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Chapter Seven: Part One

—

Imperial Love, Ninth Edition

The Cast

Tir: Daunte

Viktor: Gunther

Flik: Futch

Milich: Luciano

Barbarossa: Georg

Golden Hydra: Bright

—

The lights on the stage came up, revealing Georg at center stage in front of a background of a city in flames. "Two hundred years," Georg said dramatically. "Of prosperity in the Scarlet Moon Empire fallen to ruin. And I, Emperor Barbarossa, am doomed to meet the same fate."

Futch and Gunther ran out from stage left, and Daunte and Luciano ran out from stage right. "E-Emperor Barbarossa!" Daunte shouted hoarsely. "I have arrived with the Toran Army! S-Surrender now, for we have surrounded G-Gregminster!"

"That's right!" Futch shouted.

"Master Tir speaks the truth!" Gunther joined in.

"You are brave," Georg said. "But after everything I've been through, I will not fall easily." He reached for the sword at his belt, and Daunte, Futch, and Gunther jumped back and screamed.

"No, Emperor Barbarossa," Luciano snapped, stepping forward to stand beside Daunte. "You will not threaten my Lord!"

"C-Can it be?!" Georg gasped, his eyes going wide. "Flower General Milich Oppenheimer! Not you! Anyone but you!"

"Yes, it is I," Luciano said, surprising the audience with his polished acting. "If you will not see reason, then I have no choice than to slay you with my own blade!"

Georg ducked his head and looked away. "It's no use," he said finally. "I stand no chance on my own. What a shame to bring bloodshed amongst these flowers…"

"Especially the black dragon orchids!" Futch blurted out.

"Wait, Flik didn't have a line there!" Nāṭaka hissed, flipping through her script.

"Yes," Luciano quickly interjected. "Queen Claudia loved this garden deeply. Including the black dragon orchids," he tactfully ad-libbed.

Georg barked out a laugh, but then covered his mouth with his hand. He quickly composed himself and lowered his hand. "I have no choice now. In order to best you, Flower General Milich Oppenheimer, and in order to save the last vestige of the Scarlet Moon Empire, I must sacrifice myself! Behold! The Power! Of The Dragon King Sword!"

A white light enveloped the stage, followed by a loud blasting noise. When the smoke and light disappeared, Georg was gone. In his place at center stage stood Bright, who dramatically craned his head back and roared loudly. "Kuueeeeee!"

"A G-G-Golden Hydra!" Daunte exclaimed.

"Retreat!" Gunther yelled. "We cannot possibly defeat this beast!"

"I swear by my sword Odessa that I will sacrifice my life to defeat you!" Futch shouted.

Daunte, Futch, and Gunther ran to the front corner of stage right and huddled together. Luciano however did not move from his spot. "Master Tir, stand strong!" Luciano shouted dramatically. "If I must, I will face the creature by myself!"

"Kuueeeeee!" Bright roared.

"My beloved Emperor Barbarossa," Luciano, loudly choking on a sob. "Please forgive me for what I must do!"

Luciano and Bright charged at each other simultaneously. Luciano did a simple shoulder-check to the dragon, but it did as commanded and flopped onto its side on the stage with a loud 'boom'. "Kuueeeeee!"

"Wow, that's impressive," Daunte whispered.

"Bright is an excellent actor on the stage," Futch whispered back proudly. "Amazing!" he shouted his line. "The Golden Hydra?! Felled by a single blow?!"

"Flower General Milich Oppenheimer is surely the greatest General in the history of this country!" Gunther shouted.

Luciano turned and gestured to them. "The threat is over. Please come out and claim victory. My work here is done."

"F-Flower General Milich Oppenheimer!" Daunte shouted. He stumbled forward and clasped Luciano's hands. "W—You cannot leave! Whatever shall we do without you?!"

"Do not shed tears, Master Tir," Luciano said, pushing his hands away. "The war is done. Now it is time for me to return home and drink some wonderful tea while bathing in a bath of rose petals. Until we meet again!"

Luciano exited stage left to many cheers from the audience. Daunte turned to Futch as the lights dimmed before curtain call. "…Did the final battle of the Gate Rune War really go this way?"

"Of course not," Futch said hotly. "This wasn't even close to what really happened!"

