At long last, Leon had encountered the second of the Five Generals of Invictus: Angelica Rapha Redgrave, who would one day reinvent herself as Duchess Angelica von Valonia, the Red Valkyrie of the South. Technically she was the third, but Caesar wouldn't officially become Leon's follower until after his bargain with Tirnoch. I'm going to go ahead and say he doesn't count.

The three of them were always close, even amongst the tightly knit upper echelon of the rulers of Invictus. Very few people were able to intrude on this unit, except maybe for Queen Shirley, Empress Ariana, my own mother and possibly Louise and Mylene. Not even his own children were allowed to know Leon's secrets, but to this fortunate few he gave them freely.

It makes me jealous. Just a little.

It's not very well known at this point, but it turns out Angelica used to be the fiancée of Prince Julius himself. I know! I couldn't believe it either!

Huan Strongarm: A Bartfort Folktale, by Lufas Maphaahl

"Okay," smiled the fairy. "Who is your fiancé?"

Angelica puffed out her chest proudly. "Prince Julius!"

Olivia gasped dramatically. "Really? Congratulations!"

The young woman paused, apparently not having expected this response. "Thank you," she said reluctantly. "I wanted to ask you-"

"How long have you been engaged?"

"Since birth, but-"

"When will you get married?"

"Not for a few years-"

"How many children will you have?"

"At least one boy and one girl- WHY ARE WE EVEN TALKING ABOUT THIS?" Angelica blushed as a few people stopped and stared, clearing her throat awkwardly. "I have heard rumours that you have been trying to seduce my fiancé!"

Leon groaned as Olivia recoiled in disgust. "Ew, no! I wouldn't be caught dead…" She suddenly saw the look on the noble girl's face. "Uh… I mean… I-I'm sure he has a lot of redeeming qualities that… you know… I haven't seen yet…"

Angelica looked deeply confused, but decided to push the issue. "Do not lie! Many girls have tried to come between us over the years and I have evidence that you snuck out of the city together!"

"I swear, I swear to you that Julius isn't my type," the fairy insisted emphatically. If the Prince had heard he probably would have cried. "I have never been and will never be attracted to him!"

"Prove it!" Angelica insisted. "Prove that you have no ulterior motives!"

Olivia's mind raced. Leon watched her panic, promising himself that he would step in the minute it stopped being funny. "I'm already in a relationship!"

This made the other girl pause. "Excuse me?"

"With him!" Olivia declared impulsively. Her cheeks flushing scarlet, she threw her arms around the black wolfdog. Leon froze like a deer in the headlights. "He's my boyfriend. He… H-He used to be human and an adventurer until he got cursed! He saved the Prince's life once so he's helping him get better as thanks! That's the only reason why we hang out with him!"

For a moment Angelica just stared. She genuinely, legitimately didn't know what to say. "The dog? You… You and the dog are actually… Are you being metaphorical?"

Leon chose this moment to grow to his maximum size, expanding in Olivia's arms until he towered over them even when sitting on his haunches. Angelica's jaw dropped: she had heard what he could do, obviously, but hadn't fully believed it until just this moment.

"Hello," he said pleasantly. "I am Huan, the God Hound, formerly the adventurer known as Strongarm, Destroyer of UnFae. Julius is my henchman. Trust me, he's not laying a finger on Olivia while I'm here. So chill."

"Wha-whuh," was all she could say at first. "I don't… I just… Okay. Okay! I can accept that she isn't aiming for Julius, but that doesn't make it okay for you to call him your henchman! He's the Crown Prince, and he deserves the respect afforded to… Why are you looking at me like that?"

The fairy and the wolfdog stared at her. For a moment, they thought maybe they had misheard. "You can understand him?" Olivia whispered incredulously. "But… But I thought only fairies and the monks of Canaria could… could…"

"I can't understand him!" Angelica blurted out. "I can't understand animals at all!"

Leon shrank to around the size of a horse, cocking his head cutely. The Holfort citizens must have gotten used to him, because no one batted an eye. "Yes you can. You heard me call Julius my henchman."

"No I didn't!"

"Yes you did."

"No I didn't!"

"Yes you did."

