"Very well then, Queen Fitoria. Though on that note, I suppose we should set a few ground rules," I told her, and she nodded.
"Honest answers from you, are all I ask. You may ask any question you can think of, and I shall answer as best I might. Do you have things you would withhold from me?" she asked, and I shrugged.
"I suppose just my real name, and if that's the case, then since you asked a question, let me go first," I told her, and she smiled again at me, seeing the 'trick' for what it was, and having allowed me the first turn. Still, it meant that I could start with anything, and as such, I cut to the heart of the matter.
"What do you want?" I ask, and that question gives the bird woman pause as she stares at me blankly, and then tilts her head to the side.
"I'm afraid you'll have to provide more context than that, as what I want can be many things. More of that stew, for instance, is sounding good about now," she informed me.
"I mean what do you want out of life? Out of existence. What is your desire? Just to live here in these ruins with your children forever? Or to eventually spread out from here, build your own kingdom?" I asked, and she took what felt like an eternity to think over that question, tapping her fingers against her chin as she paced, then sat down, took in a deep breath, and sighed in back out.
"I must admit, I had expected you to start with questions of my abilities, or perhaps my parentage. I have had my children and theirs keeping an eye on all of you, and I'm aware of the sorts of things you've questioned since arriving. I thought you were curious only about the world that is, not about its future," she began, and knowing it WAS a beginning, I let her keep going, rather than admitting…yeah I didn't think about the future often enough, but this time it felt best to find out what the demi-goddess wanted, before making any decisions myself.
"The answer, I'm afraid, is far less than you'd probably want to hear. I am strong, strong enough that no human kingdom, with all their armies, could resist me. Were I to take it in my head, conquest would be a simple thing to achieve," she admitted.
"However, I have little care for such things. What use would their kingdoms be for me? I care nothing for their people beyond that they live. Their peasants would bore me, and their nobility would annoy me. At best, they'd be a distraction, and not one I'd relish," she explained.
"No, my desire is simply to be here, with my children, to exist within this perpetual moment of joy that they find, and to leave it only when required by the world's need. That is my desire, and when this is over, when you have left, or perhaps claimed a throne for yourself, I will be content to return here and allow the rest of the world to forget me once again, as they tend to do every generation or so," she finished, sounding…honest with her answer.
"As I said, I will not lie to you, Hero of the Bow. You deserve to hear the truth, if you are to make a decision of your own in regards to me," she said, responding to my thoughts again. I figured it was less mind reading though, and more experience. After all, I began to hum a tune in my mind, and she didn't react at all, no joining it or looking at me funny, just a stare like always.
"Okay, I'm satisfied with that. Ask your question," I offered, and she nodded.
"Then I would turn it around to you. What do you want, Hero? What is your desire in all this?" she said bluntly, but I was expecting it. After all, what we wanted was pretty much at the crux of any agreement between us. I was forced to think, however, as my own desires were…more complex than simply living in a place like this forever. It might have been heaven to a man from a thousand years ago, a haven with no raiders, and shelter from the elements. To me? It seemed just as dull as the lives of people were to Fitoria.
"Honestly, I'm not entirely certain. Before coming here, not dying alone was top of my list. Maybe not with a family, but with friends, and that was it. Maybe some new game to play. They had some cool ones coming out soon before I was taken. Things I was looking forward to, though now I'll never know how they turn out," I said, lamenting a bit of lost media. I'd always wonder to myself how the game series about magic users with the ability to shape living beings was going to end, as they faced down their own creations, and one or the other would be found wanting.
"Ask me that question when I first got here, and I'd have said, to level up, become stronger, forever. To eventually grow into the sort of person everyone looked to for protection, and be able to grant my power to others, to create champions with a wave of my hand, and sit back watching them do the hard part," I admitted, looking into the heavens, and watching the twinkling lights therein.
"But I can't want that now. Not just that anyway. I have a city to run, a city I named after this place, apparently," I said with a chuckle, turning to her, and finding a smirk on her own lips at the joke, but she banished it back to her more neutral expression.
"It is actually the eighteenth city I'm aware of to bear the name. Many were great places of their age, and I'm hoping yours will grow into it in time," she told me, and I nodded, thinking on that, before continuing.
