I know, I know, you are all just as surprised as me that this chapter did not take a month to complete. I know its the eternal curse I must deal with having to update two separate fics.
XD
In all seriousness, I'm glad that I was able to get this chapter out as it is the beginning of when sh*t really starts getting real in this arc for everyone involved.
Big thanks to Qinlongfei for beta reading this chapter and making sure everything was good.
With that said, let's get this chapter started!
Chapter 57: All-Quiet
Silver Keep was pretty quiet at night. The guest rooms at the Keep weren't really soundproof, so she could still hear the distant and faint sound of metal footsteps from outside her room, but beyond that the Keep was dead quiet. One of her many new 'gifts' that her Mark gives her, though she's not sure whether she should call her enhanced hearing a blessing or a new annoyance these days, but she adjusted to it well-enough.
But the silence wasn't really what got to her most of the time. It was her own thoughts that kept her awake.
Mein laid down on her bed as she mulled over what happened during the meeting, how she basically threatened Ebonheart in front of all the nobles in Silver Pass. She had practically spit in Ebonheart's face and insulted her for all to see. Mein mentally kicked herself for allowing her emotions to get the better of her...but she cannot deny that it felt pretty goddamn good when she did put that whiny bitch in her place. It felt strangely good to ignore those dumb rules on etiquette, the rational choices and just do as she pleased.
It made her think about why she did that in the first place. Was it because Ebonheart had spit in Naofumi and Eclair's face and insulted their honor, like she said or was it because Ebonheart insulted Thomas that drove her to do what she did? She cared about Naofumi a lot and wouldn't stand to see someone directly insulting him, and Uncle Uther was always kind to her, Eclair didn't deserve having her father's name get dragged through the mud by some annoying bitch with a personal grudge. She didn't know the true reason for her outburst, perhaps both were the answer.
That emotion she felt though...she hadn't felt anger like that in a long time, even when thinking about her mother. It was unlike any other kind of anger that she felt, not a fiery inferno that burned hot in her heart, but rather a quiet rage that drove her to do the things that she did.
Mein wondered if Thomas ever felt like that.
The princess turned agent's thoughts were put on halt as she heard a distinct knock on her door, making her instantly sit up on her bed. She wondered who could it be that would be bothering her at this hour? Naofumi seemed unlikely, Raphtalia out of the question, so that left the wretched knight as her sole option. Perhaps he wanted to talk to her about whatever scheme he's cooked up to pull her back into her manipulation of the Shield Hero.
Regardless, she got up from her bed and opened the door to greet the person kindly or tell them to screw off depending on whether they were a certain knight. But the person standing behind the door was not who she was expecting.
" Lucatiel? What seems to be the problem?" Mein asked in a polite and genuinely confused tone. Out of all her options, she hadn't expected to see one of Eclair's personal knights be the one to disturb her. Mein hadn't really bothered to learn much about Lucatiel beyond her name and the obvious knowledge that she and her brother were essentially Eclair's top knights at the moment, though considering that Silver Keep had apparently lost a good chunk of their elite knights than perhaps that wasn't nearly as impressive as one might think.
" My lady is requesting your presence in the war room." Lucatiel said in a calm and professional tone, that did nothing to soften the surprising message that she delivered.
What in Medea could Eclair want to speak to me about? The last time we talked was the night Lord Reichnott died and I'm not sure that conversation ended on the best of terms exactly.
" I can escort you to the meeting room if you wish." Lucatiel offered, interrupting her own internal thoughts. It made Mein realize that Lucatiel was standing up straighter than normal and she could detect the telltale signs of slight nervousness in the body language of the mouse knight.
Wait a minute, it couldn't be...did Eclair tell Lucatiel about who I am?
That seemed like the only logical answer as Lucatiel didn't strike her as somebody who got nervous in somebody's presence easily unless that person was her Lady or someone on higher standing. Mein briefly considered confronting Lucatiel directly about it, but decided that having a conversation in the middle of a hallway was not a good idea. Too many potential ears and passersby that could listen in on them.
No point wasting time when I can hear it straight from Eclair.
" Let's go then." Mein said, which Lucatiel responded with a nod.
Mein walked through the halls of Silver Keep with Lucatiel at her side, but she couldn't help but feel somewhat on edge at the fear of being spotted by some passing patrol or worse one of the other members of their group like Alice or Outsider forbid, Naofumi. While maybe not immediately suspicious she would be questioned on why she was out so late with the mouse knight. She wonders if she should come up with a pre-planned lie just in case that does happen, perhaps she can craft the story about some late night training with Lucatiel. Not the best lie she can come up with, but it'll have to do in this case.
Thankfully, they didn't encounter any knights or members of her party. In fact, they didn't encounter anyone at all, it was almost like the route had been cleared of any patrols at the moment. Mein glanced over at Lucatiel who didn't seem the least bit concerned as they walked towards the war room, but decided not to ask her directly.
When they finally arrived and entered the war room, Mein could see that Eclair was hard at work pouring over what looked to be a stack of reports and the map of Silver Pass. But she was not alone in the room. The other mouse knight Aslatiel was present and standing on the side like a bodyguard. Mein could hear Lucatiel lock the door before going to stand beside her brother.
Well, this just got interesting...
