A/N: Hello, this is my first-time writing fanfic in a long time, like 10 years. Hopefully it's about the same quality as others, but I can't promise that. Can't promise regular updates past summer if I get a job either. Hope you have fun.
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.
P.S. I am going to age everyone up a bit. By the time they get to the academy they'll be 18. I dunno why but writing everything that they do as 15-16 years old is a bit weird. I mean 18 isn't that much better and doesn't fit as well in the settings I guess, but whatever. This is my fanfiction and I'll make up whatever sounds the coolest, just like Cid would want.
-P2W/Leon-
*SLAP*
"Y-you! You just hit me! Don't you know who I am" says a blueberry prick that I let die often because of how much he reminds me of my boss.
"I don't! You too, don't you know your manners!" Says the human capybara I've been whoring out.
Okay wait, that sounds bad. I'm playing a game, it's a game. Alto Liebe.
Alto Liebe a game I, under no normal circumstances, would play. Even if the protagonist is just my type, and the villainess for that matter. I mean it doesn't take much other than some sexy/cute girls for me to pick up a game, but the reason I wouldn't play Alto Liebe if I could've helped it is because it's a damn Otome Game!
No matter what my mother thinks, I wouldn't pick up an otome game. No, if anything this is because of what my mother has been tricked into thinking! Especially given how little free time my damn boss lets me have!
*vrrr* *vrrr*
That's probably him now. Or his parents even. That self-righteous prick probably ran crying to them since I'm not around for him to pass off all his work. Normally I'd just ignore mister pretty boy, but I can only take so much of watching the useless love interests dying while I imagine it's him. I reach over to my phone and flip it open. This time I'm going to quit for real!
*Click*
However, instead of my boss, I see a message from my sister.
Trash (Sis): [Onii-chan! Don't we look cute? I'm at the beach with my friends!]
I imagine that most otaku, not that I am one, that dream of having a little sister would feel some kind of positive reaction to seeing their "imouto" and her friend living their best life. I, however, feel nothing but anger.
*Ding*
[BTW you better have that game 100% completed by the time I get back or forget about me coming clean to mom]
And here she is validating said anger.
Anime and video games lie, having a little sister is nothing like what they say, even with an age difference. That little gremlin has done nothing but cause trouble and make me cleanup whatever mess she makes after!
Speaking of video games, this one does have its moments. The setting takes place in a sci-fi/fantasy realm on a bunch of floating islands where piloting mechs is as normal and required as casting magic is pretty cool. If I think about it though, it had a decent set up. The protagonist is an ordinary girl from the countryside who enrolls in a school for nobles. She's an honor student who was allowed to enter the school as a commoner. At the school, she meets the prince, nobles... and other romantic targets. She gets picked on by other girls of higher status and at the same time, various incidents and wars ensue. It's a romantic game with adventure and warfare in the background. It also happens to be a world that benefits women, which can explain the appeal I guess, from a more objective standpoint. Plus I do kinda like the combat. Alto Liebe was made by a company that used to make game for men. Even though it's an otome game, it has role-playing elements and battle simulators. Moreover, the romantic targets and knights who protect the country wear power suits and fight in the sky. Sounds decent enough, right? However-
*"O-Olivia! Run, They're too-!"*
*"Julius! JULIUS!"*
[GAME OVER]
Ugh, I lost! The battles are so hard to complete! Why did she have to pick the most bullshit game in the world! Why did she have to hide her stuff in my room!? Why did she have to lie to mom that it was all mine!? Why did mom have to go and-
GRAH!
Y'know what? Fuck it! FUCK IT! I was trying to have some fun with this damn game since I was being forced to complete it but fuck it, these damn shitty devs clearly wanted whatever stupid girls it appeals to, to get their wallets out! Why not!? I have enough money to spend since I work so much overtime all I do is eat and sleep, and sometimes it's not even at my damn apartment because of that damn rich kid and his damn stupid parents, which I only have to deal with because of the damn gremlin, because she thought it would be fun to ruin my damn life!
