A/N: Hey, so I wanted to address one comment someone had left the other day first, especially since it was on fanfic where I can't really make long chapter names.
Golden Nova: So, if you mean to title the chapter with who ever talks, then I can't actually do that. There's a character limit. But if you mean have the character names throughout the chapter, then sure. From here on out instead of "-P2W-" I'll use the character names. So it'll be like "-Leon-" or "-Angelica-" and such. I'll probably leave it as "-P2W-" when I do third person omniscient though.
I'll try to go back and fix it in other chapters if enough people feel like it'd help.
Disclaimer: I do not own Trapped in a Dating Sim: The World of Otome Games is Tough for Mobs, nor do I own The Eminence in Shadow. The only Beta reader here is the elf.
-Claire-
"All right, take a break!" said Leon. He uses his shirt to wipe his sweat off of his face and I do my best not to stare…
…
Ooh, six pack~
Okay I failed spectacularly but if anyone points that out, I'm going to use my two swords to poke out both of their eyes! Even you Cid! I see that smug look on your face from the ground!
It's been about three weeks since Leon told us about his insane plan to fix the problems of the current political landscape by first manipulating it and then by taking over it if that fails through some hidden history he found. I thought he was crazy, for him to be the descendant of a long lost relative of the founder of Holfort seemed insane. But he managed to find evidence somehow!
Apparently, he had his familiar send some letters home to get old family records, and lo and behold, Lea of Bart's Fort was a real-life person. What's more, he had an official portrait done. Back during Lea's time, it was all the rage to get a pocket version done, which is why almost no one had seen it before. Leon's father had to go really digging for it, and only managed to find it thanks to it accidentally falling out of a box that's lock had broken due to age. Wouldn't you know it? Leon's the spitting image of Lea, and he had similar taste in women, given that his wife looked just like Olivia. Heterochromatic eyes and all.
Actually, the lady in the photo also kind of looked like Angelica. I don't know how to explain it but her expression in the photo reminded me of how Angelica looked in the beginning of the year. I don't think it was Lea's fault. The family records said that both Lea and his wife loved each other dearly, just that they were extremely sad for some reason. None of the records mentioned why though.
"Leon~" cooed Olivia. "Here, I got you a towel!"
Wasn't Olivia training with us? How'd she have the time to get a towel?
"Uh-Uhm. Mister Arkin… here!"
"A-a-a-are you thirsty Mister Dalant? I brought you some water…"
Ah. I see how it is. Our newest members, Deirdre's ladies no-longer-in-waiting, Elouise Fou Lupton and Hermoine Fou Farraday. True to her word, once Daniel Fou Dalant and Raymond Fou Arkin had begged her for the chance to be introduced to some of her retinue, Deirdre brought them together. I had my doubts, but I guess Daniel and Raymond were pretty upstand guys when they aren't complaining about women.
It's not as though I didn't get their complaints. Despite whatever Leon and Cid say, the main reason I didn't have any friends until lately was because so many of the other female students were complete bitches. Like seriously! Just because I was focused more on the sword than having the latest clothes and refused to have some demi-human servants, I was somehow the strange one!
Plus, those dweebs have somehow managed to keep up with our training. I mean, they're collapsed on the ground like Cid, but still. I have to respect that they're trying.
Also…
"*Pant* How *Pant* are *Pant* you *Pant not *pant* tired?" asked the red blob on all fours.
Princess Iris of Midgar, our new sword instructor and Leon's subordinate was training with us as well. She didn't want to, but Leon threatened her with her pay check. I thought it was evil of him to do that however,
"Nee-san… It hurts~" asked the useless sentient mop.
"*pant* can *pant* someone *pant* get Alexia *wheeze* some ice?" asked Iris.
Leon was forcing Iris to spend time with her sister. He heard that after Alexia got injured Iris was basically babying her and not listening to a thing she said. So, he used the threat of her check to force the sisters to spend time together again. Iris apparently needs the money to fund her Crimson Knight order, so she can't refuse him even if she stopped caring about her father's opinion.
I wonder if I ask Leon nicely enough, he'll force Cid to spend more time with me? It's not like I don't like hanging out with Deirdre, Clarice, and Rose. But I'm starting to miss spending time with my little brother. He's always with that elf of his. Alice is okay, I guess. But then I got a letter from mom and dad saying that apparently Cid also has 6 other wives!? And that they paid a huge dowry!?
Cid is so lucky that I was distracted by-
"Leon. I can see you starting to sweat salt, here drink this beverage from Mitsugoshi." Said a certain red eyed blonde as she brought her lover a drink.
Grr…I have red eyes too. And my figure's not that bad.
Leon takes a sip of the beverage before stopping and asking, "Is this pineapple juice?"
"Yes, I heard from some of my fellow students that it helps after a workout. It helps with muscle soreness." Said Angelica as she practically forced Leon to start chugging.
Yeah, pineapple juice does do that, among other things.
Although I only know that because of Clarice. That girl was prepared to get married. Like seriously, she was ready. Jilk really made a mistake. I hope that they run into each other during the god of war tournament, because Clarice has been getting ready for that too. Well, whenever she's not flirting with Leon.