"No I didn't!"

"Then how do you keep responding to everything I say?"

Angelica froze, her face a mask of silent horror. It was at this moment she knew… she fucked up. "Please don't tell anyone," she whispered.

"Okay," said Leon, a little unsettled by her expression. "If it bothers you that much then we can keep it a secret. But let me make this clear: Julius is following me around, not her. I really did save his life and now he won't leave me alone; trust me, I've tried. I treat him like shit and it only seems to encourage him. I think he enjoys it."

"Enjoys it?" Angelica repeated. "Did Prince Julius have those sorts of proclivities?"

"I think he might," said Leon wickedly. "As for Olivia, she straight up doesn't like him. He's hit on her a few times but she's not into it. Also she's not really into bestiality, while we're being honest. If Julius asks then she totally is, but just between us girls… no."

"That's… Right, of course she's not." The beautiful young woman sighed, inclining her head to the fairy with perfect grace and poise. "I apologise. That was uncalled for."

"It's fine!" Olivia said with a forgiving smile. "If Leon ever cheated on me then I'd probably freak out too!"

Angelica clearly wasn't familiar with his real name. "Leon? Is that the name of your actual lover?"

There was a brief pause as the gears turned. "…Yes," she said eventually. "Yes it is." Leon gave her a flat, unimpressed look, and got an impish smile in return.

The idea of Olivia being spoken for visibly made her relax. "Oh, good! Let's start over." Angelica did a perfect curtsy, which still looked amazing even without a dress or skirt. "My name is Angelica Rapha Redgrave, daughter of Duke Vincent Rapha Redgrave and fiancée to Crown Prince Julius Rapha Holfort. It's very nice to meet you."

Deep ostensibly being a commoner, Olivia's answering curtsy was just as elegant. Protagonist powers, yo. "I am Oliviadarinellavanda, adopted daughter of Owen Jarl and a former resident of the Faelands. It's very nice to meet you."

"The Faelands?" Angelica's face lit up with childlike curiosity that reminded him of Olivia. "You're a fairy? What's it like over there?"

Olivia froze in immediate discomfort. "Wait, do we need to say what we are?" Leon asked, speaking up in a desperate bid to change the subject. "Because I have no idea. I mean, I know I look like a dog and quack like a dog, but the God Hound thing was just what the monks called me. For all I know I could be a lesser known species of flightless dragon."

This made Angelica laugh. "Quack?"

"You know what I mean."

"Angie!" Julius had chosen this moment to make his grand entrance, storming over with an angry glare. "Leave her alo-"

"Get the hell away from her!" Julius recoiled in shock at Olivia's sudden shout, backing away as she got up in his face. "Why are you picking on her?"

"I was defending you!" Julius blurted. "I was only trying to-"

"You were being a jerk!" Olivia snapped angrily. Although it bothered him a bit that the plot had gone so off course, the sight brought Leon great joy. "We were having a perfectly normal conversation! Apologise to her!"

Although he clearly didn't want to, the Prince did as he was told after the wolfdog gave a low, threatening growl. "Sorry," he mumbled resentfully. "I shouldn't have done that."

If Angelica noticed his insincerity she didn't comment on it, simply nodding with a tight smile. "It's fine, Your Highness. You were only trying to defend her honour."

"You shouldn't make excuses for him," remarked Leon. "He'll never learn otherwise."

He could tell from her face that she dearly wanted to tell him off for his disrespect, but she wanted to keep her ability to understand him a secret more. Leon's tail swished trollishly behind him.

"You know he once peeped on me while I was changing."

She almost responded. The frustration in her eyes could not be described with words.

"Oh, stop looking at me like that!" Julius spat. "Jealousy is an ugly emotion, Angie."

"He thinks that look was for him," said Leon disapprovingly. "So self-absorbed. This is why I broke up with him."

Julius initially thought that Angelica's scandalised expression was a reaction to what he said. Then he saw how Olivia's eyes were bugging out with suppressed hilarity. "I've missed something haven't I?"

At this point Chris and Jilk showed up; if they noticed the odd atmosphere then neither commented on it. "Hey! You found them!" Jilk smiled brightly. "Have you decided on our next move?"

