For a war room, it was rather homey, with bright red and bronze decor and carved cherry wood furniture. The floors were polished marble, with strategically placed carpets over them. At the center was a large sand table, which several mages were operating to show the current state of the border with Elroad, along with the disposition of friendly forces.
Crowded around the table were the Dragon Knights, all wearing ornate armor emblazoned with each warrior's personal heraldry. Chanticlair's was that of a red rooster, while Dust had traded in whatever his old personal heraldry had been for the winged shield of House Dustiness. Darkness wore her typical adventuring gear, which was hardly out of place with its feather mantle and bright yellow tabard.
For his part, Kazuma was dressed in a green tunic with light leather armor, supplemented with a green headband and Chunchumaru at his hip. Rin wore a gold circlet with a red gem at the center, along with a white and gold tunic and green trousers. Her tail was on full display, and while several people had eyed it askance, she just glowered at them until they dropped their eyes. So far, no one had been daring enough to question her on it.
"We're not certain where they're holding King Leo and the Princes Leopold and Leonard," Chanticlair said, gesturing as the table shifted under the mage's command. "But odds are good they're in the Elroadian capital of Vivalas, in the palace dungeons."
"How well defended is the border?" Rin asked, gnawing at her lip as she studied the map.
"Along the main roads, quite well. They have units of mages and archers stationed here, here, and here," Chanticlare said, indicating the places where major highways linked the two nations.
"But there's big stinking gaps between them," Kazuma said, shaking his head slowly. "Won't they try to cover them?"
"They can try, but we have hundreds of miles of border with Elroad," Chanticlair said with a grim smile. "And while they can guard the mountain passes, trying to guard their entire border is sheer folly. The terrain itself is the main defense against an attack, on foot that is. But guarding the capital…that's another matter."
"We're not going on foot. We're striking on dragonback. We get in, rescue my father and brothers, and get out," Rin said, tracing a route with a simple spell that passed over a mountain range that was essentially impassible for the ground-bound Elroadians.
"Yes. I think we're most likely to meet resistance when we reach the city itself by that route. " Chanticlair said grimly. He gestured, and the map zoomed in on Vivalas, which was surrounded by high towers.
"These fortifications each have powerful siegecraft atop them, along with at least one archmage. Our dragons are fast and powerful-"
"And terribly dashing," Hoyin said, displaying her harpy feather fan. She was dressed in an enormous and very frilly pink hoop skirt, with her silver hair done up in an elaborate braid. She was probably the most ostentatiously dressed of the dragons, but not by a wide margin.
"-and very fashionable," Chanticlair agreed, flushing slightly. "But as beautiful as my Hoyin is, I'm afraid all the lace and silk in the world won't protect against enchanted ballista bolts."
"Then we smash the towers and rescue the king! I can earn my keep after all," Hoyin sniffed, and the other dragons made various growls of affirmation.
"Nope," Kazuma said, cracking his knuckles. "This calls for an infiltration mission. Myself and a couple of other sneaky types get in there and take out one of the towers. They have overlapping fields of fire, but if one tower is disabled, there will be a narrow corridor that will allow all the dragons to fly in and decimate the Elroadian forces before we rescue King Leo."
"An intriguing plan," Chanticlair mused, stroking his mustaches. He turned to Rin, raising an eyebrow. "I take it you will be leading this covert operation, Your Highness?"
She nodded in the affirmative. "I'm a mage myself, and Kazuma has contacted an infiltration expert who will be helping us take out these towers."
"Oh?" Chanticlair looked about, frowning. "And where is this so-called expert of yours?"
"So called? My good sir, I take offense at that," a silver haired youth said, adjusting her freshly stolen monocle.
Chanticlair slowly reached up to his eye, which was now bare of his ornamentation. A smile quirked at his lips. "Well, I must say, young m-"
Hoyin elbowed Chanticlair in the chest so hard his armor dented and he let out a pained gasp. "Lady," she corrected with a sniff. "Your vision really is getting bad, Chanty. Maybe you should retire."
"My vision is just fine when people don't steal my glasses," Chanticlair muttered, even as Darkness let out a delighted gasp.
"Chris! You came!" she cried, running over to wrap her friend in a warm embrace.
Chris laughed, returning the hug, then grinning cheekily at Kazuma. "Well, Lowly Assistant, it looks like you've got yourself in a bind! Fortunately, your Boss is here to help!"