"Leon~" Whined Clarice as she draped herself over Leon's back, "Can you carry me? I don't think I can move anymore."
Leon snorts at Clarice who seemed to have no trouble getting up and on him. Angelica just shook her head at her old friend's mischievous actions.
Suddenly I hear the weakest "ohohoho" and look behind me to see Deirdre on the ground as well, "Sir Barfort… certainly has lots of stamina… ohohoho… I wonder… if Angelica could loan him… out…?"
Loan… wait no don't go down that rabbit hole!
I slap my towel over Deirdre's face, so she doesn't see it when I start blushing…
Ah.
I'll poke those eyes out Cid! Stop looking so smug when you're only up thanks to that elf hussy carrying you like a teddy bear!
"Everyone~" called out Olivia who was no longer exhausted, "Come over here so I can heal you before we switch to magic training!"
Right, Leon has a face the muscle strain for a bit before having Olivia heal us. Supposedly new humans had this technique to growing muscle that required straining it first then letting it heal, and with Olivia we can do that way quicker. Similarly, that's part of the reason why those stretchy things Leon and Cid do help so much.
I drag the princesses like I used to drag Cid around.
"H-hey…! Can't… you… be… gentler?" whined Alexia.
Consider yourself lucky I'm not dragging you by your foot!
Olivia heals the princesses first before getting to me.
"You know?" started Olivia as her warm magic poured over me and smiled in a way that reminded me of my mom whenever she put bandages on me, "I always thought it was super cool how you started to fight with two swords. Where'd you get the idea? I don't think anyone here could fight like you do."
"Ever since I used two to fight that jackass of an old instructor it just felt natural, I guess." I said. I'm not trying to be difficult but I can't help but be mad at how we were on the same adventuring party and friends for years but she chose some other girl to share Leon with. Is it because Angelica's boobs are bigger?
"It looks natural for you!" Beamed Olivia, "Like you were always meant to fight like that."
Grr… stop making it so hard for me to be mad at you!
"I concur wholeheartedly!" beamed my other cinnamon roll of a friend, Rose. I look to my side to see her being healed too. "You took that sword out of the air and didn't skip a single step once confronting Zenon! Ah~ It was so admirable!"
Rose was being healed by Angelica, who can apparently do that now. Because of course she can! I heard once that the ability to heal others, especially to the degree that Olivia and Angelica can is supposed to be super rare, even in Holfort which is the home of the Saintess. However, a couple of weeks ago Angelica started to be able to do it too. It's not as good or quick as Olivia's healing, but still better than what I can do.
[Master, it would appear that everyone has been healed. I recommend jumping from sword training to magic training now.]
Leon nods and a shiver runs down all of our spines as a certain smile takes place on his face.
-Angelica-
I had once thought that my family was the pioneer of flame magic, even beyond the talents of the Field family. After all we had earned the name of "Redgrave," but seeing some of the ideas that Leon and even Cid have come up with make me think we were simply the loudest at times. Either that, or we stagnated once we became a ducal house. In any case, I have strived to take all of these ideas and grow.
I do admit it's a bit embarrassing to think none of us thought to use wind magic to fuel fire magic to create an even greater flame. Most noble houses stick to one field of magic and try to master it, so the idea of having magic work together likely wouldn't fly with any of the high nobility. Speaking of wind magic, it's rather… endearing how Clarice appears to excel in it. For us to complement each other so well, I don't know how else to phrase it. Although I am leagues happier with Leon and Olivia, I can't help but wonder, if things played out how I envisioned as a child, would Clarice and I have ever figured that out on our own?
"How are you lot still at it?"
"Yeah, seriously, we've been waiting for the place to be free for a couple of hours now!"
"Surely you should have realized when you all hit a plateau and not kept at it."
"And look at this mess, good heavens!"
And suddenly I am reminded of how I do not regret my relationship as it is at all. Especially as Leon immediately goes to meet the prince's entourage on all of our behalf.
"Yo. Where's dark blue?" asked Leon without a care in the world.
Jilk bristled and looked ready to shout but Greg had cut him off, "Julius is studying with Marie in the library still. I think that last study session with you and Lady Redgrave shook him up a bit."
Leon smiles with a nod, "I'll bet. Since Angie and I don't care about the status difference we graded him fairly, and well, it showed that he skipped a lot of classes. I don't suppose he took up my offer of adding the governance elective?"
"He hasn't said anything of the sort himself, but Marie did encourage it." Said Chris as he pushed up his glasses, "Speaking of, we still haven't heard anything about why you needed to talk to her privately."
"Which I guess means she still doesn't want to, right?" pointed out Leon.
"Marie doesn't have to speak to you if she doesn't want to. Moreover, anything you have to say to her you can say to us." Stressed Jilk as he tried to intimidate Leon.
I'll admit that the 5 are taller than Leon, but I rather appreciate how much closer Leon's face is to mine. I have to get on my tiptoes most times to kiss him, but he doesn't have to bend down much. Sometimes he'll even lift Liva or me…
I'm getting off track.