No wonder she loves this game, it's a world where girls are waited on hand and foot, by men, elves, therianthropes, and probably fate itself! It doesn't matter how cute she is, there's no way that protagonist would get away with seducing the 5 stooges given how high up they are! If it was like most of the harem stuff I read, where the self-insert dude gets the world leaders because he's uniting it through his dick that's one thing, but why are women so doted on but all the heads of noble houses men!? No wonder there's so many bad ends!
I mean sure the protagonist is also the Saintess or whatever, but the harem ending is very clearly not well thought out. Anyone who does it is a dumb ass that probably has a thing for harems. Which, I guess, fair. I'd definitely wouldn't say no to being in my own version of that, but like c'mon. The devs didn't put nearly enough effort into it! How's the damn secret weapon that requires two people who love each other very much to fire it saying anything other than the harem route was just tacked on last minute and doesn't suit the story?
Let's go ahead and just wreck everyone with the cash shop. Let's see, might as well use the most expensive thing, right?
Luxion- The remnant of [redacted] requires evidence of [redacted] to pilot.
Str:99
Ma:99
En: 99
Ag:99
Lu: 50
How the fuck are you going to charge me 9289 Yen, nearly the price of the game, for something and not make it max everything!? Ugh. Whatever. These devs are dumbasses that don't think anything through! Not the setting, not the endings, not how to manage a microtransaction store, hell, I'm pretty sure that this battle system rips off some other better games I've played! Hell Luxion looks a lot more like a spaceship than anything like the other airships! ... The armor he comes with is pretty cool too. Though it looks like it belongs to a villain.
Whatever, with this, I should be able to complete the game even with those bloody romantic targets. I mean seriously, they're so useless that I keep getting game overs! I'm starting to feel bad for putting the protagonist through all of this!
*Later*
*"Thank you [花火] for seeing all of our stories to the end! See you next time!"*
...That's it? That's the bonus my sister forced me to complete the game for!? So she got to go on a cushy vacation while I played a game that had the most horrendous bad ends I've ever seen, with some of the worst love interests I've ever read, and all I get for 100% completing it is a robotic as hell voice reading out my sister's name! I know for a fact I had a game on the GameCube read that way better than whatever AI these devs used, probably without the seiyuu's permission! Hell, it wasn't even one of the guys! It was the protagonist!
At least give me a secret route or boss or something! Hell, if there was a hidden yuri route with the villainess...
Whatever, it's done. It's done. It's done... and... I probably lost my job, lost most of my money, and long since lost my mother's respect. Might as well text the gremlin now. Hope she's enjoying that vacation, not.
*vrrr*
Speak of the devil. I open my phone and see she texted me back.
Trash (Sis): [I'm so tired after all that fun~ Clear it before I come back 3 If you don't complete it, you'll be my pervert bro for life XD]
...
This girl's beyond redemption... speaking of which, where did she get the money to go out? Did she work part-time? I know she asked (read: threatened) me for some money but I made sure to not give her a lot and there was no way that was enough. I think she did as Mom for money for a certificate or something...
Heh.
Heheheheh! What a dumb one.
I immediately open my phone and take screenshots that the gremlin sent me of her, and her friends then send them to my mother, and some of that texts she sent me. Hahaha! I'd like to see you getting away with this!
Oh... I guess I didn't need to stay up and play this game after all... oh well.
I lay down on the ground, exhausted. I find myself surrounded by nothing but the background music of the ending and the protagonists smiling face.
I want to laugh, I want to cry, I want... I want to sleep... Gods how many days was I up?
And why is it so hot?
Why is everything... burning... and fuzzy... and... and, my arms... my arms! They burn!
Ah. Ah! AH! AHHHHHHH!
IT BURNS!
I clutch my hands close to my chest only for it to start constricting too. I can't help but shut my eyes from the pain. I can barely hear the Ost as my ears start ringing and a pounding sensation invades my brain.
It can't end like this! Are you serious!? I die because of that damn game!
"AGH! IT HURTS! AHHH!" I scream in agony. Those damn light novels lied to me, dying from overwork isn't a slow fade away, it's agonizing! It burns! It hurts! It hurts so damn much! It's all because of that damn bull shit game too!