Kazuma bowed low, returning the smile. "Thanks, Chief. I knew that we could rely on the Silver Masked Thief brigade!"
"Silver Masked Thief?" Chanticlair's eyes went wide. "Wasn't that the famous thief who infiltrated the Belzergian Capital, and is wanted on crimes of high treason for stealing Divine Treasures from the castle?"
"Alas, we don't currently have an extradition treaty with Belzerg, nor they one with us. As such, the Crown is simply hiring a skilled infiltration expert and Thief to deal with the enemy fortifications," Rin sniffed.
Chanticlair grinned at that, stroking his mustache. "Ah, very well, your Highness. Indeed, if, ah, she is the Silver Masked Thief, then I have full confidence in her ability to execute this plan."
"Lady Dustiness will also be accompanying us into battle, along with Sir Chelka and Faitfore," Rin said. "We'll handle the infiltration mission. Once the tower is disabled, I'll launch a green flare from the top. That will be the Dragon Knights' signal to move in and rescue my father and brothers from the palace dungeons."
"A reasonable plan. We'll adapt when something goes wrong," Chanticlair said with a nod.
Kazuma winced. "So, uh, you know about our track record with plans, huh?"
"Young man, I am merely an experienced campaigner. Something always goes wrong. The one who wins is the one who adapts best to the vagaries of fortune, or just prays the loudest to Lady Eris," Chanticlair said with an amused chuckle.
"Oh don't sweat that one. I think the Big E is listening to us pretty well," Chris said with a wink. "And Kazuma and I have always been lucky."
After that, there was a brief flurry of activity, as the dragons strutted outside with their knights, transforming back into their draconic forms. The younger dragons, who hadn't yet gained the ability to take on human shape, looked on jealously at their elders and their resplendent finery. It was a bit odd to realize that Faitifore was considered an "elder" dragon since she looked like a little girl, but Kazuma was plenty familiar with the 500 year old loli dragon trope.
"How old is Faitfore anyway?" Kazuma asked Dust as they prepared to mount up.
Rin glared daggers at him for the remark. "Kazuma. You don't ask a lady her age!"
"I'm not really sure. I rescued her from some rich prick who was using her as a slave. Back then, she couldn't take on human shape, as she was just a Greater Dragon. So, I think she's probably at least 500? But she could be as young as four or as old as six hundred. Just depends on when she awakened," Dust said with a shrug. When Darkness and Rin both glared at him, he grew defensive.
"What?! She's a young dragon! Little kids like to brag about their age! She'd tell you herself if she knew!"
Faitfore turned her great head around, nodding soberly in agreement with her "papa." She was alabaster in coloration, with a slightly duller underbelly, along with feathery scales all over her body. Most of them were in the range of silver, grey, or white, with a few pale blues as well. Some dragons had striations or other patterns on their hides, and all had differing numbers and shapes of horns.
Hoyin was by far the largest of the dragons, with a silver colored coat and an off-white underbelly, along with giant head spikes and a spiked tail. The other dragons all looked to her, but she bowed to Faitfore, as she was bearing the Princess. Chanticlair urged her closer, and he smiled and waved to Rin. "Well, Princess. I trust that this particular flight with Sir Chelka will go better than your previous one."
"Well, this time I have you as an escort, do I not? And besides, he's not the man you should be worried about," Rin said, sticking her nose in the air in a very Leonore expression.
Chanticlair guffawed and slapped his knee. "True! Lady Dustiness, I trust you will ensure Sir Sato keeps his hands where you can see them. Now, let us fly!"
They lifted off into the skies, with Rin gasping in delight and snuggling up to Kazuma, gripping him tightly as they flew. From Kazuma's perspective, they weren't all that high up, no more than a couple of thousand feet, but it was still windy and cold. They were all wearing thick clothes and goggles for the flight, but to Rin and Darkness it was a rather novel experience.
"Can you believe it?! We're actually flying!" Rin shouted into Kazuma's ear as they flew.
"Yeah, didn't think I'd ever get to fly again," he admitted.
"You've flown before!?" Rin said, her expression disbelieving.
"Yeah, my family flew to Hawaii for vacation when I was 10. It was kinda boring, honestly, especially when my Gameboy ran out of batteries," Kazuma admitted.
"How could you ever think flying was boring!? Chris, he's lying, right?" Rin demanded, craning her neck around.
"Eh, not this time. They've got some pretty wild stuff in Japan, or so I've heard," Chris said with a shrug.