Eclair immediately looked up from her papers, as she stood up from her seat to address her." Your highness, thank you for coming. I'm sorry for calling you here on short notice."
" Its alright Eclair, I wasn't getting much sleep anyway...but your 'highness'?" The princess turned agent instantly picked up on the words Eclair used. She glanced over at the two mouse knights who showed no outright reaction to the news, as if they already knew it before it was said. " I'm guessing they know my real identity then?" Mein deduced rather easily by this point that Eclair's top knights were let in the know about her identity.
To Eclair's credit, she did show guilt on her face when Mein called it out directly. " Yes, and I apologize for revealing your identity without your permission but rest assured that Asla and Lucatiel are my best knights. I trust them with my life and they can keep a secret when need be."
" Rest assured your highness, my sister and I know how to keep our mouths shut." Aslatiel gave a courteous bow with his sister following after him.
Mein couldn't deny that she felt a bit annoyed that Eclair had let these two knights in on her identity, but she figured there was no point getting angry over what was already done. She was willing to give Eclair the benefit of the doubt and guessed that she probably wanted to call for Mein, but it would look too suspicious getting asked to see a companion of one of the heroes in private instead of one of them directly without an explanation. Mein recalls from her memories that Eclair wasn't the best liar under pressure. Eclair really needs to work on her court mask if she wants to make it as the new Lady Seatto.
" I suppose I can forgive you letting your most trusted knights in on my secret, but please don't tell anybody else about my identity here. A secret gets harder to keep the more its spread around." Mein waved it off, making the mouse knights and Eclair brief a sigh of relief.
" Understood, your highness." Eclair nodded her head a few times.
" So what did you want to talk to me about?" Mein cut straight to the heart of the matter.
" A number of things but first I wanted to discuss with you over what happened during the meeting." Eclair didn't waste anytime cutting to the reason she was brought here, which surprised Mein. She was not expecting Eclair of all people to want to talk to her about that. The Lady Seatto's expression was a mix of conflicted and thoughtful. " You...didn't need to stand up for me back there with Lady Ebonheart." Eclair's voice was an odd mixture of grateful but regretful at the same time for some odd reason.
Mein couldn't say that she was expecting that to be the first thing Eclair brought up. Though maybe she shouldn't be surprised considering that it was the highlight of the entire meeting.
" I will not deny that I should have handled it more tactfully. But to speak truth, I could not stand seeing Lady Ebonheart blatantly disrespecting Naofumi or Uncle Uther. He was a good man and doesn't deserve to have his name dragged through the mud by someone like Ebonheart." Mein defended her action in a calm way, though she didn't mention that Ebonheart mentioning Thomas was what set her off in the first place. " Plus, if I didn't intervene than I have a feeling that somebody else would have done it in a far more explosive way." The princess subtly glanced over at the mouse knights who slyly averted their gazes. She still remembered how agitated they looked when Ebonheart was practically spitting in the face of Eclair's honor.
Mein gets the distinct impression that at least one of the mouse knights appreciated what she did.
" I suppose that is true. Do not mistake my intentions, thank you for standing up for me, though I myself cannot deny that I wish you chose a less...confrontational method." Eclair confessed what really got to her about the meeting. " Though perhaps that is my own fault for not commanding the meeting better."
Ah, so that's what Eclair was conflicted about. Makes sense on account of how honorable House Seatto is.
Mein let out a sigh as she decided to give some honest advice." Admittedly I probably could have handled it better but if I may be so blunt, you can't pussyfoot around these nobles. Your father was a decorated war hero and a personal friend of my father who is the reigning King and Staff Hero. All that and even he had trouble keeping all the noble houses in Silver Pass in line." Mein didn't mince words as she explained Eclair's situation in detail." I will not lie, House Seatto is in a precarious position at the moment. You are somewhat of an unknown for the most part without much of a reputation to back you up and your House is currently in disarray. You need to show the other nobles that your House still has the strength and will to rule Silver Pass, and if need be beat them back down if it comes to that."
" That is not how we do things in Silver Pass, your highness. We do not bully or force others into compliance." Lucatiel said with a somewhat stern expression on her face at her suggestion. " House Seatto has an oath to uphold truth and honor in Silver Pass, if we surrender that than how are we any different from the other greedy nobles in Melromarc?"
" If the situation were a bit more ideal, I would agree with you but as it is, House Seatto is part of the Game now and its not going to live past this current Wave if things keep going as it is." Mein turned her attention to Aslatiel." How many fighting men does House Seatto still have? Not counting current injured."
The mouse knight had a somewhat troubled look pass over as he explained." Thanks to the medicine and supplies that we procured from some of the bandit hideouts that the Bow Hero raided, we've managed to help some of the wounded recover. But we're still stuck at about half our original strength as an army."
" House Seatto is a martial house who's strength has always come from its army, if the other nobles believe you to be slacking than they will devour you like a pack of wolves in an instant." Mein gave some legitimate advice that was a bit easier to digest. " I'm not saying toss honor and truth to the wind, but you need to either start rebuilding your House's strength or finding ways to supplement your army's fighting capabilities."
" I see your point, your highness. Thank you for the advice, I shall take it into account when deciding what to do next." It was tough to tell whether Eclair was truly accepting of her advice or if she was still deliberating on it. Regardless, she shook her head as she turned to other matters." Putting aside the matters of my own house for a moment, I also wanted to speak to you about Lady Ebonheart and Cute."