No, not the game, not the devs, not my boss, not his shitty parents, not even the black company! It's her fault! 花火! It's all your fault! I swear! I swear! I will never forgive you for ruining my life! Ever! Not in this life! Not in the next-
I...
Help me...
someone please, for once, I...
I look towards the screen. Seeing her face. Hey... you're the Saintess right? Can't... Can't you help me?
I reach out my hand...
"Leon!"
I feel someone's hand on mine. I don't think it's the protagonist's, it feels a lot more calloused than hers looked. If anything, I'd say it felt like my mom's.
"Leon!"
Who's Leon?
"Nicks, go get your father! He's waking up!"
Who's Nicks? Was it that kid who just ran out of the room? Did I pass out in the corridor instead of my apartment? I was hungry, so maybe I made it out the steps first? I should get up... I can't get up.
"Easy there sweetie. Easy." said the kind woman. I feel her begin to run her other hand through my hair.
"Luce!" calls out a voice so booming I can't help but wince.
"Balcus!" scolds the kind woman, "he just woke up! Quiet!"
"But you-"
I manage to open my eyes to see the kind woman, Luce, yell at the man with the booming voice, Balcus. I then see that Balcus looks like a farmer, considering the mud-covered boots and pants. He's also carrying a bucket of water.
"W... Wat...er" I manage to croak out.
Luce and Balcus turn to me.
"Leon, sweetie, I-Balcus, bring that water here!"
"Right!"
Luce manages to help me up enough so that I can comfortably drink from a cup. Meanwhile Balcus gets a rag and dumps it in the bucket before wringing it out and placing it on my head. It's a little weird how they used the same water, but beggars can't be choosers. Another thing to note is how big Luce and Balcus are, I mean it feels like I'm a little kid again...
Again?
What am I saying? I'm Leon Fou Barfort, 10 years old...
*muffled* "Balcus! You damn oaf where are you!?"
I see my dad curse before kissing my head and mom's then taking off. When he makes it outside, I hear some shouting. Mom purses her lips before kissing my head.
"Nicks, Jenna, Finley, please watch over Leon."
I look at the door and see Nicks and my other two sisters. I can barely see them since my vision is still swimming but I can see my sisters pout and stomp their feet just like... just like...like...
"Ew I don't want to do that!"
"Yeah, what if we get sick too!"
"Jenna. Finley." Mom puts her foot down, making my sisters shut up and walk in the room as mom takes off.
Nicks takes off the rag and rinses it back out. My sisters stay in the corner furthest away from me. Or at least they try before they see that the barn I had to stay in was shared by the animals, who don't seem to like the smell of their makeup.
*snort*
"Eep!" Jenna shrieks and jumps into Finely, making them topple to the ground.
"Onee-san! Get off of me!" Finely, pushes Jenna away, straight in front of the cow. The cow licks her face.
"Augh! Why do we have to stay here! It's smelly and gross and dingy and... and... augh!"
Nicks looks over at Jenna.
Jenna looks back at Nicks and I before responding, "What?"
"Leon and I stay in here whenever Zola comes over. Could you please not make us remember how much it sucks." said Nicks.
Jenna and Finely seem a bit taken aback. Finely more so. I guess she's never been here before since she's only 9... wait what? Why does that mean anything? Isn't it because she's a girl? Why does saying that sound wrong too though?
"This is just what men deserve though!" said Jenna.
Ah... I have a sister just like that again. ...again? Yeah, again... they even have the same long brown hair in a ponytail... Who I am talking about? Why... why am I so frustrated? Gah, it hurts... It burns... It... It... I... I can feel my vision blur.
"Jenna!" yelled Nicks, "If you want to leave then leave! Can't you at least spare some sympathy for Leon! Do you really have to make him cry!?"
Jenna stops, not used to Nicks yelling at her.
"I-I... I didn't mean..." Jenna says before turning, "Finley back me up- Finley?"
Finley walks over to the bed and grabs the bucket.
"Where's the faucet?" asked Finley.