"I thought so," Gunther muttered. "A man with the name "Vagabond Viktor" wouldn't run screaming from a battle, even if it DID involve a three-headed dragon…"

From the backstage area, Georg rubbed at the back of his head sheepishly. "…This definitely sounded like Milich's work."

—

"I don't like her."

It was probably not the right thing to say, but Adalgiso still said it. He watched the Sheikh's reaction carefully from his position at the office door. Sloan looked up from the desk to stare at him. "Is that so?" He asked coldly.

"Yes," Adalgiso said unabashedly. "That new Sheikh, Imbuka Liger. I do not like that woman. I have known the Nuori family longer than I have known that woman and I…"

"That little girl is a traitor," Sloan reminded him. "The High Clerics have said so. They are the voice of Nagar, so everything they say is an absolute truth."

"Regardless Sir," Adalgiso said feelingly. "I don't trust Lady Liger. I've never even heard of this woman. It feels like she just appeared out of thin air."

"It's not our problem," Sloan said sharply. "If she runs her provinces into the ground, then so be it. Our responsibility is here, in the Northwest."

Adalgiso didn't flinch from his sharp tone. "As you say, Sheikh."

"Good." Sloan shoved a file into his drawer and slammed it shut. "We've been given our marching orders. We'll be leaving tomorrow."

"What?!" Adalgiso exclaimed, his eyes going wide. "T-Tomorrow?!"

Sloan glared at him. "That's what I said. Tomorrow. Get the Garrison ready to deploy."

"Sloan—"

"Sheikh," Sloan corrected him sharply.

"Sheikh, we can't march tomorrow!" Adalgiso snapped, forgetting himself in the moment. He moved forward so that he was standing directly across from the Sheikh in front of his desk. "Need I remind you that we lost 300 soldiers in a single battle not too long ago?! We have not been able to recruit even half of those numbers! Not to mention the morale amongst the troops is abysmal! We need more time to prepare our units before we undertake this mission!"

Sloan's glare darkened, and Adalgiso swallowed involuntarily at the gaze. He had seen subordinates die at Sloan's hand who faced this glare. "Adalgiso."

"Yes, Sir?"

"I don't make a habit of repeating myself, but we are soldiers. It is our destiny to live and die on the battlefield, as Nagar wants us to. We are missionaries spreading His message of war! So we are going to march into battle tomorrow and SLAUGHTER our enemies! And if we die, then so be it!"

Adalgiso gaped at him in horror. The pain inside his chest choked his words briefly. "…Sloan," he said quietly.

"SHEIKH!" Sloan roared. He punched his desk with his right hand, and the fist went straight through the surface. Adalgiso jumped back slightly. "Address your superior officer with respect, you damned old fool!"

Adalgiso couldn't help but gape as Sloan slowly pull his arm from the hole he made in his desk. He—He punched through a hardwood desk with a single blow! I-I…he put his hands on Tidur, didn't he? He beat that one child unconscious months ago. This power…it's not normal.

Adalgiso closed his eyes and trembled slightly. I owe this man my life. I owe this man everything. But the man I knew is truly gone…

"Sheikh," Adalgiso said finally, opening his eyes. "I—"

His voice broke off as the room suddenly began to shake violently. Both Sloan and Adalgiso looked around in confusion for a moment, and then shouts of surprise and panic echoed down the hallway leading up to Sloan's office.

Adalgiso quickly realized the entire building was shaking, not just the room. "Earthquake!" he shouted. he raced to the door and held himself between the doorframe. "Sheikh, take cover!"

Sloan however did not move from where he stood. He continued to look at his surroundings with angry annoyance. He did not flinch when bookshelves fell over, or when the objects on his desk fell and broke. "What nonsense is this? In all my years as Sheikh of the Northwest, we have never had an earthquake before."

"This is most definitely an earthquake now!" Adalgiso pressed his hands against the doorframe hard. "Sheikh, please get under your desk!"

"Hiding under my desk won't protect me if the building collapses," Sloan scoffed. A loud, violent explosion sounded from outside, followed by a chorus of screams. "Now what?!" Sloan snapped, looking towards the window.

Ten seconds after the earthquake suddenly started, the ground settled and everything went still. Adalgiso relaxed very briefly before straightening. "We have to assess injuries and assess damage," Adalgiso said as Sloan approached the window. "The explosion earlier—"

"The armory," Sloan said bluntly, his tone cold and unfeeling. "It collapsed onto itself."