" You mean, how Ebonheart flat out said that she was going to start coming down hard on the local demi-human population in her territory and how Cute was lying about how she knew about the meeting?"
" Yes, to both of those things." Eclair had a troubled expression on her face." Do you think Lady Ebonheart was serious? Admittedly I don't know her very well besides what gossip reached my ears and from father, so I wanted your opinion."
Mein couldn't say that she knew Ebonheart that well either, but she did know her type and that was plenty to start with." Ebonheart is more bark than bite, but she was dead serious when she said that she was going to start clamping down on the local demi and beastman population to smoke out whatever spies the Hound Lord has planted in her territories. Doubt its actually going to work, but I don't think Ebonheart cares too much about that. A couple demi's might even end up imprisoned on made-up crimes."
" That is what I'm afraid of..." Eclair and her two mouse knights flinch at the thought of such an injustice. The Lady Seatto let out a sigh." Moving on to Cute for a moment, you noticed how she was lying at the meeting as well?"
" It was a bit hard not to because of how obvious it was." It was obvious that the former Lord Reichnott either didn't think or didn't get the chance to teach Cute the fine art of lying to people or coming up with good cover stories.
" That's what I've been wondering about. How did Cute find out where the meeting location was? Did one of the fellow lords tell her about it? If that was the case than why was she acting so strangely about it?" Eclair pondered out loud, going towards the obvious list of suspects in that being the nobles present at the meeting.
" I was watching the expressions of all those present at the meeting and they all seemed genuinely surprised when Lady Cute made her appearance." Aslatiel tossed his two coppers into the discussion." Of course, they could have just been faking it but still..."
Mein ran down the list of suspects. Ebonheart was out for obvious reasons, Ascart would have straight up said that he was the one who invited her to the meeting, Graithos is unlikely for similar reasons to Ebonheart. Neverwinter uncertain at best. Rabier is likely if only just to stir shit up, but its doubtful Cute would keep a secret for that guy. How Cute learned about the meeting has plenty of suspects but too few leads to even speculate.
" There's too little information to speculate and its too uncertain to even make a guess on who told Cute about the meeting." Mein interrupted, which made Eclair and her knights turn their gaze to her.
" You're right, pointing fingers without proper evidence isn't going to get us anywhere." Eclair agreed with her, but Mein couldn't help but feel like the Lady Seatto was dancing around the issue.
" If I may cut to the heart of this matter, why did you call me here? Besides to talk about what happened during the meeting, I mean." Mein asked somewhat bluntly.
Eclair shared a look with her top mouse knights before continuing. " I would like to ask you for some information, your highness. I fear that Lady Ebonheart is going to do something drastic to smoke out the Hound Lord's men stationed in her territories and I would prefer to avoid undue suffering in Silver Pass." Eclair seems to have a hint of nervousness in her tone." When you went out with the Bow Hero to smoke out the spies in Rabier City, where exactly were they stationed and how many were there number?"
Mein was a bit suspicious on where this was going but answered nonetheless." Around a twenty man group, they were hiding out in the slums in the southeast end of the city. But I doubt its the same for every outpost the Hound Lord has stationed in the cities." Mein crossed her arms and gave a look towards Eclair." What are you planning Eclair?"
Eclair pursed her lips as if caught in a lie of some sort and was struggling to tell the truth. She shared a look with her mouse knights before speaking. " I...was planning on sending Asla and Lucatiel into Ebonheart city to see if they could find the spies hidden so Lady Ebonheart will have no need to go through with this."
" That is a terrible idea Eclair." Mein said with no hesitation." Aslatiel and Lucatiel are both demi-humans, they will standout more and be more likely to be interrogated by the guards than be able to find where the spies are located. Not to doubt their abilities, but they are trained knights, not spies or rogues who are capable of infiltration." Mein glanced over at the two mouse knights who looked mildly offended, but did seem to reluctantly agree with her assessment.
" I know but I can't think of anything else. There's nobody else I trust with this, all my other knights are inexperienced or are unfamiliar with infiltration. I would ask the Bow Hero but we need his expertise and power in the coming days to deal with any more possible bandit attacks and coordination." Eclair let out an exasperated sigh as she didn't know what to do.
Mein felt sympathy for Eclair who was certainly in a tough spot. She didn't want anymore undue suffering to happen in Silver Pass under her watch but she lacks the appropriate resources to handle it. The only two options she had were either to send out two of her top knights on a dangerous mission to try and prevent demi-human suffering in the north or do nothing. There was nobody else that was available to do the job...except for one person that Mein just thought of.
" I'll do it." Mein agreed with no hesitation in her voice, surprising Eclair and the mouse knights." I'll go into Ebonheart city to clear out those bandits."
" Your highness, that is unnecessary." Eclair instantly rejected the idea with a troubled look on her face." This is going to be a very dangerous assignment, and what if you get caught? I don't know what to tell Uncle Aultcray if that happens-"
" I've been used to danger since I was 9 Eclair." Mein cut her off." I am trained in infiltration and I have already assisted the Bow Hero in smoking out one bandit hideout in Rabier city, so I know what to look for. It will be much more safer for me to infiltrate the city and if I'm caught than I could use my status as the Princess to get myself out of trouble. Its the safest option Eclair."