Kazuma blinked at that. "Boss, when did you learn about Japan?"
Chris flushed and glanced away. "Uh, you know about my mission from Lady Eris, right? Well, uh, I did some research into Japan. A lot of the summoned heroes left notes. So they talked about flying on these 'airplanes' and such."
Rin looked disappointed, so Kazuma kissed her on the cheek. "Don't worry. This is a lot more interesting, and it's more fun to be flying with you. It's my first dragonflight at any rate, so we can share that."
"Well, I'm glad you'll stoop to our level," Rin laughed. She glanced back at Chris. "So, um, I noticed you haven't asked about…"
"Eh, don't worry. You're doing a pretty good job impersonating Leonore. I've robbed Bryndle before, and she's a right bitch. Plus, I owed you one for finally hooking my girl Darkness up with a proper man! Never thought I'd say that about Dust, but it's good to see him turn his life back around."
"C-Chris!" Darkness stammered.
"What? You've needed a man and to get laid for a long time! Lady Eris understands if you don't always wait for marriage, trust me. Just make sure you tie the knot before you pop out the first kid and you're good," Chris told her.
"T-this is not the sort of discomfort I enjoy," Darkness muttered, looking away.
"Are you pregnant?" Kazuma asked her curiously.
She turned and glared at him. "I don't know, are YOU?"
Kazuma opened his mouth, blinked, then turned to Rin. "Uh…."
She blinked at him herself, then reddened. "Well, um…we er…haven't exactly been consistent with using the potion, and, well, no offense Kazuma but… you couldn't pull out of a barn door."
"What!? You mean you're-" Kazuma felt like he was about to fall off the dragon, and Rin hastily reassured him.
"I'm just a few days late! That's sort of normal, I'm usually pretty irregular, what with the adventuring life and all. It's no big deal. I'm sure Darkness knows what I'm talking about."
"A-actually, ah, I am very regular…though, um, I-I was late for the first time this week…" Darkness admitted.
Kazuma and Dust shared horrified looks as Chris giggled hysterically behind them. They didn't say anything, but Kazuma knew they were both thinking the same thing.
Oh shit. I am so not ready to be a dad…
Though to be fair, Dust was already a dad. Kazuma was somewhat jealous that he already had an adorable daughter. It wouldn't be so bad if it was a girl…
"Sorry, Kazuma. Don't worry, you can still name your son Chris. Mine is short for Christian, his can be short for Christopher," Chris laughed.
"Why should we name our kid after you!? And how do you know it's a boy, huh!?" Kazuma demanded.
"Because you'll need a boy to be the heir, right?" Chris asked innocently.
"Forget that, we're rescuing this stupid king and giving the crown back to Leonore the second she returns. Shit, shit, shit! I didn't…I can't actually be pregnant, right?!" Rin asked desperately.
"You should see a healer, hun," Chris told her gently. "You too, Darkness. Though with your constitution I'm not really worried about it. You'd enjoy it if you got morning sickness."
"I definitely would not. That is not the sort of pain I enjoy," Darkness muttered, but she was drooling slightly, so Kazuma didn't believe a word of it.
"Uh, we'll deal with that…later. We're crossing the border into Elroad now, get ready! They might have an ambush waiting for us," Dust warned.
A river, flowing between sets of stoney hills, passed below them, and everyone tensed. However, nothing happened, and after another minute of flying, they breathed a sigh of relief.
"Looks like we're free and clear to Vivalas!" Dust said confidently. "And, uh, Tina, sweetie…if you are pregnant…I mean, I already promised to marry you, but er…your father…"
"Will be thrilled," Darkness said with a heavy sigh. "But Dust…under no circumstances can we allow that man to have any say in what we name our future children. I will not inflict that man's 'creative' names on anyone else."
"Well, at least someone in your family has some sense, thank Eris for small mercies," Chris muttered.
"Definitely wouldn't thank Aqua," Kazuma muttered, which made Chris laugh hysterically to the point that she nearly fell off of Faitfore.
"Heads up, we're nearly at Vivalas!" Dust called. "We'll be putting down far enough away that they shouldn't see us."
They landed amidst hills, sparsely populated with scrub brush and a few small trees. The area they put down in was a dry riverbed amidst a small thicket of thorny plants. Faitfore transformed back into her child form, already in an adorable dress and wide sun hat.
