Snyderverse Neptunia Snippets

by Derald Snyder

Snippet 74- Meeting With Cordelia

"How's that, Laeur?" Sophia asked as she finished bandaging the redhead's shoulder. "Do you feel better now?"

"My shoulder feels better," Laeur sighed. "Now if only you had something for my wounded pride..."

"Everyone makes mistakes. Don't let Miss Nel's words get you down," Jacob advised. "She only chastised you out of concern for your safety..."

"We're back!" Alear announced as she and Nel entered the mobile tank. "Unfortunately, we were only able to find my sword..."

"Well, that's a perfect symbol of my failure, isn't it," her twin said bitterly, looking down at the floor.

"Well, perhaps that will teach you to not just charge the enemy head-on next time," Nel spoke up. "Remember, in war there are no heroes, only mourners."

"I think I read that quote in a book once," Jacob mused. "Anyway, now that the monster's dead, we should head back to civilization..."

"Can I switch places with you, Alear?" Laeur requested. "So I don't have to brace against the shaking with my injured shoulder?"

"Sure thing," Alear nodded, the twins shifting past each other while Nel stepped around them as they got comfortable. "All right, I think we're ready..."

"Okay, here we go," Jacob nodded, the hatch closing as the tank revved into gear, driving back the way they had come...

*Some time later...*

The mobile tank slowly drove into town, Jacob doing his best to stay in his lane despite the vehicle's size... "I hate driving through cramped places like this," he muttered under his breath.

"We really appreciate you doing this for us," Alear assured him. "So where are you going to drop us off at?"

"Hmmm..." Jacob pondered as he looked around, only for a military jeep to cut him off, forcing him to hit the brakes! "Gah! What the heck-?!"

"Halt in the name of the governor!" called the soldier in the front passenger seat, pulling out his rifle. "What business do you have here?"

"Wait, the governor's here?!" Laeur gasped. "But this isn't the capital of Faerghus..."

"Ugh... Sophia, go out there and tell these guys we mean no harm, okay?" Jacob said, mildly annoyed.

"Of course," the blonde nodded, climbing out of her seat and exiting through the hatch, cautiously approaching the jeep. Fortunately the armed soldier lowered his gun as he and Sophia began conversing, though no one in the tank could discern their conversation. After a few minutes, they nodded to each other, Sophia rushing back to the hatch. "Okay, apparently Governor Rufus Blaiddyd is here to try and connect with the common people after too many complaints about his rule... this jeep is going to escort us someplace where we can park without causing any incidents."

"If the governor's here, we should try and meet him," Laeur suggested.

"And tell him about the giant bird monster we felled," Alear added.

"Well, let's talk about that after we park," Jacob responded, turning the wheel to follow the jeep down a side road...

*After parking...*

The group of five walked down the street to the town square, where the governor was giving a speech to the citizens, though there was a general atmosphere of distrust among the crowd. "Is that him?" Alear pointed to a man with combed shoulder length blond hair and pale skin, wearing a headband and dressed in full plate armor.

"Yes, that is Rufus Thierry Blaiddyd, if I recall correctly," Sophia affirmed. "Though, this is my first time seeing him in person..."

"Mine too," Jacob nodded. "Who's that woman next to him?" He pointed to a beautiful woman with light orange hair, wearing a dark red dress that was open nearly to her navel, and showed a bit of leg as well, accented with a feathered fur coat that kept her from crossing the line to 'slutty'.

"I believe that is Cordelia Armin, a scholar and Fearghus' high mage. It's said that she saved the province from an epidemic several years ago," Sophia explained.

"Hmph, she's probably the only reason the commoners don't outright rebel against the governor," an NPC commented from nearby.

"Really?" Alear turned to the man. "Could you elaborate? We're not from around here..."

"It's been hell since Lambert was assassinated in Duscur!" another NPC spoke up. "The only reason that Rufus is in office is because he's Lambert's brother, and Cordelia gave him her endorsement! But he's a joke compared to the previous governor!"

"Indeed, a lot of people wish that Lambert's son Dimitri would run for the governor's office instead," the first NPC nodded. "Even though he's still a bit young..."

"You don't say..." Laeur nodded to himself. "Oh, it looks like he's finishing up. Let's see if we can meet him."

"Better let us take the lead," Jacob spoke up. "Our reputation as top-notch hunters should help smooth things over a little..."

"Sure," Alear nodded. So the group of five headed up to the stage, only to be halted by a few armed soldiers.

"Hold! What do you think you're doing?" one of the soldiers demanded.

"Please calm down, we mean no harm," Sophia said to him. "This is Jacob Fredrick, and I'm his mechanic. We simply wished to inform your governor about a dangerous monster that we've slain..."

"Did you say Jacob Fredrick?!" another voice spoke up, Rufus Blaidydd coming up behind the soldiers with Cornelia not far behind. "Ah, it's an honor to meet such an accomplished hunter as yourself! But who are these people with you? I thought you only had one assistant..."

"Nel deSombron. I'm a free agent from Planeptune," Nel introduced herself. "But I suffered a tragedy there, so I came here to Lowee to take my mind off things. Jacob and Sophia agreed to let me travel with them for a while."

"I'm Alear, and this is my twin brother Laeur," Alear spoke up next. "We're mercenaries from Leicester Province, but this is our first time in Faerghus, so these three agreed to help us find our way around..."

"We were looking to meet with you on behalf of our current employer, Dennis Harmon," Laeur appended.

"Excuse me?!" Cordelia gasped, coming up next to Rufus. "Did you say Dennis Harmon?"

"Yes, we did..." Alear nodded uncertainly.

"Oh, do you know him, Lady Cordelia?" Rufus turned to his assistant.