Eclair looked conflicted on the suggestion until Aslatiel stepped up." I think you should let her highness help, my Lady." Eclair turned to give the mouse knight an incredulous look." She's right. Its the safest option for all parties involved, and I need to be here to help train some of the newer knights."
" He's right, I'll be fine Eclair. Besides, I hate undue suffering of the common people." Mein told the truth. She did hate the innocent getting hurt for no damn reason.
A conflicted expression crossed Eclair's face before gratitude appeared on it face as she bowed her head towards the hidden royal." I don't know what to say. Thank you so much, your highness. House Seatto owes you a debt."
" Thinking nothing of it. I'm always happy to help." Mein said with a smile. She wasn't lying and she would get to kill some bandits on the side." But I would like to bring the Shield Hero with me if that is okay with you."
" Of course, anything you need for your mission." Eclair nodded.
" Approach Naofumi with a request to search for these bandit outposts in Ebonheart's turf in a couple of days to not arouse suspicion and I will gladly accompany him on his quest." Mein explained her plan.
" Easily done. Thank you for your time your highness, sleep well."
" Same to you Eclair. Also please don't call me, your highness." Mein said politely as she left the war room.
When Mein returned to her room without any escort, she was feeling more mentally exhausted than she was physically. Secret night meetings sound fun on paper but they do take their toll in other ways. But she was happy to make some progress with Eclair, while it might be early to call her an ally in her camp, she doubts that the Lady Seatto will be an enemy in the future.
The princess in disguise was about to flop onto her nice soft bed and go to sleep-
When she suddenly felt the chill of the void on her skin and immediately realized that something was amiss.
Oh for fucks sake.
Mein let out a sigh as she tried to open the door to her room but found it suddenly locked from the outside, but when she turned back to the rest of the room...she saw that the walls of the room had opened up revealing the great nothingness of the Void.
And here I thought I could finally have a peaceful night of rest.
Mein should have known better than to ask for such a kindness. She let out a sigh as she walked forward as stone paths lifted themselves up from the void, as she saw stone platforms rise up from nothingness making a path for her. The princess turned agent groaned as she used Blink to traverse the distance between the stone platforms, though she did occasionally take a moment to marvel at the...nothingness of the Void.
There were plenty of researchers from all over Medea that were interested in what the Void was or what it was like, but there were very books that covered the topic because it was just so hard to study something many could not inspect or see for themselves. Even when she attended the Hero Academy at Faubley, there were very few books that covered the Void and even that was impressive when the prestigious Hero Academy boasts one of the largest academic collections in the world.
But the cold...it was like nothing she had ever felt before in her life. It was not a biting cold that promised death, but rather one that assured continual suffering for any who dared to feel it.
And the Void was like nothing she had ever seen before in her life. It was like staring in a vast ocean of pure nothingness for miles, the only things she could see was bits and pieces of her own world hanging in the air. Pieces of forests, buildings and even grand castles as far the eye could see. She watched as a whale swam around in the Void just a distance away as if it was water. There was light but there was no warmth or sun to provide it. There was cold but no wind or even air for that matter.
She's not sure she would ever get used to the Void or this damn cold.
Mein shook her head as she continued jumping and occasionally blinking from platform to platform. She was starting to get annoyed and wondering when a certain black-eyed bastard would show up.
I know you're there, show yourself and let's get this over with.
Almost as if her thoughts were being read, just as she was blinked into what looked to be a floating stone white gazebo was when the black eyed bastard himself appeared like a ghost, leaning up against one of the stone columns that held up the gazebo.
" Good evening princess, its been a while since we last talked." Outsider greeted her in his usual monotone voice.
" Not long enough. What do you want Outsider?"
" I like checking in on my Agents, sorry its been so long but the others required a bit more attention to get sorted." Outsider shrugged as he stood up straight from the column. "You've certainly been busy though, hunting down the Hound Lord and endearing yourself to the dear Lady Seatto. Not a bad move."
Mein said nothing as the Outsider slowly paced around the gazebo as if he was inspecting it.
" You know, they say dead men tell no tales. That is true for the most part, but they always seem to forget that a dead man's action can leave their mark in the world in more ways than one." Outsider's voice was calm, monotone and almost dead sounding." Thomas left his mark on Melromarc in ways that are still being felt to this day by so many people. Though I doubt he cared much for that, he would have slaughtered everybody in his path to make sure you were safe and on the Throne. You would have been queen to a mountain of corpses."
"...Every Throne is built on a mountain of corpses. Why should Thomas's mountain be treated any different?"
" Maybe it shouldn't, but he never really took the time to understand how even his few 'good' actions have an effect on the world and the people who still live in it. But you already know that, don't you?"
Mein didn't answer, unable to come up with a retort because of the burning question in her head about what happened to that group of demi-human slaves that stuck with them for a while after the attack on the Vallerie state.
" You don't need to answer, we both know what it would be anyway." Outsider moved away from that line of questioning as he paced around the gazebo." But that's not why I wished to speak with you."
" You and I both know that nobody's hands in the Game are ever clean, some are just dirtier than most. But very few manage to keep their hands mostly clean. Van Reichnott was one of those men. A minor lord that was loyal to Seatto and the Crown and merely wanted to rule his people in peace...but he was not a perfect man. He left his mark on the world that will have consequences in the days to come."