"Now remember, we're just tourists here for the casinos," Kazuma said, pulling out a pair of sunglasses and a cheap suit. Dust and Darkness had put away their armor, Darkness wearing a matching dress to Faitfore who was going as her and Dust's daughter (which was true enough anyway) while Rin had on a cocktail dress.
"I am so not looking forward to walking to the city in heels," Chris muttered, changing into a dress of her own behind a bush. "Infiltration should happen in something more practical."
"Well, you're the one with the bag of holding," Kazuma pointed out, as they stuffed their armor into the Divine Treasure that Chris had "borrowed" from some noble after the hapless idiot Aqua had recruited had gotten themselves killed for a second time.
"Meh. It still doesn't feel right," Chris said. "Come on, the gates are only a few miles away and it'll be dawn soon."
They marched out of their hiding place onto the road, which was smoothly paved with what looked like asphalt of all things. "Sheesh. Talk about a historic anachronism," he muttered. "For a fantasy world, the tech is all over the place."
"Huh? You mean the road? Kazuma, they mine this stuff off old lake beds. They've been using it to pave roads for forever," Rin said, stomping her foot on the tarry black material.
"Yeah, Kazuma. The Greeks used asphalt as a paving material since the seventh century BC, or the Jimmu Era by your calendar," Chris pointed out.
Kazuma paused. "How the hell do you know about all this stuff, Chris? I don't even know what the hell Greeks used as a building material!"
"I read a lot," she said breezily, though she was blushing slightly, and Kazuma figured she was hiding something again. He didn't have time to worry about that now.
They hiked along the road, which had plenty of wagons and carts heading towards the city. However, as they approached the gates, they found a long line that wasn't moving.
"Let me check this out," Chris said, kicking off her heels. "I have a sneaking suspicion they're trying to keep us out."
She vanished from sight, and not even Kazuma's enhanced senses could locate her. They waited impatiently for about 20 minutes as the sun began to rise and the desert heat intensified, until Chris reappeared.
"Yep. The city is buttoned up tight. Not even letting in produce wagons, which means they're gonna starve in a few days if something doesn't happen. People are getting angry. However, I know a gal, and no city is completely impenetrable. Come on, this way."
They headed off the road towards a stream bed that trickled into the city, until they came to a large boulder near a bend. Chris scraped away some dry brush, revealing a cunningly disguised trap door. "This is what smugglers use to get in and out of the city. I've used it a few times. Let's just hope that Melissa isn't entertaining a guest right at this moment."
The tunnel was narrow and cramped, to the point that Darkness and Dust had to practically bend double, and even Kazuma and Rin had to duck their heads. It was dark enough that even Kazuma's night vision wasn't showing him much, but there was only one way to go, so they scrambled through until they made it to a rope ladder at the far end. Chris scrambled up it, then banged the hilt of her dagger on the wooden trap door above them in the old "shave and a haircut, two bits" pattern.
They waited for a tense minute, until the trap door swung open, blinding them all with the smoky light that came through.
"Chris? What are you doing here?" a deep woman's voice asked.
"Hey, Mel. Same as usual, here to pull a job! I'll cut you in if you let us into the city," Chris offered.
"Hmm, tempting. Your jobs always cause quite a stir though. Wouldn't have anything to do with the ruckus with those bores from Bryndle, would it?" Mel asked suspiciously.
"If I say it doesn't, will you let us in?" Chris offered.
"I'd rather it did, actually. The city being locked up is bad for business. Well, fine. But I expect a good cut for you using my hidey hole." Mel let them into the room, and turned out to be a dark haired woman with quite a few curves in thief's garb. Kazuma had a feeling she was exactly the sort Chris would have known to help her pull a heist before, but this time Mel refused to join them.
"Using my secret passage is help enough. I'm not risking a confrontation with the Royal Guard, or getting involved in international politics," Mel sniffed. "That's too much heat. Good luck, though. I'll be rooting for you from the sidelines."
"Some help you are," Kazuma muttered, but Mel just laughed at him.
"Honey, you don't stay in this game as long as I have without learning when to hold and when to fold. You're crazy for going up against the Sultan and the Casinos both. Those Bryndle morons really put themselves in a lot of debt."
"Of course they did, and they expect me to bail them out," Rin grumbled.
"Men usually do, sweetie. Now, you won't want to be going anywhere just now. There's a citywide lockdown, and while there's also a curfew, you'll have better luck sneaking around to wherever you're going after dusk. I suggest you all just relax. I've got a few spare rooms you can borrow, for a price, of course," Mel said with a predatory grin.