"I didn't want that city, I'll be honest. I didn't want to…to save people, people who wouldn't be able to just go on about their lives, while I left on more adventures. It's annoying, like you said, to be responsible for others. But now that it's there, I refuse to ignore it," I said the words with far more conviction that I'll admit to feeling, but still, they felt right to say.
"My actions, not just as a Hero, but now as a leader, will reflect on this world, regardless of what I want, so to answer the heart of the question, I want to bring peace, prosperity, and happiness to this world, leaving it just that little bit better than when I was summoned," I tell her firmly, and she tilts her head to the side, as if considering my words, before smiling at me, a genuine expression taking over her face.
"That is as good a response as I think I could hope for, and I can sense the honesty in it. I am satisfied, ask your next question," she said, and I had to think for only a moment before realizing I was curious about one thing.
"Why did you show up after the T-rex thing? If you were there to fight it, then you would have arrived faster, that whole show with your children was mere cover, and I think we both know it. And in a straight fight, that was a battle we would lose, your own curiosity at us having killed it says you knew that too. That means you weren't there for it, so why were you there, and why bring us here?" I asked, and she nodded.
"You are correct, I did not even know it had been unsealed until I arrived, and I had anticipated Heroes would lead it out of the city to do battle with it. Imagine my surprise when, instead, you fought it in the middle of the populated area," she said, obviously a dig at how we operated, but I shrugged.
"We had forces for backup there, and it was technically contained by the manor walls, keeping the civilians back. Taking it out of there would have involved taking it through the city. It makes sense to try and contain it for as long as possible, and had we not been able to kill it, I would have probably advised we lead it somewhere less populated and keep it in a running fight until we wore it down over hours," I explained, not really trying to justify myself to her, but just giving her a glimpse into my thought process, and she nodded in understanding at it.
"I will accept that, for now. Still, you are correct, I had arrived because a Royal Filolial had been found, a replacement after centuries of waiting. I was there to observe her, and instead, I was witness to Heroes fighting something well above them in terms of power, something they should not have had a chance against anymore than the Heroes of old who were forced to seal it away," she said, looking at me, as if expecting me to add to it, but I just stared at her, and so she continued.
"Then I sensed it die. I sensed a life that was so powerful that it could shake the heavens if it wanted, simply end. And that intrigued me. I had my children cover my entrance to the city, gauging you as best I could, before confronting you, and bringing you here. I still plan on testing 'Filo', but I will admit, the Heroes of this group interest me almost as much now, and that is no mean feat," she said, having answered my question, and without a word, I motioned for her to ask her next one.
"There isn't much else I can ask you that I do not already know. You and the Shield Heroes' exploits are well known, and my children allow me to have eyes and ears that range the whole of this kingdom and far beyond. That said, given what you answered before, I am curious. When the time comes, and the Waves have passed, will you return to your own world, or remain in this one?" she asked.
"I will remain here," I said, not even having to think for a moment, and that seemed to be shocking to her, as she recoiled a little, before looking at me.
"You will miss nothing of your old life then? Friends and family? Or perhaps simply something like sights and smells?" she asked, and I looked at her funny now, before shrugging.
"I will, obviously, miss some things. I can't get pizza, breadsticks, or my typical junk food here. Don't think I can find peanut butter cups at all, which is almost enough to make it worth going back," I admitted, even if I did like what Naofumi had made, it wasn't the same.
"There's also video games and stories. I was in the middle of a few good ones back home. Nothing you'd care about, but they were what I lived for, pathetic as they might sound to some, but I enjoyed my life, and that's more than I know others can say," I told her, smiling a little, before sighing.
"As for family? None immediate, and extended stuff wasn't really on my list of people to hang out with. Friends? I work alone most of the time. I haven't seen any of my coworkers face to face in over two years, and rarely left home because it wasn't necessary," I explained, sighing a little. It wasn't the kind of life others would enjoy, but for me, it was as close to paradise as I think anyone could really get.
"It's why I mentioned dying alone before. I'd rather not do that, even if it was the trajectory I was heading," I tell her at last, and she blinks a little, before seemingly understanding.
"And yet, the story of the Bow Hero speaks of a leader of men, one who constantly inspires those around him, and aids even the lowly workers with their tasks. If you are like that here, why not back where you come from?" she asked, and I had to think for a moment, before shrugging.