Nicks takes the bucket out of her hands, "It's too hard for you to use. Stay here with Leon. Make sure Jenna doesn't make anything worse."
Finley nods, and pats my head as Nicks leaves. Jenna just sits next to the cow.
"W...w..." I try to start talking.
Finley helps me up a bit, thinking that I was asking for water. Jenna looks over from the corner of her eye.
After getting some water, I talk again, "why?"
Jenna looks over at me.
"Why?" I ask, "Why would... you say that?"
Jenna looks unsure.
"I mean... It's what Zola says."
"Zola's mean."
"No she's not."
"Is."
"No she's-"
Nicks rushes back in the room, and when he gets close to me I can see a hand shaped bruise on his face. Jenna can't though, and start talking again.
"Nicks," says Jenna "Tell Leon that Zola isn't mean!"
Nicks turns to Jenna again, and she sees the hand print on his face this time.
Nicks turns back to me and starts talking in a monotone voice. "Leon. Zola. Isn't. Mean."
Finley holds tightly onto my hand.
"Why does she treat us like this?" I ask.
"What do you mean why?" Asked Nicks. "Because we're mom's children. Is that fever messing with your memory?"
I nod. Jenna, Finley, Nicks wince. Nicks then explained the family situation again, My father is Balcus, and his legitimate wife is Zola. He has two kids with her, the eldest son Rutart and the eldest daughter Merce. They live in the capital. Meanwhile dad stays with us and his mistress, my mom Luce. They had all of us, but because Jenna and Finley are girls they don't get sent to the barn like me and Nicks. We all belong to the Barfort family. Apparently we used to just be a clan that was classified as a baronetcy. We weren't nobility and lived rather peacefully. However, we slowly got bigger and bigger so people from the Holfort Kingdom came. That was during my grandfather's time, and this elevated us to a barony. Though grandfather panicked, he didn't have any plans to become a baron.
"Why'd he panic? Isn't it a good thing to get promoted?" asked Jenna.
"It was too sudden," said Nicks, "The contribution expected from a barony is way different from a baronetcy. We're poor you see." Nicks shows how we're staying in the barn to demonstrate his point.
Jenna and Finley nod.
The country of Holfort expected more from our family, but we couldn't afford to contribute. That's why when the landowner became a baron Father had to marry someone befitting. This meant he married Zola, a woman of high status.
"Okay well if you guys hate Zola so much just marry someone else when you get to the academy." said Jenna.
"Like they'd pick us. We're probably going to have to do what dad did and marry someone for status and then find a mistress as our actual lover. You know as well as I do that women hold power in this world, just look at dad! Hell just look at me!" Nicks yells and points at his face.
Eventually Mom comes back and tells us that we all have to say goodbye to Zola, even me. As we walk I can't help but think, it's weird. This world is so weird! Why do I feel like this..! Academy... Holfort... Kingdom... Lover... Lover?
I look up and see Zola, her two kids, and a few elves.
I whisper to Nicks, "Um... those elves beside Zola..."
"They're Zola's lovers remember?"
... This... I get it now. This is the world of Alto Liebe.
God fucking dammit! This is so frustrating!
"Leon," whispers Jenna, "d-don't cry, I won't let her hit you okay?"
I have, under the name of Leon Fou Barfort, reincarnated into the world of Alto Liebe.
NOOOOOOOO! Why me! Surely there had to be someone else who wanted to reincarnate into a world like this!
Ugh. What am I saying, who'd want to reincarnate into a shitty world like this?
-P2W/Cid-
I couldn't tell you where it started. But ever since I could remember, this is what I aimed for. The only thing I cared about was to become:
THE EMINENCE IN SHADOW.
Not the story's hero, nor the final boss. Rather, someone who interferes and exerts enormous power from the shadows. That's the kind of character I always wanted to become. This wasn't the fleeting dream of child, like one who would say they wanted to be a superhero or something and then give up when they thought it was "unrealistic," or that I should "grow up already."