"What?!" Adalgiso exclaimed, but then there was frantic knock at the door. "Sheikh! Lord Adalgiso! The armory—"

"WE KNOW!" Sloan shouted over his shoulder, but the soldier continued screaming on the other side of the other. "Sheikh, there were soldiers inside the armory!"

"I'm coming!" Adalgiso shouted. Sloan didn't acknowledge his words as he left the room and came face-to-face with the hysterical private. "How many were inside the armory?!"

"I-I don't know, twenty?!" the private gasped. Adalgiso could see the panic in the younger man's eyes and he grabbed his shoulder. "Take a few deep breaths, Private. I'll be heading down now. Go and gather anyone who is uninjured and they are to report to the armory to assist in the rescue."

"Yes, Sir!" the private raced off and Adalgiso allowed himself a moment of weakness to rub his eyes wearily. I think I'm getting too old for this. But I care for the people here, and I will do everything I can to guide them and protect them. …Even if I have failed at both already…

Sloan watched the panic and hysteria below with indifference. "There goes the marching orders…"

Liberation Army Headquarters

"…Is it safe now?" Arin asked fearfully.

"Stay here," Daunte said, crawling out from underneath his table. His room was a mess in the aftermath, but though his furniture was turned over it didn't appear broken. Nor did he see any damage to the walls, floor, or ceiling. He let out a sharp breath. "I think it's over," he said.

Arin quickly crawled out from underneath the table and hugged Daunte. "W-What was that?! Why did everything start shaking?!"

"It was an earthquake," Daunte said. "Which is strange, because I don't remember an earthquake ever occurring here…"

There was a quick knock on his door before it opened and Caesar came inside. "Ah, you're okay Lord Daunte. We should evacuate outside in case there are aftershocks."

"Right," Daunte said quickly, taking Arin by the hand. "I need to check for injured before anything else. Are the buildings still standing?"

"Some minor damage, but yes." They headed out into the hallway as others began leaving their rooms. "Don't use the elevator," Caesar warned. "It's safer to take the stairs!"

"No one was in the elevator, were they?" Daunte asked fearfully. To his relief Caesar shook his head.

"That was scary!" Bax exclaimed.

"Oh, that was just a minor earthquake," Gertrude said dismissively. "I've felt ones bigger than this!"

"That was the most unusual earthquake I've ever felt," Sanji said thoughtfully. "It sort of…felt like the earthquake was traveling, didn't it?"

Daunte looked towards the ceiling. "T—Didn't anyone tell them to evacuate?!"

"I did but they weren't interested," Caesar sighed. "But leave them be. If the aftershocks start they'll coming running down the stairs screaming."

Somehow I doubt it, Daunte thought, but it wasn't maliciously.

Roen and Felicity joined them on the first floor and they went outside. The courtyards were full of people looking confused and frightened, but Daunte wasted no time walking around making sure everyone was accounted for. "Were there any injured?" Daunte asked Dr. Yulin.

"No new wounded or sick from what we had before," Dr. Yulin reassured him.

"There will be plenty of stressed soldiers for awhile," Clara added. "But with any luck the aftershocks will be minimal."

"Lord Daunte!" May shouted, running over to him. "There's a huge crack in the back wall behind the main building!"

Daunte raced after her, followed by Caesar, Varnaz, Gunther, Allise, and Keiran. Daunte's stomach dropped when he saw the crack in the wall. There was a sixty centimeter gap in the foundation, and though the crack thinned as it went up, it still reached as high as the third floor.

"…Oh," Caesar said. "Okay. Go get the trio, because this building is about to collapse."

"Oh no!" Arin cried out, but Daunte moved forward. His heart pounded in his throat as he reached out with his hand. It trembled violently, but he rested his right hand against the dangerous crack.

"I know your question, and the answer is yes."

Daunte didn't stir from Leknaat's sudden arrival, though several other people screamed in surprise. Daunte glanced at her briefly and nodded his understanding. He felt the hum from the Rune of Restoration, and he looked at it as he stroked the crack. "Rune of Restoration," he said softly. "You have purified contaminated water. You have healed the injured. You have the ability to heal and restore. Please, before this building collapses, before anyone is hurt…please restore this building!"

The Rune of Restoration glowed brightly, and Daunte heard everyone shouting behind him, but he kept his focus on the True Rune. To his immense relief, he saw the building rapidly repairing itself, resetting the stone and sealing the crack. He saw the power of the Rune drift up to repair the building, and down even to repair the soil that had been damaged. Daunte started feeling light-headed, but he ignored it. Just a little more power…!