That piqued Mein's interest a bit. " What do you mean by that?"
" Sorry princess, but I'm afraid I can't just give you the info without having you work for it."
" I don't suppose you can just tell me instead of being a cryptic dick?"
" I could...but I prefer making you work for it. Come find me and you can earn it." That was all the Outsider said before he disappeared again. More stone platforms rose in front of the gazebo leading it in a certain direction.
Mein stood in the gazebo for a moment to curse the black eyed bastard before jumping to the next stone platform. She didn't have to jump and blink between platforms for long before she could see where they were leading her to.
Is that the castle?
Mein never would have thought to see her home floating in the Void, but there it was. It looked oddly small in the Void, like it was nothing more than an ornament in the vastness of this ocean of emptiness. Looking a bit ahead, she could see that the stone platforms were leading her to the training courtyard of the castle, the princess let out a sigh as she prepared to make her next jump.
But she felt the hairs on her neck stand up as she got the odd feeling...that she was being watched. Mein looked around and all she could see was the emptiness of the Void, floating buildings but not a soul in sight.
Mein chose not to dwell on it for long as she jumped and blinked from platform to platform, before she eventually got to the platform that was a short enough distance from the ground that allowed her to drop down into the training courtyard of the castle. She had spent many long afternoons here training either on her own to perfect her swordplay, practicing fast acrobatic movements with Mala or beating the crap out of whatever willing knight recruit she could find. Good times.
The princess turned Agent walked around the courtyard, feeling the slightest bit unnerved by how silent it was without anybody else present. Her brief moment of loneliness didn't last long when she walked into the fighting ring of the courtyard and the black eyed bastard himself reappeared like a ghost.
" That took you longer than expected." Outsider said in an almost bored tone.
" Maybe next time you should push the castle a little closer than making me jump and blink all over the place to get here." Mein quipped back at the god in annoyance.
The dark god of the Void didn't immediately answer, instead his gaze turned to one of curiosity. " You are still Blinking with just your eyes?"
" Yes? How else do you expect me to use it?" Mein was not expecting that question to come up of all things." You didn't exactly give me any instructions on how to use my skills when you first gave me the Mark."
" True. Though I somewhat expected you to figure it out yourself eventually, then again you have been busy traveling with the Shield Hero." The Outsider shrugged. " You are not quite using your abilities to their fullest potential."
" Enlighten me then."
Outsider walked around the fighting ring for a moment, before coming to a stop and turning to her like an instructor. " When you Blink, do not focus on the destination with your eyes, that is an easy shortcut but it limits the potential of the power instead you must focus your mind on where you wish to be standing and it will be so."
Mein couldn't deny that she was intrigued by what the Outsider was saying." You mean...I can blink just by thinking of where I want to teleport to?"
" Princess, at some point you won't even have to think of it. It will practically be a second-muscle for you." Outsider explained." You know the layout of this courtyard, simply focus on where you wish to be standing and it will be so."
Mein wasn't sure whether this was actually going to work or if Outsider was just pulling her tail, but she figured there was no harm in trying. She selected Blink in her skill equip, closed her eyes and tried to 'focus' on where she wanted to teleport.
She tried to focus on where she wanted to be standing in the courtyard, she could feel...something rising up in her chest. Like a spark of mana in her gut that was trying to break free but couldn't.
Mein grit her teeth in frustration." Its not working..."
" Take a breath. Visualize the area, the space that you wish to transverse to and focus the power there."
Mein took a breath as she visualized the courtyard in her mind, recalling every single detail that she could of the area from when she last came here. The training ring, the wooden dummies filled with straw, the archery targets, the weapon racks that held both wooden and real weapons for practice. She imagined them all in her mind and where she wanted to be standing, thinking of that red sphere that appeared in her vision whenever she teleported.
She focused the power of the Mark in her mind-
And then she felt that sensation whenever she blinked. When she opened her eyes again, she found that she was no longer standing where she was originally. Now she was at the very edge of the fighting ring and marveling at what had just happened.
It worked!
" Good. With this, you can teleport much greater distances than before without even needing to rely on direct line of sight so I suggest you practice the ability to use it more quickly in succession." Outsider monotone voice as always sounded neutral or uncaring as he walked towards her." Also word of advice, you do know that you can easily carry the Heart in your Inventory or just in your Mark and can easily take it out."
"...Oh." Mein was taken off-guard by the sudden off-handed advice on where to store the Heart. Actually why was she carrying the Heart around in her pouch all this time?
" But I think that's enough makeshift training, its time we get to the real work."
" So what's the big test I need to pass this time?" Mein crossed her arms as she walked back to the center of the fighting ring.
" The test today is quite simple Princess-" Outsider snapped his fingers and suddenly Mein's entire outfit changed into her Silver Huntress armor and all her weapons were on her.
That wasn't the only thing that happened when the Outsider snapped his fingers, several people armed with weapons appeared around her.
But what shocked Mein was the fact that she recognized these people.
" Katarina, Bertia, Iris, Lesty, Jaune, Keith..."
They were all here. Mein felt a cold feeling swell up in her gut, she remembers the last 'test' where she had to sneak around a false recreation of Castle Town and kill doppelgangers of those she cares about. This time it was just more combat focused.
