Hello Scrolls and Nazarins, another chapter of my fanfic The One Who Came Back.
Unexpected encounters lead to expected alliances.
With you
The One Who Came Back
Chapter 80 – Pacts
Néia dreamed that someone was giving her a very tight and cozy hug, but there was no usual warmth, just the sweet cold embrace.
"Am I dying?" she thought and then opened her eyes.
The archer was trapped between Rali'ah's icy body and her arms that wouldn't let her move.
With some effort, Néia escaped the strange embrace. Once free, she walked to the mirror and looked at herself. She noticed there were no scars, no signs of necrosis on her hands or any other part of her body, and she had lips again.
"Hello, you finally woke up!" said the voice with cold breath.
"Hello Rali'ah, how long did I sleep?"
"Three days, two nights. You almost died."
"I'm sorry about that. Where are my things, where is my visor?"
"Your things are stored, but you dropped your visor from the tower; it broke and got lost. Why do you still want to wear it? Your eyes are so beautiful," said the dragoness, running her claw up and down Néia's bare back.
Néia turned and showed her usual gaze.
"Aaah! The gaze of a dragon," joked Rali'ah.
"That was a gift from His Majesty."
"Oh! Then we will find it later."
At that moment, the door to the room burst open.
"Lady Baraja! You are awake!" said the crossbow archer.
"Hello Marin, I am fine, thank you for your concern."
"That's good, my lady. We wanted to stay here to protect you, if not for the problem of the white dragon in the middle of the room." Marin pointed to the fact that the dragoness was lying in the middle of the room with everything around her squeezed against the wall.
"I still need to learn the shape-changing magic; maybe I can change into something smaller and less scaly, what do you think, Néia?"
Both archers blushed.
"We wanted to help, Godia wanted to perform a recovery dance to help you, but Rali'ah didn't allow it."
"Marin, bardic magic would have only interfered; it wouldn't have worked well with my own magic," justified the dragoness.
Néia looked at her white hands.
"Thank you again for your concern, let the others in so I can thank them."
"B-but, my lady, you are still... um, naked."
The archer finally realized her state.
"Right, I will get dressed soon," she said without shame.
"Ahem! Also, there are visitors requesting an audience with you, they are important," added Marin.
"Okay, schedule a meeting for an hour from now."
The crossbow archer bid farewell and left the room.
"You should rest."
"I am fine, more than fine, I feel different, too different, what did you do to me? I've never acted this way!" Néia questioned, placing both hands on her waist.
"It must be my influence; I saved your life by sharing part of myself."
"AM I TURNING INTO A DRAGON?!"
"NO! I didn't share anything that strong, just my breath. You healed thanks to that, fortunately, your injuries were caused by cold, my element."
"So no scales will grow on me or... a tail?"
"No, nothing like that. You will just be a little stronger, but the effect is temporary, it will disappear in a few weeks."
"Alright, then I'll get dressed and eat something. I'm starving, I could eat a... dragon," she joked.
"Ooooh! So many promises," Rali'ah replied. "I will return to the post office, I need to rest. I've been maintaining the blizzard around the city for almost a week, I'm exhausted of mana. See you later," she said, slipping up the stairs to leave the room.
When she reached the terrace, she looked around. The winds around the city were already dying down; soon the enemy army would be able to reorganize for another attack. Néia didn't have much time.
Rali'ah threw herself from the top of the Black Tower and glided to the post office courtyard. She walked to her own resting space, where two figures awaited her.
"Welcome, my lady," they said.
"Cast Silence."
"Yes, my lady," they both said as they cast the spell.
"YOU SHOULD HAVE PROTECTED NÉIA!"
"Yes, my lady," said the first.
"I know," said the second, both in tones of regret.
"She arrived almost dead. How hard did you try?"
"FORGIVE US, MY LADY! WE DID OUR BEST!" cried the first of them.