His vision swam as the building and ground finished being repaired. He let out a shaky breath and blinked to clear his vision as he looked at Caesar. "I…need to check the other buildings," he said quietly. "If any of them are damaged like this one was, then they're a danger to the people here."

Of the six other buildings the only one that were damaged were the two in the northeast and southeast. Though neither of them had the damaged that the central building had, Daunte still concentrated energy on the Rune of Restoration to restore the buildings. But in his desperation he expelled too much of his own energy. After he restored the third and final building to the southeast, He stumbled backwards and he felt his eyes roll back. But his body slammed back into another body and he was held steady. "Easy, my Lord."

Keiran's words sounded far away but were comforting. It reminded Daunte strongly of when he healed the entire Army after a colossal defeat and fainted from the power used. He squeezed his eyes shut and steadied his breathing, willing himself to not fall unconscious again. I can't collapse. I'm the leader. I need to look and be strong for everyone.

When he was certain that he was not about to faint, Daunte slowly opened his eyes. And was stunned to be surrounded by a massive group of people. Everyone looked worried and scared for him. Except for one person, of course.

"You shouldn't use your Rune for pathetic reasons," Yuber told him sharply, standing directly before him.

But Daunte smiled in reply. "I…appreciate your concern, Yuber. Thank you."

Yuber looked positively furious at the praise, and in a flash teleported away. But the rest of the Army surged forward to check on him, all of them speaking at once.

"Are you all right?"

"Please take better care of yourself!"

"Wow! Your Rune can fix buildings?!"

"You really are amazing!"

"Everyone, thank you for your concern but our Lord is fine," Caesar announced. Daunte's knees felt unsteady but he didn't stumble again. "Please see Dr. Yulin and Dr. Clara if you are injured or unwell. Otherwise, please go back to your stations and be wary of aftershocks."

The Army reluctantly dispersed. Daunte was moved by how much everyone cared for him and he rubbed a hand over his face to try and clear his head. Get it together. Everyone is relying on you.

"That was amazing Daunte, but you overdid it again," Roen said grimly.

"But the True Rune has amazing powers," Felicity said. "And you always use the powers selflessly. No wonder the Rune chose you."

"I just have to be better about using the power it is," Daunte said sheepishly.

"I was going to talk with you about the upcoming trip north, but it can wait for tomorrow," Caesar said. "We're going to be traveling to the Zexan Federation and the Grasslands during a not-so peaceful time. I'm actually surprised that they accepted our offer given the current circumstances."

"Ah," Daunte said slowly. "You mentioned that Zexan and the Grasslands are—currently at war with the Tinto Republic, yes?"

"Tinto?" Felicity said. "Don't I share a Star with someone from Tinto?"

"Lilly Pendragon," Caesar confirmed. "Her father is a real peach. But we can discuss that tomorrow. Let's take it easy for today."

"All right," Daunte conceded, but then he felt a tug on his arm. He looked down and saw Arin staring up at him in confusion. "Yes Arin, what is it?"

"Brother," Arin said. "If you can restore things with your Rune, then why didn't you restore the skyship when it crash landed near that elf village? And why didn't you restore that sphere-thing when it broke before we crashed?"

Daunte gaped at him. Roen and Felicity looked at Daunte then. Caesar coughed loudly as though to cover up a laugh. "That is what we call a "plot hole", Arin."

"A what?" the boy asked in confusion.

"I-It never crossed my mind," Daunte sputtered lamely, slightly horrified. Roen and Felicity simultaneously burst into laughter.

"But see, if your brother restored the skyship with the Rune of Restoration, then all those trees Hero destroyed would have gone to waste, wouldn't they?" Caesar asked blithely. "And if he restored the aeolipile then Hero and James wouldn't have learned from their mistakes with it. And then we wouldn't have had an excuse to go and visit the Dunan Republic."

Arin thought about it for a moment before he nodded. "Okay. That's true."

I don't know if I can manage the power of this Rune, but I will try. And I have the support of everyone with me.

Daunte woke up the next morning feeling significantly better. There were no aftershocks that followed the earthquake, much to everyone's relief, but then there were questions about what exactly had caused the earthquake.

And what Daunte was hearing was not encouraging.