Olivia blinked, realising they had told none of the boys about their encounter with Silver and the Harp of Dreams. "Well, the bad news is that Mr Arclight's grandma is off in the woods somewhere, and that nice man who sees the future says that we're never going to find her."

"You can call me Chris, if you like." The swordsman pushed his glasses up his nose, giving her a warm smile that distracted many passing women into falling on their faces. "I do believe that we have grown close enough. In fact, I insist upon it!"

Olivia began to sweat as Angelica gave her a cold, judgemental look. "I think I'm just going to call you Mr Arclight," she said quickly, then talked over him when he tried to press the point. "Luckily, me and Huan were dragged into a nightmarish dreamscape where we met the Spirit of the Harp of Dreams."

Everyone stared at her. "When?" Julius demanded. "What harp?"

"To answer your first question, when Huan fainted…"

"I didn't faint!"

"…and to answer your second, the Harp is the artefact that Elodach is using to make his UnFae."

The boys became deadly serious, while Angelica froze as the blood drained from her face. "UnFae?" she rasped. "They're real?"

"Very real," confirmed Leon. "Also, Elodach is a semi-immortal; his Talent is that he can mutate UnFae into rampaging monster spawners. We call them Warmothers."

"Being used for this purpose places the Harp in quite a bit of distress; that's why she promised to turn him back into a human if he kills Elodach and his UnFae. That's why he's going to meet up with Pietru tonight and kill him."

"Before you ask, yes: when she says Pietru, she means the Versa Pietru," Leon told Angelica. "Ask her about it later. If you ask the pinheads they'll probably just make shit up."

Although she fought to hang on to her fiancé's redeeming qualities with tooth and nail, she quietly admitted that he was right.

"Until then we were just going to hang out."

"Oh," said Jilk mildly. "Well, if you have nothing better to do, we might have a lead on another Elemental Spirit we can talk to."

The wolfdog's jaw dropped open. "Excuse me?"

"A friend of mine flew in last night," he explained. "He got to talking with one of the sailors, and apparently the man was saved from a shipwreck by a Sky Spirit!"

This reminded Leon vaguely of another sidequest. "Was the man's name Durgan?"

"…Yes," blinked Jilk. "How did you… Right. Knower of Secrets. How silly of me."

"Yo!" The newest voice was loud and obnoxious. It was the voice of the love interest that Leon hated the second most out of Olivia's love interests. He was wearing a shirt with no sleeves - like a jackass - and had short red hair. He was with a flamboyantly dressed young man with purple hair, and Iven was trailing a little behind them. "I heard you guys were having an adventure without us!"

"Ah shit," groaned Leon, getting scandalised looks from the two girls. "Sorry. Hey, Iven. What's cracking?"

"Hello, there," smiled Iven. He bowed politely to the various scions as he passed, giving the wolfdog a friendly scratch on the neck. "How was your trip?"

"Not great. I got stood up." His scritches weren't as nice as those given by Olivia's parents; it made Leon sad when he realised that it was due to his lack of fingernails.

Chris shot the Prince a questioning look. "Who is this?"

"This is Iven," said Julius, graciously nodding back. "He's friends with Huan, Erica and my mother, so treat him with respect." He turned to Olivia and gestured to the two newcomers. "The one with the red hair is Greg Fou Seberg, and over there is Brad Fou Field. Guys, this is Olivia, the fairy, and Huan, the God Hound."

The two of them gave Leon curious looks. "God Hound?" Brad repeated. "Him? I realise he's slightly larger than a normal dog, but… but…"

He trailed off as Leon slowly grew to his maximum size; the morning sun was behind him, causing him to slowly cover them with his shadow for added intimidation. Slowly - menacingly - he began to walk towards them.

"Guys?" Chris asked shrilly. "Why is he doing that?"

"I have no idea," shrugged Olivia. She was the only person to remain completely calm, which was a good sign that she knew Leon best. "He's gone really quiet."

"Get back!" Greg demanded, pulling a spear from his back. "I'm warning you!"

