that truly exemplified his height. It looked like a child trying to comfort their parents. "No worries, Lulune-san. All of the best from Loki Familia are here to back you up. If you ever feel that you're in danger before we appear, just shout."
"A-hem! Us as well!" Hackard coughed awkwardly as she put her hand on Louie's other shoulder. "Hikigaya and I have got your back, Lulune-chan!"
I, on the other hand, remained silent, carefully watching the alley where the transfer was going to take place, mulling over my train of thought from the previous day.
If what I had suspected was true, and there were already 2 factions in conflict with each other over this orb…
I snuck a glance at the package in Louie's hands.
Deimne's plan, in and of itself, was simple: The day before, Loki Familia had made an announcement at the Guild over the package, which would be in their custody. As a result, the enemy's intentions would be drawn to them, allowing the actual carriers of the package–Louie, Hackard, and me–to deliver the package in secrecy with some heavy-duty backup. Louie, accompanied by Hackard and I, would deliver the package and establish contact with the black-robed figure, hopefully forming an alliance. If that failed, the Loki Familia executives, who would be monitoring, would step in.
With Deimne himself, as well as Alf, Wallenstein, and the Hiryutes present, it was next-to-impossible for this plan to fail.
But as the 3rd party in the conflict, it was also possible that we'd get caught in between the two factions since we were the ones with the orb.
And furthermore…
My gaze shifted to Wallenstein. Someone on the red-haired Tamer's side also wanted Wallenstein.
There was almost no doubt that she shared a connection to the orb.
Deimne was playing a massive gamble here.
It was a strategy game, but his tactics were lacking, as evidenced by yesterday.
Yesterday… I shook my head, trying to clear the feeling of unease. Focus. You're close to the end of this first section. Let's finish this and you can think about what happened all you want later.
The chime of a clock broke me out of my thoughts.
"Okay, it's about time. If there's any trouble, don't hesitate to give the signal." Deimne nodded towards us as the rest of Loki Familia disappeared from our view, no doubt staking out the alleyway where the delivery was supposed to take place.
"Uwahhh…" Louie swallowed as she clutched the bag harder. "I don't like this…"
"It'll be fine, Lulune-chan…" Hackard's hands nervously clenched and unclenched the handle of her sword. "We'll be fine. Hikigaya's got our back." A little stab of something I couldn't identify shot through me at her words, vanishing just as quickly.
I shook my head again. No distractions. Focus.
The alley's entrance loomed in front of us, open and inviting. I sucked in a deep breath, pushing my way into the shadows.
It was unnaturally dark between the two buildings.
As we moved forward, my senses pricked as I felt the air shift. The alley's air felt… alive. Like something was watching us from all around us.
Something… or rather, someone.
I stopped where I was, letting the point of my sword drop until it was almost touching the ground and holding out a hand to stop both Louie and Hackard from moving forward.
"Uh, Hikigaya-san?" Louie moved towards me, but Hackard stopped her and shook her head.
Doing my best to ignore the two, I closed my eyes, letting my senses spread through the air. And I concentrated.
"I know you're there." About 5 meters in front of the three of us. There was a… presence. It hadn't been easy to find at first. My eyes hadn't seen anything, and my ears had only picked up the slightest rustling of clothing, which was almost fully masked by the wind. It could've been gone for the noise the 3 of us were making, but the observer's intent had condensed around a single spot.
Both Louie and Hackard jumped as a voice spoke in front of us. "... I did not expect you to notice." The voice sounded as if the speaker was talking through a fan. I couldn't tell if it was a male or female's voice.
In front of us, the air rippled, shadows distorting and undulating as a figure wrapped in pitch-black cloth emerged from the shadows. Twin metal gauntlets with intricate carvings jutted out from the folds of the robe, while a hood covered the face thoroughly, obscuring their identity completely.
The figure bowed towards the three of us. "Rest assured. I mean no harm. I am only here to receive the package I have requested."
"Louie." The chienthrope didn't hesitate, passing the package over… straight into my hand. I held it up in front of the figure, whose hand stretched outwards. "This is the package you're looking for?"
"That is correct. Payment, as stipulated, will be the 50 million Valis–"
"Who are you?" The figure paused at my interruption.
"Me? I'm nobody important, really."
There it was. The legendary line that would forever cement suspiciously-disguised figures as people of vital importance in these types of stories. To think that I'd actually hear that type of thing in real life...
"I don't buy it." Hackard was about to point her sword at the figure, but I stopped her, pushing the blade of her greatsword down. Invoking time-honored anime traditions was fun and all, but we were dealing with the fate of Orario here. If the orb were to fall into the wrong hands, there would be a lot of trouble.
"What's your name?" Louie piped up this time.
"It's Fels." I had no clue if that was supposed to be a pseudonym or not. It didn't sound like it.
"Alright then, Feels–"
"Fels."
"–Fels, I don't trust you." Hackard's grip on her sword tightened. "Who are you working for?"
The figure in question shifted slightly, the folds of their robe swaying. "I'm working for the good of Orario."
The good of Orario. It all clicked together. The reason they were able to obtain so much money on such a short notice for two Quests, and that phrase.
It couldn't have been a familia. They would've had to go through the Guild to make any requests that involved sticking quests on commission boards–which left, by the process of elimination, only one organization that could muster so much money in such a short amount of time, without being caught by red tape.
"The Guild, then," I guessed.
While I couldn't see Fels's face, I distinctly sensed their surprise as they shifted from one foot to the other. "... You're a sharp one."
"Ehh?! How'd you figure it out?" Louie was staring at me with the look of surprise and disbelief, while Hackard's grip on her sword slackened. "And wait, you work for the Guild?! Why didn't you just tell us?"