"It was not magic," Leknaat said.

"It was a monster," Yuber said with surprising enthusiasm. "A large one too. Full of anger. I want to fight it. Send me to go and fight it."

"Not right now," Daunte said. "You can fight it if it comes back and causes another earthquake." Yuber was not happy to hear that.

Despite Yuber's assessment, there was no giant monster sightings before or after the earthquake. Caesar had come to see Daunte early and told him that they needed to see Eliasen as soon as possible, but Daunte wanted to go to the front gates to check on the soldiers there to see if they had any news.

"That's a good idea," Caesar said. "But we'll have to convert currency and I'm withdrawing a quarter of our Army's funds to take with us."

"A quarter?!" Daunte hissed, keeping his voice down as he faced Caesar. "Caesar, we don't even have a half million bits in our total funds! I-I mean I contribute as much as possible, but I don't think we can afford to part with a quarter of our funds! We just have enough to pay wages and keep our Army fed and clothed! And keep their families fed and clothed!"

"Technically we can't afford it," Caesar said. "It's a risk that may cost us dearly."

"Then why—"

"But it may also get us ten times the amount of money we need."

Daunte gaped at him in shock. "W…How?!"

Caesar smiled his usual smile. "You'll understand it better when we arrive abroad. But we'll worry about that later."

Daunte had more questions for him, but he saw the guards at the gates talking to someone unfamiliar to him and he raced towards the guards. "Is everything okay?"

"Ah!" the newcomer shouted, pointing at Daunte. "It's you!" It was a teenaged boy, possibly the same age as Daunte. He wore thick, tanned rectangular glasses but his gray eyes were wide and innocent-looking. His hair was faintly red, almost blush, and it was wavy to his shoulders. He wore a light blue thobe with a hood pushed back, and he had a large bag slung across his body. Behind him, Daunte saw a cart full of books.

The boy pushed past the guards and stood before Daunte, sweeping into a bow. "Lord Daunte, hello! I'm here to join the Liberation Army!"

"You are?" Daunte asked in surprise.

"Yes, of course I am! I mean, I don't know much about combat but I'm great with books! If you have a library for example, I could manage it for you!"

"I don't have a library," Daunte admitted. "But—why do you want to join this Army?"

The boy looked at him confused. "Eh? Why?" he laughed awkwardly and rubbed at his head. "Ah—maybe you don't know. I'll introduce myself then. My name is—"

"Blaise?!"

The shout behind Daunte startled him and he turned as he heard footsteps racing towards them. Like Keiran, since her arrival at HQ Tamara no longer wore her Sheikh robes. Now she wore a thin veil and shapeless dress that were both the color of dark honey, though she still wore her hair in two plaits. Her eyes were wide with shock as she reached Daunte and Caesar's side to face the newcomer. "Blaise, what are you doing here?!"

"Ah, hello Tamara," the boy, Blaise greeted her. "I'm here to join the Liberation Army."

"Wait, what? You are?!"

Blaise shrugged. "It seemed the appropriate thing to do, given that my fiancée had joined the Army."

"Fiancée?" Daunte echoed, looking at Tamara. The guards also looked surprised, though Caesar did not.

Tamara brushed the bangs out of her face and moved to stand alongside Blaise. She gestured to him. "Lord Daunte, this is Blaise Prísaha. My fiancé." she turned to look at him then. "But you would really join the Army because of me?"

"My parents told me that I had to publicly denounce you as a traitor to save the family's reputation," Blaise said. "Which was rude then they were the ones who pushed the hardest for our arranged marriage. But anyway, the charges against you sounded like total nonsense and out of character for you. I knew that they were lies. So that had me thinking; if the High Clerics were lying about you becoming a traitor, then what else were they lying about?"

Blaise shrugged. "I didn't feel like denouncing you and I didn't want to turn my back on the girl I'm supposed to marry, so I packed everything and ran away."

"Y-You really believe that they lied about me?" Tamara asked in amazement.

"Well everything was fishy," Blaise said nonchalantly. "They promoted Imbuka Liger a little too quickly for it to seem like a coincidence. Plus ever since she became your second-in-command you stopped replying to my letters. And rumors have been flying around the capital that eyewitnesses saw Imbuka lead the slaughter against your soldiers, not you. I didn't believe completely in what the High Clerics were saying, so that automatically made me susceptible to the blasphemy laws. So I left."