"Lord Mamoria, is there a reason you had intruded on our training session." I asked.
Jilk huffs before crossing his arms and looking down at me, "Yes. We need to prepare for the upcoming god of war tournament as well, yet you lot have been using the training ground for several weeks. I know you probably need to prepare a lot more in comparison to others given who you associate with, but-"
"Stop right there." Commanded Leon.
"You-" tried Jilk.
However, Leon put his finger on Jilk's mouth. As Clarice started to laugh in the background, Leon continued, "Upupup, I'm speaking. I have the right too. After all we were the ones who applied to borrow division one's room after classes. If you need a training place then division two through fourteen's rooms should be available."
Jilk slaps Leon's hand away, "We are from the kingdom's founding families, we should not settle for anything less than the best."
I can't help but sigh, "We chose division one's area due to how well it can resist magic for as many people we have. You have a smaller party and should be fine with the other areas. You all regularly dive into dungeons as well, and those aren't exactly air-conditioned. I see no reason you specifically would need this area."
"Hmph," harumphed Brad. With a flick of his hair, he steps up and begins to condescendingly talk, "We need the protections that division one offers. Our magic is so much higher than the other students-"
*Pffft*
I take out my fan to cover my mouth. I wasn't the one who made the sound, that was Leon and some of our other friends, but I'm probably going to lose my self-control pretty soon.
"Dude, are you serious?" asked Leon as he wiped a tear from his eye.
"Brad is the strongest mage in our school! You dare laugh!" roared Jilk.
"That was a nose exhale at best buddy. Anyway, look. We have the right to use the division one ground until the god of war tournament. It's not my fault none of you thought to reserve it as you were supposed to. Heck, we were basically wrapping up for the day so if you had asked nicely, with the decorum a noble should have in front of three princesses" Leon pointed to Iris, Alexia, and Rose (whom all waved) as he confronted Jilk, even poking him in the chest. "I might have given you the keys. But now, I feel no such inclinations. And please, best mage in the school? I bet I could show the difference between the two of us with a single spell."
Jilk, looking like the cat that ate the canary, batted away Leon's hand again and spoke with venom in his voice, "Prove it then. Aim at a target and show that you can upstage Brad. When we win you'll hand over the right to use section one's area."
Leon rolled his eyes, "Okay, what about what will you guys do when we win?"
Jilk sneered, "Request whatever you'd like. It's not as though you'd win."
Leon thought about it, then nodded. He stuck out his hand and Jilk shook it. Leon then immediately wiped his hand with a nearby towel.
*Snrrk*
I do my best to hide my face with my fan. Livia has to lead me away as the boys get ready for the tool measuring contest. I felt as though if I showed them my face I'd break out in laughter. For the record, given what's been poking me in my rear every night I'm confident that Leon would win any such contest.
As for now, our growing faction sits to the side as we see Cid and Greg each drag out a replica of knight armor. These are tools meant to measure how much damage a spell could do to a person.
As soon as the targets are prepared and placed a decent space apart Brad walks up. He once again flicks his hair, perhaps intending to wow any of the women here, but a quick glance around me shows that none of us could possibly care any less.
Brad, baffled, clears his throat and chants, "Thunder of the heavens heed my call, Ziogna!"
A blue lightning bolt immediately flies from Brad's hand, striking the armor and singing it. His side cheers, impressed.
I'll admit, had I'd not seen Leon and Lea's talent I might have been impressed myself. However,
"Ziodyne!" As Leon shouts his spell with that commanding voice, a concentrated beam of red lightning stems from his arm and completely erases the torso of the armor.
Everyone in our faction has seen Leon do this before. It's impressive, of course. Especially since he doesn't need to chant. But we're also all aware of what Shadow is capable of, so there's something to be said about how impressive Leon is in the grand scheme of things. I admire him of course, how could I not? I'm so hopelessly smitten with him.
Speaking of Leon and reasons to be smitten with him, he marches over to Jilk, pokes him the chest once more, and then states, "You said I could ask for anything right? Well, as I won, I'm saying that you have to go and apologize to Clarice. Like you mean it."
I love him. So much.
Jilk tried to refuse but Greg had pushed him forward. He gazed back at his friends who all have looks that say they won't accept him refusing given that he had lost the bet. Especially Brad, who was humiliated on his behalf.
Jilk grits his teeth and manages an "I'm… sorry. Clarice."
"Hmm?" hums Clarice as she shows that she's clearly enjoying this. "That doesn't sound very sincere to me. What are you sorry for exactly?"
Jilk begins to grind his teeth and it seems that he wants to shout, but Leon points his finger at him in the shape of a gun, daring him to do anything else.
"I'm sorry… for… my infidelity." Mutters Jilk.
"And?" demands Clarice with a smile I've only seen on Deirdre.
"AND!?" shouts Jilk.
Leon takes a deep breath.
Jilk bites the inside of his cheek, shakes his head, and states "And for interrupting you today."
"Hmph. Good enough, I guess. Get out of our face Green." States Clarice as she shoos Jilk like a fly.