"I never said I was antisocial or anything. I just never…never went out seeking to be. I didn't like bars, I don't play many multiplayer games, and the dating scene has never been my idea of a good time. Ask anyone on my team back home, and they'd say I was an outgoing, likable, if somewhat annoying guy…I know that for a fact because it was on my evaluation three years in a row from several people who knew me," I explain, and that causes her to nod after a moment, understanding my words.
"So, this world has forced you to be more than what you were, and rather than go back, you would continue down this road," this time not a question, but simply something she had surmised. It was the truth, so I saw no reason to say anything in response or correct her.
"Very well then, as I have asked two questions, and have no others, I allow you to ask two more, and then this game shall be done," she declared, catching me off guard, as I had not expected her to be generous enough to give a question away for the second one she'd asked. Still, I cleared my throat, thinking quickly of my next question.
"What is up with your stats?" I asked as bluntly as possible.
"I…I'm afraid you'll have to be more precise with that," she responded after a moment of silence, and I got up, quickly using (Insight) on her and bringing her stat sheet into my view.
"On every other stat sheet I've seen in this world, even ones I've affected with my boosts, people have one copy of a stat, that is the sum total of their abilities, natural and unnatural, and everything about them," I explained.
"But you? There's two sets of stats. The first is…about the same as that T-Rex monster Idol let loose, which, given you and it are similar levels makes some sense," I told her, hoping to frame the information as best as I could.
"However, you have a second set of stats, almost an order of magnitude greater, off to the side, adding to your base stats, and I can't understand that. Your status effects don't show up to me, probably because of our level difference, but at the same time, they are clearly different than a buff anyway, and even watching right now, they're going up and down a few points," I told her, and she nodded, and then…moved her hand in a way I and the others did when using our interfaces.
It wasn't necessary, to be fair, the menus were completely thought controlled, but I'd noticed that Naofumi, myself, Motoyasu, and even Ren sometimes all mimed scrolling through them. That…was shocking, and I watched as she did some other stuff, not much, before sighing as she pushed something, and my stat window on her changed abruptly, her extra stats going away, leaving her with a little less of the oppressive presence she'd had since she'd appeared.
"That…you're still more than I or any of the others could take, but nowhere near what you were. Did you deactivate some skill or…?" I trailed off as something else popped into my view, namely a window asking if I wanted to 'equip' the Vassal Carriage, making me look at her through the window, before turning towards the Carriage, which appeared to be glowing in my view, as if beckoning me.
"I have, for centuries, been the wielder of this Weapon, and through it, I channel not only the power of motion that is imbued into it, but also a bond with my children. Each one of them lends their power to me, and with that power, I am greater than anyone else could hope to be," she explained as she saw understanding dawning on my face. She then walked over and placed her hand on the thing, her stats shooting back up, and the draw of it leaving me, the window closing.
"That's…an incredible power," I admitted, looking at her, and she nodded. However, before she could say anything, I suddenly felt a rush. Feeling breathless, I nearly fell over, until I touched the nearest thing to me, the Vassal Carriage, and then watched as my view of the world was obscured by my menu, the windows opening seemingly at random, as information flowed into me.
Fitoria, seeing this, rushed to my side, but I couldn't even hear her as chimes seemed to be echoing through my ears, leaving me blind and deaf to the world, before finally, at last, one window, one I'd never seen before, with the symbols of the four weapons I recognized from the Class Up ceremony in a diamond formation, the four of them blinking for a moment, before Sword and Spear went dark.
Watching, I then saw more icons 'spawn' from the others, two for each, ones I remembered from the Class Up as well, but then the one I now knew had to be the Carriage icon lit up, and two more icons spilled out of it, the pair of them blinking in sync, before they froze, and I was left staring at them, the menu suddenly filling with words as I was offered a choice of upgrades, which left me with only one thing to say.
"Wah-huh?"
(A/N: For anyone curious, the game mentioned when he thought about wanting to see how it ends was Geneforge, a series of neat CRPGs that I personally enjoy a lot, about a world where mages called 'Shapers' create living beings to serve them, and those beings are beginning to desire independence from their makers. Currently the series is getting remade by their creator one at a time, though the original five do exist, and provide a neat world to get lost in.)