No, this was my reason for living. My passion that kept me going. To that end I'd do my best to pretend to be a unremarkable mob character whilst in secret I'd devote myself to training every day. Karate, Boxing, Kendo, basically whatever form of martial arts and every thing else I thought could be useful. Though I never let it show that I knew all the stuff. After all it was to prepare for the day I could operate behind the scenes as an eminence in shadow. I would even go out and fight gangs (with a paper bag over my head, can't let anyone know it was me) to accrue funds. But through that I became very aware of the rationalities.
After all, no matter how hard you train you can't beat a fully equipped army, and even if I could make out like Billy the Kid, what if they escaladed. If a nuke is dropped on my head, I'll be vaporized. Such is the limit of biological beings. But the "eminence in shadow" I want to become wouldn't fall to such things. So I delved deep into my research, trying to find a solution to this conundrum. Then the answer dawned on me...
Magic! I must master magic!
Though of course, there was no one who could teach me magic. So, I had to walk my own path. I practiced zazen under a waterfall, while fasting and observing the teaching of Buddhism. I meditated while mastering yoga. In my search for the holy spirit I prayed to God. Finally, I stripped naked and kept hitting my head against a great tree to reach omniscience. While doing that a flickering light revealed itself to me.
Magic. magic. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Convinced that this light was what I had been looking for, I chased after it. But for whatever reason, as soon as it hit me, I woke up as a baby.
"It's a boy!" exclaimed the person I assumed was my mother. She was a beautiful woman with long dark hair. I'd compare her to my previous life's mother, but I don't really remember her.
"Hm... don't babies usually cry?" asked a bald man. After I realize that this man is my father I can't help but hope the baldness skips a generation.
It didn't take long for me to realize where I was, and through my observations I realize that there was something important. This world has magic.
"Can I see, can I see?" a little girl walks up to me, she looks like a mix of Baldy and mother, so I guess that means she's my older sister.
Humu. This is the best set up for my future endeavors... ah. Looks like reincarnation doesn't change the needs of a body. I'll need to try and use magic to help change this.
Or at least that's what I thought all those years ago.
"Cid! Stop zoning out so much! Hurry and get out of that river!" Cries out my overbearing older sister Claire.
Ah right, we were sparring. I briefly ponder allowing the river to carry me down stream, but that wouldn't fit my performance. I need to be dead center, maybe a little below, but not above. Making it look like my sister knocked me into a coma again would probably end up worse than last time. *Shudder* she's clingy enough, but nursing me for an entire week is too much.
"You're too strong Onee-san!" I cry weakly.
Claire sighs at me and pulls me out of the river patting me all over. I guess this is better than what other men in the kingdom face, like Baldy. I know we're nobility but It's a little sad that my parents don't like each other in this life either. Oh well, just like last time this lets me do as I please as soon as everyone goes to bed.
See, I mastered the use of magic long ago. Inhuman displays of strength or healing are possible, though the latter can usually only be applied to one's self. With further research I'm sure I could discover even more amazing powers. Though of course I don't allow anyone to know I could do this, an eminence of shadow must hide his fangs. However, so far I'm still no match against a nuke. For as advanced as this world is at times, they don't have any similar weapons, so I could just not worry about it...
But I refuse.
A REAL EMINENCE OF SHADOW KNOWS NO COMPROMISE!
Which means I'll be training tonight as well! I've heard that bandits took up residence in the forest nearby, maybe I'll go and take care of them again... maybe I should skip once in awhile though. Gotta protect the ecosystem. Hunting too many bandits will make them endangered, and that will make me lose my main source of income!
Though I won't skip today, I have a new weapon to show off after all.
*Later*
"YAHOO! HANDOVER ALL YOUR POSSESSIONS OR FIGHT! ANYONE WHO FIGHTS IS A BANDIT, ANYONE WHO DOESN'T IS A WELL TRAINED BANDIT!" I yell. Though my words may not make it seem like it, I am the perfect vision of fighting as an art with my new armor and sword cooly moving with me, the blood following my blade as though I was dispensing it from there, my jacket's coattails flapping in the air with the wind, yet never disrupting my dance.
The bandits all stand their ground, *sigh* I guess all the well trained bandits are extinct then.