"Because it concerns something that the rest of the Guild, and by extension Orario, shouldn't know." A new voice emerged as a short, child-sized figure landed in between the 4 of us in the alleyway. Deimne rose to his feet, his eyes fixed on Fels. "Isn't that right?"
"... You are correct." The skeleton nodded slowly. "... I don't suppose that I'd be able to obtain the orb now, would I."
"No, you will. Just not yet. I'd like to propose forming an alliance between the parties in this discussion."
"I see." Fels raised a gauntlet to their face, contemplating, but before they could reply–
"Finn!" it was interrupted by the sight of a panicked Raul Nord, stumbling into the alley. "Twilight Manor… Twilight Manor's under attack! White-robed invaders!"
White-robed invaders. My own eyes widened as Deimne stiffened. "We'll talk another time, Fels."
"Yes, of course. I will contact you later." There was a whoosh as black mist discharged from Fels's sleeves, and their robed figure disappeared in a whirl of shadow and smoke, their presence fading.
"Everyone else, move back to the manor." Above us, there were the sounds of footsteps as the executives of Loki Familia moved as quickly as possible back towards their home base. Deimne turned to us. "Hikigaya, Maris, Lulune, they're after the orb. Meet us at the Twilight Manor as soon as possible. I'll be going on ahead with the others. And be careful. The enemy isn't as simple as we thought." Leaving us with that, he disappeared into the shadows as well.
"Come on, let's go." I stuffed the orb into my pack as I turned and moved deeper into the alley. Twilight Manor was an entire sector across from our current location; it'd take a while for us to get there.
Loki Familia would probably traverse the city by the fastest means possible–the rooftops. Unfortunately, the three of us wouldn't be afforded the same luxury.
They're after the orb. We couldn't risk being seen. If we were sighted by the enemy that would be trouble... especially considering who we were up against.
"Follow me." I led the dash through the maze of Orario's alleyways and backstreets, my mind racing.
White-robed invaders. I hadn't heard a mention of that group in a long time. And Deimne's parting words were a warning. The enemy wasn't as simple as we thought.
What had we thought? Some renegade Level 5 adventurer with an extremely powerful Taming ability was after the object we currently had, while Fels and the Guild wanted to take the item. What was the item in question? A parasitizing seed, from our guesses.
Deimne had anticipated the Tamer returning to attack en masse with the plants, but he hadn't expected the fact that the ones calling his bluff were neither of those. Rather, it was–
"Hikigaya, what did Finn-san mean when he said that the enemy wasn't so simple?" As we broke out from the maze of alleys and crossed into the residential area, which was largely empty, Hackard broke into my train of thought. I frowned a little at her question. There was something off about it that I didn't quite catch.
I didn't have time to rethink the question, though. As we neared the location of Loki Familia's base, a plume of pitch-black smoke could be seen, rising into the sky. "Think about it, Hackard. Who was the enemy in the Dungeon?"
"That Tamer, right?" Louie butted into the conversation. "But this time, it's…" The fear in her eyes told me. She knew.
"Yeah. It's them." Hackard looked confused while Louie turned a light shade of green. "The only types of people who'd be crazy enough to attack the strongest familia in broad daylight–" My conclusion was interrupted as in front of us, a group of white-clad people appeared, their faces obscured by masks and carrying blades and torches.
"Kill them! In the name of our gods!" They rushed us, blades held high in the air.
Hackard paled as she both realized what… or rather, who the enemy was.
"Evilus," I finished, drawing my sword.
In other words, humans.
Afterword: Yo. It's finally back after a bit-over-a-month-long hiatus. Uhhh… there isn't much to say.
Alright, that was a lie.
First and foremost, I have rewritten Chapters 3 and 4. You should probably read it just to get a grasp of the current situation. They've undergone some pretty major changes–Chapter 4 especially, since it explores the dynamic between Bete and Hikigaya more in-depth when they first meet. Seriously though, I'm pretty rusty so I hope I didn't accidentally create plot holes by accident or screw up Bete's characterization. I changed up the section where Hikigaya meets Vidar and added another 1000 words to describe Hikigaya's first two nights out drinking with Bete. And finally, I tacked on a line at the end. Hope it reads better.
Secondly, I'm sorry. To explain, this is how my month went, in terms of writing progress:
January(Expectations): Fire up computer, start brainstorming and planning for the rest of the volume (sort of. To clarify, I planned the rest of this volume out in a general way already [ie 'Hikigaya gets entwined in the events of Sword Oratoria Vol 2] and then over the course of the days expanded it to include specific events, before filling in the details of those events and starting to write the actual chapters). Once volume planning is finished, begin tackling the chapters. Once the volume manuscript is finished or generally fleshed, let it sit and start revising the planned chapters from Volume 1. Let it sit, then come back and revise. Publish V2C7 somewhere around the 10th-14th, along with revisions of V1C3 + V1C4.
January (Reality):
1-3: Finish planning out Chapter 7. Revise Volume 1, Chapter 3. Begin writing Volume 2, Chapter 7. Get half-way through V2C7.
3-19: Get hooked on reading Evangelion fanfiction. Binge-read most of the fics that TV Tropes recommends within this period. Read more Eva fanfiction. FALL DOWN THE HOLE OF EVA FANFICTION.
20-31: Get occupied by work. Lose a lot, because to work is to lose.
And February, of course, was spent losing some more... and working on this stuff, which is a win in my book.
I hope I've still got it. Anyways, lemme know how this chapter panned out, as well as my edits to Chapters 3 & 4.
See you soon,
Oreo the Cookie