Jilk immediately storms out, and the other three are not far behind.
All of us finally let our laughter go, even Iris and Alexia.
"Gosh Leon. You didn't have to do that for me." Said Clarice as she wipes some tears from her eyes.
"I'm sorry I didn't do it sooner." Said Leon.
Clarice's lip quivers and she looks over to me and Olivia.
I suppose I can understand how she's feeling.
"Just this once." I allow.
Olivia adds, "No tongue."
Before Leon can question what Olivia and I meant, Clarice jumps on him and begins to pepper him with kisses. Strangely, I can't say I hate the sight.
-P2W/Cid-
The day of the God of War preliminaries…
"Match over! The winner is… Claire Kagenou!" calls out the Referee.
"Claire never disappoints." Mentioned Deirdre.
"Yup, I can see why she had the attention of the knights even before we started training with Leon." Said Dan.
"I wonder how far Rose is gonna get…" remarked Daniel.
"I don't know, but it would have been cool if Princess Alexia hadn't needed to sit this one out since everyone still considered her too injured." Said Raymond.
"Ooh, yeah." agreed Elouise, "A potential princess v. princess match would have been cool!"
If anyone asked someone who the strongest dark knight was, the answer would've been Iris Midgar two years ago. But once she graduated, Midgar Academy shut down, and there hadn't been a proper god of war ceremony to replace the empty spot. But now, it appears as though one person came for Iris' previous spot.
Rose Oriana, president of the student council and one of our friends. I think I heard Deirdre was her vice president, but that's neither here nor there. Princess of Oriana, Kingdom of Art. In addition to her royal station her sword skills are top of the Academy, bested only by Leon and assumedly dark blue. Even then, Leon needs to either use magic or a gun to get the leg up nowadays.
As she stands across from me, a brief apologetic expression crosses her face, before steeling into a determined glare. Her usual drills are now tied by a bow in a pony tail and her appearance is that of a warrior. She readies her stance and waits for me to do the same.
In other words, she is the perfect picture of a named character.
My opponent is extremely skilled and very popular, even before Leon's faction became a thing. If it weren't for that I wouldn't have people wishing me good luck.
Although it's more of "try not to get hurt too badly" or "do the best you can" from all of our friends besides Claire. But that's fine, as I have roughly 50 techniques that I want to go through. Alpha had noticed at the last minute that people don't bleed as much as I thought they did, so I toned down the volume in all of my blood bags, but after all that grueling training… I can show off all the techniques we had mastered!
The ref reads off our names as he raises his arm in the air, "Rose Oriana versus Cid Kagenou!"
Sparks fly between Rose's honey-colored eyes and my own entirely unremarkable ones.
The ref then drops his arm and shouts "Let the battle begin!"
Rose Oriana… You think you got what it takes?
Think you got what it takes to handle… the pinnacle of side character combat?!
Rose and I dash towards each other as the crowd cheers, both of us leaving a cloud of smoke in our wake. However, anyone with eyes can tell that Rose has much more force behind her dash. Her sword dances into action the moment the match begins. It traces a graceful, sharp arc aiming right for my chest. It's an attack no ordinary extra could hope to encounter. But I can read it like a book. Or rather, Shadow can read it like a book.
Cid though?
Quicker than the eye or any camera can process I remove a packet of blood (Mini version) I had created the day before and pop it into my mouth. Then, without revealing any motion whatsoever, I jump backwards with the strength of my toes alone, using the force of her rapier pressing against my chest to add some spin.
I fly backwards, whirling round and round… spraying blood for the first few feet I flew before I go down and land on my neck. I originally was going to spread it as though I was a fountain, but as Alpha pointed out, that would only make sense if I was dying like the bandits do. Not if I was just going to get my shit handed to me like this.
"Gyaaaaaa!" I call out in (fake) pain.
Behold… my Hidden Normie Technique! Spinning Guard, Blood Gusher!
Losing spectacularly to the shoe-in champion in the first round… That's what it takes to be a perfect mob!
Rose blinks in complete bafflement. She likely expected me to be stronger, faster, and better than my current performance would entail given that I had been training with her. However! This is to highlight her own growth! As not only did the mobs like Daniel, Raymond, and I grow, so did our named character friends!
It's safe to say that once everyone realizes that, they'll be like everyone else in the arena and buy my act. I resist the urge to grin at my perfect performance.
Horrified at how quickly I went down, the ref tries to end things before I'm done having fun, "… The winner is… Rose Ori-"
However, lore wise the pops married momma because he was real good at getting back up again when needed. So as I make my bones crack like they were all broken I get up with a groan, "I'm not done yet…!"
I get to my feet, acting for all the world like I am at least a minute away from death.
I wipe the blood from my mouth and smile with more determination than a mob should have. I can't help it though, Alpha and I really did our best to prepare for this! "You gotta be joking if you think this is over…"
"A-Are you… sure you can really continue?" questioned the foolish ref. C'mon, I toned down the blood!
Rose gets it though, and readies again, "Referee… There is still some fight left in him."
"Thank you, Rose." I say as I get back into my stance. "Let's keep going. I still have 49 techniques left."