"Who's this dwarf!?"
Hey.
"Who cares about that! He's small so we can all take him!"
Hey.
I clear my throat, adjust my mask, and speak. "Stay calm gentlemen. I'm just an unremarkable person who happened to pass by. Today, I'm here to test the specs of my new weapon and my slime suit."
"!?" The bandits all react, backing up in confusion. Heh. All according to keikaku.
I keep going, "Simes, as you're no doubt aware, are liquid creature's that can change their shape with magic. I caught a fair amount of these slimes then made them into jelly. then made a suit that covers my body and an easy-to-use sword out of them. Their conductivity is a miraculous 99%! Which means..."
I dash forward, no doubt vanishing before their eyes, before reappearing as I slash the closest bandit to me.
"Gah!"
I continue my explanation as the 'conversation' begins, though it's as one sided as my explanation anyway. "This nifty function allows its user to change its shape in any way you want! Why not buy one for the family?"
Heh. I quickly cut apart the rest of the bandits. As they charge towards me, I can't help but be reminded of a blender or perhaps a meat grinder... Hm. I believe I understand Sasaki-san a bit more now.
A/N: This is one of our protagonists.
I stop, noticing that I got everyone before I could finish all my tests.
"Uh... woops?" I remark.
I notice one bandit's left. Phew. He says something about the royal capital's bushin style, but I can't be bothered to listen. It's standard stuff really next he's going to say "You'll regret looking down on me!" and slash at me, before he notices that he can't cut through my suit. After all changing shape is not the benefit the slime suit comes with, it comes with proper defensive power too. Seeing this the man charges at me, and I do my best to dodge by only slightly tilting my body. Hm...
"So that's your bushin style, huh?" I say while continuing to dodge cooly with slight movements, "I heard it's pretty popular in the capital. At least it's not stuck in old teachings. I might like that. However,"
I begin to charge toward royal bushin style bandit
"Hey!" He cries, "Where did that sword you were holding-"
Taking the chance royal bushin style bandit was nice enough to set up for me, I embed the sword from my slime suit, now stemming from my foot. Heh. Slime sword nifty function number two. You're able to draw your sword whenever you want, from wherever you want.
After dislodging my sword from the bandit I do my usual cleanup, collect whatever I want from their camp, bury the nobles or merchants they killed, and if they got someone captured release them. Gotta say, maybe the well trained bandits were bad for the ecosystem, there's a lot more stuff this time around.
"Know that I've avenged you merchants. Your good shall fund my rise to be the eminence in shadow." I say cooly.
What wasn't cool was how my slime suit caught on a cloth and made a wine glass fall. However, this did show me that underneath the cloth was a cage. Maybe they had some slaves? I gaze into the cage and find... a decomposed corpse? No... this is more like some kind of crime against nature, a mass of flesh writhing in pain. This must be one of the possessed I've heard about. As far as I've been able to gather, possession is a mysterious illness that causes the body to rot and eventually leads to death. There's a church, the church of the three heroes I think, that takes theses 'possessed' so they can supposedly cure them. But rumors say that's just a front to retain the support of the masses. I guess they gotta compete with other churches after all. The rumors also say, that in reality the church massacres them all.
Hm... I get closer to the thing, figuring I should at least put it out of its misery but after taking a closer look at the 'possessed,' it seems to have out of control magic. Like there's immense magic power at work here! This is just like the magical overload I accidentally gave myself. If I wasn't so good at controlling magic then I could have suffered the same fate. Well, maybe not the same fate, the burning sensation I felt made it feel like I was going to explode rather than turn into this thing... This is perfect, instead of letting this crime against life die at the hands of the church, I can use it in my magic experiments. I mean it's not my body, so I can go wild. Testing this and that, in all honesty is pretty fun.
A/N: This is one of our protagonists.
Or so I thought. However after testing stuff off and on for about a month, well I ended up surprised with what happened to that meatball of a person. After all, it ended up turning into a blonde elf. I quickly cover her in one of the nearby cloths, the eminence in shadow wouldn't allow a woman to be stuck like that, it wouldn't be cool. Covering a woman with your cape is a classic scene, but I feel like the slime is too cold to really capture the scene perfectly. I see the girl stir to consciousness.