"W…What did you parents say?"

"Oh, they disowned me," Blaise confirmed without a change in demeanor. "Mother screamed and wailed and Father said, "You are not my son!"—but honestly, I feel a lot less stressed now that I'm away from them." He looked at Daunte again. "If you'll have me I would like to help you all."

Daunte couldn't help but smile. His actions would seem suspicious given the timing of everything, but I believe he's being sincere.

"Please please please say yes," Blaise interjected before Daunte said anything. "I've been running away from monsters for days, which is not easy with this cart! I don't know the first thing about fighting, so if you refuse me I'll be dead meat!"

Daunte choked on a laugh, but shook Blaise's hand. "Welcome to the Liberation Army."

"Great!" Blaise exclaimed. "Then—"

Then he suddenly fainted.

Daunte and Caesar left Tamara and Blaise with Dr. Yulin. Dr. Yulin reassured them that he was merely exhausted and his feet had blisters, reinforcing Blaise's story that he literally ran away from the capital to HQ.

Well, I have a librarian now. That should help organize the books we have.

They traveled to the southwest building, but before entering Eliasen's shop they heard loud conversations inside Mooney's store. "You go ahead," Caesar told Daunte. "Soldiers will be arriving shortly with the funds I want to bring with us for conversion, so that will take awhile."

"All right," Daunte said, and entered Mooney's store. He immediately smiled when he saw Virgil standing at the counter with Dylan. Even with their backs to him Daunte saw could tell that the usually sullen child was in high spirits, jumping up and down where he stood as Mooney wrapped his figurines. "Good morning, Lord Daunte!"

"Lord Daunte!" Dylan cheered, turning to run over to him. "Father got me some figurines!"

"I'm happy for you," Daunte said sincerely.

"I apologize, Lord Daunte," Virgil called over to him. "I purchased the figurines of Viktor and Flik, so they're no longer in the cases."

"Oh that's okay," Daunte said. I couldn't have afforded them anyways, he added silently.

Despite the trauma they had both endured, Virgil and Dylan quickly adjusted to life in the Liberation Army. Their names joined the Tablet of Stars, and just a couple of days prior Daunte stood witness as Farzin granted Virgil a divorce from his estranged wife. Dylan had not been present for the divorce signing, and Daunte wasn't sure if he was aware of the divorce, but the pair of them were significantly happier now and Daunte himself was happy to see them better.

I'll work hard to keep them happy.

"Are you looking for more figurines, Lord Daunte?" Mooney asked him.

"Yes," Daunte said, looking around the shop. "I think I'll buy one from each case again. May I ask for your help with this?"

"Oh, get this one!" Dylan said encouraginging, pointing into the Dunan Unification War case. "That looks like a giant wolf!"

"That would be Shiro," Mooney confirmed. "A companion to a hunter name Kinnison."

"I'll get him," Daunte said as Mooney approached him. He looked towards the Gate Rune War case and only saw eight figurines inside of it. Ah. The figurines of Flik and Viktor must have come from this case.

"How about that one?" Daunte asked, pointing to a tall woman in a fighting stance.

"Ah, that's Ronnie Bell," Mooney said. "Her fighting prowess is legendary."

"Okay, then." Daunte walked over to the Second Fire Bringer War case. He saw a young man with a stiff but proud posture holding a sword. "Him." he pointed.

"That's Fred Maximillian of the Maximillian Knights," Mooney said. "The figurine to his right is his retainer, Rico. If you would like I can give you a discount if you want to purchase them together."

"Okay," Daunte said. He moved to the Islands Federation War case. He quickly recognized the Nay-Kobold standing in the center of the row. "Who is that?"

"That is Chiepoo," Mooney said. "He was a merchant and a close friend of Lord Lazlo. When Lazlo was banished from Razril on false murder charges, Chiepoo was one of the people who voluntarily joined Lazlo on his exile."

Daunte was moved by his loyalty and nodded. "I'll take him."

At the front case for the Falenan Civil War, Daunte quickly recognized the figurine third from the right. "I-Isn't that Surya's mother?"

"Lady Lyon, yes," Mooney said. "Is that for today, my Lord?"

"Yes, thank you."

His wallet was a little lighter as it usually was when he visited Mooney's shop, but he didn't feel buyer's remorse as he left the shop. Virgil and Dylan still lingered inside but said their goodbyes to him. In the hallway, he saw several soldiers lined up holding bags of money. Daunte observed them with an arched brow for a moment before turning towards the stairs to head up to the third floor with his six new figurines.