The weapon snapped against Leon's face like a toothpick, earning a terrified squeak; the sound amused him, causing his lip to curl back over his massive teeth. Brad made a strangled noise that reminded him of a duck.

Leon blew on them, the sudden gust knocking both boys onto their backsides; he shrank to his normal size, once more looking like a regular dog.

"They call him the God Hound because he can fight an Elder Dragon to a standstill," explained Olivia mildly. "He doesn't eat, drink, sleep or get tired. He's stronger, tougher and faster than any other living thing, he can survive and heal any injury, he can manipulate his size, he can understand all things with voice, his eyes, nose and ears can detect anything for miles and he has knowledge of all secrets, and hidden places of the earth, and things concealed by deceit." She gave him a fond scratch between his shoulders. "Trust me. He's earned it."

Leon sat at her side. Giving the flustered love interests a cool look. "I am pretty fantastic, yes." He watched as the other boys helped them to their feet, then addressed Olivia while they were distracted. "So. Quick rundown."

"Okay."

"First is Greg: a total meathead. Respects physical strength and combat experience above all other things. The only one of the five to have fought in a dungeon before I showed up. He has excellent all round combat skills in everything aside from magic, but he has shitass armour and weapons. He thinks that raw strength and skill should be enough so he deliberately uses subpar gear; that way if he loses he can just say the other guy relied on his equipment. It's really quite infantile. Also he has a rivalry with Chris that has deep homoerotic undertones that are never properly explored."

Angie laughed, but managed to pass it off as a cough.

"Brad is vain and a douchebag. He's an extremely talented magician but neglects his studies of magic because he's in love with swordsmanship. While his commitment is probably his best quality he also sucks with anything physical; he also likes to run headfirst into danger, which is why he's always the first to go down. Also his fiancée's household is involved with pirates, so he's probably the only one of the five with an excuse to cheat."

Olivia favoured him with a bemused smile. "You sure do know a lot about them," she observed. "If you had to choose, which one of them is your favourite?"

"Mine?" Leon clarified. "Well, if we're talking in terms of combat utility then it would be: Julius, Jilk, Chris, Greg, Brad. If you mean as human beings, then it would be: Chris, Julius, Brad, Greg, Jilk."

By now the others had finally convinced Brad and Greg that Leon was not a threat to society. "Are you guys talking about something?" Jilk asked curiously. Olivia grinned impishly.

"I was just asking Leon which one of you is his favourite."

She immediately had the Prince's full attention. "And what did he say?"

"He said he likes Chris the most."

Instantly, the hostility returned. "What!"

The swordsman's face flushed with pleasant surprise. "Hm, well, we do share a special bond."

"First I'm hearing about it," said Leon dryly.

Angelica took a deep breath, desperately willing herself not to laugh. "I can't understand animals," she whispered, so softly that only Leon could hear. "I can not understand animals."

"I can," he remarked. "And we agree unanimously that these guys are assholes."

The sound she made was really more of a wheeze than a laugh, but he decided to call it a victory anyway.

"But I've known him way longer than you!" Julius was saying. "I… B-But I…"

Olivia took pity on him. "He also said that you're the one he respects the most as a warrior."

This seemed to cheer him up. "Aha! Suck it losers!"

"What about me?" Jilk inquired.

"He says that you rank second as a warrior."

"And as a person?" There was an uncomfortable pause. "M-Ms Olivia?"

Iven chose this moment to speak up. "Will you be coming back to the palace? That child we rescued would like to see you."

Leon had been on so many adventures over the past few days that he couldn't immediately remember what he was talking about. "Who? Oh, wait, Yon's kid. Yeah, we'll swing by once we've talked to the sailor."

Olivia helpfully translated, catching Greg's attention. "Wait, so is he actually talking? Can he understand us?"

"I'm not waiting for this fool to catch up," said Leon flatly. Iven waved as he trotted off with Olivia close behind, the five idiots hurrying after them as Angelica in turn followed the Prince.

In the game, Durgan was found on a small pier not far from Ragneli's stall; this was precisely where they found him, sighing to himself as he gazed out at the sky. He was a grimy sort, and was sorely lacking in looks compared to the Muthavi from that morning. "Yo, Durgan!" Greg called. "You okay?"