"Ah... Ah!" I make sure to look away as she moves the cloth to inspect her body, "But how! My body was almost completely rotten! And it... turned back!?"
I smirk as the elf looks at me.
"I... I don't even know how I could express my gratitude! I... I'll devote my entire life to repaying you!" She says.
I want to say that she doesn't need to do that since it sounds too serious, however, devoting her life to repaying me..? I look her dead in the eyes.
"Does that mean you would become the eminence in shadow's follower?" I ask. My voice totally doesn't break. No way.
The elf girl simply tilts her head. Yeah... sorry, I guess that was a strange thing to ask. *sigh* whatever, I guess I'll just let her go now like usual-
"Um, yes? I suppose? What does that mean?" says the elf girl who has now become my new best friend.
But, yes. What is an eminence in shadow? I suppose it's hard to explain to someone from a world that doesn't have this trope given the few novels that there are. Very well, if there are no stories in this world that I can use as reference for the coolest thing to ever exist, then I shall create one.
I quickly look around my surroundings, patting the elf on the head to distract her. She leans into it, so I can't help but wonder if she's part therianthrope. Anyway, let's see... That beer bottle, that book, those papers... Okay, done.
"Tell me, fair elf maiden, what do you know of the cult of diabolos?" I ask.
"Diabolos... the one from the fairy tales? There is a cult behind him?"
I nod, trying to hash out the fine details in my mind... after all the road to becoming the eminence in shadow is a long, arduous, lonely, and over all difficult one.
"Yes, and you have been freed of its curse. You're a free elf now. If you want to leave now with that knowledge in mind, I could help you. The bandits here had quite a bit of money, and if that doesn't sound appealing I could likely hire you as a maid. Many nobles have elven retainers (though they're mostly male elves) so it wouldn't be strange for me to simply show up with you." I offer.
The elven maiden doesn't hesitate in shaking her head. Heh, as expected of my new best friend and upcoming right hand man... wo-man.
"You... cured me... Wait, what 'curse'?" she asked.
"You see, just as the demon diabolos was real, so were the heroes. You are a descendent of one and you descendants of the heroes suffer from a terrible curse. I get your surprise buy as you mentioned you've heard of the fair tale, in which three brave warriors destroyed Diabolos and protected the world. That really happened."
The elf gasps as I walk back and sit on a nearby crate.
I continue, "Just before the demon's death, with their very last breath, they put a curse on them-the curse that transformed you into a mound of flesh. But there's someone out there who twisted history, labeling your kind as the possessed-Targets of shame. I'm sure you can guess who."
The elf thinks on it before an angry expression dawns her face as she realizes, "The cult of diabolos!"
"That's right, the cult of diabolos-those who scheme to resurrect the demon diabolos. They only work behind the scenes, which is why we must hide in the shadows to thwart their ambitions." I say.
I get up, allowing my magic to swell and show off my cool appearance beneath the moon.
"My name is Styl- *ahem*" I clear my throat in front of the elf's cute confused face, "My name is Shadow. I lurk in the shadows. I hunt the shadows. Our journey may be perilous but we must go forward."
I offer the elf a hand to get up and she stands with a resolute face. Ah, I love it, my first and best friend in this world is fulfilling her role perfectly! Such a good actress for the person who was a walking tumor a month ago! Hm... I should start calling her something else, I mean I know she probably has a name but like, her family life probably kinda sucked for me to be the one to find her in the crate. Oh, I know!
"From now on, your name is Alpha." I state, "Alpha, child of heroes, are you prepared to walk alongside me?"
"I lost everything the day the disease... I mean, curse ravaged my body." She starts.
It's cool, I mess up sometimes too.