-P2W-
For her part, Rose can't help but question how her friend can still stand. A shiver runs through her at the sight of the boy struggling to his feet. His entire front is covered in blood and he looks as if he can barely lift his sword. He appears to be in no shape to fight, and in fact, it is a miracle he is even standing. Rose's blade may be thin, but it isn't light. And while it's edge is blunt, the force behind it is very real. One solid hit would be enough to put anyone out of commission.
Rose dashes in again with a cry of "Hyah!"
Cid is sent flying again, and more blood flies as he does. "Gugyaaaagh!"
The ref tries to end things once again but Cid rises once again with that determined blood filled grin.
"Not yet…! I can still…fight!"
Rose respects it of course, she knows how much Cid had struggled during training and she doesn't want to spit in the face of that. But…
Each time they try to meet again, and each time Rose sends him flying and Cid coughs out more and more blood. By some miracle it hasn't gotten on her, but still Rose can't help but feel bad now! What if Cid doesn't want to be her friend anymore after this!
The time goes on and Rose wonders, Just how many sword strikes has this boy taken? Why does he keep forcing himself to his feet? From what Rose has gathered about Cid he's not the most prideful of people. Though he is clearly past his physical limits, his eyes tell me he still has the will to fight.
Still, Why take it this far? I've slashed… and slashed him… more than ten times at that. I've put magic into each and every strike… But even after all that… He still says that he isn't through. His fiery gaze says that there is still more he needs to do.
Indeed, his mind has surpassed the flesh. A body that is past its limit, propped up by an indomitable spirit.
Rose finds herself impressed with his effort. Just how important is this match to him anyway? There has to be a reason why he absolutely refuses to lose. Is it because Alice is watching? No, she's at the magic division right now. So what is it?
The cheering in the arena had died out at some point. Everyone present is cringing at the sight of the boy. But Rose is moved by his bravery in putting mind over matter and facing an opponent he must know he stands no chance against. She has a heartfelt respect for her friend Cid Kagenou, as well as a deep sense of having wronged him. In that case, the only thing to do is give him her all.
Rose begins to charge with energy, deploying the limit break technique she had unlocked through training with Leon and Claire. Her drills flap in the air as her energy generates wind.
"I apologize for underestimating you at the beginning of this match." Declares Rose. "That's why… I'm going to end this now!"
Then just as her blade howls though the air…
The ref tackles Cid out of the way of Rose's blade with a shout of "Stop!"
The force generated from Rose's unmet blade ends up creating enough force to cause a crack in the shield of the arena.
Rose of course misses that and looks back to Cid and the ref with a cry of "Wha?!"
Deeming that letting things go any further would be too dangerous, understandably so, the referee intervenes and stops the match. "The winner is Rose Oriana!"
Rose is showered with applause.
"Wait, I can still…!" Cried Cid from beneath the ref. Cid's eyes burn brightly with the will to fight.
Incredulous, the referee shouts back, "No! This has gone far enough. Bring the stretcher."
Rose smiles at Cid, not realizing she probably almost just killed him were it not for the referee's actions. She even laughs at how Cid begins to flail and attempt to go back to the fight.
"I won the match…" whispers Rose, "but I was utterly defeated in the battle of wills. Cid Kagenou. You have my respect."
Up in the bleachers, her friends have long since run off to find Olivia and Angelica, praying that with their combined efforts they can heal Cid and whatever brain damage Rose may have.
-Cid-
Immediately after the match ended I was carted off to the medical office where I met Alpha who was being healed by a very apologetic looking Olivia.
Seriously, it looked as though she just accidentally killed an orphanage of puppies.
But in any case as soon as she and Angelica finish healing the both of us we ran off. All according to keikaku.
A/N: Keikaku means plan.
As we walk along an empty street hand in hand I wonder Where am I going to get the chance to show off the other 33 techniques… but what would be really awesome is if 'that' happened again…
"U-Um, excuse me!"
Alpha and I both turn to see a familiar looking pink creature. She's wearing a science academy version of the Midgar uniform. Where have I seen her before? I don't really know anyone in the science section.
With a blush on her face matching her hair and reminding me of some children's book depictions of people she asks, "Are… your wounds okay?"
"Ah yes…" groans out Alpha, "We… managed to get healed. But… really we were lucky we avoided anything serious… *cough* I think."
I love Alpha.
…
Oh.
OH!
Oh shit!
Before I can freak out about that and realize I haven't said that out loud to her, let alone any of the shades, the pink girl (who introduced herself as Sherry) leads us to a nearby terrace to talk.
"I'm glad to hear it Mister Kagenou, I watched your match… um I sure you did well too Alice!" said Sherry as she fidgeted in place.
I do my best to avoid Alpha's smile that doesn't reach her eyes as I answer, "O-Oh really? Thanks."
Sherry beams, "I don't often watch battles, but I thought it was really cool how you kept getting back up."
Wait what? That's not what I was going for. Does this girl have a couple of screws loose? She is in the science division after all, and Eta's my darling little psycho scientist…
…
Okay wow! Wow! Cid what the hell!