"We've met in passing a few times. Actually, my lord, would it be alright with you if I spoke with these two in private? I believe I know what Dennis might want, but I wish to confirm it with them..."

"Well, if you know their employer, I suppose there's no problem," the governor shrugged.

"Very good. Come along, now," Cordelia gestured to the twins as she walked off.

"Ah, sorry, I guess we'll have to meet up again later," Laeur lamented to the others.

"Be careful," Nel said under her breath. "Something rubs me the wrong way about that woman..."

"We'll be fine," Alear assured her, before she and her brother left to catch up to Cordelia.

"Now, as for Mr. Fredrick... if you're expecting payment, I'm afraid our treasury is a bit dried up at the moment," Rufus said with an apologetic look.

"Because you waste it all, you grifter!" an NPC shouted from the distance, one of the soldiers promptly heading in their direction to escort them away.

"Actually, it was the Lowee Guild that hired us," Sophia pointed out. "We'll be getting our payment from them, so don't worry..."

"Oh, I see. Good, good," the blond man nodded. "Although, Lady Cordelia doesn't really like the Guild... she says I should not give them the time of day..."

"They do seem to be a bit secretive," Nel recalled.

"True, but I'm fairly good at figuring out liars, and I've never detected any outright deception from them," Sophia countered.

"And I trust Sophia's judgement," Jacob nodded with a smile.

"Well, perhaps she had a bad experience with them or something," Rufus shrugged...

*Isolated Room*

Cordelia gestured Laeur and Alear through the door, before shutting it behind herself. The room in question had some random items and furniture in stacks- it was clearly meant for storage. "All right, now," Cordelia began, "do you mind telling me exactly why Ghetsis sent you here?"

"W-what the-?! How did you-?!" Laeur gasped as he and his sister recoiled in shock.

"Relax, I'm one of you. My real name is Cleobulbus," the older woman said in a soothing tone. "I assume you must be those 'dragon warriors' he was working on. Last I knew, he was failing miserably. I'm surprised his efforts actually bore some fruit..."

"Ah... we don't really know anything about that," Laeur said with a hand behind his head. "We have a sister named Veyle, who looks younger than us, but she woke up before we did... and she knows her way with a dagger."

"I see. She must have been a prototype, then," Cordelia/Cleobulbus nodded. "Well, we can put that to the side for now. Again, I ask: Why did Ghetsis send you here?"

"To get the lay of the land, see what the citizens think of Governor Blaidydd," Alear answered. "It sounds like they're not very happy with him..."

"We weren't actually expecting to meet the governor personally, mind you," Laeur added. "We didn't even know he was in this town until the soldiers halted us..."

"...I see. So our meeting was just a coincidence, though a quite fortunate one," Cordelia nodded with a slight smile. "But that other woman... Nel, was it? We have absolutely no information on her. What do you know about her?"

"It seems she's a 'dragon warrior' like us," Alear replied. "Except, she can actually transform into a dragon!"

"What?! Are you serious?" Cordelia gasped.

"Yes, we saw it with our own eyes!" Laeur insisted. "We couldn't believe it, but she wrestled with that giant raven, so it wasn't a trick...!"

"She seems to fight with a spear in human form," his sister added. "But we don't know how exactly she transforms... we were a bit too intimidated to ask; especially after she chastised Laeur for being reckless..."

"In hindsight, jumping on that raven's back wasn't the best idea," Laeur admitted, subconsciously rubbing his left shoulder. "But Alear pierced one of it's wings with her sword, and Nel burned the other wing with her dragon breath, then Jacob blasted it with his tank's cannon, resulting in the raven's death."

"I see. Well, excellent teamwork," Cordelia nodded... then her face turned serious. "Still, a woman who can actually transform into a dragon... that's concerning, to say the least. It seems that Ghetsis' efforts to create you two wasn't an exercise in folly after all..."

"But you know, none of them really seemed that bad," Alear mused. "Nothing like what Father told us the surface-dwellers were like..."

"Well, keep in mind we're a good distance from Lowee's capital, where the goddess resides," Cordelia pointed out. "That's why we've infiltrated positions of power here, because faith in the fell CPU isn't quite as strong out here. Still, you should keep in mind not to get too attached... those three could easily become your enemies when we make our move to topple the fell goddess."

"With all due respect, Miss Cleobulbus, I don't think we'd stand much of a chance against that tank," Laeur argued.

"Well, of course we wouldn't throw you two into a fight you couldn't win," Cordelia shook her head. "But that's what this mission was about, was it not? To gain experience that will prove useful later?"

"More or less," Alear concurred. "So what should we do now?"

"I will teleport you back to Ghetsis," Cordelia stated, "and you can inform him of all you told me."

"But shouldn't we say goodbye to Jacob and the others first?" Laeur asked.

"Now, now, what did I say about not getting too attached?" Cordelia admonished. "Don't worry, I'll tell them that you went back to Leicester to report to your employer. And that you hope you'll meet again and all that..."

"Well... alright," Laeur assented. "I still hope that we won't have to fight them, though..."

"Well, you'll cross that bridge when you come to it, I'm sure," Cordelia shrugged. "Remember, you're supposed to be warriors, not charity workers. Letting your heart dictate your actions will only get you killed. Surely Ghetsis has taught you that much..."

"Well, he did say that we shouldn't trust anybody on the surface," Alear allowed. "Um, present company excepted, of course..."

"Of course," Cordelia smiled, raising her hands as she began to cast a spell. "Well, off you go then. Give Ghetsis my regards, won't you?"

"We will," the twins responded in unison, vanishing in a flash as they teleported away.

Snippet 74- End*