"You saved my deformed, rotting flesh from its inevitable fate. So... if that's what you want, then I'll devote my life to it-"
I hug Alpha. Haha! Great! I always wanted someone to play these eminence in shadow games with! I attempt to push her away but she doesn't let me. I guess she's a bit traumatized? Meh, it'll pass. I let her have the hug. I mean I just made everything up on the spot so if she needs a hug every now and again, whatevs. I mean, the cult of diabolos doesn't actually exist, so we'll have to change the game every now and again but we can start with the cult one. And-and with it as our main setting we can say fake-deep stuff for our parting words! Like "The end is near..." or "The resurrection of the demon is nigh..." Wow. I could honestly go on and on. Starting now.
"I'm guessing our enemies hold positions of formidable power and the hordes of people under their control don't know the truth..." I start.
"Still..." continues Alpha as I start to coat her in her own slime outfit. I mean it's not going to be as cool as mine, but still. "There will be no mercy for those who stand in our way."
Yeah something like that. I nod. All of a sudden Alpha's grip tightens on me and I start to notice that she's actually a bit taller than me. Hey, Alpha, eminences in shadows aren't carried around like a teddy bear. I mean maybe if there's merch but that's different.
"We'll also need to track down and protect the other descendants of heroes." states Alpha.
"Uh, yeah. Sure." I state, trying to free myself from the death grip, or at least lower myself to the ground again. Maybe I should make my boots taller? No that's lame.
"Then there's expanding our organization and establishing our base. It'll require raising capital..." continued Alpha.
I get a finger loose, only for it to return. "Great, just don't go overboard."
"What is the name of our organization?"
"We are shadow garden." I state with as much dignity as I can muster. Which unfortunately isn't much considering that Alpha squeezed me so hard that he slime I was softening shot me out like a bar of soap that was gripped to hard. Luckily I stuck the landing and posed in front of the moon on the roof, but it didn't really make up for it.
Now, part of me wants to leave Alpha to her own devices, but with the roof gone I'd feel bad. Even if it is her fault. So I decide to lead her to my house. I'll just keep her as a servant or something, say I was kidnapped and we helped each other escaped... no that's not mob enough. Oh, I snuck out at night because I wanted a friend my own age! A little rom-com ish, but it works. My parents should be fine with it, from what I hear most women have elven companions because we can't cross breed. I mean that's wrong from what I could tell when I scanned some of my mom's friends' retainers, but it should keep them from assuming stuff... I think.
Then again, maybe they aren't okay with it? For as much as my parents don't seem to like each other they're at least loyal to each other. Can't imagine what it'd be like if my parents had their own mistresses/ affair partners.
-P2W/Leon-
"Hey Nicks." I say.
"Yeah Leon?" He replies.
"Is it just me or are Merce and Rutart's ears a little pointier than ours?"
"W-what are you saying!? I know they just left but watch your tongue! Besides, elves and therianthropes can't make babies with humans! Everyone knows that!"
Hm... maybe I should talk dad into taking a blood test. Assuming they exist, I mean. I mean vampires exist here so blood related technology shouldn't be a stretch. But before that, before my memories fade, I should start keeping a journal of everything I know about this world before I forget.
A/N: Hey! hope you enjoyed it. Especially since most of that was from the source materials. I did try to change it up a bit to make it not straight up plagiarism but the next chapter, which will have a clear difference in canon may have a drop in quality. Definitely drop in length though. I can't promise a schedule since I'm just doing this for fun. But I do plan on at least trying to get through the war of fanoss. Speaking of, both stories events are going to happen, it's just a matter of when, why, and how I can make it overlap. For example, though I might not get to it, I feel like maybe the lawless city arc could work with the part of the story where they fight pirates in Offrey's territory.
Oh and since I'm guessing people are curious, since it is what makes or brakes a fanfic for me, Leon keeps his harem and Cid his. I might have secondary characters like Iris lean towards Leon, but no one like the shades or Olivia, Angelica, and Deirdre (one of my faves) are going to switch over. Though I don't like incest so it might be fun to have Claire go for Leon and Jenna or Finley to Cid... I don't count Louise if I get that far... But to be honest I feel like Cid has enough women in his harem, both as a mob and Shadow lmao.
Also, Skel and Po kinda serve the same service as Daniel and Raymond, so I feel like if I had to choose... well, at least one pair are halfway decent friends.