Freyr and Lanny were already up there looking at the figurines, but Daunte was surprised to also see Georg in the figurine room. "Good morning, Lord Daunte," he greeted him pleasantly. "You wouldn't happen to have one of my figurines, would you?"

"Not today, sorry," Daunte said. He placed the figurines on their respective platforms. Both Freyr and Lanny looked pleased by the new figurines, and Freyr for his part quickly recognized his aunt. "Aunt Lyon!"

"Ah, Shiro," Georg said, holding up the figurine of the wolf. "I remember him. Loyal and well-tempered. He looks lonely though without Kinnison."

"I-I didn't see him," Daunte said, setting Fred and Rico's figurines down. "I'll make sure to get him next time."

"You'll have your work cut out for you if you want to complete these sets," Georg said, looking around the room. "If these wars follow the Stars of Destiny, that's well over 500 figurines. I've seen the prices in Mooney's shops so I hope you have deep pockets, my Lord."

"I'm not buying them all at once, just when I can afford it," Daunte said.

"Good thinking." Georg looked between the table for the Dunan Unification War and the Falenan Civil War thoughtfully. "I haven't seen one of my figurines yet downstairs. I wonder how much it is? And if Mooney is selling more than one for each set…"

A thought then occurred to Daunte, and he settled his eyes on a specific figurine. The figurine of the person he suspected of being his father. "Georg?"

"What is it?"

Daunte picked up the figurine in question and handed it to Georg. "Do you know who this is?"

"Ah, he served in the Falenan war, right?" Georg asked. His brow furrowed as he looked at the figurine closely. "Ah…I believe so. Please give me a moment. That war was over twenty years ago, after all…"

"Lord Daunte?"

Daunte looked towards the door, feeling his heart sinking as Caesar appeared in the room. "Are you nearly ready? Eliasen has finished converting our funds and soldiers are heading towards Hero's island with the Potch to bring with us."

"Is it safe for us to travel with us much money?" Daunte asked him.

"Oh absolutely not," Caesar said. "But we're going to be spending it anyways the minute we arrive, so it doesn't matter."

"Is this for the Lottery in Zexan and the Grasslands?" Georg said, looking up briefly. "It was quite popular when I was in that region as part of the Ebony Knights."

"Aww, you ruined the surprise," Caesar said playfully. "Yes, it's for the Lottery."

"You're taking our resources to gamble?!" Lanny exclaimed, looking aghast.

"Hey, my Army became quite versed in playing the Lottery during the Second Fire Bringer War," Caesar reassured him. "It netted us much needed funds for our side. And if we play this right, then we'll bring back money of an even higher amount!"

Or lose it all, Daunte thought, but he deliberately kept this to himself. "Excellent idea," he said aloud.

"Lord Daunte, you condone this idea?" Freyr asked.

"Of course I do," Daunte replied without hesitation.

"But—"

"Freyr, you should be reassured that our Commander and Chief Strategist are in full agreement like this," Georg interjected. "Lord Daunte believes in Caesar's plan. So should you."

Freyr flushed in embarrassment but bowed slightly. "Sorry, my Lord."

"No, I'm glad to hear your opinions," Daunte said. "We're in this together. And we will be successful in this."

"I believe you."

"As do I," Lanny said.

"My Lord, shall we—" Caesar said.

"Wait," Georg said suddenly, looking back at the figurine.

"Y-You remember who that is?" Daunte said, unable to hide the eagerness from his tone.

"I do," Georg said. He looked at Daunte as he handed him back the figurine. "He was angry all the time. Never once did I ever see him smile. He was prone to explosive outbursts. Not very many people wanted to deal with him. Prince Freyjadour had extraordinary patience with him"

"…Ah," Daunte said uneasily. "I-I remember Cius telling me something similar." He reset the figurine on the platform. "Do you remember his name?"

"Yes," Georg said. "His name was Nakula."

The Lottery from Suikoden III is my second-favorite mini-game from the Suikoden series. It was a pain resetting the game over and over again, but I made a lot of Potch from it. Never got the grand prize, though…

It's silly I know, but I really do not like Gustav Pendragon. I disliked his attitude and actions in Suikoden II, and his behavior following this game just irks me.