The princess turned agent grit her teeth in anger as she realized that she was going to have to do it again for the Outsider's entertainment.
" Fight them and I will tell you a secret about Lord Reichnott. Don't worry, they aren't real, they are just lifeless dolls. Do as you will with them." Outsider said before he disappeared.
The doppelgangers didn't attack right away, instead they stood in their positions wielding their weapons in a readying stance. It made Mein wonder if they were waiting for her to make the first move until she remembered what happened during the last 'test' the Outsider put her through.
She killed the fake lookalikes of her friends and family without so much as a second thought. Is Outsider wondering if she's going to do different here?
She quite frankly doesn't give a fuck about Iris, but Katarina and Bertia and Lesty were good friends to her. Jaune and Keith were two of the best suitors she had. She didn't want them dead.
Well, she always did like a challenge.
Mein took a deep breath as she raised her fists and at that moment, the doppelgangers perceived this as a threat and charged at her.
She activated Bend Time to give herself the opportunity to thin out the crowd a bit, she blinked over to the fake Katarina to grab her axe and proceed to use the wooden handle of the weapon to hit her in the back of the head with it. She made sure the fake Katarina stayed down by slamming her face into the dirt to knock her out. She blinked over to the fake Bertia to repeat the same process.
Color returned to the void just as Mein finished delivering another hard punch to the fake Bertia to knock her out. She barely jumped out of the way in time a blast of wind blades and other magical attacks courtesy of the fake Iris.
" Devouring Swarm!" Mein rose her hand up as a swarm of ravenous rats emerged from the blackness of the void itself and began devouring Iris alive.
She tried to ignore the very realistic screams that came from the fake Iris as now she can focus on taking out the others non-lethally.
The princess did a swift dodge from a sword swipe that came from Jaune, and the follow-up that came from Keith. She had sparred with both Jaune and Keith in the past back when she was being courted by them and she has to say that these fakes very much lack their skill. She parried a slash from Jaune that allowed her to use the momentum to slam the hilt of her sword into his face and kick Keith in the gut.
" Windblast!" Mein unleashed the blast of wind that sent them flying and hitting the ground. She didn't give them the chance to get up as she blinked forward and stomped on their heads to make sure they were knocked out.
She barely had time to dodge a slash of water as the fake Lesty was the only one that was left, and the agent smirked under her mask. She focused her mind as she blinked forward and grabbed the fake Lesty by the arms, before holding her in a chokehold to render her friend unconscious.
After a few moments, the fake Lesty stop moving and she gently dropped her to the ground. Most of them were still alive.
Mein was surprised when she saw the bodies fade into ash and the Outsider himself reappear again.
" Impressive work Princess. I'm surprised you only killed one though." Outsider said with a shrug." Not too many good feelings about your dear friend Iris?"
" She's an opportunistic bitch who would sell me out in a heartbeat to protect her family name." Mein didn't mince words about how she felt about Iris.
" Harsh but not totally untrue." Outsider paced around the courtyard." Though I wonder if you spared them because you didn't last time and wanted to prove something to yourself or because you truly wanted to."
"...Just tell me the info on Reichnott."
" Very well, Lord Reichnott was a good man. Better than most nobles in this country and deserving of a far kinder death, but he was not perfect by any means." Outsider waited for a moment as if to purposefully tease her before continuing." He has an illegitimate child in Melromarc."
" WHAT!?" Mein was certain that if she was drinking something than she would have spit it out. For all the crap she might have heard about Reichnott being mother's personal footstool, she had to give the man credit for at least being a faithful husband and father until his wife passed away giving birth to Cute. The idea that he had an illegitimate child sounded like a scandal waiting to happen and with Silver Pass being how it is now...
There's no telling what this could do to the province.
" What's the name of the child?" Mein followed up with the question to maybe learn more, but Outsider merely shook his head.
" If you wish to learn more, pay a visit to Reichnott's home. I think you will find it quite enlightening." Outsider said as the world turned black.
When Mein opened her eyes again, she found that she was staring up at the ceiling of her room and lying down on her bed.
She instantly sat up with a groan and looked around to confirm that she was back in the real world.
" Fucking Outsider..."
Naofumi's POV
Naofumi had started to learn since his time of being summoned to a literal isekai world that using a shield was a lot harder than they made it look in the movies or anime, especially when said Shield is your primary and only weapon in a fight. He very ignorantly thought at the time that being a shielder was just about holding his shield up and blocking attacks, along with providing some support through his other hero skills.
But he had come to learn that there was a lot more to being a defender than just standing around and blocking attacks. There were stances to consider when blocking against certain types of attacks like against arrows or charges, exercising planting his feet on the ground and stopping from being moved when he got hit by an attack, deflecting attacks and footwork to quickly reposition himself. A lot of things that Naofumi was not expecting to learn when he came to this world.
Which all adds ups to why he's getting his ass kicked right now.
" Keep your shield up boy or I will split your head in two!" One of the Eclair's knights, a bull demi-human named Larius who was twice Naofumi's size and height shouted as he bashed his greatsword against his shield, seemingly attempting to break it.
" Ah!" Naofumi did his best to keep his Chimera Viper Shield up to block the attack, but his arm was getting numb and he was pushed back a few inches for every hit.