I clear my throat and speak, "Uh, it was cool…?"
"Yes…" confirms Sherry. She blushes a bit as she nods.
I mean I guess that's just one way to look at it… But some girls are just like that.
Sherry stands up and timidly offers me a small parcel, "Um, here."
"What's this?" asked Alpha.
"I baked them for you," said Sherry, "as thanks… Um, you can share them if you want."
Thanks…? For what? Maybe showing her my slick side character moves? I say thanks and accept since she went through all the trouble.
Stuck in the pose she was giving me the cookies in, and kinda reminding me of my techniques used asked in inviting Alexia to my tea party, Sherry asked, "I-If you don't mind, I'd like to be friends."
"Friends?" asked Alpha as whatever rage was building in her seemed to quell somewhat.
I don't really get why this girl wants to be friends, but I suppose it can't hurt.
"Sure," I answered.
Aside from a few certain exceptions *cough* Claire *cough* Alexia *cough* I try to go through life without embarrassing women.
"Really?" asked Sherry.
I nod.
"Yay!" shouted Sherry.
Sherry jumps up in joy, her cowlick bouncing with her in a manner that makes me feel like she could be mistaken for a yo-yo.
"I did it!" Sherry clenches her fist in victory then turns to the nearby window, "Stephanie! I made a friend!"
"Huh?" Alpha and I both utter as we turn to see where Sherry is looking.
The girl is looking at this sinister, but very frail to the point of starvation, looking girl. I think I saw this girl before… Stephanie Fou Offrey. She hired some pirates I stole stuff from once when I was little. She was little too then, but since I managed to do what I did at my age I shouldn't judge her. Last I heard of her was from Cid and Angelica when they were talking about her family losing their power and needing to start from a lower rank.
In order to keep on being an extra, I keep an eye on leading characters that I need to avoid or use to take attention away from me. So I have to figure out why this pink moe blob is talking to this lady that resembles a snake.
Sherry's definitely a named character, if not a prominent side character that becomes so popular she becomes a regular appearance in fan works. I don't have much to do with the kids from the Academy of Science, so I guess I let my guard down. Based on my own investigation—which yes, I do that too—she has it in her to be the most central character in the Academy of Science. The kind who provides the protagonist with sound advice or unravels some big mystery in the story. Or makes some powerful equipment to help beat a boss. That's how I imagined her.
Since I didn't think I'd need to go up against any of the science academy students, I honestly kinda thought she didn't matter and forgot all about her.
"U-um, does it hurt somewhere after all?" asked Sherry.
I wave it off, "Oh no. Alice and I are fine, thank you."
"Hm~" sing songed Stephanie as she stared us down, "Are you sure? I saw Alice's bout against that scholarship student. I know she just volunteered to fill in the numbers but if your wounds are anything like hers then shouldn't they be bothering you?"
I just shook my head again, "M-Miraculously no… maybe it's a blessing from the Saintess for trying so hard?"
"Heh. Sure. You should probably still get it checked out though, or else little Sherry here isn't going to be able to continue working." Chuckled Stephanie.
Not like I really need to though, since Olivia and Angelica healed me so well I feel like I even went back a couple of years.
Stephanie pointed at Sherry with her thumb, "This girl is totally devoted to her studies. Why, even now she's hard a work on a request from the Knight Order to analyze an artifact. So try not to worry her too much, yeah? You're the only friend in this country she has besides me."
"Stephanie please!" cried Sherry.
Stephanie just laughs and continues, "She's here doing all this now, but she went through a lot in the past. So please be her friend. Consider it a request from your fellow baron."
Sherry smiles uncomfortably as Stephanie sips on her tea.
I mean, sure, I guess. I've taken the approach of surrounding myself with named characters so that I won't stand out too much with Alpha accompanying me. Though I can't say that now.
I nod and Sherry beams again. Alpha and I departed soon after.
As for the cookies, they had a simple flavor that was quite nice.
-Gamma-
"Finally, as Sir Leon suggested they do they had managed to completely keep the five idiots out of the top 3 in both tournaments. Said 5 were last seen sulking in their rooms. And that summarizes everything Lord Shadow and Lady Shade had done today." Said Nu.
I dismiss her with as much poise as I can muster, which is a lot given that I'm sitting in a throne and don't have to worry about tripping is much more than usual.
Mou~ To think that Cid and Alpha could have so much fun by themselves while everyone here is so worried. It's not fair~
I want to goof off too every once in a while! I have tons of experiences with flailing and having tons of blood spurt out from me! I suppose they did have me help them practice their techniques, but still.
Oh well, I suppose it's fine that Cid allows me to hug him whenever he comes over now.
"Gamma."
I look up to see my little sister in all but blood, Beta. She smiles at me momentarily before adopting the adorable version of her determined look. I see…
I jump down from my throne's spot, not trusting the stairs, and join Beta in walking towards the meeting room. Although we do largely use the throne room, our thrones are too precious not to use as a gift from our lord, when it comes to something serious just between the shades, we'll speak in an area that feels closer.