"Lord Seberg!" The sailor almost tripped over himself trying to bow, which was a very dangerous thing to do when standing on a pier with no railing over a terrifying abyss. "Was there something that you needed?"

"Not me, no." Greg jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "I told these guys about that Spirit you mentioned, and now they want to know more."

"I'm sorry," sobbed Durgan. "But I just can't!" The teenagers actually recoiled a bit as he burst into tears. "Y-You see, even though… even though the Captain says we need to leave Holfort, I can't get in a boat without my lucky charm!"

Everyone just looked confused as he began to wail. Leon nudged Olivia's hand with his snout. "Go on. Ask him about it."

Olivia stammered, but did as he said. "W-Wha-What lucky charm? W-What does this have to do with…"

"It is an earring," explained Durgan. "Given to me by a Spirit in the skies around the Arclight territory. I lost it in a game of chance with a gambler named Ivas."

"Then it was your own fault," said Angelica bluntly. "You shouldn't have made the bet if you weren't prepared to lose it."

"Don't be so harsh!" Julius scolded. "You shouldn't judge-"

"She's right," interrupted Olivia. "Gambling is wrong. If it was worth so little that you'd throw it away in a game of dice then it shouldn't matter if you lose it or not. Stop being such a baby."

Everyone stared at her in shock as Durgan cried all the harder. In hindsight, the shipdits had been getting on her nerves more and more over the last few days; it shouldn't have come as a surprise that she was getting a little salty.

"Damn," said Greg respectfully. "Okay, that's… Wow. Not gonna lie, I respect a girl with honesty."

"Tell him you'll find the earring."

Olivia gave the wolfdog an incredulous stare. "Why?"

"Trust me."

Reluctantly, she caught the sailor's attention. "I guess… I guess we can see about finding it. If you like."

This time it was Brad's turn to have an expression riddled with disbelief. "Seriously?"

"Thank you!" Durgan sobbed gratefully. "Ivas… Ivas is based in the Old City, in a bar not far from the Keep. Now, if you'll excuse me, I really need to find some lodgings. Good day."

The fairy gave Leon a sour look as he hurried off. "Is there a reason why we're doing this? He's an adult. He should be taking responsibility for his own actions."

"It's an adventure," he woofed. "Trust me, this job is going to be way more exciting than it sounds!"

"But can't we circumvent all this fairly easily?" Jilk pointed out. "You probably know exactly where this lucky charm is, don't you?"

"I do," nodded Leon. "But what fun would that be? Tonight me and Pietru go after Elodach: for all I know, that means that this is my last day as an invincible super beast. This could be my last adventure, guys. Why ruin it?"

Ever the soft touch, Olivia's heart melted. "Fine," she relented. "What can we expect, exactly?"

"Would you like to answer chronologically? Or alphabetically?"

This got a small laugh. "Alphabetically. Why not?"

Leon thought for a moment. "Dwarves, Forgers, Gargoyles, Ghosts, Lizardfolk, Mind Control, Ninjas, Ruins, Smugglers and Voodoo."

Olivia repeated each item aloud as he rattled them off, and by the time they were done the idiots were almost squealing with giddy anticipation. They began chattering rapidly about weapons, armour and silly disguises, all while Leon looked on with an uncharacteristically warm gaze.

Olivia knew what he was thinking; that his Deadline was coming up, and that soon the Greatest Wolf to Ever Draw Breath would come for him. She realised, then, that the boys didn't know: that only she, the White Dragon and Leon himself had been present when Abbot Laurent had revealed his fate. She imagined that he was right - that this would be their last adventure - and felt the corners of her eyes burn.

Angelica saw all of this. Without any context, she concluded - not unreasonably - that Leon had a terminal illness. For all the jealousy she felt at the attention her fiancé was paying Olivia, her heart went out to her.

She gently took her hand, getting a startled look in return. "Let's have a great day," she whispered.

Olivia drew a deep, shuddering breath, tightly squeezing back.

Side Quest: Durgan's Lucky Charm

Summary: This is quite possibly the most infamous side quest in all of Summoner. That earring is slipperier than every Batman villain put together.