" Don't just hold your shield up like a dinner plate, keep moving or else you'll be flat on your ass!" Larius shouted as he aimed a horizontal slash that impacted against his shield and made Naofumi wish he was as fast as Mein.
But he didn't have time to think on it as Larius went for a leg swipe and knocked him on his ass. " Oof!" Naofumi let out a gasp as he fell flat on his ass.
" Get up boy before I make you start running laps around the Keep until your legs fall off!" Larius shouted at him that made Naofumi want to groan in agony.
" Perhaps we should take a break here, I think the Shield Hero has had enough getting knocked on his ass Sir Larius." Mein being the angel that she was came in and spoke up to prevent him from enduring another ass whopping.
Larius gave Mein a hard look before he grumbled a little before he walked away to shout at some recruits that he was training and were currently laying on the ground after enduring a similar ass whopping.
Naofumi laid on the ground as Mein walked over to him and stood over him with a smile." You planning on getting up anytime soon?"
" Maybe in an hour...or a week." Naofumi let out a groan.
" Oh get up, you." Mein said as she grabbed his arm and pulled him up to his feet, helping him walk over to where the others were watching him get his ass kicked.
A few days had passed at the Keep with both him, Titan Storm and Itsuki's group staying there for a while to rest and recover. They were mostly waiting on Eclair who had been busy coordinating messages and info with the other northern lords on sightings of bandits, possible outpost placements and potential leads on where the Hound Lord's base could be so that left the rest of them with not much to do at the Keep. Itsuki and Slayer had already investigated all the marked areas of the map given to them by that Rabier guy, so they were just waiting on new info.
Naofumi wanted to use his time productively and work on improving his defensive capabilities. Which is why he asked one of the Silver Hand knights if they could help him with using his shield better and almost immediately regretted the decision.
" I think that went quite well for a training session, I heard getting knocked on your ass is the first step to victory." Itsuki smirked as Naofumi took a seat on one of the benches.
" Screw you, I'd like to see you do better against six foot tall pissed off bull." Naofumi said but more in a joking manner.
" I think you did well considering that most of the recruits Larius was training didn't last two minutes before begging for mercy." Mein said in an encouraging manner.
I actually did want to beg for mercy but didn't really get a chance to.
" Maybe Sir Naofumi and Sir Itsuki should fight each other to see who would win! I always wanted to see how a fight between the hero with the strongest attack power and hero with the best defense would go." Audrey suggested with a laugh that showed that he meant no real harm in it. He reminded Naofumi of an older version of Rufus.
" That would probably be the worst match up for both of us. I can't do any damage to Naofumi without using any of my high-level skills which are very lethal and Naofumi likewise can't really do anything to me besides try to trap me and I could escape pretty easily." Itsuki easily elaborated on why a fight between them be bad for both of them." Plus I'm a Bow user who's not used to fighting up close and Naofumi has no attack power, so it would be an unfair for both us at best and an absolute slog of us trading blows at worst."
Naofumi agreed with Itsuki's logic on why a fight between them would be bad. Sure, he had managed to beat Motoyasu in a one-on-one fight but that was partly through luck and timing rather than skill.
" Why do people always want to see the Cardinal Heroes fight? That's like the most counterproductive thing possible that could happen during a Wave." Welst surprisingly chipped in.
" Right?" Ake agreed with the wizard.
" Well instead of engaging in a pointless fight with the Bow Hero, how about you practice punches with me? It would be good to know at least as a surprise for any enemies that get in close."
" Sure! I wouldn't mind." Naofumi stretched his bone a bit, feeling the crack and pop from the earlier workout from Larius.
Mein held up her palms and Naofumi wasn't the least bit concerned about hurting her, while his attack power has increased from some of the permanent stat boosts from mastering shields, its only like 20 and he can still only kill balloons and mushies. He held his fists like a boxer and gave the hardest punch he could muster at Mein's palm...which barely even moved at the hit.
" Come on Naofumi, what was that?" Mein critiqued his punch as she put down her palms." Your punching technique is all wrong and you're throwing out your shoulder too much."
" Sorry, never really was much of a fighter back then." Naofumi was not too prideful to admit that he had never really gotten into any fights even when he was a kid. He can faintly remember a few scuffles he had back in middle school that Kenji usually had to jump in to help but that was about it.
" Put your hands up, I'll show you how to do it." Mein instructed.
" Alright. Give me your best shot." Naofumi said as he held up his palms.
Mein didn't need so much as a second as she threw a punch at his palms, but it was different than his punch. It was steady, controlled, practiced and above all else...it actually did hurt when it hit.
" Ah! Damn..." Naofumi's hand recoiled as he shook his hand a bit, feeling as if his hand got hit by a rock or something.
" You alright?" Mein asked.
" Yeah, I'm fine. My DEF rating is way higher than your attack power how does that still hurt?"
" Damage and pain are two separate things. The damage done by a basic weapon or punch isn't going to do much against your HP, but that doesn't mean your body isn't going to feel it to some extent. Similarly, just because you have a high DEF or level doesn't mean that point-blank attacks aren't going to hurt." Clarissa stepped up to explain." Its like if a level 1 guy stabbed a naked level 100 adventurer with a rusty knife, its not going to do much damage but a knife is still a knife, and very much hurts."