Kazuma ended up coughing up an absolutely exorbitant amount of Eris to Mel, who pocketed it happily before showing them to a rather smelly stable with nothing but moldy old straw for bedding.
"This is outrageous! I paid less than tenth of this for the stable Aqua and I shared!" Kazuma protested.
"Yes, but you weren't hiding from the law then," Mel told him. "Unless you'd rather just risk the streets."
Still fuming, Kazuma jerked a nod and picked the least disgusting of the stalls, which was at least free of manure.
"I'm going to do a bit of scouting," Chris said, having already changed into her normal clothes and wrapped a silver scarf around her neck. "You keep an eye on things here, Lowly Assistant. Make sure Darkness doesn't try to do something noble and get us all killed."
"Eh, she can play domestic bliss with Faitfore and Dust. We'll just nap all day," Kazuma told her.
Rin looked around the stable, a small smile on her lips as Mel sashayed off and Chris scampered away. "The good old days with Aqua, huh? I really can't believe you never slept with her."
"I told you already, she's too dumb to ever be even slightly attractive," Kazuma said, pulling Rin close. "I prefer my women to at least have some brains."
"She does seem like the type who could burn a salad," Rin giggled, leaning in close to kiss Kazuma. They lingered on that, until Rin pulled back. "Say, did you ever think about what it would be like to do it in a stable?"
"Uh…." Kazuma blushed, thinking about just that with Rin in his arms. "Isn't that a little inappropriate for a Princess?"
"Please. You and I both know that's probably exactly what the real Leonore is doing right now with Cecily and Keith both, gods help their souls," Rin pointed out with a shudder, hugging Kazuma even more tightly.
"Is it just me, or are your boobs bigger," Kazuma said, giving them a hard squeeze.
Rin groaned softly and rubbed herself up against him, which only made Kazuma more excited. He pushed Rin back into the straw, where she fell with a squeal of delight. Kazuma got down in the straw with her, pawing at Rin's cocktail dress. It was easy enough to get her out of it, as she tugged at his dress pants.
Taking a deep breath, Kazuma inhaled the musty scent of the straw, mixed with Rin's sweat and the light perfume she wore. It was an intoxicating mix, and Kazuma nibbled at Rin's neck as she helped him out of his jacket and shirt as well.
"Shhh, Faitfore's right next door," Rin groaned, even as she pulled Kazuma into her.
"You're the one making all the noise," Kazuma grunted, putting a hand over Rin's mouth to stifle her moans. She nibbled at his fingers, but didn't stop, reaching down to tease Kazuma's balls that made him gasp from the pleasure.
They locked lips to try to keep each other quiet, and were only mostly successful. After a few sweaty minutes, Kazuma tried to pull out, only for Rin to lock her legs around him.
"Don't. I want all of it," Rin told him.
"I…I'm going to get you pregnant though," he gasped.
"Is that so bad?" Rin asked, tousling Kazuma's sweet slick hair before kissing him again.
Kazuma didn't have a good answer for that, and besides, he did want to finish inside her. After a few more thrusts, he did, panting and staying inside as Rin bucked against him until she finished as well.
"I'm probably already pregnant, you know," Rin told him, going over to an old water barrel and using her hands to scoop out some of the contents to wash herself off.
"Uh, you sure?" Kazuma asked sheepishly, coming over to clean himself as well. Now that they were finished, he felt rather disgusted for having done it atop musty straw.
Rin splashed him, which made him yelp as the water was quite cold in the warm air of the stable. "No, but we've been together for weeks now and banging two or three times a day without protection. Which, uh, is as much my fault as yours, but, well, that does lead to only one thing…"
Kazuma swallowed, his mind racing. He and Rin were both only 18, which was really too young to be married as far as Japan was concerned. In Belzerg, it was normal enough, but Kazuma didn't really feel ready to be married and a father. Still, if it was Rin…
"Meh, it's not like I'm not rich enough. We'll just go back to Axel and have Aqua marry us before the kid comes," Kazuma assured Rin, even if he felt like his head was spinning. "That was the plan anyway, right?"
"Right," Rin agreed, pulling her dress back on. "Now I suppose we really should get some sleep before we try this infiltration mission."
They curled up in one another's arms in the straw, though it was some time before either slept. They didn't say anything, but Kazuma knew he and Rin were both contemplating their uncertain future. "We'll do it together," he assured her, squeezing her tight. "No matter what it is."