As we walk in I take note of everyone that has arrived. Eta, Zeta, Beta, and Myself.
"Where's Epsilon?" I asked.
Zeta shook her head, "She's on taking the dumb dog on a walk. We figured she wouldn't contribute much to this conversation anyway."
I frowned, "Delta has as much right to talk about our lord Cid as any of us."
"Oh, uh. Sorry," Zeta's ears droop, and she tries to rephrase what she said, "I mean, this is going to be too comfortable for her to understand so, I thought one of us should play with her for now."
"Zeta… tsundere… heh…" laughed Eta.
"Oi!" shouted Zeta with a slight blush on her face.
I couldn't help but ask, "Why Epsilon?"
"Zeta… tsundere," Said Eta as she ignored the cry of "am not!" and continued, "Numbers… too weak. You… would be… mounted… Epsilon… lost shadow rock paper scissors… V."
Ah… I want so badly to argue but I can't argue their point. Whenever Delta gets upset, she almost always immediately beelines for me to beat me up and assert dominance just to feel good again. I don't really get why she needs to sit down on me and howl though…
I then want to ask about Alpha's location, but the floor is immediately filled with the pleasant scent of lavender. She must be in a good mood considering how much she's let go of her aura.
Mou~
By the way she glows as she walks, or rather limps, in the room I can already tell why!
"I guess sending Delta out was the right call after all…" mutters Beta.
Alpha smiles her—as lord shadow puts it critical mass—smug smile. "My apologies, but Cid gets rather upset when we do things without him, so I needed to… tire him out a bit."
Beta slams her hands on the desk, "You could've invited one of us!"
Well I don't know if I want to do that for my first time… but I suppose I wouldn't say no… especially considering what Alpha looks like after each of her sessions with Cid.
"Alpha's continued selfishness aside," harumphs Zeta with her hands on her hips in jealousy, "We should move on to talking about Shadow."
"Cid." Corrected Alpha.
"…Cid." Struggles Zeta.
*Sigh* I know we rescued Zeta far too late, causing her to be saved in the darkest hour of her life and hold Shadow in high regard, but her reverence for Shadow has become something of a problem recently. He's always so upset to be referred to as Shadow instead of Cid when it's just us. Admittedly I never would have noticed if Alpha hadn't pointed out how he shows his emotions.
Beta steps forward, "Right. Well, perhaps it would be accurate to say we are talking about Shadow. Or rather, this Minoru Kage. Shall I brief everyone once more on what we know?"
We all nod.
Beta takes out some documents and passes them around, "As told to Alpha, Cid, and I by Sir Leon: The Lost King had memories of the Cult of Diabolos. Although he's somewhat of an unreliable narrator given that he was simply going off his own memories and not any research, he brought up some points of interest. 1. The cult seems to have existed since before the islands started floating. 2. Not only are Alpha and Zeta potentially the reincarnations of the three heroes, but Cid may be as well. 3. The cult possesses clones of the heroes, or at least did. 4. Failed clones likely became the slimes we wear now…"
At point four we all take a short moment of silence. If…
If Cid had never rescued me. If I had never seen that light…
I swear. I swear, from the bottom of my soul I will not, will not squander this gift they have given us.
"Cid… is the only Cid we know… right?" asked Eta.
Alpha nods, "Cid confirmed to me that we have only known him. He never confirmed nor denied any of Leon's other theories. Rather he wanted us to figure it out."
"Lord Shadow…" smiled Zeta.
"Cid" chorused the rest of us. Zeta flinched before nodding in apology.
"*sigh* I appreciate Cid's trust. But couldn't he give us more to work with?" I whine.
"This must be a part of his plan. You all know that he is still leagues above us. We just must all do our part to meet his expectations." Stated Alpha.
"Right. As it stands, nothing has come from looking through Lea's records. It would appear that any records he had were kept after he was betrayed. It's likely that he had left anything detailing that time behind, and if his brother Julian didn't destroy any such record, it must be well hidden." Said Beta.
"Right. In that case we may have to shelve the issue until after we go to Lindwurm." Suggested Alpha.
"Hidden…memories… Ka-moo-ra, almost… done…V" said Eta.
"Everything should be ready on Mitsugoshi's end." I state happily.
"And I had just gotten an invitation to attend as well." Declared Beta.
Zeta nods to show everything she's been up to is fine, but then she asks "So how're things looking for Sir Leon's plan? Should we expect him to follow through on his claim to the throne?"
Alpha shakes her head, "No, as it stands the five idiots appear to be shaping up. By the time they graduate they should be decent enough leaders so long as they continue to grow. We do still have roughly a month until the end of term party, however, so let's not put all our eggs in one basket."
We all nod and then begin to talk more about ideas for Mitsugoshi and other branches of business.
After all it would take someone more bumbling than me to make a mess of things now.
-P2W-
"…However, you should know when to take things slow. I mean, imagine if I ran at full speed in the dungeon. I'd find myself surrounded by bugs and feel like I'm not at the level I need to be. You don't want your relationship to be like a firework. Beautiful and loud, but ending quickly."
How… how is there someone else?