" Huh, so physics and pain receptors are still a thing. Good to know." Naofumi knew that it was a bad idea to treat this world by its video game mechanics, he feels like he needs to remind himself that physics are still totally a thing." I kinda thought that once my level was high enough, I wouldn't even feel some attacks."
" How high is your level right now anyway?" Itsuki asked.
" I'm level 54 right now." Naofumi said which caused a surprised look from Itsuki.
" You're level 54 already? I'm just at 51." Itsuki gave him a look." What were you guys farming levels before you joined up?"
Naofumi hadn't really given much thought to his and his party's level really since the last Wave, he figured they were pretty high-level enough to deal with most threats. He didn't think Itsuki or some of the others maybe were lagging behind in terms of levels.
Actually now that he thinks about it, didn't Mein say that the Marked possess all the same advantages and perks that heroes like him have? Does that include the EXP multiplier that heroes supposedly get that makes levelling easier for them? Would that mean that both his Shield and Mein's Mark have been combining together to double their EXP gains all this time and they hadn't even realized it?
" Yeah, we had some pretty tough monsters to fight before we decided to come help you take down the Hound Lord." Mein didn't miss a beat, answering in his place to Itsuki.
The Bow Hero looked like he wanted to say more but stopped when he saw something behind Naofumi. He followed his gaze and saw Eclair approach them with Lucatiel and Aslatiel at her side.
" Good afternoon Sir Naofumi, if its not too much trouble could I speak to you in the war room? There is a special task that I require your help with."
Omake: Hidden Watcher
While the princess leaped across the Void and fought doppelgangers of her friends and loved ones, she was unaware that she had another watcher to her test. The void had many secrets but some could easily be unraveled by those who bore the Mark of the Outsider himself and that allowed the hidden spectator to view the entirety of the test without being seen.
Senses meant nothing here, not in this place.
The hidden watcher turned their head to the Outsider as he walked to stand with them.
" So what do you think?" Outsider asked.
" I think she still has a lot to learn. She hasn't even figured out how to blink with her mind quickly yet, you should have taught her that day 1. Her swordplay is good but could use some work. Her stealth skills are that of an above average rogue, so that will need to be improved in the coming days. But I think she has a lot of potential as an Agent."
" You're the one who recommended her over all the others. I still don't get why you didn't go with Jaune or Iris during the selection." Outsider shrugged.
" An agent needs to be a...special kind of a person, which is why Jaune and Iris were not good fits." The hidden watcher watched explained." Jaune is a good man, too good to do the kind of work that we do. Iris would be more malleable to doing the kind of work an Agent does but has little experience getting her hands dirty and has not experienced the plight of the common man. Katarina is too kind and naive, Bertia is too soft, and Lesty doesn't have the grit to handle this work. Malty was the best pick out of them all."
" Its your call." Outsider said in his monotone voice, but in the years of knowing the dark god, the watcher could detect the hint of uncertainty.
" You doubt her?"
" She's a bit unstable. She was trained by Thomas, looks up to him and you remember the damage that he did to Melromarc." Outsider looked out into the void." Power like that in her hands with little to no moral restraint with a nasty grudge to top it off is dangerous."
" Every Agent is a little unstable, I thought that was kind of the point of us." The watcher quipped." And I wouldn't worry too much, she's better than she knows. I think the Shield Hero and that little raccoon bring that out of her."
" Whatever you say, Agent Tiberius Rancor. If she blows up Melromarc, its on you."
I know this chapter is mostly set-up for the next one but a lot of important stuff happened that I just cannot resist talking about. I hope you all enjoyed Malty getting to show off some of her more political skills and knowledge in this chapter, while I've said before that my version of Malty is more of a warrior/assassin compared to Ambition Malty who is more of a politician than anything, that's not to say she's politically illiterate. She has lived the life of a princess too and knows how the Game works, which is probably why she hates it because she's lived the other life.
Malty finally learns the much more powerful way of Blinking from Dishonored, I was originally not going to have her learn this technique until much later in the story but I figured Outsider wouldn't be cruel to leave his Agent in the dark for how to use her abilities to the most effective means possible. I gotta say, I'm kinda disappointed that Malty hasn't really gotten the chance to use her agent skills that often in this story and want to correct that.
Not sure if this counts as a big reveal or not, but yes. Iris, Jaune, Keith, Katarina and Bertia were all candidates for Agents but were rejected due to various problems as described above. Malty really was the best pick of them all despite her problems because she is the most 'interesting' of them all, among other reasons.
And we finally get a glimpse at some of the other agents in Melromarc. There will be plenty more to come, I promise you that.
Now let's answer some reviews shall we?
To EXCUBITORE:
Oh yeah, the Hound Lord and his boys have been working overtime to get these bad boys ready which is probably the reason why they don't leave their base that much except on super important missions. Malty is definitely going to get upgrades for a lot of her powers soon. Regarding her build in particular for this story, its a bit hard to pin down in Dishonored gameplay terms since (not sure this counts as spoilers) Malty gets the power sets of both Corvo and Emily and like one from Daud in this story.
This is because she's in a lot of ways a combination of both, she's a fighter and also a royal who's actions affect the people. Malty has lived both worlds so this is my main logic for why she gets both powers, but if I had to describe Malty's build than it would have to be Arcane Assassin Fighter. That's probably the closest that I can get to describing a build.
With that said, I will see you all in the next one.
Angel Out.