"We did our utmost, my lady. We kept the worst of the blizzard away and forced the quickest and shortest path. Even so, she was too exposed to the winter. We couldn't prevent all the damage to her," said the other, who remained calm.
*THWACK! THWACK!*
"Ouch!"
"Ouch!"
"YOU SHOULD HAVE DONE MORE!" said the dragoness, hitting both Frost Virgins on the head at the same time. "Néia almost died! She can't undergo resurrection now, it would take too long for her to recover. This kingdom would fall before she even woke up."
"So we abandon the 'Martyr' line," said the first Frost Virgin.
"I won't let Néia die!" declared Rali'ah.
"Just as Lord Ainz Ooal Gown's plan dictates," said the second.
"Yes. Of course. Because of the plan," said the dragoness, lying down and finally falling asleep.
...
One hour later
"Lady Néia?"
"Yes, Marin."
"That delegation has arrived!"
"Yes, thank you. Send them in. And thank you for your concern," said Néia to her personal guard, who gathered at the back of the room.
The visiting group entered. Although they were wearing cloaks that covered their clothes, their heads were now uncovered. With a closer look, they could be recognized as famous people.
"Good evening, Lady Baraja."
Néia rose from her desk and greeted the newcomers.
"What brings such illustrious people to these lands at this tumultuous time?"
"We were traveling and decided to stop by here."
"Traveling? I see, it's quite a long way from Re-Estize."
"I suppose we needed a change of scenery."
"Change of scenery? Has anything changed since the last time we met?"
"Besides the fact that you have become who you are now?"
"Besides that. In fact, I would prefer that not to be the reason for you deciding to appear now."
"No, it wasn't. We've seen a lot since that day, almost two years ago. If we had taken another path, perhaps things would have been different."
"If we had taken different paths, there might not be a kingdom to save and only ruins remaining."
"Even so, we would like to offer our help."
"Aren't you mercenaries or workers?"
"Adventurers."
"Then, being from another kingdom, you shouldn't be able to interfere according to your own rules."
"Our kingdom no longer exists. We are now independent."
"That changes the situation, but I know your policies of receiving first, saving later, and as you can see, we are in the middle of a war. Our resources at the moment are... compromised."
At that moment, the smaller figure approached, bent down, and as she stood up, placed something on Néia's desk.
"I think this might have fallen from your pocket."
Néia picked up the object. It was a coin, but not from the Holy Kingdom; it was a silver skull from the Sorcerer Kingdom.
The archer looked at the coin for a few moments, analyzing the situation. That wasn't hers.
"Thank you for... finding it, but I think I can only pay this at the moment," she said, pushing the same coin to the other side of the table.
"Congratulations! You have just hired the services of the Blue Roses," said Lakyus, taking the coin.
"You could have been more direct."
"We didn't know if you would accept our help. Besides, you can thank this one here, it was because of her that we came." Lakyus pointed to Evileye.
"Actually, I'm doing a favor for someone else, someone who couldn't come because of... other commitments," replied the masked mage.
"Could it be?" - "Yes, thank you for coming then. We will need all the help we can get."
"How is the situation? We arrived by teleportation and didn't see the condition of the city."
"Well, we are surrounded, as are the other fortress cities. So, no more help will come. We are on our own. The gates have already been broken once, but we managed to expel the invaders. Now, the blizzard that kept them occupied has ceased. Soon, they will resume the attack and these gates need to be reinforced."
"Then we will split up. Each of us will go to one of the four gates."
"The Sentinels, my personal guard, will accompany you and show you the way."
"THEN LET'S SAVE THIS DAMN CITY!" proclaimed Gargaran, embarrassing Lakyus.
...
Author's Note
Hello, apparently Rali'ah gave Néia more than she wanted. :D
Regarding the Frost Virgins, I can't say if it would be normal for them to have different personalities or if it's because Rali'ah is very young and inexperienced in summoning.
I'll explain why the Blue Roses are there in the next chapter; )