Who are they?
Why…?
Why can I not be happy, why…
This isn't a game, I shouldn't be running into any bugs for speedrunning.
It's fine.
It's fine!
Julius and the boys love me. They're crazy about me.
But… yeah. Yeah, we need to train more.
I won't be a firework again
I am not Hanabi.
I am not the screw up.
I don't need Onii-chan anymore!
I am going to live the life I deserve!
As for the boys…
Well, I know one event that gave us tons of exp.
A/N: Okay, I think that's a good place to stop for now. Sorry if you think the last section was too short, but well, she usually only gets her pov after the duel, and well, that's coming up. In all honesty we're probably going to be stuck with Mobuseka's story for a bit, as the spot I want the next EiS event to coincide with isn't for a little bit.
Anyway, let's answer some comments.
From QQ-
Zackman2k12: Thanks!
Someone ani: I wanted to address it here, they were keeping it professional while with Leon. Plus, I feel like adding a reaction to every detail, even when it's important, can get a bit repetitive. It was important, but I also felt like to do it properly I should address the shade's reactions.
Dsaeg: I'm not exactly done with the old human v. new human conflict. After all, Luxion's a robot who has new human hatred programed into him. And he's the most reasonable of the AI. I just figured that his genocidal tendencies don't really come up in canon all that much so addressing them as I did was the best way to explain that.
Alternativefuturefan27: I won't spoil too much, especially since I don't know how far I'll go into either canon. But yeah, Cleare's coming up.
I like honest soul the most because of its writing quality. I don't know what it is about Poor Baron's Route but I feel like it could be formatted a bit better. As for the mobuseka/hamefura crossover. I've tried reading it, but it just felt like too much. Plus it didn't seem to have my favorite pairing, that being the main trio from mobuseka. So I dropped it after the first few chapters.
Bladist: I can get those complaints yeah. As for Stephanie, she still has a role, I just put her in a slightly more interesting one, but she is still a villain.
When it comes to Iris, to be fair to her, everything we know to be fact is more like science fiction to her. Lost items are known to be able to do whatever, so the idea that it can just create videos isn't too out there. I know that's difficult to accept given the crossover with mobuseka, but the thing is: in all of mobuseka's non armor use of technology they seem to be pretty behind. If I remember correctly they only have portraits, their important documents are written with quills, and I don't even remember if they had pencils or that block of graphite.
Cid's relationship with assumptions is a point I plan on addressing, but it's going to take a bit since that is fundamental to his character. But if you want a fic that addresses that early on I recommend checking out Eminence of the Side Character by Greyghost412 and NPC Quest: Failed by Swiftadmiral. They're both on AO3 and I think Fanfic. They also recently updated.
From SB:
Azure the Dragon Lord: So I guess I'll address both of your comments in one place. So, you might want to remember that Lutheran wasn't Sherry's birth father, and Zandel is his replacement, not Stephanie. But Zandel is still Zandel.
As for Sherry's future… teehee.
Golden Darkness: So I did use Marie's PoV at the very end here, but she will get more. And of course I'm going to use Arroganz, how could I not? As for Erica… well I mostly have read the manga, not the LN so I don't know much about her outside of her being Marie's daughter in her previous life and being sick in her current. I do think I could do stuff with her if I get to the EiS return to Earth arc.
From Fanfic:
Galeon82: Fist off, holy shit that's a long review thank you so much! Especially since I assume you don't have English as your first language given by the use of Google Translate.
I'm glad to see you like how I managed to blend the two stories, honestly it's pretty easy to do. Those are some neat ideas on how to tackle Leon's status as a scholar of shadows. However so far that's a secret between Cid and alpha.
Remember, that Roland has been trying to keep track of Shadow Garden, like Leon said he would. It's just that most of the Leon and Roland interactions are done in the background, for now. I will say that Mylene is aware of them, but only to a certain extent. Leon doesn't know what Mylene looks like. I'll address the stuff with Nicks next time, but as for Zola and Rutart, the Mitsugoshi Blood tests.
Battle of legendary proportions is about what I had planned. I'm unsure if I want to twist any existing villains or create new ones though. Might want to go through the canons again. I haven't gone to far in the Master of Garden's shadow chronicles yet after all. Plus there's the new auxillary chapter coming up revolving around the heroes.
As for Zeta, well now I'd feel like I'd be stealing your ideas if I used that. Shit. That was pretty close to what I had planned.
About Yumeria, yeah lol. I do plan on having her interact with the mobuseka crew more, but as a gap between the two groups as the shades don't really interact with everyone on a more casual level yet.
I hope you enjoy reading, thank you.
Haseo55: yeah true, but it's also part of the charm of EiS.
Fangs of death: It will come up, it's just a matter of the best way to do it. As for Leon's thing… find out next time on Life's a Pay to win Game!
HalfmoonSilver80: Glad you liked the chapter!
Golden Nova: See before the chapter began. Hopefully the edits helped.
Just a referesher
-Name-
Means their first person pov
-P2W-
Means third person, mostly omnicient
-P2W/Name-
Means third person limited.